I need him to look away long enough so I can run past him.
I pick up a rock from the side of the house and toss it across the driveway. Jason turns to the sound and I take off running.
But I’m not fast enough.
“Kira!” Jason shouts.
A look back shows that he’s coming after me. With a curse, I pick up my speed. I had the good sense to wear flats today. Sure, heels are cuter but they’re a bitch to run in.
My blonde hair flies into my face and I push it back with an exasperated sigh. I just need to get away in time but Jason is almost upon me.
He grabs me around the waist the moment I reach the sidewalk. “Not so fast, Kira. Get back inside. Now.”
That’s when I start to scream. Blood curdling, death-defying, scream. It causes a couple of my neighbors to come outside to investigate the noise.
“This man is hurting me!” I scream.
“Don’t do this,” Jason warns. “Your father will be pissed.”
“He’s hurting me! Please!” I lock eyes with my neighbor, Elizabeth, and she comes rushing over.
“Let the girl go. Now. Or I’m calling the police.”
Jason knows it’s better to not get police involved in our business so he lets me go. “Kira, your father is going to be angry with you.”
“Who cares?” I turn to Elizabeth. “Thank you.” Then I rush past them down the street. Jason doesn’t follow.
I smile to myself. A win is a win. I’m very good at acting. I’ve been acting my entire life with my dad. Pretending to be a good little girl when I’ve always had a rebellious side to me.
What I need is a good dance. And a good drink. I have my fake ID on me that has worked every time.
I choose the first nightclub I come upon. Evening is already approaching and the lines are getting long. The one good thing about New York City is that there’s virtually a nightclub on every corner.
I make it inside within an hour and the deep bass of the music and the smell of sweat and alcohol comforts me. I’m going to have fun tonight.
After ordering a fruity cocktail and practically downing it in one go, I head to the dance floor. I shake and I shimmy and I let myself get lost in the music. Let myself forget about the rigid rules my father has placed on me. Let myself forget that I don’t own my own future. That it’s in the hands of my father and brother.
“You look like you’re having fun,” a man says behind me.
With a gasp, I spin around… only to come face to face with an incredibly handsome man. Like right off the cover of a magazine handsome. Tall and broad shouldered. Dark hair. Five o-clock shadow. Eyes that look like they can see under my clothes.
This man screams danger. He’s the kind of man I always avoid since I’m not here to get raped. I’m here to have fun.
I flip my hair over my shoulder. “So? What’s it to you?”
He smirks. “I was just pointing out that you look like you’re having fun. That’s all.”
“So? Leave me alone. I don’t talk to men like you.”
Instead of leaving me alone, he sidles up closer but doesn’t touch me. Not yet anyway. “Men like me?”
“Clearly dangerous. I can smell it off you.” Since I’ve been surrounded by Bratva men my entire life, I know danger when I see it.
“And that’s a problem?”
“Yes. Because I’m here to dance. Not to flirt. So leave me alone.”
“That’s not anyway to talk to the boss of this nightclub, is it?”
