After Msindo introduced me to his friends, we spent the next few moments laughing, dancing, and having a great time as we continued drinking wine. I was gradually feeling more and more comfortable with him. As the night wore on, we sat on a couch, talking and getting to know each other better. He had a wife and a daughter. When it was my turn to talk about my family, I put my fingers on his lips, stood up, and pulled him toward the stage.
On the stage, he didn't wait for me to lead the dance. He was unlike anyone I had ever seen—his hands and legs moved with a hypnotic rhythm. He moved to the throb of the beat; his body was so flexible, as if the music were pulling his soul out.
I enjoyed it when he carried me on his shoulders. His hands held a tight grip on me as he nuzzled his fresh-shaven face against my stomach. The light scrape of his stubble sent shivers down my spine, and I couldn't control my feelings. I wrapped my thighs around his neck, and he couldn't resist—his warm tongue licked my stomach.
The music had shifted to a slow, jazzy rhythm.
A wave of pleasure washed over me. He slowly put me on the floor.
I felt so dizzy and leaned into his posture.
"We took too much cocaine," he whispered.
I held his shaven cheeks and pinched them a little in admiration. He was fun—and even crazier than I was. It slipped my mind that he had a wife as he made me remember my ex, who was much like him—the same charisma.
He didn't wait to kiss me, and without thinking too much, I fell into the trap. However, it wasn't long before his wife showed up and gave me a tight slap. I moved backward as she came in between us.
The music stopped, and everyone watched us. The overhead lights had flickered on as they started playing jazzy music. I came back to my senses.
Menzi was back, standing on the stage. He didn't say a word as Msindo's wife continued shouting at me and flying continuous slaps and punches into my face.
Msindo stepped in, apologizing to his wife, but she was deaf to reason and unstoppable.
"Enough!"
Menzi shouted as he came to my rescue. Msindo's wife stopped and looked at Menzi as he walked down the stage, coming straight to me. He stood in front of me but didn't utter a word.
Msindo's wife said I was a bitch.
Menzi gripped her arm and pulled her to his face. He snapped that I was with him—so any insult to me was an insult to him, and that was intolerable. He commanded Msindo to take his wife home, not to mention the competition that Msindo was so interested in, which was over.
Please—don't judge Msindo and me. We were both drunk. I wondered how it had happened while I was with Menzi and I asked myself what Msindo's wife was doing at Kaden House so late. Anyway, I messed up that night.
Msindo and his wife left. The Joker kept entertaining the crowd while I ran after Menzi as he headed to his car.
I was fifty meters behind him.
When he got into his car, he locked the car doors and started the engine. That made me lose my mind because I didn't know what to do. I knew no one in Drazen Central, and Menzi was leaving me. I screamed his name, but he ignored even my pleading gestures.
For a second, the cocaine's effects faded, clearing my head. Menzi would've left me if I remained calm. I ran into the front of the car and continued trying to make him stop. I even dropped to my knees—and only then he stopped.
He opened the passenger door.
I quickly stood up and rushed to the car.
When I got inside, he jerked the car into gear. I knew I caused his anger. I acted stupid when we were at Kaden House.
He focused on the steering. I grew even more afraid as he kept increasing the speed, mile after mile. I tried to apologize to him many times, but it was all for nothing until I felt like I was desperate. If he had treated me the way Msindo did, I wouldn't have acted like that at Kaden House—so it was partly his fault too.
He stopped the car next to a heavily fenced perimeter.
Inside the perimeter were many buildings, and the lights flooded in every direction. He went outside the car after telling me we were at his workplace and commanded me to stay in the car.
I was glad to hear him tell me that because, from Kaden House to his workplace, he never said a word to me.
I sat tense inside the car and watched him speaking to some men at the entrance. He then went inside for about thirty minutes. I checked the clock on the dashboard and realized it was already 4:00 a.m. That was when I realized I didn't have my purse or phone.
I checked in the car, but I found nothing. I recalled removing my phone from the charger the moment we got outside the car when we were getting into the Kaden House. I fumbled with the dashboard tray, and when I opened it, I couldn't believe my eyes.
There were stacks of hundred-dollar bills piled high.
That made me forget about my lost belongings.
Aside from the money, there was a box of cigarettes and a lighter. I took just the cigarette and the lighter and slid outside the car to smoke.
Questions pounded in my head as I got confused, thinking about Menzi's way of living. While lost in my thoughts, Menzi came out from the perimeter. I stood there smoking, pretending not to see him until he was right beside me.
"Stay in the car—was that too complicated for you?" he asked, trying to snatch the cigarettes from my fingers.
"It was clear. I wanted to smoke!" I said, pressing the cigarette with the tip of my fingers.
He tried to move closer to me, but I pushed him away. Then I grabbed a cigarette box from the car seat and handed it to him. He lit the cigarette, and then we smoked silently for some time.
"I hope you only took the cigarettes, Lisa," he said, knowing that I saw his money.
"… And the lighter! You know what… that got me thinking… who are you, Menzi?" I asked, looking at him.
"This is not a good time to question me," he informed me.
"Enough, Menzi! I am no longer in my hometown here. I need to know you… what if something happens to me? What if you are protecting and behaving well to me, only to lure me into some trap? I kissed Msindo… you saved me from his wife. Why? Tell me, what do you do for a living? What do you want from me?" I demanded answers, then threw the cigarette away and cried, "Please, I need at least something more tangible to know you, not just your name."
He looked at me and grabbed my shoulders after he also threw his cigarette away. I was inches from him as he whispered in my ears.
"Something tangible… is it what you want, huh?" he asked softly. Suddenly, he commanded, "Open my jacket!"
I opened his jacket and froze instantly.
Menzi was a gangster. He had a pistol under his belt.
"Now, get in the car. I need to sleep!" he ordered, freeing my shoulders from his grip.
My mind raced, my body paralyzed by fear. To make things worse, I didn't know where he was taking me. He frightened me because it was my first time to see a pistol in reality. I was with a gangster at night—phone-less and helpless. I stared at him in fear and slid silently into the car. "You look terrified," he remarked, though he still asked how I was.
I whispered I was okay.
"Please relax, you're safe with me," he said, assuring me as he pressed the gears. "Soon we will be home."
I stayed silent, and somehow, I fell asleep.