Chapter 18 #2
A commotion at the club's entrance draws my attention. I turn my head and see Gigi entering with Everette, another employee of mine. They both started working here five years ago after escaping the clutches of some Serbians they owed money to. Although they received money to start a new life, they both chose to work here, and Gigi was always willing to earn an extra tip. Until yesterday, nothing this serious had ever happened. We’ve had our share of loud drunks or politicians making threats when they didn't get what they wanted, but it never went beyond empty words.
My eyes fix on Gigi's neck, where the necklace of bruises left by Senator Ashville's hand is still visible. I should probably go back and finish what I started with the Thai blade, but I suspect Vasili is already keeping him on the brink of death.
I walk over to Gigi. "Do you need a few days off?" I ask.
Her eyes shine with something that looks like vulnerability when she answers, "No."
Everette stands behind her, slightly lost in thought. This incident has damaged their trust in me, and that bothers me. But there’s nothing else I can do except offer Gigi the skin from the senator's hand as a gift, though I doubt she'd appreciate the gesture.
I feel Roxanne’s presence behind me. Without turning, I say to the girls, "Gigi, Everette, I'd like you to meet my future wife, Roxanne."
Their eyes instinctively widen, and I can't suppress the smile that stretches across my face.
Roxanne steps in front of me and extends her hand.
"A pleasure. But I don't think Damien was very clear. You're going to take a few days off because you'll have a bonus to spend and you'll need time for that. Let's say twenty thousand dollars. Isn't that right, darling?"
I slowly turn toward her. If my smile was taking up half my face before, I'm sure I look downright ridiculous now because my lips can’t stretch any wider.
I don't miss the protectiveness in her tone, and something like pride swells in my chest at the thought that, even though we're not officially a couple, she’s looking out for my girls.
"Of course. Whatever my wife wants, my wife gets."
"Future wife," she says firmly, but a smirk lights up her face.
Gigi stares at us, her mouth slightly open, but I just give her a subtle nod.
"Thank you," she whispers to Roxanne before she and Everette walk past us.
I watch their silhouettes head toward one of the changing rooms. Even though she's been given a few days off, I know she won't take them.
For some of the women here, this place is home.
No one forces them to stay, no one makes them do anything they don't want to, but a feeling of guilt still settles like a lead fist on my chest.
"I hope the bastard who left that mark on her didn't walk out of here," I hear the woman for whom I would stop the world from spinning murmur.
I don't know if she meant for those words to leave her mind, but I'm glad they did. The only way I see her being able to withstand me, and the madness in my head, is with that same dose of darkness in her.
"I don't know if he'll leave with all his skin attached," I answer honestly.
As much as I fear her repulsion, as much as I fear I could disgust her with my methods, this is who I am.
And I need her to accept me without any masks because I know she will inevitably see the monster inside.
Especially now, with the entire Council on my back and apparently more mercenaries trying to take me out of the game.
When I turn back to her, she's looking at me with something warm in her gaze. I don't want to rush to put a name to that glint, but I could swear it's admiration.
"Good," she says. "I have to call my uncle to let him know I'm getting married, then I'll go home and start packing."
"You're only inviting your uncle?" I ask, unable to stop myself from wondering about her relationship with her family if only one member is on the guest list.
Maybe she doesn't want to invite her whole family because she's ashamed of marrying you. Did you think about that? the annoying voice in my head asks, and for a split second, red clouds my vision until her voice breaks through the suffocating barrier.
"He's the only one I know who would be happy for me. My father probably wouldn't even look me in the eye, Ivette would tell me I gained a few pounds and I look puffy, and Aria… She’d just sing her mother's tune. It's better this way…"
There's so much bitterness in her voice that, no matter how much she tries to hide it, I feel it in every cell of my body.
Those people hurt her. The very people who were supposed to protect her, to bring her comfort.
And in this moment, I'm glad she's not inviting them, because I don't know what I'd be capable of doing to them.
My hands move to cup her cheeks, and I see she wants to take a step back. My little sun hates to be vulnerable.
"I don't know how anyone could stand in your rays and not thank the heavens for the privilege."
I watch her swallow hard. Placing her hands over mine, she replies, "Maybe you're the only one who sees those rays."
"That's why you're my little sun. Mine."
No matter how far you run, s?onko, there isn’t a single corner of this world where you can hide your light from me. I will always see you shine.