Jessica was sitting on the couch reading a book when she heard the squeal of tires, followed by a loud crash. She jumped to her feet as the door burst open. Damien stood there, his eyes looking like hot coals. Her first thought was to run into his arms. It disappeared as Blaze tackled him from behind.

“Go upstairs!” he shouted at her.

She turned and fled up the staircase, hoping they wouldn’t kill each other.

Blaze stood up, pointing his gun at Damien’s head. “You have three seconds to get out of my house.”

Damien glared at him, his eyes glowing bright red. “Somehow, I don’t think you’re in a position to threaten me.” His gaze traveled to the stairs, and a few seconds later, so did Blaze’s.

Jessica stood on the landing, a blank look in her eyes. Damien nodded, and she turned around, taking a few steps backwards. One more step and she would fall down the long staircase, possibly to her death.

“Me or the girl, Blaze,” Damien growled. “Make a decision.”

Blaze tossed his gun on the floor.

The empty look left Jessica’s eyes.

“You’re a smart man, Blaze,” Damien said as he ran out of the house.

Jessica shook her head. “Did I miss something?”

Blaze sighed and watched Damien hop into his black Mustang, which had a huge dent in the back, thanks to Blaze’s reckless driving. There was an evil laugh as he drove off.

Blaze felt a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” Jessica asked, looking concerned.

He nodded, not in the mood to talk about what had just happened. “Did Goth call?”

Jessica shook her head. “No. Should he have?”

“Not really,” Blaze said. “I’m just worried that he’ll do something stupid...like I just did. He almost killed you, Jess.”

Jessica cupped his face in her hands. “But he didn’t, honey. I’m fine. Really. Everything is okay.” She gently kissed him.

But Blaze pulled away from her. “No, it’s not. You could be dead right now.” He slowly walked up the stairs, muttering to himself.

She watched him go. Then Jessica sighed and sat down on the couch. She’d go after him later. Right now, they both needed to be alone with their thoughts.

The black Sedan swerved, just missing a lamp post.

“Do you always drive like this?” Lisa asked.

“Only when I’m in a hurry,” Goth replied. “You should be wearing a seatbelt, anyway.”

“I doubt that would save me from your driving,” Lisa muttered, running a hand through her hair. She sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just not used to all this action. Nearly getting killed has never been that much of a concern to me.”

“You should make it one,” Goth suggested. “You’re not out of Yankers yet. We still have to get to Club Olympus, find Blaze, and avoid anymore killers for the rest of the night.”

“We’re going to a club? What for?” Lisa wanted to know.

“There’s someone there who can give me a lead on a clown that might be trying to kill both of us.”

“What does he want you dead for?”

Goth grimaced. “His girl dumped me for him.”

Lisa blinked. “So...shouldn’t you be the one trying to kill him?”

“Nope. His girl might still have a thing for me. He’s not a happy camper. That, and I had a friend of mine try to kill him.”

“Well, what did you do that for?!” Lisa shouted.

Goth shrugged. “It’d be pretty hard for him to kill me if he was dead, wouldn’t it?”

Lisa sighed. “Men.”

Goddess, Karen and Jen all sat at the round table in silence. Every now and then, one would glance at the others, and then quickly return to their own private thoughts. Jen finally decided to end the unnerving quiet.

“It’s pretty dark out there,” she remarked, drumming her fingers on the table. If Goddess heard her, she payed Jen no mind.

Karen cleared her throat. “Too dark,” she muttered, glancing at her watch. “Something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong.”

At that moment, the floor exploded beneath them. Goddess flew through the air and slammed into another table. A thin trickle of blood could be seen running from her forehead as the smoke cleared.

Jen shook her head and sat up. “What was that?” Before she could move, she heard a strange noise behind her.

A gun was pushed against her neck. “Don’t scream. Now look up. Slowly.” Jen swallowed and did as she was told. Though she’d never seen the man before, she instantly recognized him. “Damien.”

He smiled. “You’ve heard of me. Good.” He pulled her from the floor. “I suggest you do whatever it takes to get your big brother and his partner here. Fast.”

Jen nodded and ran to a nearby phone.

Damien sat down in a chair to wait. His plan was working perfectly.

Slick pulled out his cellular phone and dialed. The person on the other end picked up after one ring.

“Boss, I got bad news,” a deep voice said.

Slick frowned. “Who is this? Where’s Damien?!”

There was a chuckle. “He’s busy. Club Olympus. Midnight. Be there, boss. You won’t wanna miss it.” Before Slick could protest, the person hung up.

He stared at the phone for a few seconds. Then he knocked on the window in front of him. A moment later, it slid down. “Yes, sir?” the driver asked.

“What time is it?” Slick wanted to know.

“Fifteen minutes to midnight, sir,” the driver answered.

“Take me to Olympus, now,” Slick ordered. The driver nodded and rolled the window back up. Slick sighed and leaned back in his seat. It was going to be a long night.