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When I reach the bar and take a seat, I recognize the bartender immediately. I’m confused. She looks like the matchmaker, Elanee Lane my father set me up with.
“Elanee?” I say, surprised, but then I remember I’m not Ara Barone here.
She offers a tight smile instead. “You must be talking about my twin sister. I’m Layla. We don’t talk about that here.” She gives me a wink, and when she says it, I notice the slight difference in appearance. Layla seems a little rounder in the face, and her hair is shorter and slightly darker. “What can I get you?”
“She’ll have your strongest cocktail. On me,” a man says as he takes the seat beside me.
A chill runs down me as Luca’s voice interrupts before I can even reply to the stranger.
“I highly recommend you find yourself elsewhere before I shoot you where you stand.”
The man pales as he trips over himself to get away from the seat he was just about to take. Luca takes the spot instead and leans against the bar counter with an arrogant grin.
“You didn’t have to scare him like that.”
“I thought you’d be grateful I’m in a good mood tonight and didn’t kill him.” He’s wearing his usual black suit and dress shirt. “You came running sooner than I expected.”
“I’ve come to fess up. I don’t want to marry the man my father chooses for me. So whether you’re an ally or not, I figure I can’t fight you anymore.”
I considered how I’d confront Luca and the easiest way, with most men, is to feed into their egos and to ever so slightly play the damsel in distress.
“I’m more than just an ally, Ara,” he scrutinizes. I can tell he’s suspicious because Luca is not an ordinary man. I hope his curiosity feeds into some of the story I feed him. Layla places two drinks in front of us. Whisky for him and a cosmopolitan for myself. It’s shocking because it’s my favorite cocktail but I suppose he already knows that. “Come. I have something to show you. We’ll talk afterward.”
Layla watches me carefully as Luca leads me away from the busy evening into the clearly off-limits section and past his office. It’s daunting as he escorts me and I find the silence insufferable. I’m scattered in my thoughts as I try to piece all the parts of Luca together. He ominously leads me to stairs and toward a part of the club I’d never explored before.
“I thought you would have meetings tonight,” I ask trying to break the tension.
He doesn’t look over his shoulder as he answers, still guiding me directly ahead. “It would appear you’re not the only one changing your routine. Besides tonight is a special event.”
“Event?” I ask and a chill runs down my spine as Lorenzo waits for us at the top of the staircase. I hear screaming and cheering below. I can’t help but think I’ve walked into the devils lair. Maybe he really is going to kill me this time.
He finally turns to look at me, offering his hand. “My fight ring, of course. I think you’ll be impressed by the competitors tonight.”
“You do realize violence doesn’t usually impress a woman, right?”
I’m reminded of his gory violence and memorable present. Because although I’m not impressed by it, Luca looks at bloodshed like an artist does their canvas.
A devilish grin spreads across his face. Too beautiful. Too sinful. “You’re not an ordinary woman, Ara. You’re my woman. And, you’ll come to love it.”
I can’t decide whether he’s implying I’ll come to enjoy the violence or him. The two seem to go hand in hand. This was the dance he set up for us, so I accept his hand as I daringly say, “I will never enjoy violence like you do Luca.”
With a smug smile, Luca raises my hand to his lips and presses a hot kiss on it. The action is so, opposite to his usual behavior that I’m taken aback. “Then you will have to keep me entertained in other ways, sweetheart.”
Lorenzo’s eyebrows furrow only slightly before he regains his composure. Luca pushes past him and leads me downstairs. The shouting becomes louder, and the first thing that grabs my attention is the boxing ring in the center of the room where two men are circling each other.
It looks like an underground arena that’s entirely full. Some members sit on the chairs circling the room and watch intently. It’s so dark in here that faces are barely recognizable. The moment my gaze lands on a white mask, my body freezes.
It’s the same white mask I saw the night my mother was killed.
The man behind the white mask, who had piercing dark, almost black eyes as he toyed with the tip of the blade against my cheek, promised I’d be next.
There are two here. No. There’s four of them circling the room.
I know of the masked men who are referred to as the hounds. However, I haven’t seen one since my home was targeted. My father told me it was a random break-in. He was away for business as per usual but the cruel calculation was too perfectly executed. Perhaps I wasn’t meant to wake early and stumble across him crouched over my mother’s body. That very encounter led me to the here and now.
I expected to cross paths with them while with Luca but it doesn’t take away the fear that immediately arises as my twelve-year-old self momentarily comes to the surface.
I’m frozen back in time, in terror of the monster that’s coming towards me with a white mask.
