"What the fuck!" Elise cursed under her breath and Kai let out a sigh, frustrated to have missed the man by a short inch. "What does the door at the back open to?" She probed as they continued dancing, glancing at the black curtains that blended well with the wall.
"I have no idea," Kai muttered, his forehead creasing deeper thoughtfully. "This is the second time I am visiting this club and it is only now I noticed the secret door. Maybe, it's the VIP area." He shrugged lightly.
"Well, why don't we find out ourselves?" Elise suggested and deftly, the couple moved towards the curtains as they continued dancing, making sure to keep a watch out for any suspicious eyes.
"I hope we can sneak inside without getting noticed," Kai mumbled as they reached the curtains after a few seconds of hustling. Although the place was crowded, the area near the curtains was relatively empty. Elise and Kai both realized that their prolonged stay would only raise suspicions, especially from the bartender who had looked at them already twice.
"Pretend as if you are kissing me." Elise proposed all of a sudden, stupefying Kai for a moment and the man gaped at her like a fish.
"What?" He croaked in disbelief and Elise rolled her eyes at him.
"I have an idea in mind to test the doors and pretend as if you are kissing me."
"Why do I have to pretend? I could kiss you in real." Kai winked at her and Elise narrowed her eyes in irritation.
"And I could kick you in the balls immediately after. Try me." She spat and Kai let out a chuckle before he held her cheeks gently, startling Elise with his soft touch. For a moment, it seemed as though he would kiss her for real, especially with the way he was looking, his eyes flickering between her eyes and her lips.
Kai had never looked at her such fondly and Elise was at a loss for words. Either he was brilliant at acting or...
"Elise, focus." The man in question chided her, his lips arching up on one side and Elise snapped out of her stupor.
Taking a deep breath and forcing all other thoughts out of her mind, she shifted closer to Kai and leaned forward, covering her face and a part of Kai's with her hair. Now, to the people looking at them, it seemed as if they were kissing passionately.
Elise pulled Kai with such intensity that they collided with the door and seconds after Elise pushed him away, only to be stopped when Kai held her neck. He shook his head at her and moved their bodies such that they were now leaning against the wall beside the curtains as they continued to maintain the same position.
"What..."
"We do not want the people to suspect us, Elise. Act as if we are eating each others' lips." Kai answered even before she could reprimand him and that shut Elise up.
"What did you find out?"
"There are no handles outside. The door's locked and it only opens from inside or by using a card or fingerprint."
"Shit, that makes our job difficult now." Kai took a breath as he watched Elise bite her lips until he saw traces of blood on them.
"Elise..."
"What?" She pulled back slightly and this time, Kai let her go. "If we are acting like we are kissing, we need to at least make it seem real." She winked at him and walked back toward the bar, leaving Kai to rethink his view of life.
"Excuse me," Elise called for the bartender and the man came to her immediately, his lips arching up into a knowing smile when he noticed her bruised lips. "May I know where the washroom is?"
"It's at the end towards the left, Miss." The man replied with a gentle smile and Elise nodded at him gratefully.
"That was damn quick." Kai heard the bartender's praise and he raised his head as he wiped his lips. "Good luck, buddy."
"Thanks." Kai raised his brows playfully at him as he waited for Elise to return.
"Is this your first time here?" The man enquired as he wiped the glasses and Kai shook his head, not wanting to alert him in case he had seen him on his previous visit.
"I have been here before once."
"I see." The bartender nodded and started cleaning the counter.
"Hey..." Kai stood up when he saw Elise return.
"I need to leave now."
"What? Why?" Kai's smile slipped and he gave her a look of concern.
"I have an important interview scheduled tomorrow morning and I only saw the mail now. I'm so sorry." She apologized and Kai instantly understood what was happening.
"Not a problem. Let me drop you at least."
"Sure, thanks."
Kai nodded at the bartender and led Elise toward the exit. The crowd was too big and in the middle, he had to let go of her hand. In midst of all the pushing and pulling, Elise slammed right into a hard body.
"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." She mumbled her apologies, not looking at the man she had bumped into and pushed her way through the crowd to reach Kai, who was already waiting for her.
"I thought you liked the club and wanted to stay here forever." Kai teased as the couple started walking towards the parking lot.
"You must be delusional. Get yourself checked."
Kai just let out a chuckle and it was only when they hit the roads that his smile vanished.
"What did you find out?"
Kai had long deciphered her code words. If Elise had not found any important information, they would not have left the club this quickly.
"When I was in the washroom, I overheard two women speak."
"Wow, as they say, ladies' washrooms are always the best places to gossip and get more information," Kai exclaimed and Elise folded her hands, forcing the man to shut up.
"Are you done?"
"Not yet. But you can go ahead."
"Whatever." Elise pushed back her annoyance. "Anyway, apparently, the secret door leads to another part of the club, and to go in, we need to have a membership. Also, it is not just anything simple but a sex club."
"What?" Kai's brows rose in disbelief. "Sex club?" Elise nodded immediately. "I do not believe it. The club is the best in the country. It cannot be a sex club." Kai tapped on the steering wheel as he waited for the signal to go green.
"Unless..." He mused when the realization hit him.
"Unless?" Elise prompted, confused by his sudden excited mood. His mood had shifted within seconds.
"Unless it is a BDSM club." He glanced at his friend, his eyes twinkling like the stars. "Now, everything falls into place."
"I'll ask you one last time. Why did you betray us?" The man on the throne-like chair leaned forward and folded his hands as he looked at his prey in the eye. His forest green eyes were barely devoid of any emotion. His chestnut brown hair was disheveled and his dark blue tie lay loosened around his neck. Even if he did not show any emotion, a dark and dangerous air filled the room, forcing everyone to suck in a deep breath. The beast was about to unleash its wrath and they could only pray to stay alive at the end of the day and watch the sunrise again."Boss, you'll have to trust me." The man who was kneeling in front of the throne-like chair cried miserably. But no one pitied him. He had chosen the path of his own destruction and they could do nothing about it."Trust..." The man let out a chuckle all of a sudden and stood up, forcing the kneeling man to scoot further away from him in fear. "I do not trust anyone in this world, Marco. Anyone but my brother and you..." His smile sli
Reuel stood frozen in his place, blanking out for a moment amidst a crowd of drunken and sweaty bodies. He stared at his hands that had touched the lady, albeit briefly before he looked in the direction she had gone.'If only...' He wondered, his eyes filled with interest before he shook his head. Pushing away his thoughts to the back of his mind, he took a deep breath and ambled towards the bartender, keeping an eye around for him. Other than the usual activities in the club, he found nothing suspicious. It seemed as it had always been, as it always would be."Good evening, Boss." The bartender greeted him and pushed a glass of scotch, his regular and Reuel nodded at him in return."Anything worthy of my attention?" Reuel still had his eyes towards the crowd and if not for his barely noticeable lip movement, no one would find him talking."Not at all, Boss. Everything's fine here. But there might be something that interests you."This caught Reuel's attention and he finally focused o
Azael leaned back and turned around, his predatory eyes watching Craig run towards the stairs. His lips arched up on one side in sarcasm, and he scoffed before walking out of the place.Reuel too smoothened his trousers and followed his brothers. The inner office was their private space and no one was allowed there, not even their trusted employees.'Craig, you are just a leech. You do not deserve to breathe the same air around me, let alone enter our room.' Reuel sneered and took one of the only two chairs in the outer room."This should be fun." Azael leaned back and crossed his legs, ignoring the pain in his ankle while Reuel chuckled in mirth."It will be. Trust me."Barely had he finished speaking when there was a knock at the door. However, the anxious man on the other side could not enter the room even if they wanted to.Although they could not hear a word, Azael and Reuel were sure that the man was yelling at the top of his lungs and their smiles widened.Azael picked up the r
"Did you just mention a BDSM club?" Elise was flabbergasted and she stared at the man beside her incredulously."I think I did just that. Or do you want me to rewind time so you can find out yourself?" Kai teased and winked at her."Ohh, please do. Let me see how you will rewind time." Elise folded her hands, annoyed by the man's blatant foolish acts.Kai tried to remember what had happened a few minutes ago and sat straight in his seat while driving the car carefully. Fortunately for him, the road was clear. Other than a few vehicles passing by occasionally, it was practically deserted.It was past midnight on a Friday—the best time for people to go clubbing and relieve their entire week's stress."Unless it is a BDSM club," Kai repeated what he had said some time ago and glanced at his friend, his eyes twinkling like the stars. "Now, everything falls into place."Elise burst out laughing at his antics and her annoyance vanished momentarily. "You are fucking unbelievable.""I know. T
"This is so fucked up." Kai raised his hands and grumbled in annoyance as he looked at the remains after the explosion.Everything was a mess. The building was utterly destroyed and blood was splattered everywhere. The fatality rate was a hundred percent. Nobody in the vicinity of the building had managed to live to tell them how exactly the situation had come to this. Moreover, they were yet to find the death count."It was a time bomb." Elise kicked the fragments by her leg and squatted to examine the piece of the explosive. Although it was utterly destroyed like the place, she still saw a part of the timer clock. "And if the people who heard the explosion are telling the truth, then five timer bombs were used to wreck the place."Five, you say?" Kai stood behind as he analyzed the place. "Seems fair, considering how massive the building is. But just five time bombs are not capable of causing such a massive explosion.""No. But I think you forgot that this place had tonnes of RDX."
Elise sucked in a deep breath before she accepted the call. "Yes, Chief?""Elise, why haven't you updated me on the status of the investigation yet?" She heard a harsh voice from the other end and felt her blood boil in fury. 'It had barely been a few minutes since I arrived and this man was dying to get reports from me. How annoying!' She cursed under her breath and looked at her shoe, kicking away the broken piece of brick as though it was her Chief's head she was kicking."Chief, we are yet to investigate the matter completely. We have only begun." She tried but was interrupted by the shithead of a man. "Elise, I do not want any excuses. Do your job well." He ordered and Elise felt her hand itching to give him a good beating. He was the only irritating person in her life, besides Kai of course. But she could tolerate Kai, not her Chief. Never."Yes, Chief." Elise suppressed her anger and looked at Kai who was already staring at her in... concern. Elise frowned when she noticed t
Elise returned to the two men who were deep in discussion. "I apologize for that. I was seeking help from a trusted aid.""No problem, Officer. We were discussing what to do next." Daniel replied with a smile."This is going to be a long night," Kai mumbled, running a hand through his messy hair."It sure will be, considering the number of people who died here." Daniel agreed and closed the file in his hands."Sir," One of the policemen jogged towards them and interrupted their conversation. "I'm sorry for interrupting. But Officer Derek is looking for you. You are to handle the reporters.""Shit!" Daniel cursed under his breath and gnashed his teeth in annoyance. "Aren't we in a mess already? Why do we have to handle the reporters when we are yet to crack the case?" He grumbled, and Elise pitied the man for his state.It was one thing to handle the reporters when they had evidence with them and more or less knew who the culprit was. But it was a different thing altogether to face the
The reporter had no words to say and he lowered his head, utterly embarrassed by how things had turned out to be. Not only had he been humiliated by the police and the NCI, but he had also made a fool of himself in front of his peers. Unable to face the ignominy anymore, he departed from the place immediately.Daniel and Derek smiled at Elise gratefully while the lady faced the other reporters who had gone silent after her valiant attack."If any of you here is going to ask such stupid questions, I suggest you leave right away. Otherwise, you'll only disgrace yourself. I don't mind thrashing stupid people black and blue if that is what they're looking for." She warned and when she noticed that the threat had been registered by them, she stepped back again, allowing the two police officers to take over."Good job." Kia whispered the moment she was back to her place and Elise gave him a curt nod. Since the nuisance was gone, Daniel and Derek could handle the other reporters and Elise d