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Chapter Thirty-Two

Lux

The intensity with which rage hits me at the sight of that fucking man in my apartment scares me.

It takes a lot to make me angry, or very specific situations—animal cruelty, being rude to service staff, bigotry, for example. My body shakes as I watch Vince stalk around my apartment, opening drawers and poking around.

What makes it worse is that he’s fully aware someone’s watching.

He’s taunting Rafael. Showing him where the power lies.

I think about calling Rafael for a split second. Clearly, the warehouse he’s searching for was a false lead that’ll just frustrate him more. He’ll speed back into the city like a bat out of hell, risking his life for this. No, I won’t let him do it.

This is my apartment. My territory. And I’m going to take care of it myself.

I quickly scan the screens, catching sight of my old trusty baseball bat tucked into the umbrella stand by the door. Perfect, at least I’ll have something to defend myself with once I get inside.

I rush to the bedroom and throw off my robe, tugging on comfy leggings and a fitted shirt. Nothing loose so it’s harder to grab me, I remind myself, thanking past me for listening to so many crime podcasts.

I wind my hair into a tight bun and throw on combat boots—more precautions from crime shows. When I get into the elevator, I almost laugh at my reflection.

Look at me, cosplaying as a spy or something.

Despite my jubilant mood, the reality of what I’m about to do hits me while I’m in the taxi. This might be dangerous, although I don’t think I quite grasp the concept of just how dangerous this situation is.

Vince is part of the mafia, just like Rafael. He could probably kill me in a second.

I pull out my phone and text Rafael as a precaution. I add a heart and send it, watching for the second check mark to show it’s been delivered. When it doesn’t appear, I pray it’s because he’s in a location without cell service and not something worse.

The taxi finally pulls up to my old building, and I get out, cautiously checking my surroundings. I tend to bumble through life without a second thought about my safety, getting myself into some pretty wild situations.

This is different. I force myself to focus on what’s going on around me but the area seems fairly normal.

Children’s laughter pours out from the small park next to my building. People duck into the tiny shops and cafes along the road, minding their own business.

I wave to Miguel, the corner store owner, who is smoking a cigarette across the street. He calls out a greeting and asks where I’ve been.

I smile and shrug my shoulders, pushing the building door open. At least someone witnessed me walking in here if I die.

I shake the morose thought from my head, and cross the small lobby, noting my overflowing mailbox. I really need to take care of whatever all that is when this is over. I think about all the bills piled in that mailbox and for the first time in my life, doom and gloom doesn’t strike over me.

Suddenly, the lights cut out and I’m thrown into inky darkness. The lack of windows down here doesn’t help, so I pull out my phone to use as a flashlight, cursing my luck which never fails to let me down. I climb the stairs quietly and carefully, pausing on my landing.

It swiftly hits me that I don’t have a game plan.

Am I really expecting to march into a pitch-black apartment and confront a trained gunman…and walk out alive? Of all my dumb, harebrained schemes, this one takes the cake.

I almost consider running down the stairs, out of this deathtrap, and into Miguel’s shop to call the police. But if I get the cops involved, Rafael will be implicated as well, and that might mean big trouble for him.

Think, Lux, think.

My biggest weaknesses are that I’m unarmed and that I don’t know what to expect when I get in there. But I do have the element of surprise on my side. That, and I know my apartment better than he does.

A plan quickly forms in my mind.

I can slip inside unnoticed, grab the bat by the door, and use that as my first line of defense. If that fails, the butcher’s knife in the top drawer of my kitchen will have to do.

I steel myself for whatever comes and peek around the corner to assess my door. It’s slightly ajar, glowing in the eerie darkness, bright light seeping through the seams around the frame. Light? How?

I glance behind me to confirm none of the other units have power. The hallway sits dark, silent, and empty. I imagine figures moving in the darkness behind me, coming to snatch me up, which sends me around the corner and closer to my door.

A dark thought creeps up, making me pause in the middle of the hallway.

If my unit has light, that means Vince likely messed with the electricity panels to throw anyone coming to find him off. This all happened as soon as I walked into the building, which means he somehow knows I’m here. Which also means, my one advantage has officially disappeared.

All of my senses kick in and my brain screams at me to run. Adrenaline floods my body, sending it into overdrive, but before I can move a muscle, the door flies open. The first thing I notice is the barrel of a gun pointed straight at my head. Then Vince smiles, malicious and deadly.

“Welcome home,” he says, grinning maniacally.

My body goes into self-preservation mode and I freeze. Tears pool in my eyes as I berate myself for doing something so stupid and dangerous.

“Get in the house, waitress,” he says, dark and low.

It takes a second for my legs to kick in, but I force myself to walk inside my apartment for the first time in weeks. The first thing I see when I walk in is Carlo, my old boss from the Velvet Room, glaring at me. I’m so shocked that I stop in my tracks, causing Vince’s gun to slam in between my shoulder blades.

I yelp, jumping out of the way in fear, but Carlo grabs my arm, yanking me down onto a kitchen chair.

“Sit your ass down and shut up, Lux,” he growls. He glances at Vince, fury flashing behind his eyes. “What the hell are we supposed to do with her?”

I glance around wildly, trying to piece together what’s going on. Rob Mancini, Lisa’s brother, emerges from my bathroom whistling casually. He raises his eyebrows when he spots me but says nothing.

“It’s not the best-case scenario,” Vince finally agrees. “But it’s not the worst. Rafael will come for her, don’t you worry about that.”

“Tie her up, Rob,” Carlo grunts, nodding at me. I start to protest, but he leans in close, his menacing face inches away from mine. “I’ve slapped you before, and I’ll do it again. Now, keep your mouth shut.”

I gulp down a curse and force myself to sit silent and rigid as Rob binds my wrists and ankles. He’s not as rough as he could be, and he shoots me a quick, apologetic glance as he tightens the ropes around my ankles. I wiggle my fingers behind my back, noticing he tied the wrist bonds much looser than he was probably supposed to.

I send up a silent thanks to my past self for being so friendly with Rob when we worked together. He’s trying to give me a small advantage without his father or Vince noticing.

“We were hoping your little boyfriend would come running once he saw me in your apartment,” Vince says, impassively twirling the gun around his finger. “I never imagined you’d have the guts to come alone, waitress.”

I want to scream obscenities at him but I stay silent, hoping that’ll be more effective. He smirks as I glare at him from my seat.

“You sure are a little spitfire, aren’t you?” he chuckles, using the butt of the gun to lift my chin so that I have to stare up at him. “I can see why he decided you were a worthy enough plaything to keep alive.”

Vince’s smile turns lecherous and I almost dry heave at that thought, forcing myself to break eye contact.

“All right, all right,” Carlo interrupts, shoving Vince aside. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. Enough of this. Rob, get over here.”

I panic for a second, thinking Rob is supposed to shoot me, but he hoists me over his shoulder instead and we file into the dark hallway. A small whimper escapes as Rob carries me down the stairs and I feel him pat my ankle lightly.

It gives me some comfort that he seems to have held onto his humanity, but I know that one command from his father and I’m dead.

We go out the backdoor to a dark SUV pressed right up to the doorway. It’s a bright sunny day in the middle of summer and I can’t believe I’m getting kidnapped. I always imagined this kind of thing being done under the cover of night.

Suddenly, I realize that if I scream loud enough, someone will surely hear me. One of the mothers from the park just beyond the tree line, or even Miguel chain-smoking outside his shop.

I clear my throat softly, readying my lungs. Carlo pops open the trunk door and I know my time is dwindling.

As soon as I open my mouth, I feel the barrel of Vince’s gun smash against my head.

Everything fades to black and my body goes slack in Rob’s arms.