Bound by Vengeance

Chapter 2

MAYA'S POV

I knew something was wrong the second I walked into Johnson's dressing room. The air felt different – electric and dangerous in a way that made my skin crawl. Girls were whispering in corners and checking their phones like they were expecting bad news.

Sarah was pacing near our usual corner, chewing on her thumbnail the way she did when she was stressed about something. Her face was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes like she hadn't slept.

"Maya, thank God," she said when she saw me. "I need a huge favor."

"What kind of favor?" I asked, already not liking where this was going.

"I need you to take my shift tonight. Just for an hour, maybe two."

I stopped putting on my makeup and turned to look at her. "Sarah, I'm supposed to be serving tonight. Bev will lose her mind if we're short a server and a dancer."

"Please." Her voice cracked on the word. "I'll cover for you with the drinks as soon as I get back. No one will even notice."

"Notice what? Where are you going?"

She looked away. "I just... I have to meet someone. It's important."

"More important than keeping our jobs?"

"Maya, please." She grabbed my arm and her fingers were shaking. "We've switched before. You know we can pull it off."

That was true. We'd been covering for each other for almost a year now. Same height, same build, same dark curly hair. In the dim lighting of the club, even Bev couldn't tell us apart half the time.

But something felt off about this. Sarah was scared. Really scared.

"What's going on?" I asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Nothing. It's nothing." She tried to smile but it came out wrong. "I just really need to handle this thing, okay?"

Her phone buzzed and she looked at it like it might explode. Whatever message she'd gotten made her face go even whiter.

"Fine," I said. "But you owe me big time. And you better be back before Bev notices."

"I promise. I swear I'll be back in an hour."

She practically threw her costume at me and started pulling on my server uniform. Her hands were moving so fast she could barely get the buttons right.

"Sarah, seriously, what's—"

"I have to go," she said, cutting me off. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

She kissed my cheek and ran out of the dressing room like the place was on fire.

I stood there holding her sparkly outfit and feeling like I'd just agreed to something I didn't understand. The weird feeling in my stomach was getting worse, but it was too late to back out now.

Twenty minutes later, I was standing backstage in Sarah's costume, listening to the crowd getting louder as they waited for the show to start. The outfit was tighter on me than it was on her and the lights felt hotter than usual.

"You're up, Sarah," Bev called from behind me.

I took a deep breath and walked onto the stage. The crowd cheered and whistled, but I barely heard them. Something was wrong with the atmosphere in the club. There were too many men in dark suits scattered around the room, and they weren't looking at the stage like normal customers.

They were looking at me like I was something they were hunting.

I started dancing but kept my eyes on the crowd, trying to figure out what was happening. That's when I saw him – a man near the bar who was definitely not here for the entertainment. He was talking to the bartender and pointing at the stage.

At me.

My blood went cold when I realized what was happening. These men weren't customers. They were here for Sarah.

But Sarah wasn't here. I was.

I tried to back toward the dressing room, but two men in black suits were already moving toward the stage. The crowd started booing as they climbed up, but the men ignored them completely.

"Let go," I said when one of them grabbed my arm.

"Come on, Princess," he said with a smile that made my skin crawl. "We just want to talk."

"I said let go of me."

"Our boss wants to see you," the other one said. His voice was colder, more serious.

"This is my last warning," I said, trying to pull away from them. "Let go of me."

"Or what?" the first man asked, tightening his grip.

I didn't bother answering. Instead, I drove my knee into his stomach as hard as I could and used the momentum to swing my elbow toward his face. He staggered backward, cursing, and I ran for the dressing room.

But there were more of them waiting inside. Men in masks standing guard like they owned the place.

"Damn it," I whispered.

One of them raised something toward my face – a small canister that hissed when he pressed the button.

I held my breath but it was too late. Whatever they'd sprayed burned my nose and throat. My vision started going fuzzy around the edges and my legs felt like they were made of water.

"She's fighting it," someone said. Their voice sounded like it was coming from underwater.

"Give her more."

The world tilted sideways and I felt myself falling. Strong hands caught me before I hit the floor.

"She's out," a voice said.

"Good. Boss is waiting."

Boss. Through the fog in my head, I remembered the men at the hotel reception asking about a boss. Sarah had been terrified of someone.

And now they had me instead of her.

The last thing I heard before everything went black was one of them saying, "Take her to the car."

I tried to fight, tried to stay awake, but the darkness pulled me under like drowning in reverse.