Gangs Aren't My Style (A Black Death Novel)

Chapter 31 - Red Alarm

Gangs Aren't My Style

Book I of the Black Death Trilogy

PART TWO: Memories That Don't Seem To Fade

Chapter 31 - Red Alarm

"I'm not going."

"Yes you are," James replied. "As my sister, it is expected that you make an appearance. Besides, I will be by your side all night so there is nothing to worry about."

"But..."

"You're going," he stated firmly, stepping back and starting to pull the door closed with him.

"You can't just walk away in the middle of an argument, that's cheating!" Ally yelled, reaching for the door to stop him before he could shut it. However, he was not giving her any chance to further persuade him and the tell-tale click of the closing door signified this. He was not going to let her stay in her room for the night.

Ally sighed and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. With weary steps, she eventually trudged her way over to her closet and began to look for something to wear. There really was no use fighting him about it; once her brother made his mind up about something, it was near impossible to change it back.

She begrudgingly picked out a purple silk top and black skinny jeans, grumbling about it the entire time.

The party began innocently enough. The music wasn't deafening and the gang members left her alone for the most part. Still, Ally remained glued to her brother's side instead of facing his men alone, and allowed him to steer her to the bar at the front of the room. "What do you want?"

The question only emphasized the distance between them now. In a past life, he would have been able to order for her without a moment's hesitation.

"Can I just get a coke? I really don't drink." Ally glanced over at the men who currently sat at the bar as well as those who milled around the room with a beer bottle in hand, briefly allowing herself to worry over what would happen when they all became drunk.

James repeated her request and she had a coke in hand in minutes. However, Ally was not yet prepared for everyday conversation and so she carefully dodged each of her brother's questions. Instead, she focused on the soda in her hand and observed those around her.

Her brother eventually grew frustrated with his lack of success and ordered a beer, which he sipped angrily for a couple minutes and then finished in one gulp after shooting her one final glance. James stood just as quick, and strode across the room to speak with another member, leaving her alone in her misery.

It was not his only drink of the night, not by a long shot.

Soon, he could be seen stumbling on feet that lacked coordination and making lewd jokes with his men. Ally pulled her soda in closer, holding it to her chest protectively against the drunks that surrounded her from all sides. She gulped. Her throat felt like sandpaper. Ally took a large swallow of her coke, suddenly feeling parched.

It was the wrong move. A moment later, the room began to blur around her. Her head throbbed, and her hand felt heavy. Ally broke out into a cold sweat and stood up, but fell back into her chair when a wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm her.

Her soda. She had sat it down and turned away to watch her brother. A man had been standing behind her, ordering a drink but then seeming to linger.

Ally tried to stand up once again, holding onto the counter of the bar for support. She made it a total of five feet before her legs collapsed completely and she slid to the floor. She tried to pull herself up with white-knuckled fists clasped around the metal legs of an empty chair but hands clasped around her waist, doing the work for her.

She felt a brief moment of relief; her brother had sobered up and come to her rescue. Then, her hopes shattered. It was a stranger that she clung to desperately, a grisly man she had not seen before. Ally tried to step back but he would not release her.

Her whole world was spinning. Before she knew it, her back was pressed to the wall and the man was caging her in. Her limbs had gone completely numb by now and she found herself powerless to protest when he leaned down and kissed her. His hand delved into the locks of her hair and he pulled roughly, making her gasp. His tongue slid past her lips and Ally fought her reflex to gag, sickened by what was happening to her but defenseless against it.

She could not see her brother and her conscious was thinning as whatever he had given her began to completely take effect.

The man pressed her harder against the plaster wall, then tugged her thighs up to either side of his waist. He took liberty of her immobile body and ran his clammy hands down her sides, feeling every feminine curve she possessed until a single cry broke through the drug's hypnosis and from her mouth.

He pulled away for only one moment, enough to sneer at the female in his arms. Then his forceful exploration of her body resumed.

It was her worst nightmare all over again. She was overpowered and no one was around to save her.

She fought tears, but quit trying to break from the drug's prowess. Her eyelids fluttered closed and her body went even limper in the man's arms as she accepted the sanctuary of sleep and oblivion.