Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) (12 page)

We pulled into a parking lot lined with a chain-link
fence. “Where’s the bar?” I asked, looking around and only seeing the lot, cars
and a deserted building. A few groups of teenagers were huddling in the corner
of the lot.

“Around the corner. You can never get a spot out
front,” Lauren informed me as she turned off the car and then reached for her
purse.

“Remember, everyone, just take something you can
pretend is ID and money, otherwise leave it in the car.” Allison was digging
out her money and what looked like her student ID and stuck it in her bra. She
didn’t have any pockets in her dress.

I pulled out my library card that I hadn’t used since
middle school, not wanting to lose anything else. Then I took out a couple of
twenties, folded them up and stuck them in the front pocket of my jean skirt.

Everyone climbed out of the car and I followed them
around the corner. There was a line of teenagers along the street, in front of
a large red brick building. Two windows on either side of the door were covered
with some kind of black material. A dark sign with white lettering above the
door read
Manic
. The walls of the building were vibrating with bass-pumping
music.

We crossed the street and stood in line. There were at
least twenty people in front of us; it’d be midnight before we got in. “Don’t
worry, the line goes fast,” Lauren said from beside me, answering my thoughts.

“You come here a lot?”

“Occasionally. Allison first brought me here last
year. Now we come whenever they have new bands playing.”

About ten minutes later we were standing in front of a
bouncer, a big muscled guy with black hair. He was wearing a tight black
T-shirt and black jeans. “Hey, girls, come to see the new band?” he asked, a
lot friendlier than he looked.

He nodded at the card Allison held up. “Yep, are they
any good?” she asked.

He shrugged as the rest of us flashed our fake cards.
“Not my taste, but you might like them.” As we started to walk away, he grabbed
Allison’s arm. Fear knotted in my stomach and I froze, waiting to hear that we
were busted. “Remember the rules, Ally and be careful.” She smiled as she
patted his cheek. He let her go.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

We followed Allison into the wide open room. There was
a long bar to the right with small tables throughout and along the back wall
was a large stage. A group of guys that looked like they were in their early
twenties stood above us singing a heavy rock song I had never heard before. The
lead singer had long brown hair and wore a ripped T-shirt and jeans. The rest
of them were dressed basically the same. The dance floor was packed with
dancing bodies and tons of teenagers stood along the walls watching.

“Isn’t this amazing?” Lily yelled over the music. She
was standing beside me as we stopped to see if there was a free table.

I had to admit it was. I had been to a few clubs
downtown but nothing as wild as this. There were so many different types of people
here; it was awesome. I nodded to her just as Allison spotted a table near the
bar.

“How do you know the bouncer?” I asked Allison as I
sat down on a chair across from her.

“He’s my uncle.”

“What are the rules?”

“Only drink soda and never leave it alone. And never
leave with people we don’t know. If we do, we can’t come back.” Sounded
sensible enough; I had no problem with the rules.

“Come on Ally, let’s get some drinks,” Lauren called
out over the noise. “You two stay here and hold the table.”

I watched them weave through the hordes of people
heading toward the bar.

“So, what’s Nate like?” Lily asked, leaning in to hear
me over the loud music.

“At school he’s grouchy and annoyed most of the time,
but at the shelter he’s funny and charming. He jokes with everyone and really
cares about the people there.”

“Really? That doesn’t sound like him.”

“I know, but he’s really happy at the shelter. It’s
strange, it’s like he’s a different person when he’s there.”

“I said hi to him once. He just grunted and walked
away.”

“You know he’s like that with everyone, right?”

Her eyebrows rose, her bright green eyes flashed. “Not
you.”

“At school he only tolerates me because of the trouble
I’m in. But he’s told me many times he didn’t want me around. When I ask him
anything personal, he ignores me completely.”

“He sounds charming,” Lily remarked, sarcasm coating
her words.

“Yep,” I replied dryly, watching the dancers bounce
around on the dance floor.

Lauren and Ally came back and placed four sodas in the
center of the table.

“What were you guys talking about?” Lauren asked as
she sat down next to me, the smell of her fragrant perfume floated in the air.

“How Nate Green is rude to her at school, but nice at
the shelter,” Lily volunteered, taking her soda from the girls.

“He’s rude to you?” Allison asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders, hoping to move the
conversation to something else. I really didn’t need to be reminded every five
minutes of how Nate constantly shot me down. I took a sip of my drink.

“She said he always tells her he doesn’t want her
around.” Lily was yelling a little louder than was necessary.

Allison leaned back in her chair. “What a jerk.”

“It’s who he is, but I’m used to it. Uh… who’s that?”
A guy with long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and a gold hoop earring in
his left ear was sitting at the bar staring at Allison.

“Oh, that’s Marty. He has the hots for Allison. Here
he comes.” Lily looked down at her drink.

“Hey, Allison, do you want to dance?” Marty asked,
leaning against my chair as if I were invisible.

“Sure.” Allison stood up and sauntered to the dance
floor, her hips swaying in time to the music. He followed behind her with his
hand on her lower back. Her long ink-black hair swung as she moved to the
music.

Lauren and Lily stood up to dance. “Do you mind
watching the table?” Lily asked me, “I’ll just dance once then I’ll come back
and trade,” she promised before turning away with Lauren.

“Go, I’m fine. I don’t really like this music anyway.”

“Thanks and don’t worry, they’re not the only band of
the night.”

Thank God
. I wasn’t in the mood for classic rock. The guys looked like they
climbed out of a time machine from the eighties.

“What are you doing here, rich girl?”

I turned around at the sound of a familiar voice and
saw Eddie standing with some guy. He appeared to be the same age as Eddie, with
light brown hair and blue eyes. I smiled and stood up, giving my co-volunteer a
friendly hug. “What do you mean? I come here all the time.”

He laughed. “Yeah, right, you really fit in well. What
you’re wearing probably costs more than the bar.”

“Hey, I blend in.” I looked down at my outfit,
suddenly self-conscious.

“You do. I’m kidding.” He sat down in Lily’s chair and
brown hair, blue eyes sat across from me. “Megan, this is my friend Danny.”

Danny’s mouth turned at the edges into a near smile,
extending his hand to me. I took it, noticing he had a tattoo of a snake on his
wrist. His hand was warm and clammy.

“It’s nice to meet you, Danny,” I yelled above the
loud guitar solo. I looked up on the stage and saw the short guitarist crawling
around on the floor. I shook my head, really hoping the bands got better. Danny
nodded to me but said nothing, turning his head to watch the band.

“So what are you doing here?” Eddie asked again.

“I’m here with some friends. They’re dancing so I’m
holding the table.”

“Which ones?” He looked out at the dance floor, trying
to guess who I was with. I pointed to Lauren and Lily, who were dancing in the
center. I spotted Allison in the corner by the stage glued to Marty. “The little
blond is cute. Is she rich too?”

“Eddie, would you stop talking like that?”

He laughed. “I’m sorry. What’s her name?”

“It’s Lily and if you’re nice I’ll introduce you.” The
song ended and the girls came back. Eddie stood up, letting Lily sit down and
slapped Danny, pulling him out of his chair for Lauren to sit. It didn’t
matter, though, because Allison didn’t come back. She stayed on the dance floor
with Marty. Danny sat back down and Lauren and I shared a chair so Eddie could
sit. I introduced Eddie to Lily. They smiled at each other and nodded. “And
this is Lauren.”

Lauren simply smiled at him. However, he stared at her
with a curious expression. “Have we met before?”

Her face was blank as she looked him over. “No, I
don’t think so.”

“I never forget a face and you seem so familiar.” His
face held a puzzled expression, trying hard to figure out where he knew her.

She shook her head. “Sorry, but I don’t know you.” She
quickly turned to Lily, asking about the song that was playing. Was it me or
was she avoiding him?

The band played two more songs and then was replaced
by an indie band, whose lead singer was amazing. He wasn’t bad on the eyes and
his voice was so good I had to get up and dance. I left Eddie to watch the
table. Danny danced with a girl that had purple hair and a pierced eyebrow.

After a couple of songs I went back to sit down and
keep Eddie company, but Danny beat me to it. He was sprawled on the chair next
to Eddie drinking what looked like beer. “So you’re the rich girl that Eddie
volunteers with?”

The harmless nickname that I was called at the shelter
seemed almost sinister coming from Danny. “I guess so, I do volunteer with
him.”

“And you’re a Banks.”

I was becoming very uncomfortable with his line of
questions, I looked to Eddie for help, but he was talking to Lily. I hadn’t
even seen her approach.

“Yeah, so?” I folded my arms in front of me, not
hiding my annoyance.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked as the music turned
to a slow song. I could think of a million things I would rather be doing right
about then. And dancing with someone who only seemed interested once he found
out my last name wasn’t one of them.

“No thanks, I’m good.”

He shrugged and stood up, heading over to the bar.
Lily leaned over. “I like your friend, is he a good guy?”

I glanced over at Eddie, who had followed Danny to the
bar. “Yes, he is. But I’m beginning to think that Danny is a jerk. He barely
spoke to me until he found out my last name.”

Her face scrunched up in sympathy. “That must really
suck, not knowing if your friends are with you for you, or your money.”

“It does. And it’s happened a few times, but I’m a
good judge of character. I can usually spot them right away.”

“Yeah, Lauren can too. She’s met a few people like
that, especially here; once they find out she’s a Riley. We don’t usually use
her last name.” She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the crowd, her body
swaying to the music. “Is that Nate?” she asked, pointing to the back corner
near an exit door. I followed her gaze, but only saw the shoulder of a guy who
was wearing all black. I couldn’t even see the color of his hair from this
distance.

“I don’t know. I don’t see him. But I doubt it. He
would never come to a place like this.” I looked around the room. “Where’s
Lauren?”

“Huh, that’s weird, she was right behind me. Maybe she
went to the washroom.”

“Hey, guys, could you watch the table?” I called to
Eddie and Danny, who were walking toward us with drinks in hand. “We lost
Lauren, so we’re going to go check out the washroom.” We stood up to wait for
them.

“Sure, but Lily, when you come back you owe me a
dance.” Eddie pointed at her with a wink. She giggled as she took my hand.

Danny rubbed up against me as he passed. “You owe me
one too,” he whispered in my ear. His hot breath smelled of beer. Lily jerked
my hand, pulling me toward the washrooms. I nodded to Danny, unsure of what to
say.

The bathrooms were down a hall at the end of the bar.
We ducked elbows, swerved from flying drinks and avoided guys who wanted to
dance. Finally, we could see the door to the washroom. We pushed our way
through and stopped. There was such a long line. We couldn’t even shut the
door. “Lauren!” Lily yelled. A few different-sounding voices echoed her, but no
one answered back. Where was she?

We headed back into the main room and stood in the
doorway of the washrooms, looking around for her blond hair and red silk top.
“There she is,” Lily called out, pointing to our table. Lauren was back in her
chair taking a sip of her soda and talking to Eddie. Allison was there as well,
huddled with Marty.

Lily started to make her way back to the table. I was
about to follow her when I was suddenly pulled and shoved into a corner. It was
dark and the main lights didn’t reach this far; no one would even see me here.
I started to scream, but was cut off by a hand covering my mouth.