The Lair is The Yellowjacket’s personal gathering space for drug dealers and sleazy businessmen. Generally, it is also a place I would avoid at all costs. Too many a girl has ascended the stairs to the Lair only to descend them again covered in bruises and blood. And if Ripper is meeting a few of his so-called “clients” right now, it’s probably the worst place in the entire city for me to be right now.
But Hyde was adamant. And Ripper’s the only one who can get me those pills. So up the stairs I go.
My new shoes catch in the worn grooves of the wooden stairs. I fling out a hand to catch myself on the railing, which bows dangerously under my weight. Cursing under my breath, I right myself and continue climbing. Each step creaks loudly when I step on it. I wonder belatedly if they could collapse underneath me.
Thrusting such morbid thoughts from my mind, I reach the door to the Lair only to find it closed. A narrow band of light glows near the floor and a few whispering voices reverberate through the thin wood.
I crouch low enough to the floor to press my ear to the cracked boards. Squinting one eye shut, I peer into the semi-darkness under the door. One, two, three, four. Four pairs of boots. One of them is most likely Ripper. The other three look like rather large men. Not the sort of odds I like in a fight.
It’s the only way, a little voice hisses at the back of my mind. Now or never.
Taking a deep breath, I straighten and raise my hand to knock.
Before I can even pound the door once, it creaks open. The ray of light blinds me temporarily. I throw my arm up to my face to shield my eyes.
“Jackie?” Ripper’s reedy voice asks in surprise after a moment of stunned silence. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I slowly lower my arm and squint into the room. Two of the men whose boots I saw are standing in the far corner. The third man stands with his meaty hand on the door, glaring down at me with bloodshot eyes. Ripper twitches in the middle of the room. He clutches a little white bag tighter in his fist and tilts his head at me.
“I – I – ” I clear my throat and try again, carefully avoiding those bloodshot eyes just inches from my face. “The Nex wore off and – well I – I mean could I – ”
Ripper grins, shaking strands of oily hair from my face. “You need more?”
I lift my hands in a half-shrug, doing my best to look sheepish.
“Gonna cost you this time,” he grunts. His fingers tap out a rhythm on the white bag in his hands. For an instant, I wonder what he’s hiding inside it. Then I decide it’s probably better not to know.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I say. “You got any right now? On hand?”
Ripper lifts one eyebrow. “Jackie...I’m in the middle of a deal – ”
“I’m desperate,” I whine. Oblivious to my safety and the proximity of the three strange men, I stumble forward into the room, clasping my hands together. “Come on, Rip. I gotta have it now, you know?”
“And how are you planning to pay, huh? I don’t do charity.”
“Whatever you want,” I say a little too fast. “I have money or – ”
A slow smile spreads over Ripper’s face. I almost gag at those missing gaps in his teeth. “All right,” he cuts me off. “I have an idea.”
I shiver but hold my ground. I don’t like the sound of that. But what else was I expecting from Ripper? Roses and poetry? Free drugs? Not in a milliono years.
YOU ARE READING
HYDE: The Monster Within
Mystery / ThrillerJackie has never been the "good girl". Her entire life she's run in the wrong circles and trusted the wrong friends. So when she tries an experimental drug it's just business as usual. But then that drug leads to the uncannily realistic hallucinatio...
