Shine: The Knowing Ones (5 page)

Anna was already bouncing to the pulsing rhythm of the music as they entered the club. Crash was by far the hottest spot in the city. All the major bands played there and it was always packed. Cocktail tables and sleek chairs surrounded a large dance floor, all facing a generous stage filled with the best lighting and equipment.

Looking down on its grandeur was a second floor balcony that bordered the entire perimeter of the club. Both levels boasted fully stocked bars, spectacular stage views, and an amazing sound system, enabling each live performance to truly shine.

“I’m going to find Vig,” Anna shouted over the pounding volume.

“He’s over there,” Sam replied. Vig’s energy was a staple in her energetic file cabinet.

Anna turned, and found him standing at the bar placing an order. She flashed a smile at Sam. “I’ll never understand how you do that,” she said. “Let’s go.” She grabbed Sam’s arm, dragging her across the crowded floor.

In the midst of conversation with the bartender, Vig caught sight of the girls. A huge grin breaking across his face, he paid the bartender, grabbed two water bottles and a beer, and made his way toward them. “Hey baby!” he smiled, wrapping an arm around Anna. He leaned over, kissed her on the lips, and handed her one of the water bottles. Sam watched as a passionate aura encapsulated them both. She smiled.

He turned to Sam, his shaggy dark hair streaked with color, hanging in his soft brown eyes. “Sammy,” he grinned, nodding in her direction, then handed her the other water bottle.

“Hey, Viggie.” She held up the water. “Thanks.”

Anna glanced up at Vig’s hair from beneath his giant bear hug, taking a couple of multi-colored strands in her fingers. “
Why?”

Vig grinned.

“I like it,” Sam argued, mussing the top of his head.

Anna threw Sam an irritated glance. “Don’t encourage him. He looks like a freakin’ circus clown.”

“That’s good for
you
, right?” Sam said. “I just met a major Vig fan a couple of hours ago.”

Vig raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Anna slapped his arm.

“Ow!” he said, grabbing his bicep.

Anna looked back at his hair. “I think you do this just to annoy me.”

“Vig!” Someone shouted from the stage area. He turned his head toward the voice and jerked his chin up in acknowledgement. “Gotta bolt,” he said. “Find a table.” He gave Anna another quick kiss and bounded off toward the stage.

The club was packed. Anna jerked her head toward a table in the corner. “Grab that one,” she said. “I think it’s the only one left.”

They made their way across the room as a new song began to play, one they both loved.

Anna crooned. “Oooh! Come on, Sam!”

She grabbed their water bottles, setting them on the table, and they weaved their way back through the crowd to the congested dance floor.

Sam arrived, turning heads, bringing with her a palpable energy. Tingling from her skin to her heart, she and the music became one, filling her, soothing her, her worries lost in the song. She moved like fluid magic, disabling every man there looking on with sensual longing, the
girls steeped in envy. But Sam’s partner was the song. Staying close to Anna she rebuffed every attempt to partner up. This was
her
time. Her aura slammed shut.

In a far corner, one pair of eyes watched far more intently than any other.

The others were captivated.
He
was nothing short of arrested.

CHAPTER EIGHT

H
e had come in with his friends Chris and Adam, from the swim team, who were on the hunt for women. Trin’s new despondent attitude had prompted the forced evening out, but it was a bonus for them. Trin Kosolov—total chick magnet.

They found a table upstairs. Like a pack of coyotes, they scoped the establishment.

“Hmmm. A lot of fine women here tonight,” Adam said.

A thin smile lit Trin’s face.

Chris threw an arm around his shoulder. “Come on, bro. Whatever’s buggin’ you,
this
is the place to get your mind off it. I mean, check your options. You know
you
can have your pick, dog.”

He gestured toward the sea of scantily clad, tipsy girls. Trin followed, scrutinizing, searching, remaining silent.

Chris slapped Trin on the back, then moved to the table with Adam and gave the server his drink order. Trin stood, studying the crowd, dissecting both levels, checking every face, aura, and countenance. Nothing.

“Excuse me?”

Trin turned, caught off guard. A pretty, young waitress with a long blonde ponytail put a pen to her tablet, face flushed, eyes sparkling with adoration. “Can I get you anything?”

Adam and Chris watched, hopeful.

Unintentionally dazzling her, Trin’s light eyes glinted beneath black lashes. “I’m good, thanks.”

She didn’t move. He read her aura with lightning precision and took her pen. “What’s your name?”

“Cory.”

“Cory,” he repeated while signing his name to her tablet. He handed it back to her with a humble smile.

She practically glowed. “Thank you,” she said. “So great to meet you.”

Trin lowered his head. “Thank you. Nice to meet you, too.”

She floated away to place their order as Trin turned to sit down. Chris and Adam sat in their chairs, staring.

“What?” he said, taking his seat.

Adam shook his head. “Never fails.”

“Nope,” Chris added. “He’s a magic man.”

Trin shook his head, flashing a smile.

After downing a few drinks, his friends spotted a table of prey. They urged him to come along but he opted to stay behind and let them have their fun.

Mentally exhausted, he sat, his muscular frame hunched over, pushing his fingers through his sun-streaked hair. His head stayed down, throwing up the strongest shield he could muster, a million eyes on him. Women searched for a way in. At the moment, he just wanted out.

The current song came to an end and a new one began.

A silent knowing crept over him, pulling at his psyche; faint, but unlike anything he had ever experienced. Lifting his head from his hands he scanned the crowd. Moving toward the dance floor, a light emanated apart from all the others, increasing as it neared the dance floor.

Trin shot up from his chair, nearly sending it flying as he moved to the railing to get a better look.
Gold energy.
Sectioning the crowd, he found its source, his heart thundering in his chest as a devastating brunette emerged. A muted Russian curse escaped his lips. Captivated, his crystal eyes glazed, fighting raw, carnal heat, and he gripped the railing a bit harder than necessary.

His lips parted, allowing much needed air to slip through. Possessive rage, a foreign emotion, challenged his well-maintained
perspective as he watched men approach her. But she turned them away, shutting them down cold.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward.

Stepping away from the railing, he pulled himself together, clearing his mind. Overdue relief washed over him as he considered his next move.

He
had found her first. She was safe, for now. He began strategizing. She wanted to be left alone. Approaching her would be tough. He stood in conflict with the moment, flipping through his options.

Then he knew. She would have to come to him.

He went back to his table and sat down. Leaning forward on his elbows, he focused.

Golden blue electricity ignited in his eyes, energy generating at his core, spreading outward, building in strength. The environment began to change, molecules quivering, vibrating, as he constructed an invisible yet palpable message that expanded past him, stretching out into the crowd. The powerful crawl seeped through arms, around legs, passing by laughter, conversation, and locked lips, searching for its target. Trin’s ice blue eyes gleamed in the hooded darkness of the club, and he waited patiently for her to receive his message.

The song came to an end. Sam pushed her hands through her thick hair, hoping the next song would be just as good. But the sound of Vig’s guitar ripped through the club instead, the audience spiking to a deafening volume, her cue to exit. Staying put would get her crushed.

She began an urgent search for Anna, who had gone to talk to Vig near the end of the song. She found her waving from their table and started toward her. Each face she passed seemed to be a guy sizing her up or just flat out pawing at her.

“Hey baby, where you goin’?”

“Want a drink?”

“No thanks. I’m looking for my friend.”

“I’ll be your friend.” This one grinned like a wolf about to pounce.

Totally put off, she began pushing past him, then stopped, glancing back in recognition.

His drunken leering broadened as he mistook her hesitation for an opening. She turned with a shudder. The next face came into view. She knew this one as well, the next, and the next, all familiar. Then it hit her.

The dream
.

Sam’s heart rate increased. She scanned the big club, matching up details with what she had seen the night before. This was it. This was the room. Her breathing quickened, fists clenching and unclenching as she wondered what she should do. Her mind raced as she recounted everything, trying to remember the order of events. Her profound curiosity won out. She had to know what was on the other side of the crowd.

She filtered forward, turning this way and that, one step at a time as she disentangled herself from the many bodies in her way, then froze in place.

Moving through the tightly packed crowd, a powerful golden blue essence spilled through the bodies like luminescent honey, passing each one, flowing forward, coming for
her
.

She caught her breath, casting her eyes about the oblivious crowd. Vig’s ragged voice seduced the audience, guitars rocked, thunderous beat shaking the walls. Everyone was taken by the show, dancing, screaming, just like the dream. But to her, silence, everything in slow motion, and within moments, she was taken.

Swallowed by an ocean of euphoria, she bent to its will, succumbing, moving forward to the staircase leading to the upper level balcony. She took the stairs one by one, reaching the top driven by this living light.

The crowd began to part, her heart racing. If she hadn’t been so tranquilized, she might have passed out in anticipation of what was waiting for her on the other side. Frenzied energy closed in as the last of the crowd blocking her path gave way, revealing the last thing she ever expected.

Shadowed in the corner, he sat, leaning forward on his elbows, but upon seeing her he leaned back in his chair, exposing a massive upper body and a face she couldn’t turn from.

His masculine jaw and full lips were only outdone by stunning provocative eyes; the most hypnotic blue she had ever seen, scintillating in stark contrast against tanned skin and thick black lashes. Naturally streaked by a lifetime in the sun, his light brown hair hung shaggy
around his face. Broad, muscled shoulders extended into sculpted arms and powerful hands.

Sam drew in air, finding it hard to breathe.

While concealing her reaction, his teammates returned with a gaggle of sorority girls in the early stages of inebriation. A break in the music allowed for Chris’s brilliant introduction.

“Trin, dude, meet the ladies!”

Sam’s eyes gleamed.
Trin
.

He lifted a hand in their direction, his penetrating stare never wavering from hers.

“I’m good.”

His velvet voice matched his appearance.

She reeled as a flicker of light danced off his fingertips in the direction of his friends. He was holding them at bay; aware of the energy, manipulating it.

They looked from Sam to Trin and smiled, knowing glances exchanged. Chris chuckled.

“Okay, dude. We’ll leave you to it.” The boys walked away, arms slung around their newly acquired trophies.

Trin stood. His faded blue jeans accentuated the rest of his tall, lean body. Dizzyingly beautiful.

Watching her for a moment, an apprehensive smile crossed his face.

“Do you want to sit down?”

“Um, yeah,” she replied.

She moved to the chair he held out, and sat down.