I shook my head. “No, Ms. Hartville, we’ve never met. My brother and I are here on behalf of Mr. Marcello. He would like to speak with you since you declined his invitation earlier this evening.”
Her frown deepened. “I don’t know a Mr. Marcello,” she said. “Besides, my agent never even told me who wanted to talk to me.”
“Okay,” Asher said. It was probably better if I let him do the talking since he was the far more reasonable twin. “That’s okay. Mr. Marcello would like to extend an invitation that you join him at his home. He’d very much like to meet you.”
For the first time, I saw a hint of anger dash across Sadie’s face. “Why didn’t he ask me to lunch then? I just finished up a long-ass show, it’s late, and I just want to go to bed.”
Asher began to speak, but I cut him off. “Mr. Marcello insists that you come with us.”
“Like hell I’m going with you,” she said, her voice rising. “I don’t even know you.”
“He insists,” I repeated.
Sadie narrowed her eyes at me. “Is Mr. Marcello some kind of psycho?” she asked snidely. “If best sending his two goons after me, he must be.”
“Ms. Hartville,” Asher said. “Sadie, please, just come with us.”
Her menacing gaze shot over to Asher. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Dante Marcello isn’t a man you want to cross,” Asher said. “It’s in your best interest to comply.”
“In my best interest,” Sadie muttered to herself. “You know what? You two can get the fuck off my property.”
And with that, Sadie slammed the door in our faces.
Asher sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “For once, can’t someone just do things the easy way?” he asked. “Just once.”
“Bro, I wish,” I replied.
Then Asher reared back and kicked down the door.
Sadie
I was halfway through the living room when I heard a loud boom behind me. I shouldn’t have turned around, which was ultimately my downfall. But it was human nature to automatically turn toward a noise, so I guess I couldn’t blame myself too much.
I watched my front door bounce off the wall, revealing the two asshole twins, lackeys to some apparent big shot named Dante Marcello.
Whipping around, I attempted to run. If I could make it to my room, I could lock myself inside and maybe escape through the window before they broke the door down. Sure, it was a long shot, but I didn’t have many options.
Sadly, I wasn’t fast enough. Sure, I kept in shape, but I didn’t have long monkey arms like whichever twin grabbed my arm and yanked me back. My phone fell from my hoodie pocket and I slammed into his chest, bouncing off him. He never let go of my arm, his grip tight enough that it would likely leave finger-shaped bruises.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the other twin snatch my phone from the ground. Shit.
I tried to recall the self-defense class I took back when I was 18, but I drew a blank. I knew there were ways I could break from his hold, but my brain stubbornly refused to remember them when I needed it most.
The man had an irritated expression on his face and said, “Look, there are two ways this can go down, Sadie. Either you come along quietly or we make you come with us. We’re both highly trained, so you’re not going to get very far.”
Quickly weighing my options, I decided that there was no way in hell I was going to come along quietly. I didn’t care if they both had a few inches on me and at least a hundred pounds. I was a fighter, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.
I pulled my arm back and hit him in the eye as hard as I could, leaving my thumb untucked just the way my mom taught me and Jada.
My hand hurt like hell, but the surprise on his face was totally worth it. The impact caused him to rear back, dragging me along with him.
He looked incredulous and nodded to his brother, who grabbed my other arm before wrapping his arms around me from behind. The twin I’d punched let go of my arm and tried to grab my legs. I kicked at him, hoping I could get him in the face.
If I couldn’t escape, I was going to do as much damage as I possibly could.
My feet connected with him a few times, once in the chest and once on his arm. However, in the end, he was able to get his hands around my ankles. I continued to struggle as hard as I could, but they were strong and able to get ahold of me.
The twin holding onto the top half of my body laughed and said, “You know, you’re quite the fighter, Sadie. I think I like you.”