Leon Ambross

Nightclubs gave him a headache. The flashing lights, pounding music, dense atmosphere, not to mention the envy and awe on the faces in the crowds threatened to suffocate him. Head held high he led the way across the bottom level of the club toward the back. The urge to hunch his shoulders and look at the floor followed him everywhere, but he pushed it away. The pride and reputation of the Ambross family demanded it.

The sea of eyes staring at them all blended together, like it always did after the initial shock wore off. He focused on the alcove at the back and strode past the bar. The rhythm of his stride hitched, and he slowed. The glance he cast toward the bar was barely a twitch of his eyes and then he was moving forward again.

There was a dark-haired woman sitting at the bar, her bronze eyes tracking him. She didn't look at him like everyone else. There was an odd combination of disgust and hunger in her shifty stare. A sleek black Oris covered the lower half of her face. Her posture was relaxed, like she frequented the club on a regular basis, and the deep red dress she wore accented her dark, mysterious aura. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as he walked away. He felt as though he had walked into her territory and was not welcome, which was absurd because his family owned the entire block the nightclub was on.

"Leon," Kane breathed, close behind him. "You alright?"

He nodded. Of course, his closest friends would have noticed the brief break in his usual pattern of confidence. They might press him about it later, but for now they had a job to do.

Leon paused outside the curtain that obscured the private alcove. "Check it," he said to Kane and Erik. The twins nodded and shouldered inside. They were tall, bulky men with brown hair, pale skin, and hazel eyes. Erik was half an inch taller than Kane and bit thinner in the face, but other than that they were identical.

Leon turned his back on the curtain and looked at his sister. "What?"

She arched her lavender eyebrows. "Are we on edge tonight?"

"I'm fine, Dahlia."

She shrugged, extending a hand to examine her manicured nails that matched her bright pink lipstick. "Whatever. Just don't let it show. We're professionals."

Leon looked her up and down. Her metallic outfit even stood out in a nightclub. "Could have fooled me."

Her lips twisted in a sneer. "Father likes my style."

"He's just about the only one."

Erik stuck his head out from the other side of the curtain. "Clear!"

Dahlia brushed past Leon and sashayed into the alcove, muttering under her breath, "He's the only one that matters."

Leon squeezed the bridge of his nose. He hated going on jobs with his sister. She was a proper, elegant lady who enjoyed her work a little too much. The dangerous, feral side of Dahlia had always made him uncomfortable. She would never do anything to him or their family, but her ruthlessness toed a fragile line that worried him. He didn't like that their father encouraged her either.

Dahlia's voice shot from the room behind him. "Leon!"

He huffed a breath, turned, and tossed the curtain aside. A man sat on the L-shaped couch against the back wall of the alcove, the cushions an electric blue vinyl that almost matched the color of his Visor.

Leon pasted a lion's grin on his face and let his voice run smooth like viscous honey. "Hello, Howard."

The man visibly flinched at the sound of his name. "Leon." He nodded to the Ambross heir and glanced between the twins. He avoided looking at Dahlia as she sat on the end of the couch and draped a lean, muscled arm along the back of it.

Leon shoved his hands in his pockets, his knees and shoulders loose. "You know why we're meeting, Howard."

"Yes, I do." Howard swallowed.

"Today is the day you deliver." Leon pinned him to the couch with a sharp stare. "Well?"

Howard mumbled into his chest. He rubbed sweaty hands on his pants.

"Dahlia, what did he say?"

"I couldn't hear, brother." Dahlia sounded bored.

"Speak so we can all hear you, Howard."

"I-I don't have it…"

Leon huffed a sharp sigh through his nose. He looked at Dahlia. She was watching him closely, waiting. Leon bobbed his head in a shallow nod.

A devilish smile spread nice and lazy across Dahlia's face. She turned to look at Howard. The man started shaking. Kane and Erik lifted him from the couch.

"P-please," he stuttered as they marched him out of the alcove. Howard looked over his shoulder at Dahlia, his eyes wide and frantic through the glass of his Visor. "Leon, please! I'll do anything for you."

"I'm sorry, Howard." Leon shrugged. "You haven't delivered on my last request and I hate to be disappointed. I'm afraid your fate is out of my hands now."

They moved away from the lights and music. Erik and Kane pushed Howard down a long hallway, past storage rooms and offices. Dahlia and Leon followed, their pace casual.

"Nothing is ever out of your hands, Leon! The only person out of your reach is the old man himself!"

Erik kicked open the back door of the club, revealing the dark alley beyond. Kane threw Howard onto the cement. There was an audible crack, he screamed, and rolled into the far wall. Dahlia prowled out behind him, thumbing her collapsible Shock Cane loose from where she kept it strapped to her thigh. It opened with a shuk as she stepped into the alley. Kane and Erik filed out next but kept their distance. Leon leaned against the door, arms folded over his chest, and watched his sister's usual intimidation tactics.

"What are you doing?" A clear, female voice cut through the air.

Every hair on Leon's body stood up. Dahlia turned toward the woman who had spoken. It was the girl from the bar. A blond woman stood close behind her. Leon couldn't move. What was she thinking? Who was this petite, stocky lady with balls bigger than his? He wouldn't even dare interrupt Dahlia unless his own life depended on it.

Dahlia nodded for Kane and Erik to grab the two women. Leon's stomach flipped. He pushed away from the door, his arms falling to his sides. His tongue screamed at his brain to say something, to stop his sister's order, but his jaw just hung slack as he watched the dark-haired girl sprint away into the city with Erik on her heels.

"Damn it!" Dahlia swore and kicked at a rock on the ground. "Leon! Why the hell didn't you keep an eye on Howard?"

Leon blinked. He glanced around the alley. Howard was gone. Kane held the blond girl's arms behind her back with one hand and squeezed her jaw with the other to keep her from crying for help. Dahlia stomped over and stood on her toes. Leon almost went cross-eyed to look into her face.

"Huh? What is wrong with you tonight?"

"It isn't my job to detain our informants."

"Oh, really?" Dahlia's pale eyes sparked with anger. "Why don't you do your job and clean up the rest of this mess then!" She shoved a sharp finger in his chest and stormed back into the club, her knuckles white around the handle of her Cane.

Leon rubbed his chest and watched her disappear into the shadowy hall.

Kane whistled. "Man, she's riled. I mean, I know she loses her temper when she can't have her fun, but that's the first time I've seen her come loose on you."

"It isn't the first time, trust me." Leon ran a hand through his hair, scrubbing the long hairs away from his forehead. He was almost ready to have it cut again. The sides he kept short with his own razor but the top he couldn't do himself.

Erik trotted back down the alley. "Hey," he panted. "I lost the other girl. Sorry boss."

"Don't worry about it." Leon waved away his apology. "We'll find her."

He turned to the leggy blond woman still held tight against Kane. He stepped forward and let a few strands of her long hair run between his fingers. Her bony shoulders curled inward.

"Tell us your friend's name, sweetheart," he crooned, "and I won't have to break that pretty MirrorX of yours."

She squeezed her thin lips together in a tight line. Her eyes shone bright with defiance despite the tears that tracked down her cheeks.

Leon sighed and pushed his shoulders back. "Erik, go get the car. We'll meet you at the curb."

Erik nodded and jogged back into the club. Leon let the door swing shut behind him. The music issuing from inside was cut off, just the thrum of the bass remained. Leon pulled a cigarette from the pocket of his leather jacket and slipped it between his lips. A lighter followed, which he flipped open, lit the cigarette, and clicked shut again before shoving it back in his pocket.

"Kane frisk her please," he said with a puff of smoke.

Kane released her jaw but kept a firm grip on her wrists. She opened her mouth a few times to stretch her jaw muscles but didn't make a sound as he raked his hand over her body.

"Nothing," Kane said when he was finished.

"No cell phone?"

"Nope. Just a wristwatch."

"Alright, let's go." Leon jerked his head toward the street and headed to the mouth of the alley. He turned the corner and stopped in front of the club, its neon signs flashing behind him.

A black sedan rolled to a stop at the curb and Leon slid into the backseat. He met Erik's eyes in the rearview for barely a moment and the vehicle inched forward to the end of the alley. Kane opened the same door Leon had used and pushed the girl inside, then trotted around to the passenger side and jumped in. The engine rumbled as Erik pulled onto the street.

"Where's Dahlia?" Kane asked.

"Don't know. She probably caught a ride from someone else," Erik replied.

"She wouldn't want to go with us anyway." Leon rolled his window down an inch to let the cigarette smoke out then said to the young woman, "I know you don't want to betray your friend. I wouldn't give up my friends if someone like me was asking, but…"

He glanced over at her. She was pressed up against the door, as far away from him as she could manage. Her knees were almost clacking together. She was probably cold.

"Turn the heater on, will ya?" Leon called to the front. Kane pushed a button and turned a dial. Warm air wafted through the cab a few moments later.

"Look, here's the deal."

He flicked his cigarette out the window and rolled it up. Leon spun in his seat to face the girl. She watched him through the corners of her eyes.

"You won't tell me your friend's name, which I understand, but if you don't tell me something, then I'm going to have to ask Erik to pull over so Kane can rearrange that pretty face of yours. None of us want that."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, weighing her options. She chewed on the inside of her lip and stared at the floor.

"I don't have time for this," Leon grumbled. "Erik, stop the car!"

The brakes screeched and the sedan came to a stop in the middle of the street. Kane pushed his door open.

"Melody!" she screamed.

They all froze.

"What?" Leon asked.

"My name," she choked, "is Melody Lichtman."

Kane pulled his door closed and Erik hit the gas. Melody's hands shook as she grasped the hem of her skirt.

"Check it," Leon said to Kane.

He opened the glove compartment and produced a tablet. The screen flared to life and Kane typed in the name. He scrolled through the program briefly then handed it back to Leon.

"Melody Lichtman," Leon read. "Emergency Department nurse at Genesis Central Hospital, graduated in the top five percent of your class at Medical Professionals University, both parents are Rover class, raised in Genesis Westside and now resides in Southside with one roommate."

Leon glanced over at her. She had stopped shivering but looked like she might vomit.

"There are some lovely pictures of you in the database, you know," he said, scrolling through images. "Especially this one from when you were promoted from RN level 2 to level 3. That's quite an impressive achievement, Melody. There are only a handful of level 3 RNs in the city. I'm more interested in the woman standing beside you though."

He turned the tablet so she could see. Melody stood in pale blue scrubs. Her arm was draped around the shoulders of a petite woman with shoulder-length black hair and bronze eyes. Melody held an award in her other hand. They both had confetti in their hair and broad, beaming smiles.

Melody closed her eyes. Tears leaked down her cheeks. She sent a silent apology to Calyx and prayed that they would get out of this alright.