Bad Boy by Night

♱ Chapter 38 ♱

𝓟𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓻
𝟹𝟾: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜

Meet me at 25 Placard Boulevard. Come alone. –NAMELESS

I knew that address already. I was already aware of it last time I was demanded to venture there, only that time I had Adelaide by my side. And Adelaide had faced the dreaded consequences that NAMELESS had warned us about if we got our guess wrong. I had a feeling this was all up to me. That was why I disentangled my body from Adelaide's and slipped my hoodie over my head, careful not to wake her as I escaped quietly.

She'd appeared so peaceful when she drifted off to sleep, relenting all the tension she had been retaining. Admittedly, I didn't have the heart to wake her up and disturb her like that. So I didn't. She hadn't even stirred when my phone vibrated on her bedside table, having deposited it there after she'd fallen asleep.

Annoyingly, even though I knew it would come back and bite me in the fucking ass, I didn't even leave her a note. Or text her. It didn't occur to me to do either until I was driving to the abandoned building we had to go to for our first chance where Adelaide was ordered to announce Samuel Bennett's murderer. We ended up getting it wrong—being too ambiguous—and Adelaide was taken from me, buried alive until I could rescue her.

My grip turned vicelike on the steering wheel until I was decelerating towards the abandoned building. The flashbacks hit all too staggeringly and in quick succession from when we were plunged into darkness and when I was sent on a small, wild goose chase before NAMELESS surrendered and announced Adelaide's location: in a graveyard. My eyes shut and I willed myself for complete negligence of the flashbacks. I hadn't realised my pulse was drumming in my ears until I was focusing on steadying it again, relaxing and attempting to eradicate the fear that was consuming my body and igniting my nerves.

As I shifted into park, I simply gazed up at the neglected building for a few beats. I had no idea if I was about to come face to face with the real identity of NAMELESS or if I was about to meet my end. Before I could kill the engine, I shifted back into drive and turned the car around so if I had to make a quick getaway, I'd be able to. It was something Brody had lectured me on whenever we were preparing for a drugs heist or something. Like I said, quick getaways were his forte.

With my back to the abandoned building, I shifted into park again. When I'd finally mustered up enough courage, I stepped out of my BMW, locking it behind me. My strides were long and determined up to the building. Crossing the threshold, I ensured I kept the door open. That was another quick getaway tip from Brody. It was more to do with common sense and predetermining the situation, assessing it from various angles and improving on it. Brody was good upon reflection and learning from his past mistakes, implementing the fixes into a new scenario and not neglecting them when impulses take over. That's usually where people fail.

"NAMELESS?" I called out, my voice mercifully unwavering and depicting the faux brazenness that was coursing through my bloodstream.

No one responded.

I didn't expect them to, honestly.

The house was eerily silent and darker than last time. There was no temporary electricity like last time, as well. The darkness didn't aid my fears.

The bleating of my phone jolted me.

"Shit," I muttered, tugging it from my jeans.

I'd been half-anticipating Adelaide's name to be stamped on my screen. Instead it was a single word.

Unknown

Was I about to hear NAMELESS's real voice? Was I about to divulge the true identity and put this whole ordeal to bed?