I waited. And waited. And the longer I did, a cold feeling passed along my spine.
An irrational protectiveness passed through me.
Standing, I strode across the floor, moving around tables and patrons to get to the bar. Nas saw me just as I leaned over the bar. I hadn’t meant to, but I growled, “Where is she?”
She put her hands up in a placating gesture. “Don’t you go off on her too. It wasn’t her fault, okay? I forgot to tell her about the house blend.” She sniffed a laugh. “She’s had a couple of aspirin and is sleeping off the liquor.”
It had been close to half an hour since I noticed her missing. My eyes immediately went to the side of the stage.
“Shit,” I barked. Eyeing Nas, I asked accusingly, “How long has Jeremiah been away from his station?”
Her face paled.
I shook my head in disappointment, moved behind the bar, through the door, and made my way down the long hall, finding myself behind the closed door to the backroom. Lifting my hand, I tried to turn the knob, but felt resistance.
“Open the door,” I sneered.
“Occupied,” he called back in annoyance.
My chest began to heave. I breathed heavily through my nostrils, my anger burning, bubbling like a river of molten lava in my gut. “Open the door,” I uttered through gritted teeth.
“Fuck! Piss off!” Jeremiah called back.
That’s when it happened.
Everything shut down. My pulse slowed. The lights dimmed around me. The sounds turned dull in my ears until there was nothing.
The silence took over.
I had always feared it would arise again. I controlled it so well. It hadn’t struck me in years. Not like this.
But I wasn’t scared this time. I embraced it and let it empower me.
My hands balled into fists, and I took a single step back before rushing the door with my shoulder.
I felt it crack under my weight, but it did not break.
My legs walked me back and I threw my shoulder at the door again.
Another whining creak, and the wood prepared to give way under the slightest amount of pressure.
Nas yelled from behind me. “Lev, what are you doing?”
Jeremiah called out in disbelief, “You’re fucking crazy!”
I pulled back, lifted my leg, and kicked as hard as I could.
The door came apart from its lock and flung inwards. My eyes swept the room and I found him standing by the leather sofa, tucking his tee into his pants.
I saw red.
Nothing could have stopped me from getting to him then.
Nothing.
Mina groaned quietly and squirmed weakly on the couch, passed out, and Nas ran to kneel by her side.
“What did you do?” I asked the startled man, gripping his shirt in my hand.
Jeremiah stood his ground. “Nothing,” he said behind his beard. “We didn’t do anything.”
“Lev,” Nas spoke quietly. I turned to her, watching her run her fingers over the side of Mina’s neck. “She’s got a hickey.”
Just as I reared my arm back to beat the life out of Jeremiah, arms came across my stomach and my chest. I turned to glower at the person, but found Viktor standing there, looking me in the eye. “Calm down, bro. It’s okay.”
My heart pounded. I needed relief from the rage. Without relief, it would only get worse, and then I would hurt someone I cared about.
Like last time.
“It’s not okay,” I panted. “It’s not okay.”
Sasha appeared by my side. “It’ll be okay, Lev. I got you. We’ll take care of this.” Then he spoke to someone behind him. “Shut it down. Party’s over. Get everyone out.”
Anika frowned as she leaned over Mina. “This doesn’t make sense. She wasn’t this bad before.” She looked up at Viktor. “I think he might have slipped her something.”
A loud growl escaped me. I stepped back from the man, knowing full well I would kill him if I got my hands on him. My fisted hands came up to my head and slammed into my forehead.
Sasha took my hands, lowering them, stopping me from hurting myself.
Seeing red, my nostrils flared as I tried to get my breathing under control. Jeremiah didn’t look so confident now. He looked terrified.
I was glad. He should be.
Sasha cussed under his breath. “Nas, take Mina back to Lev’s. Call Pox; get him there to look her over.” He turned to Jeremiah, but spoke calmly. “What did you give her?”
“Nothing,” he said defensively. “She’s drunk.”
Sasha left my side and walked over to the sofa. He lifted Mina’s hand high and dropped it. She didn’t move an inch. He placed a gentle hand on her brow and frowned before moving toward Jeremiah. “I’m going to ask you one last time, J. What did you give her?” He opened his mouth to answer, but Sasha cut in, “I have a medic on standby. He can take care of her in a discreet way. If we take her to the hospital—and we could—and they find something inside of her that shouldn’t be there, you’re going to jail for assault at the very least. Even worse if they charge you with drink spiking. If you tell me what you gave her, you’ll leave here a free man…after you’ve had your ass handed to you, of course.” He eyed Jeremiah. “A pretty boy like you in jail…” He titled his head. “You’d be mighty popular.”