"Mr. Payne, this is Aria, Morgana's roommate. We met at the diner."
"Yes, I remember. Why are you calling me and on Morg ... Ms. Drake's phone?"
There is a pause and I can hear loud music in the background.
"I think Morgana might be in trouble. My boss sort of dragged her away and I think ... God I hope not, but I think he may try to force her to do something she doesn't ..."
My heart is about to burst out of my chest and I feel my palms beginning to sweat.
"Just out with it, Aria!"
"I think my boss might try to rape Morgana."
I shake my head trying to fit all this together.
"Why would you think that? Where are you?"
"Mr. Payne, I work at a club called The Mercer off of Adams in the Loop. Morgana stopped by to hang out and my boss took one look at her and ... well, apparently he takes whatever he wants."
This right here has caused my fist to hit, no, beat the crap out my friend Pillow. My knuckles are white and the tightness in my jaw makes it hard to form words.
"I'm on my way. I'll be there in ten minutes."
That's when I start running and I don't stop. I race out of my place and to the street. It’s bitterly cold but I don't feel it as I dodge people and cars trying to get about fifteen blocks as fast as I can. I hear a lot of "watch it" and "hey, asshole" but I don't care.
Before I know it I'm outside the club, the blue neon sign a blur as I race past the bouncer to the bar where I see a hand waving at me form the middle of a mass of white blonde hair. I grip the bar trying to catch my breath and she points to stairs in the back.
"He took her up there. One of the waitresses told me she saw him go in the last door at the end of the hall. I'll distract Gary, the bouncer, just give me a minute."
Aria grabs something from under the bar and raises a black walkie-talkie to her face.
"Hey Gary, there is an issue at the bar. A guy is getting a little grabby."
She widens her brown eyes at me and points to the stairs with her thumb. I head back there and pass, who I presume is Gary, a very large man with a spike through his nose.
Racing up the stairs I go straight to the back and put my ear to the door. I can hear Morgana's muffled voice, "What did I just say earlier, no means no. It doesn't mean yes or maybe or I kinda do but I am saying no because I am a stupid tease. It means no." There is a yelp and some movement.
Reaching for the handle I come to find out it's locked. I step back and look around to see if I can find anything to break the door. There is a red fire extinguisher on the wall and I begin to pry it off. After a few tugs it breaks free.
Racing to the door I begin to bash at the door knob with the extinguisher. Finally, after what feels like forever the handle loosens and I put down the metal extinguisher and use my body for the remaining blows. I don't even feel the pain when the door finally splinters open.
Looking around the room I see the asshat in question with his hipster douche beard on top of Morgana and she is pinned beneath him on the couch.
"Get the fuck off her now!" I yell.
He has the fucking nerve to just smirk at me, so I grab the shit-bag by the pants and toss him aside. Out of the corner of my eye I see Morgana scurry away toward the door. Suddenly I feel several hands grab my arms and someone is punching me. They drag me down the hall and I can see Morgana turn and go back into the room and kick the jerk, still curled up on the floor. This makes me smile, only a little as one of the guys punched me in the face and it hurts to move my lips.
I won't bore you with the details, but the usual happened in this sort of scenario: I got punched a bit, threw up (due to a good stomach punch) on the sidewalk outside the club where the men deposited me, and listened to them scream at me to stay away from the club. Little do they know I could buy the club and make their lives a living hell. Maybe I will do that on Monday, I need something to do anyway.
Suddenly I feel warmth on my neck and I look up to see Morgana wrapping her scarf around me. She looks beautiful and I can't help but smile as she puts her arms around me. I nuzzle into her neck, ignoring the stabs of pain from my torso as I move, and realize this is what I need. She's the soft, warm living thing I want to rub my cheek on.
Chapter 23 - THE Sleepover ...
So I am still pinned down by Jackson as Mr. Payne storms into the room. Before Jackson can do anything Henrik is lifting him up by his belt loop and tossing him aside into the coffee table. As fast as I can I scoot off the couch and into the doorway to notice two very large men, John from earlier and the man I saw at the bottom of the stairs, barrel down the hall.
It all happens so fast. I watch as the two men pull Mr. Payne off Jackson and give him a punch in the face and stomach before dragging him away. Glancing back I see Jackson curled up in a ball so I yell at him from the doorway.