Page 3 of Twisted Obsession
The cute bartender brought us our drinks, then turned and tipped his head toward the upper level just above us. “These are on the owner of the club.”
“The owner?” I asked, not sure why he would be buying Chloe and me a drink.
“Yeah. When he spots a pretty woman, he always buys her a drink.”
I looked toward the upper level where I spotted a man holding his glass in the air, looking right at me. He had to be the owner. Where he stood was dark, but I could make out most of his features. He was tall, over six foot if I had to guess, with broad shoulders, dressed in an expensive black suit that molded to his body perfectly, and a white shirt. I couldn’t see all his facial features, but I could tell he had dark hair, which was cut short around the ears and longer on top. I wondered what color his eyes were and if they were as mysterious as he was. He was nothing like the eighteen-year-old boys I graduated with.
“Come on, let’s dance.” Chloe quickly sucked her drink down and set the empty glass on the bar. “Hurry up, Lara. You can’t leave your drink unattended. You never know what kind of whack job might slip you a roofie.”
I wasn’t naïve about women getting drugged in bars, so I quickly drained my glass of the fruity concoction and set it next to hers.
We made our way to the dance floor where men were dancing with women, and also men. It was basically a free-for-all. There were so many bodies, it was hard to see who was dancing with whom. But the music was good and after downing my drink, I was more than feeling the vibe.
Two drinks, and two shots, later we were stumbling back to the dance floor. My hips were moving with the music, my arms in the air with barely any room to move when I felt two strong hands on my waist. I turned my head over my shoulder to see a cute guy standing behind me, mimicking my every move.
It had to be the alcohol, but I turned toward him and placed my hands on his shoulders and began moving my hips more seductively.
“What’s your name?” he asked as he leaned in, his breath warm on my ear.
“La… I’m Sara,” I stuttered, almost giving him my real name.
“Can I get you a drink?”
“No… I’m good. But thank you,” I smiled. The second rule when going out, never drink too much and do something you would end up regretting in the morning.
~***~
When I vowed to never do anything I would regret in themorning, it must not have included waking up with a hangover. I rolled out of bed cursing at myself for not stopping at the second drink or saying ‘no’ to the last shot of tequila Chloe insisted we have at last call.
Trudging to my bathroom, I opened the cabinet next to my mirror and pulled out the bottle of pain relievers. Popping two tablets in my mouth, I held my hand under the stream of water and brought it to my mouth.
After a long shower, my head was still pounding, but at least I could function and make my way downstairs for some breakfast and coffee.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, all I could hear was yelling.
“Lidia, you need to take Lara out of here. The Antonovs will retaliate. They will stop at nothing until they kill all of us.” My papa’s words were strained and tense as I stood by his office door and listened to him talk to my mama.
“Andrei, what have you done?” Mama asked in a shaky voice.
“I did what had to be done. Why must you always question me? You can’t stay here.” The sound of my papa’s hand coming across my mama’s face surprised me. He had never hit her before.
“What’s happened to you, Andrei?” Mama cried. “We should have done the right thing long ago and told her the truth.”
Truth? Truth about what?
“I’m sorry,moya lyubov’, my love,” Papa said regretfully.
Whatever my papa did, it had to have been bad for him to strike my mama. He was always firm with his word, but not once had he ever struck her or me. This was bad. Really bad.
“You should have never gone against the Antonovs,” my mother mewled, while I prayed for her to hold her tongue.
“Viktor was going to take Lara. There was no way I was going to let that happen,” Papa hissed. “Not when I had different plans for her.”
Why would Viktor Antonov want me?
“What about what you agreed to?” Mama reminded him. “Have you forgotten what he would do if you ever betrayed him?”
“I don’t care how much money we owe him or our agreement. He will never marry her.”
