This Wicked Sin

Chapter 13: Gabriel

I drove through the streets like a madman. Not even Nix complained about the speed. He looked as scared as I felt.

“Anything?” I asked.

“No. It keeps going to voicemail,” he said in a tight voice.

None of us tried to voice our fears. Aren was a regular in the party scene. She was always careful about her drinks. The chances of this being a typical date rape drugging were low.

After the recent kidnappings, my stomach felt like it was caving into itself. I couldn't believe I was hoping for a normal date rape asshole instead of what it could be; a kidnapping.

Was she being targeted because of her association with Nix and me? Or maybe I was overthinking this?

The new club came into view. The area looked busy despite being located in the middle of an abandoned factory yard.

I parked haphazardly. I took a gun from a compartment and tucked it in the back of my jeans, out of sight. I rushed out of the car.

“I'll check the inside. You look around out here. Let's be quick. Call me if you see anything suspicious,” I said.

Nix eyed the place where I’d tucked the gun and simply nodded. He looked sick to his stomach, whether from the situation or the fact that I was anticipating violence, I didn’t know. I patted his shoulder in support and took off.

Getting into the club was easy once I said my name. Thankfully, it was on the list despite my refusal earlier in the week. Phillip had clearly been expecting me to change my mind.

On the outside, it looked like an old dilapidated factory but the inside was unspoiled; remodelled to look modern and lush. It had high ceilings that gave it a cavernous look.

I walked around and quickly took in the space. It was packed inside.

I made my way around the room and spotted the stairs that would lead up to the place Aren and the others were most likely to be. I went up the stairs to the balcony, all the while keeping an eye out for anyone I recognised. I didn't have to wait very long.

“Corvin! Over here,” a voice called.

I whipped my head around and found Phillip. He looked a little tipsy but otherwise okay. I couldn't even muster up a smile for him. He came up to me and put an arm around my shoulders.

“I knew I'd wear you down eventually. Welcome.” The music was just loud enough that we didn't have to shout over each other to have a conversation. He shoved a glass into my hands. “Here. The drinks are divine. I know you’re gonna love this one.”

“I'm looking for Aren,” I said, straight to the point. The colourful drink sloshed around in its glass.

“Winters? She was with us for a few hours but she disappeared a while ago.”

“When exactly? Where did she go?”

Philip shrugged and gestured vaguely in the direction of the rest of the club, which could mean anywhere and nowhere. I tamped down my frustration. This was a waste of time.

“Hey, Gabe!” someone shouted from the group. I whipped toward her, barely keeping in the urge to snap. It was Rosa. She looked closer to drunk than her boyfriend was.

“You’re looking for Aren, right? She left a while ago with some guy,” she said. The look on my face must have scared her because she explained hastily, “She didn’t look uncomfortable or anything, so none of us really paid attention.”

“What did this guy look like? Which way did she go?”

“I didn’t get a good look at him. But he was tall. Dark skinned. He had white hair, I think. An alpha. Looked like they were either going to the bathroom or the backdoor. Over there.” She gestured downstairs.

I gave her my thanks and set the drink on the table. I was about to rush away when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll help you look. After we find her, I want you to try some drinks I know you're gonna love,” Philip said to my back. I shrugged, thankful for the help.

Somehow, the floor below was even more packed than before. We squeezed through writhing and dancing bodies until I couldn't hide my irritation. People must have smelled the aggression rolling off me in waves because a path was cleared for us. I saw people give me some nervous looks. They made sure no part of me touched any part of them.

I realized then that my Blessing must have been putting a warning aura around me. Was this how Rowan felt every day? People not meeting your eyes and scrambling away from something they couldn’t even name?

We reached the hallway where the bathrooms were located. There were long lines for both the male and female ones. Could she be in there? Would she have gone into one of the stalls to hook up with the guy, unwittingly falling into his trap? My stomach roiled at the thought.

Aren wasn’t a stranger to bathroom hookups, so it was entirely impossible.

I pushed through the male toilets, not caring if anyone had a problem with it. Phillip followed, apologising to everyone. We looked through every stall; nothing. If you didn’t count the startled couple who cursed us out.

We walked back to the hall.

“This is freaking impossible,” I cursed out. I felt like punching a wall. I felt so helpless.

“Chill out. I’m sure she’s okay. She was fine a while ago.”

“She’s not f*****g okay, Phillip. She called me for help,” I growled out.

His eyes widened, “For real? Well, shit.”

I was trying to breathe through the oncoming panic when Phillip exclaimed.

“f**k. I think I just saw her,” he said.

I followed his gaze, “Where?”

“She was heading towards the back hallways. It might not have been her though. She was walking weirdly.”

I didn’t wait for him to finish. I was already marching towards the back. I pushed through more bodies, not caring if Phillip could keep up.

There was a dark hallway that must have led to the back exit. I eyed the exit door. I didn’t think for too long before walking out. It was freezing cold after the heat of the club.

“Hey, Gabe. Wait for me!” Phillip was saying behind me.

The back door opened into a derelict alleyway. I looked around before stepping out into the gloomy dark. I tried to find her scent in the night air but this place was too saturated with people to pick out individual scents. I cursed out in frustration, trying to ebb the oncoming panic.

This situation was getting out of hand. I was going to have to call Rowan. It might have been nothing but better safe than sorry. Rowan wouldn’t say ‘I told you so’ for befriending a civilian but I knew it would be implied.

The unknown organisation might have had a hand in this. But would they target Aren of all people just because of her association with Nix and me?

Why would they do that in the first place?

“There’s no one here,” I growled out in despair. “Are you sure you saw her?”

“I don’t know,” he said unsurely. “I told you I might have been mistaken.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Nix.

“Anything?” I asked.

“I found her.”

I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. The tension that had plagued me from the moment I saw the number of missed calls released from me.

“How is she?”

“She’s a bit incoherent but otherwise fine. I found some guy trying to force her into his truck but she was fighting him off and, thankfully, creating a scene. Some of the people around were able to help me get her away and the guy currently looks like he’s seen better days.”

“I could kill him.”

“Believe me, I want the asshole dead too, but he drove off in the chaos.”

“Did you manage to get a license plate?”

“Most of it. Where are you? I want to get out of here and wipe this night from my mind.”

“You and me both. I’m out back. I’ll be with you guys in a second. Look after her.”

I cut the call and pocketed the phone again. I turned back to Phillip, suddenly feeling like an asshole for how I’d acted.

“Nix found her,” I said, “Sorry for the trouble.”

“That’s great. I knew she would be fine. She’s stronger than people think. You’re sure you’re not gonna partake of the festivities today?” Phillip asked, half his face wrapped in shadow.

“Sorry, no,” I said. “I’ll have an early night today.”

I turned toward the mouth of the alleyway, planning on circling around the building instead of going to the front through the packed club.

“That’s too bad,” he replied. “Would have been much easier to explain this away.”

“Explain what away?” I asked, turning toward him.

I felt a sharp sting on my neck. My hand slapped over my neck in confusion, but as I turned toward Phillip, I felt a sharp blow at my temple.

I stumbled to the ground, dizzy with pain. I looked up at him in confusion, not quite comprehending what was happening. I felt something drip down my face and belatedly realised it was blood.

My reflexes kicked in, too late, and I tried to defend myself.

Phillip snorted and kicked me in the abdomen. I cried out in a ball of pain on the dirty ground. I sprawled there uselessly as I tried to think through the ringing in my head and the pain in my stomach.

“Sorry about this, Gabriel. It’s nothing personal,” Phillip said.

His words were coming to me much slower than was natural. I felt dizzyingly drunk even though I hadn’t taken a single sip of alcohol.

I tried to remember all my lessons on fighting and defending myself but the memories and skills eluded me.

“There’s no point in fighting it. What I shot you with can bring down an elephant,” he said. His face kept swimming and swirling within my vision.

I blinked stupidly up at him; someone who, while I never really considered my friend, had considered a close acquaintance. Someone I’d never thought was capable of anything close to this. A civilian.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked. At least that's what I thought I did. It sounded only like gibberish to my ears.

All I got in response was a grin. It looked exaggerated and grotesque in my drugged vision. My thoughts slipped from me like sand through my palms. I tried to say something else but nothing but garbled sounds escaped.

It was that grin, that s***h of white against a shadowed face, that would stay with me in the deep.

Everything went dark.