Jaded

Hi All... Here is the next installment...I hope you all enjoy...

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Jaded – Part 16

The Last Hurrah...

“What do you mean they are not here? Where in the hell have they gone?” Lex asked trying to keep as tight a leash on his temper as he possibly could. What is it with these women? Does Chloe want to kill me? Is that it?

His legendary patience was gone and it did not help matters that his fear had become unbearable when he glanced at the beaten woman who was being assisted by her fellow ladies of the night.

“Exactly what I said. They…ain’t…here! So take your prissy attitude out the fucking door!” One of the ladies responded not the least bit intimidated by Lex Luthor.

His blue-gray eyes narrowed in frustration and he ran a frustrated hand over his bald head. Damn! These women were not talking. He needed to find Chloe soon. His sense of urgency doubled within the last ten minutes.

Dammit, Chloe…You had better be all right…You better be…

“I just need to find out where they have gone. Is there any information you could give me? I’ll give you two hundred dollars if you tell me.” Lex pulled out his wallet and withdrew two crisp one hundred dollar bills. A calculating gleam glowed in the dark eyes of the woman.

“Make it five c-notes and you have yourself a deal.” the woman responded with a g Lex Lex looked at the woman long and hard. He was desperate and she knew it. Opening his wallet again, Lex extracted three more crisp bills.

“Wait a sec…You’re that guy…” Shondra spoke up at last. When Shondra spotted the rich white boy she immediately passed him off as another john. But things began to click in her mind once he started asking question about the two girls that left with Snakeman.

“Excuse me?” Lex asked glad his attention was diverted from the rude woman before him though he made sure to keep a tight grip on his cash.

“You’re him. Shit! I should have known. No one who looked like you would make a big stink about some working girls.” Shondra grinned suddenly.

“Fuck! I almost had it.” The rude woman growled. She made sure to give Shondra a glare but Shondra never noticed as her attention was completely taken by Lex.

“Yeah! Sin told me all about you. Hey ladies, this is the rich boy that kicked Apollo’s ass a few days ago.” Shondra’s voice seemed to echo in the now quiet room as she made her statement. All the women suddenly forgot what they were doing as all eyes focused on Lex.

“That was my doing.” Lex responded proudly. He was normally not a man given to violence but the bastard touched Chloe and deserved the beating and more.

“Wait…I remember…Dix was spreading it around…You beat up that piece of shit because he hurt your girl, right?” Another woman questioned.

“That’s so fucking sweet.” Another woman sighed. All the women in the room now closed in a bit on Lex and he became nervous for a few seconds.

“Yes, Apollo drugged then beat my girlfriend. I’m just glad I found her when I did.” Though it was true, Lex added the last sentence figuring if it got him the information he wanted…

A series of Awww’s sounded throughout the room.

“So what are you doing here asking about the two girls that left with Snake?” Another woman asked.

“One of the women is my girlfriend and the other is her friend. I’m trying to find them and keep them safe but they are making it very hard for me.” Lex murmured disgustedly.

Another chorus’ of Awww’s went throughout the room and Lex almost rolled his eyes. Shondra had studied Lex intently for a few minutes. She found that she was impressed by him which a very hard thing to do. Shondra’s been a working girl for years and her opinion of the opposite sex was not the nicest.

“Okay…I’ll tell you what you want to know, rich boy…But don’t make me regret it.” She paused to give Lex a hard stare. At his nod, she continued, “They went to Eden’s.” Shondra informed him.

The shock on Lex’s face must have shone because Shondra quickly went on to explain what had taken place before he arrived.

“You’ll find your lady and her friend there. But you had better hurry. Snakeman does not stop to ask questions. Especially when he has a gun in his hand.” Shondra said. Lex paled at the thought of Chloe being caught in a gun battle. What if…No! Can’t think of that!

“Thank you.” Lex said quickly, flashed a grateful smile and quickly placed the money in Shondra’s hands. He was out the door before she could say anything.

Only one thought clouded his mind…Please… Do not let anything happen to her!

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Eden’s Gate…

Pop. Pop. Pop. Chloe and Delilah were currently hiding behind one of the fallen tables close to the entrance of the club. Snakeman and the others were spread out sporadically and involved in heavy gun fire with Apollo’s men. Chaos and madness seemed to reign.

Upon arrival, Snakeman divided his group up into three parts. Two parts would enter the club via the escape exits while the main part would enter via the front entrance.

Snakeman’s plan was basically to shoot first and questions could be damned. Chloe tried to speak up about this ridiculous plan but Delilah intervened.

“Don’t! It’s the way it works down here. Let Snake handle Apollo’s men. We’ll find Rox and Sin and get them out of there.” Delilah whispered.

“What if…What if they…” Chloe couldn’t finish the words. The thought was too horrible to imagine yet now it flooded her mind.

“NO! We will not think like that. Rox and Sin are okay. We just have to get to them. Got it!” Delilah said firmly. Chloe nodded her head and hardened her resolved. Delilah’s right…Now was definitely not the time to start losing it…

Pop! Pop! Pop! Another volley of shots seemed to fly over them. They were stuck behind a table waiting for the shots to slacken off a bit. Chloe could hear the cries of pain as if they were yelled into her ear. Bodies went flying everywhere as men fought each other.

“We have got to do something. We just can’t sit here.” Chloe shouted above all the noise.

“Follow me.” Delilah shouted back as she pointed towards the bar. Crawling on all fours, Delilah led the way slowly with Chloe following behind. With a scream both women fell to the floor as shots rang out above them. Chloe could hear them whizzing by her head.

“Are you okay?” Delilah shouted. Chloe simply nodded. Words were beyond her at the moment. She had to keep moving. It was the only way she could get through this.

Both women crawled towards their destination when Chloe felt something fall on her causing her to loose her balance. She crashed to floor with a heavy weight on top of her.

“Delilah!” Chloe yelled as she struggled to wiggle out from under the weight but found that it was not budging. A bloodied hand appeared before her face. Fuck! This is not happening! Please tell me I don’t have a dead man on my back!

“Delilah! Help me!” Chloe shrieked as repulsion and bile spread within her.

Delilah hearing the cry, turned and her violet eyes widened. What in the world?

She crawled over to her and tried to pry the body of Chloe. It wouldn’t move. The body must way over 250 pounds.

“Delilah, this asshole is too heavy and I can’t breathe. Hurry!” Chloe gasped as she tried to move the body from her. Delilah tried to push him off Chloe but it wouldn’t budge.

“Chloe, we’ll push him together on three.” At Chloe’s nod, Delilah started to count. “One…Two…Three…” Chloe pushed upwards with all her strength while Delilah pulled. It still wouldn’t budge.

“Chloe…One more time…This time I’m going to come around from the other side.” Chloe nodded weakly. Delilah counted again and both women pushed with all their might. The body finally budged and Delilah quickly pulled it off Chloe. Chloe gratefully heaped in lungfuls of air.

“You okay?” Delilah asked. Chloe nodded. “Come on…We have to keep moving.” Delilah yelled. Chloe nodded again and they once again made their way towards the bar. A crash before them stopped them quickly.

Two men crashed into one of the tables. They were both wrestling with a gun. Delilah quickly stood up and yanked Chloe with her. She did not want to be around when that gun went off. They ran towards the bar.

“Wait…There…By the VIP booths…What’s that?” Chloe stopped quickly pointing in the direction of the booths. Delilah focused her gaze on it. Through the mess of it all she saw two bodies lying unmoving on the floor. One of the bodies had Roxy’s distinct bleached blonde hair.

“NO! Please…” Delilah yelled as she bolted in the direction of the booths with Chloe right behind her.

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Pop! Pop! Pop! Apollo groggily came awake at the sound. Pop! Pop! What was that? He thought as he tried to shake off the confusion that clouded his mind. The effects of the Gold were fading slightly and he was tempted to shoot up again.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Fuck! Those were gunshots! Here? Can’t be… Pop ! Pop! Realization of what was going on hit him. His club. Gun fire in his club. What the fuck?

Apollo rose unsteadily to his feet. He walked towards his desk and switched on the monitor. The screen came to life and his silver eyes widened at the mess his club had turned into.

Shit! He watched as his men fought with men unknown to him. Who in the hell would fucking dare? Damn!

Opening his top draw of his desk, he pulled out a silver 9mm barretta. Making certain it was fully loaded, he walked out of his office with gun in hand. His club was overrun by assholes and it was obviously up to him to fix the fucking mess.

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Chloe and Delilah reached their two friends within minutes. Chloe checked on Roxy while Delilah checked on Sin. As soon as Chloe reached Roxy, she nearly cried. Roxy was unrecognizable with all the black bruises and cuts to her face.

Chloe softly pulled Roxy’s blonde hair away from her face. “Rox…” she whispered finding her throat suddenly closed off. Please God, let them be okay… I-I can’t lose my friends…

Chloe ripped off a piece of material from her shirt and began to wipe off the blood and dirt that covered Roxy’s face. Roxy stirred slightly, causing her to smile.

“Rox! Rox, it me!” Chloe said in a much stronger voice. Roxy heard the familiar voice from far away and managed a smile/grimace. She should have known.

“Chlo…” Roxy managed weakly and tears sprang into Chloe’s eyes. Chloe nodded quickly. Realizing Roxy couldn’t see her acknowledgement she spoke hoarsely “Yeah! It’s Chlo…”

Roxy opened one eye slowly as the other was swollen shut. Her brown gaze focused on the blonde before her. “Damn, you’re stubborn.” Roxy whispered.

“Damn right! Now don’t try to move. Delilah’s checking on Sin and…” Chloe started but stopped quickly when Roxy started to move.

“Sin…She got the worst of it. Chlo…we have to get her help…” Roxy inhaled sharply as a pain so intense settled into her ribs. She cried out and fell back unable to move.

“Rox! I told you to fucking stay still!” Chloe growled. She gingerly touched the area that Roxy was holding. Roxy flinched a few times but Chloe was relentless in her examination. Broken. Her ribs were broken. Chloe couldn’t tell how many though. Roxy was going to need a stretcher. How?

Chloe looked in Delilah’s direction. Delilah was speaking softly to Sin. A small smile graced her face when Sin replied to something she said. How were they going to get their friends out of here? Chloe thought. Delilah’s eyes met hers and within them Chloe could see the same questions. Chloe looked around her area. There must be something. Think!

Suddenly a shadow fell upon both women. Chloe heard Delilah cry out and quickly turned in her direction. Delilah was slumped over Sin. Blood was streaming from her hair, down her forehead. Oh my God!

“Delilah!” Chloe yelled but her yell turned into a scream as a sudden fire sprang throughout her head. Chloe felt her hair being yanked and her head was viciously pulled back. Familiar gleaming silver eyes met hers. A cruel and evil smile appeared on his face causing shivers of fear to race throughout her body.

No…

“Well…well…well…” Apollo said as he jerked her head back even further. “Look what I found!”