Chapter 2: Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

The following day I decided to treat myself to a night out with a few friends. I looked through my closet for something to wear, eventually pulling out a short black dress.

Normally, I would run from the idea of going out to a club. Clubs were crowded, overpriced, and usually overrun with creepy men looking for a girl half their age. As I curled my hair and applied some light makeup, I debated staying home. Netflix and my bed didn't sound like the worst thing in the world at this point. I had almost successfully talked myself out of going to the club when there was a knock at my door. I groaned, knowing it was my friends and it was too late to back out.

I glanced into my mirror, taking a deep breath, before heading out the door to meet my friends. After all of yesterday's misery, a few drinks and some girl time really couldn't hurt.

Within 20 minutes of being at the club, I already regretted coming out. My friends had already abandoned me to go off and dance with questionable men, and my drink was overpriced and weak. As I sat up at the bar listening to the music that blared through the club, my eyes scanned the crowd.

The club we had chosen tonight was packed; there was barely room to move around. I was pulled out of my people-watching by a vibrating in my purse. After digging through my bag, I yanked out my phone to see it was my mother calling. I jumped to my feet and pushed through the crowd to the first exit I could find, stepping out into what seemed to be an alley.

“Hello? Mom?” I greeted, shoving the phone to my ear.

After a moment of silence, I looked down at the phone to see the call had dropped, and my service only had one bar. Cursing under my breath, I turned to head back inside. That was until I heard a familiar voice talking behind me.

Turning away from the club door, my eyes darted to locate where it was coming from. My eyes fell on a car that was parked at the far end of the alley with two men who were talking. After a moment, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I strained to look at them. My jaw dropped when I realized the voice was familiar for a reason.

It belonged to the attractive but very rude man from the store yesterday. I watched as he talked to a man who was leaning up against the red car. The man against the car was probably twice the age as the guy from the store, with splotchy facial hair and a gray buzzcut.

Curious of the two men, I took a few steps forward and placed myself behind a power box, trying to stay out of their eyesight. I should have returned to the club, I knew I should have. What if one of the men saw me? They'd think I was crazy. The man from the store was a complete jerk to me, and here I was, stalking him in an alleyway. I placed that thought in the back of my mind as I listened to the men's conversation.

“You're kidding me, right?” the man from the store asked the older man with a tense expression.

“Kade, I told you we don't have a choice,” the older man stated. He was clearly feeling more casual than Kade.

‘So that's his name. Kade,’ I thought to myself as I watched them continue their conversation.

“I don't know, Tony. It doesn't seem like a logical move for either of us.”

“F*ck Logical,” Tony cursed.

I wondered what the two were talking about. They clearly were not on the same side in whatever situation they were involved in.

“Tony, we can’t do this; I'm not kill-” Kade started, but Tony cut him off.

“You won't do it?” Tony questioned angrily. “Fine, I will.”

“This is going to make things worse. We can't afford worse right now,” Kade stated firmly, ignoring Tony's comment.

I watched as the two exchanged an odd look. The tension between them was visibly building, but I couldn't figure out what it was building towards. It was obvious something was really wrong. I didn't know what, but I had a really bad feeling, and the look on Kade's face confirmed my gut feeling.

After the tense moment of silence, I watched as Tony turned his back to Kade and made his way to the trunk of the car. Letting out a small breath, I crept forward just a bit to see what was inside.

When Tony popped open the trunk, my eyes widened in shock at what I saw. Inside was a man, bound and gagged with what appeared to be rope.

“Tony. Stop,” Kade said in a way that seemed like a final plea.

Tony ignored Kade once again. Reaching into the trunk, he grabbed the man, pulling him up by the rope tied across his shoulders and chest. He was so close to Tony that their faces almost touched.

The man was clearly petrified. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to scream through his mouth gag. I watched as Tony held onto him while Kade sat by doing nothing. I didn't dare move. I didn't know what they were capable of.

I wanted to help, but I couldn't do anything to stop them, and I couldn't run away without getting caught. I had no choice but to sit here and watch. I felt my heart freeze, realizing this poor man's fate.

Wearing a sinister smile, Tony looked the man square in the face. His eyes glistened under the pale moonlight.

“Tell me, sir. Are you ready to f*cking die?