Page 104 of Forgotten Sacrifice

Stepping inside the arcade, I exchange a twenty for quarters from the same worker as before. Turns out I’m not a queen at any of these games, and it’s not nearly as fun without Vince here. Which pisses me off even more.

“The claw machine is rigged,” I bitch at the worker after I’ve spent all my quarters, with no stuffed animal to show for it.

“You’re just now figuring this out?” He goes back to playing on his phone.

I exit the arcade and continue my aimless wandering, when a man appears from the alley, blocking my path. It’s the big Italian security guard from Fabio’s restaurant who called me jailbait. And from the gross way he’s eyeing me, he’s still thinking it.

Spinning around, I go to take off running, only for another man to appear from the other side of the building, blocking my path.

“Luna, we’re here to take you to Fabio’s,” the newcomer says.

“Why don’t we have a little fun with her first?” the man who called me jailbait says, grabbing my wrist from behind. “I wanna little taste of this jailbait pussy; see what all the fuss is about.”

Swinging my body around, my knee connects with his nuts, and he doubles over with a curse.

I take off in a sprint in the opposite direction.

“Get that bitch!”

The other guy catches up to me, wrapping his arms around me and jerking me to a halt. “Sorry about my friend?—”

I rear back and head butt him, and he curses, releasing his grip. I sprint around the building, practically running into a uniformed cop. “Officer, there’s two men harassing me,” I say in a rush, my chest heaving.

He looks to his phone and then to me, grabbing me by the wrist. “Mike,” he calls over his shoulder. “I’ve got her.”

Mike, the one I head butted, catches up to us, pinching his bloody nose. “Sal, over here,” he calls to his friend. Sal appears, looking like he wants to snap me in two.

“Guess I’m going to Fabio’s,” I say. “I’ll meet you there.”

“Nice try. Let’s go,” Mike says.

“You got this?” The officer asks the men.

“Yeah, thanks,” Mike says.

“Any time.”

“Thanks for the help, officer,” I shout after him. “If either of you touch me, I’ll tell your boss.” I point at them.

“Fabio told us to bring you in; didn’t say anything about not touching you.” Sal eyes me suggestively.

“I meantheboss.”

“You’re so full of shit, little girl,” Sal says dismissively.

I call Nicky on speakerphone. “Hey, Luna.”

“Nicky, two of your fiancé’s men are forcing me to go with them. One insinuated he was going to sexually assault me.”

“What?” She says in an ice-cold tone. “Give me their names. Romeo!” she shouts.

“Mike and Sal,” I blurt out.

“No!” Mike and Sal go for my phone, and it gets jostled out of my hands, dropping on the boardwalk.

I dive after it, but awhooshhas me looking up in time to watch Sal get drilled in the stomach by a baseball bat; he flies backwards, hitting the ground.

“Vince, hold up,” Mike starts.