Malum part 2

Nate

“Where the fuck!” I launch my fist into the wall, pacing back and forth down the hallway of the twentieth floor. The elevator dings and both Brantley and I turn toward it, only finding Bishop, Eli, Cash, and Hunter spilling out.

“Did you find her?” Bishop asks, his eyes flying around all of us.

“What? Tillie? No. She fuck—”

“—not Tillie, Madison.” Bishop goes back and forth, anger rippling from him.

My eyes go to him, suddenly suspicious of just what the fuck these two girls could be getting themselves into.

“Wait, they’re together?”

“I’m guessing so.” Bishop grabs at his hair and yanks at it in frustration. “I chased Madison out, but by the time I reached the lobby, she had fucking disappeared.”

“Remind me to not let my future woman anywhere near those two misfits. I ain’t even playin’.” Eli shakes his head, smirking.

“She fucking stopped here. At this level,” Brantley murmurs.

I narrow my eyes at the stairwell, the light illuminating like a beacon of fuck knows what. I take a step forward.

“Yo! Nate!” Cash hollers from behind me, but I ignore him.

“She took the fucking stairs,” I mutter, my feet kicking up in speeds I didn’t know I had.

“Nate!” Bishop barks from behind me, but Brantley is right there beside me.

“She took the motherfucking stairs!” I yell, anger gripping at my bones.

“She’s way too fucking smart for even us,” Brantley grunts from beside me. “Fucking terror she is.”

We climb the stairs, taking two at a time until we reach the door to level twenty-one.

I yank it open and slowly step forward.

Silence.

Pure and utter silence.

I turn to face the rest of The Kings as they all begin to file through one by one.

Bishop’s eyes come to mine, his head tilting.

“This level?” he whispers as he comes closer.

I nod. “Yeah. Pretty sure.”

I point to each door and set them all at a door each, and then press my ears to number 401.