Chapter 2 - Angelika
Ok, yes, you could say I’m looking for trouble.
Technically, I am, especially since the last time I snuck out, I nearly got kidnapped. But come on. My brothers went into lockdown mode after that. I can’t even breathe; they’re smothering me so much.
Tonight I’m staying over at Mila’s place, and I can’t miss the chance to grab this night of freedom.
“Did you talk to him?” I ask, grinning, as Mila steps back into her bedroom.
“I did. He accepted my offer and will make sure all of the guards are occupied at exactly ten minutes to ten.”
“You sure he can be trusted?” I ask, scrunching my nose. The last thing I need is to be caught mid-sneak-out.
I’d get the punishment for attempting, without the fun of actually having had a night out.
“It was a handsome bribe.” She raises her brows and grins triumphantly.
Apparently, he’s her favorite bodyguard, and he’s done this for her a few times already.
Mila is also a Bratva princess. Her family is not as powerful as mine, but she lives a life similar to mine. Surrounded by guards, under the watchful eye of her older brothers, who tend to boss her around too much.
My brothers, Jaroslav and Evengil, said I could spend the night at her family’s mansion as long as I took two of my own guards along, despite her already having several guards with us.
But now, all the guards are in the kitchen making themselves dinner, while we, unknown to them, shower to go out, not to get ready for bed.
It’s just past nine. We have around half an hour before we need to get ready to go.
“Maxim will pretend to come check on us just before they sit down to eat the food they’re making now. Then he’ll tell the guys we’re chilling in my room. Then we have about five minutes to make a run for it.”
“And the car is parked around the back of the house?” I confirm.
“Yep, he put it there already.”
“I need a guard like Maxim,” I whine. I’m so tired of being locked up in the monotony of my life. Day after day, it’s the same thing over and over again.
It’s been months since the attempted kidnapping, and honestly, I’m going crazy.
Technically, my poor decision-making tonight is actually all my brothers’ faults.
If they hadn’t kept me so caged up, I wouldn’t have been pushed to the edge of my sanity and forced to do something extreme just so that I could feel alive for one freaking second.
My life has felt like it’s been void of direction or purpose.
I’d even go so far as to say I was on the borderline of becoming miserably depressed.
A girl isn’t supposed to be kept in a figurative cage like that.
She needs to explore the world. I’ve been lying awake at night wondering if this is it for me.
Like, is this how the rest of my life will go?
Because that seems horribly pointless. There isn’t any point in a life like that.
And for that reason, I don’t even have guilt about this. And the moment I came up with the idea, I was all in. I need this more than maybe I even realize.
“You’re wearing this one,” Mila says, tossing a white dress onto the bed. I pick it up and hold it against my body. Short. Tight. Sexy. It’s perfect. I didn’t pack a going-out dress in case someone checked my overnight bag. But of course, Mila had already said I could borrow something of hers.
“Oh, it’s gorgeous. I love it.” I let my hands trace over the beautiful fabric, embossed with geometric patterns on pure white material.
She pulls out a blue dress for herself, and we hurry to get ready. Excitement bubbles inside me. Yes, I am looking for trouble. I know I am. However, my family is being overly protective, and I need some space. Desperately. I’m an adult, but they don’t seem willing to accept that.
At least this time I didn’t bring Stefania. Just in case. My little sister can’t be my responsibility tonight. This is just for me. My moment to let go and not worry about anything. She would have loved it, but I’m already pushing my luck by sneaking out, even without her.
My plan is solid, though. My brothers will never find out.
Hence, staying out tonight at a friend they’ve already vetted and approved.
Come tomorrow morning, I can have a shower and head home, pretending nothing happened.
“Let’s go!” Mila whispers excitedly, checking the time on her phone after her bribed security guard stuck his head through the door and gave her the signal.
***
The Red Room is pulsing with life. The moment we step inside, my blood begins to surge through me like an elixir of happiness, threading through my veins. Yes. This is what I’ve been craving. People. Crowds. Music. Thick, heavy air that presses down onto you like the weight of adventure.
I bite my lip as Mila grabs my hand and pulls me toward the bar.
“We need drinks,” she calls out over her shoulder.
“Shots!” I shout back, feeling bold and free.
I stand back, looking around the packed club.
The bar area is a little easier to move around in, but the dance floor is a pit of energy.
Wall to wall bodies, moving against each other on the dance floor.
Girls looking gorgeous in bright dresses or tight sexy black numbers.
Maybe white wasn’t the best choice. I’m bound to spill something on it by the end of the night.
Whatever. Who cares. I’m here to have fun!
My dress is glowing in the UV light from the DJ box.
My stomach spins with nervous tension. But it’s the good kind of nervous spin. The kind of been longing for. The kind where I’m out of my comfort zone and not conforming to all the million stupid rules imposed on my life.
I grin, watching people let go of their worries and day-to-day burdens. This. This is what it’s all about. Spontaneous, stupid choices. Adventure. Freedom.
“Here!” Mila shouts, grabbing my attention.
I turn toward her, and she hands me a shot of something. I don’t even bother asking her what it is.
The alcohol burns when I throw it into my mouth, and it flows down my throat. Scrunching my nose, I hold my breath for a second, then shout, “Another one!”
Mila laughs and nods.
A moment later, she has another one for me.
“The barman has a bottle of tequila reserved for us. We can move it up to the VIP section if you want to?” Mila asks, leaning close to my ear so I can hear her.
“No, I want to be down here with everyone. I want to dance.”
“Then let’s dance!” She grabs my hand and pulls me straight into the thick of it.
The moment my feet hit the dance floor, my body grabs onto the beat, and I’m lost in it.
My hips sway as I trace my hands up my body, leaning my face toward the ceiling and squinting my eyes as laser lights pierce the smoke, creating beautiful, ethereal patterns around me.
I giggle to myself, loving every second of this.
Mila reaches out and grabs me, pulling me out of my dancing dream.
“This is my friend Arseni. And that’s Luka and Mikhail. This is…” She gestures toward me, and I quickly interrupt her. “I’m Angel,” I say, giving my nickname. The last thing I want to do is have some random guys know my real name.
Arseni takes my hand, and the smile on his face, and the way his eyes drift too slowly over me, it makes me a little shy. “Hi, Angel,” he says.
He’s a beautiful man, but he’s not beautiful enough to be worth my trouble. Being with a guy is an entirely new level of risk I’m not ready to add to tonight’s equation.
“Hi,” I shout back with a smile and tug my hand back.
“Do you want to join us for a drink?” Arseni asks.
Mila answers for me. “Yes, definitely. Why don’t you get us some champagne? We’re going to dance a bit first, though.”
Before I have a chance to protest too much, she is pulling me back onto the dance floor.
I grab her close and cup my hand over her ear. “I don’t think we should join them. I don’t want to get caught tonight, and it seems risky,” I argue.
“It’s ok, I know them really well. They are good guys,” she counters. “Remember, we’re just here to have some fun. And Arseni looked pretty interested in you,” she winks.
“He’s not my type.” I shake my head. In fact, no one has been my type before.
Maybe it was because my brothers were so protective, or maybe it was because I just haven’t met a guy who really took my breath away, but I’ve never been with a guy before.
A kiss. Yes. But that was it. And it wasn’t that great.
Mila doesn’t know I’m a virgin. It’s not really the type of thing you go around telling people.
“Maybe Luka, then. They’re all brothers. But also, we can ignore them and just dance if you want?” she says.
I shrug, whatever. “I really am just here to have fun. So, we’ll take the night as it comes.” She grins at me and pushes me further onto the dance floor.
It’s easy to get lost in the music again.
It vibrates through my chest, down my legs.
It pulls and pushes at me. It caresses me and leads me, and I give in to it.
If I keep my eyes closed, I can even pretend that I’m in a beautiful tribal forest, dancing around a fire, wearing traditional colors that whip in the breeze as my body finds freedom in the constant beat of distant drums.
Freedom.
Letting go of everything.
Mila laughs and wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me close, and we dance together. Our smiles are broad, and my cheeks are hurting from how happy I feel.
Of course, it doesn’t take long for Arseni and his brothers to return.
They slide up next to us on the dance floor.
Mila grins as she steps away from me, and Arseni slips his arm around my waist and tries to pull me close against his broad chest. “We’ve got a VIP table reserved if you want to go and chill with me there? ” he asks.
I shake my head. “I really want to dance for now,” I shout, trying to step back a little.
“I’ll dance with you then,” he says, stepping closer again.
Maybe I should just dance with him. He’s not asking me to marry him or run away with him. It’s innocent. Except is it ever innocent with men?