CHAPTER SIX #2
Her entering my thoughts only serves to rile me up again. My jaw tightens as I walk in further, trying to concentrate on the dark hair woman waiting for me in nothing but her underwear.
“You’re not supposed to be here without permission,” I start, my eyes trailing over her body, trying to summon some interest within me.
She pouts, “I just thought I’d surprise you, baby.”
I’ve known her for several years. Usually I don’t fuck women again after the first time. But she keeps coming back for more and she doesn’t seem to mind how rough or sadistic I can get while we have sex.
I place the bottle of whiskey on the table next to me, still staring at her. Most women would be unnerved by all the attention. I remember Liliana shifting under my intense gaze. And then in other moments she seemed to meet it head on.
Such a conundrum. She has thoroughly fucked with my head and now I can’t get her out of it. I’m going to try though.
“Take it all off,” I command lowly.
Vicky doesn’t hesitate to unhook her bra, letting it slide down to the bed.
My eyes trail over her breasts, disinterest pouring through every inch of me. She’s a beautiful woman and usually I’d be more than ready to have my way with her.
But it’s the wrong eyes. The wrong hair. The wrong everything.
“Fuck!” I growl in frustration before launching the glass in my hand at the wall.
Vicky flinches, her brown eyes growing wide at the outburst. I glance at her, an apology on my lips.
“Sorry, sweetheart but you’re going to have to leave.”
She recovers fast, her hand going to hips, “But baby, I want you.”
I shake my head, “Not tonight.”
Eventually, I get her to put her clothes on and one of my men leads her out of the house. Once she’s gone, I request for a partner in the boxing ring at the center of the basement. I really just want someone to beat the shit out of me.
But none of them measure up. A few punches to my ribs that have me winded are all I get. But they’re going to have to be enough.
I just need to get her out of my head. Her voice, her smile, her taste.
Fucking everything.
* * *
I cave a week later. A boring day has me driving to the bar, seeking something to fill the emptiness in my chest. I park across the street and wait for Liliana to show up. Just like that first night when I waited for her for several hours.
This time it’s only thirty minutes before I catch sight of her strolling to the doors of the bar.
My heart lurches in my chest as I watch her.
The heels of her ankle boots click against the ground as she strolls.
The baby blue dress she’s wearing stops right above her knees.
She looks even more stunning than in my memories.
Memories I’ve been trying hard to blot from my mind.
She’s completely distracted as she walks, her eyes unfocused which annoys me a little. Anyone could walk up to her and knock her out in a manner of seconds. She could be in the back of a van before she blinks, bound and vulnerable.
She needs to be more conscious of her environment.
Almost like she hears me, her head lifts up at the last minute and she turns around, looking for something.
I lean downwards in my car but it doesn’t matter, I’m shrouded by darkness and too far away for her to see anything.
Eventually she shrugs and walks into the bar.
I exhale a soft breath when I lose sight of her.
What the fuck are you doing here, Rafaelle?
Despite my irritation with myself, I go back to see her three more times. Space out my visits. One night I get close enough to hear her singing through the doors of the bar. But most of the time I just watch her arriving at the bar and leaving at the end of her shift. Like a fucking stalker.
Three weeks later, I notice she stops coming. It’s business as usual at the bar. But when someone else puts on a performance on a night she was meant to be there, I immediately know something’s wrong.
I send out a text to my guards, knowing I might need backup.
The brown haired man behind the bar doesn’t blink as I walk up to him. He’s a couple years older than me, with wrinkles around his mouth and a hard look in his eyes. He knows exactly who I am and he’s undoubtedly not a fan.
“Where is she?”
“I’m not sure who you’re talking about,” he says dryly.
My eyebrows rise and in the next breath I’m grabbing a gun from the inside of my jacket.
I raise it in the air, not even hesitating before I take a shot.
Pandemonium ensues, the people in the bar run for their lives.
Some of my men rush in, offering protection.
I don’t take my eyes off the man behind the bar.
“What’s your name?” I question.
“Carlos,” he replies tightly, though there’s no missing the way his eyes flash with fear. “I own this place and if you don’t leave in two seconds, I’m calling the police.”
“Go ahead,” I state. “But first you’re going to tell me where Liliana is.”
“She’s gone,” he says and I hear a note of triumph in his voice.
Anger slices through my skin, hot and uncomfortable.
“What do you mean gone?” the words are heavy as they leave my throat.
“I mean she’s left the city. Escaped you and everything fucked up about your life. You’ll never find her.”
My lips pull up in a humorless smirk. I turn around curling and uncurling my fist as I try to take the next logical step. Although logic strays far away from the thoughts running through my head. Thoughts of death and destruction.
“Seize him,” I order and one of my men immediately moves to do my bidding. “That one too.”
I gesture towards the far end of the wall where a man with the obviously fake blonde hair cowers.
He’s the bartender from the night I met Liliana.
They’re the only ones left in here. The both of them are dragged to their knees in front of me.
I drag my gun over the face of the blonde one, my vision slightly hazy.
“Tell me where she is,” I grit out. “Or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”
His eyes grow red with tears that don’t fall.
“We don’t know!” he yells. “She just left. Told us she was quitting and asked Carlos to find a replacement.”
“Ah,” I mutter before swinging my eyes towards the big guy. The one who calls the shots apparently. “You know where she is.”
“I don’t,” he says steadily.
“How can I find her?”
“You can’t.”
My eyes narrow into slits, “Don’t fucking tell me what I can’t or can’t do. What’s her last name? Her number.”
How the fuck do I not already have that information?!
The man on his knees in front of me smirks, clearly enjoying this. I’ll be sure to unleash everything I’m feeling at the moment on his skin later. Right now though, I need some answers.
“She’s disconnected her line. As for her last name. I don’t know it!”
“What?”
“She gave me a fake ID when she started working here, and I never tried to find out who she really is. For all we know, Liliana isn’t even her real name.”
“The fuck it isn’t,” I hiss. “You’re lying!”
I refuse to believe he could be this useless.
“No amount of torture is going to make that a lie. She’s gone and she isn’t coming back.”
Torture sounds good right now. Actually it sounds like a fantastic idea.
I look away from him in disgust, running a hand through my hair.
“Get them out of here!”
They’re led out of the bar and my gaze unwillingly moves towards the stage.
The first time I saw her. I remember the way she had glowed and that voice that could lead a man into a trance.
If I’d known she would disappear, I would have burned it into memory.
Instead I’d been trying hard to forget it.
I ask my men to look around the bar, ensuring there isn’t anyone inside. And then I request some kerosene. Heat churns through me as I douse the walls of the bar in the liquid, every inch of it soaked. When I step outside and pull out my lighter, I briefly consider my actions.
This will surely cause a headache. But I do it anyway, tossing the lighter at the door. Almost immediately the place is engulfed in fire. It licks through every inch of it, a roaring inferno. The heat from the flames rivals the heat burning within me.
I stand there till the entire place is burned down.
I stand there until the realization settles deep within me.
She left. That was a huge mistake. One I’ll ensure she pays for.
One way or another, I’ll have her back.