Midnight Meeting
1021 Words
LEXIE
Sleep refused to come that night. I tossed and turned for hours, my mind replaying Raven’s smile and the way her eyes had followed me all evening. Around two in the morning, I finally gave up. My throat felt dry and my thoughts were too loud.
I slipped on a hoodie over my tank top and quietly opened my door, the hallway was dark and silent. I crept down the narrow stairs, careful not to make any noise. The bar should be empty at this hour.
But it wasn’t, low voices drifted from the main room as I reached the bottom step. I froze, one hand still on the railing. The lights were dimmed, casting long shadows across the wooden tables and chairs.
Five or six men sat around a large table near the back. Chaos was at the head, his broad shoulders tense, elbows resting on the table. Brick stood silently behind him, a couple of other patched members I recognized but didn’t know well were there too.
This wasn’t a normal late-night drink, this was a meeting. I should have turned around and gone back upstairs. Instead, I stayed hidden in the shadows of the stairwell, listening.
“…can’t ignore it anymore,” one of the older members was saying. “Word is trouble’s stirring again. Old rivals testing boundaries and asking questions about our routes and our deals.”
My stomach tightened. I pressed my back against the wall, trying to stay completely still.
Chaos leaned forward, his storm-gray eyes hard in the low light. His jaw was tight, and his big hands were clasped together on the table. “We’ve handled threats before. We’ll handle this one too.”
Another man shifted in his chair. “Some say they’ve got new money behind them. People who don’t like us controlling this territory.”
Chaos’s voice stayed low and steady, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. “Then we remind them why this is our territory. This stays between us for now, no need to bring the whole club into it until we know more.”
I took a small step back, trying to slip away before anyone noticed me. My foot hit the edge of the bottom step wrong and the wood creaked loudly in the quiet bar, every head turned toward the stairs.
Chaos’s eyes locked onto me instantly and his body went completely still for a second, then he stood up slowly, the other men watched me with sharp, curious expressions.
“s**t,” I whispered under my breath.
Chaos walked toward me with calm, measured steps. His broad frame blocked some of the light from the table. “Sara.”
I forced a small, awkward smile and raised my hands slightly. “Sorry. I was just getting water. Didn’t mean to walk into… whatever this is. I’ll go back upstairs.”
One of the men at the table muttered something I couldn’t hear.
Chaos stopped a few feet away, giving me space like he always did. “You heard something?”
I swallowed hard. “Enough to know I shouldn’t have come down. Look, I’m not trying to get into club business. I’ll pretend I heard nothing. I’m good at keeping secrets.”
Chaos rubbed the back of his neck, his shoulders still tense. “It’s late. You should be sleeping.”
“I know,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. “My brain decided tonight was a great time for a midnight adventure. Bad timing, as usual.”
A couple of the guys at the table chuckled quietly. Chaos shot them a look and they went silent.
He turned back to me. “Go get your water. I’ll walk you back up.”
I nodded and moved quickly behind the bar, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. My hands were a little shaky, but I tried to hide it. When I turned around, Chaos was waiting near the bottom of the stairs.
We walked up together in silence, his heavy boots were quiet on the steps. At the top of the stairs, he stopped outside my door like he always did.
“You okay?” he asked, voice low.
I leaned against the wall and looked at him. “I’m fine. Really. I know better than to ask questions about club stuff. I’m just the girl staying in the spare room.”
Chaos studied me for a long moment, his big body was relaxed, but his jaw was still tight. “You’re not causing problems by being here.”
I gave him a dry smile. “Tell that to Raven. She seems convinced I’m going to burn the place down just by existing.”
He didn’t smile back. “Raven has her own issues. Don’t let her get in your head.”
“Too late,” I muttered. “She’s very good at making her point.”
Chaos stayed quiet, he just stood there, steady and solid in the dark hallway.
I took a sip of water and tried to lighten the mood. “So… secret midnight meetings. Very dramatic. Do you guys wear hoods and speak in code too?”
A small smirk tugged at his lips. “No hoods, just tired men trying to keep things from falling apart.”
I nodded slowly. “Sounds familiar. I’ve been trying to keep my own things from falling apart for a while now.”
We stood there for another long moment, the air between us felt heavy but not uncomfortable and for the first time, I didn’t feel the strong urge to run away from the conversation. “I should let you get back to your meeting,” I said softly.
Chaos gave one slow nod. “Get some sleep, Sara.”
He turned and headed back down the stairs. I watched his broad back disappear before I slipped into my room and closed the door.
I sat on the bed and stared at the wall for a long time. I lay down and pulled the blanket over me, but sleep didn’t come easy.
- Writer
