I wonder if Rafael would’ve helped me two years ago when my father kicked me out…
The tiny mewl, plus knowing the driver has me on a timer, gives me the fortitude to enter fully. I fumble for the light switch and flick it on.
Only to see I’m not alone.
“Welcome home.”
The speaker is a burly man with a brown sweater, and dark slacks that match his black hair which is shaved close to his head. He doesn’t look like a criminal, if you ignore the tattoos running down both sides of his neck, and the look of murder in his gaze. He’s accompanied by two other men and they flank him, wearing similar clothing.
And carrying similar weapons.
Unlike mine, theirs are definitely loaded.
I freeze, unsure of what to do. These men could be new to my father’s payroll, which is why I don’t recognize them. Or they’re on Caruso’s and here to kill me. Either way, there’s little chance I can outrun them. Maybe one but not three. And that’s assuming they don’t shoot me in the back.
“Who are you and what do you want?” I ask with an air of feigned impatience. If they are my father’s men, chances are they’re not here to kill me and it’s best I establish my former role as a boss’s daughter. It doesn’t hold much power but some is better than nothing.
The one in the middle, presumably the leader of this trio, runs his gaze along the entirety of my body and then smiles. It’s filled with pure malice and my insides begin to quake in terror. It’s almost impossible to stop the tremors, so I hide them with the movement of placing my hand on my hip and the narrowing of my eyes.
“What I want,” he says with a lick of his lips, “is to see that spicy mouth of yours suck my cock.”
I roll my eyes, but only barely, not wanting to look away for a second. “Stop being an asshole and tell me why you’re here. I assume your boss sent you here, so let’s get this over with.”
“Listen here, you uppity bitch,” he says. “When I get done with you, you’ll beg me to kill you.”
The very moment I catch him lifting his foot to take a step in my direction, I tense to run. And with my next breath I’m spinning to grip the doorknob and then wrench the door open, hurling myself from the apartment. The man’s terse command is lost in the wind as it soars past me. I fly down the hallway without looking back because I know if I do, and I see them after me, I’ll be paralyzed with fear. As is, stress grips my heart and every breath is pure agony.
The carpet does little to muffle the pounding footsteps behind me and when I reach the stairwell door my hand shakes so badly I have trouble gripping the doorknob.
A searing pain radiates along my arm when someone grabs me and digs their fingers into my arm. The unwanted contact has my skin crawling and that feeling, so horrible yet familiar, rushes through me and ignites my fight response. With my hand fisting my keys, I swing around to jab them at the first thing I see. The man’s grunt sounds just before he grabs my throat hard enough to cut off my air supply.
“Got you, bitch,” he snarls in my face.
I drop my clutch and use my free arm to scratch his cheek, desperate to have oxygen and my freedom. The man growls and hauls me to him, dragging me back toward my apartment. The lights flicker and I’m not sure if I imagined it or if my vision is failing me because I can’t breathe.
Maybe it’s an omen of my impending death.
Violetta.
My sister, my heart, my reason for living. Just the thought of her name gives me a bit of strength, however fleeting.
I rapidly tap the man’s hand on my throat and he eases his grip ever so slightly. But it’s enough. Like inhaling through a plastic straw, I greedily suck in as much air as I can. And then I almost lose the precious oxygen on a gasp when the door slams shut.
The leader drags me into the center of the small space and his henchmen gather around for the spectacle they’re anticipating. I roll my eyes back and go limp in the man’s hold. He laughs and shoves me hard onto my bed. My spine hits the lumpy mattress while I struggle to come up with a plan.
If I can get to the knife by the headboard, I may have a chance. Slim but it’s there.
“Well, boys, I’m going to fuck that attitude out of her, and it’s between the two of you who’s next.”
For the first time one of the others speaks. “Bosco, don’t you think we should question her first? There’s no way a woman dressed like that lives in this fucking dump.”
I crack my eyelids open just enough to make out their faces. The one with the brown hair and large jowls thrusts his meaty chin in my direction. “We were sent to kill whoever lived at this address, not get information.”
“But we don’t know ifshelives here,” the original speaker says, gesturing to me. “What if she’s not the target? What if this address is fake?”
The leader narrows his gaze. “Tony’s right. Shut the fuck up, Lani. If the boss wanted answers he would’ve asked for them. Alright?”
Lani lifts a shoulder in a half shrug. “I’m just saying. If someone was selling out on the dark web, they wouldn’t sound or look like her, and they wouldn’t be caught dead here.”
