Rescue

Chapter 32 - Rescue

Mike and the others pulled up outside the club just after midnight. The neon sign above the door flashed red and blue, and a short line of people waited behind a velvet rope.

Mike scanned the sidewalk as he got out.

No Lexi.

Emma climbed out behind him, checking her phone. "Nothing?"

He shook his head.

Vanessa looked down the street. "Maybe she's still inside."

Mike headed for the entrance, but the bouncer stepped in front of him. "Hey, you need to wait in line."

"We're looking for Lexi. She came here tonight and stopped answering her phone."

"How long?"

"Almost an hour. Can we go in and find her?"

"I can't let you through without checking."

The bouncer spoke into his radio, then turned back. "What's her last name?"

"I don't know."

"Do you have a photo?"

Emma showed him Lexi's picture. The bouncer glanced at it and showed the other guard.

"I haven't seen her."

"Then check the cameras," Mike said.

"We're not going through cameras because someone stopped answering their phone."

Mike stared at him. "She usually doesn't do that."

"You don't know that," the bouncer said. "People disappear from clubs all the time."

The words hit him harder than they should have.

Mike stepped closer. "What did you just say?"

"I said—"

Mike shoved him.

The bouncer stumbled back and immediately grabbed Mike's jacket.

"Hey!"

Mike swung before anyone could stop him.

His fist caught the bouncer across the jaw. The man's head snapped sideways, and he dropped against the wall before sliding to the floor.

Emma screamed.

Vanessa grabbed Mike's arm. "Mike, stop!"

The second bouncer lunged forward, but Mike shoved him back.

The music inside seemed to fade beneath the sudden shouting at the entrance. People in the line backed away, phones already coming out.

The fallen bouncer groaned and tried to push himself upright.

Mike stood there breathing hard, his fist still clenched.

Emma stared at him.

"Mike," she whispered. "What did you just do?"

The second bouncer raised his radio. "Keep them outside. Get the manager down here now."

The Manager came.

He lowered it and stepped between Mike and the fallen guard.

"Back up," he said, putting a hand against Mike's chest.

Mike grabbed his collar and shoved him back. "Don't touch me."

"Mike!" Emma grabbed his arm, but he pulled free.

The bouncer caught Mike's wrist, trying to force his hand away from his collar. Mike tightened his grip and drove him back against the door.

Mike yelled. "You keep asking questions while she could be hurt!"

"Let go of him!"

A man's voice cut through the shouting.

A broad man in a dark shirt pushed through the club doors and hurried toward them. He took one look at the bouncer's collar twisted in Mike's fist and the other guard still sitting against the wall.

"What the hell is going on?"

He grabbed Mike's arm and pulled him away. The bouncer stumbled back, straightening his shirt.

"Everyone calm down."

Mike tried to step forward again, but the manager planted himself between them.

"Not another step."

The manager looked at him for a moment, then turned to Vanessa. "You. Tell me what happened."

Vanessa stepped forward, breathing hard. "Her name is Lexi. She's our friend. She came here tonight, and about an hour ago she stopped answering her phone. We called her over and over. Nothing. We thought maybe she was still here, so we came here."

She held out her phone. "This is her. We don't know where she is, and Mike just lost it because they kept asking questions instead of helping us."

The manager looked at the picture.

"Has she ever gone missing before?"

"No," Vanessa said. "Never."

The manager's expression hardened.

"Do you know who she came with?"

"We don't know. She said she was meeting someone here."

"Did she tell you who?"

Vanessa shook her head.

The manager looked back at Mike. His knuckles were red, and the first bouncer was still rubbing his jaw.

"You shouldn't have hit my employee."

Mike said nothing.

"But if your friend is missing, standing out here yelling isn't going to find her."

Mike finally looked up. "Then help us."

The manager held his gaze for a moment before nodding toward the door.

"Come inside. All of you."

The second bouncer looked ready to object.

The manager stopped him with a glance. "They're coming with me."

He turned toward the entrance.

"Bring her photo. We'll check the cameras and see if anyone remembers seeing her."

Mike followed immediately, with Emma and Vanessa close behind.

The manager led them into a small security room beside the bar, where several monitors covered the wall.

"Show me the photo again," he said.

Emma held up her phone. The manager studied Lexi's face, then switched between the camera feeds.

A moment later, he stopped.

"There."

Lexi appeared on the screen with two men.

"She was here about fifteen minutes ago," the manager said. "They left through the side exit."

Mike stepped closer. "Where does that exit go?"

The manager hesitated. "There's a love hotel down that way. They could've gone there."

Mike turned toward the door.

"Wait," the manager said. "We don't know what they did to her."

"I'm calling the police," the manager said, pulling out his phone.

Mike was already heading for the door.

"Mike, wait!" Emma called before following him.

He went straight to the receptionist and held up his phone.

"Have you seen her?" He showed her Lexi's photo. "She came in here with two men. We need to find her."

The receptionist looked at the picture, then at Mike. "I'm sorry, I can't give out information about our guests."

"I'm not asking for her personal information. Just tell me if she's here."

"I can't do that."

Mike's frustration rose. "She's our friend. She could be in trouble."

The two bouncers entered the lobby behind them.

The larger one stepped up to the desk. "They're from our club, and we're responsible for them. If something happened to that girl, you don't want to keep us waiting."

The receptionist hesitated, then sighed. "Room 12."

Mike turned and hurried down the hall.

They stopped outside the door.

One of the bouncers pulled out a key card. "The club and hotel have the same owner. Management has an override card."

Mike looked at the card.

"Open it."

Mike stepped inside and froze for half a second.

Lexi lay on the bed, her clothes gone, her body limp. Two naked men were on the bed with her.

She made a weak sound and pushed at them with her hands, but her arms had almost no strength left.

Her eyes were half-closed and unfocused.

Emma's breath caught in a broken sob.

Vanessa's face went white. Mike's whole body went tight with rage.

The two men jerked their heads up. One of them scrambled backward. "How the hell did you get in?"

Mike saw Lexi's face.

He crossed the room in three strides and grabbed the nearest man by the shoulder.

His fist connected hard with the man's jaw. The second man tried to stand, but one of the bouncers was already on him. One bouncer slammed the first man against the wall and pinned his arms while the other joined in.

Both men went down under the weight of the blows. Mike kept hitting until the first man stopped fighting and curled on the floor.

Vanessa pulled the sheet from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around Lexi's body as gently as she could. Emma helped lift Lexi's shoulders.

Together they eased her off the bed and toward the door. Lexi's head rested against Emma's shoulder; she made another soft sound, half protest and half confusion, but she didn't open her eyes.

The club manager arrived in the hallway with two police officers right behind him.

The officers took one look at the scene inside the room and moved in. Handcuffs clicked onto both men. One officer spoke into his radio while the other started asking questions.

"We need the victim at the station for a statement," the officer said.

He looked at Lexi, still wrapped in the sheet and barely conscious in Emma's arms.

"I'll follow you in my car. She isn't in any condition to talk right now. She can come in tomorrow when she's clear-headed," said Vanessa.

The officer looked at Vanessa's face for a moment, then nodded. "All right. You ride with us."

Vanessa followed the officers from her car, keeping close as they drove the two men away from the hotel.

Mike ordered a cab and waited on the sidewalk with Emma and Lexi.

When the car arrived, he opened the rear door. Emma helped Lexi inside and sat beside her, pulling the jacket tighter around her daughter's shoulders. Tears kept streaming down her face.

Mike leaned in. "You go home. I'll check on both of you tomorrow."

Emma looked up at him, her voice breaking. "No. Please come with us. Stay until my husband gets there. I can't do this alone right now."

Mike hesitated only a second. Then he shut the rear door, walked around to the front, and slid into the passenger seat.

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