Page 50 of Depths of Obsession
I’m here. Across the street in the small alley.
On my way,I type back.
I look out the window, but Luca and Rocco are nowhere in sight. It’s now or never. I toss back the rest of my drink, set the empty glass on Luca’s desk, and head out of the office, praying that no one will stop me. I make my way down the stairs and I’m outside of the club in seconds. No one even glances my way. My heart hammers in my chest as I step onto the sidewalk, scanning for Luna. She said she was across the street.
I wait for a break in the traffic and then dash across. There’s a tiny side street about half a block down. I hurry toward it, rounding the corner, my boots clacking against the pavement. Luna is in the driver’s seat of her BMW, waving and grinning. Relief washes over me, and I wave back, picking up the pace, even though the boots make it difficult.
Suddenly, Luna’s smile freezes, her eyes widening in horror. I turn to see what she’s looking at, but it’s too late.
“Just keep moving,” the stranger says, his voice a low growl. An arm wraps around my waist, and something sharp presses against my ribs. A knife. My stomach plummets.
“Fuck off,” I snarl, trying to pull away, but his grip tightens painfully.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he hisses, his breath hot against my ear. “I will cut you and leave you for dead.” He’s not like Luca at all. Not up close. He doesn’t have his eyes or his nose and he sure as hell doesn’t have Luca’s lips. It’s like someone put him together to resemble Luca but they’re doing it from memory and haven’t seen Luca in a long while.
We reach Luna’s car, and I try to walk past it, but he jerks me back roughly. “Get in the front seat,” he orders.
“No,” I snap, trying to twist away, but he hauls me back, the knife now against my cheek.
“You fucking try anything else, and I will cut you wide open and leave you to bleed out on the sidewalk. I’ll do the same to your friend.” His eyes are dark, glinting with menace. I glance at Luna. She stares back at me, her hand between her legs, the edge of her phone just visible. She’s calling for help.
“Get in the fucking car!” he barks, his accent thick but I don’t recognize it.?
“Fine,” I grind out, my heart racing as he shakes me. I open the door and slide into the front seat. Luna slams on the gas, but the guy is already in the back seat. The door bangs against the building, then slams shut.
He sits in the back between our seats and grabs my hair, yanking my head back, his knife now at my throat. “You will drive,” he says to Luna, “where I tell you, or I will slit her throat.” He makes a small cut on my cheek. “Just so you know, I’m serious,” he says as blood trickles over my skin.
Luna glances at me, her eyes wide with fear. I give her a small nod, trying to stay calm. Slowly, I reach for my seatbelt and pull it across my body. Luna does the same.
“What are you doing?” the guy snaps, his voice tense.
“The police,” Luna says, nodding toward the cop car parked up ahead. “They could stop us.”
The man says nothing, his eyes flicking to the police car. I glance at Luna. She sits quietly, her face a mask of concentration. The streets are crowded, people everywhere, and traffic is heavy. She navigates the best she can, and then, suddenly, we’re free, speeding away.
Ten blocks down the man growls, “Turn here.” It’s a small cross street. “Go down two blocks and then turn right.”
“Are we getting on the highway?” Luna asks, her voice deceptively calm.
“No,” he snarls.
We drive the two blocks down and make the right. Now we’re running parallel to the highway. The street is a bit wider and there are cars parked on either side. Luna glances at me, her eyes meeting mine. I give her another small nod, and without warning, she slams on the gas. The car lurches forward.
“What are you doing?” he yells, something that sounds like panic creeping into his voice. “Stop!”
Luna doesn’t listen. We’re running out of street fast, but I can see the speedometer climbing. One hundred kilometers per hour. My heart is pounding, adrenaline surging through my veins. I lean toward the window, away from his blade.
“Stop!” he bellows again, his voice frantic.
Luna slams on the brakes. The car fishtails, spinning out of control, and we crash into a parked car. The crunch of metal along with the sound of shattering glass fill the air. The airbags deploy, slamming my head back against the seat. The force of the impact sends the man through the windshield onto the car we just hit.
It takes a second for me to get my bearings. “Luna?” I call. “Luna, are you okay?” I turn toward my friend, impatiently brushing liquid off my face. It’s blood I’m wiping out of my eye. Something must have hit me when we crashed. “Luna?”
“Yeah,” she says, and I breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m okay.” She licks her lips. “But he’s not.”
I follow her gaze. The stranger is on the trunk of the car we hit. His face is all cut up and his right leg and his head rest at odd angles. There’s no way he could be alive after that. No way.
I turn back to Luna. “What are we going to do?”
