was left in its place, the kind that made everywhere hurt.
Carlos turned to me, a question in his eyes but I was already running, taking the steps off of the raised platform and shoving through bodies, trying to escape as I forced my way through the crowd. I needed air. I needed to get outside. I had to score that image from my mind. I needed to take back the last minute of my existence and crush it to nothing.
I heard grunts and shouts of protest behind me as Carlos followed and I moved faster, shoving and pushing until I made it to the main exit and ran in a full sprint out into the freezing air.
Even then I kept running, suffocated by what I'd seen and the need to be as far away from that club and the people in it as possible.
The world around me was a blur of streetlights and headlights on cars. A vehicle honked loudly as I ran across the road without looking. I needed to find a dark, dark space and crawl into it, bury myself and disappear. He'd broken his promise to me. He hadn't been aching for me like I had for him. The moment we'd been parted, he'd looked elsewhere for a woman to satisfy him.
I kept running until I was sure I’d left the club far behind, doubling over and clutching my side as a stitch ripped through me. As soon as I could, I started jogging again, moving along as quickly as I could as the freezing wind enveloped me.
A car drew up beside me in my periphery and someone slammed into me from behind in the same moment. I screamed as they pushed me into the car, glancing back as I threw my elbow into their gut. It was Carlos and his muscles were folding around me like iron, forcing me to his will. He placed me in the car, firmly shutting the door and a click sounded as it locked.
"Sasha!"
I turned as Ramon pulled me into his arms, hugging me tight.
"What happened?" he growled in my ear. "You frightened the life out of me."
I was shaking my head, pulling away, pushing him back and he thankfully let me go. My head was spinning and I clawed at my hair, drawing my legs to my chest as I tucked myself into the space beside the window.
"Darling, please talk to me," Ramon pushed.
I said nothing, refusing to give him the satisfaction of letting him know how much seeing Nicoli with another girl had shattered my heart.
How could he do this to me? How could he forget me so easily?
I curled up tighter into myself and Ramon rested a hand on my back, rubbing in soft circles. I wanted to tell him to stop, but my voice was long gone, trapped in my chest, maybe forever.
"Perhaps we went out too soon. I'll keep you safe, my darling, I won’t take any risks with you again. You need to do as I say. I know what’s best for you," he said and I cried harder because now I knew I'd blown my only chance at escaping as well. I'd lost Nicoli the same moment I'd lost my chance at freedom. And with it, I was vanishing too.
The steady bleep, bleep, bleep of a heart monitor machine drew me from the pitch black darkness of my mind and I groaned as I slowly became aware of the things surrounding me.
I was lying in a bed, sheets covering my body and warm light pushing against my eyelids with an insistent kind of urgency to it. My tongue was thick and my throat parched and I took a deep breath as I peeled my eyes open.
“You really know how to scare the shit out of us, don’t you, stronzo?” Rocco growled, leaning over me and blotting out the glare from the light above me as he cupped my cheek in his hand and looked at me intently.
“Why am I in hospital?” I asked, my voice coming out rough and brittle as my memories rippled like a pool disturbed by a falling stone.
“Here.” Enzo leaned over me too, holding out a cup of water with a straw in it and placing it between my lips. His usual cocky smirk was replaced by a concerned frown and I couldn’t help but stare at these two men I’d once thought of as monsters, falling apart at the thought of something happening to me.
I drank it, ignoring the