“Charlotte, about time you joined the festivities,” he chuckled, turning away from the chick and putting his hand on my bare shoulder.
I don’t even have time to shrug off his advances. Jase instantly tackles Blaine to the ground, wrapping his arm around Blaine’s neck like a ninja spider monkey on cocaine.
“Where the hell is my brother?” Jase growls while Blaine's face starts to turn a deep shade of purple.
Choking, Blaine spits out, “Fuck you!”
“Wrong answer,” Mr. Iazetti bellows, grabbing Blaine by the lapels, yanking him out of Jase’s grasp, and pulling him to his feet.
Phoenix stands a few steps back, a knife just barely peeking out of his sleeve.
“You see, kid, you messed with the wrong family. Now, I will ask you this only once, and if I don’t like what comes out of your mouth, my oldest over here is going to slice you up so badly that your mother won’t even be able to identify your body. Do I make myself clear?”
Blaine’s eyes were the size of the moon as he nods at Mr. Iazetti.
“Good. Now, where is Xander? Where did they take my son?” His voice is low and level as his knuckles turn white.
“I don’t know,” Blaine tries to puff his chest out a little.
Mr. Iazetti pulls Blaine forward a bit, then slams the back of his head hard against the pillar. The crackling sound of his skull colliding with the stone sends chills down my arms as I stand frozen in place. I have no idea what I should be doing except standing by casually so as not to draw attention to the interrogation.
“I am not in the mood for games, boy. And I sure do not have the fucking time for this.” Marco’s teeth clench, his nose almost touching Blaine’s.
“Downstairs,” Blaine blubbers. “They have him in the basement somewhere. That’s all I know.”
Fucking pussy.
I really hope he just shit himself.
It would be a small consolation prize for all of the shit that Blaine has put me and Xander through over the last few weeks. And I could really use some kind of silver lining in all of this horror.
“Take care of this piece of shit,” Marco orders Jase.
A sinister smile spreads wild on Jase’s face as he hooks his arm around Blaine’s neck again. “Gladly.”
Phoenix follows Jase as he wrestles Blaine around the corner of the building. I rush after them, watching as they knock Blaine out and flex cuff his wrists and ankles together. As Blaine lay motionless, hidden in thick bushes, a weird sense of satisfaction washes over me.
That’s what you fucking get, you damn asshole.
Mr. Iazetti is waiting for us off to the side of the entrance.
“Do any of you know where the basement is?” he asks.
“I think there is a staircase in the back of the ballroom. I was here for a party a few years ago. I kept seeing security guards going up and down some stairs back there,” I answer.
“Lead the way,” Phoenix holds his hand out as I grab the skirt of my dress, making a beeline for the staircase.
Right as we’re about to walk through the entrance, I hear someone call out Phoenix’s name.
Asher and Chase trot over to us, completely out of breath.
“What do you guys want?” Phoenix barks at the brothers. The impatience that rolls over all four of our faces is palpable as the two goons huff from their little jaunt across the lawn.
“Is Xander here?” Chase finally speaks, still out of breath. “We need to talk to him. He told us some shit about Blaine and we want to help take down that asshole.”
“Look, I think it’s cute you wanna play superhero for Xander, but we don’t have time to get you capes,” Jase snarls at them. “If you want to do something for Xander right now, the two of you shit dicks are going to watch Blaine for us. He’s around the corner. Be as creative as you want but keep him quiet and wait for one of us to come get you. Got it?” Jase shoves a boxcutter and a small roll of silver tape into Asher’s hands.
They both nod before bolting off into the shadows without another word.
Our group doesn’t miss a beat. Once the minions are off to help us keep the whistleblower in check, we dart into the bustling party.
It feels like a complete out-of-body experience, almost like I am watching a mob movie unfold right in front of my eyes. Utter disbelief is a total