Under the Stars

/> It all happens at once.

Gavin strikes her wrist.

The tiny gun explodes with a staccato pop!

My knees buckle, and I hit the floor as the room erupts into chaos. Women are screaming and running. Men with massive erections are fighting against their restraints, yelling to be untied. A lamp hits the floor with a loud crash, then another one. The room is plunged into half-darkness. It’s chaos, and we’ve got seconds before cops raid this place.

Molly… I have to find Molly.

Gavin is gone, running out the way he came in, and Molly’s man in the chair jerks against his handcuffs, his dick waving like a flagpole.

“Unlock me!” He yells.

The girl who was sucking him off ran after Gavin, out the back door.

“Molly!” I yell through the noise and panic.

I’m on my feet trying to find her.

Through the din, I see her fling open the door of a small closet and rip out a brown trench coat. She jerks it over her shoulders and ties the belt fast before dashing full speed out the door after Gavin.

I scan the rug, looking all around, but I don’t see her gun. I don’t know if she has it or if it was kicked under the furniture in the confusion.

All I know is I’ve got to go after her.

He’ll kill her if she’s not prepared.

20

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

Mark

My life has been some tough shit up to now.

My dad killed himself. Rick was murdered.

Then I fell in love and almost died.

But watching Lara walk into that place dressed like a hooker is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Joshua and I back away, trusting she’ll get through the door without any problems. We can’t risk the doorman—a job that once was mine—seeing us and knowing she isn’t supposed to be there.

With my guts ripped out of me, trailing down the street behind her, I let her go, to enter that fucking orgy and blend in, to find Molly, and to find a way to open the back door.

I force my feet to move, to follow Joshua to the space behind the building where we’ll search for the door. Only, once we get there, it’s cold, wet, and four doors line the wall. All of them are covered in burglar bars, and we have no idea which leads to where we need to be.

“Fuck!” I shout, spinning in place and shoving my hands in my hair.

“Keep it down,” Joshua hisses. “We’ll know which one when she opens it.”

He pulls a beanie out of nowhere and puts it over his silver hair. The black hoodie covers his slim body, but he’s still dressed in those gray slacks.

“I can’t take much more of this.” I start to pace.

My gun is in the holster at my side, and I go to each door, pulling on them one by one to be sure they’re locked. They’re all bolted.

Be safe, Lara.