Novel & Cerita Hangman's Alley

The doors of all the rooms on the floor were shut except one. I silently walked to the door slightly opened and from the scent of strawberry that hit my nose it was confirmed that I was at the doorstep of Alicia. I looked around trying to figure out which one could be Giuseppe's. I didn't want to spend time twisting and turning on every knob else I may just attract someone and instead of killing just one person I may end up killing everyone present here.

A narrow alley stretched between two old buildings—dark, easy to miss. “There. Less attention.” Without waiting, I pulled her along. The alley was tight, barely wide enough for the two of us. The walls were damp, stained with cracks and grime. A musty smell hit us the deeper we went, our footsteps echoing faintly. “This place…” Lorian murmured, uneasy. “It doesn’t look promising, Alex. I don’t like it.” “I’m not looking for promising,” I replied coldly. “I’m looking for unnoticed. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re being hunted.”

Their reaction actually started to clue me in. Phina whispered in my mind, alarmed, “Could it be a place that a man should know?” My muscles tightened. Could it make them suspect me? Finn whispered to me, “Nightshade Alley is a rogue-run underground brothel buried in the darkest corners of the wild territories. A place where she-wolves are sold, ruined, used, and discarded like meat. It’s an abyss of nightmares.” A chill ran down my spine but I controlled my facial expressions. So Grace was actually taken to a brothel?

But desperation had driven her to this point. The alley was narrow and foreboding, hemmed in by towering brick walls that seemed to lean inward, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. Shadows danced ominously in the flickering light of a single, half-burnt-out street lamp. Alessia leaned against the rough brick wall, pulling her coat tighter around her body as if it could shield her from the unseen dangers lurking in the darkness.

She didn't know what to say that will not make her a hypocrite. As they reached their destination Ivana turned the engine off and took out a black mask with silver intricate designs. The car was parked in a dark alley in front of an illegal bar where many Assassins and Gangsters came to enjoy alcohol, drugs, women and death-prison-fights. The Free-Cage alley was a no-go area, a law free zone. If a person was killed in this alley the law isn't accountable for it. And the people who were killed here even their corpses deserved years of prison time, so the government had turned a blind eye to them.

Dante I walk up to a shuttered bodega. Pieces of the paper sign flap in the wind, declaring that I can get “sacks” and “dinks” inside. New York City flows around this abandoned piece of itself, not even glancing at it. Perfect. I slide into the alley beside it, unlock the chain on the back door, and step inside. Tony and Cal Duncan stand in the flickering light of the ex-backroom, now lined with knives, cattle prods, ropes, and any other torture instrument a Saint has come up with in the last decade.

CHAPTER 30 – GHOSTS OF THE HIGHWAY The alley was chaos incarnate. Rain poured like a relentless drumbeat, washing blood, mud, and ash into the cracks of the pavement. The ledger lay scattered, pages fluttering in the wind like wounded birds. Smoke curled from shattered streetlights, and every shadow seemed alive, moving, waiting. I stood amidst it all, chest heaving, soaked to the bone, knuckles raw from fighting. And Luca… he was gone.

Despite the darkness of night, the streetlights illuminated the sidewalks enough for them to see clearly. “There,” Elliot said, pointing down a back alley. “Is that him?” “Hey!” Nate called out, waving his arm. “Alex!” The individual tipped his face up at the call, showing Nate, Elliot, and Freddy it was indeed Alex. A panicked look registering just as quickly as surprise, Alex stared for perhaps a millisecond before taking off at a run. The men cursed and tore down the alley after him. The smells of the alley assaulting their noses, they ran past dumpsters, garbage cans, and a vagrant or two before Freddy was able to get a hold of Alex’s jacket.

Bryan pointed to a dark gap between two tall buildings. We dived into the shadows just as a group of hunters reached the entrance. The alley was narrow and smelled of old rain and garbage. At the end of it was a tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. "We’re trapped," Bryan gasped, putting Elle down. He looked at the fence, then at the mob growing at the mouth of the alley. "Hazel, I can't climb that with her. My strength... it's gone. I'm just a normal guy."

Rai's words that warned her a moment ago suddenly rang in her ears. Angie took a deep breath. She checked the small sling bag she was carrying, making sure the folding knife she always kept hidden in her bag was still there. "It's now or never," Angie muttered. The deeper the man went into the alley, the more tense Angie became. The narrow alleys in the area were numerous. Normally, inside those narrow and dark alleys were a few hidden shops that sold goods that were not free to circulate. Of course, these shops were disguised under the pretense of selling alcoholic beverages or snacks.