Chapter 2

“You got this girl!” I coached myself from my driver’s seat.

Tonight was the first night of my new job. After three months of unemployment after a fire took out my last job, I was finally returning to the workforce. Nervous wasn’t the word to describe myself right now. I wanted to make a good impression because I desperately need this shit to make the mortgage payment this month.

My savings was almost depleted. I was lucky I’d even had it to keep me afloat until now. God only knows how long the rebuild would be at my former job. They didn’t offer us a dime of severance pay, and I had almost exhausted every other option.

I needed this job to work out. With a heavy sigh, I climbed out of my car and headed up to the front of the building. I was greeted by a big, burly man, dressed in all black.

“Hi, I’m Salima Navarro. I’m starting here tonight as a server.”

He lifted the red rope to allow me entry. “Head on back to the boss’ suite.”

“Thank you.”

I headed inside. It was only seven, and the club was already packed. I guess that was to be expected because Aura was one of the most poppin’ clubs in the city. I was surprised that I even got the job. My home girl told me that they were hiring and the tips were everything. The more skin you showed, the bigger the tip. Tonight I was dressed in a black leather bustier with matching shorts that stopped right below my ass and showed off my thighs. I’d never been one to use my sex appeal to get money, but these were desperate times. I figured as long as I wasn’t out here fucking for a buck, showing a little skin wasn’t so much of a big deal.

I made my way to the back to the suite where I had my interview. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

“Hold on!”

I stepped back, resting against the cool brick wall behind me. A minute or so passed before the door opened and a man I didn’t recognize stepped out. He looked me over with a sly grin that made me slightly uncomfortable. There was something in his eyes that just didn’t sit right with me. He didn’t say anything as he walked away, but his presence sent a chilling feeling throughout my body.

“Who are you?”

My head jerked toward the boss man. He’d literally introduced himself as Boss, nothing else.

“Salima… Salima Navarro. I’m starting here tonight.”

Boss licked his lips. “Damn. You look different outside of street clothes. Nice outfit. You’ll fit in perfectly here. Come on in.”

He opened the door wider, and I slid past him into the office. I could feel his eyes on my ass. The first thing I noticed was the stack of money on his desk. No doubt it was from the shady nigga that just left out. Closing the door, he motioned for me to take a seat as he reclaimed the one behind his desk.

“So Salima… you ready for tonight?”

“I’m a little nervous. It’s so many people.”

He chuckled. “That’s standard, baby girl. You don’t make the money we make with an empty club. I’m sure you’ll be fine. A pretty little thing like you? You’ll make bank in tips alone. Just don’t be fucking up orders and you’ll be good. I’m gonna put you with Sweets in the VIP section. That shouldn’t be too overwhelming.”

He reached into a drawer and pulled out an apron and name tag, handing them to me.

“Peach?” I asked looking at the tag.

“All of my girls use nicknames as a safety precaution. You’re Peach. I think it’s befitting with all that ass you carrying back there.”

He laughed at his comparison. I gave him a tight-lipped smile. Something about him felt off to me, too. I didn’t notice it in my interview, but now it was abundantly present.

“Do you have any questions?” he asked.

“No, sir.”

“Okay then. Well, let me show you around before I hand you off to Sweets.”

After securing my apron and name tag, we left the office, and he gave me a mini tour of the back area. I made mental notes of everything, such as the bathrooms, break area, and supply closets. There was one door in particular that he omitted. It was an eerie, rusted steel door at the very back with several locks.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Nothing you need to be concerned about. That door is off limits.”

He walked ahead of me. I stood there for a moment, looking back at the door. What the hell was back there? It gave off horror movie vibes. Niggas never made it to the end of horror movies, so I’d keep my black ass away from it.

“Peach!”

“I’m coming.”

Boss led me through the crowd and up a flight of stairs to the VIP area. It wasn’t as packed as the main floor, but there was a good amount of people, mostly men. When I stepped in, several eyes drifted to me. Many of them held lust and desire. That was common. I was a pretty bitch. At five foot seven, I weighed in at a buck fifty. My mama always told me I was stacked like a brick house. She would know because I got my shape from her. Most every woman in my family was shaped like me. Mama claimed her cooking was what kept my father, but her body was what brought him home every night. As many times as I’d heard them fucking, I was inclined to think she was right.

“Sweets!” Boss called.

A short, pretty, brown-skinned girl looked up, and he waved her over.

“Sweets, this is Peach. I need you to show her the ropes tonight.”

“Boss, it’s busy. I don’t have time to hold her hand?—"

“Sweets.”

He gave her a stern look. She frowned as her eyes drifted over to me.

She smacked her lips. “You got any serving experience?”

“I do.”

“Good. Take that section over there. Don’t be too friendly and never accept drinks. These muthafuckas will try to roofie your pretty ass sure as shit.”

“I understand.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Grab a notepad from the bar and get to it.”

Boss patted my shoulder. “Good luck, Peach.”

He left the room, and I went to grab the notepad like Sweets said. Putting on my best smile, I walked over to my first table.

“Good evening, gentlemen. What can I get you?”

M y feet were on fire.

I’d been running around for the past three hours and if I was sure of anything, I needed better support shoes for this job. I stood at the bar waiting for the bartender to fill my current order.

“How’s it going?” Sweets asked, causing me to jump.

“Busy. Is it always like this?”

“Always. How are you doing in tips?”

“I’ve made a couple hundred. I guess that’s the upside to being run ragged.”

She laughed, and I think it was the first time she smiled at me all night.

“It almost makes it worth it.”

I turned to survey the crowd. Just then, a red light flashed in the corner. Several of the men got up and left the room, clearing out half the space.

“What’s that about?”

“All I know is Boss offers discreet services to select patrons. Don’t ask me what because I don’t know. My suspicion is drugs.”

“Drugs?”

She shrugged. “What else could it be?”

“Order up!”

The bartender placed my drinks on the tray. I grabbed them and delivered it to my table. Making my way back over to the bar where Sweets was still waiting.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“Go on. Half your section is gone now, anyway.”

“I’ll be right back.”

I left the VIP and took the stairs down to the lower level. I made my way through the set of doors that led to the back offices, welcoming the silence of the soundproof area. My ears were ringing from the loud music. I made my way to the bathroom to relieve myself. When I was done, I washed my hands and headed to the break room to grab a bottle of water.

As I was chugging the cool drink, I thought I heard a noise. I stopped and listened. Everything was silent, then it went pitch black. I began to panic. One too many horror movie scenes played in my head as I fumbled for my phone to use the flashlight. Carefully, I made my way back toward the doors leading to the main area. As I cracked it open, I could hear people panicking and running as several men with guns yelled for them to get out of the club. Quickly, I closed the door.

“Shit!”

I couldn’t go back out there. It would be just my luck to get shot or trampled trying to get to safety. I quickly made my way back down the hall, trying to find someplace to hide. That’s when I noticed the locked door from earlier was open. Boss told me not to go back there, but at that moment, all I was thinking about was saving my life. I quickly ducked behind the door and close it.

“I can’t believe this shit,” I said to myself.

Using the flashlight from my phone, I made my way down the dark hallway. I could hear frantic cries and hushed whispers. To say that nobody was supposed to be back here, it seemed like they were several people.

The back-up generator must’ve kicked in because soon the lights came on. I was standing in what look like an underground tunnel with several doors on either side of the walls.

“What the hell…”

A gunshot rang out, causing my heart to pound in my chest. I turned to run and ran smack into a hard body, knocking me to the floor. I looked up to see a masked man with a gun pointed at me.

“Please don’t shoot!” I screamed, backing away from him.

He advanced toward me, and I quickly climbed to my feet to run. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I had to get away from him. Clearly, I wasn’t moving fast enough. He grabbed me by shorts and yanked me back, slamming me into the wall. Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded with him.

“Please… I don’t know anything! It’s my first night working here!”

“Shut up!”

Piercing brown eyes bore into my soul. I prayed he could see the fear in mine.

“Please… I’m somebody’s daughter… somebody loves me…”

He was quiet as he looked at me. He pointed the gun at me again and again I screamed. A glove covered hand clamped across my mouth.

“Shut up before I give you a reason to scream. You got that?”

I nodded frantically.

“What’s your name?”

“S- Salima. Salima Navarro.”

More gunshots rang out and I bite back the screams in my throat. When they stopped, he grabbed my arm.

“Alright, Salima. Let’s go.”

He yanked me further down the hall, where he pushed open a door. My eyes widened when I saw the frantic, scared faces of several children all huddled up together. There were at least thirty of them, ranging from no more than ten to sixteen years old. The room held a few bunk beds, and dirty mattresses were spread across the floor.

“What… what is this.”

“This is what your boss does in his spare time. I’m sure you don’t need more of an explanation than that.”

He pushed me into the middle of the floor.

“Wait here. The cops will be here shortly.”

“What am I supposed to do! They’re gonna arrest me too!”

“If your story checks out, you’ll be free to go.”

Without another word, he closed the door.

“Wait!”

I tried to open the door, but it was locked. Defeated, I turned to the scared faces of the children behind me. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what do to. They all looked so terrified.

“Are… are any of you hurt?” I asked.

They shook their heads no.

“How long have you been down here?”

They were all quiet and looking at me like I was the enemy. Only one spoke up, a teenaged girl who looked to be one of the oldest.

“It’s been a long time,” she whispered. “Those men… they pay a lot of money to be with us. That man, the one that brought you in here. He said we were going home after tonight. He promised nobody would hurt us again.”

I opened my mouth to speak, and another round of gunshots went off. The kids began to scream. I went to them, trying to comfort them where I could, but I was just as terrified.

Would the masked man come back? Would he kill me, too? Would the police show up and if did they did, would I be implicated?

This couldn’t be the end. I was only twenty-five. I had so much life ahead of me, so much to live for. This couldn’t be how it ended.

W hat seemed like hours have passed and I was still stuck in this room with these kids. I couldn’t call anybody because I’d dropped my phone trying to get away from this mysterious vigilante. The shooting had long since stopped. Now there was silence.

“Is help coming?” one of the smaller boys asked me.

“I don’t know, baby. I hope so.”

Seemingly another eternity passed before we heard what sounded like saws against the large metal door. The kids ran back into the corner, and I ran with them, standing in front to shield their bodies.

“There are children in here!” I screamed. “Please don’t hurt them!”

The door opened, and in rushed several officers with guns raised.

“Don’t shoot!” I yelled, raising my hands.

One officer motioned for the others to lower their guns. They didn’t ask questions, simply started ushering the kids out of the room. When I tried to leave with them, one off it held out his arm to stop me.

“You need to come down to the station,” he said.

“But I did t do anything! I was thrown in here against my will!”

“This is standard procedure, ma’am. You aren’t being arrested, you’re being detained and taken for questioning.”

He ushered me toward a waiting’s officer.

She cuffed my hands and led me out behind the children. As we made our way back up the hall, we passed a room with an open door. The bodies of many of the men from VIP were laid out on the floor covered in blood and bullet holes.

My feet felt like there were held to the ground by two cement blocks. I couldn’t move.

“I… I heard them… I heard them being executed. How am I supposed to get that sound out of my head?”

“How are those children ever going to be the same?” the officer asked me. “They were taken from their families and paid for by pedophiles. These were bad men. Whatever they got, they deserved it. You’ll be okay, but them? They will never be the same again.” He pushed me forward. “Let’s go.”

We finally approached the forbidden steel door and headed through. If only I’d listened. If only I’d gone to the bathroom and back to the VIP section, maybe I could have gotten out with the rest of the club goers. As we walked past Boss’s office, I saw that it was ransacked. Whoever was responsible was clearly looking for something.

Panic began to set in. What if they had my information? The masked man had seen my face. What if he knew where I lived and decided to shut me up for good? I began to cry as the officer led me outside. The place was swarming with police cars and ambulances. Crowds of spectators lined the street on both sides.

Jesus be a fence… things were about to blow up. I just knew my mother was watching from home, absolutely mortified.

“Watch your head,” the officer warned as I dropped my head to get in the back of the car.

As I settled into the back into the seat, I surveyed the scene. I spotted Sweets crying in the arms of a man. She offered me a sympathetic look. As I continued to look around, something caught me.

Something tall, dark, and handsome. My eyes widened at the realization. Maybe I didn’t know the voice, but I’d never forget those eyes.

“It’s him…” I whispered.

The officers kept talking amongst themselves.

“That’s him!” I said louder and pointing. “That’s the guy! Hello! Are you listening to me?”

I turned my head for a moment, and when I looked back, he was gone. Was I losing my mind? Was I hallucinating? Maybe I was tripping. After all, I didn’t see his face. He wouldn’t be sick enough to murder all those men, then come back to watch the aftermath… would he?