2

SUMMER'S POV

I slowly woke up, also trying to fight the throbbing headache I was feeling. "Where the hell am I?" I thought. The place smelt like woods mixed with cigarettes, and another thing that smelt like lavender. "What a weird combination." I thought.

I woke up fully, and observed where I was. It was still in the club. I did not know such place even existed.

"You are finally awake." I heard a voice and I raised my head to see who it was. It was the special guest, still with his mask. A lady was giggling at a corner.

"She is confused." She said. She was also masked.

"One moment, I was serving a "special guest" and the next moment, I'm in the lion's den. What a sweet plot twist." I chuckled.

"Oh! Girl. You were really sweet, I wouldn't lie about that. But work has to be done." He smiled and carrased my face.

I held the urge to spit into his face. I felt really dirty.

"Was it because of what I stole?" I asked him.

"Maybe. Or... not." He said and opened the door.

Another strange man walked in.

"The famous Dark Bird." He said to me in his not - so - deep voice. He was also masked too.

"I guess, it is a company of masked men, right?" I spat out blood. I tried to stabilize myself on the chair I was tied to.

"Oh! Yeah!" The lady giggled again.

"Why am I here?" I asked again.

"Very simple. Work for me!" The older man said with a straight face.

I bursted out into a huge laughter. "What the hell?" I said, still laughing. "You are so funny."

"Does this looks like a content to you?" The lady said and she walked up to me.

"Your life is in our hand right now." She bent lower and lifted up my chin.

"Oh! You think so?' I questioned.

"No, I know so?" She answered, rudely.

"Back to business. Dark Bird, you have a little brother right? And you don't want him to suffer. You live in a borrowed apartment. This is your only source of survival. So you do as we say." The younger man spoke.

And the mention of my younger brother, I froze. I do love Clyde , a whole lot. Which I why, I do what I do to survive.

"You don't want us telling your manager, that you drug the people you serve and steal from them. Right?" He tried blackmailing me.

"Let me think. I said. "Why should I work for you? I asked them.

"Because you will gain from it. This is monney, girl!" He replied me.

Sure, It is money, but I do not know these people and I do not know what kind of job it is. Let's try to run away, I thought to myself.

"Do not think of it, little princess." The older guy caressed my face. "You are in our domain."

"Think fast, do you want to work with us or not?" He asked already, losing his patience.

"What if I don't want to?" I spat.

"Claiming feisty? I love that." The younger one smirked.

"Then you leave us with no choice." He said. "Come in.

The two huge looking guys walked in and came towards me.

"You can do whatever you want to do with her." He said and went to sit down.

"This will be so sweet to watch." The lady chuckled, brought out her phone, and began to record.

"You do not want to do this." I screamed out.

"Will you work with us then?" He didn't even flinched.

"Hell no!" I tried to defend myself, but me being tied up, I could only do a little. I wondered why they wanted me. I was a girl trying to survive and make end meet. I heard my phone ringing, but I cared less at this moment.

"Why me?" I screamed again.

"Because I want you! You are fit for the job. Work for me and you will be free." He replied, without a single emotion.

"Every deity on earth, please help me." I screamed it in mind.

Maybe I was lucky, someone suddenly entered.

"What do you think you are doing?" The stranger growled.

"And who the hell are you?" She asked and walked up to him.

"You stay out of it!" He snapped and pushed away.

"Ouch! My wrist." She winced, she fell on her wrist.

The huge bodied men let me and walked towards the stranger. The other men just sat down, and watched how the series was going to unfold.

It went to fast. One punch leading to another. I took the opportunity and tried to run. But I was grabbed by my hair, by the lady.

"You go no way." She slapped me across the face.

I knocked her in the stomach and ran behind my knight in the shining armour.

"Bravo!" The elder man clapped. "What a sweet scene." He smirked.

"You let her go, and I would leave." He whispered slowly. His voice sounded like the echoes of waves.

"Mind asking why you care?" The younger guy asked.

"I saw someone in need. It is only right I help out. Anything wrong with that?" He asked angrily.

"What a good Samaritan you are!" The lady exclaimed, still massaging her wrist and stomach, from the pain.

I knew we were running out of time. Leaning in close to the stranger, I whispered directly into his ear, "At the count of three, we run. The door is wide open."

He gave a barely perceptible nod.

"One... two... three... go!" I breathed.

"If you run, I will post this video on every social media platform simultaneously!" the woman threatened sharply, raising her phone. "You don't want your pretty little face to be the laughingstock of the city, do you, Dark Bird?"

I froze instantly. My grip on my savior's hand tightened until my knuckles turned white. My breathing hitched. The threat of me being exposed paralyzed me.

The stranger felt my sudden tension. He stepped in front of me, his eyes locked onto the woman. "Try it and see what happens," he threatened smoothly.

Click.

"Too late. It’s uploaded," she smirked triumphantly.

A cold dread washed over me. My life is completely over, I thought, tears finally welling up in my eyes. I slowly looked up, bracing for the worst, only to be caught by a profound wave of shock.

The woman was staring down at her hands in utter disbelief.

My savior hadn't just threatened her; during the distraction, he had swiftly snatched the device right out of her hands. With a sickening crunch of metal and glass, he snapped the smartphone completely in two, dropping the useless pieces to the floor.

The sheer rush of adrenaline, fear, and sudden relief was too much for my exhausted body to handle. The room began to spin violently. Slowly, my knees buckled, and I slumped toward the cold ground.

"Hey! Hey, stay with me. Come back to your senses..."

That deep, reassuring voice was the last thing I heard before the darkness fully consumed me, and I blacked out.