A Whole New Crowd(50)

I nodded. Mandy talked as I followed him up the stairs and waited as he got whatever he needed. She said, “No, I can’t. We can’t. We’re in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“We finally got in and these guys started hitting on Amber and Jennica.”
My hand clenched around the phone. Jennica? For real? No, Taryn. Be calm. The rage in me would have to wait. Get my sister to safety and then murder her. That was the new plan.
She kept going, “When Samuel tried to step in, they beat him up, Taryn. He can barely walk and he’s bleeding everywhere and they won’t let us leave.”
“Grab one of the bouncers. Make them help you.”
“We can’t. This place is packed and these guys have us in a back corner. We have to go past them to get out and they won’t let us.” She lowered her voice and I could barely hear it. “I’m so scared, Taryn. I don’t know what to do.”
Tray touched my arm and gestured to the door. He was ready. I nodded to him and followed behind him. I said to Mandy, “Are all of you guys in the corner? Is there anyone who isn’t?”
“Yeah, Grant. He’s not in the corner with us. He went to the bathroom, but we haven’t seen him since we got here. Amber thinks he got beat up too,” she cried out. I could hear a hitch in her voice.
“I’m coming, Mandy.” Tray turned onto the highway, but he didn’t go towards the school. I put a hand over the phone. “Where are you going?”
“You’re not going to the Seven8 alone.”
“Jace owns that club. I’ll be fine.” I pressed my lips together. Tray didn’t need to be told about Jace’s last threat, that if I went back, his guards would shoot me in a limb. I’d have to tackle that when we got there.
“I don’t care if God owns that club. You’re not going in there alone.”
“Taryn!” Mandy yelled from my phone.
I raised it back up. “Hold on. We’re coming. Don’t do anything.”
Pedlam was an hour drive. Tray made it in forty minutes. When he parked, he was out the door and crossing the street by the time I unbuckled my seat belt. I darted after him. “Hey! Wait up.”
He stopped down the street, and we both studied the line. He frowned. “Why is one of the most dangerous clubs in town the most popular? Are all people idiots?”
I nodded. “Yes.” Then one of the guards saw me and I ducked behind him. “Um...” Crap. The guard lifted his radio and talked into it. This could be a problem.
Tray frowned at me. “What are you doing?”
“I might have forgotten to tell you something.”
“Might?”
The guard was coming towards us, reaching for his gun. I froze. Then another guard joined him.
I appeared on the other side of Tray and held up my arms. “Please don’t shoot me! Please don’t. Jace would be mad. I promise. He didn’t mean what he said before.”
Tray whipped back around. “What?!”
The guards were so close now. I could hear the one saying, “Got it, Boss.”
Oh god. I closed my eyes tight. The other guard had been raising his gun. The bullet was going to hit me. I tried to prepare myself.
Then I heard, “Girl, you shouldn’t be here.”
I opened one eye. The gun was put away. “Oh my god.” I patted myself down. “I didn’t pee myself, did I?”
Tray was glaring at me.
The guard shook his head. “You’re lucky Jace had a change of heart. He took the order down the next day and said to notify him the second you showed up again.” He grunted, taking my arm. “He said you were trouble no matter if you had your limbs or not.”
The other guard poked Tray in the back, gesturing for him to follow us.
Tray shot me a dark look. “You and I need to learn how to talk a lot more.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Just as soon as we rescue my sister and your shitty friends, it’s on the agenda.” I ignored Tray’s growl and asked the guard, “Is Jace here?”
“He’s in a meeting.”
We were taken through a back hallway and waited. After ten minutes passed, I sighed. “How long do we have to do this? My sister is here. That’s why I’m here. Just let us go and get them, then we’ll leave. I don’t need to see Jace.”
The guard didn’t care. I looked to the second one. Neither did he.
“Come on.”
They still ignored me, then the radio beeped and a voice said, “Almost there. Hold tight.”
The guard lifted it and pressed his button. “Got it. Out.”
I didn’t recognize the voice, but the door opened from down the hallway and Krein stepped out. His hair was messed up and he wasn't wearing a shirt. He gave me a crooked grin when he came closer. “Hey there, Taryn. How’s it going?”