Taunted Souls: A Friends to Lovers Romance

by Janice Ross

  “Look, I’m not doing this now. We’re out. Period. End. Of. Discussion.” I clapped my hands together like I’d seen my mom do countless times when she was over a topic. “You begged me to bring you out, and now you want to ask about some irrelevant shit. Really Quinn?”

  “But Madison―”

  I spun away from her in order to end the discussion. We were out for a little underage fun, on her part. She needed this to quell her curiosity. I needed this to get that nameless asshole out of my system. And so, I walked toward a club I’ve never visited, but was always curious about. Quinn took the hint and followed. She trotted alongside me. I would make this a night to remember for both of us.

  Little did I know that these few steps were bigger than I could’ve ever imagined.

  —

  A group of people were at the entrance and on their way in, so we didn’t have to show ids. In fact, I really don’t think the bouncers cared. It was too easy to enter this intriguing club.

  It was dark, and music blasted from every angle as streams of red flashed all around us. I couldn’t see much, but made sure to pull Quinn to my side.

  She turned to me. Her warm breath rushed at my right ear but the words weren’t coherent.

  I spun in place, hitting up against too many people and all at once. There had to be somewhere peaceful inside of the place.

  But all I kept getting were the same beats booming on top of one another and a sudden headache to kill my vibes.

  Dammit! Wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of code for public settings?

  I reached up to cork my ears because the noise only seemed to get louder by the second. I spun around again, in search of my damn sanity. It was nowhere in sight, just like my cousin who’d somehow split in less than the five seconds it’d taken for me to turn.

  Then suddenly, the music paused.

  The red laser beams disappeared and darkness piled in.

  People started cheering.

  “Quinn!” My cries were lost. I suddenly felt like I’d gotten punched in the gut. My head spun and tears filled my eyes. Drops of sweat formed on my nose. I reached up to wipe at it as the lights flashed on and back off every couple of seconds.

  Darkness.

  Light.

  Darkness.

  Light.

  These bastards wanted to play hide and go seek with my life. If I didn’t bring Quinn back, and fully intact, it would be my ass.

  I stumbled right, and bulldozed into two couples.

  “Watch it!” someone screamed out.

  How the hell could I hear that and Quinn not hear me calling her?

  “Quinn! Quinn, where are you?”

  My throat burned like hell.

  I stumbled forward, briefly coming out of my heels in the process. The straps got somewhat loosened. I adjusted and fixed with the tip of my other shoe, so I didn’t have to bend over. “She fucking owes me for this shit,” I mumbled under my breath.

  There was no real line of vision. Almost everyone appeared to be wearing black. The pattern of light and darkness got quicker. It was now pulsating. My heartbeat mimicked it. From the corner of my eyes, I spotted the hair. So many people were pale, but she stood out.

  She was screaming and throwing her hands up into the air. Some guy slipped next to her and she stopped. He ran pale white fingers through her hair and tossed it to the side before placing his lips to her neck.

  With the exception of the hair fanning down, I wouldn’t recognize him again if I saw him. I lunged past the others and grabbed her arm. In ten seconds flat, I shoved her through this god-awful place and out of the damn door.

  “What the hell’s wrong with you Maddie?” She turned on me and seemed ready to go blow to blow.

  “We’re done here. Quinn, I turned away for one second and you took off!”

  “Where was I gonna go, Maddie?”

  “Excuse me? You’re out at some club that I don’t even know.” I slammed my right hand into my left. “That asshole was groping on you and playing in your hair.”

  “We were dancing!” She tilted her head past me, focusing on the entrance. “Can we go back in, please?”

  “Your father’s gonna kill me if he ever finds out. And you disappearing into a crowd like that doesn’t help to set my mind at easy.”

  “Please Maddie...” Her demeanor shifted into the complete opposite of what I’d just seen inside. She was back to being calm. “One hour. Please Maddie.”

  I struggled to do the “right” thing. Truth be told, none of this was right. I knew better than to have brought her here in the first place. Even knew better than to go back inside, but we did. I gave in to Quinn’s pleas. She was an amazing cousin and human being, though spoiled like hell. So I gave in and let her have her way.

  From this point on, a nagging feeling down in my gut made this the most uncomfortable night ever...

  Against my better judgment, I led my cousin back into the den of lions.

  —————

  CALEB

  A 120-INCH MONITOR on the opposite side of the room was muted. Everyone stood around the main desk at the center of the room. I was supposed to be a part of that conversation, which included five other men, but the big ass screen kept drawing my focus from business.

  “We cutting into your time, Caleb?” the big boss asked. He had a thick tongue; therefore, his New England accent was even heavier on the ears.

  “Nah, I’m good, Godwin. Just trying to figure out what’s going on in New York.” Everything remotely close to Madison put me on edge. Any rumors, any events, any news and I was ready to drop everything to be at her side.

  “New York has nothing to do with us,” one of the men barked. This guy had at least five inches on me and was nearly twice my size.

  “Your head in this?” This time, Godwin stood to his feet and approached me. He swallowed up the room. I swear it felt like the floor vibrated with each step.

  The room was hidden away in the back of a convenience store in Hartford. Everything, from the shabby neighborhood to the desolate store, was so out of the norm. But back here, beyond the plastic curtains and thick doors, Godwin had created an amazing office space.

  To the outside world, he appeared to be a normal guy and struggling like any other store owner in the area. He kept a low profile. But this business had nothing to do with the man he really was.

  “My men will be waiting for you at JFK. Someone will text you the rendezvous point and you’ll be fed instructions then.” Godwin squared off with me. His irises were a chilly blue as he took aim.

  “That’s it?” I couldn’t go off of this nonsense. “You need me to set up your connections, but who the hell do you think is gonna try me when I’m coming in blind?”

  “You want full disclosure?” With those words, everyone else fell back from around us. Godwin didn’t stop until he was there. And I mean right fucking there!

  “This is my life you’re talking about,” I bit out. No matter how intense things ever got, I had to play it cool. Hell, I knew how ruthless this bastard was to those who came at him or showed an ounce of resistance. Just the other day, one of his old buddies got gutted about a block away. Rumor was that that guy had spoken to the wrong people, and although things might’ve been on the up and up, this shit was all about perception.

  “Do you think I’ve been in business this long by trusting any piece of shit walking in off the street?” He snapped his fingers. “Your brother’s some big shot cop!”

  “What the hell does that have to do with me?” People always made assumptions about us. Brendan was the golden child. And me...I was the rotten one. “He chose his path. I chose mine. The two never cross.”

  The room got silent. No one moved. His men seemed to be looking at him for direction and he was studying me. There was nothing more to be said, nothing more to be done. Not by me, at least.

  After ten long, uncomfortable seconds, I shifted focus back to the screen. And there he was: NYPD Detective Brendan
Michaels.

  Godwin first turned to the screen, then the mouthy one. The air sucked out of the room and I knew what was coming.

  I dropped to ground and rolled away. I reached down into the small of my back and pulled the Glock from my holster. But I was a second too slow. The giant bastard kicked the gun out of my hand and left me completely open to their attacks.

  They yanked me up from the ground. I caught another glimpse of the screen. The damn thing taunted me. I could’ve even sworn I’d seen a smirk on my brother’s damn face.

  Life was supposed to flash before you at death. To hell with that! I didn’t want to relive that shit, with the exception of my time with Madison Shay. I regretted not calling her sooner, but after that night in the alley with her, I’d had to travel for “business.”

  Yeah, business.

  “Answer me!” Godwin’s shout didn’t move me. I’d tuned out the threat the minute my gun got knocked away.

  This asshole was too stupid and too paranoid to realize that my link was legitimate. Instead, he chose to have them take turns wailing on me. Little did they know, this was nothing compared to what I’ve already been through.

  But before any real damage, the room swarmed with police. The men instantly let me go and I dropped to the ground. Felt like I’d been in the round with Ali. I couldn’t move an inch. Last thing I remembered was somebody saying, “Don’t move!”

  Yeah, like my beat-down ass would’ve been able to get up and run. I’d chosen this uncertain life, with the constant threat of death.

  Would I ever walk away? Not anytime soon.

  Would anything or anyone ever change my mind? Truthfully, I would’ve been lying to myself if I said never. As much as I might not deserve anything better, I couldn’t help but hope in something more than this tragic life.

  ——

  Continue

  Love & Tragedy: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance

  on Amazon.

  COMING SOON

  

  JANICE ROSS’S BIOGRAPHY

  ——————————

  Janice Ross was born in Guyana, South America and migrated to the USA in 1980. Although her citizenship certificate now reads the United States of America, she considers herself a citizen of the world. Sure she has not physically been around the world and back, but she’s travelled in her mind and dreams.

  Janice enjoys Zumba, Kickboxing, and most exercise classes. When she's not pushing her physical limits, Janice spends time working on her craft, as well as lending a hand to other aspiring writers.

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