It didn’t take long to return to Los Suenos Private Club. The shows were over for the night, so everyone had gone to other venues for their nightly entertainment. This gave Kenzie and Isaiah the perfect chance to sneak into the posh club where Jillian had been kidnapped.
The doors were locked, but Isaiah’s brute strength opened them right up. He’d already determined that, for some inexplicably asinine reason, there was no alarm, not even a silent one, to trigger that would indicate their trespassing. The two walked right in.
The venue was even darker than before without the bright glow of stage lights, but Isaiah easily maneuvered his way through the venue. He held Kenzie’s hand to help her along. It felt awkward considering he wasn’t her boyfriend, and she’d seen him naked just a few hours ago.
They managed to find the darkened stage and Kenzie was glad to see that the magician’s box of mystery was still there. The door was closed and Isaiah detected Jillian’s scent.
“It’s mixed with that filthy magician’s scent, but it’s there,” he ascertained as he knelt down in front of the box. “If the scent’s still fresh here, it definitely should be below stage.”
“Let’s get down there.”
“And how do you suggest we do that?”
“Isn’t there a hole in the bottom of the box?”
“Yeah, but he raised the platform back up after he ‘disappeared’ so people wouldn’t see how the trick worked.”
“So? Break the damn thing.”
Isaiah cracked his knuckles and, with very brute force, smashed the door to the box of mystery, then punched his fist through the bottom. It shattered and the wood splintered the floor of a dim room underneath. Isaiah climbed down first, then offered Kenzie his hand so she could also go down.
When she hit the bottom at last, she looked around and almost sneezed.
“Ugh, don’t they take better care of the venues here?” she asked out loud. “This place is filthy, even if it is just under the stage where no one sees.”
Stage props littered the floor and cardboard boxes were stacked against walls. The aroma of musk and dust was in the air and few of the surfaces were clean. It looked like a wreck, hardly fitting for a city like Starlight Shores.
“Come on,” Isaiah said as he grabbed Kenzie’s hand again. “I smell her. This way.”
Kenzie allowed herself to be led by Isaiah down a hallway. It wasn’t very big underneath the stage, and before long, the two were exiting out a side door and facing the opposite side of town.
“Every venue has a back door,” Kenzie stated. “I bet Eron took Jillian somewhere after getting her below stage, and he used this back door to get away.”
“I can still smell Jillian,” Isaiah replied. “Either his car isn’t well insulated, it’s a convertible, or he carried her on foot. Let’s go.”
Isaiah and Kenzie raced around to Isaiah’s La Matea and followed Jillian’s scent. Or rather, Isaiah followed the scent. Kenzie just sat in the car and hoped for the best.
At last, they came to a small house. Obviously Jillian was somewhere inside, and that hopefully meant that Cheyenne was as well. They walked up the porch and tried the door. It was locked.
“Screw this,” Isaiah growled. He reared his fist back and plunged it forward with enough force to send the door flying off its hinges. It crashed to the floor on the far side of the room sounding like thunder.
“Okay then,” Kenzie announced. “That works too.”
“We don’t have time to be subtle.”
Entering the house, Kenzie thought of how ironic this situation was. She’d been worried about Isaiah hurting Jillian, mostly because he was a vampire, and now they were unlikely allies teaming up to save her life from a psycho human, and they were using Isaiah’s acute senses to do it. It was almost laughable if not for the direness of the situation.
“If he so much as touches her,” Isaiah growled, his expression growing dark. “I’ll cut off his...”
“Okay, let’s not think negatively. Let’s try to be optimistic and find her. Can you still smell her? And can you smell Cheyenne? Are we getting close?”
“Yeah, the scent seems to be getting stronger. She’s here somewhere, and I think Cheyenne is too.”
After searching inside a few rooms, they discovered a trap door leading to a basement. Isaiah lifted it up and the two headed down a winding staircase. They walked down a small dark hallway and came to another door.
Isaiah kicked the door open and found himself staring into the startled eyes of Elijah the Enigmatic himself.
“What the hell?!” he demanded as he cowered behind his hands, as though they’d shield him from Isaiah’s wrath.
“That’s what I should be asking you,” Isaiah replied hotly. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Kenzie looked around and finally saw who she was looking for.
“Jillian!” she exclaimed as she raced toward her. Jillian was on the ground with her hands bound behind her back. Tears fell down her pretty face, smudging her mascara, as she saw Kenzie and Isaiah.
“Leave her alone,” Elijah demanded as he saw where Kenzie was looking. “She’s mine.”
“Like hell she is!” Isaiah said as he threw a punch into Elijah’s jaw. He staggered backward and nearly toppled over an old chair.
Kenzie began untying Jillian’s hands while Isaiah dealt with Elijah. Or Eron, apparently.
“Damn it, I said leave her alone!” he demanded despite Isaiah’s steel grasp on his torso, holding him back.
“No way,” Kenzie said with vehemence as she held Jillian in her arms. “What’s wrong with you? Girls dump you so you try to work out your anger by killing them and then kidnapping others?”
“What? That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Bullshit.”
“I swear, that ain’t what I’m doing.”
“Then you’ve got about ten seconds to explain yourself before I let Isaiah rip your head off.”
Eron just sneered. “I’d like to see him try.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Isaiah threatened. His hand moved to Eron’s neck to emphasize his point, and then he forced him against the hard wall, pinning him there helplessly.
“Look,” Eron said in a less menacing tone, “I wasn’t always a famous magician, okay? When I was just starting out, I had a few chicks, but they thought my dream was stupid and they said I was a dick, so they dumped me. Well, when I got famous, I got even better chicks. But after a couple of months, they all dumped me too. They’re nuts.”
“I think it’s you that’s nuts,” Kenzie retorted. “Did you ever think that maybe the reason so many girls dumped you wasn’t because of them, it was because of you?”
“It couldn’t be me. I’m a famous magician. Everyone wants to be with someone famous. They were shooting themselves in the ass for dumping me.”
“For a guy like you, that would seriously hurt your ego. You didn’t want the public to know you were dumped so many times, did you?”
“They wouldn’t have believed it. No one would ever dump a celeb. Oh, and by the way, you’ll never be able to prove I did anything wrong. I’m a celebrity. I’m famous. Famous people don’t go to jail. And if they do, they get out a lot sooner. But guess what? You’ve got nothing on me.”
“Bullshit. First of all, if a person was a big enough jerk, anyone would dump them, even if they were a celeb. And I say you fall right into that category. Not to mention how you look for the sexiest volunteers to use in the hopes of getting laid later. You’re a sick, chauvinistic pig. I do have to give you some points though – you came up with the perfect alibi. You couldn’t possibly have killed any of those girls because you were on stage, right? Well, obviously you don’t realize that coroners can easily determine when a person is killed by their liver temperature. And guess what? The girls that were found dead on your stages were killed before your shows even began. Like the night before. That would have given you plenty of time to hide the body and try to sabotage your own show to make people think you were innocent. But then again, why would anyone think you were innocent when it’s obvious that every single girl that’s been found dead on your stage is an ex? And that right there is your motive, which would be enough to get a warrant. Not to mention the mess down here that the cops will find. Your fingerprints will be all over this stuff and anything you used to drug these girls, plus the gun you used to shoot them when they were unconscious. You’re going down. And by the way, I said you were killing and kidnapping girls, and you just admitted it. I thought that wasn’t what you were doing. Funny, it sounds like that’s exactly what you were doing.”
At this point, Jillian propped herself up and Kenzie rose to her knees to address Eron. Isaiah still had a firm grip on him, and it looked like he wasn’t about to let him go, despite his wriggling protests and retaliations.
But that didn’t stop him from chewing Kenzie out for what she’d just said.
“Shut up you bitch!” he yelled. “You don’t know nothing about me! No one would know who those chicks were. They wouldn’t know they were my exes! And the cops would never find them down here!”
“The cops are already being called. And you just said you’re so famous now that everyone would want to be you. I’m sure your face is on the cover of several magazines and half of them have your latest woo toy with you. It wouldn’t be hard to figure out.”
“You’re doing it again! You’re twisting my words!”
“No, you’re just really stupid.”
“Shut up!”
Eron tried to lunge but he didn’t move an inch thanks to Isaiah’s steel grip.
“You shut up!” he warned. “I’m still strongly considering snapping your neck.”
“Enough with the threats,” Jillian said weakly. “Can’t someone call the cops?”
“Austin is already on it,” Kenzie assured her. “We need to get you out of here. But first, one other question.” She turned to Eron. “Where is Cheyenne?”
“Huh? How would I know?”
“Cut the act. She disappeared earlier tonight and she’s one of your exes. Although, you haven’t tried to get back with any other exes, unlike with her last night. Why’s that?”
Eron wasn’t going to answer from the looks of it, but Isaiah tightened his fingers around his windpipe so he choked out, “I didn’t know where any of them went. I just saw Cheyenne and told her I’d forgive her for dumping me if she’d reconsider touring with me. I’m famous now. I can’t believe the dumb broad said no.”
“You bastard piece of llama shit,” Isaiah said. “You’re sick.”
“Beyond sick,” Kenzie agreed. Isaiah pulled Eron’s hands behind his back, and Kenzie almost thought she heard a bone break.
“Kenzie,” he demanded, “get me that rope that Jillian was tied up with. I’m going to give this guy a taste of his own medicine.”
“Don’t kill him. That would be too easy. Plus you’ll go to jail.”
“I was referring to tying him up like an imprisoned savage.”
“Oh. Okay, that works.”
So Kenzie brought Isaiah the rope and he tied Eron to the chair. He didn’t look amused.
“Now,” Kenzie demanded. “Where is Cheyenne?”
“She’s in there.” He pointed with his nose to a nearby door, obviously hoping that if he surrendered and complied, Isaiah would let him go. No such chance. Kenzie opened the indicated door and inside was a tiny closet. Cheyenne was in there, curled up into a ball, and she toppled out when the door was opened.
Kenzie stooped down to check her pulse, and was relieved to discover that it was still strong. Cheyenne was luckily only unconscious. She hoped the paramedics would arrive quickly.
Meanwhile, Isaiah dashed over to Jillian and picked her up. “Are you all right?” he asked her.
“I am now, thank you.”
Isaiah held Jillian close, and Kenzie could see that he truly did care for her. He would never intentionally harm her, and he’d done everything in his power to help save her.
At last, the police arrived. This time, when Kenzie talked to the chief, her message was better received. Heather, though she hadn’t appreciated being proven wrong, promised that another squad car and ambulance would arrive shortly. Kenzie waited with Isaiah, Jillian, and Cheyenne until they showed up. When they did, Cheyenne was loaded into the ambulance. While watching, Jillian kept insisting that she was all right.
“He didn’t have a chance to do anything to me,” she explained. “I think he just kidnapped me because he saw me hanging around with Cheyenne. He knew we were friends. I’m not one of his exes, so I doubt he was planning to kill me. Or maybe he was trying to get to you, Kenzie.”
“If that’s the case, this is all my fault,” Kenzie said glumly. “I’m sorry, Jill.”
“It’s not your fault. That guy is a total psycho. You saved me and Cheyenne. I should thank you. So, thanks.”
“No need to thank us,” Isaiah said as he held his girlfriend in his arms. “We weren’t about to let you or anyone else be taken advantage of in any way.”
“To think, that asshole killed all those girls just because they broke up with him.” Kenzie heaved a shudder. “I’ve never heard of something more sick in my life. Except people hurting animals.”
At that point, a paramedic approached and said, “We’ll need you to come along with us, just to be safe.”
Isaiah set Jillian down and she climbed into the ambulance. The paramedic permitted one person to go with her. Kenzie insisted that person be Isaiah. Jillian had a new person to look out for her now. Not that she’d ever stop, but she knew and understood now that Isaiah was an important part of her life. And unlike other guys she’d dated, he was truly a good guy, even if he wasn’t human.
Isaiah tossed Kenzie his keys and asked her to drive his car to the hospital so they could both visit with her. She obliged and found Austin there when she arrived. Cheyenne and Jillian had been put in the same room, and their fan club gathered around both of them worriedly. Everyone was relieved when the doctor confirmed that Cheyenne’s drug intake had been minimal and easily discharged, while Jillian’s biggest problem was a little bruising from the ropes that had tied her up. It hadn’t taken long for Eron to confess after being cornered with all the evidence, plus surrounded by all the officers who’d shown up to handcuff him. Heather hadn’t been too thrilled about being shown up, but she did manage to thank Kenzie for her help, as well as give her a warning about “breaking and entering,” even for the most noble intentions. Kenzie had rolled her eyes behind the chief’s back but agreed to remember that.
Along with his confession, Eron admitted that he’d kidnapped Cheyenne earlier in the day when he’d spotted her walking to the karaoke bar. He’d snuck up behind her, clapped a cloth over her mouth with chloroform on it, and that had made her pass out. He’d then stashed her in his basement and gone to his magic show like nothing had happened. She was lucky to be alive and not dead from an overdose.
When Jillian and Cheyenne were both released an hour later, the group decided to live it up for the remainder of spring break. There were only a couple of days left before classes started again. Austin and Cheyenne were both on vacation from work, specifically to be in Starlight Shores to see Cadie Berry, so they’d be leaving the next day instead of in a couple of days like the others. They all agreed to hang out at the beach the next day before they headed back to Appaloosa Plains. Kenzie apologized to Cheyenne as well, and she humbly accepted the apology and gave one in return, as well as a thank you for saving her life. Despite their rocky start, it looked like the two were going to become good friends.
Isaiah drove Kenzie back to the Los Suenos Private Club, where her car was still parked, and she drove it behind Isaiah’s car back to the hotel. She offered to give him and Jillian the room to themselves, but they said she’d have nowhere to sleep. So Isaiah suggested they go back to his hotel and let Kenzie have the big room to herself. She was so tired that she agreed. Jillian thanked them both for saving her again before Kenzie headed back to the hotel.
After taking a shower and putting her pajamas on, Kenzie flopped down on the bed and thought about her long day. She was so relieved that Jillian was all right, and Isaiah had helped save her. She still worried about her friend’s well-being, but she now had a new reason to trust Isaiah. His vampire instincts, the supernatural things that made her so skeptical about him, had proved to be the most effective means of finding Jillian (and Cheyenne) before it was too late. Without him, they probably wouldn’t have ever been found at all. She’d be sure to tell him that the next day, in between asking him what he planned to do about the beach considering his very sensitive skin.
Before she drifted off to sleep, Kenzie also vowed to take care of one more important thing the next day. She’d come on this trip to have fun, and now she was completely ready to turn over a new leaf. Life was like a novel – you had to turn the pages to get to the end, sometimes having little conflicts and climaxes in between. She was ready to turn the page and make a fresh start for real this time.
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