VEDA
I kept my speed steady as I tried to think.
I could go to the police, but what would I say? "I'm being followed. I think. And it could be the guy who'd kept me prisoner in his beautiful lake house these last couple of months or his crazy brother who carved his initial into my chest. Most likely the latter. No, I'm not on drugs."
Well, there was one way to find out. One hand on the wheel, I took the piece of paper Enzo had given me out of my pocket and then felt around on the passenger seat until I found my new phone. Carefully, I entered his number.
"Yes."
I almost started crying again when I heard his voice. "Enzo? It's Veda. Is Luca having me followed?" As weird as this situation was, I trusted him to be straight up with me. Enzo and Lisa were the closest things I'd had to friends while I was at Luca's, and neither one of them had ever lied to me that I knew of.
He didn't even hesitate. "No. Where are you?"
My heart, already racing, picked up speed. "I'm in Austin. I never got on the bus. I'm on I-35 on the north side of the city, heading south."
I heard him cursing softly. "Goddammit, Veda."
"I know."
"No. You fucking don't know. What the hell were you thinking?"
"I'm sorry!" I cried. I glanced up at the rearview mirror. The car was getting closer. "I couldn't leave without telling my parents about my sister. I went to their house today to tell them. I was so careful. I swear it!"
I heard his heavy sigh. "What is the car doing? Are they trying to hurt you?"
"No. I don't think so. They're staying about two car lengths behind." I glanced back at the road and then back to the rearview mirror. "What do I do?" I cried.
"Just keep your speed steady and tell me why you think they're after you and that this isn't just a coincidence? I don't want to alert anyone to the fact that you're still here if I don't need to. You get me?"
"Yeah," I told him. Then I cleared my throat and checked the cars behind me again. "It's a black car with tinted windows. Even the front. I first noticed it right when I left my parents' neighborhood, but I wasn't sure. So I made a last minute hard left to get on the highway in the opposite direction and they did the same. They almost caused a three-car pileup to stay on my tail."
He cursed again. "Okay. Just keep driving. Keep your speed the same. I'm going to tell you how to get to Luca's club."
"I don't want to see him," I rushed to say. "Enzo, I can't see him. He'll kill me."
"Veda, you have to come to the club. I won't be able to get to you in time any other way, so you're going to have to trust me. It's the safest way. Now I'm going to tell you how to get here. Are you ready? Can you remember?"
I glanced up at the rearview mirror again. They were still there. "Yes." I listened to his directions as he repeated them twice. I repeated them back to him, then I hung up the phone and put it back on the passenger seat.
The car followed me until I pulled into the parking lot of the strip club, found a spot, and parked. I watched in my mirrors as it slowed down to cruising speed. My hands shook on the wheel as it stopped on the street to my right. I was reaching for my phone to call Enzo again when it suddenly sped away.
Someone knocked hard on my window, and I screamed, slapping my hand over my mouth when I saw that it was Enzo. He gestured for me to get out of the car, and then scanned the area around us with one hand on his gun as he waited for me.
I grabbed my keys and my phone and got out of the car. As soon as I was beside him, Enzo tucked me under his arm, and we ran to the door. I kept checking over my shoulder, half expecting someone to jump out and grab me. But we made it there with no incidents.
As soon as we were inside, a small cry escaped me, and I threw myself into his arms. He smelled like the forest at night. But I barely noticed. I couldn't stop shaking.
"Shhh... it's okay," he told me. "You're okay. Hopefully, the security cameras got the plate number. We'll find out who it was." He took me by the arms and held me away from him. "Veda, you see that hall in the back of the club?"
I wiped at my eyes and glanced in the direction he pointed. "Yes."
"The office is down that hall. Go there and wait for me."
The bouncer, a big guy with scary as fuck tattoos on his face and neck, leaned up to say something in Enzo's ear, and he nodded.
I stayed where I was, torn between wanting to run to the back of the club or back out the door. Luca was here. I could feel it. "I can't see Luca. You know what he'll do to me, Enzo."
Enzo straightened and looked down at me with an unreadable expression. "You're safe here. I promise you. Now go. I don't want you out here in the open in case they decide to come back."
Well, that got my ass in gear.
Circling the tables directly in front of the rectangular stage, I dodged a few drunken hands from the patrons as I made my way to the back of the club and down the hall. Girls shook their money makers on the stage and others wandered through the crowd, but I was too distracted to notice much.
The office door was closed when I got there. Hesitating for just a moment, I put my hand on the knob and turned it.
The doorknob was ripped from my hand as the door was pulled open from inside the office, and I found myself face to face with ice-cold blue eyes. Seconds ticked by as we stared at each other, the sudden well of pain in my chest rising to form a knot in my throat. Tears stung my eyes as I took in everything about him, from his messed up hair and bloodshot eyes, to the way his black jacket hung loose and wrinkled off his shoulders.
Unconsciously, I swayed toward him, my blood racing through my veins in anticipation even as I knew I had to get the hell out of there.
With a sob, I turned to run, but I didn't make it. His hand wrapped around my arm, and I was dragged into the room.
The door shut behind me with a loud click, muting the sounds of the club.
And I wondered if I'd ever come out of that room again.