The music in the club pulsed and pounded out a violent beat that shot right through Sarah Redden’s skull. “Remind me again why I let you drag me out to this.”

Her best friend, Roxie, flashed her a winning smile. “Come on Sarah. You don’t have to be such a drag. You never come out with us. This is supposed to be fun! We’re twenty-five! These are the best years of our lives!”

“Fun. Hmm. Sorry, which part is that? The music that’s pounding so loud I can’t hear myself think or the drunk people that keep tripping all over each other or the guy ralphing in the corner or the seedy assholes that keep hitting on me and refuse to take a hint?”

Roxie rolled her eyes. She raised her coke mixed with rum to her pink lacquered lips and took a long sip. “All of it. You only get to live once.”

Sarah pulled her phone out of the black beaded clutch looped around her wrist. She checked the time and found to her relief that it was after one. She flashed Roxie the screen. “Looks like I already put in my dues. I’m going to head home. I’m exhausted.”

To her credit, Roxie actually looked crestfallen. “Really? Sarah! We’ve only been here for a couple hours.”

A couple hours too many. “I know. I’ll make it up to you another night.”

“You’re the only person I know who drives to the bar because they don’t intend on getting drunk and having a good time. Isn’t that what this is about?” Roxie stuck out her lip in a pout. “Besides, you were supposed to be my ride home.”

Sarah pulled a twenty out of her clutch and handed it over. “Here. The cab ride is on me. Be safe. Use your head. Don’t take a drunk asshole home with you.”

Her best friend smiled sweetly and batted her lashes. “Who me? You know that I have better judgement than that.”

You have the worst drunk glasses I know. “Yes. Of course.” Sarah hugged Roxie goodbye. Afterwards she was relieved to beat a hasty exit out the back door of the club.

Sarah pushed open the heavy back exit and stepped into the darkened alley. The club was on a warehouse street that had been revamped and changed into a series of trendy clubs, upscale boutiques and café’s. Unfortunately at this hour the only thing open was another club down the block.

Sarah walked quickly, trying to make her way to her car. It was parked a few blocks over since the street had been a solid wall of traffic when she and Roxie arrived earlier. The early May night was cold. Sarah shivered and wished she had a jacket to pull around her. As it was all she had on was a black sparkly mini dress and six inch heels that were not at all suited to picking her way down a pot hole strewn street and over a crumbling sidewalk.

She glanced around as she exhaled, sure she could see her breath. She was going to be pissed off if she got sick from being dragged out on such a cold night. She hadn’t even wanted to go but Roxie could be quite convincing.

A muffled scrape on the sidewalk behind her made the hair on the back of her arms stand up. She spun around, shivering. She scanned the street behind her but all she saw was shadows.

The area was dark, with hardly any streetlights. Sarah wished that she’d asked Roxie to walk her to her car. Even paying some drunken idiot to do it would have been better than nothing.

Sarah wasn’t the kind of woman who went down without a fight. If someone was following her they were going to get a fistful of the keys she took out of her clutch and threaded through her knuckles. Growing up on the streets of Chicago, even with her brother there to protect her, had hardened her.

A heavy footfall sounded to her left. She spun, her eyes wildly searching the street. Her heart hammered painfully as fear crept up her throat and cut off her breath. There was no one there. Just the shadows from the alley she’d just passed. Maybe she was being paranoid.

Sarah quickened her pace. The faster she walked, the surer she was there was someone following her. Her heart hammered hard in her chest. Fear and adrenaline flooded her veins. She thought about kicking off her ridiculous shoes and running the rest of the way to her car, but it was still another block and she knew if someone was following her she probably wouldn’t make it.

She couldn’t show fear. Weakness wasn’t the way to go. She was going to be strong and face whatever…

Strong arms wrapped around her waist while another hand came down on her mouth. She screamed but the sound was muffled. She struggled and thrashed violently but the man holding her was like a brick wall. He was at least a good foot taller than her and his grip was as hard as an iron band.

Sarah bit down hard on the hand over her mouth and the man cursed. She kicked out and up, landing her heel in some fleshy spot on her assailant’s leg. A grunt of pain followed by a series of curses lit up the night.

She whirled, punching out with the keys threaded through her knuckles. Her attacker yelped in pain and held a hand up to his face. It was too dark to get a good look at him. Sarah was about to strike out again when a second assailant grabbed her arm from behind and wrenched it backwards. Sarah cried out in pain and despair as her knuckles opened and her keys fell to the ground.

Another arm, as rigid and unyielding as the first, gripped her around the shoulders. She tried to struggle, tried to get away but her attacker was too swift. His hand moved over her mouth. There was a flash of white and a horrible smell. Sarah breathed in and felt her body sag. Black spots danced in front of her eyes. She tried one last time to strike out before everything went black.