Arie shook her head as she reached for Cris’s hand and dragged him along with Jordan following behind. Arie knew by the look on Kylee’s face when she turned around that if they didn’t hurry she was going to cause a scene. She knew something about the bouncer annoyed Kylee and she was going to find out soon.
Arie noticed a long dark hallway when she reached the top of the stairs. The hallway light gave off enough light for them to see in front of them as they began to walk through the hallway.
“Why is this hallway so damn long?” Arie asked aloud without even noticing.
“This hallway leads to a side door right next to the front door of the pool hall. So we have to walk all the way to the front of building,” Kylee answered as she pushed open the side door.
As they entered the room, both Cris and Arie were surprised at how the pool hall looked. They thought the inside would look just as run down as the outside. Dark wood floors covered the entire middle floor where the circular bar with matching barstools was. On the left side was the dance floor and on the right were the pool tables and restrooms.
Green, blue, and red lights moved in a circle around the bar and dance floor. As for the thirty-one flavors of ecstasy, there were thirty-one different drinks for the night that promised to give you pure ecstasy now and a hangover later.
“I already have a pool table in the middle of the room reserved for us,” Jordan said as he directed them to the middle of the pool table area.
As they were racking the balls, a server approached them. “Hi, I am Stacy and I will be your personal server for today,” Stacy said as she handed them the list of the drinks.
“A round of mellow yellow and seventh heaven ecstasy all around.” Jordan waited until the waitress left before he said anything else. “The mellow yellow and seventh ecstasy are the lightest drinks of the night. You have to order at least two drinks off the theme of the night menu before you can order a beer or anything else,” Jordan finished saying as he placed two bar stools for Arie and Kylee next to the pool table until it was their turn.
Arie and Cris placed themselves where they were able to see everyone in the entire pool hall without looking like they were trying to. Cris waited until the server placed their drinks and turned to leave before he started the game.
Arie had never drank alcohol before in her life. She picked up the mellow yellow one first, well, at least she thought it was that one since the drink was yellow. She waited and watched everyone else’s reactions as they took the shot. When she noticed neither of them grunted nor made a face, she decided to take the drink in one swallow. Arie knew it was a mistake as soon as the drink hit the back of her throat. It burned and her eyes watered a little bit but as the drink went down, she actually found out she liked the burn. Her hand instantly went to the next drink and it was even stronger and better than the last.
The guys were a few minutes into their game when a familiar figure approached their table.
“Tate, what are you doing here?” Cris looked up and asked his cousin, when he noticed a shadow over the table.
“Mark dragged me here with him and I noticed you guys so decided to come over and say hello,” Tate said with a nervous lift to his voice that nobody but Arie seemed to notice.
Arie got the same weird creepy feeling she got whenever Tate talked and whatever slight buzz she had was quickly gone. In her eyes, the more she watched Tate, the more he looked like he was hiding something. Arie half listened as Cris introduced Tate to the others, trying to see Jordan’s and Kylee’s take on him from their facial expressions.
“Come on, let’s leave the guys to their game and hit the dance floor,” Kylee said as she dragged Arie to the dance floor, not waiting for an answer.
Once on the dance floor, Arie and Kylee closed their eyes and let their bodies move to the sound of the beat. Neither of them noticed all eyes instantly went to them as soon as they started dancing.
Arie slightly opened her eyes a little and began to scan every corner of the pool hall looking for anything or anyone that seemed out of place. She hated how almost all the men in the hall were staring at her. Many questions ran through her mind. What was she thinking, coming out the house in a dress like that? Did she not look in the mirror before leaving for the bar? I would die if my woman had a body like that. The thoughts ran rapid through her head until an arm slid across her waist and her eyes immediately shot open.
Cris and Jordan both noticed the grunts and murmurs as they floated around the pool hall at the same time. Cris’s eyes followed the direction the men in the bar were pointing at. His eyes instantly landed on Arie, who was in the middle of the dance floor drawing the attention from everyone in the hall. Even though they weren’t together, he didn’t like the fact the men had their eyes on her.
Arie didn’t know who was behind her until she snatched his arm off her waist, turned around with the quickness, ready to strike. She relaxed when she noticed it was Cris and let him pull her into his arms, swaying to the music with him. It was as if their bodies were made for each other as they moved to the music.
Cris couldn’t help himself as he leaned down and whispered into Arie’s ear, “You’ve got quite the fan base.”
Arie instantly shook her head, she knew they weren’t staring at her for the reason Cris thought they were.
“You don’t think so?” Cris said as he turned her around and then said to her, “Look into their eyes and tell me who they are looking at and what their eyes are filled with.”
Arie could feel Cris’s hot breath massaging the side of her neck, making her dazed, and feeling confused. “They’re looking at me and I see straight lust in their eyes.”
“Exactly, so don’t ever doubt not only what your body can do to a man, but your mind as well, especially me,” Cris answered as he guided her back to the pool table where Jordan and Kylee were waiting for them.
They played pool for another hour before finally leaving the pool hall with more than enough insight.
Arie pulled out her tablet and jotted down every suspicious person and activity she saw in the club as Cris drove her home. During the night, she had discreetly got their names from either Kylee or Jordan.
“Got anything good?” Cris asked her as he pulled into her driveway.
“Yeah, but I am not finished yet, I will let you look at my notes in the morning,” Arie said as she climbed out of the car.
Cris got out of the car behind her and followed her to her doorstep.
“Goodnight, see you in the morning,” Arie said as she opened her door and walked into her home.
“Night.” Cris didn’t turn and leave until he knew she was safely in the house and the door was looked.
****
The daytime killer sat in the dark corner of the Ageless bar with his jittering brother sitting next to him. He knew he shouldn’t have brought his brother along since he was even more nervous. Without a doubt, he knew his brother’s nerves were through the roof since he hadn’t had his playtime in a while. He was itching to strike again, but he knew they were getting close to figuring out who he was, like that journalist had. They were making him feel weak and powerless the closer they got to him and he couldn’t have that.
I have no choice but to kill them before they discover me, he thought as he watched them leave the bar together. They thought they were being discreet and gathering Intel on him, but he could see through them and he was going to get them before they could get him.
Chapter Five
Arie felt like she was freefalling from the sky, her body jerked slightly as it hit the ground, causing her to wake with a start. Her breathing was erratic as sweat dripped from her forehead and the red silk sheets clung to her body. She turned and looked at the clock on the nightstand flashing four a.m. as her breathing evened out. Right as she was about to attempt to fall back asleep, she heard a rustling noise downstairs. It sounded like someone was downstairs rifling through her things and moving stuff around.
She reached i
n the nightstand drawer and pulled out her gun and phone. She quickly dialed Cris’s phone and waited for him to answer.
“Come on, come on, please pick up,” Arie mumbled aloud as she listened to the ringing of the phone and the person down the stairs.
“Hello,” Cris groaned into the phone with a little annoyance in his voice. He was pissed someone had interrupted his dreams of Arie just when he was about to experience what her lips felt like against his.
“Cris, someone broke into my house and they’re downstairs,” Arie whispered into the phone.
He was fully awake now. “Arie, listen to me, lock your bedroom door until either me or another officer is there. I mean it, don’t try to confront them yourself.” He didn’t know why but something told him she would do just that.
Arie pocketed her phone, rose with her gun in her hand, and made her way to the door without saying anything more to Cris or hanging up the phone. She let the nose of her gun lead as she entered the hall. She could hear the person in the dining room and quickly made her way toward them, making sure to avoid all the squeaking spots on her floor.
Arie just knew it was Tate in the living room going through her stuff and she was about to catch him in the act. She was in shock when she rounded the corner and realized from the height and build that it couldn’t be anyone she suspected.
The intruder was bent over riffling through her mother’s file cabinet. Arie approached the intruder with stealth.
“Slowly raise your hands,” Arie said as she pressed the nose of her gun into his back.
The intruder was in shock and decided to comply until he could make his move. Since he knew one tiny mistake on either of their parts could have the gun going off either on accident or on purpose. He wasn’t going to chance either of those scenarios.
Arie watched carefully as the intruder raised his hands above his head slowly. “Now take a few steps back, slowly, until I say stop.”
This is my shot. This was his one shot to disarm her, and as he was stepping back, he decided to make his move.
Arie kept her eyes trained on every inch of him as he began to move. She could see it in the way he hesitated that he was thinking of doing something. From the way the he positions the balls of his feet, she knew he was going to try to turn around on his left side soon.
Just as he was about to turn around, her right arm instantly reached out and grabbed him. Without her realizing it, her left hand shot as well, dropping her gun on the floor. Drawing upon her instincts, she kicked it behind her before using the bottom part of her body as momentum to throw him on his back.
What the fuck! He had clearly underestimated her and her ability.
Just slow him down or subdue him until Cris or the cops get her. Make sure to disarm him first and get your gun back in your hands, dumbass, Arie thought as she kept a careful eye on her house intruder.
He reached out and grabbed Arie’s ankle rather quickly as she stepped back slowly to reach her gun. She took a deep breath to say calm and waited for an opportunity for her opening and she got. While he held onto her ankle, he naïvely faced her as he tried to help himself up so Arie used her right foot to kick him as hard as she could in the nose. He screamed and fell back from the agony.
“Now, you’ve done it, bitch,” the intruder said as he covered his nose and rose from the ground.
Arie just smirked, she knew when someone let their emotions take over for them in a battle they usually acted too quickly out of anger and failed. Arie waited until the last millisecond to move out of the way as he charged at her with a burst of anger. She dipped to the floor quickly and swiped her legs under his, causing him to fall face first onto the hardwood floor.
She approached him slowly as he laid there not moving and barely breathing. His hands wrapped around her neck rather quickly when she bent down to pick up her gun. He quickly rose to his feet with her neck securely in his hands, never taking his eyes off her. The intruder squeezed his hands around Arie neck tightly and through her up against the wall never loosing contact with her neck.
She managed to get in a deep enough breath before he squeezed tighter. Arie turned a little and dropped her elbow down hard onto his forearm causing his grip to loosen. Before he could retighten his grip, she kick him in the balls as hard as she could causing him to instantly let her neck go as he dropped to his knees. She punched him in the nose once more when he tried to grab her by the right arm as she moved away from him. He shook his head as he stood and charged after her once more.
****
Cris was glad he had fallen asleep in his clothes just this once. He snatched up his badge, gun, phone, and keys and headed straight for the door. He was going to call the station and his captain on his way to Arie’s house. He was in such a rush he couldn’t remember whether or not he shut his front door, let alone locked it. He jumped into the car and started it and before pulling away, he put on his lights so he could get there as quickly as possible, without any interruptions. One phone call to Lynn and she would get everyone he needed to Arie’s house as quickly as possible. As he placed his call, a big rig started to pull out in front of him causing him to drop his phone into his lap. He swerved around the truck, which just barely missed colliding with him. When he was safely around the truck, he picked his phone back up off his lap just as Lynn answered and patched him through to his captain. As he was relaying everything Arie told him to his captain, backup was being dispatched to Arie’s home.
Two minutes after hanging up with his captain, he came to screeching halt in Arie’s driveway. He left his car still running and the door open as he ran toward Arie’s front door. When he approached the door, he noticed it was slightly ajar. He extended his gun in front of him and pushed the door open with it. Cris was aware of everything around him as he cautiously stepped into the living room. He could hear tussling coming from the dining room. As he approached, he saw Arie roundhouse kick the intruder in the jaw. He watched in shock as the man stumbled back into the wall.
If the wall wasn’t there, the intruder would have been sprawled out on the floor again.
“Police! Put your hands where I can see them and don’t move,” Cris said as he approached the intruder with his eyes fixated on him.
The intruder bolted as soon as he heard the word police and ran right into Arie. Arie tried to catch her balance as she went stumbling head first into one of her mother’s filing cabinets. Cris didn’t hesitate, he ran over to her. “Stay here until back up gets here and direct them to me,” Cris said before running out the back door in pursuit of the killer.
Arie ran to the front door as she heard cars pulling up to the front of her house. She was surprised to see five police cars outside without their lights going off. Cris must have had them turn them off so they wouldn’t spook the intruder, Arie thought and as she walked through her front door, an officer approached her.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” the officer asked.
“I am fine. Detective Crow got here just in time and ran after the suspect,” Arie said.
“Which way did they go?” the officer asked as he signaled his men toward them.
“They went out my back door and into the alley behind my house,” Arie answered.
The officer turned around toward his men. “Half of you come with me and the other half stays with the lady.”
Arie peered around the officers when she heard a deep unfamiliar voice say, “All of you go back up Crow I will stay with the young lady.”
“Yes, Captain,” the officers said right before panning out to go help Cris.
“Let's go inside, miss, so I can take your statement,” Captain Roark said as he guided Arie back into her house.
****
As Cris ran out the back door, he could see the back of the intruder, just as he ran into the alley. He could scarcely see in front of him as he ran cautiously into the alley. Once he entered the alley, he noticed it was so dark he could barely see in front of himself and it smelled of urine and garbage
that had been sitting out in the sun for weeks.
The darkness lightly eased the farther he ran in the alley. He could now see the intruder as he ran just a few feet ahead of him. Cris quickly caught up to the man with his long powerful strides. He felt as though he needed to catch the man without a doubt in order to keep Arie safe. He didn’t think he could take it if he lost her as well.
The intruder turned around and looked him in the eyes as he raised his gun and fired before turning the corner that led out of the alley. Cris threw himself against the brick wall next to him, his chest heaving up and down rather quickly. He could hear his heart beating rapidly in his ears as a bullet whizzed by him awfully close. After a few seconds without another shot being fired, he cautiously leaned off the wall and continued the pursuit. As he rounded the corner, his heart pounded in unison with his feet beating a path into the ground.
The intruder was nowhere in sight when Cris turned the corner. He looked to his left and right looking for the intruder as he exited the alley. He couldn’t see the man no matter what direction he looked until he heard the car across the street start. The car quickly pulled off as Cris closed in on him but not before he could get the license plate number.
Cris turned around at the sound of many people running toward him.
“Detective Crow, where is the suspect?” the officer in charge asked.
“He took off in a black Toyota, looked to be around 2005 with a dent on the driver side door. The license plate number is 15jms97. Find it now, even though the car or license plate may be stolen, and also have someone check the alley way just in case he dropped something,” Cris said.
“I will put my men on it now, Detective Crow,” the officer answered right before relaying everything Cris said to dispatch.
The Eyes Tell No Lies Page 7