After moving our hips and bodies suggestively and getting sweaty all over again, we decide it’s time for a bathroom break. We all hold hands so we don’t lose each other and create a follow the leader type line, fighting through the crowd to get to the bathroom. Jade and Michelle get the two empty stalls first and then, when some drunk girl stumbles out of her stall, I take her place. When I’m done, I go to the sink to wash my hands and try to touch up my make-up and hair.
“Ugh, I look like a gross sweaty beast,” I say to Jade. I don’t see Michelle anywhere.
“Shoot, you and me both.”
I grab a rubber band and tie my hair up into a ponytail since my sweat has caused my hair to start becoming curly and frizzy.
“Where’s Michelle?” I ask Jade who is applying some lip gloss to her lips.
“She said she saw somebody she knew and wanted to say hi or something.”
“Oh, must be her friend she said I’d meet earlier.”
“What friend? Michelle doesn’t have many friends,” Jade jokes.
“I don’t know, she mentioned it earlier. Let’s go look for her before we never find her again.”
We exit the bathroom and when we leave the hallway and make our way towards the bar I spot Michelle with her back against the bar and her elbows propping her up and pushing her chest out.
Jade lets out a sigh beside me. “Here we go again with this shit.”
“What? Her flirting?”
“Well, yeah. But with those guys.”
I turn back and see two guys standing near Michelle but their backs are to me so I can’t see their faces. Jade and I stop short from where Michelle is shamelessly flirting with these guys, not concerned with her huge diamond wedding ring that she keeps flashing every time she goes to touch one of their arms. We order another drink and when we turn around, Michelle and the two guys are gone.
“Where’d they go?” I ask in a panic.
“I don’t know, they were just there,” Jade answers.
We both take off and start looking for Michelle. Not only do we need to stop her from doing something stupid since she’s married, we need to make sure she’s safe. These guys could have slipped her a date rape drug or something.
Jade and I fight through the crowd, trying to spot her, but there are so many people we end up getting separated too. Great. I’m by myself in this huge club. I hope they have their cell phones on them so we can all get in touch with each other. I keep looking through the crowd of people who are either pushing me out of the way or trying to dance with me as I walk by. I suddenly feel myself flying towards the floor. It was a combination of being knocked into and tripping over somebody else’s foot.
“Whoa there, you need to be more careful.”
I hear the voice right as I feel his hands on my arm, keeping me from falling. I look up and look into a face that is fairly familiar. I squint and try to see clearly.
“Lucas?”
He chuckles. “Are you that drunk?”
“You look…different.”
I take a minute to inspect him. His face is no longer carrying the beard/moustache combo he had just earlier today. He is back to the smooth face I remember from when we dated. His eyes also look different, not the beautiful baby blues I remember, they’re darker somehow. He’s wearing a black baseball cap and a black long sleeved shirt that is hugging the muscles in his arms and chest perfectly. I shake my head and look away, realizing I had been staring at him for a little while.
“I think you’re just drunk,” he says with a laugh.
“Yeah, I am. I need to find my friends,” I say as I begin to dig through my purse to find my phone. I almost drop everything onto the dance floor. “Shit!”
“Come on,” Lucas demands, pulling me off the dance floor.
“Where we goin?” I mutter as he pulls me along.
He doesn’t answer me; he just puts me against a wall where there aren’t many people and grabs my purse from me.
“Hey!” I whine.
“Calm down, I’m just getting your phone out so you don’t lose all your belongings.”
He pulls out my phone along with some gum wrappers and my photo holder that must have fallen out of my wallet. I reach out and grab the phone out of his hands causing him to drop the gum wrappers and photos. He bends down to pick them up as I’m trying to scroll through my contacts.
He makes a noise and I look up to see him staring at my photos and his face is a mixture of fury and something else I can’t quite place. Betrayal?
“Oh, you probably didn’t want to see that, huh?” I ask, remembering he said he’d prefer to never see Julian.
He looks up at me and the look on his face frightens me. He snatches my phone and throws it in my purse and grabs me by the arm and starts yanking me out of the club.
“Stop! What are you doing? Let me go!” I yell. Nobody can hear me though. The club is so loud and packed nobody notices a man forcing a woman out of the club into the empty dark street.
“Shut the fuck up,” He growls. “You really fucked up Annabella.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about but he has quickly turned into somebody I don’t know and somebody I know I should fear. I don’t know what time it is, I don’t know where he’s taking me, I don’t know where my friends are and I’m suddenly scared sober. I think of Julian who is at home waiting for me. Julian who told me to be careful. Julian who asked where I’d be…just in case.
Chapter Seventeen
I can feel myself slowly awakening from unconsciousness. How I became unconscious is a mystery. Did I simply pass out because of the alcohol? Was I purposely put into unconsciousness by drugs or physical force? I don’t know. My head is pounding, my neck is sore and my throat feels raw. I very slowly open my eyes and try to examine the room I’m in without moving my body so if anybody is in here with me, they won’t know I’m awake.
The room is dark and small but seems nice enough. The bed I’m lying in is what looks to be a full size bed with soft sheets and a soft pillow. There’s a nightstand next to me with a little lamp that isn’t on. I see a dresser on the far side of the room and a window on the right wall. After determining that I am indeed alone, I allow myself to sit up and stretch out my aching body. I’m wearing a large T-shirt that isn’t mine, and my underwear. I notice a glass of water on the nightstand with two white pills. I’m afraid to take the pills in case it isn’t just a pain reliever so I don’t.
Where am I?
Why am I here?
Will I ever leave?
I remember Lucas pulling me out of the club but I don’t remember why. I know he was pissed off, but again, I don’t know why. I wonder how long I’ve been asleep. Are my friends okay? Are they worried about me? Have they contacted Julian and are they looking for me? I never told them Lucas was there and when I did talk about him, I only had good things to say.
A noise outside the door startles me and I quickly lay my head down on the pillow and pull the covers to my chin. I keep my eyes glued to the door waiting to see who walks in. I hear a noise further away and then I hear yelling. Two men are screaming at each other but I can’t make out what they are saying exactly. I hear a door slam and then footsteps stalking towards my door. After what seems like an eternity, the door slowly creaks open. I see a figure walk into the doorway and look at the bed. I can’t close my eyes and pretend I’m still asleep. I’m frozen in fear. My eyes are probably as wide as saucers as I watch the dark shadow of a man who is now walking to my side of the bed, holding a gun in his hand.
“So tell me,” the voice says. “Did you know that you were married to a killer?”
I don’t respond. I can’t. I continue to lay there, my body trembling in fear.
“Well I can tell you this; if you did know, I can guaran-fuckin-tee you didn’t know that his next victim was going to be you.”
He pauses, waiting for me to react but I can’t. I don’t know if I’m shocked or in denial.
He lets out a ha
rsh laugh. “I didn’t think so. Why don’t you think about that for a while and then I’ll come back and we can talk.”
Chapter Eighteen
“What the fuck?” Cyrus yells as he walks into the living room. “Did you know about this shit?”
Gage takes a drag of his cigarette before answering. “Hell no, man. I had no idea. This is some fucked up shit.”
“You think they got something goin on? You know, like…”
“Don’t even fucking finish that sentence! I don’t even want to think about it. I just don’t understand.” Gage starts pacing through the living room running his hand over his head. Not only had he been fooled by someone he thought he knew, but now he was realizing that two people had fooled him. He couldn’t make sense of any of it.
“So, do you think she knows anything? Do you think she’s just fuckin’ with us? Or do you think she’s innocent in this whole thing?” Cyrus asks.
“Innocent is something she definitely isn’t,” Gage answers grievously.
Cyrus walks over to the ashtray and puts out his cigarette before grabbing the carton out of his pocket and pulling out another one to light up.
“Obviously she isn’t innocent, but I mean, innocent in this…I don’t even know what to call it, new development? I just can’t believe she isn’t involved somehow. How do you live with a killer and not know?” Cyrus asks, dumbfounded.
Gage scoffs but doesn’t say anything.
“This is probably why we’ve had so many problems with this situation,” Cyrus says as he walks to the couch and drops into it. “Remember when I said I was going to call Michael and tell him never mind, that it was a mistake?”
“Yeah, and?” Gage asks.
“Well, he said he didn’t think it was a mistake,” Cyrus pauses for effect. “Said he’d still handle it.”
“Okay, soo…” Gage drags out, unsure of where his friend is going with this.
“So, he really wants her dead.”
“He’s also a fucking liar who is living two different fucking lives! Who is this guy? Do we even know? Maybe he wants to kill us.” Gage starts pacing again and then makes his way to the kitchen to get a beer.
“We can’t trust him that’s for sure, but we also can’t trust her. So what’s our move?” Cyrus asks.
“I wish I knew.”
Cyrus stands up and grabs the gun from the coffee table. “Well I do. Let’s just kill her and get it over with. Problem solved.”
“I don’t know. Now that we know she’s married to the guy, that might not be a smart move. What if they were working together? What if he didn’t plan on killing her and we just piss him off by doing it? Then he’ll be after us…if he isn’t already.”
“So you’re a pussy now? We have to do this. If we don’t, and Dante finds out we didn’t handle this, after all these years…we’re dead anyway.” Cyrus sticks the gun in the back of his pants and starts walking down the hall. “Don’t forget, she’s dangerous too, it’s best to get rid of her.”
“And about her husband?” Gage asks.
“He was gonna kill her, man. It’s what he does. We’re making this easier for him.”
Chapter Nineteen
Shocked. Terrified. Worried. Confused. Angry. Hurt. All the things that I’m feeling right now. After dropping what is essentially the most surprising and terrifying news I’ve heard, the gun toting man left the room and left me alone to wallow in this horror.
Julian a killer? No way, no possible way. I would know! I’ve lived with the man for over three years. And if it’s true, and my husband whom I’ve loved and trusted for all these years, is a murderer. Why would he want me dead? Why now? I’m sure he’s had plenty of chances to do it if he wanted, so why didn’t he? It makes no fucking sense! I refuse to believe it.
I hear footsteps making their way to my door again. This time I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. Maybe he’ll go away and leave me alone for a little while. Of course I’m not so lucky.
The door flies open and slams against the wall and my body jumps involuntarily.
“Get up bitch. It’s time to start answering some fucking questions.”
I don’t make an effort to get up, which is the wrong thing to do. The blankets are ripped off of me and thrown onto the floor.
“Get. The fuck. Up!” the man bellows.
I turn over slowly and sit up in the middle of the bed. This is the first time I see his face. I don’t recognize him at all. He is completely unfamiliar with his black, greasy hair and dark eyes that hold no compassion.
“Are you ready to talk about your husband?” he asks with an evil grin.
I don’t answer him. I only continue to watch him as he walks back and forth in front of the foot of the bed.
“How does it feel to know you’ve been sleeping with a killer? Not only that, but a killer who was about to strike again.” He stops to look at me and smiles. “He probably would have done it when you fell asleep after fucking him.”
“Shut up! He’s not a killer! You’re a liar!” I yell, unable to control my emotions any longer.
His jaw tightens and his eyes narrow. “Be careful with how you speak to me, you stupid bitch,” he snarls. “He is a fucking killer and he was going to kill you. You want to know how I know?” he asks.
I look down at the sheets on the bed and my right hand is tightening around the fingers on my left hand.
He lets out a smug laugh. “Oh come on. You don’t want to know? Well, I’ll tell you anyway.”
He stops talking and comes and sits down on the bed with me, his hefty weight makes the bed sink a little. He puts his hand under my chin and lifts my face so that I’m staring right into his dark, beady little eyes.
“I wanted him to. I told him to kill you. You know what he said? He said, ‘Okay.’ Simple as that.” he finishes with a laugh.
My heart drops. All he said was, okay? He really didn’t say anything else? Has our whole relationship really been a lie? I know we all keep secrets, but his was more than a little white lie, his was more than an omission of truth. His secret was deep, dark and deadly.
“Wh…why do you want me dead?” I ask, stumbling to find my words.
“Oh come on!” he says in disbelief. “You’re really going to ask me that? You know what you did, Annabella. Everybody has to pay for their wrong doings.”
I gasp as my eyes widen in horror at what he just said. He smiles at me like he knows I’ve just figured it out.
“Ah, I knew you didn’t forget,” he says with a wink. “You really pissed somebody off, Annabella. Dante will be happy to know that we have finally found you.”
“Who is Dante?” I ask because I’ve never heard this name before in my life.
“It doesn’t matter who he is,” the man answers as he gets up from the bed. “What matters is that he told us to find you and to make sure you were never seen again. You see, what you did Annabella, really fucked him up. You destroyed him.” He walks towards the door and pokes his head out to look down the hallway and then walks towards the bed again. “Now, you did a good job at disappearing because it’s taken us this long to find you. Unfortunately for you, we got lucky at spotting you at the club and your little whore of a friend told us where we could find you. And sure enough, we did.”
He’s talking about Michelle. I know she didn’t mean for this to happen, I know she would never want anything to happen to me, but right now I can’t help but be a little pissed off at her.
“We didn’t want to get our hands dirty and be responsible for taking somebody’s life. We aren’t professionals, like some people.” He gives me a pointed look before continuing. “So Dante pointed us in the direction of your husband.”
This doesn’t make any sense. Julian works for the FBI, something I don’t think they know. Unless maybe he doesn’t work for the FBI. I’ve never been to his job, and his work friends could very well be killers too. How would I know? Has he been living this double life since we’ve been married? Am I
really that clueless?
“I’m sure you’re hoping that since you’ve been married to him, that he won’t want to kill you. Don’t get your hopes up too high, though. I hear he’s very passionate about his work and takes it very seriously,” he says with a pompous smile.
“Now me and my friend out there have come to a decision,” he says, gesturing towards the open doorway. “We have decided to go ahead and kill you ourselves, seeing as how we were lucky enough to come across you.” He smiles and the way that he just explained to me my impending murder like he was talking about what he decided to have for dinner, doesn’t make me feel any better about him.
My face pales and my heart begins pounding in my chest. I feel a layer of sweat coat my whole body. I have to devise a plan, I have to fight back and get out of here. I will not just sit here and allow them to kill me. And where was his friend anyway? Maybe if he wasn’t here and I only had to fight off one person, I’d have a better chance.
“I see you eyeing the door and window. I’m sure you’re trying to figure out if you have a chance at escaping. I’d cut that shit out right now, if I were you. You have no chance at getting out of here.”
I feel the tears welling up in my eyes, threating to spill over and cascade down my face.
“Even if you were to get free, where are you going to go?” he asks. “You can’t run to your husband. He’d kill you, too.”
I hadn’t thought about where I’d go, I just knew I had to get out of here. I know now I wouldn’t go to Julian, but maybe I could hide out at Jade’s. Maybe I’d just leave the state and start over somewhere new, be somebody else.
“I’m going to go get my friend because I’m sure he wants to be here to watch you die. He’s been involved in this thing for as long as I have, and will probably be just as relieved as I am to be done with this whole fucking mess,” he says with harshness in his voice.
The Secrets That We Keep Page 12
