The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my breathing sped up. I inched my way down the hallway towards the voices, even though every fibre in my body screamed at me to turn and walk in the opposite direction. I rounded a corner and followed the voices taking a left turn, then a right.
I ignored my gut and continued my slow and steady walk down the hallway. I only stopped when I came to a door that wasn't shut all the way. I glanced at the door looking for a number or something to say what the room was for, but there was nothing but dark varnished wood.
There was a space between the door and doorframe and I took it upon myself to look through the gap to see what all the commotion was about. I closed one eye and scanned the section of the brightly lit room that I could see, and when a bloodied man bound to a chair came into my line of sight, I couldn't help but gasp.
I instantly covered my mouth with my hand and ceased to function altogether in fear I would make another unnecessary noise. I remained frozen until a few seconds passed by and nothing happened. I lowered my hand and gently exhaled a relieved breath.
That was close.
I flinched when I looked back into the room just as a tall man rounded into my view and punched the bound man across the face. The poor man's head snapped to the right, and a moan of pain escaped him. Other than that one moan, he made no sound-not one.
"Remainin' silent will only lead to more bad shite happenin' to you, Shane. Do yourself a favour and tell me where my shipment is. I know you tried to jack it, I've eyes everywhere along the docks."
The bound man laughed then spat a mixture of saliva and blood onto the man speaking to him. "If you have eyes all along the docks, why did none of them see where your shipment got to?"
The man, who I assumed was in charge, took out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiped his face. "I don't have time for games; tell me what I want to know or me friend here breaks your legs. Your choice."
There was a lot of shouting, cursing, and screaming that followed in the next twenty seconds and it caused my stomach to churn. I was about to turn away from the room when the door opened wide and the bearded man who was threatening the bound man stood before me, glaring at me.
Oh, fuck.
"I took a wrong turn, I'm so sorry," I blurted and turned around.
I all but sprinted up the hallway and ignored the man shouting after me. I also ignored his calls for someone to ‘catch me.' I took a right turn then a left and stopped when I came to an abrupt end to the now small hallway.
How fucking big was this place?
"It's like a bloody maze!" I hissed.
I turned around and mentally prepared myself to retrace my steps so I could find the room Skull told me to go to, but all coherent thoughts left my head when I ran into a hard chest.
"Ow!" I grunted and lifted my hand to my head.
"You should watch where you're going."
I froze.
I knew that voice.
I fucking loathed that voice.
I tilted my head back and looked up at his marred face.
Kane Slater.
"What the hell are you doing back here?" he snapped at me.
No hello or stupid comment on his part, just rudeness as usual. I was shitting myself by being here, but I couldn't not be a smartarse to him.
"I could ask you the same thing," I said and stumbled to stay upright when he advanced forward.
Kane glared at me. "No, you fucking can't. This is no place for someone like you."
I knew that good and well after witnessing a bound man being assaulted, but what in the hell did he mean by that?
"Someone like me?" I asked, as I tried to narrow my eyes at him, but found it difficult.
He was mad and I didn't know how to handle mad Kane. Teasing Kane, or annoyed Kane I could deal with, but mad Kane freaked me out quite a bit.
Kane continued to stalk forward, and I continued to back up. "Yeah, someone like you."
I walked backwards until my back hit a wall. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I squealed when Kane surged forward and gripped both of my arms with his hands.
"It means," he hissed and leaned in close to my face, "that good girls don't belong here. Understand me, babydoll?"
Babydoll? Was he for real?
"What makes you think I'm a good girl?" I asked trying to get the tremor of fear out of my voice.
Kane looked at me for a long moment as a ghost of a smile curved his lips. "I don't think you're a good girl, babydoll, I know you are."
I didn't know why I felt insulted, but I did.
"That just goes to show you really don't know me, because I do belong here... I hang out here all the time. I've actually hung out in Darkness since before you moved here. I'm practically an OG of this place."
Kane grinned at me. "Oh, really? Then tell me something, OG, why do you look lost walking down these hallways?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but quickly closed it because I had no idea. Skull said these rooms where for Brandon's business associates, and I was definitely not one of those. I honestly never even knew Darkness had back rooms, though I shouldn't be surprised. Brandon was a shady fucker.
I was too stubborn to admit that to Kane so instead I said, "I don't have to justify meself to you, Slater."
Kane chuckled as he roamed his eyes over my face. "That you don't, babydoll."
I tried to pull free of his hold, but his grip tightened on me.
"Jesus! Let go of me... and what the hell is with this babydoll crap?"
Kane smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "You need babying, and you look like a doll so... babydoll."
Did he just call me childish and fake in one sentence?
"You dick. How dare you call me childish and fake!"
Kane grinned. "I didn't call you childish or fake you little weirdo."
Little?
"Now you're callin' me short? You're a real-"
Kane's low laughter cut me off.
It shocked me to silence because I had never heard him laugh like that before. I don't think I have ever heard him laugh at all. I've seen him grin and smirk but never smile like he was doing right now.
He looked so different.
He looked stunning.
Damn him.
"You need to calm down. I'm not insulting you. Firstly, all I'm saying is you need looking after. You being here proves my point so that's what I meant by babying. Secondly, you look gorgeous, fucking unreal, so that is what I meant by a doll. Put them together and you get babydoll, babydoll."
His smirk irked me.
I swallowed. "And little?"
Kane grinned. "You're a little bitty thing, what can I say?"
I was oddly flushed with pleasure that he thought I was gorgeous. I was also touched that he wanted to look after me while I was here, but my stubbornness wouldn't allow me to admit that aloud.
"Your observations and sugar sweet words won't get you anywhere with me so you can let go of me arms."
"Make me." Kane grinned.
I glared at him. "I don't have time for this. I just saw somethin' I shouldn't have and I have to leave before they find me-"
"I already found you," Kane cut me off, his eyebrow raised.
I stared at him for a moment then gasped, "You were in that room?"
He shrugged.
I shoved his chest. "Get away from me."
Kane held up his hands. "It's not what you think-I was more of an observer than an active participant in that room."
I scoffed, "So you watched a helpless man get attacked? How noble of you."
"Shane? A nice man? He is anything but nice." Kane humourlessly laughed. "Darling, you take people at face value too often."
I swallowed. "I clearly do because I thought you weren't into anything bad. Looks like I was wrong."
I rounded on Kane then and turned right, trying to find my way out from the maze of stupid hallways.
"I'm not a bad man, Aideen," Kane said as he followed close behind me.
I grunted. "What are you doin' back here then?"
"Working."
I stopped walking and turned to face him. "What type of work?"
Kane sighed. "It's nothing that concerns you, darling-trust me."
No.
"Bite me, Slater," I growled.
Kane snapped his teeth at me and took a step closer to me. "Tell me where and I'll be happy to oblige."
He was very close to me, a hair away from pressing his body against mine. I could smell his cologne and feel his touch without him actually putting a hand on me.
"Kane," I said then cleared my throat.
He lowered his head. "Aideen?"
"What are you doin'?" I whispered.
Kane smirked. "Call it an act of impulse."
I swallowed. "You... you better not be thinkin' what I think you're thinkin'."
Kane winked at me. "I bet our thoughts are pretty identical right now, babydoll."
Oh.
"Get away from me," I whispered, "and lose the stupid nickname."
Kane jostled me closer to him until our bodies finally touched. "Not a chance in hell on both counts, babydoll."
Before I could put him in his place with a well thought-out threat, Kane covered my mouth with his and just like that all bets were off. Okay, maybe not all bets. The stubborn bitch inside me put up a three or four second resistance against Kane's mouth. She really did, but she, and the rest of me, was simply no match for Kane's talented lips and tongue. No match at all.