by A. G. Khaliq
I couldn't help myself but to get involved in the shadows. Take care of shit without anybody knowing. Don't get me wrong, I didn't kill innocent people. But there were just some things that I couldn't forget, or shake from my mind. So I killed rapists and paedophiles. Those were the only people I killed. The law wasn't going to take care of them, since so many motherfuckers put up a front, so they deserved it anyway. Rapists could be the people that you least expect to be. It could be your next door neighbour, who you don't leave the house without saying 'Good morning' to every morning. Or the smart-ass lawyer that everybody hired to take care of their case. Or 50
even a fucking cop themselves, who's very job was to put these scum behind bars.
My parents brought me up to be a respectable
man.
One
who
respected
boundaries, who knew how to respect a woman's wishes. To never murder innocents. I still had a soul left in my body, despite the terrible things I'd witnessed in my lifetime. And despite my dad's bitter past, I couldn't be prouder that he shaped me into the man that he could never be.
He'd learnt from his past, moved on, and paid the price for it. Me and my brothers were going to continue the legacy for years moving forward.
I drew out a sharp deep breath that I didn't know I was holding, snapping myself out of my thoughts. I was convinced that I'd made myself look like a full-blown creep. I was coming on way too strong with Sapphire, and she was probably getting overwhelmed by it. I'd probably put her off me, and that was the last thing that I wanted to do.
“It's nothing,” I shrugged, trying my best to rectify the situation. “You can get to work.”
Sapphire turned on her heel, looking a little disappointed, but she didn’t say anything.
She made her way out of my office nervously, shutting the door behind her. My eyes burned into her back as she left.
51
I turned around, trying my best to regain my fucking composure. I felt like such an idiot.
What even was that, and what the hell was I thinking?
I began rustling through my papers again, before I heard my office door open again. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, turning around to see who it was. To my sheer disappointment, I was greeted by Sharon, a woman that I’d hooked up with once, but she never knew how to fucking leave me alone.
“Who the fuck was that bitch?” Sharon scolded bitterly. “If she thinks she's taking my man off of me, she's got another thing coming.”
Sharon rolled her eyes, and then shook her fists angrily. “Ugly slut.”
“She’s just a new worker, get off my fucking back Sharon, Jesus Christ,” I muttered angrily. She was such a psychopath, it was agitating. This woman didn’t know how to take no for an answer, and it pissed me off the way she spoke about other women, as if she was some sort of goddess that was above everybody else.
Sharon rolled her eyes again, and then began strutting towards me, shaking her ass as she walked. Sharon was a sexy woman, I’d give her that. She had slender blue eyes, pale skin, plump lips, and a slim, hourglass figure. She was 52
wearing a black crop top paired with a black mini skirt, and long black gladiator fuck-me high-heels.
It was just such a fucking shame that her personality didn’t match her looks. Maybe if it did, she would have been in for a fucking chance with me…
“Donte, babe,” she said coyly.
I sighed agitatedly. “What is it, Sharon?” I asked, pissed off.
“My mom told me to come in and tell you that we need to start preparing the wedding soon,” she smirked.
“When will you get it in your head that I'm not marrying you?” I shot back furiously.
“You know it's gonna happen, no matter how much you try and fight it, baby,” Sharon remarked, with her hands on her hips. She pushed her tits together, taking steps towards me, tracing my collar with her long nails. “It's tradition that we will both get married, whether you like it or not.” She tilted my chin so that I was facing her, much to my displeasure. “Maybe if you stopped entertaining every piece of meat you see walking through these office doors, and spent more time getting to know me, then you'd actually be happy that you're marrying me, and would want this just as much as I do.”
53
“I'm entitled to do whatever the fuck I like,” I retorted, repulsed. “Today isn't the day to piss me off, Sharon, so just go home and leave me alone. I've got business to take care of.”
“But I've come all this way just to see you.”
She bit her lip. “Let me relieve some of your stress, baby.”
She began dusting herself off, before sliding out of her top, so that she was just in her bra and mini skirt. She winked at me playfully, and I could feel my blood boil to the point that it almost dried up. She behaved like a toy that I could use at my own disposal. Even when I was at work, she had no respect for herself.
“Jesus, Sharon, put your fucking clothes back on!”
“We've slept with each other before, stop being so damn stuck up,” Sharon said seethingly.
“Yeah, a drunken one night stand,” I retorted bitterly. “Get the fuck out of my office!”
Sharon rolled her eyes.
“Whatever,” she shrugged. “We're going wedding shopping in a few days.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again, taking my head into my hands furiously. Sharon smirked, before strutting out of the room. She knew exactly how to push my fucking buttons, and I fucking hated it. She made 54
me so fucking mad.
Screw my dad for getting me in this unwanted situation. I fucking despised Sharon, but my dad always wanted to force tradition down my throat, and wanted me to have an arranged marriage with her, just because of the Mafia, and it being good for fucking business.
I fucking despised myself for giving into Sharon that one night, and giving her what she wanted, because now, she would never leave me alone. She would hold it against me as long as I fucking breathed. Sometimes, I thought too much with my cock, and not enough with my fucking brain, and it irritated me.
I didn’t know any possible way that I would be able to wriggle myself out of this situation.
55
6
brett
It had been days since Maya had left Washington now, and I felt like fucking shit about myself. It felt like my life had been taken away from me.
Like I was a dead man walking. An empty, lost fucking soul. All I could do was walk down the streets alone, my head fucking with me, wondering where it all went wrong.
She’d dropped the bombshell of her leaving on me, and I felt like a fucking mess without her. I didn’t know what I was going to 56
do moving forward. Maya had been my world, and she put an end to our relationship like it meant nothing to her. Like it wasn’t worth anything, and her life was better off without me in it…
I wasn’t just going to let this slide. Did she really think that she could just string me along for years, and then just throw away everything that we had, as if I was a worthless piece of trash?
She had another thing coming.
I needed answers. Some sort of explanation as to why I wasn’t enough for her…
Because right now, I felt so bad about myself, that I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror without getting angry.
I stormed into work, bolting straight towards Boss’s office. Phillip. The bastard who sent her on this fucking undercover mission, made her break up with me, took Maya away from me…
He had his back turned to me, and he was examining some CCTV footage from a drug cartel case about some Mexicans. I balled my hand into a fist, shaking with rage as I watched him.
“What the fuck, Phillip?!” I roared.
He turned around, rubbing his chin in thought, appearing surprised as to why I was 57
here.
“What the fuck's wrong with you?” he remarked, repulsed.
“You sent
Maya to go undercover and you didn't even let me fucking know?!” I screamed.
Boss rolled his eyes agitatedly.
“I saw fit for her to do this job,” he shrugged, before folding his arms. “She's my best agent and you know it.”
“Are you sure that there isn't more to this than that?” I screamed. “Did you two have a fucking thing or something?!”
“Woah, woah, woah, back the fuck up,”
Boss denied bitterly. “How did you reach THAT
conclusion?”
“She fucking broke up with me, that's why!” I argued defensively. “Told me it won't work out anymore!” I shook my head, trying to stop myself from crying. “After two years of being together!”
“Maybe she's just using it as an excuse because she wasn't that into you, Brett,” Boss retorted, his voice dropping to barely below a whisper. “Now simmer the fuck down and don't forget who you're talking to.”
“She belongs with me!” I said angrily, punching the wall behind him. I couldn’t contain my anger anymore. I wanted to murder.
58
“You sound like a psychopath,” Boss shot back. “Just let it go, man.”
“I fucking loved her!” I spat angrily, tears falling down my cheeks. “And she went on about how she'll only ever love me as a friend! What the fuck did I do to deserve this?!”
“I TOLD YOU TO FUCKING LET IT
GO!” Boss roared. “Let her put her career once, for God's sake. We work to put the toughest criminals in the USA behind bars, we shouldn't be having relationships in the first place! This should have been put an end to a long time ago!”
He rolled his eyes angrily. “Move on, Brett. She's taking on a very high profile case at the moment, and we can't afford for anything to go wrong. Do you want the next time you see her to be in a fucking coffin?!”
“Tell me where she is,” I said quietly.
“I can't do that, it's confidential.” Boss balled his hand into a fist, his eyes bloodshot.
“YOU STUPID BASTARD, DON’T YOU
UNDERSTAND?! She doesn't exist as Maya Bradshaw anymore! Every trace of her that was EVER Maya Bradshaw has been eliminated!”
I felt my face fall, and my blood run cold.
I was hurting so much… So much that I could feel my heart twist into knots. It felt like somebody was throwing a million daggers right 59
at me in the chest, through millions of different directions at once. I could barely breathe. It felt like I was suffocating. Like the life that I knew, would never be the same again…
“There's no more record of her!” Boss screamed. “I've given her a brand new identity, and I’ve assigned her to a past that she didn't live!
If you try to look for her, it'll compromise everything! You’ll put her in danger, put her life at risk!” He shook his head angrily. “I'm warning you for the last time to leave it alone.”
We’ll see about that, I thought to myself.
He slammed his paperwork down on the desk, before storming out of the room, leaving me dithering in the middle of it. All I could do was replay what Maya said to me over and over in my head, like a form of torture. I refused to let our relationship end so shit, so terribly, like everything we went through counted for nothing…
I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
Without Maya, I felt like nothing.
Like a man who had nothing left to live for.
Like doom was nothing but my fate.
I refused to accept this as reality.
I refused to accept it…
60
7
donte
I stood in the middle of my office. I’d had a long day at work, sorting through so much shit, and now, it was night-time. I was just so fucking ready to go home and kick my legs up.
My phone started blaring, and I held it out in front of my face, to see who it was. It was my brother Arturo.
Arturo was the brother that I was closest to out of all of my brothers. He was brown-skinned, with black hair, dark green eyes, 61
freckles, and he had a scar through his eyebrow, just like I did. My brother Pedro looked like me but with a flatter nose and black hair, and my brother Iglesias looked more like Arturo, just with hazel eyes, and he was a lot more well-built than Arturo was.
I clicked the Green receive button on my phone, and held my phone against my ear.
“What is it, Arturo?” I asked.
“Dad wants us to have a family meeting tonight,” Arturo replied, on the other end of the line. “He wants to talk about all the cash that's been coming in from all of our businesses, and to seal a deal with the Mexicans on a gun order.”
“For fuck's sake!” I sighed, rolling my eyes, because I was disappointed, since I’d just wanted to go home and have an early night tonight. “Alright, I'll be there. Where are we gonna meet?”
“We're having it upstairs in the strip club,” Arturo explained. “Besides, why do you sound so angry bro? Who pissed in your Cheerios?” He roared with laughter.
“Don't fucking get me started man!” I shot back, unamused. “Sharon came into my office today, banging on about the marriage again! I don't wanna fucking marry her, bro!”
Arturo roared with laughter again. “She's 62
a funny bitch, man. Dad wants to talk to you about her, too…”
“Way to fucking kill the mood man!” I sighed, exasperated. “I'll see you there.”
I hung up the phone, seething, shoving it back into my pocket.
“It pisses me off how much my brother loves to piss me off,” I muttered to myself, and then I couldn’t help but to let out a chuckle. “I should close up here and then head out.”
I nodded to myself in approval, and then began making my way out of my office, and to the business hallway, with the master-key in my hands.
As I made my way out to the elevators after locking all of the rooms, I heard a familiar laugh.
There was no mistaking that it was Sapphire from earlier…
I drew out a deep breath that I didn’t know I was holding. Maybe now was the chance to apologise if I made her feel uncomfortable earlier…
I rubbed my chin in thought, as I continued to follow the sound of the laughter, trying to figure out where she was.
But as I looked properly, I realized that she wasn't giggling alone.
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She was with Pedro...
My fucking brother, who worked here on my demands.
It looked like he was trying to stake his claim.
I couldn't help but to feel a massive wave of jealousy hit me.
I barely knew Sapphire…
But seeing her here, giggling, and laughing with another man,
Especially when that man was my fucking brother,
Was getting on my fucking nerves, and was enough to screw with my mind to the point of no fucking return.
I needed to get rid of Pedro. He wasn’t taking what was mine. I saw Sapphire first, and now, I couldn’t bear the very thought of her seeing or speaking to another guy who wasn’t me…
The woman who I hadn't been able to get off my mind all damn day, and I couldn't even figure out why. Probably because I saw so much of myself in her, and I felt that we would both be able to relate to things together, and have a good time.
“Excuse me, Pedro?” I said, folding my arms.
64
Pedro jolted upwards, surprised, as he turned around to face me. Sapphire rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“Is there a problem, Donte?” Pedro asked awkwardly.
“You've worked hard today,” I shrugged.
“Um, thanks?”
He furrowed his eyebrows, confused.
“Get the fuck down to the club, Arturo and Dad are waiting for you,” I said authoritatively, my voice dropping to barely below a whisper. Pedro knew that this meant business, and he shouldn’t argue back to me.
“Understood,
Donte,”
Pedro
said,
scratching his neck sheepishly.
He turned back to Sapphire, smiling at her.
“I'll see you tomorrow, Sapphire,” he said coyly. “Is it alright if I take your number?”
“Of course,” Sapphire replied, blushing.
“I said go and meet Arturo, Pedro!” I shot at him angrily, because just seeing them speak to her like this in front of me was enough to make my blood boil to the point that it almost dried up.
Sapphire looked amused. I guessed that she could tell that I was jealous. But what could I say? I didn't like fucking sharing.
65
“Another time, Sapphire,” Pedro said awkwardly, turning on his heel.
Sapphire nodded in response, and Pedro began to walk out of the building nervously.
And before I knew it…
Me and Sapphire were alone.
66
8
maya
Before I knew it…
Me and Donte were alone.
I bit my lip at him as he stared at me. It was hard to read him.
I’d spent the day coding the Python programs that he’d left by my desk, and needless to say, I was exhausted, not to mention fucking bored. I thought that for now, it would be best to just ease into life in Manhattan, rather than to start gathering evidence straight away, because I 67
needed to make myself comfortable in the environment.
I’d bumped into Pedro on my way out from my office, because my shift was up, and he seemed friendly. He was quite funny too, and we got talking pretty fast.
I had no idea that he was Donte’s fucking brother, though!
When Donte stormed up to us after seeing us both talking, I couldn’t help but to get this vibe from him that he was almost jealous. I was just being friendly to Pedro, and Donte looked like he was about to murder. He was quite a possessive man, and it was quite sexy, if I was being honest. It looked like I’d found his weakness.
Me.
“Ahm…” I said awkwardly, trying to clear the tension in the air. “Are you okay? Mr -” I swallowed, not knowing why I always became a bundle of nerves whenever I said his name.