Eclipse

18.

"Good luck," Moore muttered as I got into the passenger seat, "and do not fuck this up."

"Of course not," I replied with a sickly sweet smile, eliciting a scowl from him as he slammed the door shut, and the driver instantly took off without a word.

"So..." I began uncertainly, looking at the driver, but his wraparound black shades—which were absolutely unnecessary, if you ask me—prevented me from seeing his eyes, let alone making eye contact. "How're you doing?" No reply. I laughed softly to myself. He was paid to drive, not to make small talk, after all.

He drove in silence, and finally pulled over in front of the inconspicuous building that I would never have normally noticed, only now my nose wrinkled at the flickering lights designed draw away the attention of any 'normal' people.

"Well then... thank you, whatever your name is, for the drive," I began, opening the door. "I'll be out of your hair now. If you need me, you'll probably find me approaching my possible death. I'll see you later then!" The words flooded out of my mouth in a nervous flood of words. I hastily shut the door behind me before I could embarrass myself further, but I didn't miss the small grin and the quiet exasperated laugh. Idiot.

I shook my head as I approached the bouncer, a different one, thankfully. "I'm looking for Mr Yuri Chernov?" I asked, striding up to him, although my heels barely brought my head to his chin.

The man sized me up unsurely. "You're Jessica Shaw? Lupi?" he asked in a deep voice. Despite his sheer size and muscle mass, his body language screamed nervousness and fear. It was obvious that he was going against the club's famous neutrality by siding with the demon-dominant Nephilim.

"Yeah. Where will I find Mr Chernov?"

He seized my wrist, pressing the brand against my wrist. "Just past the bar, next to the stage, is a door heading upstairs. He'll be up there. Now go, before anyone gets suspicious!" he hissed in one breath in this short moment of proximity.

I smiled condescendingly at his jittery manner, but followed his instructions, although I steered clear of the bar. This Jackson that I had to meet didn't need to see me before I got the package, and I didn't need Lexi or Jace accidentally giving me away. Instead, I skirted along the other side of the dance floor, studious avoiding groping hands from both Nephilim and Lupi, from both men and women alike, all trying to rip my dress to shreds in an attempt to touch the skin beneath. The music steadily grew louder as I got closer to the bag, and soon enough I bumped into stiff black curtains that blended seamlessly with the darkness of the club itself. I glanced around warily in search of onlookers before slipping behind the curtains and jerking them back into their previous position. I edged along the wall until my hand found a door, which opened easily. Chernov must have left it unlocked for the purpose of my visit. The sound of my heel clacking against the stairs unnerved me as I headed up, the sound echoing in the still air that was disturbed by the faint thump of music.

I knocked on the black door—almost as though it was trying to blend with the darkness of the backstage—hesitantly, unsure whether Chernov would respond, let alone open the door.

"Who is this?" a muffled voice with a faint Russian accent answered after several long moments of silence.

"This is, um, Jessica Shaw? I was told that you were expecting me?"

"What do you want in this place. Fallen is neutral territory, and now... what is it that you want? This is not a little playground for the Nephilim who want to bring the Fallen back to Earth."

"Listen, I didn't come here to convince you," I replied, finding the peephole and peering through it, even though I could only see a single ice blue eye. "I came here under the impression the you knew exactly what I'm here for."