Suck It Up: A Croft and Tabby Short (Croft & Tabby Book 3) by Brad Magnarella

Author:Brad Magnarella [Magnarella, Brad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Croftverse Publishing
Published: 2023-04-22T16:00:00+00:00

7

Jackie was the first to arrive at the turbulent scene. I came panting in well behind her, followed by Duke—much to Tabitha’s annoyance.

Much of the crowd was piled against the main door, bouncers struggling to keep them from crushing one another, while other club-goers ran in search of alternate exits. A handful just stood around like pillars, too shocked or stoned to move. Emergency lights had gone on, casting everything in red.

“See anything?” I asked Jackie.

She shook her head and shushed Duke, who’d started to bay at the commotion.

I spotted Flick’s lanky figure opposite us. He’d backed Kayla, Sid, and Sheena against the far wall and was facing the room with a cocked fist. I looked around as I ran toward them, but I couldn’t see a damned thing.

“What happened?” I shouted.

Flick, whom I was beginning to suspect of near-sightedness, jerked in surprise and threw his fist out. I ducked, inadvertently putting Tabitha in his path. She batted aside the clumsy blow and scoffed.

“Weakling.”

I waved my arms in front of him. “Hey, man, it’s me! Everson!”

Flick’s engorged eyes seemed to focus, and he lowered his fist. “Bill gave you the message? Blade and her crew were ripping a bitchin’ opening set when the lights went out and the entire mosh pit started collapsing around us. I mean, it was like Viet-frigging-nam in there. Everyone dropping like flies.”

I looked at where I’d glimpsed the performer’s pink hair earlier, now an abandoned stage of wires, amps, and instruments. A thick pillar had blocked my view, but the field of bodies was in plain sight now.

Jackie veered over to the thirty-odd victims with Duke, the wolfhound sniffing around them.

Flick continued his rapid-fire delivery. “People started yelling ‘shooter,’ cause that’s what it looked like. Whole place went nuts, every punk for themselves. But it’s the same thing that got Rebel, isn’t it?”

“Did you see anything?” I asked, before catching myself. He could hardly see two feet in front of his nose.

Kayla appeared under his arm, a hand to her chest.

“Hey, are you all right?” I asked, gripping her shoulder. Her makeup notwithstanding, she looked really faint, not all there.

“Yeah, just got a little panicked,” she replied in a hoarse voice, squeezing my hand. “I’ve never been in the middle of something like that. Flick pulled us out of there.”

I nodded at him in appreciation. Though we’d gotten off to a rocky start, he seemed to be everything Kayla had claimed—a six, with all the associated anxieties and protective instincts. He was also the reason Jackie hadn’t broken my neck. With the club clearing out, he relaxed his stance, allowing Sid and Sheena to edge out from behind him, too.

“Did anyone see anything?” I asked the group.

Heads shook, all except for Kayla’s. “I felt something.”

Tabitha moaned. “Here we go again.”

“It was fleeting,” Kayla continued, “but it was an impression of deep anger… and… and… hunger? No, that’s not the right word. Greed,” she decided, nodding to herself. “A suctioning well of greed.”

This was sounding more and more like a vengeful spirit.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.