Unforgiven (Wanderers #3) (5 page)

Inside the bass was thumping so loud it was vibrating
inside my chest. “I don’t know how you’re going to find anyone in
here?” Cameron said, stepping beside me. I looked around the packed
club. If I didn’t know any better she would be right. It would be
almost impossible to find anyone in here, but I didn’t need to see
Tristan to know he was here. I knew I would be able to feel
him.

I took her hand and pulled her over to a section near
the back where we would have a perfect view of the entire club.
There were two floors and we entered on the top. The top floor
encircled the bottom dance floor and had couches and tables set up
all along the perimeter.

As soon as we sat down Dean automatically went to the
bar. I tried not to let him bother me and concentrated on scanning
the dance area. I stood near the railing by our table while my eyes
searched everywhere. I closed my eyes hoping maybe I could get a
feeling for him, but I got nothing. I told myself not to get
discouraged. As I looked around I noticed the club was exactly how
Josie had described it – slutty chic. The girls were dressed in
what looked like very expensive hooker wear. As for the men’s
choice of clothes, they ranged anywhere from suits to casual wear.
The men in suits had taken up most of the private areas which came
complete with your own waitress. You could tell they had money to
spend and weren’t shy about throwing it around.

There were girls here who looked barely sixteen that
were throwing themselves at the men in the private areas. My
stomach churned at the sight of it and I wanted so badly to do
something, but I had to remember not to bring attention to myself.
I let out a sigh and looked out onto the dance floor again. “Here,”
Josie said, taking a spot next to me and handing me a glass. I
looked at her wearily. “Don’t worry. It’s just soda.”

“You really think he’d come here?” I asked, taking
the glass from her.

“Well,” she drew out the word. “You knew how Tristan
was before he met you and from what Josef and his friends have told
me a lot of
‘high society’
as they call them, come
here.”

“High society, what is that supposed to mean?”

Josie gave me a look saying she didn’t want to really
explain it. “Ella, think about it,” she said softly.

I let out a breath. I knew exactly what she meant. I
just didn’t want to admit it. She was right. This was definitely
the type of place he would come to. They catered to the rich and
there were tons of women here who would do pretty much anything if
you waved a few dollars at them. Not to mention both Billy and
Caleb had said this was a place he used to frequent. Once again I
felt my stomach churning. Josie gripped my arm sensing my
uneasiness. “Hey, that was Tristan then. He’s not the same person
now. Okay?”

I nodded, closed my eyes, and took a breath. She was
right. That was a different Tristan that came here. Not the one I
fell in love with. “Why don’t we sit down for a bit?” When I didn’t
budge she said, “It’s early yet. You know how Tristan liked to make
an entrance.” I let her pull me down into one of the chairs.

I had a hard time sitting still. I couldn’t stop
fidgeting. I kept having this feeling that something wasn’t right.
“Are you okay?” Josef asked.

“Fine.” I lied.

“You don’t look fine,” he said, looking at my shaking
leg.

I crossed my leg over the other to help the shaking.
“Sorry, I’m just…anxious I guess.”

“Maybe you should have a drink to take the edge off,”
he offered.

“I prefer to have a clear head.”

“Do you want to dance?”

“I…uh…”

“Come on Ella. We’ll all go,” Cameron said, pulling
me out of my seat and not giving me much of a choice. Dean and a
few of Josef’s friends stayed behind while the rest of us headed
down to the dance floor. I kept my eyes open, looking in every
direction hoping to see any clue of Tristan. I wasn’t in the mood
to dance, but I thought maybe being down on the floor would give me
a better outlook.

The girls mixed in with the crowd, dancing like it
was any other night out at a club. I just focused on my
surroundings. My eyes searched everywhere while I dodged excited
flailing limbs. “Look Ella, you’re not going to find him if you
keep looking for him,” Josie said.

“What?” I did not understand anything she just
said.

“You know how they say you always find what you’re
looking for when you stop looking.” I nodded. “Ella, it’s the first
night. I know you want to find him, but you have to understand he’s
not just going to fall into your lap. It might take us days before
we even get a clue. So while we’re here please just try to enjoy
yourself the best you can. Hello, we are in Ireland.”

I took a couple deep breaths and tried to relax.
Billy told us he was going to walk around and see if he could find
out any information. I think he more or less just wanted an excuse
to get away so Josie wouldn’t make him dance.

I was forced into the middle of the dance floor to
engage with the rest of crowd. Josie gave me an exaggerated smile
trying to get me to give her one back. I complied but still had a
hard time trying to settle my unease. I couldn’t get rid of this
feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was off about this
place.

Josie and Cameron started to twist me back and forth
forcing me to dance. To make matters worse Josie and Cameron
started to bust out some old school 80’s moves. They looked so
ridiculous I couldn’t help but laugh. Finally able to loosen up a
bit, I joined them with some creative moves of my own. “I hate to
tell you, but I think your moves are a little outdated,” Josef
said, joining us on the dance floor.

“We’re just having fun, come on.” I pulled him in
between all of us. “Show us what you got.”

For a young kid he ended up having some pretty good
moves. I was actually starting to have a good time goofing around
with them. I would still look over my shoulder every now and then
and search the crowd, but I saw nothing. Then I remembered what
Josie had said about finding him when I stopped looking. So that’s
what I did. I put my full attention on my friend’s ridiculous
moves.

Shortly after, the music started to slow down so
Josie and Cameron went to go get something to drink. I started to
follow them when Josef stopped me. “Do you w-wanna dance?” he
stuttered.

I figured, what the hell, and turned back around to
dance with him. I put my arms around his neck while still keeping
my distance. I knew Josef had a thing for me. Ms. Kraft’s spell to
block everyone’s thought was slowly wearing off so every now and
then I would catch random things people were thinking. I didn’t
want to do anything to lead him on. So I kept the dancing to a
minimum with friendly conversation. “How you come to live with your
grandparents?”

“My parents died when I was little so my grandparents
took me in.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how hard that
must have been for you.”

“It’s better than lying in a ditch on drugs.” I think
he was attempting a joke, but I wasn’t quite sure so I didn’t say
anything. “Relax. It’s okay. It happened a long time ago,” he said,
giving me a small smile. I returned it with one of my own. “Can I
ask you something?” I nodded. “Why are you looking for Tristan? I
mean no offense, but he’s an ass and I can’t remember the last time
he was actually serious about anybody. I mean the advice he used to
give me would make any girl cringe and let’s not forget –”

I stopped him there. “Josef. I know Tristan is your
cousin and I know how he is or used to be, but he’s different
now.”

“I’ve heard girls say that before too.”

“Well you can trust me when I say I am not one of
those girls.”

“Now that I could actually believe,” he smiled. “You
really think he’s still alive? I mean how can you be so sure?”

“I just know he is. I believe it in here,” I said,
putting my hand over my heart. “Don’t you?” He shrugged. “You know
you remind me a lot of him.” He stiffened and his eyes slightly
narrowed. “That was a compliment.”

“Some might think differently.” I was about to say
something when he got the strangest look on his face.

I pulled back. “Josef, what’s the matter?” I started
to get that feeling in my stomach again. He didn’t move. He barely
even flinched. “What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked again.

“I think we have some party crashers,” he said.

“What?” I turned in the direction of his eyes. Spread
out along the railing were a few men wearing long, black coats,
standing, and staring out into the crowd. My gut told me they were
not here for the cocktails. I turned back around to ask Josef who
they were when I saw more of them surrounding the other side.

“Something tells me these guys aren’t good news. I
think we should go.”

I was just as confused as he was. Then it hit me. He
knew. My father knew where I was and sent these men here to come
get me. “They’re here for me,” I said.

“What?” he looked at me confused. “They’re here for
you?”

“I don’t have time to explain. We need to go now.” He
grabbed my arm and started to pull me off the dance floor. I looked
back in time to see the men notice my hasty exit. I stopped and
pulled my arm from Josef. “Ella, what are you doing?” I let Josef
pull me away right as one of the men pointed in my direction.
Suddenly everywhere I looked there was a man in a black coat. Josef
kept trying to pull me through the crowd, but I couldn’t move.
There was no way we were getting out of there. I thought quickly,
closed my eyes, and focused. I pulled strength from deep down and
willed my powers to use everything I had to create a shield, hoping
to protect us from anyone who got in our way.

Well that’s what I tried to do. When I threw my hands
up, the force of my shield was so powerful, all the men on the
balcony flew back into the wall. Windows broke and glass shattered
everywhere. The people on the dance floor fell to the ground
cowering, scared from the blast.

And then there was chaos.

Crap.

I just stood there and stared at my hands, amazed at
what just happened. I heard people calling my name but it sounded
like a far off echo. “That was…unbelievable,” Josef said, tearing
me from my daze. My eyes quickly searched the top floor for my
friends. Billy leapt from the top of the balcony down to the floor.
I blinked and Josie was before me.

“Ella, come on,” she said, pulling me.

“Wait! Where are Cameron and Dean?”

“
Ella
,
I have
Cameron. Get the hell out of there!”
Dean projected to me.
Knowing that Dean and Cameron were safe I let Josie pull me
out.

We had a tough time getting through the crowd with
everyone running in different directions and scrambling to get to
safety. The men in black coats were now making their way through
the dance floor. One got a hold of Billy and I turned quickly
throwing out my hand and his attacker flew across the room. “Nicely
done,” Billy said as he grabbed me and started to shove me toward
the exit. More men in black blocked our way and soon we would be
surrounded. There was only one way we were going to make it out of
there. We’re going to have to fight our way out.

Billy was attacked by two men. I turned around to
help him and was face to face with one of them. I struck first not
waiting for him to get the upper hand. My attack took him by
surprise. I guess he thought someone like me would not be able to
defend themself. He quickly recovered and came at me full force. I
was able to knock him out and moved to help Billy. These men were
strong and trained well, but thankfully we managed to break
away.

We made it outside without any more interference.
“What the hell is going on!?!” Josie asked.

“My father, that’s what’s going on,” I growled.

“Your father?” Josef asked a little breathless.

“Short version…not really supposed to be here.”

“Come on, we need to go,” Josie said, tugging on my
arm.

“What’s the quickest way out of here?” I asked
Josef.

“This way,” he said as the door swung open and people
began to pour out. I was knocked away from my friends. “Ella!” I
turned in the direction of his voice and froze. In front of me was
one of my father’s men. I tried using my powers to throw him into
the crowd but they weren’t working.

“What the hell?”

He smiled and came after me. I attacked. It was hard
fighting in this damn dress and I was losing. “Billy!” I
shrieked.

Billy pushed his way through the crowd and ripped the
guy away from me. “Josie now!” he yelled.

“What?”

Before I knew it she grabbed me and then we were no
longer in the alley. I blinked and we came crashing down on the
floor of our hotel room. I sat up slowly, my head was spinning and
I was seeing dark spots. “Sorry, I never done that before with
another person,” Josie admitted.

I went to stand on weak legs only to fall back down
and then throw up in the nearest trash can. “Uh yeah, I probably
should have warned you it can be a little disorienting until you
get used to it.”

“You also need to work on sticking your landing,” I
grumbled before I passed out.

When I finally came to, I had a pounding headache and
my ankle was throbbing. I was lying on the bed in our hotel room. I
sat up slowly and looked around the room. Josie and Cameron were
curled up on the other bed and Dean and Billy sat around the table
discussing something intently.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Dean said, turning his attention
to me. I swung my legs off the side of the bed and tried to stand
up. I fell back as soon as I put pressure on my ankle. “Careful,”
Dean said, catching me, and helping me back on the bed. “I think
you might have sprained your ankle.”