Captivated (An Affliction Novel) by Raven Read Free Book Online Page B

crouched position. And that made me immediately rush in his direction.
    “Markus!” I made it to him speedily and helped him up. Thinking he was injured, I hugged him and patted him down. “Are you okay? What did he do to you?” I desperately asked him.
    “Mindy. I saw. I can’t…” Markus panted. No. He was trying to breathe. It sounded like he had just been underwater for longer than he could hold his breath.
    “What! Markus. What is it?” I cried out. My heart pounded in my chest. My mind tried to reel some possibilities of what happened, but I came up empty and my knees quaked at the words…
    “The body.” Markus gushed quietly. He said it too softly. Like he didn’t want me to hear it, but he had to say it out loud. He ran around the wall beside us. I followed, keeping up with his pace. As we passed the corner of the wall, Markus crashed right into someone.
    “Is this your way of asking me for a dance?” asked a velvety smooth voice. “I know I’m stunning Markus, but don’t give up on the ladies,” he bragged.
    Markus looked up at him in disgust. “Shane?” he confidently asked. “Get into a fight?” Markus asked.
    I looked up at Shane. There was a blood smear on his soft lips; it ran down to his delicate, powder white chin.
    “No. Why?” asked Shane. He arched his brow in concern.
    “You have blood on your mouth.” Markus informed and pointed at the spot without making contact.
    Shane smiled, exposing his perfectly white teeth and wiped the blood with a tissue he pulled from his pocket. Without another word, he elegantly walked off, glancing at me as he passed. Immediately, Markus ran to where the dumpster was behind the wall. He jumped on the step attached to the dumpster and peaked his head in. With disappointment on his face, he hopped back down and searched the ground for something.
    “Markus?” I was growing impatient.
    He looked up at me baffled. His face was twisted with confusion.
    “The body.” He breathed. “It’s-” He turned around and searched the ground again. “It’s gone?” he asked himself in disbelief.
     
     

 
     
     

     
     
    ithout giving me any answers, Markus grabbed my arm and pulled me back inside. I jerked my arm away and planted my feet. He stopped and looked back at me, his face was washed in terror and his eyes were transfixed in horror.
    “What happened with Dean?” I asked. “What do you mean when you say body?” I cried out.
    “Dean?” his voice high in inquiry. “Did you see him? Is he still here?” His eyes darted throughout the club. “We gotta get out of here!” he squealed.
    I had never seen him like that before. I didn’t want to be pushy like I usually was with him, but something serious happened and Markus really didn’t want me to know. What did he mean by body? I nodded my head in agreement to his exclamation.
    We rushed to the couch at which we had started the night. Tanya was chatting with Ayden. Crap! He invited me there tonight and I had turned him down. Awkward! That was the least of my worries at the moment. As we approached, Ayden jumped to his feet, looking a little disappointed to see me there. He wanted to be the one to bring me there.
    “Mindy? I thought you didn’t want to come?” he sharply posed as he staggered towards me. A hint of anger showed clearly on his face.
    “Change of plans.” I said in hopes that it would end the awkward conversation. “We’re leaving though,” I added.
    “No. Please, I need to talk to you.” Ayden pleaded with attempted charm. “Can you hang with me for a while?” He brought his hands up and flattened them under his chin as if he were praying.
    “Markus is my ride.” I informed him.
    “I can take you home.” He turned to Markus. “Don’t worry, dude. I’ll take her home safely.” Ayden assured him.
    “What do you want to do, Mindy?” Markus asked.
    “I still need to finish talking to you.” I reminded him.
    “We’re done. I have nothing to say. Ayden needs