by Tia Lewis
“Yes, big brother!" Lisa screeched. “Thank you! It'll be like take your sister to work day."
"Anyway. So, what about you, Princess? Ready to go there soon? Won't be much fun today I'm afraid, but you're welcome to come back here after the club opens."
I smiled, waiting for the unpleasant sound of Lisa gagging as Ethan used his special name he often called me. "I think I am."
"Good!" he declared and rose from his chair. "I'll call to make sure Brody and Laurence are coming in, find a temporary DJ for the night till I can get someone in permanently, and then we'll head that way. Sounds like a plan?"
“Yes," I nodded. “I'm ready."
The drive to The Twisted Sanctuary didn't take very long, or at least it didn't feel that long, compared to the previous night before as we glided through a haze of lights and traffic noise along the city streets.
We arrived about ten minutes later, and we all climbed out from Ethan's car. Ethan and his sister dressed so casual in appearance: jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers. It was the first time I'd seen Ethan in anything less than business attire that spoke of power and control. I was wearing leggings and a borrowed T-shirt from Lisa.
Despite that, and the pitter-patter of the chilled rain, I couldn't help but shake the feeling of unease from my mind. I felt an omen of sorts closing in.
"Jessica?" Ethan asked a moment later, turning before the slight walk to the doors of The Twisted Sanctuary.
I snapped back to reality, feeling my conscious thoughts return back down to earth as I looked at him. Not knowing what to say, or how to speak my mind and justify my nervous feeling, I simply smiled and set my emotions aside for now. "Just thinking!"
Ethan nodded and tilted his head as I walked to him, linking my arms around his as he pressed his body against mine. The warmth radiated against my body despite the coolness of the evening. We briskly walked down the alleyway toward the door of the club.
Brody, the bouncer, stood there. His large arms wrapped around his chest as he nodded his head first to Lisa, and then to Ethan and me.
"Well, there's Bossman. I see he brought his woman and the kiddo with him," was all the bouncer said.
"I'm 19, idiot."
"Whatever you say short stack. Hope you're here to work. Place ain't been cleaned since last night."
Ethan reached for the keys to the club's door that he kept in his pocket. "
“I called off the cleaners last night. So we're doing it ourselves today before we open again."
"I'm getting paid overtime, right?" Brody teased before Ethan playfully shook his head.
"Are you going to clean?" Ethan asked letting the heavy chain on the door fall to the ground.
Sighing, Brody stood in front of the door and entered the darkened hall. The building itself was emptied and displayed a cast of shadows as we followed suit. A flick of the switch, and on came the primary lights, bathing the entire room in a white glow.
Trash plagued the floor―cups, broken shot glasses and beer mugs. Abandoned trinkets and knick-knacks, glow sticks, leather strips and more littered the dance floor. Strips of paper, thrown away goodies, and more once showed where fun and civility reigned, but now only marked the passage of people escaping the confines of what once constituted a fun evening.
Simply, the club looked rather beaten down and dirtier than I thought. The fog machines, red lights, and laser aura hid it all rather well when you're focused more on the magic of atmosphere than the ground you walked on.
Still, that didn't stop Ethan from stepping forward stretching his arms above his head as he walked toward the bar section, and unearthed a hidden door beside it filled with simple cleaning supplies―brooms, mops, buckets, trash bags, and various chemical sprays.
"Alright, everyone. Listen up. If we split up here, we should have this done in a few hours or so."
Each of us then took a designated section to clean. Lisa and I swept the dance floor. Among the trash, we collected, mostly fallen receipts, deadened glow sticks, a pill or two of ecstasy, bits and pieces of leather, and several condoms that were thankfully unused.
All of the trash piled easily into one trash bag, and the floor was now prime for mopping. We came up to Brody and Ethan doing their parts to pick up what shot glasses and cups they could salvage from the tables that littered the bar area. The white lights bounced off of the black floors as broken glassware glittered like diamonds on the floor.
For the most part, Ethan was right. In an hour, we had cleaned, arranged, and tidied up the entire club area and freed it of debris. The second hour was spent mopping, wiping, and dusting the area to bring it to a spick and span level of shininess.
The third hour was spent walking through the hallway of the Cave of Pain and Pleasure.
"Why aren't we cleaning these rooms?" the bouncer asked.
Ethan walked by carrying the vacuum cleaner in hand. "We'll keep them closed for now. Just say they're overbooked."
"Thank, God. Because you can't pay me enough to clean jizz, man."
I stifled a laugh and felt equally bad for the professionals who no doubt would be hired to clean, sweep, and fumigate the different rooms.
The lounging room, the newest addition to the club and by far the classiest, was the easier of the two major sections to deal with. All that it entailed was the wiping down of the tops of the tables, the leather lounging chairs, vacuuming the carpet, and making sure that the light fixtures were in working order. Not much covered the floor that needed to have attention to detail. The lounging area was completely different from the bar area. Those that preferred the quietness, drinks, and attention that didn't require shouting came here. Those that wanted frenetic action and alcohol stayed in the club section. Those that wanted a combination, as well as privacy for their own dark desires, walked went to the Cave of Pain and Pleasure.
All in all, within the span of several hours The Twisted Sanctuary was now in pristine condition. I felt good helping to clean the club that I felt I was a part of now for as long as Ethan kept me in his life, and it felt truly nice.
Prideful, I stepped to Ethan's side as he leaned in against me with a grin. He couldn't help but feel the same way I felt.
"Well. It took a bit of work guys. But we got it done, and I'm proud of you. Let's get something to eat."
Brody and Lisa gave Ethan a thumbs up in response.
Unexpectedly, another voice echoed in the room behind us. A deep, guttural sounding tone of surprise.
"She's back here. I just heard her."
That voice sounded familiar, and I felt my heart sinking.
It was the voice of one of Nick's goons, and they'd come back.
Chapter Thirteen
With a broom in hand, Ethan stood there with his brow raised at the sound of people coming inside the club.
"I thought you called off the cleaning crew," Brody said.
"They're probably just early party hoppers," Lisa suggested.
Neither Brody, nor Ethan had time to reply to one another, and neither did I have a chance to voice my fear of who it was. Deep down, I was hoping I was wrong, that the paranoia I felt since the previous day was nothing more than an illusion.
Instead, who appeared was a small group of men, almost the same number of people who assaulted us the previous day. They were wearing black sweats, long sleeve shirts, and bandanas or masks that covered their faces, hiding their identities behind anonymity and carrying pistols and knives.
No words were spoken as each of us looked to one another. There were four of them, and I recognized one as Nick. Fear paralyzed my voice as I struggled to call to my ex-husband. I wanted to try and negotiate to ease the tension, and explain that it didn't have to come to violence. The other three all-black wearing men circled behind the masked Nick and looked to him for orders.
Suddenly, Nick spoke. His voice gruff, dripping in tone with violence and anger as he saw that the room was filled with more than just Ethan, but also that I was there, along with two other possibl
e witnesses to the violent crime he was choosing to perform.
"All of you! Don't you fucking move!"
None of us dared to. Ethan held tight to the broom with his jaw clenching in anger at being assaulted two days in a row. No doubt he recognized the voice as much as I did.
Nick walked toward Ethan and without a word he viciously kneed him in the stomach. Ethan doubled over, groaning and exhaling sharply as he knelt over, and fell back against a table. That didn't stop the sudden onslaught of furious attacks from Nick as he punched Ethan in the face with his free hand that wasn't holding the gun.
“Nick, stop!" I yelled. “Stop!"
Lisa quickly rushed to her brother with a loud, protesting yell to get his attention as Ethan fell back on the side of a tipped over table.
“Brother!" Lisa cried. “Get up!"
Anger welled inside of me, and I hurried to Lisa, dropping the trash onto the floor as I got in between Ethan and Nick, trying to shield his body with my own.
"Nick! No!"
In response, Nick growled, reaching upward with his hand to pull off his mask from his face which revealed his unkempt hair. His eyes were downcast and raged with anger.
“No, Jessica! Let me handle this!"
"Are you okay!" I yelled back to Ethan. Ethan groaned at me as Lisa tried to help him up.
"If you don't move, I'm going to shoot you, too." Nick threatened, his finger rising to the trigger of the gun. I could feel the hairs on my arms and neck rising, but I wasn't swayed. I remained by the side of the only man in a long time who actually treated me with any sort of respect and compassion. A man who I was falling in love with. Ethan McKnight. My prince.
"Nick, if you still love me, you won't do this. You can end this right now, alright? If you just leave."
"That's not going to work this time," Nick growled in a reply. His goons were waiting for the order to no doubt leave no witnesses behind in the club. "You think I'm stupid?"
“No! I swear I don't!"
"You must really think I'm fucking stupid!" Nick's fury began to mount as he yelled down at me. His eyes widening in wrath.
"You called the cops last night after I said not to! They're all over the house looking for me. How the fuck do you think I can just get away from that? No. I'm killing your little boyfriend, and you're coming with me!"
"I will never go back to you!"
"Looks like you made your decision, huh?" Nick said, gritting his teeth as he brought the gun from the direction of Ethan, to me. "I'm just going to have to kill you, Jess. If you can't love me. No one else deserves you. You're mine, no one else's."
It seemed as if time was standing still. I felt that if he was going to shoot me in front of Ethan and the others, and this was to be my end, I'd at least die with some dignity, and repay some of the pain that he caused me in my life. Between the emotional torment, the physical isolation, and the removal of everything I once held dear to myself that I only recently had to rebuild.
"You never loved me, Nick." I started with a whisper.
"I didn't really. You were just a possession."
"Fuck you."
He didn't respond, and I realized that this was going to be my final moment on Earth. I tried to close my eyes, to avoid the horror of my impending death, but I faced it head on, knowing that I'd at least buy Lisa and Ethan a few moments of extra life even if they had to watch me go down.
Suddenly, as if snapping back to the time frame for which my consciousness belonged to, a large figure rushed out from the side to wrestle the gun away, pushing and shoving Nick off balance as the sound of gunfire echoed in the room.
It was Brody, the bouncer. Brody having saved us and bought us some time. Ethan having now caught his breath from being kneed in the stomach yelled out in a hoarse whisper. "Lisa! Jessica! Run!"
“I can't leave you here!" I cried.
“Go! Now!"
I reached back and grabbed Lisa's hand, and we ran toward the door that lead to the kitchen, that was still under construction. Lisa resisted, pulling back as Brody charged into the direction of the other three goons. Ethan quickly leaped on top of Nick, who yelled in a garbled rage.
"I can't leave my brother!" Lisa continued to yell, catching her breath as the sound of gunfire erupted behind us. Several shots were rounded out with the sound of breaking glass.
A loud grunt and the smell of coppery blood were the last things I remembered from the lounging room as Lisa and I ducked into the kitchen.
We had two options: either run through the exit into the alleyway and find help, or run to the refrigerator that wasn't operating, but still able to be locked from the inside as an emergency. Without electricity running to it, it wasn't cold and would serve as a shield in case Nick and his men prevailed against Ethan and Brody.
What was the right choice?
I looked to Lisa, hoping to find the answers for our predicament, and it came to me then, as she stood there trembling in horror that she couldn't tell me what to do. So young, so much to live for. Ethan's sister didn't deserve to have her life ended by the monster I brought with me. The monster I chose so long ago.
"Lisa..." I spoke, looking from her toward the opened fridge beside us.
She turned toward me, her own blue eyes wide as I sighed, and made my choice.
"Jessica?"
"Lock the freezer from the inside and don't open it for anyone but the police."
She looked confused, and I gave her a shove. Roughly, I pushed her into the darkness of the freezer as she yelled in surprise. In one swift motion, I grasped the chrome handle and gave a tug, closing the door with a loud thud, and a quick lock.
It clicked, and I witnessed Lisa trying to stand up in protest through the little window of the freezer.
I shushed her with a finger and heard the door quickly opening from behind that led from the lounge. Like a deer, I sprinted forward in time. The pop of a trigger echoed in the room, the bullet grazing in my direction, shattering against the tile of the wall as Nick's voice echoed out from behind me.
"You can't run from me, Jessica! I'll find you!" Nick roared.
Terror gripped my heart, and I continued to run, pushing the emergency door of the exit. The fire escape now served as an escape from the murderous rampages of a man I once trusted.
The alarm sounded, and suddenly the world was filled with the screeching ring of the alarm. Lights behind me dancing as they flickered to garner the attention of the deaf, the siren screeching as I pushed out into the dark afternoon.
I continued to run down a similar path as I felt Nick's presence behind me getting closer and closer. Another gunshot rang out.
Surprised, I gasped as I fell. My ankle twisted, and my sides flared in pain as I skidded all along the ground.
The rain fell on me, and I could almost feel all the droplets dripping down on top of my body as thunder rolled like a crackling whip in the distance. Foreshadowing my fate it seemed as I looked toward Nick as he walked closer to me.
"All you had to do was go home, Jessica," Nick said, and I heard the click of an extra magazine sliding into the handle of the gun. He was reloading. No doubt intending to not use just one bullet. "Just had to go home," he continued to murmur like a mantra.
"Go to hell."
"See!" He roared, running to me. I felt the connection of his boot collide with my ribs, pushing me back along the dirtied ground. I felt all the wind in my lungs escape and stars crinkled my vision. "This is the sort of shit I'm talking about! You divorce me, and then you start acting like a bitch. Like you can do better than me."
I didn't say anything, I let him voice all of his insecurities as I tried to crawl away from him. Scooting along the ground on my elbows as I felt my knees remain numbed from the kick. I wasn't going to let him see me cry in my final moments.
Then he followed through with another kick to my side, and I gasped out in pain, rolling onto my back as I felt the cold patter of the rain fall on my face.
"And here you are
. Crawling on the ground. Not doing so much better now, are you? Should have just stayed with me. Should have just come home, and never divorced me."
And it was then I watched as Nick leaned down over me, squatting somewhat on his knees. I looked at him as tears streamed down his face and he appeared consumed with jealousy and anger. The gun clicked. The bullet chambered once more, and I could hear the internal machinations of both his mind and the inner workings of the gun as he brought it to my head.
"And now you're going to die."
I closed my eyes and waited for oblivion, or whatever it was that happened to us when we died. I didn't want to die, no sane person ever would, but I wasn't going to be the groveling, pessimist that he created who begged him for scraps and attention anymore. If I were going to die, I'd make sure it was with my head held high.
But then a familiar sound suddenly pierced through the rain. Louder than the thunder and lightning, louder than the sound of the fire alarm. Louder than the heart beats in my ear. A familiar voice tinged with his own rage. A sound I didn't think was capable from someone like him.
It was Ethan.
I opened my eyes as the barrel of the gun was held over my head. Nick's expression changed as he looked aside, to the direction I assumed Ethan to be in.
Like a blur, I watched as Ethan quickly tackled Nick, diving forward as he crashed into Nick's chest with a loud gasp of surprise, sending both sprawling to the mud as they fought, and wrestled. Both men yelling obscenities to other as they tried to fight for control of the gun itself. Nick brought the gun up to point at Ethan's face.
Ethan now kneeling over Nick, not wanting to fail, his hands both on Nick's hand with the gun as they rolled all along the murky ground.
The trigger was pulled, and a shot veered off to the sky. I quickly turned and wrapped my arms around my head to protect myself. I struggled to stand up as I tried to regain my own footing. My eyes were wide with horror that Nick would kill Ethan.