If I’d Known (Cursed 1)

"Now how do we get rid of Psycho?" I tip my head slightly in Vic's direction.

"We'll lose him inside," Tori assures me. "But don't go anywhere alone. I don't trust him."

Joey and Lincoln have stopped at the end of the next building, waiting for us.

"It's insane how much he looks like Parker." Nina scans Joey, eyeing him like he's candy.

"Which is why I'm a little creeped out about you two together," Tori says to me. "But I'll lay off, I promise."

Tori hands Lincoln the bottle when we reach them. The guys finish off the last of it and toss it in a dumpster across the alley.

I notice a group of people enter a blue door farther down.

"Is that where we're going?" Nina asks.

"Yeah, that's our entrance," Joey tells us.

"There's more than one?" I'm still trying to wrap my head around this setup.

"They don't want lines outside to give away the location, so there are five entrances, and everyone's given a block of time to show up. They also need to keep us hidden from the cops."

"You seriously know a lot about this for someone who's never been," Tori notes, studying him warily.

Joey doesn't respond.

When we reach the door, Joey takes my hand. "I don't want to lose you."

I give him a gentle squeeze back, not planning on being lost.

The door cracks open, revealing a hint of the bro

ad figure behind it. Joey releases my hand long enough to pull out his phone and bring up the code. The guy scans it with another phone, and the image disappears.

"How many?"

"Five."

"Six," Vic corrects him.

Joey's back stiffens. It's the first time I've seen him react to Vic or any of the fucked-up-ed-ness that's happened tonight.

Joey shakes his head in annoyance and says, "Six."

The door opens and we're ushered into a tight hallway. The guy locks the outside door behind us.

"Phones." The guy holds out a black plastic bag.

Reluctantly, I drop mine inside, followed by everyone else. He hands a token to Joey, who slips it into his front pocket.

"Hands," the doorman demands.

Joey holds out his hand, turning it over. The guy presses a stamp against the back of his wrist. I do the same, letting him brand me with ultraviolet ink.

Once he's marked everyone, he unlocks the black door at the other end of the hallway and silently holds it open. The whole man-of-a-few-words thing he has going on is intimidating. It could also be the six-ish feet of bulging muscle. I doubt anyone's stupid enough to mess with him. And just as the thought enters my head, Vic tries to push past us, practically knocking me over.

The doorman shoves him against the wall. "Cut the shit or you're out."

Joey's hands are on my waist, steadying me. "You okay?"