Shadows Of A Wolf Moon(80)
She looked at Shelly. The girl hadn’t heard Big Mike say werewolves.
“Anyway, you two have been followed from here to, let’s say Mississippi.” He grinned. “And it seemed like you are in a whole world of trouble, Catty.”
Shelly stopped in a parking lot behind the Triple X. She turned in her seat. “We’re here.”
“Good. Go on in and grab a seat at the bar. Tell them I said you can have anything you want, on the house.” He gave her a charming smile.
She nodded and then cast a worried look at Catty. She hurried out of the car and into the club.
“You’re such an asshole.” She shot him a glare.
“And you, my dear, are so dead.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Lucien entered the Triple X and shoved his way past the crowd of people to the bar. He scanned the crowd for a stripper but they were all occupied. The female manager, he believed her name to be Celine, passed by him with her cigarette and clipboard.
He grabbed her arm.
“Hey, don’t touch me,” she spat out.
“Sorry. Look, I want a lap dance. But I don’t see any girls available.”
“Yeah. It’s crowded tonight.” She cocked her head. “Aren’t you the guy that got the dance from Catty?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
Her eyes lit up. She must have remembered how much he paid.
She looked down at her clipboard and then back at him. “Come on, I’ll get you a room and send a girl in. Any preferences?”
“Blonde.” He placed a wad of money on her clipboard.
“You got it.” She grinned. “Come on.”
She led the way to the back of the building to the private rooms.
“I want privacy, if you know what I mean.” He gave her a look.
“Sure do, buddy.” She took him to the next to the last room of the hall and opened the door. She waved him in. “No one will bother you here. Give me about five minutes and I’ll send Bambi in. You’ll be more than satisfied with her.” She grinned and headed back down the hallway.
Lucien poked his head out in the hallway.
Empty.
He quietly made his way to the last door. He studied the padlock. The music in the club was loud enough to cover the sound of him breaking the door. He glanced over his shoulder and made sure no one was in the hallway. Turning back to the locked door he rammed his shoulder into the wood. The door broke free from the lock and swung open.
A quick look inside told him no one was there. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. He had to move quick before Celine discovered him missing and the door open.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and he scanned the room.
It was small and had a floor to ceiling shelf filled with toilet paper, boxes of liquor and cocktail napkins. There was a large picture of angels floating around in the sky on the other side of the wall. He looked down to see if maybe there was an opening in the floor that led down.
Nothing. Not even a grate. He ran his hand through his hair and gritted his teeth.
Frustrated he punched the wall where the picture hung. A hollow sound reverberated in the small room.
He stilled. The wall shouldn’t be hollow.
He grabbed the picture frame and pulled.
The picture swung free, opening up a stairwell behind the painting.
“Son of a bitch.” He dug out his phone and sent a quick text to Barrett with the exact location. Barrett would be angry at his disobedience, but he would deal with that later.
Right now he had to save Mitchell if he was still alive.
He made his way carefully down the steps. The musty scent of damp walls and mold seemed to seep into his bones.
Pain shot through his head and light flashed behind his eyes. He turned in time to see two large men hit him again with a metal baseball bat. The last thing he heard was menacing laughter.
***
“That’s far enough.” Big Mike led her inside the club to the storage room. He moved a painting, revealing secret opening into the wall He led them down underground to a room lit by portable lights run by generators.
She gagged as the smell of blood and excrement overwhelmed her. She pressed her hand to her mouth and tried to slow her breathing down.
It smelled like horror and death.
A moan on the far side of the room drew her attention as her heart beat like a drum.
“I’ve got someone I want you to meet, Catty.” Big Mike stepped over to the unlit wall. Something moved in the shadows but she couldn’t make it out.
He grabbed a floor lamp and angled it to shed light on the wall.
She gasped.
A man beaten and bloody was chained face first to the wall. His clothes had been stripped from his body and his back had been whipped until blood pooled on the floor. He panted as he struggled to catch his breath.