Free Finding Home: A Club Dark Novel by Reagan Hollow

kidding, right?” I can hear the panic in my voice and I don’t like it one bit.
    “No, Miss Carter, I assure you that I am not kidding. My security team seems to think you can aid us in identifying a few of the patrons we didn’t recognize. You’ll be perfectly safe. I’ll stay by your side the entire time and my team has orders to be extra vigilant. You have nothing to worry about, you have my word.” As much as I don’t want to go back to the club, I can’t deny that I’d really like to get to the bottom of this. A feeling of dread creeps up in the pit of my stomach. I have a feeling that what we discover tonight is only going to make that feeling worse. “Fine, I’ll go.” I reluctantly pull myself out of bed, not the least bit happy about having to leave the safety and comfort I just felt.
    “I’ll give you some time to freshen up. We’re about a thirty-minute drive from the city, though, so we’ll need to be leaving as soon as possible.”
    Everything in me is screaming not to go back to that club. But if I want answers, I don’t have a choice. As I stand, I realize my suitcase is sitting beside the bed. That both relieves and terrifies the living shit out of me. I’m happy to have some different clothes to put on, but how did he even get them? Unzipping the bag, I find a note on top of my favorite pair of jeans.
    Lacey,
                    Omg girl. I am so sorry. I have been a nervous wreck since you left last night. I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for this, with me making your drinks and all. But that’s what I’m so puzzled about. I handmade and delivered each one of your drinks. How anyone else got access to them is beyond me. I do hope you are okay, and the apartment is still yours when you feel better. I wasn’t sure how long you would be away so I brought your suitcase to Mr. Lewis at the club so you can have some of your own things to wear. Hoping to hear from you soon,
    Amber.
    Well, that explains how my suitcase got here. Pulling jeans and a plain black t-shirt out, I get dressed and walk downstairs to meet Cory.
     
     
                                                                                         ⃰
     
    The ride to the club is uneventful. I’m nervous about the entire situation and having to go back into that place to hold much of a conversation. Which seems fine with Cory, he just turns on the stereo and we fall into a comfortable silence. I’m starting to feel relaxed around Cory, and I hate it. I don’t want to be relaxed around another man. All he’s going to do is hurt me, and then where will I be? Still, there’s just something about him I can’t place my finger on. Something that’s quickly drawing me in. On the outside Cory acts like he’s tough and all business, but something tells me there’s so much more to him than what he lets on. The longer I’m around him, the more I want to crack that surface and get to know the real Cory.
    We arrive at the club and instead of him parking on the parking deck like Amber did the night before, he pulls his car around and parks in the back. Almost immediately, two huge guys with black security shirts walk out the back door and head straight for the car. I recognize one of them and remember seeing Mr. Military aka Alex, from last night. But the other guy is new. He’s just as impressive in size…seems like Cory likes his security with a skilled background.
    “Good evening, Mr. Lewis. Thank you for coming back, I know you had a long night,” says Military.
    “Have you and Kevin found anything new?” Kevin must be the look alike.
    “Not exactly. There’s one guy who stands out, but he could just be a new patron. I’m having our I.T guy look into our guest list from last night and cross reference it with our regulars. Still no luck on the deleted footage, but he’s working on that as well.” At least these guys seem