Chapter 45 Chiara
Chiara
All around us, bodies grind and moan. When Angelo told me this place was not like a normal nightclub, I assumed he meant there’d be lap dancers and shit. Not naked people fucking everywhere.
I’m a broad-minded person, but this is well out of my comfort zone.
“Drink, sir?” A topless woman with poker-straight red hair appears in front of us carrying a silver tray of champagne glasses. Her breasts are perky and sort of fake looking, but to his credit, my husband barely gives her a second glance.
Unlike the patrons, she’s not wearing a mask. Her stunning blue eyes are blank voids. No sign of anyone home. Is she on something? Or just shut down as a coping mechanism?
“No,” he says, but I grab a glass. It might take the edge off my anxiety. I’m not sure if my heightened nerves are because of Fina’s plight, or because I’m worried about Luka.
I didn’t want him to come tonight. It’s too soon after persons unknown drugged him at a club. What if this outing triggers his PTSD? We still don’t know who was responsible, but it seems likely it was Remington and his cronies.
The man’s appetite for revenge clearly knows no bounds. Although why he thinks kidnapping me and now Fina is in any way proportional to his daughter being cheated on is beyond me. He must have serious psychological issues.
Marrying a bitch like Vivian would do that to a guy.
Imagine waking up next to that hell-spawned skeleton every day?
I gulp the champagne down and drop the empty glass on a nearby table, next to a bowl of condoms and lube sachets. Again, gross.
To our left, two fat men rail a petite girl. One fucks her mouth while the other is balls-deep in her pussy. From her enthusiastic moans, it seems like she’s having a good time, but I can’t help wondering if she’s being forced to have sex with patrons.
My gaze snags on the balls-deep guy’s pendulous gut. He could stand to eat fewer burgers.
Angelo keeps my hand firmly in his as we walk across the enormous room.
The walls are deep crimson with gold accents.
Large murals remind me of the gross ceiling at Lorenzo’s mansion; like there, the paintings depict naked creatures fornicating.
Perhaps the same interior decorator had a say in this decor.
I shudder when I spot a graphic depiction of a centaur fucking a small female with enormous boobs and spiral horns protruding from her head.
“This place is freaky,” I whisper. “I feel like I’ve wandered into a monster erotica novel.”
“I wouldn’t know, as my reading tastes are more mainstream,” Angelo sniffs.
“You’re missing out,” I tell him. “Tentacle erotica is awesome.” He rolls his eyes as we move into a long corridor lined with glass windows.
“I’ll pass, thanks.” We wander past the windows, pretending to be patrons interested in expanding our sexual horizons while I pray we don’t see Fina chained to a bed and being abused. I’m not sure I could handle that.
Toward the end of the space, I spot a familiar woman in a tight red dress. Her husband is whispering something in her ear while squeezing her ass, and then he kisses her neck. I hear a throaty moan and almost look away, but she spots me and shoves Kyril back.
“Not now,” she growls before sauntering over.
“Found anything interesting?” Angelo says to Kyril under his breath while pretending to watch a girl masturbate behind the window to our right.
The dildo she’s using is massive. Easily as big as my leg. I wince when she rams it up her pussy. Fuck me, that must hurt.
Thea follows my gaze and winces too. “Damn, my kid’s head was smaller than that thing, and giving birth bloody hurt.” She shudders at the memory, and I decide right then and there that kids are off the agenda forever.
“Okay, I’m never having sex again,” I say to myself, which makes Thea chuckle.
“It’s not that bad. Making them is fun at least.” She gives me a sly grin. “With three dudes in your bed, I guarantee you’ll be pregnant within the year.”
“No way.”
She snorts. “It happened to me, so better get your head around the idea now before you see two pink lines. If your guys are anything like him…” She stabs a finger toward the big Russian dude. “…you’re probably already pregnant.”
I gulp. Angelo and I didn’t use protection. What if she’s right? I’m so screwed.
I force my thoughts away from babies and turn back to Angelo’s conversation with the Russian.
“…there’s a heavily guarded door down the next hallway, VIP passes only.
We can take the two guards out easily enough, but it’s probably better to wait for Milo to loop the security system.
He’s working on it now.” The Russian checks his phone when he’s sure nobody is paying attention to us. “Not ready yet.”
“I have a pass,” Angelo says. “I’ll go now and check it out.” He turns to me. “Stay here with Thea. It’s safer.”
“No fucking way!” I fold my arms across my chest. “I’m going with you.”
“Are you carrying?” Thea asks, her tone serious.
“Um, what? A disease?”
“A gun or a blade,” she whispers with a snort.
If I had a gun, I’d probably shoot myself in the foot, which I tell her.
She shakes her head in silent laughter and pulls a small jeweled spike from her ponytail.
“Here, stick that in your hair, just in case.” It looks like a vicious hair ornament, but is long and sharp enough to cause some serious damage.
I suppose she’s right that I should carry some sort of weapon if I plan to venture into the lion’s den.
“I’d rather you stayed here,” Angelo repeats when it’s clear I’m not listening to him, but I steel my spine and shake my head.
“Come on, husband, let’s go.”
After muttering something about stupid, stubborn women, he lets me lead the way.
“We’ll take a quick look and then come back up to regroup. The auction doesn’t start for another two hours.”
“What if we bump into Remington or your father?” I ask as we walk away.
“Dad won’t be here. I got a phone call from my lawyer this afternoon to say he’d been called in for questioning about a missing person last seen in his house.”
From the way he smirks, I suspect he was the tip-off. I assume he’s not talking about Santini, as that asshole’s death will have been covered up. But I bet there are plenty of other missing people, probably women, linked to Lorenzo.
“Remington will be though. It’s his club.”
“Yeah, but with Vivian missing, I expect he’s too busy looking for her.”
And since Luka and I were not exactly discreet when we kidnapped Vivian from her lunch party, it won’t take him long to figure out where she is.
“He’ll know it’s you who has her.”
“I don’t care.”
Two guards block the doorway to a different level. Both of them carry visible guns and wear blank expressions. Angelo pulls me into a shadowy alcove, pretending to kiss me, as three men in suits approach the guards. They all have masks on, like us, so it’s impossible to tell from here who they are.
The biggest guy thrusts his cell at the first guard, who peers at the screen. He nods and scans his thumb to open the door.
The trio then disappears before the door closes behind them.
“Ready?”
I nod.
“Do not leave my side, are we clear?”
“I’m not stupid.”
“I know you’re not, but I also know you’re impulsive, so…”
We stroll up to the two guards, who examine Angelo’s digital code and let us through the door.
It’s far easier than I expected. A staircase leads down to a lower level.
It’s much quieter down here, but when we walk through a new set of doors, manned by two more armed men, the space opens out into a large room filled with chairs.
Men mill around, all wearing masks. There are very few women here, which makes me stand out.
My skin prickles with nerves as a few people turn to gaze at us, but Angelo acts unconcerned.
“Let’s explore, darling,” he says in a loud voice. “I want to peruse our options.”
He tugs me across the room while I fake a haughty expression. Two men openly ogle me in my tight dress, but I ignore their leers.
The lights are low, leaving much of the room in shadow, which creates a more private vibe. I gaze around, noting the bar along the left wall, which is manned by young women wearing nothing but panties.
This could be a private function room in a hotel if not for the aura of excitement lingering in the thick air and the semi-nude servers. Except we’re not here to listen to a keynote speech.
Everyone here tonight came to purchase a human being, as if the people trapped in this place are animals.
It’s sick, honestly.
An open doorway at the far end of the room leads to a corridor. There are a few men milling around with phones in their hands. All of them appear to be waiting for what happens next.
Angelo maintains an expression of bored apathy while holding my hand so tight my fingers hurt. But I’m glad he doesn’t let go of me because otherwise I might unravel.
Once in the corridor, I realize it’s not dissimilar to the corridor upstairs. This corridor also has small rooms, each with a viewing window.
It reminds me of a pet store I visited with my dad as a kid. There were dozens of small cages containing kittens, which I spent ages staring at while hoping my dad would buy one.
The rooms we pass tonight contain cages. They’re bigger than pet crates, but not by much. There’s enough room for a small person to sit, but anyone taller than me would have to curl up.
My gut threatens to revolt as I observe the women waiting for their fate. Most are young. All are naked. They crouch or lie in their cages with blank faces. Some appear drugged. Others have clearly given up and accepted their fate.
“Oh my god,” I whisper.