In the End

12│The Concetta

Luciano grabbed onto my arm and wrapped it around his. "Stay close to me at the beginning," He whispered. "They've never seen you before and you definitely aren't on the approved list. They won't let you in otherwise."

Pretty self-explanatory. I stayed close to his side, the two of us walking next to each other as we crossed through the people and headed up to the entrance of the club. Kept contained by a long rope barrier, this line seemed to be the largest on the street, the bouncer glancing over the list and then rejecting whoever was next. We didn't bother lining up, instead heading in straight to the entrance.

"- I swear, I have no idea why I'm not on that list!" The dude shouted. He leaned in slightly closer, whispering to the bodyguard, "You know that I know the Boss right? The big guy? He said I could come in any time I wanted, trust me." He persuaded earnestly.

At that moment, Luciano cleared his throat. "Evening Mark, how are you?"

The bouncer looked up, "Well thank you, just you and the side piece?"

Luciano smirked, "Yes thank you, I believe the rest will have already arrived. If you just wouldn't mind adding a Ms Ida Farcao to the guest list. She'll be becoming one of our permeant members."

The bouncer nodded, "Of course, Welcome to the Concetta Ms Farcao, you're free to go through."

Just before we started to walk in, Luciano turned to stare at the man who had been begging entrance, his whole body shaking in fear as he watched the situation. Luciano raised a brow, "I've never seen this man before in my life. Get him out of here."

That was all that needed to be said as the two security guards that were standing at the doorway came running, quickly pinning the man to the ground. Luciano looked out into the line, and yet no one moved.

That was all before we too made our way to enter the club.

"So who is allowed in here anyway?" I asked, "Seems pretty particular."

Luciano snorted, "You don't know the half of it. I have maybe five clubs dotted around the city, but this is the only one that's exclusive. Quite essentially, it's the only one that we bother coming to. Members-only, hitmen, associates, you name it. Once you pledge your allegiance to me and the Mala De Brenta, free access. Then there are a few cases of people doing one time jobs for me, and instead of payment, they get access to the club. Only for themselves, of course, but the point still stands."

"And now I have free access too?"

A smile, "Exactly. I certainly wouldn't be coming out every night but, if you wanted to, you could."

When we walked in, all I could see was red. The lights were red, the couches were red, everything. A dark, wooden floor that was hard beneath my feet. I could see all the people, blurry dark outlines that caused me to squint.

The moment that we walked in, people flocked to Luciano's side, pushing me out to the edge. Luciano didn't seem to mind. Just as that happened, Alexei appeared at my side.

"So you agreed to come, huh?" He said, pulling me away from the main group of people.

I rolled my eyes, "How could I have said no? I love the club scene."

Alexei paused as if running details over in his head, "When was the last time you got drunk Ida?"

I went red, though you certainly couldn't see it under the intense lights. "Never, I haven't had the time. I've gotten tipsy, sure, borderline drunk but never..."

Alexei looked like mischief. I had decided that's what he was, mischief and ruin. "How about the two of us get smashed tonight? For Michele."

My brows furrowed, "Who's Michele?"