Page 51 of Scarred King
“You’re such an idiot,” Liam thumps his fist on the table.
“She’s an idiot.” Ralph takes the money back. “Who says no to such an offer? I could get anyone else for just one of these bills.”
“No…” Liam hisses and makes a fist again. “You’re an idiot because you don’t realize what kind of trouble you got her into.”
“Me?” I ask in a panic and my brain kicks in again.
“Don’t you understand that they think they lost out on this deal because of her?” he stretches his fingers and clenches them again. “Have you forgotten what they did to the Russian’s woman?” he shakes his head in fury.
“How could I forget?” Ralph replies and bows his head.
“So what do you think they’ll do to Elena?” Liam yells and I can feel myself cringe with anxiety. “Now I need to figure out how to fix this.” He stands up and I stand behind him.
“I think I should go home now,” I murmur.
“Come with me.” The angelic side is back, and he puts his arm around me. As soon as he does, the pressure that has been building up inside me disappears and I can breathe again. I realize that I need to escape this world right now.
We leave the bar together and when he climbs on the motorcycle, I notice a parked taxi. I run over to it, get into the back seat and yell out to the driver to get going. He does immediately, and as we exit the street I start breathing heavily. I’ll go to my apartment, take a shower, go to sleep and tomorrow I’ll find a new job. I’ll find two, I’ll find ten. As long as I don’t have to go back to that damn place again. What the hell did they do to the Russian’s woman? I can’t think rationally, there’s nothing rational about this place anyway.
The driver stops opposite my building and I walk towards the entrance quickly. The black motorcycle overtakes me and blocks my way.
“Stop it!” I cry in despair. “I want this terrible night to end, and I want to end it alone!”
“Get on right now!” he shouts back without removing his helmet.
“No.” I fold my arms across my chest, I am shaking with anger. “I’m through with you! I’m through with everyone!” I try to sidestep the motorcycle and he blocks me again. “Liam,” I am about to explode, “please let me go up to my apartment.”
He turns off the motor and speaks quietly. “Elena, look to your left.” I turn my head slowly. “You see the blue Volvo parked by the sidewalk?”
“Yes.” I reply angrily.
“Good. These aren’t your new neighbors. So get your butt down on the bike before I drag you by the hair.”
His tone frightens me. I glance at the blue car again. I can’t make out who is inside, and I don’t intend to get any closer to find out. I exhale in frustration, gather up my long dress and sit behind him. As soon as my arms are around him, he turns on the ignition and the motorcycle moves forward. I glance behind me and see the blue car following us.
The motorcycle gains speed and I hold on tight. He turns right and then left, drives through a red traffic light and turns left again. When I peek once again, I see that the car is still following us. We are in a street full of houses. I’ve never been here before. The farther he drives, the bigger the distance between the houses, each on a larger property. The motorcycle screeches to a halt in front of a brick wall with a white garage door to its right. He makes a V gesture with his hand and a guy standing on the wall holding a gun gives him a thumbs-up. The garage door opens, the motorcycle enters a dark room and the door closes behind us.
Scarface removes his helmet, gets off the motorcycle and grabs his file. He doesn’t say a word and I follow him towards a black door. He keys in a code into a small keypad set in the wall and the door opens. We walk in and I find myself inside a massive living room.
“Where are we?” I ask, looking around. In front of me there are large French windows looking out on a big yard, on my left is a modest white kitchen with an elegant island in the center. Across from me, I see a living room furnished in black leather sofas and dark wooden furniture and on my left is a staircase leading to an upper level.
“My house,” he answers and places his file on the kitchen island.
He picks up a remote control from the living room table, presses it and turns on the large television screen. I stare at the six squares showing different views of the house and its surroundings. The street is displayed in the upper right corner. I see the blue Volvo and a shudder goes through me.
“I don’t understand what I’m doing here…” I stutter and sit down on the bar stool at the kitchen island. “I've nothing to do with you, why are they following me?”
“Because you couldn’t keep your big mouth shut tonight.” He rubs his chin and looks at the screens. “You've made yourself way more connected to us now than you'd like.”
“It’s just a misunderstanding,” I insist. “I’ll go out there and explain that I just gave Ralph some innocent advice and that I’m leaving my job at the bar.”
He snorts in contempt and turns his head towards me. “As smart as you may be in your world, that’s how dumb you are in mine.” He approaches me. “If you go out there now, you’ll disappear in their car and no one will ever find you again.”
I look at him, shocked and take out my cellphone. “Then I’m calling the police.”
“Put your phone down.” he orders angrily.
“No!” I shout. “There are laws in this country. I refuse to be afraid of some Italian gangsters.” I tap the emergency number and he pulls the phone away from me and throws it down on the floor. The screen is shattered.