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“You should’ve just moved along, buddy.” His voice was raspy, like he’d been a smoker for the past twenty years.
I couldn’t see his face clearly because of the thick shadows, but he had the body of a tweaker, long and thin as if his source of sustenance was in the form of a needle or pipe. He kept fidgeting his hands at his sides, pulling at his shirt. I’d seen enough junkies in my day to know he was probably strung out, thinking the female was an easy target.
One hit and he’d go down harder than a bag of bricks. Shame, since I wanted this to last a little bit longer, but I wasn’t going to be picky with my fights.
Standing here in this alley with the darkness surrounding us, the thick feel in the air and mixing with the reek of decay, took me back to that night when I nearly lost Wilder. It had been months since it happened, my brother fully recovered, living his life with his female, finally happy and at peace, but I was sucked back to that moment when I thought I’d lost him forever.
I never claimed to be a good man, never pretended like I did honorable things. I broke plenty of laws, had done illegal shit over and over again. I was a professional fucking thief, stole for a living, frightened people in order to get what I wanted. My childhood was fucked up, abuse and violence a staple as a kid. But even through it all, as I stood in this dirty fucking alley, I thought of her.
Nadja.
She was able to bring me back from the darkness that tried to consume me. Even all these years later, she was the light to my darkness.
7
Nadja
I left the bedroom, my hands shaking so badly I had to grab my dress, curling my fingers into the material to steady myself. I was counting slowly in my head, something to keep me focused so I didn’t trip and fall, so that I wasn’t obvious.
Although my nerves could absolutely be played off that I just didn’t want to be here, that I’d been against this from the beginning, my father was a smart man. He’d be able to see there was something else, something deeper.
I stopped at the top of the stairs and closed my eyes, breathing out slowly. And then I reached out and grabbed the banister, the smooth, glossed-over wood firm and cold.
I could hear commotion in the kitchen, the clattering of dishes, the hushed voices as everyone scrambled to make sure everything was prepared. I couldn’t see out back, but I could assume everything was perfect, right down to the chairs being placed evenly, everyone waiting for me to give my life away to a demon.
But then again, all the people in attendance were monsters themselves, connected to the organization, no pity for the less fortunate or vulnerable.
I didn’t know the details of what commotion I was waiting for, my signal that the plan was set in motion, but Marina said it would be obvious. I knew I was to head toward the back, where the French doors would lead out to the garden, where my father would be waiting to walk me down the aisle. Like he cared. Like this tradition was something he’d been wanting to do since I was a little girl.
No, he looked forward to giving me away to a monster of a man just so his ties could be even stronger.
I could see a few men at the bottom of the stairs, men who worked for my father. Although they wore dark suits and looked like normal wedding guests, I knew they had guns beneath that expensive material, weapons hidden that could snuff out a life as easily as taking in a breath.
I started descending the stairs, exhaling slowly, my heart racing like hummingbird wings.
One.
Two.
Three.
I continued to count, focusing on those numbers and not what was going to happen next.
Once at the landing, I was facing toward the back, where my father was waiting. I saw him waiting by the French doors, his back to me, his hands pushed into the pockets of his tuxedo pants, his body looking stiff, severe.
Sweat beaded at my temples as I prayed whatever distraction was to go down would happen soon. Once I was out those doors, there was no chance of me making it to the staff side entrance.
And as I moved toward my father, as I heard the music from the live band outside, my focus was on staying calm, staying safe and smart.
I can do this.
The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. As my father turned around to face me, the cold, detached look on his face, I could hear nothing but my own heart pounding. It filled my eyes, everything else tuned out, tunnel vision claiming me.
