by Nicky James
I shoved the wad of bills into his hand and directed him to the couch to sit. His muscles jumped and twitched under my hold and I tried not to think about why that was happening. Once he was sitting, his knees bounced with his extra energy.
“If you stay in here, will people assume you are with me and leave you alone?”
He nodded.
“Is there a back way out I can use?”
Again, he nodded but didn’t elaborate.
“Where?”
“Oh.” He went to jump up, but I brought two hands to his shoulders to keep him in place.
“Stay here, just tell me.”
He pointed to another door, a different one than where we’d entered. “Out there, go left and at the end of the hall are stairs. At the bottom, go left again. It will lead you to a door that exits to a back alley behind the club.” He paused, his knees bouncing. “Oh God, Donny can’t know I told you anything.”
“He won’t.”
I released him and straightened myself. Part of me didn’t want to leave him. He was obviously out of it and if someone found him there alone, he might just end up being thrown to someone else who would take full advantage of his state of mind. The possibility gnarled my insides.
A million thoughts scampered around my brain, but nothing seemed a sufficient enough solution to fix the problem.
“Will you be all right?”
Every consecutive nod happened faster than the last.
I sighed and reluctantly moved away. Maybe I didn’t know him from a hole in the ground, but an incredible wave of sympathy and concern followed me as I walked away. Leaving him felt wrong on every level.
Despite the knot tying itself around my gut, I knew I had to go. Before I made it to the door, Soren called out, making me turn back.
“Please don’t tell your brother.”
The reminder of Alessio re-ignited the fire through my veins. All I could do was copy his repeated actions from before and nod.
I had the feeling Alessio already knew all there was to know.
Racing down the back stairs of the club, my muscles pulled tighter and tighter with everything that had gone on.
I couldn’t ignore my anger toward Alessio. Did he honestly know about what went on there? If so, how… Why wasn’t he doing something to stop it?
The back alley was dark and it took me a moment to orient myself and decide which direction I needed to go to find my car. There was no one in the narrow passage, except a stray cat eating from a torn open bag of garbage. The smell was horrendous and I held a sleeve to my nose as I walked quickly. I felt dirty and disgusting. With everything happening with Soren, I’d managed my issues well enough, but since I’d stepped away from it, all I could think of was having a shower.
It would have to wait. There was a more important matter that needed addressed first.
As I came out on the main street and rounded the front of the club again, I pulled my phone from my pocket and found Alessio’s number. As it rang, I walked swiftly to my car a block down the road.
When I got his voicemail, I dialed again. On my third attempt, I was pulling my car door open when Alessio picked up. His voice was groggy with sleep.
“This better be important, asshole, I’m sleeping.”
“Non mi importa un cazzo. Get your ass up, I’m on my way over.”
I didn’t wait for a reply and hung up. I didn’t give a shit if he was in a meeting with the Pope, I had questions that needed answers. Now.
Alessio answered the door wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers, a plain white t-shirt, and a look of fury that could melt iron.
“It’s after two in the fucking morning,” he said through gritted teeth. “Unless your life is in jeopardy, or you are bleeding out, I suggest you run from me right now, because I’m not happy.”
He scratched his dark mop of disheveled hair and squinted menacingly at where I stood, waiting under the porch light. A red crease, left behind by his pillow, marked the side of his cheek trailing from the outside corner of his eye, down through his unshaven scruff to his jaw. His scowl was one I’d seen often. Ordinarily he reserved it for when he was dealing with troublemakers or delinquent youths while at his job. But it was firmly in place and set to its highest intensity.
For my entire life, Alessio always held the power to intimidate me. With our five-year age gap, I’d spent my childhood in head locks and played victim to his overly aggressive personality. I’d longed to be like him and followed him around like a lost puppy most days, wishing for even an ounce of his brute tenacity.
When we’d fought as children, Alessio won. He’d overpowered me with strength, but I always maintained my own capacity with wit and words. Oftentimes, even if the result of our quarrel was entirely my fault, it was Alessio who would be punished by our parents. I’d had the ability to convince them of anything and Alessio was too stupid to know how to talk his way out of it.
Battles of fists stopped many years ago, but when controversy arose, Alessio had no problem reminding me where I stood.
That evening, however, I was having none of it. My insides sizzled with enough venom it blinded me.
“Move.” I shoved him against the open door and barreled inside, storming to the back end of his house and the kitchen. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
No lights were on, but I’d been in Alessio’s house enough times I could walk blindly without issue. Passing down the long hallway, I entered the kitchen and hit the light switch, sending blinding white light to chase away the shadows. Without pause, I crossed the marbled, tan-colored ceramic-tiled floor to the double sinks at the opposite end of the room.
Alessio followed, his bare feet padding almost silently. “What the hell has your shirt knotted so tight it couldn’t wait until morning.” He’d made an attempt to bite back his anger, but the edge still lingered and his statement was clipped.
I squirted two generous blobs of hand soap from the stainless steel, floral engraved dispenser into my palm and turned on the hot water before glancing over my shoulder.
Alessio pinched the bridge of his nose and screwed up his face as though the assault of light physically harmed him.
“I went back to the club tonight.” Wetting my hands briefly to help make suds, I scrubbed, lathering them until they were covered. Using a trimmed nail, I worked to clean under each fingernail the best I could before rinsing under the scalding flow of water.
“So?” Alessio paused long enough, I peered back again with a raised eyebrow. He’d stopped squinting and appeared more awake as he glared. “How does you going to see this new blond interest have you all up in arms? And what the fuck does it have to do with me?”
I turned back to the tap and contemplated another round of soap. Fighting that ingrained urge, I forced myself to turn the water off. Scanning the counter, I found the roll of paper towels sitting under the line of overhead cupboards and crossed to get them. It drove me mad that Alessio and Natalie refused to buy a dispenser and left it lying precariously on any surface. They made holding devices for a reason. Even when I’d offered to buy them one, I’d just been laughed at.
“How do you know Donny?” I tore two squares of towelette from the roll and worked at drying my hands as I waited for an answer.
It didn’t come right away and Alessio only stared intently, trying to read deeper into my words. I returned him the same menacing look, not backing down.
Eventually, Alessio shifted on his feet and crossed the room to lean on the granite surface of the island. “Can we just cut to the chase and you tell me what the fuck is up rather than playing your damn ‘I need to ask you a hundred and one questions’ game. I fucking hate that shit and I’m tired.”
At the end of the counter I tossed the paper towel into a trash bin and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Fine. Yeah, I went to see Soren again. Got your VIP privileges which included exclusive service from him alone. So, as the night draws later and the crowd is thicker an
d louder, he invites me into a back private room so we can enjoy a quieter drink he tells me. Well, apparently, in nightclub talk, a quiet drink means more than I understood.”
Alessio waved his hand, encouraging me to get to the point. “Come on, Giuss, get on with the story, morning is almost here.”
Pursing my lips, I worked to rein back my anger. “He brought me back there to have sex with him, because that is what they do at the nightclub. The dancers, the servers, they take interested men back into the private rooms where you can pay to fuck or have your dick sucked.”
Alessio dropped his head into his hands and scrubbed at his face. “Giuss, what is the fucking problem? All I’m hearing is that you got lucky tonight. I can’t sort out why that pissed you off and what any of it has to do with me.”
Crossing toward him in two strides, I shoved his shoulder, making him lift up off the counter. “I didn’t sleep with him. Are you listening to me, stronzzo? I’m telling you this club, owned by this man you apparently know, is running a prostitution house of sorts behind closed doors. Did you know about this?”
Alessio threw his head back and rolled it across his shoulder blades, stretching and arching his back as he blew out a frustrated breath. “Giuss, Donny isn’t running a whore house. This kid just thought you were hot and took you to a backroom to get busy. He’s a dancer in a nightclub. Did you honestly think he was innocent and pure? You aren’t that naïve. I bet he takes men back there all the time and earns himself a few extra bucks getting his rocks off. It’s what they do.”
The storm inside me erupted like a volcano whose pressure became too much all at once and released itself to cover the poor unsuspecting bystanders.
“That’s not it!” I slammed my hand on the counter so hard, the sting ran through my palm and up my wrist into my arm. No amount of concern for my surrounding environment and its cleanliness mattered. The core of my anger was centered around Soren, the shady practices at The Escape and what, if anything, Alessio knew about them. “Soren did not pull me back there because he wanted anything from me. He was following directions. He didn’t even want to do it, Alessio. When I turned him down, the guy nearly had a coronary. Whatever the consequences were for my leaving without accepting his offer, scared the shit out of him.”
“Relax, fratello. I think you are imagining things. How much did you drink tonight?”
Any evidence of sleepiness was gone, Alessio stepped closer to me, close enough to make me uncomfortable and he knew it. I avoided stepping away, not wanting to give him the power he sought. Despite the screaming voice inside my head begging for space, I stepped into him, challenging him and narrowing my eyes.
“I’m not imagining things. I’ve had a few beers, but that’s it. I’m telling you, the guy was out of his mind with fear and worry. Now, how do you know Donny? And, did you know what goes on there? The truth. Do not bullshit me.”
“Back down, Giuseppe, you do not want to piss me off right now. How about you just look at tonight as an opportunity missed because your thick analytical skull just couldn’t accept what was being presented to you. Stop trying to see problems where there aren’t any.”
“Why are you avoiding my questions?”
Alessio sneered and shoved me away hard enough I needed to catch myself on the edge of the counter. “Because your questions have no bearing on anything. I met Donny years ago at the old gym I used to go to. We worked out together for years. I wouldn’t call him a friend, just someone I used to know fairly well who I barely see anymore. Do I know what goes on there?” He threw his hands up. “Cazzo, of course I know, because the same shit goes on everywhere. Go to any bar downtown and someone is getting their dick sucked in a bathroom stall or bent over and being fucked in a dark alley behind a club. Giuss, this isn’t new. I could make a fulltime job of arresting people for shit like this if I wanted to. But, I don’t. I turn a blind eye, just like Donny probably does when his boys wanna go fuck in a backroom. Get over it.” The longer he spoke the more elevated his voice became until he was shouting. “Just because you have no sense of the real world and live in your sterile little bubble most of the time, doesn’t mean people are running underground illegal businesses. This kid wanted to fuck you, and you come crying to me? Of course he got worried when you turned him down, he probably thought you’d rat him out to his boss, so he makes it seem like his boss is part of it. Grow up, fratello! Go home.”
The fire boiling my blood brought a growl of animosity to my throat, but before I could respond the door to the kitchen opened. I bit back my words as Natalie walked in, looking bedraggled and groggy. Her black hair hung in frizzy ringlets, spilling over her shoulders and resting halfway down her chest. Goosepimples rose on the fair skin that wasn’t covered by her little boy shorts and tank top. Blinking sleep-heavy green eyes in my direction, she smiled weakly. “Hey, Remy.”
The guilt for having woken her made me avert my eyes. “Naddy.”
Hugging herself, she crossed the kitchen to Alessio, whose gaze continued to scorch me, and she wrapped her arms around his waist from the side. “Is there a reason this fight couldn’t wait until morning?”
Alessio rested his chin on top of her head and squeezed an arm around her tiny waist. “Sorry, angel, this jackass was just leaving.”
“No I wasn’t.”
“Yes,” he said with a firm, no-nonsense tone. “You are. Go home and think about what I just said to you. When you realize I’m right and you acted like an idiot tonight, I’ll be waiting for your apology. Don’t ever come over here at two in the morning again to pick a fight with me Giuseppe. I won’t be so nice next time.”
Every nerve in my body twitched. Firming my lips, I glared deep into his self-assured face. Never more did I loath my brother and his pompous, arrogant attitude.
“Vaffanculo!”
I shook my head in disgust, side-stepped him and Natalie and left. No matter what he claimed, I knew something wasn’t right. Knowing I’d left Soren behind in the state he was in made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t think I could just let it go. Not when my intuition was ringing alarm bells so loud I was surprised I hadn’t developed a headache.
Chapter Nine
SOREN
“Stop looking at me like that.”
Ash’s gaze dropped to the sidewalk, and he picked up his pace to keep up with me. I felt like I was flying. Like someone had given me wings and I was soaring the empty streets, zooming past each dark storefront, owning the world in its entirety. If I spread my arms and gathered enough speed, I was certain I could take off.
My sneakers hit the pavement and echoed in the silent night, faster and faster. With each accelerated pace, I left Ashton farther behind, struggling to keep up. He was miserable, so I didn’t care. Whatever his issue, he had yet to express it, and I was in no mood to initiate that conversation.
Life was too good. I wanted to run, to jump, to spin around and not miss a thing.
Yes!
I ground to a halt and pirouetted on my toes until I faced him. I snagged Ash’s hands and shook them vigorously, making him startle and stare with widened eyes.
“Race me,” I squealed. “Come on, race me home.”
I didn’t wait for a response before tearing down the street as fast as my legs could carry me. The cool September wind, beating against my cheeks was euphoric. I held my face up and let it ruffle my hair as I laughed and ran faster still.
I was a cheetah, chasing an antelope across the plains of Africa. An eagle, soaring with open wings, King of the night sky. Nothing could stop me.
Everything surrounding me was a blur. The pools of light given off by the streetlamps made the asphalt glisten and shimmer the same way my body lotion did on my skin. It was like my entire universe had shifted upside down. The black ground emulated a midnight sky, twinkling with a whole new array of constellations never before discovered.
I slowed my pace, my lungs burning from the assault of exertion. My heart thudded so hard, each slam hammere
d against my ribcage. I watched the sparkles on the ground, bedazzled by their sheer volume. As Ash caught up, I tried to make pictures by connecting their dots liked I’d done in the workbooks I had in grade school.
Ash slowed as he approached, his breathing labored and his eyes piercing me again.
“What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” I snapped my head around and smiled. Linking our arms, I forgot about making constellations and dragged him the rest of the way to our apartment.
Upstairs, I stripped out of my clothes, leaving on my purple and blue striped briefs as Ashton took his turn in the shower first. I was sweaty and wanted to feel the air on my flushed skin. Without thought, I tossed my dirty clothes into the pile and spun around to inspect our small living space. It was cluttered and…
… boring.
With my newly discovered reserve of energy, I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to bed any time soon. Maybe I could make the claustrophobic space Ashton and I shared a little more…
… fun. Livable.
The growing pile of laundry in the corner was knee high. Monday was laundry day and come the end of the week, the mountain usually reached record-breaking heights. We’d abandoned the use of laundry baskets almost a year earlier, and they sat unused in the junk closet.
I ran my tongue over my top lip as I scanned the room and its contents. A spark of an idea fizzled to life, growing and covering me with excited energy.
Yes… Yes!
The shower turned off as I ripped open the closet and started to rummage through the disorder inside. I emptied the laundry basket that had been shoved in back, tossing shoes, winter hats, gloves, and an array of leather belts on the floor behind me. Upending the last few items, I lifted it over my head and brought it into the room just as Ashton came from the bathroom, dressed in a simple pair of white cotton briefs.
His brow furrowed as he scanned the room before his gaze found mine. “What are you doing?”
I beamed and dropped the laundry basket in the middle of the floor. “It’s a surprise. You’ll see.”