CHAPTER 33:
A RABBIT AND A WOLF
It all started quietly, without any indications that there will be any trouble at the end of it all. Alis chose just another club and came in, she showed her ID and they let her in like any other person, she was legal adult and she could do what the fuck she wanted; even wear what the fucking hell she wanted to wear.
The club "Lion's Den" was loud, but it didn't seem like anything she wasn't used to — her body moved naturally to the beat of the music DJ was playing, she knew that she had gone to those places before. But why? When she skimmed through the pictures on her phone earlier, there wasn't any picture of her going outside or in club. No, she barely even had any picture of herself.
On all of her social media apps, she was still logged in, but everything she ever talked about was school or something including plans and missions with Hailey she wasn't too sure about. And some with that girl Kaley she found out to actually be Nik's sister and talking with her like normal friends.
She had nothing that could show her for sure what did her life look like. She, to make it even stranger, didn't have a single conversation with anyone who was her family. She checked her whole Facebook friends and even family groups, and found only Hailey — but they weren't sister or blood related at all. It was like her family had vanished from the Earth. She was tempted to look further into her own name and see it for herself, but sometimes she would get a headache when she thought about those things, so she let it be. She shouldn't have anything to do with that stuff — it's what her mind was involuntarily telling her to believe in.
Giving another shake of her head when she realized that she didn't have any contact information with Nikolas, nor being able to find him on Facebook and such, her worries that there was something suspicious about him only intensified, despite her trying to forget all about them.
He was a mystery and seeing how dull and normal life she led up to that moment she lost her memories, she couldn't help but wonder of how did she meet with someone as special as Nikolas.
The question came back to bite her once again.
What was her connection with him? What were they?
And another, the one she wasn't sure if she ever thought of before, even before the whole amnesia thing:
What was it that she wanted them to be?
"Oh, my God!" she heard a voice scream near by just as she descended the stairs, had it not sounded so familiar, she would've ignored it.
"Alice, it's really you!"
Alis? Did they call her? Of course, since the two sounded so similar, she couldn't have realized the difference in spelling by simply hearing it — not to mention the loud noise around her that made her hearing be as good as dead.
Turning around, she noticed a certain purple haired girl waving her hands at her, surrounded by some dangerously looking guys. They surely can't have called out for her, could they?
"Alice, come on, bitch!" They called out again and she frowned, did they just insult her or— "Don't tell me you no longer recognize us!"
With the way they pushed through the crowd to come in front of her, she was certain that they indeed were her acquaintances.
"Hey?" she asked, was it safe to tell anyone that she's lost her memory? Recognize? She must've lost contact with them for a while then.
"It's me, Rayleigh! I mean, I know, I colored my hair after so long, but come on don't you recognize the rest? Bug, Snail and Snake?" Despite being surprised at their nicknames, she didn't let it show on her face. Rayleigh had incredible amount of piercings on her face and ears, not the mention the tattooed Latin number IV under her right eye.
Bug, the shortest among them had that punk hairstyle where he shaved it on side, and had number III under his left ear, his black clothes gave that emo style more than a metal one like Rayleigh's did. Snail, he had completely shaved hair and looked like one of the underworld bodybuilders that did street fighting and would kill someone for money. His was incredibly bulky and we'll built beneath those leather clothes and had incredibly dark look in his eyes.
The look, Alis was sure to had stood eye-to-eye countless times before. She didn't see his number anywhere, not until he turned on side and she saw it on his shaved head. Number V, she had no idea why did she know that he was going to have that number as well. Maybe because of the lost memories? Did something really remain?
And then Snake. He seemed more professional among them, he had short blond hair and wore black suit — almost like a businessman, yet he still gave that "I'm the bad guy" vibe, like he wasn't to be messed with.
And he didn't have a visible number on his skin — yet one part of Alis' head told her that he did and that she had some kind of history with him. History she didn't want to remember.
And the look in his eyes was even more dangerous than the V guy. The later screamed danger while Snake guy looked at the world like no one was his equal.
Yes, he had an odd look of mockery.
"Hey, I'm sorry, I just had a hella lot of shit going on this week and haven't gotten a wink of sleep past two days so I'm not really able to comprehend shit and shit," she started with a sigh. For some reason, and there were oddly lot of unknown reasons to her behavior tonight, she didn't want those four to know her identity.
They were dangerous and maybe she didn't need to—
"Well, we understand. We were mostly high as fuck whenever we got our asses together, so I understand why you can't recognize us. But damn it, bitch, we have so much to talk about! I haven't seen yo' ass in three years, where the fuck were you?" Ray, Alis decided to shorten her way to long name, started and Alis was glad that they were buying it. The Snake guy followed her every move and she gave her best to ignore him and focus on the girl in front of her. He seemed dangerous, like he'd see right though her and it was the last thing she wanted.
So she ignored.
"You'd be amazed. I was so busy with college and family that I didn't get to lift my finger for fun. Fuck everything, I don't know why the fuck did I even continue with school!" Read the mode and blend in.
They met and she was usually high? Did she drug and shit? What did he parents do about that? Her whole life past few years without a single stain on her name on social media... Could it be that she decided to turn a new page and start all over again? The more she thought about it, the mode she wanted to know.
Was she the bad girl? Is that how she spent her life? Doing drugs and clubbing? Why did it sound so detestable on her tongue, then?
Ray laughed, like she couldn't believe her ears and she truly couldn't. Also, she knew, she just didn't let it out. This girl, the girl they knew for a while was not the same they knew in the past or to be more precise — she didn't remember them. Because if she did, if she remembered a single ounce of shit they've done to her, she wouldn't even dare to bat her eyes at them. She wouldn't be talking to them.
But whatever. She could still be used.
"I can't imagine you, I mean: you! Alis, how the fuck could you take it and survive the school, oh God! You're too fucking hilarious, I need to hear more! Come on, let's drink!" She grabbed Alis' hand before dragging her to the booth they reserved, there were some more people Alis didn't know, of course, and none of them seemed less dangerous than the previous one. She wasn't sure if she should've stayed with them.
"Guys! This person over here, you have to fucking meet her!" Rayleigh yelled to the crowd, but her voice had been drowned by the loud music in the background. People around couldn't hear, but everyone's head snapped towards them.
"You young ones and newest members of the team, this is the most amazing person to be born in this whole shitty world!" she started, Alis frowned not knowing what the fuck were they talking about.
And why were they cursing so much!
"I present you the Rabbit. Ex-number I!"
And to that, even Alis had to let out a little gasp. She was what?
HE WAS seething with rage. Nikolas, as he put his business suit once again despite swearing to not do so in a while, wanted to grab Alis, throw her across his laps, pull that skirt up and spank the living life out of her ass.
Thanks to good old Ed and his incredible amount of connection all over the England, he successfully located the little menace.
Entering the local club owned by one of his underlings, "Lion's Den", he wanted to punch the security guy that asked for his ID and tried to stop him from entering. Thankfully, the boss just so happened to pass by and stop the fight that would resulted in Nikolas having killed a man who was just doing his job and solved the problem.
Not having seen Nikolas in one month and seeing him now seething with rage was dangerous, and every single fucking person that knew him understood to not mess with him then.
"What brings you here tonight, boss?" as the guy, Link, led him go the private booth on the upper floor, he couldn't fight the curiosity and ask. Nikolas rarely visited clubs, especially on weekdays, not to mention his already spoken-of absence.
Link was, to Nik's amusement, a short guy with an incredibly shorter temper that loved fighting — it was one-sided beating, in his case — other people. Whenever one would give a rude comment, he received gruesome beating in the next one. He had short, average hair and brown eyes, hated smokes more than not fighting, but incredibly strong fists. He was into boxing when Nikolas met him, they fought, Nikolas won and the guy decided to follow him for the rest of his life. Odd, but he was a man of pride.
Admirable pride, at that matter.
"Someone rather disturbing for my soul."
And health. He should've been in his bed, drinking tea and eating soups to soothe his damaged throat, but here he was instead making sure the stupid peanut-sized runt doesn't get killed or raped in her rebellious phase.
He was long past that shit, he didn't need it in his life.
"Ah, so you heard? We personally didn't want to bother you with him, but he came tonight here."
Sitting down on the leather sofa next the to window over three meters long where you could see the entire club from, Nikolas couldn't help but frown at that statement. Who?
The raised eyebrow he sent to link spoke instead of him making the shorter man gulp, realizing that he had said something he shouldn't have. He was so supposed to sleep at home tonight instead of coming to make sure that surveillance went well
Nikolas didn't need to voice his question for Link to know to need have answered.
"The boss of Numbers. That bloody mole that betrayed us — he used to go by the name of "Snake" now. You know, he also betrayed and killed their previous boss too. That Wolf guy."
Following his eyes that were glued to a certain booth below them, Nikolas' eyes couldn't emit more killing intent than they had as he saw the man he intended to kill for a while next to a certain runt he wanted dead only yesterday.
Why the fucking hell, out of all those people beneath him, did she have to sit for that table?!
With that asshole he had incorrigible past with?