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“I know,” I said. “I am going to try to be a bit more confident, I promise!”
“Great,” she smiled, “I know just the thing to help you with that, and it will give you some cash while you look for another job.”
“Eh, what would that be?” I asked suspiciously.
“Nothing bad,” she laughed, “I just got a call from Derrick. One of the staff booked for tonight quit unexpectedly, and there is nobody to replace her. Since we have two big events this evening, we are really short-staffed as it is. How about helping me out?”
“What do I need to do?” I asked tentatively.
“Just carry around some trays of drinks or canapes and offer them to the rich guests schmoozing at the opening of that new club, easy peasy!”
“Sure, okay,” I nodded. It did sound easy enough and exciting, too.
I had read about the new club that was opening up. It was for members only, and the membership to a place like that would probably set me back at least a year’s wages, so there was no chance of me ever going there as a guest. Now, at least, I would get to see inside it, ogle all the wealthy clientele and their outfits, and get paid! It’s not like I had anything else planned anyway.
Besides, what could possibly go wrong?
CHAPTER 4
ASH
SATURDAY - GLITZ OPENING
Isighed in pleasure as the hot water cascaded over my body. I lathered myself all over, cleaning off the sweat and grime from this afternoon’s intense workout. The spray was focused on the back of my neck and shoulders as I leaned back, my muscles relaxing under the massaging pressure.
I enjoyed showers. They always made me feel clean inside as much as they did outside. It was as if the warmth of the water flowing over my body cleansed not only my skin but also my soul. Heaven knows I needed it.
I was oddly excited tonight but wasn’t sure why. I had a feeling that something important was about to happen, and I was strangely happy at the thought.
I hadn’t felt truly happy in years, so the feeling was a strange one and not something I was comfortable with. My guilt ensured that.
Usually, these days, I only felt happy or excited when I was about to take revenge on one of my enemies, and only for a very brief period. Like when I was pounding on the thief last night. So, it was odd that I felt this way when all I was doing tonight was going to the opening of my family’s new club.
It was an invite-only event for some minor celebrities and local businessmen and women, and there was plenty of security. We had our own guys working the door and inside, plus the extra security staff from Anton’s firm. Technically, it was probably overkill on the amount of security staff we had working the event, but with the recent attacks against our family businesses, we were taking extra precautions. Especially since Sonia had just returned home from university.
Regardless of these attacks, I doubted there would be any issue at tonight’s event. It would be foolish for anyone to attack us so openly, especially with all the security in place. So, it was unlikely I’d be dealing with any enemies tonight. This made me wonder why the hell I was feeling this way, but I couldn’t shake it as I finished showering and dried off.
The odd sense of excitement lingered while I dressed.
I checked my watch, and it was almost time to leave. I needed to collect Sonia in a few minutes. She was the youngest of my siblings and the only girl now, and with three older brothers, she was spoilt, or as she would say, “suffocated,” by us.
We were very protective of her, always had been, but over the last two years, we’d become even more so. I supposed we could be rather intense. However, it was a necessity. As a mafia princess, she always needed to be protected, but with the current situation, even more so.
Sonia had returned home a few days ago, and I was glad. She was studying for a business and project management degree at the University of Edinburgh, where she had also taken some courses in interior design. Sonia was off for the summer break but wouldn’t be returning for her final year. Instead, she would be completing it on placement, initially with Marcie Matthews at her events company and later with us in the family business. The last two years with her away with only two bodyguards had been difficult for us all to cope with, especially me, so I was pleased to have her home where we could protect her more easily.
I was proud of the woman she was becoming. She was strong and beautiful with a fiery personality and a wicked sense of humour. She could even occasionally make me laugh, and that was a difficult task these days.
I seemed to have lost my humour when I lost my ability to feel two years ago afterthe incident. That’s how I thought of it,the incident. I didn’t like to think of what happened or any of the details, especially not about the person involved or the overwhelming loss my family suffered. Whenever I did, I was overcome by guilt. It was why I couldn’t seem to feel anything but anger and a burning need for revenge against those who had caused my family so much pain.
It was the second time my family had suffered a terrible loss in just a few years, and that made it even harder to cope with. In fact, the only way I did cope withthe incidentwas to focus entirely on revenge, so much so that I’d become absolutely consumed by it. Frighteningly so.
Sometimes, I spiralled out of control with it. It concerned me, even though I pretended overwise. However, it worried my family more.
Miki had been the most concerned for me and forced me to see a psychologist last year. Not that it did me much good. The idiot didn’t tell me anything I hadn’t already known.
He said I had shut my emotions down to focus on revenge so that I didn’t have to deal with my grief and guilt. That I was using my obsession as a means of disassociating myself.
He tried to get me to talk about things. He said that if I faced things, I would see that I was not to blame, and I would eventually find a way to get over it. Stupid shit! You didn’t get over something like that; you just found a way to keep going.
