Under the Stars

“We need a plan,” Lara says. “The three of us can’t storm into a… a place like that and expect to get away with it.”

“She’s right.” I lean forward. “When I worked for Gavin, only the people who knew about the club showed up at the door, and even then, they were only let in with special cards.”

Joshua’s brow quirks. “What kind of cards?”

“Business cards but different every time, impossible to forge.”

Three coffees are set in front of us, and the server disappears in the growing crowd. Lara shifts in her seat, the tension rippling off her in waves.

“What are we going to do?

” she asks softly. “We can’t just sit and wait while who knows what’s happening.”

Joshua picks at the paper sleeve surrounding his cup of coffee. None of us drink the hot beverages.

“Once we know where they are, we can figure it out.” Joshua’s eyes flicker up from his cup to mine. “It’s impossible when we don’t know what type of venue we’re dealing with, if there are windows or doors—”

“If it’s like the old club, there won’t be any windows.” My voice is grave and my eyes focus on the cup in my hand. “And only one door.”

“Two,” Lara softly adds. “One for the girls.”

“And it’s bolted once everyone is inside.”

Joshua leans back in his seat and lets out a groan. “Molly…”

“I need to walk,” I say, standing. “Is there any chance you have an idea where the place might be?”

“None.” Josh shakes his head. “It could be anywhere.”

“Take us to any potential spots, anywhere that has back rooms or hidden passages. Do you know any places like that?”

His lips poke out and he nods. “A few.”

“Let’s start with that. At least we’ll be moving around, and who knows. We might get lucky.”

“The only luck I want is finding Molly.” His voice is low as he stands. “And it not being too late to save her.”

19

Revenge is beneath me, but accidents happen.

Lara

The wind slams into my face, stealing my breath, and my heart thuds in my chest. Nothing is going the way we planned… as usual.

Taking out my phone, I shoot a quick text to Evie, How are you? How’s my little angel?

Her reply comes pretty fast, considering it’s after midnight where she is. Sleeping like a baby. House alarm set. Pete outside guarding.

Thanks so much, I type. Hope to be back soon.

Any luck with the search?

The guys stop in front of me, and I almost bounce off Mark’s back.

“Let’s go in here,” Joshua says, holding the door for a funky art-deco bar that has murals drawn all over the exterior.

“It doesn’t have any hidden rooms I know of,” he continues, “but a lot of the local kids hang out here. They might know where Candi or Brittanie are tonight.”