Young Love Murder (14 page)

“I went upstairs to touch up my makeup and grab my purse. You did say that we were going out, didn’t you?” I inquire calmly, showing no hint of the emotional turmoil I just experienced upstairs. 

His smile broadens as he claps his hands together eagerly. “Great idea. We’ll leave now.” Gabriel suggests that it’s better for us to slip out without saying goodbye because his mom might make a fuss over it, wanting us to stay longer. Max joins us outside and we all pile into his Mercedes, with me in the front passenger seat and Gabriel in back. 

We go to the same club that I ‘met’ them at. I already know from the information Simon provided, that the club,
Cameo,
is owned by a friend of Gabriel’s father. One of the bad friends.
Will Gabriel continue to go there when I’m gone? Just because it’s Halloween doesn’t mean you need to be morbid, Annabelle.

There’s a long line of people waiting to get into the club. Most of them are wearing costumes. Some of those costumes are very interesting. I’m pretty sure some of the women are wearing lingerie, not costumes. I knew I should have gone with the hooker princess idea. Most of the girls look like they have sex for money. Hell, the girls that come to clubs like this usually give it away for free. In other cities, I’ve even seen them giving it away
in
the club. Makes me want to shout,
Yeah, it’s not
that
dark in here
!

We get to skip the line and the bouncers let us right in, making some people clamor in irritation. Max goes straight to the bar and Gabriel leads me to the middle of the dance floor. The song is a techno remix of “Thriller”. With Gabriel dancing closely behind me, running his hands over my stomach, hips and outer thighs, kissing my neck, I’m lost in it, lost in him.

Yes, I just needed a little more of this, a little more time to savor these precious memories, since it’s all I’ll be able to take with me. I’ll finish the job because it’s who I am, an assassin. But for a while, in moments like this, it’s just him and me, Gabriel and Annabelle. After the song is over, Gabriel wraps an arm around my waist and leads me upstairs to VIP. 

A blonde server comes up to our table. “Happy Halloween, Gabriel, what can I get you two?” I narrow my eyes at her and determine from the way she’s looking at Gabriel that they’re only friends. Dang, it’s stressful having a boyfriend.
“Hey, Rachel. I’ll have a Corona. What do you want, baby?” he asks me, snuggling close. 

“I’ll have a Long Island Iced Tea,” I tell the woman. I’ve decided to stop worrying about things I have no control over and have fun tonight. 

Gabriel

Two hours after arriving at the club, five more times dancing with Anna and four Long Island Iced Teas total for her, I can tell that she's tipsy. I’ve had only three Coronas, so all I’m feeling is a slight buzz.

“I can’t believe I’m drunk!” Anna says excitedly, throwing her arms around my neck, giving me a big kiss.
Hmm, stay right where you are.
We’re up in the VIP section and Max has now joined us with a brunette girl dressed up as a nurse. A hooker nurse is what Anna would call her. Hopefully she won’t, though.

I put an arm around Anna’s shoulders and sit back into the leather booth, bringing her with me. “And why is that, baby?”

Her cheeks are flushed and she looks adorable with her eyes shining. “I’ve never been drunk before!” 

“What?” Max and I ask at the same time.

“How is it that you’ve never been drunk before? We met you at a club, Anna. Was that your first time clubbing?” I ask her, thinking her declaration unlikely. 

Anna pecks me on the cheek. “Oh baby, that’s so cute. You thinking that it was my first time at a club. I got into my first club when I was thirteen in Thailand. At that age in Thailand, it was actually quite easy.” She starts giggling and I think her words again unlikely.

I’ve never seen her speak so freely of her past before. I know that it’s her being drunk that’s loosening her tongue and I wonder what else I can get out of her. “What were you doing at a club in Thailand, at only thirteen years old?”

She taps me on the nose with her index finger, with challenge in her gaze. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes, I would. So, why don’t you tell me?” I prompt her. 

“Sorry baby. If I told you, then I’d have to kill you. And believe me, I wouldn’t like doing that one bit,” she says, the expression on her pretty face turning sad. 

“Good to know,” I tease her. “How would you kill me?” Glancing across from us, at Max and his nurse, I see they’re amused by Anna too.
      She stares into my eyes with her slightly dazed golden brown ones. “Something quick and painless would be the only option, maybe in your sleep, so you wouldn’t see it coming.” Max starts laughing, but something in Anna’s demeanor bothers me. I shake it off, thinking that maybe I’m drunker than I realize. 

Max’s laughter is interrupted by a commotion coming from a table to our right. A guy who looks to be in his mid-twenties has a woman by the arm and is shaking her. The abuser has an enraged visage and the woman looks terrified. I start to stand up, to intervene, but Anna quickly rushes over to them, moving fast for someone so far from being sober. The man grabs the woman by the hair with his other hand and I follow Anna, afraid that she’ll get hurt. I can feel Max’s presence right behind me. 

As I’m coming up on them, I hear Anna say, “Let her go or I’ll hurt you.”

The man laughs at her and before I can intervene, she pulls back her fist and punches him squarely in the jaw. The guy falls to the ground, losing his hold on his victim. I look at Anna in shock. “You knocked him out!”

Anna is asking the woman if she’s alright, stepping over the brute on the floor. When she’s satisfied and the girl is walking down the steps out of VIP, she turns to me. “Lucky hit, I guess.” But I’m not so sure. Anna being drunk is only adding to her mystery. Not that I don’t like the tipsy Anna. Bouncers finally show up to carry the guy out. Bouncers are some of the most efficient employees out there. Troublemakers in clubs are always dealt with quickly.

I grab the hand that Anna used to hit him. “Are you okay?” Checking her hand, I see that it’s a little red, so I place a gentle kiss on her knuckles where they’ll probably bruise.

She pulls her hand back, looking at me funny. “Yeah, I just need to go to the restroom and run my hand under cold water.”

“I can get ice from a bartender,” I suggest. 
      But she’s already walking away, almost at the stairs. She shouts over the music, “No, that’s okay. I’ve got it.”

I lean against the rail, in the same spot that I was in when I first laid eyes on her. I can see her making her way towards the restrooms near the front of the club. She’s almost to the hallway that leads to them when a man grabs her arm. My first instinct is to rush down there to kick his ass, but after what I just saw her do to the guy up here, I’m curious to see if she can do it again. Was it really a lucky hit? Instead of hitting the guy, though, it looks like they’re in a heated argument. 

About to rush down there anyways, I suddenly recognize the guy. It’s that Russian friend of hers. I don’t remember if she ever told me his name. What’s he doing here and why are they fighting? Still holding her by the arm, he starts dragging her to the exit of the club. 

Running down the stairs, I weave my way through the crowd. I pass by the doormen and look around outside, spinning in all directions on my feet. I can’t see them anywhere, so I run under streetlamps towards where Max parked his Mercedes. As I near the car, I see a yellow Lamborghini race down the street past me. 

Chapter 10

Annabelle

After Jackson pulls me out of the club, he leads me to where he parked the Lamborghini. He doesn’t say a word to me, but I’m not exactly eager myself for the conversation to come. I get into the passenger side without arguing and Jackson speeds off. My phone starts ringing and I don’t even have to look at it to know that it’s Gabriel. Does he even know I left the club? He’s probably still waiting for me to come back to our booth. 

“Don’t answer that,” Jackson speaks for the first time since leaving the club.

“It’s Gabriel. He must be wondering where I’ve wandered off to. I should at least answer it and let him know I’m not at the club anymore.” God, I miss him already.
Get used to it, drunk Annabelle.

Jackson snatches my phone. “You’re not doing anything involving him until after we talk about your behavior.”

Seriously?
He’s about to get some aggressive
behavior
right in the jaw. “Why are you doing this, Jackson?” Dressed so casually, in jeans and a rugby shirt, I’m wondering how he got in the club. He probably bribed the doormen.

“I’m doing it for your own good. Something is seriously wrong with you. I can tell. Until I figure out what that is, this job is temporarily on hold,” he says in a bemused tone.

“Nothing is wrong with me,” I grit out the lie between clenched teeth. 

“Don’t try to convince me right now, Annabelle. We’ll talk about this when we can sit face to face.” Feeling warm, since Jackson didn’t put the AC on, I roll down the window. The night’s mild weather and the movement of the car produce a cool breeze. Taking a right turn at a green light puts us onto the street that our hotel is located.

“Why face to face?” Unfortunately, I think I already know the answer to my question. 

“I want to look you in the eyes when we talk. You’re almost as good a liar as I am, but I know you better than anyone else, so I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying to me. Plus, you being drunk will only work in my favor,” he asserts smugly.
Bastard
. 

“I’m a better liar than you.
Plus
, I’m sobering up at an astonishing rate,” I retort. Jackson just laughs at me. At least he isn’t still mad at me, huffing and puffing and ready to blow all the skyscrapers down. I giggle at the thought. He shoots me a dirty look out of the corner of his eye. Okay, so I’m still
kinda
drunk.

Five more minutes driving down the busy street and Jackson’s pulling into the hotel parking lot. As soon as he parks, I jump out of the car, not waiting for him. Ditching him to take an elevator up by myself, I head straight for the bathroom upon entering the suite. Jackson can just wait for the talk that he insists upon. I’m taking a shower.

The blast of the water sobers me up a bit more. Wanting to be in something both comfy, for this unavoidable discussion about my
behavior
, and something that won’t hinder my ability to kick Jackson’s pompous ass if necessary, I pull on a pair of black yoga pants and a sport tank top. As I exit my bedroom, Jackson’s sitting in one of two sitting chairs in the living room. He motions for me to take the other chair, so I sit, putting the coffee table between us lengthwise.

“What?” I ask snidely, giving him a disgruntled look.

“First off, did you have a good time tonight?” That was so not the question I’d expected. And I know he doesn’t really care about me having a ‘good time’.

I smile sweetly at him, changing my tone to match, “Why yes I did, dear brother. How about you? Any good shows on TV tonight?”

He scowls. “I
had
thought that it would be a good night. You were supposed to finish this job tonight and we would’ve been leaving Miami tomorrow. But when you didn’t call, I went looking for you. I
should
have found you at a crime scene, covering your tracks after killing Xavier Sanchez, putting on a good act.
Instead
, I find you
drunk
at a club and knocking a guy out in front of witnesses.” Jackson is trying to be the calm, reasonable big brother right now, which always makes me want to piss him off.

“The guy really needed knocking out,” I mutter loudly enough for him to hear, ignoring the other issues he’d brought up.

“Maybe so, but it may not be wise to show off your talents in front of the target’s son,” his voice rises slightly, patience diminishing.

“His name is Gabriel. You don’t have to call him the target’s son,” I remind him.