Tainted - Chapter 8

It was already a few hours since the girls left, if Alexander was the crazy man he was, he probably would have his men keep an eye on her and they would've alerted him by now that the girl was not in the same place she had said she would be. Theia chewed on her lip nervously as she checked her phone a few times, hoping that the girl frantically pacing the bathroom in front of her would soon tell them to leave and that they could finally get out of this place before Alexander could find them. That was far from the reality, Feya had been too nervous to do any confronting and was now trying to gather herself before they made it out of the bathroom and into the crowd of people once more. 

"I probably shouldn't have dragged you out here" came her voice that snapped Theia from her thoughts, who looked down at the shorter girl and gave a comforting smile. While it was nice that she was somewhat remorseful, Theia knew that doing something like this alone would send her anxiety skyrocketing, and the fact that she was the girl's only close friend would make her feel horrible on the inside if she'd let her do this alone. 

"I'm glad you did. This place is creepy, I don't recommend ever coming here alone" Theia replied, waiting for Feya to finish washing her hands and then led the way out of the bathroom stalls towards the hallway. 

"That's true... Shall we maybe go for it?" 

"I'm right with you~" with an encouraging smile, Theia followed the girl back out, heading straight towards the seating arrangement where there were a small crowd of people around a table that looked highly intoxicated. 

A man of medium length dark hair greeted Feya, followed shortly by a small introduction to his other friends who didn't seem to care much or rather, had merely snickered under their breaths when Feya said hello. The action alone hadn't sat right in the pit of Theia's stomach. Something felt off, maybe it was her overthinking things, or maybe she was just worried her friend was being taken advantage of and made the joke of the night by some assholes who had the sense of humour as a grade-schooler. Either way, Theia chose to remain unbearably calm as the man thrust his arm around her shoulders, forcing the girl into him while almost tripping on her feet. Minus points for that. 

"Yooo, I didn't think you were gonna make it" he laughed, it sounded somewhere in the middle of a hyena cackling and a frog with hiccups. As if the laugh wasn't bad enough, once some light fell upon his face, Theia could make out a better image of the man's face. He had a lopsided grin, a few crooked teeth in his smile and flared nostrils that seemed a bit broad on his already square face. He wasn't exactly ugly, but he wasn't attractive either. Theia always had a difficult time deciding whether someone was handsome or beautiful, she didn't exactly like the idea of labels, and she decided on someone's attractiveness based on how genuine and kind they were. 

For example, Cael was handsome, kind, and a remarkably honest man, on the other hand, his half brother, a name she'd rather not think about, was somewhere between annoying and decent-looking. Was she biased in her thinking? Yes. Did it have anything to do with how much she detested the man for his unbecoming attitude? Also yes. Theia found herself warped in her thoughts, if she had to stare at someone for the rest of the night, and had to choose between this creature Feya was head over heels for and the man she had a personal grudge against, maybe, somewhere, somehow, the latter would've been a better option. At least she didn't have to worry about getting a damn infection from being around Alexander. 

Trying to mask her hostility in her expression, when the guy had finally decided to acknowledge her presence, Theia pressed her lips into a thin line and greeted him shortly, mentally noting to herself to bear with it until they were out. 

"Ouuu, and who's your little friend?" His choice of words was infuriating. Why did men think terms like those were even acceptable? What part of her seemed little? 

"Hello" was the only thing Theia responded with. 

"Nice, well don't just stand around, need a puff? A drink? It's on me tonight~" he lifted a glass of suspicious liquid to his mouth and downed it, messing the sides of his mouth that dripped down his chin in the most unappealing manner possible. How she wished she could erase that image from her brain forever. 

"Actually, there's something I have to discuss with you, can we get a moment?" Feya tugged on the man's arm and motioned to the less crowded side, waiting for him to agree as Theia gave a thumbs up and mentioned that she would wait at the clearing near the bathroom stalls. Watching her friend's eyes light up broke her a little on the inside. If this jerk did hurt her, she was going to yank Thian by the head until he got revenge for her. Well... After she convinced her brother that she was safe and had been good the entire time of course. Maybe she would try to get his fiancée to butter him up a little before she spoke to him, after all the man was very much a slave to her command. 

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"Five hours. You're telling me, nobody noticed they were gone for five hours?" Alexander's voice was calm, low, and laced with poison the minute the men stood in front of him with their heads bowed. 

"We apologize, sir," they said in unison, all frozen in their stance. 

"Oh I'm not the one you'll be explaining this to, Thian is going to have a field day if something happens to the kid" he snorted, pulling the thick leather jacket over his shoulders and strapping the gloves at the wrist so that it was secure. Seated nicely on his hip was a holster that had been placed near his hip bone, mostly impractical for others of a different frame, but with the man's need for mobility, it was in the perfect position for reach. Along the length of his belt held a sleek carbon black dagger and a small detachable pocket unit.

Alexander stared at her number on the cellphone, there was a high possibility that she would ignore the call, however, if she did pick up, he can track the location. It would cost him his dignity and possibly ruin the image of himself even more in her head, but that wasn't what he should be focused on at the moment. Letting the call ring until it reached the voicemail, the man's frown only deepened. He tried again. This time, she answered on the third ring and from the noise in the background and her horrible attempt at speaking over the volume, he was certain she wasn't going to answer any of the questions he had for her. 

"I hope you have a really good explanation for this pixie" he pulled out the car keys from the top of his drawer and signalled his assistant to deal with the men as he walked out of the waiting room downstairs. 

"Xander... Shit" he could hear the loud music behind her, her voice barely communicating through the microphone as his grip on his phone tightened. 

"I'm waiting," he said, getting into the car and starting the engine as he headed out. 

"It's complicated... Just don't tell my brother please!!" 

"I'm on my way," he said, hanging up without hearing her response and trying his best not to let the frustration get the better of him. 

While he had every right to be upset, the man couldn't bring himself to let his usual temper take over. Instead, there was another mixed feeling brewing inside of him, and he had begun to ask questions, questions that involved her. Where did she go? Was she meeting someone? Did she run into anyone harmful? The questions that plagued him evoked an emotion he hadn't thought was possible. Worry. Alexander Kasimir was helplessly worried to his bones about her safety, and he hated how uncomfortable it made him feel. 

Once Alexander reached the nightclub, he killed the engine and got out, briefly scanning the area before calling up his assistant who had given him the layout of the building to enter. The front was heavily guarded by security, another pair of men behind them and a long metal railing that kept unwanted visitors out. A ghost of a smirk flared across the man's lips, a cute set-up, he thought. At best it would keep ruckus party crashers at bay, but that wasn't going to do it if some serious damage was going to happen. Bricking the side door with his fist, he pressed a thin machine that resembled some sort of credit card terminal flat against the door. A quick red flash had penetrated the lock and with another metal card-like applicator, he easily unlocked the door within seconds. 

It wasn't an application the man was proud of, but God did it come in handy. The man who designed it, the brain behind the damn thing was a lunatic in his own words, a man who liked money and was also crazy enough to auction it off for a few hundred thousand. Why was it in Alexander's hand? Well, it was one of the few prizes for his hard work when he personally dealt with the bidder. In softer terms, he beat the shit out of the previous owner for greedily trying to rob him and in turn confiscated everything he had then owned, one of which happened to be these gadgets. 

Stepping through the hallway and forcefully shoving the huge doors open, Alexander was hit with the stench of cigarettes and alcohol, in the mix was something that smelt high of sweat and God knows what other horrendous bodily fluids. He could only imagine Thian's face if he were to ever know that his sister was in a place like this, it would be a miracle for that man to show emotion and it would also be even more astonishing to see how he would react to something like this. He looked around the room, to his best ability, almost a good head or two taller than most people in the room. While he had not been the bulkiest man in there, he was not lanky. His eyes continued to search for the little pixie, seeing no sight of her, there was that uncomfortable feeling once more. 

A few minutes later and Alexander had scanned the entire two sections of the club. It was not long until he finally found some sort of relief when his eyes fell upon the girl, she had an arm around her friend who seemed to be distraught and in tears while using the other to give soothing pats to her friend's back. The man had stopped short, taking in her image in that outfit, something very much unlike her usual wear. The raw flame that sparked inside of him had begun to rip through his being as he stepped closer to grasp an even clearer view of her. Pursing his lips and forcing the thoughts away, Alexander approached her, coming towards the sobbing girl in her chest and making himself known as he spoke right into her ear. 

"What the hell are you wearing?"