Chapter 11
Enzo
I woke up that morning to a very flirtatious text message from Serena. She had sent me a picture of herself in a mirror, wearing a very interesting number to school. It was Spirit Week at the elementary school she worked at and they were supposed to be wearing their school colors for the day. Her makeup was done in orange and gold and she was wearing a very tight pair of black pants and a form-fitting orange tank top. The only thing that covered the paramount curves on her body was a golden white cardigan she was wearing over her shoulders.
Oh, the things I could’ve done to smudge that makeup.
I thought about that picture all day. Through meetings with my father and wedding planning ideas with my mother. Through money collection reminders and actual waste management practices. I thought about asking her out for the evening. Or possibly having her over so I could cook her dinner. I could tell her to leave on the makeup and leave the cardigan at home so I could bask in the beauty of her form while I seared off some steaks.
But work always called.
What was supposed to be an easy collection of a monthly payment turned into a very bloody affair. This particular customer was uncooperative, which set a bad precedent for the Conti family. It was a matter I had to consult my father on, which already pissed me off. I didn’t enjoy having to call my father in the middle of a job. It made me look weak. Stupid. Unintelligent in the ways of how our business operated.
But I needed his input on how to proceed with the client.
There were some things that were hard for even myself to stomach. For instance, the way bloodied men begged. They were tough when they had leverage, but when you stripped them of it they were nothing but sobbing bags of skin. The worst part of my job, however, was when the women would walk in on the moment. When the women saw what was happening to the men in their life with my stance looming over them. I didn’t enjoy making people frightened of me, but they always were.
After seeing my fist aimed at their husbands, they always became frightened.
I needed a way to calm my mind, and that wasn’t going to happen with Serena. So long as I was with her, the only thing I would want to do was have my way with her. Strip her down, sheath myself within her, and take what had been rightfully given to me by her father. And I was trying to woo her. I was trying to get her to trust me again.
The last thing I needed was to destroy that.
I went home and changed my bloodied suit before cleaning myself off. A strong drink or two at a club with loud music would help erase my mind of the day. When I was married, I could do that with my wife. Pin her down and make her beg me to stop before my tongue made her beg me for more. I shivered at the thought of Serena pinned underneath me, her legs spread open and thrumming with heat as my cock slid up the inside of her thigh.
Soon.
Soon, I would be able to do just that. But until then, a strong drink and a pumping bass line would have to do.
The club was vibrant and full of life. I went and took up residence in the seat I always sat in. The darkened table at the back where I could sit against the wall and overlook the crowd. My eyes scanned everyone, not landing on one particular person for the night. Those days were over. The days of picking a woman who was lucky enough to sit on my cock for the night was done. I was an engaged man whose sights needed to stay on my fiancé at all times.
Especially given the fact that it was all she asked of me on our first date.
“Enzo? Is that you, handsome?”
I cringed at the voice as I plastered a smile on my face.
“Oh my gosh, it is you! It has been so long. How have you been?”
“Hello, Gia. I’ve been well. And yourself?” I asked.
I stood as the woman approached me, clad in nothing but a tight neon green dress and matching heels.
The woman really was gaudy when she wanted to be.
“Better now that I’ve seen you,” Gia said with a smile. “What’s kept you away for so long? I told you to call if you ever needed anything.”
“Well I never needed anything,” I said with a smile.
“You’re such a tease. Come here.”
She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her. This woman was an embarrassment to herself. There were some one-night stands that were harder to kick than others, but she was relentless. Every time she saw me in a club, she would come up to me like we were the best of friends. My father raised me to be the kind of man to never disrespect a woman, so the last thing I was going to do was embarrass her.
But I wanted her to leave me alone.
“Mind if I join you?” Gia asked.
“I do, actually. I’m here on business,” I said.
“In a place like this with a drink like that? I don’t think so,” she said with a grin. “Come on. What’s the real reason why you don’t want me to sit down?”
“Because I want to be left alone,” I said with a grin.
“Oh, does Enzo need some cheering up? Come on. I’ve got another hug for you to help.”
She wrapped her arms around me again and I rolled my eyes. This time, I only patted her with one hand on her back. My eyes panned around the club, trying to find an excuse to leave. To get out of here and find another club where people would leave me the fuck alone.
Then, I saw her.
Serena.
Staring straight at me.
She was in a group of women with their drinks held high in the air. My arm went slack around Gia as Serena turned her gaze away from me. I went to take a step towards her but felt Gia’s grasp strengthen around me.
“Where are you going, handsome?” she asked.
“Somewhere,” I said as I unraveled her from me.
I needed to get to Serena. She was moving too quickly towards the exit.
“Come on. Share a dance with me,” Gia said.
“No,” I said.
I looked down at her with a stoic stare as I clenched my jaw. Gia took a couple of steps back, her face twisted in angry confusion. Her eyes flickered around, taking in the people that were staring at us. A flush of embarrassment cascaded across her face before she drew in a deep breath.
“Well, that was all you had to say in the beginning,” she said.
“I highly doubt that. If you’ll excuse me, I have something to tend to.”
I had to get to Serena. I had to explain to her what she had just witnessed. I pushed through the crowd, tossing people left and right. I grew closer and closer to the exit as my heart rate picked up.
I couldn’t see Serena standing anywhere outside.
I stumbled out of the club and kept my head on a swivel. I saw a bodyguard standing on the edge of the curb, looking down the road instead of standing at his post. My eyes followed his gaze and I saw a cab racing down the road. Going much faster than it should have been going given the area we were in.
Serena was in that cab.
And I had a feeling I knew where she was going.