Irish Throwdown (What Happens In Vegas Book 4) by Matt Lincoln (short books for teens .TXT) 📕

“I’ve got one,” I suggested. “It’s got horror, and it’s got drugs.”

“That sounds like my kind of story,” one of the boys cackled.

I smirked. It was actually their drug-fueled antics that reminded me of this case. Of course, these kids were just having harmless fun, whereas the case I’d been involved in had been anything but.

“Alright,” I smiled as one of the other boys picked up a guitar and began to add background music to the story. “It all started on a night just a few days before Halloween…”

1

Clara Montgomery sighed as she watched her friend trip over her own feet for the third time that night. Clara had just graduated from cosmetology school and received her hairdressing license, and she had invited her girlfriends out for a night in the city to celebrate. She hadn’t anticipated that her friends Melanie and Georgia would get into a shot drinking contest at the first bar they visited. Georgia could hold her liquor. She came from a family of athletes and was naturally tall and very muscular. On the other hand, Melanie was petite and thin and had lost the competition just four shots in.

“Maybe you should chill with the drinks,” Clara suggested gently as Melanie swayed on her feet and nearly spilled the large plastic cup she was holding. The liquid inside was bright blue. Clara wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it was strong enough that she could smell the acrid scent of alcohol wafting off it.

“It’s fiiine,” Melanie slurred as she pushed Clara’s hand away from her drink. “It’s Saturday. It’s not like I have work tomorrow!”

“You’re going to have a killer hangover in the morning,” Yolanda snickered, though she was a bit unsteady on her feet herself.

Clara smiled ruefully. Somehow, she’d wound up being the soberest of the four girls, even though this was supposed to be her celebration. She didn’t have the heart to be upset, though. She was glad her friends were having a fun night, and she knew that Melanie’s boss had been on her case recently, so she couldn’t blame her for wanting to blow off a little steam.

“Okay,” Georgia declared as she suddenly came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. “Where to next? Another bar?”

“Let’s go dancing,” Yolanda suggested. “We passed a nightclub a few blocks back. We could turn around or find another one.”

“Let’s go watch the fountains at the Bellagio!” Melanie yelled, the alcohol in her system causing her to lose control of her volume. “It’s not that far from here. It’s dark enough that the lights will look so cool right now!”

Clara pursed her lips as she considered her proposal. The water and light show that ran every fifteen minutes was pretty fun, and it might be a good opportunity to get Melanie to sober up a little.

“I’ve already seen it,” Georgia frowned. “Look, that sign says there’s a magic show starting in half an hour. Let’s go see that instead.”

“Why can’t we do both?” Melanie pouted. “Thirty minutes is plenty of time to go to the fountains and back.”

“No, it’s not,” Georgia refuted. “The show itself is like five minutes long. We’ll be cutting it too close.”

Clara stepped forward in an attempt to break up the argument. She didn’t want her friends to squabble, especially over something so dumb. Before she could speak up, though, a different voice interrupted their conversation.

“Hey, gorgeous,” a tall, thin man crooned, and he sidled in between Georgia and Melanie. “You want to go to the fountains? How about I take you? Let your friends do their thing.”

“Um, no thanks,” Georgia deadpanned as she shoved the man away with her shoulder, her previous argument with Melanie completely forgotten. “She’s going to stay with us.”

The man glared at her. Clara thought that he was kind of handsome, but he had stringy, dirty-looking hair, and something about his posture and presence immediately put her on edge.

“But I want to go see the fountains,” Melanie whined.

“Yeah, she wants to go see the fountains,” the man repeated with an unsettling smile.

“You guys go see the magic show, and I’ll meet up with you later,” Melanie mumbled as she attempted to push past Georgia.

“Mel, stop,” Clara hissed as she gripped her hand around Melanie’s arm to stop her from going. “You don’t even know him.”

“So what? He’s cute,” Melanie murmured. “It’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Clara let out a frustrated groan as she gripped her friend tighter.

“No,” she snapped. “You’re drunk. I’m not gonna let you get murdered because you’re too wasted to see how dumb you’re being. You need to go, sir.”

“Let me go,” Melanie protested as she attempted to pull her arm free of Clara’s grasp.

“Hey, what’s your problem?” the man growled as she reached forward to yank Melanie’s arm loose. “She says she wants to go, so why don’t you mind your own business?”

“Why don’t you just go away?” Georgia shouted as she pushed the man roughly away. Clara was beginning to get nervous. This guy wasn’t taking no for an answer, and even though it was four against one, she didn’t know if the guy had a knife or a gun on him.

Melanie and Georgia’s yelling had drawn the attention of some other people on the strip, and as she looked around, Clara noticed several people looking their way. No one stepped in, however, and Clara felt irritated at all the onlookers just standing around watching the scene without bothering to help.

“Let’s just go,” Clara insisted. There were tons of crowded restaurants and stores just steps away. If they could just get into one, she was sure the guy would go away.

The man reached forward again in an attempt to grab Melanie, but before he could, a man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and punched him square in the face.

“What the hell?” the sleazy guy yelled as she reached up to touch his bloodied nose. The unidentified man punched