Chapter 3: Hawk Eyes and Bad Guys

HAYLEY

Even more than twenty-four hours later, Hayley hadn’t forgotten those eyes. Or being forced against the wall. Or the threatening way the man had spoken to her.

And tonight’s plans weren’t helping her nerves any. It had been a long time since she’d gone drinking with friends. She’d always been too afraid someone from her past would find her.

The dress Ava had picked for her was low-cut and black, with a tie-fastened halter neck and a flowing skirt that came to a few inches above her knees.

She was also wearing a lot more makeup than normal—thanks to Ava—and her hair had been styled in bouncy curls.

She put the chain-link strap of her little clutch over her shoulder and tried to mentally prepare herself for the night ahead.

As soon as all of them were ready, Ava led the way to Vivace, a club where she’d said they’d be able to skip the entry queues.

Ava looked gorgeous in a tight bright-red strapless number and heels that made her taller than most men, and Ben looked great in a plain white shirt and some dress trousers.

Good thing, because Vivace had a strict dress code and a queue around the door. But Ava led them right up to the bouncers, who allowed them to pass.

The club was similar in layout to the Venetian—it had booths, a stage, and a dance floor—but it was purple and black where the Venetian was red and gold.

Ben went right to the bar and grabbed a tray of shots. “Ladies,” he said, then led Hayley and Ava to stand around a tall round table. He put down the tray, and they each took a glass and knocked back a shot.

All three of them pulled faces and made gagging noises as the burning clear liquid hit their throats, then cracked up at one another’s reactions.

LUCA

“Nic!” Frankie called, and Luca looked up from his conversation with his cousin and his good-for-nothing brother Marco. Frankie was standing by the black metal railing that looked over the entire club.

Nic excused himself and went to stand beside Frankie. “Isn’t that Ava?” Luca heard him ask.

He slid out of the deep-purple velvet booth and joined them at the railing.

“Yep,” Frankie said. “And Ben Lusiak.”

Nic chuckled. “And isn’t that the brunette who had your balls last night?”

But Luca had already spotted her. He laughed a little when she threw back her third shot and Ava grabbed her arm to dance.

“She never had my balls,” Frankie scoffed. “I could take her on.”

“And I said ~no~.” Luca spoke firmly but kept his eyes on the girl as she and Ava danced to a Pink song that was blasting through the speakers. “She’s not a feather girl.”

He couldn’t stop watching her—the way she moved, her bright smile—and he could tell she had no darkness in her. Not like him.

“Yeah, I know,” Frankie said, smirking. “But she’s also not in the Venetian right now.”

Luca shook his head and went back to watching the girl as she separated from her friends and forced her way to the bar.

HAYLEY

“Can I get another vodka and Coke?” Hayley shouted.

As the bartender placed her drink on the bar, she saw a group of guys out of the corner of her eye. She’d just finished paying for the drink when one of the guys came up beside her.

“Hello, beautiful.”

He was standing unnervingly close, and she backed up as far as she could, but the bar was busy and crowded.

“Hi,” she said, and her eyes flashed to the group behind him. They were watching with smirks on their faces. She knew exactly what was going on here.

“So, what—” he began, but she cut him off.

“Listen. I’m not interested, so whatever bet you have going on with your dick buddies, find another girl to fool.”

His friends laughed, but the guy’s face hardened—he was clearly embarrassed and pissed off. And when she turned to walk back to the dance floor, he grabbed her arm.

She looked pointedly from his hand to his face.

“Fucking ~bitch~,” he spat. “You’re gonna regret you did that, whore.”

She laughed and removed his hand from her arm. “You think I’m afraid of you?” She gripped her little black clutch which held her trusty switchblade. “You think I haven’t been threatened by bigger and scarier men?”

A shiver went down her spine at the thought of the men she ran from—and the dark eyes of the man who threatened her yesterday—but she shook it off and confidently walked back to her friends.

LUCA

“She’s like fire,” Frankie said, laughing as he and Luca observed the brunette take down a guy who tried coming on to her.

Luca watched her push her way through the crowds in his busy club.

“Where’s Nic?” Frankie asked.

Luca didn’t bother answering. Nic was off doing a job for him, and he was pretty sure Frankie already knew that. Besides, he was busy watching the girl trying to find her friends.

He glanced back at the man she’d rejected; he was still watching her.

HAYLEY

“Ben?” Hayley yelled over the music to her friend, who was dancing with a dark-haired girl. “Where’s Ava?”

He shrugged, so Hayley looked around the heavily crowded club. She had no clue where Ava was, but the bathroom was a good place to start.

Her head light as a feather, she pushed her way through the masses of dancing bodies. She usually tried to keep her drinking under control, but with companions like Ben and Ava, it was easier said than done.

She ended up in a hallway with various bathroom doors and a seating area. Couples were making out on the couches as if they were the only people in the entire club.

“Hello, beautiful.”

The voice made her stop in her tracks, and she turned to see the sleazy guy who’d tried to hit on her. The alcohol had dulled her senses, but she still knew this wasn’t going to end well.

The guy moved toward her in what seemed like slow motion, and for some bizarre reason, her feet stayed glued to the floor.

Then everything happened fast: he grabbed her hair, managed to open a nearby cleaning closet and shove her inside, and followed her in, shutting the door behind them.

Hayley fell into some wooden shelves and ended up on the ground, bringing two of the shelves down with her.

She hissed in pain as he approached her with an evil glint in his eyes.

He started to remove his belt, but she raised her leg and kicked him in his manhood. He doubled over in pain, holding his crotch.

Hayley used his momentary distraction to her advantage, jumping up from the floor and dashing to the door, but he wasn’t going to let her go that easily.

He managed to grab her hair again and slammed her against the wall, then turned her to face him. His body shook with anger as he slapped her across the face.

“Fucking whore!” He raised his hand again.

She wasn’t going to let this happen—she wouldn’t be a victim.

She dug her nails into his face, breaking the skin and drawing blood, and he spat out a curse before violently chucking her to the ground, then climbing on top of her.

She felt her tough exterior melting away, and tears gathered in her eyes as he shoved the fabric of her dress to her waist.

She heard the sound of his zipper.

“No!”

“Stop fighting,” he said through gritted teeth, holding her down. “It’s gonna happen, bitch.”

As she wrestled with the man on top of her, her hand brushed her clutch. ~Yes—~finally, she could see her way out of this. Only vaguely aware of her dress ripping, she rummaged one-handed, feeling for her switchblade.

Fortunately, her attacker was too busy trying to get his little member out to notice her movements.

As soon as her hand closed around the knife, she pulled it out and released the blade in one swift movement, plunging it into his side and causing him to scream in pain and topple off her body.

She jumped up and flung open the door and ran, not looking where she was going, just running until she felt two strong hands on her shoulders, halting her flight.

She looked up to see a familiar pair of brown eyes looking back at her.

EPISODE 4: Mr. Marcello

HAYLEY

Hayley watched, dazed, as the man from yesterday took the knife from her hand and cleaned it with a handkerchief from his tailored suit jacket, then closed it and slipped it into his trouser pocket.

Her stomach lurched. She’d just ~stabbed~ someone.

Two more familiar faces appeared—the cocky one who she remembered was named Frankie, and the smartass whose name was Nic. A bunch of men who looked like bouncers arrived right after.

“I’ve just—” But she was interrupted by the man who took her knife.

“There’s a guy in the cleaning closet,” he said to the others. “Ricardo and Dominic, can you deal with him? Frankie, I need you to check the CCTV.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Sure thing, Luca.”

Hayley was confused. What was going on? People were eyeing the group of men surrounding her. Was she going to be arrested?

The boss man, the one who Frankie had called Luca, turned to her and said in a commanding tone, “You’re coming with me.” Then he calmly shrugged out of his jacket and placed it over her shoulders.

He guided her through the staff-only part of the club, the guy named Nic following behind like a loyal puppy, then led her up the staircase to a messy office.

Hayley looked around the room, taking in its contents. In the back of the office, a large glass desk was covered with a chaotic assortment of paperwork and files.

Behind it was a huge black-leather office chair, and two leather armchairs faced the desk, their backs to the door. A glass wall looked out over the club.

Closer to the door, two black leather couches faced each other, with a glass coffee table between. It was littered with empty glasses, a decanter, and an ashtray that could do with being emptied.

Hayley watched as the man named Luca quickly cleared the coffee table and put everything, including the full ashtray, on the main office desk.

LUCA

His little brother had one job in the family—to look after the legit clubs. Yet his office was a mess. A mess Luca hated.

“Are you going to call the police?” the girl asked, eyeing Luca nervously as she huddled in his jacket.

He let out a throaty chuckle when he heard her say the word ~police~, then took a seat on one of the couches. Nic hovered nearby.

“Why would I do that?” He nodded calmly at the opposite sofa. “Take a seat, bella.”

She looked skeptical at first, but then sat down slowly.

His eyes wandered over the marks on her face, then the ones on her legs, which were only partially covered by her ripped skirt.

“Of course, we ~can~ call them if you want to file a report.” He certainly didn’t want the police sniffing around, but if it would make her feel better, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

He’d seen the bastard follow her to the hallway and had called the security room, and they’d told him about a guy pushing a girl into a cleaning closet and that they were on their way. But he’d gotten there first.

She violently shook her head. “I can’t—I mean, no, I don’t want to.”

He raised an eyebrow. She ~couldn’t~ file a police report? Interesting.

Or was she just scared because she’d stabbed the guy? No detective would arrest her, and if they did, Luca had lawyers who would get her off with self-defense—no problems there.

He’d do what he could to help her; after all, she was attacked in his club, a place she should have been safe and wasn’t. No one hurt someone under his protection and got away with it.

“Nic, can you grab us something to drink?” he asked his cousin, who nodded once and left the room.

HAYLEY

Hayley looked over her shoulder and watched Nic walk out the door. Now she was alone with ~him~.

She really hoped he didn’t push her to file a report. How could she? She wasn’t even supposed to be in the United States.

She turned back to face the man sitting casually across from her on the other sofa. The one Frankie had called Luca.

He was smartly dressed in a white dress shirt and a dark tie, his trousers were the same fine fabric as the suit jacket she was wearing, and his shoes were stylish. Everything he wore looked designer.

His eyes were dark now, but she remembered they were a warm brown when he was in the light, and his features were sharp and very handsome. The man looked after himself, that was clear.

“I stabbed a man,” she suddenly blurted out, horrified by what she’d done.

She was clearly still in a state of shock. Yes, she carried a knife, but she never really expected to use it. It was merely for peace of mind.

LUCA

“He tried to hurt you first, bella.”

To Luca it was simple. Death and violence were as natural as breathing in his world. But the girl looked as distressed as ever.

She put her hands over her face, and he was able to pick up some of the words she murmured against her skin. “I’m not going to be a victim again… I won’t get hurt again.”

Luca parted his lips to ask what she was talking about, but a light knock at the door stopped the words.

He excused himself and met his cousin outside the room.

“Dom and Ric have the guy locked in the cleaning closet,” Nic said, then pulled his hands from behind his back.

He held two items, both belonging to the girl. One was her black clutch handbag and the other was some black lace underwear.

“Bastard!” Luca spat. “Do you think he managed to hurt her?”

He took the handbag from Nic and did what Siobhan warned him never to do; he looked inside.

There was some cash, her cell, and a British passport. He opened it up and looked at her ID. Her name was Hayley Tate and she was twenty-three years old.

He placed the ID back in her bag and looked up. Nic seemed uncomfortable holding the girl’s underwear, so Luca took them.

“I don’t know, he claims he didn’t. Frankie is still looking at the footage.” Nic went into his jacket pocket and took something out, then held out his hand. “But the guy came in looking for trouble.”

Luca looked down at the little packet of pills, recognizing them immediately as the date rape drug. This pissed him off even more.

The guy was planning on hurting a girl tonight—shame he picked the wrong club, the wrong girl, and the wrong owner.

“Take him to the lockup,” Luca commanded in a cold voice.

Nic nodded solemnly. “I’ve called for Dr. Luciano—he’s on his way. The girl’s friends think she took a tumble outside the toilets. I put Ava in a taxi, but Ben Lusiak is insisting on staying for her.”

Luca just nodded. He could imagine Ben being the hero kind.

“Boss?”

He looked over at the man who had just spoken. The Marcello family doctor, like everyone employed by Luca, was in his best attire.

“What happened? Direct me to the patient.” Dr. Luciano used the hand that wasn’t holding his brown leather bag to take Luca’s in a firm handshake.

The doctor’s eyes widened when he saw Luca was holding women’s underwear and a clutch in his other hand.

“She’s in the office,” Luca explained. He understood the doctor’s confusion. He was normally called when a man had been stabbed, shot, or beaten to a pulp.

“She was attacked in the club. A guy managed to get these from her.” Luca held out her underwear, and something inside him stirred, making his stomach churn.

“Perhaps we should call a female doctor?” Nic asked.

Dr. Luciano shook his head. “They’ll insist she report it.”

“That’s not a problem,” Luca said firmly. “Because the bastard who did this won’t ever be found.”

He looked pointedly at Nic, who understood what he wanted without being told. Nic left immediately.

“Look, Boss,” Dr. Luciano said. “I’m trained to deal with these kinds of things. Unfortunately, we deal with assaults like this a lot. I’ll talk to her to find out what happened and look at anything I need to look at.”

He took the clutch and underwear from Luca, who sighed and nodded.

Luca would make sure her assailant’s death was violent and painful. But for now, all he could do was wait.

HAYLEY

Hayley shifted in her seat as the young doctor examined the mark on her face where her attacker had slapped her.

“Hayley…” He sighed and held out her black lace underwear, making her stomach drop. “Did he hurt you anywhere else?”

She shook her head. “I never gave him the chance.”

The doctor smiled approvingly, and she returned the smile.

“Look, I really have to go. My friends will be worried.”

He closed up his bag. “Well, if you are sure you’re okay.”

She nodded and slipped her underwear into her clutch, then stood up. The doctor stood too.

She walked out to find Ben and Luca having a standoff. Ben was demanding to know where she was, and Luca was calmly but assertively telling him to go home and that she was taken care of.

They both turned to look at her when she came out of the office.

“I’m fine now,” she assured Ben before turning to Luca. “Thank you for calling the doctor.”

Luca only nodded once in response.

He certainly was a cold one.

LUCA

When Ben put his arm around her shoulders to lead her down the stairs, it made Luca grit his teeth.

What on earth was making him feel this way? The girl was loudmouthed and disrespectful—yet something about her captivated him.

“Mr. Marcello?” Dr. Luciano called from behind him, and Luca turned. “He never touched her. Well, not in the way we were concerned about. She never gave him the chance, apparently.” He smiled. “Good night!”

The doctor left, leaving Luca standing alone.

He sighed and placed his hands in his pockets. But when he felt her knife, a smirk graced his lips. Frankie was right; she ~was~ like fire.

And he wanted to play with it.