The music changed, becoming darker, eerie almost, and the slow steady beats penetrated through me like it was trying to shock my body into life. I looked around, watching people dancing and swaying, oblivious to everything and lost in their world, but for me it felt like a wake-up call. I was on high-alert and I couldn’t relax.
My mouth went dry and I tried to swallow, but it felt like sandpaper scraping down my throat. Something felt off. I was nervous, but at the same time, I wasn’t about to let this place get the better of me. I wanted to experience this, and I needed to find out more. Find out what it was about these parties and the four men behind them that had everyone in Sandland so transfixed.
“Do you have anything to drink?” I shouted to Liv and Effy over the music, but they both shook their heads.
“I left mine in the car, sorry.” Effy gave me a remorseful smile and a shrug then carried on dancing.
I glanced around, looking for a bar or drinks station, anything that could help to ease my scratchy sore throat.
“I’m gonna head over there,” I said, pointing behind me towards a large set of doors that a lot of people had congregated around. “I need to find a bar. I’m thirsty.”
Liv gave me a thumbs up and Effy just grinned and carried on staring up at Zak Atwood as he worked his magic. Girl was obsessed already.
I pushed through the crowds and made my way to the doors. I couldn’t see a bar, but there were concrete stairs leading to the basement area of the warehouse. Maybe there’d be a bar down there? It was worth checking out. There didn’t seem to be anything else other than drunken dancers on the main floor.
I started to climb down the steps, grabbing onto the railings to stop myself from falling arse-over-tit in my heels, and people parted for me as I did. No doubt they knew who I was. My face had been plastered on enough newspapers alongside my father’s over the years. Anything to further the career of the perfect family man. But here, in this building, I was the fly in the ointment, the cat amongst the pigeons as far as these people were concerned. I may as well have sounded a claxon and told them the party was over, judging from the looks of distain they threw my way.
Who invited the MP’s daughter to piss on our bonfire?
I got to the bottom of the stairs and had to climb over a couple making out on the floor. I would’ve told them to get a room, but I think they liked the audience they were attracting. Strange thing was, I couldn’t drag my eyes away from them either. Kind of made me a hypocrite, I suppose.
I shook that thought out of my mind and glanced down the narrow and dimly lit hallway. Cheers and chants echoed in the dark passage and an even bigger crowd gathered around a doorway a few feet away. People were jostling to get inside and see past each other to witness what was going on. I made my way down there, intrigued to find out what had got so many people all fired up. When I made it to the doorway, I slid through a gap in the crowd and managed to push my way into the room.
If I thought upstairs was stuffy, it was nothing compared to this room. It was stiflingly hot and the stench of sweat, tinged with a metallic odour that clung to your skin like filth, hung heavy around us. A few men in front of me turned around and then parted a little to give me a better view. There were hay bales set up as a makeshift ring, and two men, shirtless and dripping in sweat and blood were fighting. Bare-knuckle fighting. One guy was wiping blood off his face and panting, trying to catch his breath. But no matter how much he wiped, the blood just kept on pouring. He had a nasty gash on his forehead and he needed stitches. Hell, he looked punch drunk. I think he needed an ambulance. But that wasn’t gonna stop his opponent. The other guy stalked over to him and smacked his fist into the guy’s face, making him fall backwards and causing the whole crowd to cheer or jeer, I couldn’t tell the difference. Then he leant over him and said something, before spitting in his face and kicking him in the ribs, making the guy curl up into a ball. I felt sick watching this. It was barbaric. How could this be called entertainment? Watching someone beat the crap out of someone else. He could’ve killed that guy.
The guy left standing turned around and glowered at the crowds with a smirk straight from hell and my stomach rolled.
Brandon Mathers.
I should’ve known.
His dark hair was dripping with sweat and sticking to his forehead. Blood was splattered over his bare tattooed chest and soaking through his jeans. But the guy was full-on grinning, looking truly psychotic, as if he hadn’t felt a thing. This was all part of the show for him. Forget the poor dude lying on the ground who needed to go to the hospital. Brandon Mathers was a whole new species of feral and he loved it.
He scanned the crowd, winking at a few people and fist-bumping others. Then his eyes landed on me and I froze. That grin on his nasty face grew wider and he pointed right at me. Chills broke out all over my previously sweaty skin and then… I felt him before I heard him.
“You’re not welcome here, little Winters.” I’d recognise that voice anywhere. Ryan Hardy was standing behind me. I could feel the heat from his body penetrating through to mine, but he wasn’t touching me. He didn’t need to, to get a reaction from me. He leant down to whisper into my ear and the feel of his breath feathering over my skin made me shudder.
“Why are you here? Come to spy on us, have you? Gonna report us to Daddy?” I didn’t move, I couldn’t. I stared ahead at Brandon Mathers, smirking at me like the lunatic he was, as Ryan whispered his threats, hoping to scare me.
“Big mistake, Winters. You’re on our turf now. Daddy can’t help you here and you’re pretty fucking stupid to jump into the lions’ den tonight. We’re not pussy cats. We fight dirty.” He probably thought his words scared me, but they didn’t. What scared me was how fast my heart was beating right now, and how much I wanted to turn around and face him.
“I can see that.” I kept my eyes on Brandon as I spoke, fully engaging in his battle to stare me down. These boys were tag-teaming, trying to frighten me. I wouldn’t let them.
“Then why the hell are you still standing here? Run, little Winters. Run away like the weak little girl you are.”
I couldn’t deny his voice, his words, damn, just his presence did something to me.
“I’m not weak and I’m not scared of you, Ryan.” He laughed, and I felt his hand brush against my elbow, making me flinch at the shock it sent through my body.
“Oh? You should be.” His voice was deeper now, and it felt like we were trapped inside a bubble; Ryan, Brandon and me. One was trying to intimidate me with words, the other with his mind. “We don’t take kindly to rats. Is that what you are, Winters? A rat? Are you trying to set us up?” I took a deep breath. His nearness made me feel like I was drowning. Each breath I took was too shallow, not enough to gain oxygen, and I was beginning to feel dizzy.
“I’m not a rat and I don’t set people up,” I said through gritted teeth.
“And why should I believe you? You come from a long line of rats. Your daddy is the king of them. What would he say if he could see his little princess now?” I knew they hated my father, that was no secret, but they knew fuck all about me.
“He’d probably tell me to knee you in the fucking balls.” I lifted my chin, trying to look like I had my shit together.
“I’d have you on your back before your knee got anywhere near my balls, sweetheart. Is that what you want? To fight me?” Why did that statement, coming from him, make my heart skip a beat? What was happening here? Ryan Hardy and Brandon Mathers had barely looked at me growing up. And now, here I was, starring in their fucked-up battle of wits, and thoughts of being put on my back were making me all sorts of flustered and confused.
“I don’t want anything to do with you,” was all I could think of to say with my brain in its current state of meltdown.
“Then I’ll ask again. Why are you here? I think it’s time you left. Nothing good can come from you being here… in our world.” He stepped a little closer into me, but I couldn’t move away. I had to see how th
is played out.
“I don’t want any part of your world. If you have a problem with me, then why don’t you cry me a fucking river and drown yourself in it.” There it was, my sass was still there, buried deep inside me under all the confusion and… Was that lust?
“There she is, the little Winters drama queen. Just because you’re daddy’s little princess, doesn’t mean we’re gonna treat you like royalty, sweetheart. Maybe we need to show you what we do to rats in our world?” Again with the threats. I wasn’t scared of him. Brandon Mathers looked like a scary motherfucker, but I wasn’t gonna let these guys spook me.
“Careful you don’t choke on all that shit you talk.”
“What makes you think it’s all talk?”
In that instance, I couldn’t hold back, and I turned around to face him, ready to go toe-to-toe with Ryan bloody Hardy, but when I did, he’d disappeared into the crowd. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to see around the people behind me, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I shook my head at his cowardice and turned back around, but Brandon Mathers had gone too, and I was left standing in a room that felt like a pressure cooker and I was the one about to explode.
Ryan Hardy had made my blood boil and turned my body inside out and I hadn’t even looked at him. Brandon Mathers had psyched me out with nothing but the evil behind his eyes. And now, I needed to get out of that room, away from these boys, and digest whatever had gone down here tonight. To them, me and my father were one and the same, and they hated my father with a passion.
I shoved my way past the people in that room, elbowing and shouldering my way towards the door, but when I got there I couldn’t get down the corridor to go back the way I came. Crowds of people were blocking my way and I suddenly felt vulnerable and alone. A perfect target. A sitting duck.
I turned and headed in the opposite direction. The passageway was quieter, and I didn’t stop to think about where it would lead. More concerned about getting myself as far away from the boys as I could. I say boys, but they were three years older than me. The same age as Danny, who would’ve been twenty-one next month. I started off speed-walking, but as I wound my way through the corridors underneath this forgotten, shithole dump of a warehouse, I started to feel the nerves and fear settle in. So I picked up the pace, jogging through the maze of identical corridors and getting nowhere. I could hear the thumping bass above me, but why wasn’t I getting any nearer to the exit? Where were the damn stairs?
I heard a bang in the distance that made me jump. It sounded like a door crashing against a wall, and on instinct I turned my head, but no one was there. Then I heard another louder bang, like someone was hitting something off the walls. Maybe a bat slamming over and over again, only this sound was getting closer and closer. Another bang and then another. Jesus, I was stuck in a bad nineties’ horror movie, just like I’d joked about earlier. Only, I wasn’t laughing this time. This felt all too real. The banging got louder, a regular beat, like someone was heading towards me, stalking me. Then I heard a man’s laughter. Low, wicked cackles reverberating off the walls and into my very soul. I wasn’t sticking around to see how this movie ended. I ran like my life depended on it, heading towards a set of doors at the end of the corridor. When I reached them, I threw the doors open to escape. All the time, I could feel the weight of someone following me. Chasing me down like a hunter toying with it’s prey. But I wasn’t anyone’s prey. Not today. Not ever.
I fell out into the night air and panted as I ran across the grass towards the metal fence. I stopped and turned around, expecting to see someone, anyone come out after me, but I didn’t. It was just me, back outside. Alone. I bent forward, trying to catch my breath, gasping like I’d run a marathon.
“Are you okay?”
I jumped up at the sound of a voice. It was Finn Knowles, walking hesitantly towards me with his hands outstretched like that’d show me how friendly and non-threatening he was.
“I’m fine,” I panted back. “No thanks to your loser asshole friends.”
“I’ve no idea what’s gone on, but you shouldn’t be on your own out here.”
No shit, Sherlock.
“Do you want me to go inside and get your friends?” What was this guy’s deal? He actually seemed human compared to the other two I’d encountered tonight.
“I’ll be fine.” I shrugged, feeling anything but.
“No, you’re not.” He took a tentative step towards me. “You’re Danny’s sister, aren’t you? Emily? I saw you came here with Effy. I’ll go and get her.” He didn’t wait for my response, just stalked off and left me, mouth wide open, wondering what the fuck the deal was with these guys.
Ryan and Brandon had tried to floor me with their fucked-up games, and yet it was the kindness of Finn Knowles that totally knocked me off my feet. I didn’t know which way was up and which was down, but I was sure of one thing, I was relieved that he was going to get Effy and Liv for me. I didn’t want to stay here a minute longer than I had to. The Renaissance assholes had played with me enough for one night.
Their time would come though.
I hadn’t finished with them either.
“What the fuck was that?” Brandon said, wiping his sweaty blood-soaked towel over his face and grimacing at me. It wasn’t the pain of the punches he’d received tonight that’d made him wince. No, that was all my doing. He wasn’t happy, and he was about to make damn sure I knew about it. I couldn’t give a fuck. He didn’t run this show.
“Fuck you. I don’t know what you think you saw, but you know fuck all,” I spat back. I wasn’t about to take shit from anyone, least of all my best mate who knew how to piss me off better than anyone.
“You and her. The little whispers,” he said, screwing his face up. “You had your face buried so far into her neck you looked like you were on a fucking date, making out.”
“Jealous?” I grinned back at him.
He threw his towel down onto a plastic chair in the corner and folded his arms over his chest.
“Maybe. Maybe I don’t want to miss out on all the fun. If we’re gonna fuck with her, I’d like to do some of the fucking too.”
The minute he said that my blood started to boil and my muscles clenched in anger. I wanted to knock him the fuck out. She wasn’t his to play around with. She wasn’t his to even talk about or think about.
“No one is going to fuck with that girl… Except me. I swear to God, Brandon, stay the fuck away.” I pointed at him, my teeth gritted so tightly I felt like I could’ve broken my jaw. He held his hands up and laughed like what I’d said was fucking funny. It wasn’t. He knew the score. The Winters were fair game. But Emily? She was mine.
“Dude, you need to chill the fuck out.” He flicked his towel off the chair and onto the floor then sat down. “It’s one thing to chase her down a corridor and scare the shit out of her, but that’s high school crap, man. We need to step it up. If you want to fuck with Daddy Winters, really fuck him over, she’s your best bet. She is the key to all this. And he owes us big time.”
Zak chose that exact moment to walk in. I could still hear the music playing above us and I glanced up and over to where he stood by the door.
“Did you stick a mixtape on?” I joked.
“Kian’s covering the decks for me. He knows his stuff.” Zak shrugged and closed the door behind him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “So, what’s the deal? What’s going on?”
“Little Winters, that’s what’s going on,” Brandon said, smirking right at me as he answered Zak.
“Yeah, I spotted her and her friends earlier. How the fuck did they get in here? I thought we’d shut that shit down a long time ago. Do you think we’ve got a mole?”
“What, a mole giving away our coordinates? Nah, I think they got lucky. It’s her birthday today. She probably got the deets from someone else,” I said, and Brandon’s eyes bugged out of his head.
“And you know this how?” Brandon said, narrowing his eyes at me in an accusatory glare.
“Danny. He told me. It’s just a date I remembered. It’s the same as my grandma’s birthday.” It wasn’t, but I wasn’t gonna tell him that. The less he knew, the better.
“Get her a card, did you?” Brandon laughed.
“Fuck you.”
“Are you pussy-whipped for this chick, Ry?” Brandon was really trying to push my buttons. He loved getting a rise out of me. Dude always had my back, but he’d fuck around with the best of them to get me riled up.
“Am I fuck. I wanna destroy her and her fucked-up family, probably more than any one of you. It’s about time the Winters house of shitty cards came tumbling the fuck down. He’s got away with it for far too long.”
“So, what do you suggest?” Zak looked between the two of us. I knew he’d be down with anything we decided to do. He always was. “Should I go get Finn, you know, group meeting and all?”
“We don’t need Finn to make this official. You wanna fuck shit up, Ry? She’s the key. Get in with the daughter and get the answers we need. We know what’s gone down, but we gotta get the evidence if we really wanna destroy him. Zak’s hacking has only gotten us so far. We need more. That’s where she comes in. Or are you too smitten to break her delicate, fragile little heart?” He fake pouted at me and sensing the change in the mood of the room, Zak pushed away from the wall and stood in-between us. He knew when shit was about to go off, and like a pro, he knew how to diffuse the bomb we were capable of setting off.
“Do I look like a pussy to you, Brandon? Do you think I can’t do this?”
Come at me, fucker. I dare ya.
“I think I’d do a better job than you.” He looked me up and down, but I shook my head and laughed. I wasn’t taking his bait. Not yet.
Renegade Hearts (Rebels of Sandland Book 1) Page 3
