Of course on a Saturday night the parking lot was full. I parked a few blocks away, hating the fact that I had chosen to wear heels I had no choice but to walk.
I second guess my decision when I finally stepped into the bar and everyone looked at me like I was nuts. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, tried to discreetly remove the pearls from around my neck and took a seat at the smoky bar.
The bar tender gave me a once over. I might have been over dressed, at least my dress was short and not some ball gown Cinderella kind of dress. "What can I get you?" He asked finally.
"Something strong and, oh I don't know, red."
"Red and strong?" He repeated.
"You got it pal."
In a few moments a drink was set before me. Strawberry and coconut. Not bad honestly. I took a drink and put my head back with a sigh. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember coming to a bar, a real bar since Alessio came back.
I wasn't sure if I missed the scene or not. I spun on the backless stool to watch the room as I slurped on my drink. Loud music, idiots dancing, someone was playing darts while his friend kept waving his hand in front of the dart board they all laughed every time the dart missed his hand.
I scanned the room over, a group of guys was giving me a weird look so I turned back towards the bar. A few seconds later someone sat down beside me and I had to force myself not to grimace. I had to remind myself that I was in a very public place and nothing could go wrong here.
"Hey." Someone said to my left as someone else took the seat to my right.
I chewed my cheek the way Alessio teased me for doing and turned my head to the left.
"Aren't you that girl?"
I felt myself relax only slightly. This could be the start of a really lame pick up line, which would still be slightly unsettling since there were three of them and only one of me.
"From the TV?"
"Oh, oh! Yeah! Yeah I am."
"Awesome!"
Upon closer inspection these kids were barely in their twenties, in fact, they could have even been in here with a fake ID and been under twenty-one. I had no clue but looking at them now I saw that they were certainly not a threat to me.
"Duuude" They said in unison and exchanged excited glances.
I laughed.
"My dad watches you every morning." One said and I laughed again.
"You've like, got to let us buy you a shot. This is so killer."
"Killer" I agreed and raised my drink. They ordered a round of shots, we clinked glasses, all tapped ours to the table for the bartender and then did our shots. "Thanks boys!" I smiled and waved to them as they went back to their pool table. I looked back to the bartender who raised an eyebrow. "What, don't give me that look." I muttered and continued on with my drink.
I took my phone out and texted Pietro. Sorry I forgot to text you three whole minutes ago, don't call in the cavalry. I'm home.
A little voice in the back of my head called me a dirty liar. "Cheers to that." I muttered and took another drink. A different little voice told me if it was Alessio I had texted he would have activated my GPS and showed up minutes later to collect me. Pietro on the other hand was probably just happy as a clam to have even got a text.
I finished my drink, had another, and then decided I was bored and I joined the boys in a game of pool which they thought was soooo killer.
I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure they let my team win on purpose just because it was me. Not that I minded.
I took my phone out and noted the time, it was pushing midnight and still no call from Alessio. He must still not be home. If he had arrived home and found me not there he would have showed up already to drag me home by my hair. With a shrug I slipped it back into my purse. One more game of pool, and I'd go home
So we played and we drank until last call. It wasn't until then that I realized how dead the bar had gotten. I absolutely insisted that the boys let me pay for their drinks. Well, Alessio technically since he put way more into our bank account than I did but I was much too drunk to care about any of that.
I leaned over the bar next to a pair of men to catch the bartender's attention. He seemed surprised when I asked for all of the tabs and made sure to leave a generous tip. As I started to scribble my name drunkenly I couldn't help but over hear a single word that caught my attention from the man beside me who was on the phone.
"Si."
I slowed my writing down and tried to slur through the thoughts running through my head. There were several very real possibilities here. One, this man could be Italian, is that such an odd thing to believe? Hell he could have even been Spanish. Two, he could be one of Alessio's guys, it honestly wouldn't be the first time he'd had someone following me when he wasn't around. Three, I could have walked into a bar completely alone and ran right smack into men from another family, men who were none to fond of me. Or four, he could have said "I see" to his friend or something else totally innocent or I could be so drunk I misheard the guy completely and was freaking out over nothing now.
I wrote slowly and focused all of my attention to the two men. Maybe it was my imagination but I swear I could feel them watching me. I could barely hear the one on the phone as he'd dropped his voice as low as possible. So low in fact that the first time he spoke he had to repeat himself a little bit louder because even the person on the other end couldn't make out his words with the bustle of the bar behind him. "Non rompere I miei coglioni."
(Don't break my balls.)
He turned away from me and I tilted my head to smile flirtatiously at the bartender as I slid the receipt back to him though was really just trying to hear better. "Si sono sicuro. È lei."
(Yes I'm sure. It's her)
Talking in Italian in a hushed tone while monitoring my every move, probably not a good sign. I politely and discreetly made my way back to the pool table. I said my goodbyes too quickly and hurried out of the bar, over my shoulder I heard the bartender yell and curse at someone who was trying to leave without paying.
Definitely not a good sign.
About a block away from the bar I thought perhaps I should have asked the guys to walk me to my car. Too late for that now. Then again, asking them to walk me could have costed them their lives and that wasn't something I needed on my conscience either. I stopped in my tracks when my car finally came into view, I was still a good two blocks away but even still I could see the empty parking lot and the two men leaning against the hood of my car.
Okay, not a problem. I should probably turn around and call someone. I dug in my purse and took a few steps forward, acting nonchalant like I had no clue these people were going to rape me and cut me limb for limb, which by the way was the absolute worst thing I could have thought about just now.
I pulled my phone out, pretended I had suddenly forgot something at the bar and turned around again. Well shit, the two from the bar were coming in my direction.
I should definitely call someone now.
Alessio was my first thought but I pushed it aside quickly, he would be furious! So would Pietro and surely Pietro would tell on me, something I also wasn't looking forward to. Nash, I still wasn't sure whose side he was on.
Dad.
Good ole police man dad.
I looked up at the men again, they had stopped and were watching me just as I was watching them. Sobriety had already slapped me in the face and I was making plans. I looked to the first group of men, and then back to the ones who were waiting at my car. The moment one smirked I burst into a sprint down the nearest alley and all four did the same after me.
I know what you're thinking, really, you're going to run down a dark and dreary alley? But I had a plan. I would run two blocks down, and then make a left then, three blocks up and another left and boom I'd be headed towards my car again. They would have been chasing me, thereby abandoning my car. If I hit the car I'd be home free. See, a plan.
A potentially idiotic plan as the moment I came to the end of the alley someone grabbed me by the elbow. I dropped my phone, and let out a yelp of surprise before turning around and swinging full force with my purse. I hit him in the head with it, he released me and I bolted again.
Somehow I don't recall a session in all those self-defense classes involving purse slinging. This wasn't good. Now I was cellphoneless, purseless, and running into a less civil part of town. This was the part of town where if someone heard your screams they didn't care, the part where if someone stumbled over my dead corpse they'd take my wallet before calling the police, if they called them at all. This wasn't the part of town I should be in. But I had a plan.
I needed to follow the plan.
My feet were throbbing as I ran. Why, oh why, had I gone back on this whole heels thing? I had such a nice run going without heels. A run that exceeding two years. And of course as soon as I would try to wear heels again I would get a mob chasing me. It's like they were cursed. I can't believe I was even running, I had tried to kick extra hard in my run to get the shoes to dislodge but they were so tight and strappy there was no hope.
I made it the whole two blocks down, turned left and even made it up a block and a half before I was stopped.
Someone grabbed me suddenly and I screamed. "I've got you now you little bitch!" He yelled and I recognized him immediately as the one I'd hit in the head with my purse. Great, of course the one who was extra pissed off would be the one to catch me.
The grip he had around my arm could have shattered glass. He pressed his pistol to my head without a moment of hesitation and yelled at me. "Walk bitch!"
I sucked in a deep breath and stepped forward and my heel snapped making me stumble. Of course! It survived a whole freaking marathon but not a calm stroll. When I stumbled he seemed to have got different ideas because he let go of my arm and pushed my down completely.
"Bastard!" I gasped and landed hard on my hands and knees. I started to sit up but he pushed me down the rest of the way and rolled me onto my back where he then climbed on top of me.
"You need to watch your mouth in front of a man!" He yelled and grabbed both of my arms. I glanced to the side where he'd dropped his gun on the ground. New plan, I needed a gun. Mine had been in my purse I had so carelessly struck him with.
"I'll keep that in mind next time I see one." I spat and brought my knee to his groin. He sat up quickly and threw his head back he howled to the sky in pain.
I threw my hand to the ground stretched out as far as I could trying to reach the gun but I wasn't even close and now he was even more furious. I reached once more for the gun but still, no luck. "You little bitch!" He spat and no sooner had I turned my attention to him again and his hands were around my throat, he squeezed.
I grabbed his wrists and tried to pry him off, I couldn't breathe, oh my God, I couldn't breathe! I brought my nails to his face, digging them into the skin. I did so out of thoughtless impulse, the same way I had grabbed his wrists. These were attempts at release, these were impulsive attacks. He growled as I brought my nails down his cheeks, hard, drawing blood and in response he only tightened his grip.
I opened my mouth but no sound came out, no whimper, no cry, no gasp. I couldn't suck in air, I couldn't force it out. Black spots were clouding my vision. I was going to die, after everything I had gone through choking was going to be my death in a part of town where my body would be simply stepped over and ignored? I had honestly expected something more dramatic.
My hands slid almost uselessly down his arms until I met his wrists again. I didn't even manage to try and pull them away. I could see his lips moving frantically, cursing me to hell, calling me names, but I couldn't hear anything. Everything was getting darker, and darker still and suddenly his grip lightened. I was wet, why was I wet? Warm liquid pulled around my stomach and his grip vanished all together.
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Haaaaappy Thursday! (i know...right now it's totally Wednesday but I am SO tired I know I'm not going to be staying up that last hour and ten minutes until Thursday so I'm updating now instead. So sue me, because I am not making it that last hour and ten minutes this chapter has not been revised. I may go back and do so later but currently please excuse whatever errors I may have made.)
I know a lot of you figured something like this would happen. To be fair, unless you count the dinner, there hasn't been any drama lately, it's been quite a few chapters about Alessio and Kate's relationship and how it grows, between the naked cuddling and the tattoo and the meeting the parents, we haven't had some real mafia-esc drama since back in the thirties.
As far as Kate goes, a lot of people were saying she was really stupid for going out but sometimes you really just need a little time to yourself. A lot of 20-some years olds like to go to the bar to destress here and there and she hasn't been to a bar since Alessio first came back however long ago. So give the girl a break.
Nothing else really interesting to say for authors note so just vote and comment and I'll see you guys on Monday! (: