Taking a right, I drove through an almost empty street. My gaze continued their connection with the GPS tracker of my phone. I never heard of that bar’s name before, and after tracing Beth’s phone, I found it was at Northern Avenue. The street was infamous for old buildings, illegal casinos, small cafés, and bars. And most importantly, hundreds of alleys.
I’d no idea what the hell she was doing here this late at night. And seeing the eerie silence around, I felt people of this area called it a night much earlier than others.
Once I was finally at my destination, in the middle of a narrow road, I double checked the location and the bar’s name. A big ‘Dakota’s Bar’ sign was written above the building, red fairy lights lit around the edges. Two wobbly, rugged men stumbled out of the bar, raising the scale of my anxiety.
I’d just pick her up and flee out of this uncanny area.
When I was about to park my car in the small parking lot at the corner, I found it full. And the casino beside it explained the reason. I was about to park my car outside the bar, but a big no parking sign stopped me.
Sighing, I turned to another narrow road where I found a place to park. Taking my phone, I walked back to the bar.
Cold air pricked my skin as I walked along the side of the street. My brown locks swayed with the breeze. Distant music coming out from the casino’s closed doors was the only thing I could hear other than stray dogs barking from afar.
As soon as I entered the bar, her sprawled figure came into my view. With a large bottle in her hand, she sang something in her not so pleasant slurry voice. Her dark curly head rested on the round table in the corner. It was a small bar, so finding her wasn’t a hassle.
When I approached her, a man in a white shirt and red bow around his neck greeted me.
“I guess you’re the friend of hers I called, right?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s me. Thank you so much for informing me about her. I had no idea she would be here,” I said, genuinely grateful. At a place like this, she could fall into the wrong man’s hand. Thank God, this man, who must be a bartender here, turned out to be a gentleman!
“No problem, miss. She’s been here for the last four hours, drinking and crying non-stop. When it was our time to close the bar, we asked her to leave, but she wasn’t in a state to leave alone, so we’d to call you.”
Crying? What happened to her?
“Again, thank you so much for taking care of her until I arrived.” I hurried to her and called out her name.
Blinking her red, swollen eyes at me, recognition flickered over her face as an uneven smile stretched across her lips. “Emmm! You’re ‘ere! I was soooo lonely.” She tugged at my hand. “Come, sit ‘ere! Now we’re going to drink together!”
I brushed her unkempt hair away from her forehead, her cheeks were streaked with dried tears and smudged mascara. She looked like a mess.
What happened to her? God, I hoped everything was all right. I’d talk to her once she was sober. But I needed to get her out of here first.
“No, Beth. You’d had enough drinks for tonight, you aren’t having any more. Let’s go, we’re leaving.” I tried to get her up by her shoulders, but she shrugged me off.
“Nooo, I don’t want to go! Need more drinks, an’ you’ll drink with me,” she slurred. “Hey, you! Gimme another bottle!”
The man shuffled in his place, eying his watch. The whole bar was empty. He was just waiting for us to leave so that he could close the bar.
“Beth! Come on, get up! We need to go!” Forcing her to stand, I wrapped one of her arms around my neck and snaked mine around her waist.
“No! I want a drink!” she complained but walked along with me, with swaying legs.
“I’ll give you one once we’re home. Now let’s go,” I said, glancing at the man. He asked if I needed help, but I refused. Paying her bill, I thanked him again and carried her out of the bar.
Once outside, I glanced around, leading her the way my car was parked. Some wobbling figures appeared and disappeared around the corners.
As I dragged her along, she started crying again, mumbling something incoherent under her breath.
“Shh, Beth. It’s all right. We’re almost there.”
A sudden shiver ran down my spine as I felt eyes on me. My gaze flickered around, but there was no one. Only two dogs passed across the road.
I tried to ignore it, but it was too strong. When I heard footsteps behind me, I turned around. A fleeting figure moved behind a black Range Rover, making my heart skip.
Someone was following us.
With my heart in my throat, I turned around and urged Beth to walk faster. But her being drunk hindered our pace.
When we passed the head of an alley, I almost ran as a whistle reverberated across the street. Some middle-aged men were huddled under the damaged streetlight, and I could feel their gazes set on us. When one of them pushed against the wall, standing straight, I tightened my grip on Beth and dragged her as fast as I could.
“Come on, Beth! Walk faster! We need to move fast!” I urged her.
She groaned. “I don’t wanna go home!”
“We’re going to my place, don’t worry. Now walk faster!” I said, glancing over my shoulder. No one was there.
As we turned to the road I had my car parked on, I almost sighed in relief. Until footsteps behind us reached my ears. And this time, there were several. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked as fast as I could with her along. With another hand, I fished out my pepper spray and phone from my pocket and kept them in my hand.
Shit! I shouldn’t have come here alone. I should’ve taken the bartender’s help.
The footsteps came closer when we were almost near my car. My brain screamed at me to run, but I knew I couldn’t. Fear gripped my chest, making my knees wobble, but I didn’t stop walking. I almost screamed when one of them yelled out something in a foreign language as they came closer and closer, their footsteps were fast. Tugging the door open with shaky hands and pounding heart, I pushed her inside and whirled around, with the pepper spray ready.
But to my utter surprise, I found no one. As if they suddenly vanished into the thin air. Just like that. The entire street echoed in silence.
What the hell just happened?
Not wasting any more time standing there and waiting for more trouble, I ran inside the car and drove off. When we were out of that area, away from those alleys, only then I let myself breathe in relief.
While Beth slept next to me, I messaged Tess about us heading home. I was so definitely going to talk to this friend of mine tomorrow morning about the stunt she pulled tonight. While I felt like I just escaped heart failure, she was sleeping in peace. It was just sheer luck we got out of there safely.
But what I wondered was, where did those men go?
“Good morning, Alfred,” I greeted the old doorman, as I entered through the glass doors of OC Textiles.
A warm smile tugged at his lips, the sides of his eyes crinkling. “Morning, Ms. Hutton! Have a good day.”
Smiling back, I walked into the elevator. I checked my phone again. Still no calls or messages from him. Is he ignoring my calls on purpose? I’ve called him this morning after waking up, but again, it was switched off.
Sighing, I typed a message to Beth instead about our pending discussion after the office.
When I took her home last night, my parents were stunned seeing her in that state. Among the three of us, she was always the sensible one and never really drank.
When I left home this morning, she was still asleep. I’d informed Cassie about her condition last night and she said she’d pick her up from my place after breakfast. Even she had no idea what happened to Beth.
Once I reached the forty-ninth floor, I headed directly to my office, but Liza met me on the way.
“Hey!” I smiled at her. But it slipped when I saw her pale face.
“Thank God, you’re here! I was just about to call you to ask what’s taking you so long,” she said, eyes wide.
I frowned. “As far as I know, I’m exactly on time. Why? What’s wrong? You’re looking pale. Is everything all right?”
She shook her head. “Forget everything. You need to go to the penthouse.”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of the penthouse.
“Why?”
“The boss is here. And he demands your presence, right now.”
