Lochness Emerges

MADDIE

Darren

Yo! How are you?

Darren

Just heard about that fucker that held you up!

Maddie

Which one?

Darren

😱

Maddie

Yeah, don’t know what it is that attracts assholes to me. But everything’s okay now.

Darren

I feel like it’s partly my fault.

Darren

Can you meet up later? Just want to try and make things right.

I stared at the text, unsure of what to say.

How sweet of Darren to text me ~days~ after that shit even happened.

It was a good thing Harry and I had such an excellent work ethic. If we left it up to Darren to make our schedule, we'd be scrounging for coins.

My fingers tapped out a text that told him to shove his apology right up his ass. I hovered over the send button for a few moments before deleting it.

Darren was a shit manager, but he didn’t necessarily deserve my ire. If it weren’t for him, I probably would’ve gone back to the Dobrzyckas by now.

Plus, who was I to deny him the chance to make things right? Maybe he was going to give me the big fucking bonus I deserved from all my hard work.

Maddie

I can meet up. Where?

Darren

Awesome! Club Emerald. Any time after 8.

~Great.~

I’d have to make yet another trip into the dragon’s den…

***

Club Emerald was a shit show, per usual. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like the same people from my last visit were still partying.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they had never even left. Just kept dosing overhead until they were living in a fantasy world 24/7.

Darren told me where to meet but not where he would be. I scanned the room, trying to spot his punk face in a sea of other faces. It was no use.

Why the hell did I even agree to this?

I pushed through the crowd, bumping into body after body. I began to realize it was easier to move the more I danced.

~Fuck it.~

My hips and shoulders swayed with the beat. When the bass dropped, so did my ass. I felt hands grope at my jeans, but I swatted them away and continued moving.

Just like the owners of this club, these dancers had no fucking manners.

A waving hand caught my attention, and I realized it was Adara. She was standing at the bar, sipping on a drink.

I danced my way over and squeezed myself next to her.

“You just can’t seem to stay away,” Adara said. “Not that it’s entirely surprising.”

“Do you ever go home?” I yelled over the music. “Or is this your new permanent residence?”

“How else do you expect me to find my next little fuck toy?” she asked with a smirk.

I shrugged. “Visit a coffee shop. Or maybe online dating? I hear they even have apps for that kind of thing,” I replied.

She downed her drink and set it on the counter. The bartender swept it up and immediately began refilling it.

“Speaking of fuck toys,” I said, “have you seen Darren anywhere?”

Adara shot me a glare and picked up her drink. She took a long sip before answering.

“I don’t go around looking for trash,” she said. “Why do you care?”

“I was supposed to meet him here.”

“Trying to find more clients to buy your shitty little drugs?”

My eyes narrowed.

How did she know anything about what I did with my time?

Adara set her empty drink down. I watched as the bartender left three paying customers to do her bidding.

“You seem to forget that we own this city,” Adara said as if reading my mind. “Nothing gets past us. That includes you, little rat.”

“There’s that famous Dobrzycka pride,” I retorted. “The three of you have always viewed yourselves as gods.”

“How else should we view ourselves?” she asked.

~Like what you really are. Overgrown snakes.~

I shrugged again and picked up her fresh drink before she even realized what was happening. With two gulps, I sucked it down and returned the empty glass to the counter.

My throat burned from the bitter drink—a martini, extremely dry.

It suited her well.

Adara glared at me.

“I haven’t seen your little drug-dealing friend,” she said. “And if that’s all you’re here for, it’s best you went on your way.”

“Eager to see me go?”

She shook her head. “I’d hate to see what my brothers would do if they caught you slinking around their club.”

That was something we’d both hate to see. But if I was going to find Darren, it was necessary.

I gave Adara a short wave and returned to the chaos of the dance floor. My body fell back into the groove of the music.

I didn’t want to worry too much about Darren. He was a big boy and could take care of himself. Hell, maybe he’d completely forgotten about our meeting and was getting loaded down in the Skeleton Quarter.

So much for making things right...whatever that meant.

I found a small section of the floor with less dancing. I whipped out my phone, but I hadn’t received any messages from Darren. Maybe he was waiting for me to reach out first.

Maddie

You at Club Emerald?

Maddie

I’m near the dance floor on the first level.

Maddie

Are you seriously ghosting me right now?

I made my way to the stairs and climbed to the second level. There was no way I was about to go looking for him in all this madness.

I’d give him a few more minutes to answer before I’d bounce.

As I surveyed the club from my new spot, I started to feel that familiar burn.

~My brand.~

Loch or Hael was nearby. It was hard to tell which one, but I wasn’t going to stick around long enough to find out.

I checked my phone one last time.

Still nothing from Darren. It was time to go, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

The conversation with Adara kept playing in my head. If she’d known about my business partnership with Darren, that meant her brothers knew as well.

That wouldn’t be good. From what he’d said before, they already didn’t like him. Add in the fact that he was working with me and they’d go downright ballistic.

My gut told me to walk down the stairs and straight out of the club.

My conscience said otherwise.

Instead of going down, I went up. I knew Loch had a particular room on the third floor that he liked to frequent.

I'd only seen it once before, but I could only imagine the trouble he liked to get into behind closed doors.

The higher I ascended in the club, the higher these clubbers looked. Each person that I passed had dilated pupils and permanent grins on their lips.

A few touched me as I passed by. I would’ve been pissed if I weren’t so concerned about Darren.

I finally made it to the end of the corridor and saw the large black door in front of me.

As I reached for the gold knob, I felt the burning of my brand intensify.

I hoped I wasn’t walking in on something that would set me off. If Loch was with another woman, I don't know what I would do.

It was impossible to deny that I had feelings for the fucker, no matter how much of an asshole he could be.

I turned the knob and pushed the door open.

The room was dim. Red-tinted lights cast ominous shadows. I entered the room and shut the door behind me. My eyes adjusted enough to see a hulking figure in the corner.

“Loch?” I asked, uncertain.

~Maybe I should just turn around and leave…~

I made out a head of black hair. It was definitely Loch.

But there was something different about his eyes. They were no longer emerald, but instead a bright, burning red.

What was he doing in here?

“Why, hello, street rat,” he said, a current of malice under his honeyed voice. “I was wondering when you’d join us.”

“Us?” I asked.

“Maddie,” a feeble voice called out.

It sounded like Darren. I moved closer and nearly choked on my gasp.

Darren was naked, his arms and legs chained to the walls. Gashes covered his body and blood was ~everywhere.~

Loch held a whip in his hand. He cracked it against Darren’s brutalized body.

“Your partner and I have been waiting for you all night.”

“Loch! Stop it!” I screamed.

Loch didn’t even turn to look at me, just continued doling out the torture. I tried to pull him away, my fingernails clawing at his shirt, which was stained with Darren’s blood.

But it was as if Loch was in an unbreakable trance.

“Selling drugs? In my club? And you didn’t even ~think~ to cut me in on the action?” Loch clicked his tongue. “Bad rat. Very bad rat.”

Darren’s poor body was covered in seeping gashes.

“Please...help me...” Darren groaned as the whip cracked again, splitting his cheek open. I saw his teeth glisten in the fresh wound. I covered my mouth and tried not to vomit.

I wanted to sing Loch to sleep, but when I opened my mouth, I couldn't even muster a squeak. It was as if a vice were clamping down on my throat.

“Very bad rat,” Loch repeated, his tone darkening.

He slowly turned his head in my direction, and I saw his blazing, fire-red eyes.

If I didn't act fast, I’d feel his whip next.

Or a hell of a lot worse.

~I need to get out of here!~