Chapter One

Erin’s point of view.

The Mafia are here in my bar. I cower behind the dishwashers with my heart in my mouth as my pride and joy, the Star Gazer Inn, gets smashed into pieces. What the hell are the Mafia doing here? And why are they ripping my bar apart?

I’ve had this strange feeling of being watched all night!

It has been a stupidly busy night at the Star Gazer Inn, not that I’m complaining, though. I’ve worked my backside off to get this bar where it is today and believe me, there have been times when I have wanted to give up and walk away, yet here I am running my own bar just as I’d always dreamed of and the place is thriving even on a night like tonight where I’m run off my feet I wouldn’t change a thing. I initially invested in this high-end bar in the town’s prime location a few years ago. Warren, my boyfriend, wasn’t too keen on the idea, but I knew I could make it big, and now everyone and anyone comes to drink at the Star Gazer.

A few minutes before, I’d asked Warren to lock the doors, ready to close for the night.

“Warren, can you lock the doors, babe?” I’d called out as I grabbed the last of the dirty glasses from the tables, placing them in my basket before heading off to the utility room, where I then loaded up the dishwashers. I had left him to lock up tonight. He is hardly ever around anymore. Sometimes, it really doesn’t feel like a partnership.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him; he does have another job to go to, after all.

I had just loaded the last of glasses into the washer before slipping my shoes off as I place my aching feet on the cool floor. So looking forward to sliding into my bed tonight when suddenly, there was an almighty crash from the bar area…I had let out a yell of fright before I peep through the small glass window of the utility room,

“What the hell was that?”

A group of guys had come crashing through the bar, thick-set guys wearing dark clothing, Mafia it has to be. I have heard the stories of them around the town, but why are they here? I have nothing to hide? Why the hell are the Mafia breaking into my bar?

I can’t leave Warren out there on his own with them; I find my shoes and slip back into them, ready to head out there and find out what these guys want. At that moment, one of the guys sees Warren and immediately punches him.

“What the fuck is going on?”

I look around the tiny utility room; I need to find a weapon. I have to help Warren, and I pick up a glass bottle, taking a deep breath as I get ready to head through the door,

“You can do this, Erin,” I whisper to nobody.

I hear Warren yell, “Who are you guys?”

The big guy laughs as he replies,” You bastard, you know who I am, and I know what you’ve been doing.”

I raise the bottle above my head but stop in my tracks as I hear,

“Do you know Jessica then?”

Warren freezes…As I wonder who this Jessica is.

But the thick-set guy soon answered my question as he replies, “She is my girlfriend. You dare to seduce my woman.”

My heart drops at those words. Warren doesn’t admit it at first, but when he realises who he is dealing with and that there is no way out of this, he begins to panic, and the man orders his loons to kill Warren and smash up the bar, My Bar…

The place erupts in chaos as the chairs and tables are smashed, and the man who only last night declared his undying love for me makes a run for it, knowing that the back entrance is still open, leaving me alone with a group of six furious Mafia men.

“Shit”

This isn’t good; the lying lowlife bastard didn’t even look back, knowing that I was trapped in here with nowhere to go.

I stay hidden in the utility room, hiding myself in the corner and praying they don’t come in here, but they are too preoccupied trying to find Warren.

My mind wanders to my boyfriend, four years we have been together, four years of my life that I’ve wasted on him; I wipe away my tears. Now is not the time to feel sorry for myself; now is the time to worry about getting out of here alive.

I sit and think of the past four years and how Warren seemed less and less interested in the bar. Come to think of it, the only thing he’s ever been interested in regarding the Stargazer is the profits that it pulls in, Profits that, lately, he likes to gamble and flush away. Thank God I’ve always done the books myself. I could never tell Warren just how much money this place really rakes in as I knew it would have all gone on another crazy ass scheme of his.

When the noise from inside the bar dies down, I tentatively crawl out from my hiding space, inching the door open to peep into the bar area; what I see |I can only describe as devastation.

My precious bar is in shambles; not one part of it hasn’t been smashed into pieces, chairs and tables are lying in pieces, and every single mirror in the bar has been smashed to smithereens.

Thankfully, though, the Mafia seem to have moved on, leaving me alone to deal with the aftermath.

I wipe away a tear. Warren knew I was in the utility room, and he didn’t even try to get to me, lying lowlife that he is.

I hide out in the bar for a few hours, too scared to look outside, as I try to figure out what to do and where to go. When I’ve got no more tears left to cry, I pull my sleeves up; I will not let Warren ruin my dreams. I can make the Stargazer rise again, but first, I need to deal with him.

I leave by the back entrance, hiding in the shadows in case any of the Mafia are still around. When I get out of sight, I finally turn back to look at my precious bar. This is not the end. This is only the beginning, and it’s time to make a plan and put it into action.

I stomp my way to the house I share with Warren; thank God it’s within walking distance of the bar. My car is still parked outside; I’m sure they will have someone watching and hoping that Warren goes back there. I can’t chance driving here not until everything calms down, but when I get to the house, yes, you guessed it, the Mafia are there too.

I have nowhere to go!

Thank God I didn’t let Warren waste all of the profits; my mum always used to say you should save some money for a rainy day, and so I did; yet here I am dressed in the same clothes with no car and a bag full of money, and thankfully a large savings account to go with it.

First things first though, I need to find a hotel, somewhere to sleep tonight because tomorrow my new life begins!

It’s 2 a.m. By the time I crawl into bed, I’m exhausted; my eyes close before my head hits the pillow.

‘Squeak” What the fuck!

I peel my eyes open as I adjust to the dark; there was no mistaking the sound of the window being prized open. Shit, the Mafia men have come looking for Warren. They must have followed me here. I grasp my hand around the bedside lamp as I slowly climb out of the bed and watch in horror as the figure climbs through the window. Sliding my back against the wall, I work my way to where I know the light switch is, the lamp still in my grasp as I hold it above my head, ready to strike.

“He’s not here, you motherfuckers”

I yell, switching the light on as I launch myself at the hood figure.