Within half an hour, Dante parked the car outside the club, but as I was about to get out, Antonio turned in his seat to face me. “I don’t want trouble tonight, Karina.”
“Oh, my God, are you serious?”This is un-fucking-believable.
“I’m dead serious. You stay close. I don’t want you out of my sight.”
I crossed my arms and pouted.Yes…I pout. “Fine, bodyguard. Anything else? Would you like me to duct tape my hip to yours? Or maybe I could put a big flashing neon sign on my forehead that reads ‘I have no life!’”
Antonio rolled his eyes. “Grow up, Karina. And stop being so dramatic.”
“Grow up, Karina. And stop being so dramatic,” I mocked in my best AntonioI’m the bossvoice.
Antonio got out of the car, and Dante turned in his seat, staring at me.
“What?”
“Will you be okay, Karina? You know…if he shows up?”
I knew exactly who he was referring to. The mistake I wished I had the strength to forget. The demon I wished I had the power to slay. The motherfucking asshole who played me for the naïve young girl I was four years ago.
When my eyes met Dante’s, I saw the concern in his gaze. Being the youngest of three children and growing up with two older brothers was never easy. Antonio was six years older than I was, and my father had basically drilled the responsibility of looking out for his little sister into him since the day I was born. Living with that kind of responsibility hanging over him had somehow influenced our relationship. Antonio had always seen me as the little sister he needed to take care of, the burden. Never as the grown woman I was today.
Dante, on the other hand, was only two years older than I was and more like a friend than a bodyguard. We were similar in so many ways, including our need to live our own lives. We just went about it in different ways. Dante by rebelling every now and then, and me running away to university to get away from home.
But one thing was for certain. If it weren’t for Dante supporting me, I didn’t know how I would have coped with the heartbreak and humiliation I had to endure years ago. At first, I didn’t know whether it was a good idea to tell him. But that decision was made for me when Dante found me in my car, still parked in the garage, crying my eyes out. The words just came out. I couldn’t stop myself from pouring my heart out to him that day. And thank God I did. He was my rock when I needed him most. Of course, it took a lot of persuading to stop him from slitting Enzio’s throat. I’ve never seen Dante as angry as I did that day. But eventually I made him promise to keep my secret. I didn’t want anyone else to know. It was something I hoped I would eventually be able to take to my grave…but my instincts told me I wouldn’t be so damn lucky.
I tugged nervously at the hem of my dress. “Let’s hope he doesn’t show up.”
Dante glanced out the passenger side window. “Yeah, let’s hope. I’m still not over my need to see that fucker bleed.” He looked back at me. “Come on. Let’s go and get a drink so you can calm down. Red isn’t your color.”
“Red?”
“Your neck and cheeks.”
Fuck. I always got flushed when I was angry and worked up. In fact, I got flushed when I was shy, embarrassed, or experienced just about any type of emotion. I was a flusher.
Dante got out of the car and opened my door, waiting for me to get out. Naturally, I would choose that moment to fail miserably at getting out of the car in a mini dress with my dignity intact.
“Well, shit,” I muttered.
The smug grin on Dante’s face practically begged me to punch him. That was one good thing that came out of growing up with two boys—I knew how to pack a mean punch.
Dante closed the car door. “I told you that dress was too—”
“Shut up.”
Our way into the club went down exactly as I suspected, with me sardined between two brick walls. Antonio walked up front—as always—while Dante was on my left, slightly behind me. I rolled my eyes the entire way. Probably not the most attractive thing to do, but I reckoned I was entitled to a little childish behavior.
I was seriously starting to think I’d be having much more fun if I were home and stuck at the dinner table with Mom and Dad.
Chapter 7
LORIK
It was nine forty-five, and I was sitting at the bar in Vertigo and staring at the whiskey in my glass. There was no doubt in my mind they would show up tonight. It was Dante Valenti’s birthday, and everyone knew Dante was notorious for his partying, being the wild one of the Valenti brothers. I also happened to know this was one of his favorite spots. Vertigo was known for its upper-class clientele.
It was a two-story club with a bar on the lower level where luxurious leather couches surrounded the black and white checkered dance floor. The top floor was more like a gallery that overlooked the rest of the club. That was where all the big VIP fuckers sat, pretending they were watching over their own little kingdom of drunken souls. There they were served by waitresses dressed in nothing but shiny gold miniskirts and matching bikini tops. I was also pretty sure one of the qualifying criteria for the waitressing job was you had to have a bra size of at least a double D.
The music was pumping, and the club was slowly starting to fill up as the night came alive. By now, the waiting line outside was probably stretched around the block. Lucky for me, the bouncer working at the door owed me a favor, which I decided to collect tonight, giving me quick and easy entrance.