ONCE WE FIND something for Selina to wear, we sneak outside to a car waiting for us. I had texted the driver, Marco, an hour ago and told him to be ready. He’s constantly grumbling about my late-night escapades, but he never tells me no. And, more importantly, he never tells my father about where I’m going or what I do outside of the house. Maybe it’s because nothing has ever happened on my little outings…or maybe it’s because I always slip him a few hundred dollars to keep his mouth shut and his wallet happy.
When we climb into the back of the sedan, Selina glances around nervously. “We don’t need more guards?” she asks.
I smile and wave nonchalantly. “We’ll be fine,” I assure her. “There are going to be tons of people there. Nothing is going to happen.” I understand her apprehension, but it’s not like we’re going totally alone. We’ll have Marco nearby in case anything happens, and the club has plenty of security and bouncers.
Selina flashes me a hesitant grin and fixes the hem of her skirt before nervously crossing and uncrossing her legs. The dress I let her borrow fits her figure perfectly. Selina is tall, blonde and insanely pretty. She was a knockout when she was barely a teenager, so no wonder my brother fell madly in love with her all those years ago. She’s twenty-three now, two years older than me, and it’s hard to believe the kind of life she recently escaped from. I personally don’t know if I could have survived. But she’s strong. She’s always been so damn strong.
Marco drives us into the city, the lights and atmosphere filling me with an overwhelming sense of happiness and peace that I couldn’t ever describe with words. I love the city. I love how it never sleeps and how there is always something happening. So many people live and thrive here in NYC, and I wish I could be one of them even for just a day.
When Marco pulls up to a large industrial-looking building, he turns around in the seat and tells us, “I’ll be parked a few blocks away. Just text me when you’re ready to leave.”
This isn’t his first rodeo. I’ve done this numerous times before unbeknownst to my parents, who would probably have my head and his if they knew I was sneaking out to clubs at night.
“Thank you, Marco,” I tell him. Then, I climb out of the back of the car, turning and waiting for Selina. She looks anxious and almost like she wants to turn around and go back home, but then she seems to steel her nerves and eventually gets out. Mind made up, I take her hand and pull her past the line of people and right to the front door.
The huge, burly bouncer at the door tips his bald head at me and narrows his eyes. “Name?” he asks, looking bored and unconvinced that it will actually be on the list. I’m sure he’s had numerous people attempt to get in tonight, but I know for a fact that I’m not going to be wasting his time.
“Aria Vitale,” I say with a smile.
I can see the change in his demeanor almost instantly. My family name sends fear into a lot of people when they hear it. My father is very well known throughout the city for his line of work and ties to the mafia. Even though my family helps innocent people who get caught up in human trafficking rings, my dad still delves in the dark underbelly of the city to make his money. He controls most of New York and New Jersey and owns a lot of territories.
The bouncer checks his list, gives me a nod and then steps aside for us to go through the front door.
Inside, it’s loud and bright with numerous neon-colored lights moving in various patterns across the huge dance floor. The club is packed with people drinking, laughing, dancing and talking loudly.
I lead Selina straight to the bar, ordering us a couple of shots and drinks to loosen her up. God, the girl looks like she’s at a funeral and not at a club right now. I really want us to have a good time tonight, and I’m going to make it my mission to make sure that happens. Selina deserves this, a night out, a fun evening to relax and forget about all the bad things.
I end up snagging us two seats at the bar while we wait for our mixed drinks to be made, and we take turns downing a few shots of tequila. After the third shot, I can start to tell Selina is beginning to relax, and that makes me so happy.
A few guys come and go, trying to hit on us, but I shut them down quick. If they want to live to see tomorrow, they’re better off just running the other way and not pushing their luck.
The bartender sets down our drinks a few minutes later just as one of my favorite songs begins to play over the speakers. I jump up, grab Selina’s hand and shout over the music, “Let’s dance!”
She follows me onto the dance floor. The crowd parts as I barrel my way through it. Even though I’m only five-two, I like to think my confidence makes up for the fact that I’m vertically challenged.
I text my friend, who is DJing, and let her know we’ll be up to the booth soon after we get a few drinks and dances in. And then, I tuck my phone away and start to dance, one of my favorite things to do.
Selina is awkward at first, barely swaying to the music. “Come on. You can do better than that!” I tease her.
She downs half of her drink, needing the liquid courage before she begins keeping up with me, putting her arm up in the air and looking like a superstar on the dance floor.
“Hell yeah!” I call out to her with a big grin.
She moves so freely, without a care in the world, and it’s a wonderful thing to see. She’s finally letting her guard down and enjoying herself, something she probably hasn’t done in years. It makes me so happy that I asked her to come out with me tonight. She needed this. We both did.
I finish off most of my drink, dancing and laughing when suddenly I realize Selina dropped her drink. “Whoa!” I call out, bumping into her. “Okay, you’re cut off!” I joke. But when I look up and see the worry and fear in her eyes, I sober up quickly. “What? Selina, what’s wrong?” I ask urgently.
Her eyes cut away from me and focus in on a specific area on the second floor. I try to look to see what she’s staring at, but all I see are people drinking and having fun.
“Constantine is here!” she says in a panic, her eyes darting around.
And with those words spoken, what was supposed to be a fun girls’ night out turns into a freaking nightmare within the matter of a few seconds.
“Are you sure it was him?” I ask Selina, grabbing her arm and shaking her hard. I need her to focus.
“Yes! No!” she sputters out. “I’m not a hundred-percent sure, but I think it was him.”
I look around the club, torn between wanting and not wanting to see him. Constantine Carbone has been a thorn in my family’s side for years. I remember overhearing stories about him when I was a child, thinking he was the real-life boogeyman. And the thought of actually facing him tonight has me shuddering. He’s responsible for destroying a lot of lives. Poor Selina was in his clutches for an entire decade while he did all sort of sick and depraved things to her. And if he’s here tonight, that means he’s looking for her and wants her back.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath before I pull my cell phone from the small clutch in my trembling hand. “I’m going to call Renato just in case. He’ll know what to do.”
When I hear his familiar voice answer the phone, my heart clenches inside my chest. “Renato, it’s me.” And then I take a deep breath before telling him, “Listen, don’t freak out, but we’re at the club.”
Renato has been dealing with my shenanigans for years. This isn’t the first time I’ve snuck out of the house without an entourage of bodyguards against my parents’ best wishes and without him knowing until the next day.
“Damn it, Aria!” He curses under his breath before he asks in a demanding tone, “Which club?”
“Liquid Lounge.”
He berates me for a full minute, telling me how dangerous it is to leave the house without his knowledge, especially now, as if I don’t already know all of that. Rolling my eyes, I cut him off and say, “I don’t need your shit right now, Renato. I need your help.” I glance at Selina, who looks ghastly pale with dread in her eyes. “Selina thinks she just saw Constantine Carbone here.”
Renato pauses a beat before he tells me, “You need to get out of there, Aria. Right now. Do you hear me?” His tone is severe. “Don’t even pay the tab. I’ll take care of it later. Just get the fuck out of the building.” I don’t think he’s ever been this brusque with me before, and it’s scaring me.
I nod in understanding even though he can’t see me. I look at Selina and tell her, “He said we need to get out of here. I’ll text the driver to come pick us up. He’s only a few blocks away. Then we can —.”
I don’t get to finish my sentence. A loud, deafening boom sounds, and the music suddenly cuts off.
Pop, pop, pop, pop!
Selina pulls me down to the floor, sheltering me as the gunfire goes off. The crowd of people surrounding us erupts into panic, screaming as they start running for the nearest exits. Acting quickly, Selina pulls me under a table so that we don’t get trampled to death in the ensuing chaos as the shooting continues to explode through the entire building.
Dead bodies begin to fall around us until the place looks like something out of a war movie.
“Aria! Aria!” I can hear Renato’s frantic screams from the speaker in my phone, which is now lying on the floor next to our feet.
People are crying, screaming and trying frantically to escape, and anyone that moves is just being mowed down by the gunmen. I begin to hyperventilate; my senses on overload; my flight or fight kicking into high gear. “We need to get out of here!”
Selina nods in agreement. “Stay low,” she instructs.
We scramble out from under the table, and I barely remember to grab my phone at the last second, holding it in my hand like a lifeline. Perhaps because it is.
My legs threaten to buckle, but Selina drags me alongside her towards what I hope is an exit.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” someone calls out.
Selina suddenly stops dead in her tracks as if the voice has an unforeseen power over her. Her eyes are full of pain and regret as she yells at me, “Go! Get out of here!”
Tears fill my eyes as I realize she’s sacrificing herself for my safety. Frantically, I pull on her arm, hoping that she’ll change her mind. “I’m not leaving you!” I cry, my vision blurring.
“Get out before it’s too late!” she hisses at me, pushing me towards the exit and away from her. I can see the hidden communication in her eyes. She wants me to go get help; because if we’re both taken, there’s no hope for us.
Sobbing, I give her a small nod before I turn and run out the door at the end of the hallway. I shove my phone down the front of my gold, sequin mini dress, hoping that Renato is still on the line and is coming to rescue us. There are several people gathered outside, all of them turning to look at me, fearing that I’m one of the gunmen coming out to finish the job.
I move towards the crowd, hoping to blend in and hide until someone comes for us, but I only get two steps in before I’m suddenly hauled up in the air. I’m crushed in a gripping hold against a big, burly man who smells like sweat and grease. I scream at the top of my lungs, begging for someone to help me, but the people who looked like they were willing to help before are suddenly scattering in the wind, afraid for their own safety and self-preservation.
I fight and kick and scream, but the man manages to get me back inside the club. He forces me to stand beside Selina, who is facing the devil himself — Constantine Carbone. I’ve never seen him in person before, only in pictures, but I would recognize his evil face anywhere. He’s responsible for all of this. But how the hell did he find us?
“I’ll go with you,” Selina pleads with him. “Just let her go.”
I stare at Selina in awe. She’s so damn brave, so tough. And she’s willing to do anything for my safety. If we make it out of this alive, I have no idea how I’ll even repay her for her selflessness.
Constantine lets out a deep, hearty laugh. “Oh, you think you make the rules now, my little pet?”
Selina visibly flinches from the nickname, and I wonder how many times he called her that during their ten years together. I shudder at the thought.
Constantine walks over to us. Up close, he’s handsome with salt and pepper hair and dark eyes. I would never peg him for a monster but looks can clearly be deceiving.
He reaches out to touch Selina’s face, but she grimaces and takes a step back. He tsks at her, and a cruel smirk forms on his lips as he says, “It seems my little pet has lost her manners. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you your manners again. I’ll beat the fucking defiance out of you until you can no longer walk.” And then he draws his hand back and slams his fist into the side of her head.
My first reaction to his brutality is total and utter shock. I’ve never seen a man hit a woman before. And then, all too soon, anger begins to well up and seep through every pore in my body, and I scream at him, “Leave her alone!”
The moment his black eyes rest upon me, I realize my mistake. Constantine slowly walks over to me, like a mountain lion stalking its prey. Gently, so gently, his fingertips graze along my cheek and jaw before he wraps his hand around my neck and forces me to lift my chin. He stares at me, taking in every detail of my face. “And you must be Aria Vitale. My god, you look just like your mother,” he says in awe, and I can practically see the fucked-up thoughts swirling inside of his evil eyes. If eyes are the gateway to the soul, this man has none. They look void of emotion, void of any kind of light, void of everything. Just endless shadowy pits of pure darkness. “Oh, I’m going to have fun with you,” Constantine tells me. “All the fun I was denied with her thanks to your no-good father.”
I open my mouth to tell him off, but suddenly Selina lets out a primal scream beside me. In the blink of an eye, she’s pouncing on Constantine, her nails scoring his cheek before one of his guards suddenly hauls her backwards, away from him.
She fights the man holding her like a wild animal, and I can’t help but silently cheer her on. I step forward to help her, but I’m immediately pulled back. I struggle against my own captor, kicking him in the shin and making him yelp in pain.
We’re both putting up the fight of our lives right now. We’re not backing down. We’re not making it easy on them.
Eventually, Selina goes limp in the man’s arms, having worn herself out. Her breathing is ragged and raw as she stares daggers into Constantine. I’ve never seen this side of her before. But considering what she went through as a teen and into her adulthood, I’m sure she’s had to adapt and become someone else, something fierce and unbreakable.
Constantine casually pulls a white handkerchief out of his suit pocket and wipes at his face, staring down at the blood when he pulls it away. A hearty chuckle escapes his chest before his dark eyes lock onto Selina. “Save your strength, little pet. You’re going to need it for what I have planned for you,” he threatens. Then, he looks to his men. “Hurry up and frisk them, and then let’s get the hell out of here.”
A shiver runs up and down my spine. My cell phone. It’s hidden in the front of my dress. I need Constantine to give us more information, something, and I can only hope and pray that Renato is still on the line and listening to all of this.
“Where are you taking us?” I yell at him to make sure it’s picked up on the microphone.
“We’re going on a little boat ride,” he says cryptically before turning to leave, stepping over the dead bodies as he goes.
Police sirens can be heard in the distance while four men roughly search Selina and me, tearing at our clothes and putting their fingers and hands in places they shouldn’t be. I fight them off as hard as I can. “Don’t you dare touch me!” I screech. “Don’t! Stop!” Despite my best efforts, they manage to manhandle their way inside my dress before pulling out my lifeline to Renato.
“Cell phone,” one of the men calls out before he drops it to the floor and smashes it against the concrete with the heel of his heavy boot.
A sob escapes me then as I look up at Selina. We know exactly what the other is thinking — they’ll never be able to find us now. We’ll be taken, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do to change that.
