Corrupted Values

Chapter Six - The Club

I narrow my eyes to try and see through all the bodies to see that it's Marco. I watch while he sits at the bar with another man and a group of girls surrounding him which he pays no attention to. He looks just as handsome as he did in the dim street light the night before. He’s now wearing black jeans with a red dress shirt that has a few buttons undone. His short hair is styled with not one hair out of place. I soon catch myself gawking at him, but before I can look away, his gaze meets mine. I quickly look away and smile embarrassed that I was caught.

“Heyyy! Here take this.” Remi calls out, while almost crashing into me holding out a shot glass. I take the shot with her, hoping it’ll help calm my nerves. I glance over to see Marco is already looking at me. I look away and follow Remi as she looks for an empty table. In no time, we’re sitting down at a stool table and ordering more shots and drinks.

“Wanna come dance with me?” Remi asks slightly slurring as she gets to her feet.

“No, that's okay.” I say shaking my head, smiling at her. I watch as she drunkenly makes her way to the dance floor and comfortably starts dancing. I sit for a while by myself before I hear someone walk up behind me.

“Didn’t feel like dancing?” A deep voice asks from behind in a condescending tone. I turn and look up to see Marco looking down at me. I meet his dark eyes with my light ones.

“No.” I say breaking eye contact and facing the table again before taking another sip of my drink. He walks around me and sits across from me on Remi’s empty stool.

“You look beautiful tonight. Then again, I doubt you ever look bad.” He says with a devilish smirk. The air around him feels heavy with power. Just being in his dominating presence makes me feel small. I feel as if I would collapse under his gaze if the stool wasn’t holding me up. I cross my arms feeling annoyed he affects me this way.

“What are you doing here?” He asks as he leans forwards, placing his elbows on the table, and holding his head up with his interlaced fingers.

“Having a fun night with my friend. What are you doing here?” I ask, mimicking his posture. Feeling the effects of the alcohol gives me a boost of confidence. Before he can answer the question, another man comes over, slapping his hand on Marcus’s shoulder.

“Damn boss. Finally found a girl that caught your interest?” He says, looking me up and down. While Marco rolls his eyes. Boss? What is he the boss of? I think to myself before being pulled out of my thoughts by the man speaking again.

“She's a beauty, that's for sure!” He says, winking at me. I giggle to myself.

“What’s your name, gorgeous?” He asks, smiling widely at me.

“Azzy.” I respond sitting up and smiling back.

“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” He says, putting his arms on the table and leaning into it.

“My name’s Nico, and baby, if you were words on a page, you'd be the fine print,” he says with a smile and another wink. I laugh at the unexpected, cheesy words. Nico is a clever and good-looking man. He looks closer to my age than Marco. They both have dark brown hair and tanned skin, but Marco has more of a masculine face, while Nico has softer features. Nico has light brown eyes, whereas Marco has almost black eyes. Marco is extremely muscular, but Nico is less muscular and more lean. Nico also isn’t as tall as Marco. He looks to be about six feet, whereas Marco seems closer to six foot four or five. They don’t look related but they definitely seem to have a deep bond.

Nico grabs a chair from another table to sit with us, throwing a flirt at me every once in a while and every time getting a glare or eye roll from Marco. After a while of small talk, they decide to leave me at the table alone again.

Nico and Marco stand out so much against the rest of the crowd. There seems to be a certain danger about them, and for some reason I feel drawn to it against my better judgement. While lost in thought, I’m brought back to reality by someone talking to me.

“Azzy?” The voice speaks again, making me jump and I look and see Remi looking at me.

“Sorry. What did you say?” I ask, looking confused.

“Why were you talking to them?” She asks, looking curious and a little concerned. I look at her, confused by her words. Why would she worry about them?

“What do you mean?” I ask, looking at her worried for her answer.

“That was Marcus Caldeiro and Nicolas Garcia. They're part of the Brazilian Caldeiro Mafia and Marco is the boss. He’s known to be ruthless, heartless, and unpredictable. His right hand, Nico, is no better. Everyone knows he’s a flirt, but he’s just as deadly. They're part of one of the biggest mafia’s in the world. I mean they aren’t number one but they’re still deadly.” She says as she sits in front of me.

“Rumour has it they're looking for someone.” She says, making my heart instantly sink and my stomach twist as I listen to her words, and then the room starts to spin. I remember hearing Beatrice mentioning that name. What did they have to do with my mom?

“...I need some air.” I say breathlessly, standing from my seat. Remi quickly gets up and grabs my arm.

“I’ll come with you.” she says as she guides me through the crowd. She opens the door and a gust of cold air brushes my bare skin. I feel my head start to clear as she walks me to a park bench across the street.

“Are you okay?” She worriedly asks as we sit on the bench.

“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting them to be the same people who-” I cut myself off, not knowing if I can trust her with this just yet. I look at her and her amber eyes immediately meet mine.

“It’s okay. You can trust me, I promise I won’t tell anyone.” She says, looking deeply into my eyes, patiently waiting for an answer. I want to trust her, but how can I tell her what happened? How can I tell her I saw my mom lying lifeless on the living room floor? Before I can do anything, Remi’s arms wrap around me tightly. Quickly I realize I’m having a panic attack. I feel my body shaking and my breathing coming out in shorts pants. I wrap my trembling arms around her, and we sit for a while till my shaking stops and my breathing evens out.

“Let's go home.” Remi says, pulling away and giving me a soft smile. All I can do is nod. She takes my hand in hers and we go home.