Chapter Four

I hardly had any time to process what he had just said to me before a second long bang erupted throughout the room. I couldn't make out where it came from, but as soon as the first bang hit, another did too. I heard yelling, and glass breaking. I looked around the room frantically trying to see for a way out.

"Someone's shooting we need to go," Rory yelled. We both were looking for an exit when Ash grabbed Rory and I and hid us behind the bar. The woman who was bartending had her hands over her head and was sitting on the floor with us. She had tears in her eyes, and she had a pocket knife in her lap.

"You two, don't move," Ash yelled, sternly. The easiness that was in his eyes just a moment ago was gone. His eyes turned an even darker color, if at all possible.

Rory and I both nodded. My hands were shaking, and my heart was pounding. Rory didn't look as scared as I was. She was taking deep breaths and grabbed my hand. Two more shots rang throughout the club, and more screaming erupted.

"I'll be right back," Ash said, looking behind him.

My eyes widened, and I grabbed his hand as he was turning away.

"You can't leave. We're going to die." I exclaimed. How could he be so idiotic? Why would you want to look for the person who was shooting?

He laughed, nervously.

"You'll be fine. I won't belong. I promise." He kissed the top of my hand and winked at me before turning around and running into the crowd of people. I lost him within seconds, and more shots rang out above our heads. Heavy glass bottles and cups broke all around us.

"Shit, the glass!" Rory yelled and grabbed her hand. She had blood running down her arm. I looked under the bar for napkins or towels — anything to stop her bleeding. More shots rang out, and I frantically searched beneath the bar.

"Forget it, Ade. We gotta get out of here." She cupped her hand and nodded for me to follow her. She started crawling to the other side of the bar.

"What about Ash?" I howled, "He said to wait here."

"Do you want to live or die?" She snapped, and grabbed me with the hand that wasn't bleeding, practically dragging me. We crawled our way to the other end of the bar, and Rory poked her head out.

"Let's go. Run!" We both got up on our feet and ran like our lives depended on it. Even though it kind of did. We pushed through others who were also trying to find a way out. Men were fighting, and from behind us, two more shots erupted. People were dropping to the floor and covering their heads. I was praying today wasn't the day I would see a dead body. Still, barefoot I had blood on my feet, and I immediately knew it wasn't mine.

We pushed our way to the back of the club and ran up more steps. Jesus, how many floors did this place have? I looked behind us and saw a man running to catch up. He had a gun in his hand.

"Rory, we're being followed." I was running out of breath. The third floor to this place looked to be mostly rooms. Maybe this was a hotel before they turned it into a club. Rory and I ran around a corner with that man still on our trail. I was breathing hard and wasn't sure how much longer I could keep running. If I learned anything tonight, it was that I desperately needed to get back to the gym.

"Stop running, bit-" Before the man could continue his sentence, a gunshot ricocheted throughout the hallway, and a thud hit the floor. Rory and I stopped running and spun around.

Josh was standing there with a gun in his hand, and blood on his shirt. The man had a bullet hole in his head. Apparently, tonight was the night I was going to see a dead body. I didn't want to cry, and I didn't want to show I was scared. That is a deadpan sign of weakness to men like him. My lip trembled, but I held my tears back. Josh kicked the man to the side slightly and walked up to Rory. I took a step away from him.

"Both of you run to my office. You know where it is, Rory." His voice was mellow. He was way too calm for a man that just killed someone.

She nodded, and choked out an, "Okay." She had tears in her eyes, and one lonely sob came out. He wiped the one tear on her face away and smiled at her solemnly. More yelling and pounding rung out from down the hall. More men were coming. He sighed and put a pocketknife in Rory's hand.

"Don't cry, run." He whispered, and pushed us. He didn't need to tell me twice. I grabbed Rory, and finally, her feet started moving. Josh turned around and ambled down the hall with his gun in his hand.

"This way," Rory exclaimed, letting out a loud breath. We made a left and were met with another long hallway. I felt like I was never getting out of this maze. Every door looked the same, and every entrance seemed to get more narrow. I felt like I was stuck in the desert, and I hadn't had a drink in days. My throat was dry, and my hands were trembling. My feet hurt tremendously. I think I had a piece of glass in them.

After what seemed like years of more running, we came to the end of a split hallway. There was one door on each side.

"There you are." A mysterious voice whispered. Rory and I stopped dead in our tracks. Standing ten feet behind us, there was a man with white hair, in a beautiful black suit. He held a gun in his left hand. An evil smirk made its way onto his face. He looked unkempt and clean. He hadn't appeared to have been running. Where did he come from?

"Run now!" Rory screamed and pushed me towards a door at the end of the hallway. I turned back around and ran for the door. It was heavier than I expected, and on the other side of the door, there was another hallway. I groaned, and tears flooded my eyes. This was hell. I had so much adrenaline I could have lifted a car off of a baby. I suddenly realized that I didn't hear footsteps behind me. Glancing back, Rory wasn't there. Panic sat in, but I didn't stop running.

My legs hurt and this corridor was confusing. I was in a labyrinth, and I was sure I was going to get killed. I wanted to scream for Rory, but I was too afraid the wrong people would hear me.

Suddenly, I came to a dead end with only one door. My feet practically skidded on the floor. I prayed to god that the door wasn't locked. I reached for the handle, but before I could grab it the door swung open, and there stood Ash with a worried expression on his face. He yanked me in the room by the arm and hugged me. We stayed like that for a few minutes. With my head on his chest, I could hear his heartbeat. He was calm and collected, unlike me.

"You okay?" He asked, cupping my face. He looked anxious, but not at the situation from downstairs, but for me.

"I'm fine. Just scared." I whispered. Putting my hand over my heart.

"I told you to wait behind the bar. I've been looking for you." He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. I could tell he was annoyed with me.

"I know, Rory and I ran instead." I murmured.

Looking around I noticed we were in a very dark office. I was guessing this was Josh's office. There were pictures on the walls of others I didn't recognize, and a giant desk in the middle of the room, and a closet in the back. Papers cluttered the desk in front of me. I skimmed the articles. I recognized some of the names written. Some were men that went missing, and others were men in jail. One thing that they all had in common though was they were involved in gangs from the south side.

My jaw dropped slightly, and my gaze met Ash. That's why those men were chasing us. And that's why there was a shooting. This isn't just some regular club. This is the club where the gangs like to do their business.

I became enraged that my sister knowingly brought me here. But, the anger sizzled out partially with worry. I needed to find her.

Unexpectedly, there was another gunshot that sounded closer than before. My indignation subsided utterly, and Ash grabbed my arm and yanked us both in the closet. There wasn't much room, and we were chest to chest. My breathing was erratic, and my nails were embedded in my palm. Ash looked relatively calm and collected. As if he was used to this sort of thing.

The door to the office opened, and heavy footsteps entered the room. Ash wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer than we already were. If that was even possible.

Standing in the closet, I heard footsteps on the other side of the closet door. I wrapped my arms tightly around Ash's waist and held my breath. I could listen to my racing heartbeat in my ears. I could feel his hand reach down to his side, and I could see the outline of a gun on his waist.

I didn't want to die today.

The mystery person was slamming the drawers on the desk and muttering to himself. I could hear him kick a chair, and it sounded like papers were flung off of the desk. It was silent for a few minutes until I listened to the footsteps abandon the room, and the hard wooden door slam behind. Ash and myself both relaxed, immediately.

He chuckled, "Who knew, all I had to do for you to wrap your arms around me was put us in a near death situation."