My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 21

Gianna

━⊰ ❦ ⊱━

I was bored.

Not the normal kind of bored where you scroll through your phone for a few minutes and it goes away. This was the annoying kind. The kind that sat on your chest and made the house feel smaller every hour.

Back home I used to leave whenever I felt like it. I’d walk to the corner store, sit at the park or get coffee at midnight with my girls if I couldn’t sleep.

Here, even stepping outside felt like asking permission. I stood by the window and looked down toward the gates.

Ten guards.

Always ten.

One leaning against the booth, the others pacing slowly across the driveway. The mansion was beautiful but it was also a cage.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my contacts until I found the name I wanted.

Ciro.

Texting was a nightmare so I just pressed the call button. The phone rang once then he picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” I said.

There was a beat of silence.

Then—

“No way,” I could practically hear the grin in his voice, “Gianna?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” he laughed quietly. “I thought you forgot I existed.”

I leaned my shoulder against the window frame, watching the guards shift positions near the gate.

“Not really,” I said.

“So this is a friendly call?” he asked.

“More like a bored call.”

He chuckled, “Ah, so I’m the emergency contact for boredom now.”

“Pretty much.”

“Wow. I don’t know if I should feel insulted or honored.”

I smiled slightly, “Take it however you want.”

“Fair enough,” then there was a short pause on the line, “What are you doing right now?” he asked.

“Staring at the gate,” I said.

“That sounds exciting.”

“Thrilling.”

“You could go outside,” he said casually.

I snorted, “You know that’s not how this place works.”

“True.”

I watched one of the guards adjust his jacket near the driveway lights, “You guys treat the front yard like it’s a military zone.”

“Well,” Ciro said lightly, “technically it is.”

I rubbed the side of my neck, “I just want to go somewhere,” I muttered, “Anywhere.”

His voice changed slightly, “Actually…”

I frowned slightly, “What?”

“There’s a party tonight,” he said.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he continued. “Just some people. Music. Drinks. Come with me.”

I blinked, “What?”

“I’m serious,” he said. “I’m not on duty tonight anyway. If I sign you out, no one’s going to question it.”

I looked down at the guards again, “You can do that?”

“I work for the Capones,” he said simply, “Half my job is moving people around.”

I hesitated but the idea of getting out of this house, even for a few hours felt like fresh air in my lungs.

“When?” I asked.

“Late,” he said, “Starts around midnight.”

“Midnight?”

“Yeah. People show up around twelve, one… it runs until morning.”

I stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the gates.

“So?” he asked, “You want out of that mansion or not?”

I didn’t even need to think long, “…Yeah.”

“Yeah?” he repeated, surprised.

“Yeah.”

He laughed softly, “Damn. That was easier than I expected.”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

“Relax,” he said. “Worst case? You get music, drinks, and a few hours away from those walls.”

I pushed away from the window, already feeling lighter, “What time are you picking me up?”

“I’ll swing by around one,” he said. “That way we’re not the first ones there.”

“Okay.”

“Get dressed up,” he added.

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me, “It’s a party, not a wedding.”

“Still,” he said. “You’ll thank me later.”

I smiled a little and ended the call. For a moment I just stood there with my phone in my hand, staring at my reflection in the dark window.

I turned away from the window and walked to my room. The closet doors slid open with a soft sound. My fingers ran across the hangers.

A small black top hung near the back. I pulled it out and held it up. It was cropped, the fabric soft and thin, with narrow straps that crossed over the back.

I tossed it over my arm, next came a pair of denim shorts, light blue, worn at the edges. I changed quickly.

The shorts hugged my hips just right and suddenly I got reminded of Raphael's slap against my skin, I shook the thought away. The top stopped a few inches above my waist, showing a strip of skin when I moved.

I walked to the mirror. My hair was still loose from earlier, falling past my shoulders. I ran a brush through it and let it stay natural, just a little volume at the ends.

I sat down at the vanity and opened my small makeup bag, foundation, a little concealer under my eyes and mascara and then I added a bit of gloss to my lips and pressed them together.

I grabbed a pair of white sneakers from the floor and slipped them on. My phone buzzed in my hand.

Ciro.

I answered right away, “Hello?”

“I’m outside,” he said.

My heart jumped, “Like… outside outside?”

The car stopped in front of the wide stone steps. Music thumped somewhere inside the massive house. The bass moved through the ground and up my legs like a heartbeat.

Ciro reached for his door but I was already pushing mine open. Cool night air rushed over my skin as I stepped out.

“Hey—” Ciro said with a laugh as he came around the car. “I was going to get that.”

“I can open a door,” I said, shrugging.

He grinned, “Yeah. I can see that.”

I looked up at the building again. It was even bigger up close. Ciro touched the small of my back, a light, guiding touch and led me toward the giant wooden doors.

"Stay close," he whispered, "It gets a little wild in here."

We walked inside, and the air smelled like expensive perfume, heavy cigar smoke, and something sharp and chemical that made my nose sting.

I stopped dead. My heart felt like it skipped a beat.

I had never seen anything like this. This wasn't a party; it was something else entirely.

The room was huge, with gold gold leaf on the ceilings and giant crystal lights hanging down. But it was the people underneath them that caught me off guard.

Men in suits that probably cost more than my university tuition were slumped on velvet couches. Their ties were ripped open. One man was leaning back with his eyes rolled into his head while a woman in a tiny lace mask rubbed a white powder onto his gums.

In the center of the room, there were large glass cages hanging from the ceiling. Inside them, women with painted bodies danced like they had no bones. They wore nothing but thin gold chains.

I saw a woman sitting on a marble table, her eyes rolled back into her head while a man pressed a small pill against her tongue.

"Ciro," I whispered, my voice shaking. I felt small. I felt way too clean for this room. "What is this?"

"This is as high as it goes, Gianna," he said. He leaned in close to my ear so I could hear him over the noise, "These people have so much money that they get bored of being human. So they come here to act like animals."

I watched a man in a silver suit grab a girl by the hair and he forced a drink into her mouth while he laughed with his friends.

Gold plates were filled with white lines of drugs. People leaned down, breathing it in, then stood up with wild, shaking eyes.

I saw a man in the corner with three girls draped over him like blankets. He looked at me, his eyes dark and hungry, and I felt a chill go down my spine. I moved closer to Ciro.

"I think I made a mistake," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs, "I want to leave," I said as I grabbed Ciro’s arm, my fingers digging into his sleeve, "Ciro, I want to go. Now."

Ciro looked at me. The light from a spinning gold ball on the ceiling hit his face, and he looked truly sorry. He looked at the girls dancing in the cages and then back at my terrified face, and I could tell he finally saw how wrong this was.

"I'm sorry," he said, leaning in close so I could hear him over the thumping music. "That was stupid of me. I shouldn't have brought you here. I’m so used to this place that I forgot... I forgot this isn't normal. This is too much for you."

He looked around the room, his eyes scanning the crowd like he was looking for someone. He pulled me toward a dark corner near a large stone pillar. It was a little quieter there, away from the dancing bodies and the spilled wine.

"Listen to me," he said, "I have to do a quick job for the boss. It’s just a drop-off. It will take me ten or maybe fifteen minutes, and then we are out of here. I promise."

I looked at the exit, then back at him, "Can't we just go now?"

"I can't leave until this is done, Gianna. It’s my job," he said. He pointed to the floor right where I was standing. "Stay in this corner. Do not move. Do not talk to anyone. If someone looks at you, look away. I will come back right here to find you."

He paused, looking at my small top and my bare legs. He looked worried.

"Actually," he said, reaching into his pocket for his car keys, "Maybe you should go wait in the car. It’s safer. I can lock you in from the outside."

The fear in my stomach flared into a quick spark of anger. I didn't like being told where to hide. I didn't like the idea of being locked in a dark car like a dog.

"I am not a child, Ciro," I snapped, straightening my back. I stepped away from the wall and looked him in the eye. "I can take care of myself. I'll stay in the corner because I want to leave, but don't try to lock me in a car."

Ciro sighed, but he nodded, "Fine," he said. "Just... don't move. I mean it."

He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze and then vanished into the crowd. I watched his dark head move through the sea of silk and gold until I couldn't see him anymore.

I was alone.

I backed up until my shoulders hit the cold stone of the pillar. I tried to make myself small. I watched the room through the gaps in the crowd. A man with a silver mask walked past, his eyes lingering on my face for a second too long.

A wave of noise washed over the crowd. It wasn't the usual laughter. To my left, a group of women began to scream in excitement, jumping up and down and waving their arms. On the other side of the room, men started to howl like wolves, banging their glasses against the marble tables.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Every person in the place was looking at the center of the room. I followed their eyes, and my heart jumped into my throat.

My eyes went wide. I felt the blood drain from my face as I saw my stepbrothers.