Page 100 of Vampire so Virtuous
“I can see the little hamster wheels spinning in there,” Eve said quietly. “Don’t worry about me, girl. I’m not putting any pressure on you whatsoever.” A spark of mischief danced in her eyes. “Doesn’t mean I won’t have my hands all over you on the nightclub floor.”
Cally gave a small laugh. “Grope away, if you must.”
“Obviously I don’t want to,” Eve said, deadpan, “but our cover calls for it.” Her hand dropped down to Cally’s ass and gave it a squeeze.
Cally wiggled it for her.
“Good timing,” Eve said quietly, looking over Cally’s shoulder. “There’s Priya and her beau, and she wasn’t exaggerating about the muscles.”
Cally turned to greet them. Priya wore a resplendent smile and a short skirt over a fitted bodysuit, clinging with both hands to the arm of a man holding a golf umbrella. He was dressed smartly in a burgundy shirt and chinos, and was almost as wide as he was tall.
“Hey Priya,” she said, as Eve slid into place against her side, her arm winding around Cally’s waist. “And you must be Michael.”
“Call me Mike,” the guy said, gripping Priya’s waist with one meaty hand and pulling her possessively into him. His gaze lingered a little toolong as it slid down Eve, then back up Cally, clearly distracted by her chest. “You never said your friends were so hot, Priya.”
Cally slid her arm around Eve, unsure if she was doing it protectively or to play along. “We’re spoken for, Mike. Besides, Priya’s hotter than both of us.”
That may not have been entirely true, but Priya was the one clinging to his arm. She gave Cally a grateful look. “You guys don’t need to queue. Mike can get us in. Right honey?”
“Sure,” he said, dragging his eyes away from Cally’s body with an effort. “The guys know me here.”
He turned and walked down the line, Priya still gripping his arm with both hands, heading for the bouncers, and Cally and Eve followed.
“Is it just me,” Cally whispered, “or is your creep alarm going off?”
“A little bit,” Eve said, her brow furrowed. “He might just be overly friendly? Open relationship? Too early to be sure.”
“Stay close in there.”
“I had no intention of doing anything else.” She slid her hand into the back pocket of Cally’s jeans. “You’re my big bad bodyguard.”
Mike and Priya reached the bouncers, who opened the velvet rope without a word. He led Priya through, and Eve and Cally followed. Cally offered them a tentative smile, but received only blank stares in return.
Inside, two more security rifled through their bags, and a coat check stood at the ready. They left their umbrellas and outerwear behind, then descended a steep flight of stone stairs. The walls were rough concrete, dimly lit, and the thump of heavy bass drifted up from below. At the bottom of the stairs, another door and another bouncer awaited, but he simply nodded to Mike and opened it.
As soon as the door cracked, the sound hit them—primal and energetic and overwhelmingly loud. A throng of people moved as one beneath spinning spotlights and lasers, shooting beams of light through the hazy air. The sweet smell of legal weed mingled with the unmistakable stench of spilled beer and sweat.
Mike pushed his way inside, his shoulders carving a path. Priya clung to his arm with one hand, the other raised as if greeting the music, her hips beginning to move in time with the beat, her short skirt swishing.
Eve looked to follow, then stopped as Cally hadn’t moved. “Babe?” The word was swallowed in the cacophony.
Cally had frozen, her eyes wide, pulse thumping louder than the music.
The nightclub was exactly as she had seen it in her vision, down to the color of the walls.
She’d been here before—and she’d never been here before.
Twenty-four – Cally
“This is the place,” she whispered, mostly to herself. No one else would hear.
The bouncer this side of the door was watching her.
She let Eve tug her past him, then wrapped her arm around her friend, her lips brushing her ear. “This is the place.”
Eve turned her head, leaning in. “You sure?”
“Certain.” The lights in the ceiling, the red exit glow in the far corner, the location of the bar. All exactly where she’d known they’d be. Several lighting arrays hung overhead, and one of them would have ‘Rig 3’ marked on it in faded yellow pen, just as she’d seen.
