Chapter 28
Daniella
“This place is insane!” I yell over the noise at Peyton, who nods in agreement.
“I’ve only been here once, but it was just as crazy last time.”
From the outside, it looks like your typical warehouse, but inside, it’s been transformed into something you’d see on television.
A fighting ring—or whatever it’s called—is in the center of the huge space that’s filled with so many bodies. Women are dancing to the music, the alcohol is flowing, and bets are being made.
We’re sitting in the makeshift VIP section, away from everyone else, since it’s safer than being down with the crowd, and we have the perfect view of where the fight will be taking place.
I watched a couple of Matteo’s fights on YouTube to prepare myself, but I still didn’t expect to see this type of crowd.
“It doesn’t help that he hasn’t fought in almost a year,” Lorenzo says.
Since Matteo needed to get ready for the fight, Lorenzo picked me up, and we met Matteo’s family here—along with Bri’s boyfriend, Theodore, who she formally introduced to her family tonight.
Ian, the guard who’s stuck being my shadow, is standing in the corner, keeping watch, along with several other guards I recognize who work for Dominick and Matteo.
“How bad will he be when it’s over?” I ask Bri, knowing she’ll be honest with me.
We’re supposed to leave for Italy in the morning, but what if he’s hurt badly—gets a concussion or the opposing fighter breaks something vital on Matteo?
I’m not worried about the trip, but about how badly Matteo is going to feel afterward.
The videos only showed the fight, not the aftermath.
It helps that Matteo is undefeated, but that doesn’t mean damage isn’t done.
“It varies,” she says. “They fight until one person can’t fight back, but Matteo is always the one left standing. Here.” She hands me a shot glass. “A little alcohol running through your system might help calm the nerves.”
“Thanks.” I down the shot, but within seconds, instead of feeling calm, nausea overtakes me, and I have to force the bile down.
I grab my bottle of water and chug almost the entire thing, which, of course, leads to me having to go pee.
“How long until the fight starts?” I ask Lorenzo.
“Maybe twenty minutes.”
“I need to use the restroom,” I announce to everyone, knowing Matteo told them to keep an eye on me.
It was a stipulation I agreed to in order to be here tonight—I go nowhere without letting everyone know, and I bring Ian everywhere.
“I’ll go with you,” Peyton says.
“Me too,” Bri adds.
“Do women ever go to the bathroom alone?” Dominick mutters.
“Nope,” the three of us say in unison and then laugh.
Since we all have guards with us, Ian walks in front of us, clearing the way, and Daniil and Denis take the rear.
The line to the bathroom is long, and I almost consider going back, not wanting to miss the fight, but I really do have to go.
“There are several stalls,” Peyton yells over the noise. “It should go fast.”
Ten minutes later, we make it inside, and I run to an empty stall and hover over the toilet to go pee. Once I’m done, I quickly wash my hands and then head out, figuring I’ll meet them outside so someone else can come in to use the stall I was just in.
Only when I step outside, the crowd for the restroom has deepened, and a fight between two women has broken out. In the midst of the chaos, I’m shoved out of the way and into the corner of the room. People are yelling and screaming, and it looks like several other women—and men—have joined in.
I try to locate the guards, but there are too many people crowding the area. It’s announced that the fight will be starting in two minutes, but it doesn’t stop the brawl that’s taking place from escalating.
I’m jostled every which way, and I get turned around. Since I can’t seem to find anyone I know, I make the decision to head back to the VIP section.
But before doing so, I pull my phone out to text Ian so he knows what’s happening. I’m typing out a text to him when I’m pushed forward, and I lose my balance. I reach out to steady myself, but before I can, strong arms wrap around me from behind, and I’m lifted off my feet.
I open my mouth to scream, but a huge hand covers my mouth as I’m carried, kicking and screaming, farther away from the main area.
I glance around, trying to catch someone’s—anyone’s—attention, but then what sounds like shots being fired pierces my ears, and the crowd goes crazy in panic.
People are yelling, running, dropping to the floor.
And as I’m carried out, it hits me that everyone I love is in that warehouse, and I pray they make it out alive.
I don’t stop fighting the entire way to the vehicle, but once I’m forced into the back of a van and my phone is taken, my heart sinks in defeat because I have no way out.
The drive doesn’t take long, and the fact that I’m not blindfolded scares me because they don’t care if I see where we’re going, which leads me to believe they’re going to kill me.
I’m yanked out of the vehicle, and a rag of some sort is shoved into my mouth to keep me muted while my hands are tied painfully behind my back.
As I’m dragged down the darkened path, I can’t help but think about my life.
I lived for the moment I could move home and finally get to know my parents, but then they died before it happened.
Then, I looked forward to working with my brother, only to be taken and held captive and then had to hide out, in fear of being killed.
Now, I am finally in a good place and have found love, only for it to be ripped away in the blink of an eye.
A part of me wonders if I’m meant to be happy, but the other part of me—the part that’s trying to be positive—says that if I make it out of this alive, I’m not going to waste a single second of my life.
I’m going to live my life to the fullest, love Matteo with every fiber of my being.
I’m going to get to know my brother and make memories that are worth remembering.
“Let’s go,” one of the guys says, shoving me toward a cargo crate that’s open and empty.
Before I step inside, the scent of saltwater hits my senses, and I glance around, noticing that despite the lack of lights, we’re at a port.
I wonder if it’s the one Matteo runs, and if so, I hope that means he’ll be able to find me.
Then, I chuckle under my breath because it doesn’t matter where I am, if I’m capable of being found, Matteo will find me, or he’ll tear this city apart, trying to.
“Get inside,” the guy demands, yanking my arm so I’m forced to step into the container.
My heart starts to pound in my chest at the thought of why I’m being brought here. It’s no secret that the Antonovs handle a huge amount of the import and export through their port.
Is this payback from someone they pissed off? Are they going to leave me here to die?
Oh my God … is the cargo going to ship me somewhere?
I step inside since there are now four guys in black ski masks with huge guns surrounding me, leaving me no choice but to obey.
In the center of the area is a metal chair. I’m pushed onto it, and then my hands and ankles are tied to the chair tightly.
“Welcome,” someone says, stepping out of the darkness.
The voice sounds weird, almost robotic, and I don’t bother to try to speak since I still have a piece of material shoved inside my mouth. But I take in the way he walks, the way he holds himself, and it’s almost as if he’s … a she.
“You’re Matteo’s little girlfriend,” the person says, sauntering toward me.
She’s dressed in all black and lacks the curves most women have, but something about her is different—or similar. Maybe I’m crazy, but my woman’s intuition is telling me this person is trying to come across as a man, but is actually a woman.
“Never thought I’d see the day he’d get attached to a woman for longer than it takes for her to suck him off,” she says with a smirk.
My stomach is roiling. Not because she’s bringing up Matteo’s past, but because she seems to know it, which makes me wonder if she knows him.
“But it works in my favor.” She shrugs. “It’s time to send the Antonovs a message.”
She kneels in front of me, and our eyes meet. They’re dark, almost black, and something about them sends a shiver down my spine. Because there’s no life in them. Only evil.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
I have no idea what she means by that, until she stands and then punches me directly in the face. And my last thought before I black out is that I hope she kills me quickly.