Chapter Two

Camilla POV

Daniel turned his eyes towards me, staring at me with a quizzical look on his face that I didn't understand. He then turned back to Natalia. "Well nice to meet you both. Next time I will pay more attention when I'm walking down the sidewalk. You never know what pretty things you're missing out on." Oh, he was smooth, I thought to myself. I gave Natalia a look as she glanced over at me. She knew I had a bullshit meter a mile high. I didn't trust people easily. Maybe it had something to do with my parents' accident. Rumors were that it wasn't an accident. Then, of course, my brother moved away and has not contacted me since. He knew my number; he could call anytime. He chose not to. He checked in with Nonna every now and then, or so she said. Not me though, not since he sold the house and put my half into my trust account. He had called to tell me it was done and that was  the last time I spoke with him. I found it strange, but maybe he was going through something. He had been close with our father, in fact he worked for him doing whatever it is they did. My father said he owned an import business, but I didn't know any more than that.

Natalia turned back to Daniel and smiled her thousand-watt smile. The one that captivated all the men. "Well, nice to meet you, Daniel. See you later." Natalia and I turned and walked up the steps and entered the brownstone, leaving Daniel on the sidewalk. We saw him through the glass when we turned around and shut the door. He was still standing there watching us. He must have realized we saw him there, because he quickly looked away and then disappeared down the steps to his apartment.

"He's cute," Natalia said as we walked up the two flights of stairs to our apartment.

"Hmm, I guess." He definitely wasn't my type, but I could see Natalia liking him. I am not sure what my type is. I had a boyfriend in high school, until I moved to Iowa. He had been the Captain of the Football Team. He was a nice hometown kind of boy, who was going to take over his father’s Hardware store after graduation. We wouldn't have gone anywhere, my parents didn't like him at all. They said he was beneath me. I didn't know what that meant but they had already informed me I would be leaving for college as soon as I graduated. We lived in the suburbs of Chicago, my father commuting two hours to work every day. Sometimes he stayed in the city if he had to work late. I know he traveled a lot for his work, but I never knew where he was most of the time.

I'm going to shower," I said as I tossed my keys on the counter and dropped my bag next to the couch.

Two hours later, we were ready to head out for our night out. We decided to take a cab since we were dressed up nicely and we were wearing heels. Who wants to be on the subway in a club dress and heels? Not long after, we were dropped outside The Myth, Natalia's friends already holding us a place in line at the door.

Natalia introduced us all around. One of the girls, Erica, bounced up and down excitedly. She was a tiny little blonde, five foot two if she had on flats. Tonight, she was wearing four-inch stilettos and a tight little red dress. She looked terrific, as did all of Natalia's friends. "I'm so excited! Happy Birthday Camilla," Erica said excitedly. I just laughed and thanked her. "Sorry, I don't go out much. Like ever! I've never been to a club like this," Erica admitted. Truth be told, this was maybe my third time in a night club. School demanded too much of my time.

As we neared the bouncers at the door, they eyed us up and down before looking at our I.D.'s. "Happy Birthday, Ms. Patron," the huge, dark-skinned bouncer said to me.

"Uh thanks," I said as they dropped the red rope so we could enter. I turned around and the same bouncer was looking at me, speaking into a tiny earpiece. It honestly kind of weirded me out.

Shrugging off the odd feelings I was having about this bouncer, we made our way into the club. The four of us pushed our way to the bar and ordered our drinks. Natalia then pulled my hand and led us all to a high-top bar table where we sat to sip our drinks and look around. I pulled my short black dress down a little bit, as it rode up my thigh. Being five nine, dresses always were short on me. It was a constant struggle.

After a few minutes, Erica flagged down a server. She was going to be the drunk one tonight. She ordered another round of drinks, telling me it was her treat for my birthday. I won't say no to a free drink.

The club was hopping, the music loud and the lights flashing a blue color over the dance floor. The laser lights danced around to the beat of the music. "Let's dance," Natalia pulled me to the floor, shaking her butt the whole way. We danced to a few songs and made our way back to the bar for another drink.

I fanned myself and pulled my long, dark hair up off my neck to catch some air. I had long dark brown hair, with natural waves. It hung to my waist and was one of my favorite things about myself, aside from being on the taller side for a woman. I had mahogany brown eyes with long eyelashes, a gift passed down from my Italian father. I had a dimple in my left cheek when I smiled, and people had always told me I was very beautiful. I didn't necessarily agree with them. I didn't have low self-esteem, I knew I was pretty, but a lot of women are pretty. I wasn't anything special, not like Natalia.

Natalia handed me my drink, and I sipped it while holding my hair up a bit longer with my free hand. "Let's go sit with the girls," Natalia yelled over the music. I nodded and we made our way to the table.

After a couple of minutes, the waitress approached the table. She set a drink in front of me and went to walk away. "Wait," I said touching her arm. "I didn't order that."

The waitress smiled. "I Know. He did. He said Happy Birthday." She tilted her head to the lounge area. I turned to look and saw a group of men, dressed in dark suits. One of them was staring at me. When I looked, he raised his glass in a salute and winked at me.

"Oh my God," I whispered to Natalia. She turned her head in the direction I was staring. The man's gaze never left mine. Natalia turned her body back around to face me, placing her hand on my knee.

"Do you know who that is?" she asked. I shook my head no. "That's Nicholas Carmine. He's a huge mob boss. He's dangerous, Camilla."