Page 49 of Oblivious

“I didn't ask you, did I? You can go back to the door, Ivan.”

“But sir—”

“I said you can go back to where you were. I'll handle things from here.”

Ivan leaves without another word and the man in front of me rests a hand on my arm. Something tells me I should've allowed Ivan to toss me out on my ass sooner. The darkness in this man's eyes shakes me to my core and he won't stop looking at me like some damn predator. “Now, where were we?”

“I was just leaving.”

“I don't think so. You've caused quite a stir here today and I'm not letting you go until you make things right.”

“I… Please. I have to go. My boyfriend's waiting for me.”

Something sinister stirs in his eyes, causing my gut to churn, and he grabs my wrist when I try to walk away. “And I said you aren't going anywhere. Not until you make it up to me.” Licking his lips, he trails his fingers on my hip. “I think my customerswould absolutely go crazy for you. You're exactly the right type. Very pretty, slender, and young.”

“Let me go.” I try to pull away and fail, his nails digging into my skin.

“I don't think so.” He starts tugging me towards the back of the club, no one batting an eye at my pleas and desperate attempts to get away.

“I do,” a deep, familiar voice says from behind us, sending a chill down my spine, and I quickly turn my head. “Release your hand or I'll peel the skin from your fucking bones.”

The man's face falls and when he tries to turn around, Antonio presses a blade to his throat. “Don't bother calling your little guard either. He can't help you right now. He's busy learning to breathe inside the trunk of his car.”

“What do you want?”

“To leave with the boy without you causing more problems than you already have.”

“He was driving paying customers away and harassing my employees.”

“Then let him apologize and we’ll be on our way. Put it this way, we’ll be getting out of here no matter what. Whether you're still breathing by the time we reach our car is totally up to you.”

Nose flaring and face flushing, the man releases his hold on me, and Antonio shoves him to the ground before dragging me to his side. He grabs his gun, turning it on a girl holding a phone to her ear with shaky hands. “I wouldn't make that call if I were you.”

Swallowing hard, she drops the phone to the ground, pressing her back to the wall, and Antonio moves his gun to the man on the floor when he tries to get up. He keeps it pointed at him until we're out of the club, and then he shoves me in the car. “What the hell were you thinking coming back here?”

He hauls ass out of the parking lot as two men run from the front, holding guns in their hands. One shoots at the back window, shattering the glass, and Antonio swerves the car, slamming on the gas. “I asked you a fucking question. You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“I… I don't know.” My voice cracks. “I'm sorry. I was going to come back, I promise.”

“That's not what's important right now. I already knew you were going to come back. You made it way too easy for me to find you by taking my car and keys. And I get why you'd run because men like you usually do, but what I don't understand is why you came here.” He shoves his gun back in the holster.

“I don't know,” I say again, my head spinning and my heart erratic. It was stupid. But I wasn't thinking with my brain, too curious and needing answers.

“I don't believe you.”

“I saw someone I knew.”

His eyes widen, though he continues to look at the road. “So you risked your life to try and catch up with some friend?”

“It wasn't a friend.”

“Who was so damn important that you felt you had to risk everything in order to talk to him then?”

“My brother.”

“What? You told Zacharias your family died in a fire.”

“Because they did.” I swallow hard, unable to meet his eyes. “That's why I had to see him. To understand how he could be walking around and laughing. I had to know if… I just had to know.”

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