Prologue
Kay
I kneeled next to my best friend, hands clasped behind our heads. I should have listened to my gut and stayed home tonight despite Amalia’s pleas. Watching the situation closely, I tried to keep my panic at bay, one minute we were drinking and having fun and the next we found ourselves here. I struggled to keep my breath even, willing the tears to stay put as a stranger waved a gun around the room.
Amalia and I had fought about her new guy, Andy, he was no good. The signs were obvious; flashy clothes, cars and money on tap, he was too good to be true. She, however, was blinded by his good looks and smooth talking. I had to admit, he was handsome. He had dark wavy hair, sparkling green eyes and a muscular physique, added to the glamorous lifestyle, I could see why women fawned over him. There was something about him that didn’t sit well with me though, a sense of slyness that I just couldn’t shake, so I was always wary around him. I was pretty sure he didn’t like me either, he was always curt and only spoke to me when absolutely necessary. We were just nineteen and he was in his mid-twenties, all things considered, a recipe for disaster in my opinion, but she wouldn’t hear my opinion, or anyone else’s, so here we were.
The opulent room was at odds with the current situation, I admired the décor, a perfect blend of modern and luxury, cutting-edge style and the prices matched the atmosphere. I would have enjoyed the space much more if it didn’t include Andy and his conceited friends, rejecting their entitled advances was becoming a pain. I couldn’t see how Amalia stomached their attitudes. While soundproofed, gorgeous rooms were great in theory, it wasn’t doing us any favours right now. Nobody would rush in having heard the screams, it may even have been a moot point considering the ear-shattering level of music in the exclusive club. I looked around the room, taking in Andy and his friends, they didn’t look very confident, in fact, fear was very present in their body language and even more concerning, their eyes. The gunman’s friends, however, were all calm and in control, each a hulking mass of muscle. This really didn’t bode well.
I could hear Amalia whimpering next to me, I risked a quick glance, she was wide-eyed and simply terrified, as was I. She turned slightly, looked at me and mouthed the word “sorry”, while her eyes pleaded for forgiveness. My heart melted, I would forgive her anything. She was my sister and we stood by each other through everything, always had and always would. I sent her a look that said ‘it’s going to be ok’. My eyes moved back to the stranger, he was tall, with long, dark blonde hair and icy blue eyes, cold, just like his demeanour. He radiated power, the kind that gave you chills and not in a good way. He had a slight accent, Russian maybe?
“So you thought you could mess with me?!” the stranger screamed at Andy, “You wanna play in the big leagues, you better have the balls to back it up! Let’s see what you got then,” he said as he shot Andy in the leg.
Amalia and Andy screamed at the same time, tears and sweat poured down Andy’s face as he started begging in desperation, “Please, I didn’t mean to offend you, I just wanted to expand a little. I’ll give you whatever you want, please.”
The stranger laughed, “Not such a big mouth now huh? Where’s all the macho s**t now huh?” He screamed louder, and shot Andy in the other leg.
Andy screamed again, Amalia too, she looked like she would pass out any moment now. “Please,” said Andy “Please, whatever you want, money? My girl over there? She’s really pretty.” My terror was quickly replaced by rage, how dare he, the fvcker!
“What, the loud one?” The stranger asked and Andy nodded. He turned around and without batting an eye, he shot Amalia in the chest.
My heart stopped as I watched the life drain out of the eyes of my best friend, my childhood comrade, my ride or die chick.
The stranger turned back to Andy and smirked, “No thanks,” he said.
Andy looked at him, fear written all over his face, as realization set in, there was no way out. True to his character he continued to beg and cry, sniveling about how he didn’t want to die. I hadn’t made a sound, I quickly made my way over to her and pressed my hand to her wound attempting to staunch the heavy flow of blood, it wasn’t helping.
I held her hand as her breathing slowed, her eyes fluttered closed and then her breathing stopped. I was still in shock, my heart slowly shattering into a million pieces at the loss of my cherished friend. As the scene played out, I realized that it was unlikely I would get out of it alive either, I was a witness, they would never let me leave. A few moments later another gunshot rang out and Andy had a neatly placed bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. The stranger then put a bullet into each of Andy’s friends and turned to face me.
I looked at him through teary eyes, the devil incarnate, who within a matter of minutes had changed my life irrevocably. I put every ounce of hatred I could manage into my glare and silently, and with all my being, cursed him straight to hell. It was all I could do, since I was probably going to die in the next few seconds.
Surprise flitted across his face briefly, he turned to one of his men and coldly said “Take her.”
