Drown Under Earth - Shadows of the Night 3

Chapter 38

Hey!

There's a noose around Anna's neck and, without her knowing, it's tightening - slow, real slow. We're moving towards that point where she'll not only see it, she'll feel it. It's an important part of the book and I'm doing my best to get this down right. Let me know what you're thinking about this one. Hope you like it! 

Lara

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Chapter 38

The bouncer of the Bloody Warden let me in without making a fuss. Wonders do happen, I guess.

I started weaving my way through the crowded main area of the club, trying to come up with a proper plan of action. But, for the life of me, I couldn't think of a way to keep eluding Alexander and protecting the people of the Bloody Warden simultaneously. Hell, for all I knew he placed vampiric spies all over the area. Sooner or later the head vamp would find out about my clandestine visit to the Red Zone and that I helped the half-witches escape, and once he did, I would be in deep water.

Alexander wasn't in the best mood when I dropped him off close to Joe's Pub a few minutes ago. Apparently the head vampire had an important business meeting in the area. Not that I cared, but I wouldn't put it past him to follow me to the entrance of the Bloody Warden and – to top it off – escort me back. Just another means of hammering home the point that he was 'disinclined' to wait for results. Once I was finished here, I was supposed to return to the Blood Line Hotel and report.

And dammit, I had no idea if I could keep up the charade much longer.

I went to the main bar and ordered a coke. Maybe the sugar-rush would induce a generic proposal for the solution of all my problems. Right.

I was about to take my second sip, when a meaty hand descended on my shoulder.

"Hello, Sarah. Chris has been expecting you. Said you'd come back and visit. I just didn't think that you'd be dumb enough to actually show up."

"Hi Roy," I said without turning around. I recognized his voice – from the very unkind pronunciation of my alias up to his inflection, it was all Roy. I augured ill. After all he was the guy I tripped up in front of a curious crowd of onlookers, in the same blessed nightclub we were in right now. "What do you want?"

His hand started putting more pressure on my shoulder. "Don't make a scene. You'll follow me to Chris' office. She wants to see you, badly."

I tried to shrug and, with the pressure of his hand on the other shoulder, ended up doing it with only my right one.

"Can't wait," I said.

I let myself slip off the bar stool, finally turning around to face him. When I met Roy for the first time he was in the middle of a fight with a fellow half-witch. He possessed outer features that made me think he looked like a crossing between a grizzly and a bouncer. The bald head, combined with his bulkiness was one thing. His ice blue eyes that could take on an animalistic look that you rarely saw in humans, was the other. It was the same this night.

He was wearing jeans and a black T, arm muscles concealed under one monstrosity of a black leather jacket. He must have been sweating like hell. He jerked his head to the side, signaling me to take the lead.

With Roy pushing me forward, his looming presence like a palpable shadow behind my back, we made it to Chris' office within five minutes. I didn't even have to stage a sham fainting fit to get there. Appreciation of such trivialities was beyond me.