A Forest of Stars (Court of Starlight and Darkness #1)
Linsey Hall
1
Sia
* * *
How the hell had I ended up here?
As if lurking outside a biker bar weren’t bad enough, I was dressed like a wannabe stripper in an attempt to blend in.
Seattle’s cool night wind rushed over me as I stared at the door of the bar. It was located in a shady part of town that I rarely visited. A massive man sat next to the door, his scarred face set into a scowl that would have scared the balls off the meanest biker. It certainly scared me.
This was a long way from my usual Friday night—alone with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a rom com. That was a much more comfortable scenario. This was… the seventh circle of hell as far as I was concerned.
I drew in a deep breath and cursed myself for trying to fit in with the crowd inside the bar. They’d spot me as an imposter in a heartbeat.
The decision to wear cutoff jean shorts with fishnets and an emerald green bustier had already been made. Inside the safety of my little apartment, it had looked good. Just because I was losing my nerve didn’t mean it didn’t still look good.
Anyway, an outfit like this demanded confidence. I had just enough of that to get me through the night.
“You can do this, nerd,” I muttered to myself. “Just go in there, find this Frank dude, get the info, and get out.”
This was my one shot at getting the information I needed about my birth parents. The desire to meet them, to know about my past, ate at me like flesh-eating bacteria, a festering wound that wouldn’t heal until I knew. This was my last shot.
When Frank’s name had seemingly fallen into my lap as if by magic, I’d jumped on it.
I’d do anything to find out the truth about them, including wearing a ridiculous outfit into one of the most dangerous, exclusive bars in the city.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I strode across the street like I owned the damned thing and stopped in front of the bouncer. He looked me up and down, his dark eyes flickering between lust and derision.
“Well, what will it be?” I demanded, then cursed myself for my wayward mouth.
“What will what be?” His voice rumbled like the engine of an old motorcycle.
I couldn’t exactly ask if he’d settled on lust or derision as his final opinion of me, so I settled on, “Can I come in?”
He frowned. “You don’t look local.”
“Well, I am.”
“Nope. You’re dressed like a hooker, but you ain’t one.”
“A stripper,” I corrected. “I’m dressed like a stripper. And I don’t need to be one to come in.”
“Go home, girlie. They’ll eat you alive in there.”
“I can handle myself.”
“Maybe, but I won’t have it on my conscience that I let some kid into the Dark Forest and then she got in trouble.”
Frustration surged, followed by desperation. “I’m twenty-five, not a kid.”
He shrugged. “I see what I see. Now git.”
I wanted to kick the bastard in the balls, but that wouldn’t get me what I wanted. “Please, just—”
“Git.” He stood, looming over me.
My frightened rabbit heart got the better of me and I stumbled back. “Fine. Fine, I’ll go.”
He nodded, and I turned and left, crossing the street as quickly as my boots would carry me. At least I’d worn flat biker boots instead of heels. Fear drove me faster, but as I reached the other side of the street, there was the tiniest bit of relief that I hadn’t been allowed inside.
No.
Anger surged through me. I shouldn’t be feeling relief. I wanted the answers that were inside that bar, and I wouldn’t let my cowardice get the better of me.
Determined not to be foiled by some bastard bouncer with a weird protective instinct, I strode down the street without looking back. I wanted him to think he’d been successful in driving me away.
It didn’t take long to reach the next street and take a left. There had to be a back way into the bar. I moved quickly, trying to keep my heart from beating out of my chest as cat calls came from the other side of the street. A quick glance showed four men loitering in front of another bar.
I shivered. The kitchen knife I’d shoved in my boot for protection wasn’t going to be enough against four.
Fortunately, they didn’t follow me as I found the alley that led to the back of the bar.
The scent of urine hit me in the face as I entered, and I nearly gagged. “Ugh.”
I dodged a few suspicious puddles as I made my way through the darkened alley toward the door at the end. The strangest prickling sensation skittered across my skin, and I swore I could feel eyes watching me.
Warily, I glanced around, trying to spot whoever might be spying on me. My heart was going a mile a minute and cold fear iced my veins, but something tugged me forward, as an invisible thread had wrapped around my waist, drawing me toward the back door of the bar.
If magic were real, I’d have said this creepy alley was imbued with it. There was just something about it that lit me up inside, even though it was dark and dirty and gross.
Finally, I reached the door that led into the bar. I could hear the thumping music inside as I reached for the handle in the metal door. I yanked, but it stayed firmly shut.