Read Online Donna Joy Usher - Chanel 02 - Goons 'n' Roses by Donna Joy Usher - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Donna Joy Usher
Ads: Link
the casinos glowed. For a few, brief, glorious moments I forgot where we were going and what we were planning.
The cab pulled up in front of the Stratosphere and Martine and I climbed out. This end of town was a little different from the main part of The Strip. A few unsavoury characters could be seen lurking around and I suddenly wondered if the Mafia were going to be our biggest threat that night.
You
know
you’re having a good time when you get to think things like
that
.
We waited for the cab to leave before crossing the road a block down from the building I had seen Tommy enter. There was a black SUV parked out the front with its engine running.
I could hear screaming coming from the tower and glanced over to see a platform with people strapped onto it sliding down the top of the tower. It stopped descending, and, as I watched, was catapulted back up to the tip of the tower. I had to stop myself from squealing.
‘Christ, look at that,’ Martine whispered in my ear, pointing to another part of the tower. A huge mechanical arm pivoted off the top. It had four extensions hanging beneath it. As we watched they started to spin, faster and faster. Shrieks filled the night air.
‘Holy shit,’ I said, tearing my eyes off the terrifying spectacle.
‘How fun would that be?’ Martine whispered.
‘You’re kidding right?’ I looked over my shoulder at her. Her eyes gleamed with crazy excitement in the dim light. ‘You like that sort of thing?’
‘I’ve never tried it. Martyn’s scared of heights.’
We hid in the shadows and watched the car. After about five minutes a couple of burly men came out of the building and hopped into the car. I didn’t recognise either of them in the glow from the Stratosphere.
We waited for the car to turn back onto the strip and then we crept along the side of the building till we were in the yard. ‘Let’s go around the back,’ I whispered.
Martine nodded and followed me down a narrow lane. It was an old, double-storey, brick building that sprawled over the majority of the land it was built on. I could see light glowing out of a few of the windows on the second floor, but the bottom floor windows, which were barred, were dark.
After we had completed our circuit of the building we crept back up the road to formulate our plan. I didn’t think it would be possible to hear us over the blood curdling screams, but was working on a you-can-never-be-too-careful theory.
‘Plan A,’ I said, ‘we see if the front door is locked.’
‘What’s Plan B?’
‘We see if the back door is locked.’
‘They’re the best plans you’ve got?’
‘You got a better one?’
Martine was silent for a second before saying, ‘Nope.’
We crept back to the front of the building and I tiptoed up the steps and slowly turned the front door knob. It was unlocked. I looked at Martine with my eyebrows raised. For all my talk of rescuing Mum, a part of me, a very small part, had been kind of hoping both the doors would be locked.
I took a deep breath and, with Martine right behind me, entered the building.
5
Scary Hide-And-Seek
I paused inside the entry for my eyes to adjust to the diminished light. It wouldn’t do to be fumbling around bumping into furniture. Once I could see in the faint glimmer coming through the windows, I started creeping down the hallway. I could hear the soft clump of Martine’s wedge sneakers behind me.
I was trying to be brave but I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my throat and free dive to the floor. My hands were icy cold, and my breathing came in short sharp rasps.
A door opened off the hallway to the right and I paused for a second, summoning up my courage before I reached out a hand and twisted the knob. It creaked as I pushed it open and I froze in fear, waiting to see if we had been heard. When a few seconds passed, with no cries of alarm, I stuck my head into the room.
I could see the shape of a desk with a chair on the far wall. Apart
The cab pulled up in front of the Stratosphere and Martine and I climbed out. This end of town was a little different from the main part of The Strip. A few unsavoury characters could be seen lurking around and I suddenly wondered if the Mafia were going to be our biggest threat that night.
You
know
you’re having a good time when you get to think things like
that
.
We waited for the cab to leave before crossing the road a block down from the building I had seen Tommy enter. There was a black SUV parked out the front with its engine running.
I could hear screaming coming from the tower and glanced over to see a platform with people strapped onto it sliding down the top of the tower. It stopped descending, and, as I watched, was catapulted back up to the tip of the tower. I had to stop myself from squealing.
‘Christ, look at that,’ Martine whispered in my ear, pointing to another part of the tower. A huge mechanical arm pivoted off the top. It had four extensions hanging beneath it. As we watched they started to spin, faster and faster. Shrieks filled the night air.
‘Holy shit,’ I said, tearing my eyes off the terrifying spectacle.
‘How fun would that be?’ Martine whispered.
‘You’re kidding right?’ I looked over my shoulder at her. Her eyes gleamed with crazy excitement in the dim light. ‘You like that sort of thing?’
‘I’ve never tried it. Martyn’s scared of heights.’
We hid in the shadows and watched the car. After about five minutes a couple of burly men came out of the building and hopped into the car. I didn’t recognise either of them in the glow from the Stratosphere.
We waited for the car to turn back onto the strip and then we crept along the side of the building till we were in the yard. ‘Let’s go around the back,’ I whispered.
Martine nodded and followed me down a narrow lane. It was an old, double-storey, brick building that sprawled over the majority of the land it was built on. I could see light glowing out of a few of the windows on the second floor, but the bottom floor windows, which were barred, were dark.
After we had completed our circuit of the building we crept back up the road to formulate our plan. I didn’t think it would be possible to hear us over the blood curdling screams, but was working on a you-can-never-be-too-careful theory.
‘Plan A,’ I said, ‘we see if the front door is locked.’
‘What’s Plan B?’
‘We see if the back door is locked.’
‘They’re the best plans you’ve got?’
‘You got a better one?’
Martine was silent for a second before saying, ‘Nope.’
We crept back to the front of the building and I tiptoed up the steps and slowly turned the front door knob. It was unlocked. I looked at Martine with my eyebrows raised. For all my talk of rescuing Mum, a part of me, a very small part, had been kind of hoping both the doors would be locked.
I took a deep breath and, with Martine right behind me, entered the building.
5
Scary Hide-And-Seek
I paused inside the entry for my eyes to adjust to the diminished light. It wouldn’t do to be fumbling around bumping into furniture. Once I could see in the faint glimmer coming through the windows, I started creeping down the hallway. I could hear the soft clump of Martine’s wedge sneakers behind me.
I was trying to be brave but I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my throat and free dive to the floor. My hands were icy cold, and my breathing came in short sharp rasps.
A door opened off the hallway to the right and I paused for a second, summoning up my courage before I reached out a hand and twisted the knob. It creaked as I pushed it open and I froze in fear, waiting to see if we had been heard. When a few seconds passed, with no cries of alarm, I stuck my head into the room.
I could see the shape of a desk with a chair on the far wall. Apart
Similar Books
