by Melissa Jane
I recognized his face the second I saw it. A face that belonged to a ghost from the past. A ghost I prayed I’d never see again.
“Well, well, well,” Dominic Salvatore smiled from ear to ear. “Look what I’ve just found. Little Lucy ran away from home and now here she is, on her knees in front of me.”
“I didn’t run away,” I yelled over the crack of thunder. My heart was beating out of my chest seeing Dominic again.
He threw his head back and laughed and I wondered what he found so funny. Perhaps the idea of the girl he once obsessed over was found on her knees in the street unable to hide from the pouring rain. I wiped my eyes so I could see him clearly. Dominic would be eighteen. He still had the same chiseled jaw, and black as black eyes. The only difference was he was taller and his shoulders broader.
“Why are you in the streets, Lucy?” The tone in his voice rattled my soul, almost like he had a particular answer in mind so he could capitalize on it. The street was empty, no one else to ask for help. Using the wall for balance, I rose slowly to my feet. With each small step I took away from Dominic, the worse the stabbing pains became.
“Where are you going?” he asked, amused at my response.
I quickened the pace even though he’d be able to catch me with just a few strides. I knew there was a café around the corner, I just had to get there. But it wasn’t meant to be. Biting my bottom lip to stifle the sobs, I breathed too deeply and fell into crippling agony. Collapsing to the ground, I landed in a puddle on the dirty street.
Dominic’s shoes appeared in front of me. Expensive shoes. Shoes too good to be out in this weather. “Are you hurt?”
I nodded.
“Do you need help, Lucy?” There was that soul-rattling tone again.
I nodded once more.
“Take my hand.”
Blinking against the heavy rain, I met his eyes, the street lamp behind casting deep shadows on his face. A flash of lightning lit up the street like it was daytime, and was followed seconds later by a booming crack of thunder which rattled everything around us. A cold chill ran up my spine but it wasn’t from the weather. With an outstretched hand and a small, knowing smile on his face, Dominic Salvatore gave me a choice.
“If you take my hand, I can give you everything you need and you’ll be off the streets. Don’t take my hand and I will walk away right now and leave you here. What’s it gonna be, Lucy?”
I had no other option. I was all out of them the second I left for work. If I were to be honest, having options had never been a luxury of mine. They especially weren’t an option when I’d been put on a Greyhound bus and sent to live four states away with an Uncle and Aunty who resented me before I even arrived.
Dominic’s black eyes twinkled. Turning his hand, palm up, he waited patiently and when I placed my hand in his hand, his ear-to-ear smile returned. He lifted me off the street and pulled me close, his mouth grazing my ear. “All good deeds come with a price, Lucy.”
On a fateful, dark and stormy night, being pelted with rain and with nothing left to lose, I sold my soul to a ghost from the past. A ghost who had every intention of making me pay.
~~~
“This apartment is all for me?” I asked, wide-eyed and doubtful.
Dominic held his arms out wide and looked around the bedroom. “It sure is. I said I’d give you a job and a roof over your head, didn’t I?”
How had my luck changed so greatly? The Dominic I knew in school was a completely different man. We hadn’t spoken a great deal since the night in the street, but he said his father, as a graduation gift, had given Dominic one of his clubs. Perhaps responsibility had led to this radical change. I wasn’t about to think he was a hundred percent reformed. There was still, on occasion, an ominous glimmer in his dark eyes that raised the small hairs on my neck. But ever since he raised me off the street and had me seen to by his family doctor, I’d seen a different side of him.
While I was confined to bed rest nursing broken ribs, his family friend who everyone called Momma G, took care of me. Although she had a hard exterior, her heart was pure gold. Dominic came to visit regularly and would lie across the bottom of the bed, head propped on one hand and we’d talk until late. He inquired about the last two years, wanting to know my side of the story and why I’d suddenly disappeared. He’d told me how the whole town had been talking about the brutal Sommers murder. How media had camped outside the school for weeks after pestering the students and staff for interviews, so they could cipher any dirt they could on the family.
Police had been called when students gave false eyewitness accounts on the murder. When I asked about Romeo, he suddenly had nothing to say except that the Sanchezes were forced to move, so Mr. Sanchez could find work.
“I can arrange to have some furniture brought over this afternoon while I show you the club.”
I bit my bottom lip, the nerves kicking in. “Dominic, I’m not even sixteen. How can I work in your club?”
He smiled and winked. “Where you’re about to go, anything is possible.”
~~~
The SUV pulled to the curb. Dominic jumped out the front passenger side and opened the back door for me. The street was bustling with party-goers, women in dresses I could only dream of owning, and men fawning over them like they already knew how their night was going to end. Dominic took my hand as I slid out, and then closed the door before the SUV took off.
“Ready?” he asked.
No.
“As I’ll ever be.”
He studied me curiously before a slow smile spread across his face. “Well then, let me introduce you to your second home.” He swung his arm for dramatic effect and pointed to the club’s sign, each letter made up of small light bulbs giving it a magical allure. My stomach dropped, mouth growing suddenly dry.
This couldn’t be right.
Was it all just a cruel joke?
It was sickening how the world replaced the last beautiful memory I had with something that would later become a hell I couldn’t escape.
“This is a place where all your dreams can come true, Lucy.” Dominic’s voice brought me back to the present. “Welcome to Neverland.”
~~~
I worked as a server for approximately eight days and three hours before Dominic’s father, Mr. Salvatore walked through Neverland’s doors. His entrance was something akin to how I imagined the Messiah’s arrival to be, if the Messiah took the devil’s form. The flashing colored lights illuminated his presence, some patrons shaking his hand as he passed, some servers avoided his path altogether. The last I’d seen him was when he’d ‘saved’ me from his son. Before then, when he’d thrown me against the hood of his car, the stolen loaf of bread falling onto the sidewalk. I still remembered the feel of his breath against my skin. I could still hear the words he whispered in my ear. And it seemed, he still remembered me.
Stopped in his tracks by a businessman patron, Mr. Salvatore feigned interest and a laugh before he saw me over the man’s shoulder. It was instant recognition, a smile just for me. He held my gaze and I felt him delve deep into my trembling soul, the tray of drinks in my hand starting to rattle.
“Hey, sweetheart,” the man at the table next to me called.
“Yes?”
His eyes flicked to the tray and then back to me. “You just gonna stand there with our drinks or are ya gonna hand them over?” His tone was light and friendly, but I didn’t want to test his patience.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” I said, carefully placing each drink in front of the men. They all seemed like the regular type who preferred the main floor, happy only paying for stage shows. The type who’d leave their wife and kids at home on a regular basis to attend a club like Neverland, wishing they had their youth back.
“Why don’t you stay here and chat a while?” the man asked.
My cheeks burned at the sudden attention, four pairs of eyes watching me closely.
“I’m sorry, I’m just a server. But I can get one of the girls to
come over.”
He shook his head, not satisfied with my response, his gaze lingering on my breasts. “No, you stay, we’ll tip well.” I changed my mind. He was type of man who was allowed to leave his wife and kids at home to frequent a club like Neverland because she’d receiving a heavy hand if she protested. Immediately uncomfortable, I stepped away, only to have a hand slide up my thigh and cup my ass. He winked and squeezed, and as I wriggled out of his hold, I noticed Mr. Salvatore watching with interest, a frown marring his face.
Was he displeased seeing me reject a paying customer?
I left the men in a hurry, keen to collect the next order and be seen doing my job. Still feeling his stare, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Mr. Salvatore talking with Dominic, their topic of conversation was obvious. Me.
Mr. Salvatore left, disappearing into the crowd who’d gathered to see Candi take the stage. Dominic closed in, his face unreadable.
“Lucy, come up to the office.”
He turned and I followed him behind the DJ booth and through a staff door. I hadn’t been down this part of the club as it was where the dancers got ready. The girls moved around freely, wearing lace, pearls, diamonds, and anything that sparkled. Their bodies were perfectly fit, sculpted, and smelled divine, their fragrance lingering in their wake.
We took to a narrow flight of stairs, the music pulsating through the walls. When we entered the office, Mr. Salvatore was already waiting, sitting on the corner of the grand mahogany desk. He smiled but his eyes were telling a very different story. Dominic stood to the side, his expression still unreadable. I guess he was still learning the ropes of the industry and his father was about to give him a lesson.
“Look at you all grown up,” he greeted in a deep, gravelly voice. I swallowed hard, fearful of being found underaged in a place like Neverland. He eyed the length of my body the way so many had since I started working, but none gave me the chills quite like when he did it. “That lingerie looks almost too good on you. Too good for you not to be the center of attention.”
“What do you mean?”
“When are you putting her up on the stage?” Mr. Salvatore addressed his son. “She deserves to be under those lights, not on the floor.”
“I agree,” Dominic said, the corners of his lips twitching as he looked at me. “I’m just not ready to share her yet.”
“You’re only sharing if you’re fucking her. So if you’re not fucking her, get her up on that stage.”
A heat wave ran through me, and I felt my cheeks turn a deep red. I wanted nothing more than to crawl under a table.
Why were they talking like this? I was hired to be a server, not to be a dancer.
“Take your clothes off,” Mr. Salvatore ordered.
“I’m sorry?” I paled, the humiliation from seconds ago turning to horror. This was Franco repeating himself.
“Take off your clothes, Lucy.”
I wanted to yell that I was only fifteen. I wanted to scream that no grown man should ever ask that of a child. But I wasn’t a child anymore. I was forced into this adult world, by adults who should have treated me as a child.
No options. Two words that rang on repeat in my ears.
Swallowing my pride, I did as I was told and removed the lingerie I was wearing until I stood bare before both men.
“You have the shape of a woman,” Mr. Salvatore said, his approval for both business and pleasure. “I can see why my son doesn’t want to share.” I stole a quick glance at Dominic whose expression took me back to the day in Mr. Hopkins store when he held me against the wall.
The look of possession.
The face of someone who’d hurt me and suffer no remorse.
I was a fool to think he was any different two years on.
“She’s a money-maker, son. Get her up on the stage as soon as possible. You’ll have men booking her out for VIP weeks in advance.”
Dominic nodded. Unlike his father, his desire conflicted greatly with business. He didn’t want to share me, so his decision was made in sufferance. “She’ll celebrate her sixteenth up on stage. I’ll make sure she’s trained.”
Mr. Salvatore seemed pleased with his son’s decision. “And her name?”
“Haven’t got that far yet.”
Mr. Salvatore considered me a moment. “Lucy, isn’t it?” he finally asked.
I nodded.
He started humming a tune I was familiar with.
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” he sang The Beatles’ song. Mr. Salvatore smiled, pleased with himself. “Diamond. That’ll be her stage name. I wanna see her up there in two weeks when I get back from New York. Get word out.” Mr. Salvatore closed the space, stopping just shy of me. He was a tall man who towered over me. “I’m looking forward to seeing all you have to offer.” Casting one last look over my naked body, he walked past, knocking shoulders.
When I heard the door close behind him, I scrambled to gather the tiny scraps of material they called lingerie. Trembling, I held them close to my chest, Dominic already by my side, eyes hooded with lust.
“I can’t do it, Dominic,” I said, hoping he’d be able to persuade his father.
“You took your clothes off just fine, Lucy.” His voice was husky with desire.
“I don’t know how to be sexy. I’ve never…” I hugged myself tighter while staring at anything I could to avoid the intensity of his stare. “I’ve never even been with anyone. How do I know how to tease and dance seductively?”
“You’ve never had sex?”
I shook my head. He knew my story. Why would he think after all I’d been through that I’d be even remotely interested in a man touching me?
Dominic fell quiet for some time and I worried what was going through his mind. His fingers grazed my cheek, gently guiding my face to his. “I feel overwhelmingly possessive toward you, Lucy. It’s frightening how you affect me, so much so, I don’t know if I can control myself and not hurt you. But then…” his tone turned sinister, “… a part of me has always wanted to hurt you, from the moment I saw you in the schoolyard, to right now with you standing in front of me so gloriously naked. The things I want to do to you are criminal.”
I started to cry because the reality of the situation I’d suddenly found myself in was a dangerous one. I wasn’t dealing with a drunken father and abusive uncle, I was dealing with mobsters who were happy to exploit underage girls, and who ran their corrupt business in the seedy underbelly of the world.
“Why are you saying these things, Dominic?”
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Because, little Lucy, I’m a very jealous man and I’d quite happily kill anyone who thinks he can lay a finger on you. And I’ll kill you if you ever think about escaping me.”
Chapter 16
NOW
“When everyone thought you’d simply vanished into thin air, I found you four states away, broken, on the streets with nothing to lose. Not even your dignity. Now, what are the chances of me being the one to stumble upon you? Of me being the one to find you again? Slim to fucking none, that’s what. But I did.” He brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “I found you. Now I get to keep you. Finders keepers.”
“I’ve got nothing left to give you, Dominic. Nothing.”
“But I’ve got something to give you.” His thumb under my chin lifted my face to meet his. He wore the same evil smirk he always did right before he committed some atrocity that left another scar on my heart. “I’ve got something just for you, Lucy.” Dominic turned to Anton. “Bring him in.”
Still wearing his smile, Dominic stood, his thumb rubbing his jaw in anticipation. Anton returned, leading a man wearing a black hood out to the rest of us. I slumped to the ground, too weak to give him the attention he craved. He paced back and forth like a restless wildcat.
“You may think you’ve paid me back for helping you that night, Lucy. But something has, shall we say, come up, and well, you can kiss away any freedom you may be chasing.”
I loo
ked between him and the hooded man. “What are you talking about?”
As if some great reveal, Dominic pulled the hood off, laughing as he did so, revealing the monster he really was.
Jesus!
“How is this possible?” I asked, feeling the wind knocked clean out of me.
“I’m glad you asked,” Dominic grinned. “It’s quite the story.”
Dominic was a sick man. The last few days had solidified that, but this… this was on a whole new level.
“Hello, Lucy,” my father greeted me with a nervous smile.
Hearing his voice froze me in place. The hate I had for the man came rushing back, and with a vengeance.
“Lucy,” Dominic taunted. “You remember who this is, don’t you?”
It can’t be.
He should be in jail.
“Why is he here?” I finally stammered.
“Lucy, I’m sorry,” my father began. “I’m sorry for—‘”
“Shut up. Shut up,” I pleaded covering my ears. “Why is this happening? You should be jail for what you did.”
“I was. I’m out now.”
“How?” I screamed at him and the injustice in the world. “How are you just allowed to walk out when you killed my mother?”
Dominic laughed as realization dawned. “Ah… you don’t know, do you, Lucy?” My silence was his answer. “Your father pleaded he was mentally ill at the time of slaughtering your mother, which is why he didn’t get death row. But that’s not why he’s here. Since his release, your father has done quite a bit of gambling and has racked up a substantial debt with my father.”