Initiation (2 page)

"Yeah." While carrying one the sacks in his arms, Josh couldn’t reach his back pocket. "Just grab my wallet and take what you need." He stuck his butt out a little, his back now facing Carl. "I can’t get to it right now."

"Okay." Carl took the leather billfold out of Josh’s jean pocket, "Thanks buddy."

"I know…" A little out of breath from all the heavy lifting, Josh was heading for the door, "…how much…is in there, so no…taking more than twenty."

"Fine,
ya
cheapskate." Carl waved his hand toward Josh, who was leaving the room with the cart full of bodies. "Don’t drop any of those ladies on your way down and mess up the Master's carpet."

Once Josh disappeared from his view, Carl leafed through the pictures in Josh’s wallet. Carl smiled when he saw one of Josh’s sister, Kelly. Seeing her face ignited a devilish smile on his lips. He rubbed the photo with his thumb, his tongue peeking from his lips slightly.

"I’d like to see what that little filly tastes like." He took out the picture along with one of Josh’s twin sister, Addison, behind it. "
Ooo
…and this one too." Carl shoved them in his front pants pocket to use for a personal quickie in the bathroom later and put Josh’s wallet in the pocket of his shirt.

Carl knew he should begin cleaning the bloodstains out of the carpet, but since he had never been in the Master’s room before, the urge to snoop overwhelmed him. He meandered walked into the large walk-in closet, smiling at the perfect suits that lined the wall. Carl’s rough, calloused hands wrapped around the knob of one of the drawers, pulling it open and looking inside. He lightly ran his fingers over a pair of silky black boxers that lay on the top.

Hearing a door slam on the other side of the room, Carl quickly shoved the drawer shut. Something fell out of his pocket when he readjusted his falling pants, but he didn’t notice. Carl quickly ran into the bathroom, which was adjoined to the closet, pretending to be washing his hands when someone walked in.

Sighing with relief that it was only Josh, Carl turned off the water and silently walked past his friend. The men finally cleaned up the rest of the Master’s bedroom and went onto their next job in the manor.

Later that night, Christian returned home. He was in a foul mood and wanted nothing more than to take a long shower and wash away his troubling thoughts. He stepped into shower, letting the water beat on his perfect body as he stood like an unmoving statue under the pulsing stream.

After about ten minutes, he reluctantly turned off the water, slamming the glass door when he stepped out. He quickly dried off, his body still dripping as he moved toward the closet. When he opened the door, he paused, noticing the light was on inside. His cat-like eyes made a quick scan of the area, a deep scowl etched into his features.

When he realized there was no one there, he walked over to where his suits were hanging and grabbed one. He yanked it off with more force than necessary, the empty hanger bouncing but not falling off the rail. Tossing the garment over a chair, Christian also grabbed a clean pair of boxers. On his way to dress, a piece of paper stuck to his still-moist feet. Christian angrily ripped it off. He was going to throw it in the trash, but something about it caught his eye.

"What the hell?" He looked at the woman in the photo, his eyes narrowing on it as fingers tightened. "Addison?" He turned it over, reading the writing on the back aloud. "Love you Josh." There were a few hearts drawn around the sentence, which was written in a woman’s handwriting.

"Josh huh?" Christian chuckled, his thumb covering the bottom of the picture. He gritted his teeth and continued to look at her smiling face staring back at him. "Soon you won’t even remember his name."

* * * *

While Carl was fixing some broken fence outside the manor, Samson, one of the Master’s elites, approached and asked him about the photograph in Christian’s room. Luckily, Samson wasn’t angry with Carl, instead he seemed very interested in meeting the woman in the picture. Carl explained who she was and agreed to introduce her to Samson in exchange for some free passes to the swanky Club 66.

Behind Josh’s back, Carl invited Kelly and Addison to the club, claiming he got free passes for doing a good job at the manor. Addison wasn’t much of a party goer, but at Kelly’s urging, she agreed to tag along.

Club 66 was a landmark in the city as well was the most popular place on the strip. It was an exclusive club that everyone wanted into, but had to have the right connections to gain access. Kelly had always wanted to go there and jumped at the chance to go, even if it was with Carl.

When they arrived, the bouncers at the door validated their passes and let them through. Kelly immediately ran to the dance floor, dragging Addison along with her.

"Let me go,
Kell
." Addison wasn’t much of a dancer and pulled back on her sister’s hand, "I—"

But it was too late, and she was now in the middle of the moving crowd. Addison looked around nervously at the people around her. There was an innocent fear in her doe eyes, her long brown hair bouncing a little as her sister grabbed her and tried to get her to loosen up.

"Come on, dance with me." Kelly laughed, continuing to shake Addison’s hands playfully as she swayed to the music.

Kelly’s long brown locks flew around her head, hiding her perfectly done makeup and pretty face. Dressed in a sexy red dress that flaunted her runner’s body, she looked stunning. Addison was dressed more conservatively, her black dress loose at the bottom and her neckline only slightly flirty.

"I can’t dance like you." Addison laughed at Kelly’s spirited moves, her giggles coming out soft and sweet.

"Come on,
Addy
, you can too." Kelly hugged her briefly before grabbing her hands again and dancing with her teasingly. "Stop being such a party pooper. Have some fun! You know how hard it is to get in this place, and we’ll never get to come here again so enjoy it!" A chuckle escaped her lips as she bounced back and forth, her hair swishing with her quick movements. "We’re celebrities tonight baby!"

"Yeah." Sticking his tongue out slightly, Carl squeezed in between the girls and wrapped his arms around Kelly’s waist. "Celebrities baby!" He did an embarrassing bump thrust thing that made Addison take a few steps back. He had come from upstairs, which was reserved for VIP’s, but neither of the girls knew he had been up there.

"Hey." Carl smiled at Addison, holding his hand out. Between his slightly dirty fingers, he held a few drink tickets. "Go get me a beer, honey." He winked at Addison, who gave him a nasty look as she took the vouchers. "Get something for you and Kelly too." He gestured with his eyes upward. "You have to use the tickets upstairs. They don’t take ‘
em
down here."

Kelly spoke through her laughter, her arms wrapped around Carl as she continued to dance with him. "I’ll take a beer too,
Addy
."

"Kay." Addison nodded, staring down at the papers and then up at the crowded staircase that led to the VIP section. Addison frowned when she saw some very important looking people leaning on the railing of the balcony that overlooked the dance floor. "But Carl, I don’t—"

"Do it." Carl reached over and pinched one of Addison’s cheeks, a huge smirk on his face. "It was hard stealing those tickets, and I’m not
gonna
pay thirty bucks for a drink if I can get one for free upstairs. So get your ass up there."

Addison knew many vampires hung out in the VIP section, and she was afraid to go alone. She wasn’t scared of a scavenger like Carl, but she was of the elites. "Kelly." Her curly brown hair appeared red and blue under the lights as she held her hand out to Kelly. "Come with me."

"Sure." Kelly pushed Carl’s hands off her as Carl let out a groan. "Where do we redeem these?" She searched for the bar, her nose high in the air as she tried to see over the people’s heads.

Making a sour face, Carl held up a limp finger, pointing to the ceiling. "VIP section."

"Yes!" Kelly’s face filled with a huge grin as she grabbed the tickets from Addison and pulled her toward the stairs, a briskness to her walk that Addison was having a hard time keeping up with. "I can’t wait to get up there!"

"Wait…Kelly…" Carl shot them both angry looks when they ignored him. Sighing in annoyance, he ran his hands through his greasy hair, cursing under his breath. He jogged toward them, wrapping his arm around Kelly when he caught up, a friendly tone in his voice again. "Wait for me."

Addison gave him a dirty look when he shoved himself in between them. He tried to put his arm around Addison’s waist, but she pulled away and wouldn’t allow him to touch her. They walked through the thick crowd gathered on the staircase that had been rejected by security. The bouncers at the top let them through after seeing their drink tickets.

It was less crowded upstairs. The people standing around were dressed in designer clothing, something they were not. Addison recognized many of their famous faces, most of them actors or children from the wealthiest families in the area. She wasn’t like them, and her fear of being inferior made her very uncomfortable.

Kelly smiled as she placed a calm hand on Addison’s shoulder, "I’ll be right back,
Addy
. I’ll meet you back here when I get the drinks." Her face reflected her excitement. Her eyebrows rose, wrinkling her forehead and widening her eyes, their color identical to her sister's. She shook Addison playfully and tried to get her to smile. "Oh my God, this is
so
awesome!" She left Addison with Carl and walked over to the bar, disappearing into the dense crowd around it.

"Let’s do some sight-seeing." Carl smiled, wrapping his arm around Addison and leading them toward a closed off section.

"Watch your hands, Carl." She pushed him off her, but he kept returning. "Stop it." She was going to walk away from him, but Carl grabbed a hold of her shoulders and pushed her unwilling body through the door that the bouncer had opened for a large crowd going in ahead of them.

"It’s not funny." Addison tried to wiggle out of his arms, Carl rubbing his scratchy beard up against her cheek teasingly as he held her hostage in his arms. "We’re going to get in trouble."

"
Ooo
…temperamental." Carl laughed when she slapped at him, his eyes closing defensively as he tried to hold her arms down so she'd stop hitting him. "I like that."

"Stop it!" Wrinkling her nose, Addison’s dark butterfly lashes kissed her brow. In a swift upward stroke, she kneed him as hard as she could in the balls, Carl quickly releasing her. She heard him let out a high-pitched yelp, his hands cupping his injured manhood. "Jerk."

She turned her back to him and observed the activity going on in the rest of the room. She crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to slow her quick, angry breaths. There were a few women stripping on the stage, their movements slower than the beat of the music. Their perfect bodies were illuminated by the lights overhead, the glitter painted on their skin making it sparkle.

There were no men ogling the women, handing out dollars like at a traditional strip club. No one seemed to notice these girls as most of the people in the VIP room were sitting at tables conversing and drinking.

Addison rubbed her arm nervously, feeling very out of place in this expensive realm of sin. The music was so loud where she was standing, she didn’t notice the bouncers that came up behind her.

"You’re not supposed to be in here." One of them grabbed Carl forcefully, pulling him out the door. He tried to protest, but they didn’t listen and drug him out.

Addison turned around a few seconds later and didn’t see Carl anywhere. Twirling in a complete circle, Addison tried to scan every inch of the room quickly, hoping she could find him. Panic started to set in now that she was alone, her heart beating faster as she licked her lips. She hated being by herself and the thought of being trapped in a room full of dangerous elites terrified her.

Fidgeting with her hands, she sniffled back the wetness gathering in her nose that threatened to bring tears if she didn't calm herself soon. Her eyes wandered over to the table where the elites sat near the back of the room. She tried to avoid eye contact with them but soon found herself trapped by a pair of curious eyes. Her brow rose when her eyes grew wider, her baby blues reflecting the innocent fear of child as she returned Christian's relentless gaze.

Although she knew how dangerous this man was, she couldn't break the stare, her dazed expression showing her intense fear of him. She watched him take a slow drink from his glass, a devilish smile gracing his lips as he took in this angel that would soon meet the fate he would create for her.

He was drinking what appeared to be blood, the rings on his tanned fingers sparkling under the lights. He was surrounded by beautiful women, all of them fighting to sit next to him and get as close as possible. Addison took a few steps backward, the intensity and promise of sin in Christian’s gaze terrifying her. Even though the sight of her pleased him, he didn’t appear to be in a good mood, his mind seeming distracted.

Swallowing the lump building in her throat, Addison decided she should leave instead of seeing what more could come from this silent staring contest with Christian. She quickly turned around and started toward the large double doors. She wanted to get out of the room as fast as she could, her lower lip quivering as fear overtook her body. Then, someone grabbed her hand, making her turn around and halting her retreat.