Chapter Two—The Big Club

Chapter Two—The Big Club

He loved Emily—Slender, powerful, dainty enough to be held in his hands without as so much of a hassle. He loved the way his enemies screamed when he pummeled their joints with her strong bearing, reveled in their pleas for mercy as he broke every piece of their very bones for messing with him and his money.

Right now, the traitor in front of him was proving to be a much easy pleasure to him and his favorite hammer. He smiled as he pounded the locks holding the knees to the thigh bone. The traitor screamed.

“Please…..please Mr Vitale!!” Panting heavily “It won’t happen again!!”

Theo Vitale snorted, looking at his hammer, “Don’t insult Emily. She’s not stupid and so am I. You ratted us out to the feds, and then had my docks raided. I lost out on a million because of you, Marco.”

Marco cried out with bloodshot eyes, “They were going to deport my wife and kids. I couldn’t…..I couldn’t……

Theo wouldn’t let him finish the pity story as he pounced on the man’s hands with his hammer, breaking every part of his phalanges. Marco’s screams could be heard from Antarctica and Theo was beyond bored. He took the pounding to the man’s face, and when every part of his anger had been exerted he finally let out a breath, leaving Marco’s face unrecognizable.

“Clean this mess up.” He grunted to the thug standing at the corner of the room, “And find the other rat while you’re at it. The last thing I need is someone messing with my business.”

“Yes boss.” The thug nodded, “The wife and kids?”

Theo slapped him, hard across the face, “The sins of the father remains with the father. Don’t you ever bring that up again.”

“Y….yes boss.” The thug, with his cheek red stinging nodded as Theo walked away from the fresh corpse that was tied to his favorite torture chair.

He took out a napkin and cleaned Emily up, placing a soft kiss on her iron bearing before handing it over to another thug for safekeeping. Then he adjusted his jacket and hair, after tonight he needed entertainment.

A drink.

A good smoke.

And a woman to spend the night with, whilst he made love to her, until her body turns inside out.

*********

The Big Club. Ana gasped at its sheer vastness and beauty. One could tell it was a place of vanity from the blinding lights, the ear piercing music, the smell of booze and cigars, the dancing strippers who enjoyed the dollar bills being thrown at him by ogling men. Most importantly, she was drawn to the bar at the side of the club, her mouth watered just from looking at it.

She shuddered as the cool air flew past her body, goosebumps appeared all over it. She hadn’t been to the club in five years, not since her ex boyfriend accused her of cheating just for going out. Apparently being pretty and getting looked out by other men counts as cheating. It was a wonder why she stayed with him for so long.

Oh she knew.

There was one thing Ana feared more than death itself. The sense of being alone. And right now, in a club filled with entertainment and fun, she felt lonely more than ever.

“I’ll be back.” Seb said loudly, unwounding his arm from her shoulder as he retreated into the dancing crowd.

Ana was left alone. Lost.

He promised her a great night and now she was being abandoned in just under a minute of being here.

She gulped hard and made her way to the bar, she signaled the bartender who was a cute and langy fellow with a mop of blond curls on his head, “Hello pretty lady, what can I offer you?”

“Strong.”

“What?”

“Strong.” She murmured, “If you have anything strong, I want it.”

The bartender, clearly amused by her resolve, poured her a shot of whiskey on the rocks. Ana downed it in one gulp, nudging the glass back to his side of the counter, “Another.”

She was on her third glass of the when he laughed, “Rough night?”

“Rough day.” She corrected bitterly, then she turned around to find Sebastian arguing with another woman in the middle of the club, probably an ex girlfriend of the sort. She certainly wanted no part of whatever he had going on.

Five drinks gone, she was on the verge of being half drunk. She laughed at how pathetic her life was, clearly booze had a knack for wringing one’s emotions all at once. She opted for a margarita now, sick and tired of the fiery taste of whiskey down her throat.

The thought of Zachary and his new fiancé almost made her cry. She’d already bawled her eyes out in the taxi, on her way here, with the driver offering a piece of his dirty handkerchief to wipe away her tears. She finished her margarita, ordering another immediately.

“Careful now,” The bartender warned, “You’re not the first heartbroken woman to walk through these doors, but you’re alone so you have to be cautious in these parts.”

Technically she wasn’t alone, but Sebastian was nowhere to be seen so she guessed she was. She simply shrugged, “These parts? Is this some underground thing?”

“Nope.” The bartender shook his head, a twinge of fear sparked in his eyes but she was already halfway drunk to notice, “It’s just in uncanny territory that’s all.”

“Uncanny territory?” Her brow arched.

“My territory.” She heard someone say from behind her. A masculine whiff of perfectly ground tobacco, mixed with something of a citrus nature, and lust, found its way into her nose as she turned around.

She gasped.

Whoever stood in front of her was……he was beautiful. She wasn’t sure a man like him existed out of the celebrity magazines she’d read.

Now he was flashing her a wide grin, “Hi, I’m Theo.”