Through the doors, I hear the music pounding and see lights swirling in different directions in various colors. Anticipation and excitement build inside me at the thought of dancing and singing, but instead, I’m pulled in the opposite direction. Keeping his hand on the base of my spine, he presses firmly against my back, leading me through the club.
“We aren’t going dancing?” I ask bashfully, talking over the loud music. I’m confused, to say the least.
Enzo leans down to me and speaks close to my ear. “Business first.” His voice is emotionless, and I don’t like that at all. “Be a good girl, and I’ll dance with you after.”
Eli is walking in front of us while Mack is covering our back. I notice how the place is crowded, people are standing shoulder to shoulder, but when they see us, they move out of the way.
When we get to the back of the club, Enzo pulls us to the right and down a long hall until we come to a door.
“What’s behind that door?” I ask quietly. The music is not that loud here, and I don’t have to yell.
“Be quiet,” he orders sternly. Glancing up at him, I try to gauge his level of anger, but because the hall is so dark, I can’t see his face.
“Go,” Enzo orders, and Eli bursts through the door. Enzo pulls me inside, and Mack follows closely behind us.
“Everyone, against the wall!” Eli shouts, and inside the room, all hell breaks loose.
Glasses and a champagne bottle are dropped, shattering all over the floor. Two women scream as they scramble to the wall. There are three men also, and even though they are not screaming, their faces are giving away how scared they are.
In a matter of seconds, all five people are pressed up against the wall.
My body locks up when I take in the scene before me. We are in some kind of private room. There is a small bar, a seating area, and even a mini stage with a stripper’s pole.
Giving me a soft push, Enzo leads us further into the room. All eyes are on us, and all I want to do is run to the nearest exit.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Enzo says, almost friendly sounding, but I know better. The devil has come out to play. I know it and so do all the other people in the room. Their faces morph into undeniable fear in front of me—pure terror in their eyes.
“Enzo, I know what this looks like,” one of the men says. “We can explain.”
“Explain to me why you and your brother over here,” he points to one of the other men with his gun, “borrowed money from me. Then asked for an extension to pay me back–which I gracefully granted. Yet, I find you and your wives in the VIP room of a club, drinking eight-hundred-dollar bottles of champagne and snorting high-end cocaine, like there is no tomorrow.”
“Come on, Enzo, we’ve known each other forever. Don’t do this.”
Enzo snorts at his comment. “You know Tony, right? I’ve known him since I was sixteen. Caught him stealing the other day. Wanna guess what I did to him?” I find myself backing up with every word that falls from his lips. Instead of hitting the wall, I fall against a warm chest.
Mack. His hands clamp onto my shoulders, holding me firmly in place.
No one says a word. It’s pin-drop quiet. I know this is just the calm before the storm. He will end all their lives, and for that, he has no soul.
“Do you know what I did to him?” he repeats, yelling it this time. His words echoing off the walls, and the whimpers coming from the women reach my ears.
From this angle, I can’t see Enzo’s face well, only catching a glimpse of it in the light. It is hard, dark, and cold. Evil, pure evil.
“I killed him. You know why?” Enzo swings his gun in every direction, and if it wasn’t for Mack clamping onto me, I would be running by now.
“Because he stole from me. Betrayed me! It seems as if some of you have decided to follow in his footsteps.”
Enzo’s footsteps can be heard crossing the concrete floor until he stops in front of a middle-aged man. His hair is slick with grease like it hasn’t been washed for several weeks, his eyes are red and jittery. He looks as if he is waiting for his next hit.
“Is that what you do, Zach?” Enzo questions, his words coming out like a verbal slap.
“I borrowed money for her fucking facelift, kill her, not me,” the guy named Zach points at the woman next to him.
“You fucking asshole!” The woman yells.
“Wow, throwing your own wife under the bus. That’s some fucked up bullshit.” Eli laughs like it’s the best joke he’s heard all year.
“That is some fucked up bullshit,” Enzo agrees. “If it makes you feel better. You both are going to die. All of you are.” He looks down the line of people.
“I don’t owe you any money,” one of the men says.
“Sorry, collateral damage.” Enzo shrugs, bringing his attention back to Zach. “Any last words?” Enzo cocks his head to the side, mocking him. It is sick and twisted, and I worry that if I have to watch even one more second of this degrading shit, I will puke all over the floor.
Zach doesn’t answer. He simply stares ahead, waiting for his time to come, probably because he knows it has. Silence stretches out before Enzo lifts his gun, and the booming sound of a gun being fired fills the air. My ears ring fiercely as I become slightly disoriented.
Zach crumbles to the ground, blood seeping from a hole between his eyes. Bile rises in my throat, and my heart is beating so fast, I feel like I’m about to pass out.
Helplessly, I watch between blurred eyes as he walks to another person, pointing his gun at their head.
The woman next to him begins to cry. Her body is shaking while she says a prayer in a language I don’t understand. I watch Enzo step aside and come to a stop directly in front of her. She draws back from him as much as she can with the wall directly behind her. He is truly the devil in human form.
“You cower in fear, yet you were okay with your husband borrowing money without paying it back.” His voice is rising with every word that leaves his mouth. “Here you are now, pleading and begging not to die. People like you will beg and plead for everything your whole life.”
I’m not sure how much more I can take. If I can stand idly by watching him tear these people to shreds, what type of person does that make me?
“We have children…families,” the woman sobs.
“And where are they now while you get high and drunk?”
The woman looks away, ashamed. “Child protective services took them away, but I’m trying to be better so I can get them back. They need me!”
“Because you’re such an outstanding mother?” he quips.
I don’t know her whole story, but I don’t care what she did. She doesn’t deserve to die. She is still a mother who will be mourned by her children.
I just can’t take it anymore. I can’t stay silent. I need to do something, no matter the consequences.
“Stop this insanity right now!” My voice doesn’t shake, I’m not afraid to stand up to him. I don’t know how, but I’m filled with an inner strength that spurs me to try and help these people.
He spins around so quickly, my head is reeling. Mack gives me a harsh shake as if to say, ‘shut your mouth, you crazy bitch.’ But it isn’t me who is crazy. Enzo’s eyes zero in on me like I’m prey. With precision, he crosses the room, his body gliding across the ground. I should be scared, I should be begging, pleading, crying, and wanting nothing but mercy from him. I’m not, though. I’m standing tall, and I will look him straight in the eyes and tell him what a crazy fuck he is.