4. Isabella

Inever should have let Matthew and Maria convince me to go on this stupid trip.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with us in the townhouse, Isabella? There's plenty of room."

I shake my head and try to offer Janette an upbeat smile. She's a blonde with light blue eyes and pink highlights in her hair.

"No, it's fine. I'm good at the hotel. Plus, I wouldn't want to impose," I assure her.

She shares a look with the other girl in the car, the brunette behind the wheel. They're both in front, while I'm seated in the back. I can almost read their thoughts: How typical of Isabella, always distancing herself from everyone.'

I went to college with both of them, and we shared a room in our sophomore year. I guess I could say we're friends, except for the fact that I'm pretty sure they know next to nothing about who I really am. I made sure they didn't. Janette was kind enough to offer me the invitation today. Apparently, she and Sasha like to come to Boulder occasionally when there's an alumni party.

"We should probably stick together in there," Janette says, looking back at me. "Isa, I know you're not used to this kind of scene. When we arrive, we'll go straight for the guys and hang with them."

I shake my head. No way I'm going to be acting as some kind of fifth wheel. Or even worse, what if one of their "guys" gets it into his head that they'll have a go at me since I'm alone?

"It's fine, Janette. You don't have to babysit me all night. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

She frowns and is about to argue when Sasha speaks up. "You heard her, Jan. She'll be just fine. Isabella always is."

That one doesn't like me much. Which is a shame. In my opinion, I'm extremely likeable.

We finally arrive at the party, which is at a club. The music booms from the inside and I swear I can feel the ground vibrating. I get the sudden urge to turn around, go back to my hotel room, and spend the night peacefully in bed.

But I promised myself I'd let loose this weekend. Possibly do something reckless.

The three of us enter, showing off our IDs at the entrance. Although from my dim memories of my college experience, that never stopped most people from coming in here. The club is packed.

Janette leans down to speak to into my ear, "Send me a text if you need us or can't find us."

Sasha already has a hand on her arm, trying to pull her in another direction. There's a look of irritation on her face. I offer Janette a small smile.

"Thanks. But like I said, I'll be fine."

Both women walk away, leaving me alone. I head straight for the bar as soon as they're gone. What I need right now is a drink. Once it arrives, I turn away from the bar, watching the people dancing. It's slightly less loud over here because it's farther from the DJ booth.

I briefly wonder if I should join them. That would be letting loose, wouldn't it? I've never done anything like that before. Sure, I've been to clubs a couple of times; I'm not completely sheltered. And I attended a college too far away from home for anyone to have scrutinized my choices during my time here. Not engaging in these activities back then was completely voluntary. While a part of me was worried about the news of anything I did getting back to my family, they also never really held any appeal to me.

But they should have, right? I was young, I should have been having fun. Partying, doing stupid things. I had chances to do it, but I didn't. Maybe there's something broken inside of me after all. I've certainly heard that from countless people.

It doesn't take long before I'm approached by someone. A man of average height with shaggy brown hair. He smiles at me and I can literally smell the alcohol wafting of his breath. I fight the urge to wrinkle my nose.

"What's up, sexy thing?"

I try not to visibly recoil. Seriously? Has he ever gotten a woman by calling her "sexy thing"? I really hope not.

"What are you drinking?" he questions, trying to peek into my cup.

I hold it out of his reach, taking a sip as I stare him down. "None of your business," I say lightly.

He smirks, trying to move closer. But when I glare, he seems to take the hint.

"Leave."

He does so without hesitation. I hear a muttered, "Bitch," as he walks off, which prompts another eye roll because how original. I've never been called bitch before. Unfortunately, he's replaced by yet another man whose company I would never be interested in keeping and have no interest in conversing with. He also leaves with a bruised ego and a frown.

I'm on my second drink when I suddenly get the urge to use the restroom. After finishing what's in my glass, I get up, deciding to find the bathroom before continuing my night of fun. Although fun so far has been nothing but me drinking at the bar, alone.

I walk over to the bathroom area of the club, glad for a little quiet. I'm turning the corner heading into the hallway when someone suddenly appears in my sight. We collide with each other instantly, my head hitting a solid, rock hard chest.

"Watch where you're going!"

I groan softly, rubbing my head as I look up.

My eyes connect with green ones and for a second, only one second, I'm a little in awe of how mesmerizing they are. And then the second is up and I focus more on the scowl on his face. His incredibly handsome face. But that's doesn't really matter.

"Are you kidding? You bumped into me! How about you watch where you're going, asshole?" I snap.

His eyes gleam with recognition for a moment, then it disappears just as quickly, a dark expression on his face.

"How about you just apologize, darling and we can both be on our merry way?" he suggests.

His voice is incredibly sexy. Deep, masculine. But again, that really doesn't matter right now.

I scoff, "You have a lot of nerve, you realize that? I'm not fucking apologizing."

He stares at me for a couple of seconds, his expression dark. Exactly what crawled up his ass?

I decide to continue when it's clear he's not going to speak.

"You're being unreasonable. If anything the collision was both our faults. You don't have to be a dick about it. Just waddle on to your sad life and leave me alone," I tell him and as soon as I finish, I know I went too far.

When I go into bitch mode, I tend to say too much. A muscle ticks in his jaw. He looks at me for an uncomfortable amount of time and I get the feeling I might have poked the bear. But then he just rolls his eyes like I'm not even worth it before carrying on and walking away.

Fucking asshole.

He leaves and I carry on walking to the bathroom. When I return to the bar, it's almost impossible not to notice him. He's seated there too, a couple seats down from me. And what's even more unnerving, is that he's already looking at me before I look at him. His green eyes are intense and captivating. I swallow softly, debating between going over to him and asking him to quit looking at me, or simply just ignoring him.

I decide on the latter. He's really not worth my time. I ask for another glass of tequila from the bartender. It's placed in front of me and I take a sip, doing my best to ignore the man still staring at me. When a dark-haired man approaches me a few seconds later, I welcome the interruption. He's better-looking than the other one men that have approached me tonight and even manages a charming smile.

"Hi," he says politely.

I can't help but smile back. "Hey."

"Why's a beautiful woman like you all alone?" he asks, leaning against the bar as he looks at me.

"Maybe I like being alone."

"No one likes being alone. And women like you especially shouldn't be left alone."

"Oh, really? And what should women like me be doing, exactly?" I prompt.

He pauses to think about it. "Beautiful women things?" he offers weakly.

I smirk. "You're really laying the flattery on thick."

"Sorry, you're making me nervous," he confesses with a small smile.

He's kind of cute. Too bad he's not my type. Nope. My type is arrogant, egotistical, self-centered assholes.

"You don't have to be nervous," I tell him, taking a sip of my drink before setting the glass down on the table to look at him. "What's your name?"

"Aaron," he replies. "You?"

"Colleen."

I usually give out a fake name when I'm asked in public. Call it conditioning from years of having to hide the fact that I was the daughter of a Don in the mafia.

"Well, Colleen, you're certainly the most beautiful girl in this entire room," he states grandly.

"So you've said. Three times," I drawl. "Got any other moves."

"On the dance floor? Plenty," he returns.

I look toward the dance floor for a second before shaking my head. "Unfortunately, I don't like to dance."

He nods in understanding. "That's alright. But if you don't mind, we could go outside and talk. It's getting a little humid in here and it's still too loud."

Take a chance, Isabella, a voice in my mind whispers. He seems nice enough, and he's right about it being too loud in here.

"Okay," I say. "Let me just finish my drink."

Aaron watches as I down the remainder of the tequila before he starts leading the way out of the club. I briefly consider texting Janette, but I'm not leaving. Only following him out to talk. I have no plans to follow him home.

Once we're outside, I shiver slightly. It was warmer tonight so I didn't bring a jacket, but I'm starting to regret that now. I forgot how unpredictable the weather gets here in Boulder. I can't count the number of times we went from sunny to blizzard in a matter of hours. At least the night sky still looks clear.

"Sorry, I would have offered you my jacket but I'm not wearing one," he says apologetically, noticing my shiver.

I shake my head. He's actually a genuinely nice guy. Which is weird because I didn't think those existed anymore.

"It's fine. I'll live. So, tell me about yourself."

"There's not much to tell," he says on a shrug. "I'm twenty-eight. I work in finance, and the minute you walked through the doors of the club, I thought you were smoking hot. Then I watched you turn down those two guys and I realized I'd have to up my game."

I swear it's like watching a transformation happen right in front of me. In only a manner of seconds, Aaron goes from a sweet, charming guy, to a man with a menacing look in his dark brown eyes.

"Up your game how?" I ask, my nerves firing.

I realize belatedly that stepping away was not the best idea. Everyone's inside and we're all alone.

"I slipped something into your drink, Colleen," he informs me. "You'll start to feel dizzy soon."

The way he confesses that has my heart thumping in my chest. My eyes widen as the implication of his words settles.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

I try not to panic, telling myself that I can still get out of this. I briefly regret not taking Enzo seriously when he asked me to at least carry some weapon when I leave home. I'm a member of the freaking mafia. And I'm completely defenseless against one man.

Make that two…

I swallow softly when another man practically melts out of the shadows. I start to back away slowly, watching both men high five.

"Well done, man. She's fucking hot," the new guy says.

"She will jam her stilettoes into your eyes if you don't leave her alone," I threaten.

They're both unfazed. Aaron rushes at me, grabbing my arm. I open my mouth to scream and he immediately clamps his mouth over it.

"Don't waste your breath, Colleen," he grits out. "Just go to sleep."

My eyesight goes bleary for a second but I fight against the effects of the drugs. I am so fucked. Fuck.

Just when they start to drag me away, someone comes up from behind me and pushes Aaron off. The force of the push is so strong, he stumbles backward. Meanwhile, I'm slamming into a rock hard chest. A familiar one. I get a sense of déjà vu right before I look up into emerald green eyes. Just like before, for only a moment it feels like everything comes to a stop. It's the guy from earlier. The asshole who bumped into me. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Grumpy meets my gaze for only a second before looking toward the two men.

"Didn't your mama ever teach you not to harm a woman?" he asks. I can hear the rage beneath his voice.

The men don't reply. When I look up, they're glaring at Green Eyes, and I can tell they're thinking of taking him on.

"Just wait here okay?"

It takes me a second to realize he's talking to me. He helps me over to the wall of the building. I sway on my feet, feeling dizzy. After making sure I'm settled, Green Eyes looks toward the two men.

"You chose the wrong night to do this shit, bastards," he grits out. "Now, you're going to tell me what you put in her drink."

Aaron shares a look with his companion. "No way in hell, man," he says confidently, and at the same time, they both charge at Green Eyes.

I space out for most of the fight. My head is starting to swim, but from the glances I get, Green Eyes is actually a good fighter. He's tall, too, taller than both his opponents and more muscular. In only a matter of minutes, he has them both on the ground. I think Aaron has a nose bleed.

Green Eyes crouches down in front of him. "Now, I'll ask again. What did you give her?"

Aaron replies immediately. "It's nothing dangerous. Just a pill of SlumberX. It was just to make her lose consciousness while we took her back to our place," he says quickly.

My stomach heaves at that. I clench my fists, trying to stay alert.

"You're fucking cowards. If you want to get your dick wet so bad then just fuck yourselves. Don't take advantage of innocent women. What the fuck is wrong with you? How many woman have you done this shit to?" he asks and the barely restrained anger in his voice is obvious.

Neither men reply. I let out a soft gasp as my head starts to pound. I slowly start to slide down against the wall, my ass inches from the ground. The movement draws Green Eyes' attention. His head snaps toward me and then he's walking over.

"Hey, you still with me?" he asks worriedly, crouching down in front of me.

The two men take the chance and run away, leaving us alone.

"You let them escape," I murmur.

"I can always find them, darling. Don't worry," he tells me. He reaches for my forehead, brushing away a few strands of hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy," I reply.

He takes off his black leather jacket, placing it over my shoulders, and I immediately feel warm. I hadn't realized how cold I was.

"Okay, that's normal. It's not an overly dangerous drug. But I can call the police? Take you to the hospital?"

I shake my head vehemently. "No, no police. No hospitals."

He's momentarily taken aback. "You're kidding me."

"I most certainly am not," I manage. "You said the drug wasn't dangerous. Which means I just need to sleep it off."

He pauses, expression thoughtful. Finally he nods. "Alright. Where do you live? I'll take you there."

I'm about to answer when I realize my head is completely blank. My memory's fuzzy. I blink, then blink again. He seems to realize what's happening.

"It's fine if you can't remember. I'll help you," he assures me. "The best way to do that would be to call the police."

I shake my head slowly and he sighs, getting to his feet. He reaches for my hand, pulling me up, too, but I can't stand. My legs are apparently useless and incapable of holding me up. With surprising ease, he's able to sweep me off my feet. The smell of his cologne invades my senses immediately. I yawn, settling my head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to have to take you to my place. Don't worry, I'm not a bad guy," he says. "I think."

"That's reassuring," I mumble sarcastically. "Also you might not be a bad guy. But you're still a jerk."

I think I hear him laugh. And then the darkness pulls me under.