43. Ariel - Lights off

43. Ariel - Lights off
The mask does little to calm my nerves but at least it gives me a false hope of security. 
I step on the stage and face the men who came here tonight to drink and look at naked women. 
To look at me as I dance.
I don’t know where that thought came from but it takes me a few seconds to realize that I wouldn’t mind being watched while I dance. 
If the dreams about Brian are real, I love to dance. Especially ballet. 
I let the music wrap around me while I pretend that I’m somewhere else. That I’m with my dragons. 
I close my eyes and I move. And holy shit, do I move. My entire body comes to life, and pure joy courses through me—electric, wild, free.
I was born for this, made for this.
A smile erupts on my face as I let the music carry me away. There’s no one here except me. 
I stop, breathless, and face the crowd—heart pounding as I wait for their reaction. For a moment, there’s no reaction. Just silence for the men looking at me. I’m not sure why I expected they would like how I dance. After all, they come here to see tits and pussies. 
Then someone shouts, “Dance again, baby!”
“And this time, show us your tits!” another says. 
About a dozen voices agree with him. 
I shake my head and step down from the stage. But I barely make it two steps before I bump into Ivan. Valek is next to him. 
“Get back up there and dance again,” he barks. “And this time, take your clothes off.”
Before I can tell him he’s welcome to get up there and show his nasty dick to the clients himself, the lights go out.
“What’s going on?” someone asks in a loud, scared voice. 
“Hey! Turn on the light! We want to see more of the Masked Babe,” another yells.
Masked Babe? 
Cringy as hell—but I kind of like it.
Ivan’s screen phone glows in the dark as he fumbles to make a call.
While he’s distracted, someone slips behind me—one arm wraps tight around my stomach, the other clamps over my mouth. I’m yanked away from Ivan and Valek before they realize what’s happening.
I twist and fight against the man dragging me through the dark—my heart pounding, adrenaline flooding my veins. Somehow, I manage to bite him.
He hisses in pain right into my ear, but keeps moving until we are in a part of the ship that is quiet. I keep biting him, as hard as I can. 
“Fuck! It’s me!”
I freeze, the fight draining out of me the moment I recognize Michael’s voice.
He releases me.
“You should’ve said who you were from the start,” I snap in a low whisper. “Scared the hell out of me.”
He turns on the flashlight of his phone so I can see him. 
“I had to make sure you wouldn’t scream. We can’t risk Ivan finding out that I’m getting you out of here.” 
I inhale sharply. “So, this is happening?” 
“It’s risky and the both of us might end up dead, but I can’t leave you behind.” 
“Thank you, Rheon. You’re a good man.”
Until now, I’d avoided using his real name—too afraid I’d slip and say it in front of the wrong person.
“What now?” I ask.
“We need to get up to the deck. A boat’s waiting for us.”
I shift my weight, uneasy. “I can’t get off this ship without an invitation. You know that.”
Rheon drags a hand through his hair. “Shit. I forgot about that.”
I can’t believe I’m about to say this. “There might be some in Ivan’s office.”
He pauses, thinking. “Do you know how to get there?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” he says, already moving. “Let’s not waste any more time.”
“This way,” I say, slipping off my heels and moving through the dark with Rheon, heading toward Ivan’s office. We move quietly, listening to every sound, alert for footsteps, voices—anything that might give us away.
“Do you have a gun?” I whisper.
“I can’t get on the ship armed,” he replies.
I grimace. “Then we might have a problem.”
He glances at me, alert.
“Ivan doesn’t actually run this place,” I continue. “There’s someone above him—his name is Noctyros. And there’s a chance he’s in the office right now.”
Rheon’s jaw tightens. “We need to be very careful.”
I nod in agreement. 
When we reach the office, we pause at the door and listen, holding our breath for any sound from inside.
Nothing.
I place my hand on the doorknob.
“Be careful,” Rheon mouths, just before he switches off the flashlight, plunging us into darkness.
I ease the door open, inch by inch. Nothing but darkness waits on the other side.
We wait a couple of seconds before we enter. 
Rheon closes the door and locks it with a soft click. A moment later, the glow from his phone flashlight flickers to life, casting long shadows across the room.
“How’d you manage to kill the power on the ship?” I ask, rifling through the top drawer of the desk.
“One of the pack members is helping me get you out,” Rheon says, “along with a Ranger.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “A Ranger?”
“He’s a dragon.”
Elijah?
“What’s his name?” I ask quickly.
“He goes by Eric, but I don’t know if that’s his real name or just a code. A lot of us working on the missing females case don’t use our real names—it’s safer that way.”
“I thought you were only looking for Ignis.”
“Ignis is just one of many who’ve gone missing,” Rheon says. “Males and females. Different species. But...” He trails off.
“But?” I press for more. 
“Damn it, Lila. You’re going to get me in trouble.”
I arch an eyebrow—even if he can’t see it with the flashlight pointed at the desk. “A little late for that, don’t you think?”
He hesitates, then finally says, “Alec wasn’t the only male who was killed. Others were found dead. Mostly dragons.”
Bile rises to my throat. “What?”
“I shouldn’t have told you that,” he mutters.
I try not to let the panic take over. I can’t let myself think something’s happened to my dragons.
“You don’t sound too upset about your cousin,” I say carefully.
“Things between Alec and me were... complicated. He was family, but we weren’t close,” he says, but by the tone of his voice, I know there’s more to the story but it’s not my business to meddle in. 
Ten minutes pass. We search everything, but find nothing. We can’t risk staying any longer.
I unlock the door and step into the hallway.
Cold metal presses against my temple.
“Take one more step,” Valek growls from my left, “and I’ll blow your brains out.”

The next update will be in about 2-3 days :)