Just Tell Me (The Justice Series) (16 page)

“
No way!” Alex told him “You promised me a hot date” she had already told the driver where to take them and they pulled up in a run down area of the city, under the railway arches. Daniel looked at the cold February street, wet with rain and shining orange from the street lights. Alex took his arm and walked towards a nondescript door, a couple of men stood ominously in the doorway, and he suddenly felt alarmed.

“
Come on” she walked up to one of the men and to Daniel’s surprise the burly man smiled at both of them. She opened the door and they went down the stairs to the basement club.

“T
his is the most closely guarded secret in Edinburgh” she whispered to Daniel as they stood at the bottom of the stairs, the heavy dance base was already loud and vibrating though the door ahead “It’s invitation only but I managed to blag two today after I’d spoken to you” She took her cloak off and revealed a skin tight leather top, her cleavage pushed up high, a tattoo of a raven visible on her left breast. Daniel couldn’t help but look in approval and she slapped him on the arm.

“
Eww…  Daniel!” she squealed “Stop it” they laughed and she handed him a little white pill “Here is something to help you relax”.

Daniel wasn’t sure, it had been a while since he took drugs but Alex had already
taken hers, so he put his on the back of his tongue and swallowed. Alex opened the door and the music hit them, the basement was crowded with people dancing to the rhythmic dark base of Modestep. 

They made their way to the bar and Daniel grabbed a couple of bottles of water, not knowing what effect the pill he had take
n would have in the next hour. She ordered double vodka and knocked it back, grinning insanely as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the mass of bodies on the dance floor. He was feeling happy and lost in the music, he looked back at his friend but she was dancing with a girl, her arms in the air as they moved in time to the music. 

All around him people danced and all he could think about was the music as the drug started to take effect,
the surge of energy ran through him as he drank from his water bottle and he lost Alex in the crowd. A man was in front of him now, looking at him meaningfully and gyrating. Daniel didn’t care, he danced with the man, smiling back at him and he realised Alex had brought him to a gay club. He looked about and saw same sex couples kissing on the dance floor, men lost in each others eyes
. I’m the only straight guy in this place
. His mind registered he didn’t look that out of place and he didn’t care either way anymore, his head was spinning as he went back to the bar for another bottle of water. He felt detached from his body. 

H
e scanned the room for Alex and saw her sat down with a blonde haired girl.  She caught his eye and beckoned him over, Daniel smiled back and stood for a moment, letting the music soak into his head. He scanned the room once more as he started seeing double, his heart started to beat wildly, the images distorted and disintegrated into his drug fuelled head. Still standing at the bar, his knuckles were white as he grabbed the metal. The drug was rushing through his veins, his brain was out of control and he staggered to the edge of the club. He had to get out, he had to find Alex. 

His mind was flying, forgetting his thoughts
as quickly as they arrived but first he had to sit down. He found a seat and laid back, his heart was pumping so fast he thought he was having a heart attack.  

Oh
God
he thought lucidly, suddenly feeling as though his mind was trapped in his failing body
.  I’m going to die, here in this gay club, it will be a tragic end,
and he could see the headlines in Hot Magazine. He didn’t want to die here, his mind was filling with paranoia as the drug turned on him, he just sat staring into the lights waiting for death to take him. Alex found him and she put her arm round her friend, his eyes were rolling back and his head was floppy. 

“Daniel, oh fucking hell, wake up”. 
She felt the panic through her own drugged haze, she needed to get him outside, he was having a bad reaction.
I need help
. She looked around the club but she couldn’t ask security, they would ask too many questions.

Paul was
having a fantastic Valentines Day night with Riz, he had secured the invitation for the club weeks ago and was looking forward to surprising his boyfriend. They had eaten pizza and drunk Prosecco, Riz was amazed his boyfriend had got them into the most closely guarded clubbing secret in Edinburgh. He touched his leg under the table, they were out and proud but knew that not everyone in Edinburgh accepted public shows of affection from the gay community.  

They arrived at
the club, hitting the dance floor straight away; Paul kissed Riz and signalled he was going to the toilet. He walked round the club, his eyes scanned the room for the toilet and he saw a woman looking concerned. 
Don’t get involved. Shit too late
, he caught her eye and looked at the man next to her. Her friend was laid out, just about conscious but he looked like he had too much too soon. Paul felt sorry for them and turned to go to the toilet, none of his business and it looked like trouble, but then he took a closer look at the man.
Oh fucking hell.
He was staring and the woman had noticed Paul looking.  She waved him over and he made his way over.

“I need some help
, my friend, he’s having a bad trip and now I need get him outside”. 

Paul looked at Daniel “I
s that Daniel MacIntyre?” 

“Yes, look please I need some help” Alex looked at him, her eyes pleading.  

Paul grabbed Daniel, his arms wrapped round him in an embrace. He had a good body. Paul made a mental note to mention this to Nicole later, and they made their way up the stairs.

“
My friends drunk too much” Alex told the bouncers on the door who looked at them suspiciously. They told them to take him round the back out of the view of any passing police, there were a few people queuing outside the door now and a murmur of conversation was flowing. A couple of people had their phones out.  As the flashes went off Alex put her hand up to try and protect Daniel as they went round the corner.  They sat him on an air conditioning vent, telling him to take some deep breathes as he groaned, barely conscious.

“I know this guy” Paul began but Alex stopped him.

“Please don’t, he really doesn’t need someone else selling their little piece of Daniel MacIntyre to the media” 

Paul scowled at he
r “No I mean, I really know of him, I wouldn’t do that, not to him, the only reason I came over to help you was because I recognised the face” Paul had to tell her about Nicole “My friend Nicole, she met him on a train and, oh God” he got dramatic “It was tragic, she’s never going to be the same again” Paul squirmed his face up and told her how sad Nicole was. Alex just stared at him. She was so protective over Daniel and she couldn’t quite comprehend what she was hearing, and felt the anger well up inside her at the thought of this Nicole.

“
She walked out on him! She’s just some fickle lying tease!” She spat the words out, automatically hating this Nicole after months of counselling her friend.

“
God no” Paul shook his head at her “No no, you have it all wrong, she fell in love with him, it was love at first sight” he stared at Alex “Look, she was beaten up by her ex, I think she was overwhelmed when she found out who he actually was, there isn’t a day goes by that she doesn’t tell me she regrets walking away but she doesn’t know how to get in contact with him” this wasn’t strictly true but he needed to get his point across “Especially after that program, she was heartbroken, honestly she’s lovely is Nicole, she just has terrible taste in men”

They looked over at Daniel, who was slumped out on the air vent, his head lent
on the wall, the orange streetlights cast shadows over his cheekbones and the saliva ran down his chin. Paul paused for a moment, should he tell her the complete truth?  He couldn’t. What kind of friend was he?

“I don’t fucking believe what I am hearing, and you have no idea what this means, look give me your nu
mber” Alex said abruptly as she pulled out her mobile “And I hope you’re telling the truth or God help you I will hunt you down and cut your balls off” she glared at him and Paul knew she meant it. He gave her his mobile and she even rang it to check it was the right one. He walked away from her and tried to get back into the club, the unrelenting bouncer stared through him as he explained himself.

Alex looked down at Daniel, she
had to get him home, and she felt around his pockets for his phone, flicking through his last dialled numbers. She rang the last one and was relieved when his driver answered. Five minutes later he had pulled up at the side of the club, they bundled Daniel into the car, away from the queues of people waiting to get into the club.

“
Can you take us to his house?” Alex realised she didn’t even know where he lived in Edinburgh, she had only gone to his London flat and the driver set off. She looked at Daniel in the car, he was moaning softly now and she knew he would be alright in a few hours. His face was lit by the passing of the city and she touched his cheek. Alex loved her friend. She felt his pain of his beautiful damaged soul and wondered if she should just forget Paul and this Nicole.

“I’m so sorry Daniel” she spoke to him even though he was half asleep
, she felt so sad for him, she had drugged her friend and now she held the darkest secret. He had a right to know and she would have to be the one to tell him. It was a case of choosing the right time, she didn’t want him going back into depression again. She had seen him at his lowest points and blamed Nicole. 
What kind of woman would do that to someone like Daniel
?  Her heart ached for her friend’s situation. 

She sighed and watched the city traffic disappear into the blackness of the country, she thought, not for the first time what would have happened b
etween them if she wasn’t gay. It was a stupid thought and she pushed it away, a pointless thought, she smiled humourlessly at her reflection in the window of the car. 

Daniel woke up, he blinked in the half light
of early morning, disorientated he patted his bed, where was he?  He tried to sit up but his head was like lead and he groaned and rolled over, he was fully clothed and in his own bed,
God had he passed out?
  He tried to recall the last moments from the night before, they had the meal, went down the stairs, took a tablet and then the dancing. 

He remembered dancing.
He remembered the guy dancing with him, he went to the bar and he couldn’t recall anything after that, but his body was tense with anxiety.  There was something else, something important but he just couldn’t remember, it was all a hazy blur. He stood up, his head was spinning, he searched his pockets but he couldn’t find his phone. What time was it? It was light outside. He heard a noise coming from downstairs, oh God he thought,
someone’s in the house
. Daniel was shaking now, sweat was collecting in beads, dripping down his forehead, he tried to tip toe towards the bedroom door, but he lost his balance and crashed into his dressing table. 

The noise got louder, he could hear someone as they walked up the stairs now, ready to kill him, and he looked wildly round the room, unable to move.  The door handle turned
, he was convinced that a masked serial killer would be kicking the door down with an axe, the drug still fuelled his paranoid mind. He fell down on his knees, tears rolled down his cheeks and Alex was appalled at the sight of him as she opened the door.

“W
hat the hells wrong with you?” concern flooded her voice as she saw him “Oh Daniel” she sat down on the floor and her friend slumped into her arms, he sobbed quietly into her shoulder now but he didn’t know why.  He was wet through and shaking.

“Oh Alex, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I feel so cold” he shivered in her arms “I had the worst dreams, and oh god it was Nicole again” he sobbed into her arms “Why can’t I just forget her? It’s like she haunts me at my worst times”.

“Shh it’s OK, Daniel just concentrate on getting through today” her voice was soft, as though talking to a child, she wasn’t sure he had heard the conversation between her and Paul, but clearly some of it must have filtered through to his subconscious “Come on lets get you sorted out” she helped him out of his clothes from last night and sent him into the shower on his own. There were some things she wasn’t going to do, she found some clean clothes as she heard the shower running.

Alex was unsure what to do next, she
he had slept next to him and woken early, sat in his kitchen and waited for him to surface.  Expecting him to come downstairs with a bit of headache, she was prepared to tell him the news about Nicole, but that could wait now. She needed to help her friend get back on the same planet. Daniel emerged from the shower, a towel round his waist. He looked more normal now but he still had a wild look in his eye, she felt unnerved as she threw his clothes over to him.

“Here put t
hese on and come downstairs, I’ll make some coffee”.  Alex walked downstairs and tried to work out Daniel’s espresso machine; she had looked round his kitchen earlier on when she made herself breakfast.  Everything was so new and unused, she looked in the oven expecting to see the plastic wrapping still inside it’s cavity but it was just spotlessly clean.  She checked her phone, Paul had messaged her Nicole’s details and she thanked him, she looked at the contact details he had sent her, Nicole Shaw.  Who was this woman? What did she look like? And how she would react to Daniel if he did contact her?