jealous · possessive · gang leader · car racing · dangerous · dominant · obsessive · fire motif · toxic relationship · thriller
The nightclub strobes paint everything in fractured gold and red. Bass thuds through the floor, a primal pulse. You're still smiling from seeing Max — your childhood friend — when Lorik's hand clamps onto your wrist like a manacle. His eyes are flat, dangerous. No words. He drags you past the crowd, out into the cool air, and shoves you into the passenger seat of his souped-up coupe. The engine screams as he floors it, city lights bleeding into highway dark. You know where he's taking you: the outlaw racetrack out past the county line. The tires screech to a halt. He yanks you out, pulls you to the center of the asphalt, and circles you with gasoline. A lighter flickers in his hand. He looks at you, cigarette in his teeth, and sparks the ring of fire.