Kat leaned forward, eyeing the tall weeds overtaking the shack near the pumps. “The club is in a gas station?”
Blake laughed. “No. Just drive around the building. Stay on the dirt road.”
“You are giving my car a bath when we get back,” I muttered, easing the SUV down the narrow dirt road.
Man, the farther we drove down what I was beginning to think wasn’t an actual road, but more of a path, I imagined this is where many humans had traveled to never be seen again. Trees crowded the sides of the SUV, and we passed several run-down boarded-up houses that probably never saw electricity.
“I don’t know about this,” Kat said. “I think I’ve seen all of this in Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
I snorted, but I thought she was right. The SUV bumped over the uneven terrain, and then there were cars. Everywhere. Cars parked in haphazard lines, beside trees, crammed across a field. Beyond the endless rows of vehicles was a squat, square-shaped building with no outdoor lighting.
Kat sat back. “Okay. I think I actually saw this in Hostel one and two.”
“You’ll be fine,” Blake said. “The place is hidden so it stays off the grid, not because they kidnap and kill unsuspecting tourists.”
I parked near the back, away from the assholes I knew would open their car doors right into mine. As I killed the engine, a guy stumbled out from between the row of cars in front of us. My brows rose as I caught sight of the spiky green Mohawk. Interesting.
Kat opened the door and climbed out, hugging her coat close. “What kind of place is this?”
“A very different kind of place” was Blake’s answer as he climbed out, slamming the door shut.
“Hey,” I shouted as I gently closed the driver’s door. “Slam my car door again, and it’ll be your head.”
Blake sighed as he turned to Kat. “You’ll have to lose the jacket.”
“What?” She glared at him. “It’s freezing out. See my breath?”
“You’re not going to freeze in the seconds it takes us to walk to the door. They’re not going to let you in.”
“I don’t get it.” She clutched her jacket. “So not fair.”
I went to her, folding my hands over hers. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I mean it.”
“If she doesn’t, then this was one huge time waster.”
“Shut up,” I threw over my shoulder, at Blake, and then focused on Kat. “I’m serious. Tell me now, and we’ll go home. There’s got to be another way.”
Kat shook her head and stepped back, unbuttoning my jacket. “I’m fine. Pulling on big-girl undies and all that jazz.”
Big-girl undies? What in… All thoughts vanished as she took the jacket off and tossed it inside the SUV. Holy shit, I wanted to get her up against the nearby tree and I also wanted her to put the damn jacket back on.
I stepped back, eyeing her from the pointy toes of her boots, up the ripped black tights, over the short denim skirt, and then my gaze got hung up on her bare stomach and that cute little belly button.
Oh damn.
“Yeah,” I muttered, shifting so I blocked her from the…the world. “I’m not so sure about this.”
“Wow,” Blake said, admiration obviously in his voice.
I whipped around, letting go of a small pulse of the Source. Whitish-red sparks flew from my fingertips. Douche Bag darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the hit.
Kat heaved a sigh. “Let’s get in there.”
Sending him one more look of warning, I placed my hand on her lower back. We started forward, stalking between the cars as my palm burned from the contact. The building was pretty nondescript. No windows. Only a steel door, but as we drew close, music from inside could be heard.
Kat glanced back at Blake. “So do we knock—?”
I stiffened as a mountain of a man appeared from out of freaking nowhere. Dead of winter, and this dude was wearing overalls with no shirt on underneath. His hair, spiked in three sections, was purple. Piercings were all over his face—nose, lips, eyebrows. He had a planet pierced in each of his earlobes.
And even though he was human, he looked like he could lift a house with one arm.
Kat took a step back, stumbling into me, but Mountain Man was eyeing me like he wanted a piece. “See something you like?” I asked.
The guy smirked.
Blake jumped in. “We’re here to party. That’s all.”
Mountain Man continued to stare at me as he reached for the door, opening it. Music blasted from the inside. “Welcome to the Harbinger. Have fun.”
With my hand still on Kat’s back, we stepped inside. The door shut behind us and Blake said, “I think he liked you, Daemon.”
“Shut up,” I said.
He let out a low laugh as he slipped past us in the tight, dark hallway. A few steps in and then we were in the club.