Chapter 6

Vanessa bursts out of the private wing of La Bella Notte and into the chaos of the club. The pounding bass of the music swallows the sharp rhythm of her bare feet against the marble floor. Bodies sway and shift around her, laughter and drunken shouts mixing with the clinking of glasses. It's overwhelming, blurring her senses momentarily, on top of the alcohol she had earlier, but she knows she can't stop.

She doesn’t slow down. Her breath is steady, her steps sharp and quick. She weaves through the crowd, her grey eyes scanning for any sign of pursuit. Arturo might’ve let her slip past his guards, but she knows better than to believe she’s truly free.

At the edge of the room, she spots an emergency exit sign glowing red. She pushes through the door, stepping into the cool night air. Her feet slap against the wet pavement as she slips into the alley, the damp scent of rain clinging to her...

She’s safe. For now.

Vanessa exhales slowly, the tension in her chest easing just slightly. But the moment doesn’t last. Her mind is already racing ahead, running through the consequences of her failure.

Victor.

She reaches into the slit of her dress and pulls out the burner phone strapped to her thigh. Her hands are steady as she dials the number, her thumb pressing down on the familiar sequence.

The line clicks after the second ring.

“Vanessa?” A voice rings out. Dario, his voice sharp, alert and worried.

“I need a pickup,” she gets straight to the point, her voice calm and controlled despite her elevated breathing. “Back-alley, two blocks east of La Bella Notte.”

There’s a pause on the other end, then the sound of keys jangling. “I’m on my way.”

Vanessa sighs to herself, walking over to a part of the alley where there would be a black wooden case, locked with a packlock. She then opens it and quickly takes a glance around before she begins to change there right in the alley before anyone can notice. She slips off her dress and slips on a black top and black jeans, cleaning her bare feet with a set of wet wipes right before she slips on her boots. She looks like a hot mess in front of Dario. It'll raise too many questions. She finishes up changing and slaps on a black baseball hat at the top of her head, closing the lid of the crate after she takes out her duffel bag filled with all her equipment and weapons.

Vanessa leans against the damp brick wall, closing her eyes for just a moment. The adrenaline is wearing off, and the ache in her body is settling in. But she pushes it aside. She’s been through worse... and this, is just meant to be a flea bite. So then why is she so tense about it? She can probably alright figure out why, and it has to do with the fact that this is a Castellano she is dealing with...

Vanessa knew the Castellanos to be evil, conniving and vicious. According to Victor, they are the ones who killed her entire family, and right when they were about to kill her, Victor saved her. She was only 9, and since that time, Victor had raised her in the Santoro mansion, training her, teaching her, building her into the killing machine that she is today...

Everything she trained for was for this day... the day she met one of them...

She was told Arturo's father, Antonio Castellano, is the one truly responsible for what happened to her family. According to Victor, he gave the order for the kill. She can't blame Arturo, he looks just about her age, his mid-twenties, so he couldn't have been the one to blame for what happened to her. But still, the way he spoke, he definitely knew something, and there must be a reason why Victor wanted him dead...

Ten minutes later, her thoughts are cut short as a black Audi pulls into the alley, its headlights slicing through the darkness. Vanessa sighs deeply as she pushes herself off the wall and turns in its direction, letting her guard down once she recognises the car. The driver's door swings open, and Dario steps out, his tall frame coming into full view as he approaches Vanessa.

Vanessa straightens as he approaches, his dark eyes scanning her quickly. Dario has always been extremely handsome with his deep brown smouldering eyes that always seem to flicker with gold specs under the right light. His hair was a rich, deep breath, his skin tanned and his physique muscular and toned. He had to be especially in this line of work.

Dario's brow furrows as he approaches Vanessa, his eyes travelling to the smudge of blood on her temple and the faint tremor in her hands.

“You look like hell,” he says, his voice low as he reaches her, taking the duffel bags from her hands just as she looks up at him, tension simmering between them as it usually would.

Vanessa smiles sarcastically. “Nice to see you too..." She should've known a change of clothes wouldn't have been enough to hide how she looks, or even how she's feeling.

Dario doesn’t respond. He steps closer, his hand brushing her arm as he looks her over, continuing to examine her carefully. “What happened?”

“I wasn’t successful,” she says flatly, pulling away from his touch and stepping away from him.

Dario’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t press her. Instead, he gestures to his car. “Let’s go. You can tell me everything on the way.”

Vanessa nods, breaking her gaze from Dario and making her way to the car. Vanessa climbs into the passenger seat, her body sinking into the leather as Dario starts the engine, a deep sigh leaving her lips as she allows herself to relax.

Dario has always been someone she could really on, the two of them working closely together in the Santoro family.