by Rina Kent
“I’m here.” A tall man strides from the front door. He’s in a pressed dark blue suit. His hair and eyes are pitch black. There’s no break between the irises and pupils. The unusual sight is freaky. And bloody frightening.
Once Julian’s eyes fall on him, his lips twitch. “Aaron. Long time no see.”
“A few days isn’t long.” The doctor – Aaron – sounds like the most bored human on earth. Like he was dragged out of his holidays for something trivial. “I asked you to call me when there’s some fun. Stitching you and Kyle up isn’t my idea of fun, old man.”
Julian’s lips twitch. “It’s more fun than your boring snobbish life, don’t you think?”
Aaron says nothing. Instead, he reaches into his briefcase and retrieves some medical supplies and cleaners. Despite his obvious disdain, his movements are precise and meticulous.
I stand rooted in place, watching how careless both of them are about this.
“Who is she?” Aaron asks without sparing me a glance. He’s putting on gloves with meticulous care.
“None of your business.” Julian grits out, then grunts when Aaron pokes his wound with a gloved finger. “You little —”
“Bastard!” I finish and I’m in front of Aaron’s face in a second. “What type of doctor are you? Why are you hurting him on purpose?”
His dark eyes fall on me, and now, I wish they hadn’t. They’re so black and devoid of life. It’s like he’s contemplating why he’s letting me live.
Despite the lump lodged in my throat, I keep my stance. I don’t care how scary he is, I won’t allow anyone to hurt Julian.
“I’m looking for a bullet,” Aaron says dryly.
“There isn’t one!” I shout, and Julian smiles a little.
“Is that so?” Aaron asks, but he’s staring at Julian. Then he directs his bored gaze to me. “Help me by remaining silent.”
I’m about to curse him again, but Julian subtly shakes his head. “You don’t have to watch. I’ll be fine. Go upstairs and I’ll be with you in a bit.”
“He won’t die.” Aaron detached tone drifts in the silence.
I want to argue. Poke this Aaron in the ribs or punch him in the face to fix Julian up, but I doubt that my presence will have the opposite effect. I glance at Julian. Once he offers me a reassuring smile, I reluctantly head upstairs.
Autopilot mode is still on as I close the room’s door. I head into the bathroom and lift my shaky palms. They’re bloodied. So is my T-shirt and my shorts. I stare at my reflection in the mirror. My hair is dishevelled, the brown strands dirty. Droplets of blood mar my face.
Julian’s blood.
Julian could’ve died today.
A tremor shoots through my limbs, then I’m shaking all over. My whole body is about to collapse. My gaze falls on the counter. Mine and Julian’s brushes are aligned next to each other. My makeup is scattered amongst his shaving supplies. Our shampoos are facing one another.
It’s been so natural for our lives to intertwine so intimately. For him to become my home. And then, he could’ve left and never returned.
I could’ve lost him forever. Just like I lost Zoe. Everything could’ve been over.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I yank off the bloodied clothes. No idea how it happened, but somehow, Julian losing his life became equivalent to me losing mine.
No. I won’t think about it. I’m so exhausted to think about anything. I take a quick, scalding shower and throw one of Julian’s T-shirts over me. I don’t bother to wear anything underneath. I just need to feel his soothing scent.
I intend to wait for him, but the moment I put my head on the pillow, sleep drifts me away.
I wake up to a strong arm caging me from behind. His tired voice rasps in my ear, “You look hot as hell in that T-shirt, Firefly.”
Tears rim my eyes as I turn against him. What’s with all the crying today?
Julian must’ve taken a shower because he smells like his masculine shampoo and his hair is damp.
I check his wound and it’s neatly stitched. “I’m surprised that rude doctor did a good job.”
Julian ruffles my hair and his eyes are droopy as if he’s taken a drug and needs to sleep. Even his voice comes out husky. “Don’t provoke assassins next time, Firefly.”
“Oh.” He’s a killer. I keep attracting them like a magnet.
Shit job, Elle.
“Don’t worry. He’s one of my disciples and would never hurt my woman.”
My woman. I’m biting back a huge grin.
Despite the tiredness in his eyes, they still manage their addictive intensity as he says, “I’m sorry you were in danger because of me.”
“I don’t care.” My head buries against his good shoulder, needing to breathe him in and make sure he’s alive. My palm stretches over the intricate tattoos and the gritty warrior I’ve fallen in love with. “I was just scared something might happen to you.”
“I was also scared something might happen to you.” He kisses the top of my head, and I melt into his embrace. “I’m so proud of how strong you were out there.”
A strange noise leaves my throat. It’s between a whimper and a sigh. I hug him close and rest my head against his hard chest where his tattoos’ tendrils creep along. My palm hovers over the stitches where the warrior’s arm is damaged. I hope it’s not permanent. “Why did you get this tattoo?”
Julian lifts a shoulder. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You were forced to have it?” Shame. I always thought it was a masterpiece.
“No.” His voice drips with humour. “Or yes. Depends on how you look at it. We have Ink in Team Zero. He’s a genius tattoo artist but doesn’t have clients. He only draws for those he deems worthy of his art. I was one of them. I wanted the tattoo but I didn’t have a say in what he chose to make for me. He doesn’t do custom tattoos and only inks those he’s known for at least a decade. Knowing the people he inks allows him to get a tattoo that speaks of them.”
My fingers glide over the swirls along Julian’s hard bicep. “I think he did a masterpiece. This warrior speaks so much of you.” I meet his gaze. “I assume he did Shadow’s ink, too?”
He nods. “He did all of Team Zero’s. Ink is our exclusive.” A sheen of anger and sadness pierces the brown of his eyes. “I need to get him out.”
I plant a kiss on his pectoral muscle. “I’m sure you will.”
We remain like that for a while. His heartbeat evens out beneath my ears and I’m about to fall asleep, too.
“Who’s Liam?” Julian asks in that husky tone.
My heart jolts. “What?”
His words come out calm, but a hurricane lurks underneath. “You mentioned a Liam when you were saying everything on your mind in the car earlier.”
Oh. Shit!
“You were shot and bleeding and still had the time to concentrate on that?” I laugh it off.
“Yes, I did, Elle.” His voice turns frighteningly serious and his body stiffens. “Who is he?”
“A friend,” I say, almost too quickly, but it’s not a lie.
“Hmmm.” He relaxes a bit. Just a bit. “Only a friend?”
I laugh – for real this time. He’s just jealous. I reach out and kiss him, making sure to bite his lower lip. “Yes, Julian, only a friend. You were my first, remember?”
He grunts, eyes hooding as his arm tightens around my waist. “Fuck right I do. And I plan to be your last, Firefly.”
Those words thrill and scare the hell out of me. Instead of pondering on them, I close my eyes and sleep in Julian’s embrace.
Because it’s the most right place to be.
Empty.
That’s the only thought I have when I wake up. No trace of Julian. Only his scent.
How foolish it was to believe he’ll have a decent sleep like normal people. Though it makes sense that he would want to go after those who shot him. Things are becoming seriously dangerous. Not only Kyle was shot but there was also the attack.
/> Julian better not put himself in danger.
I groan and sit up. My temples throb with a headache. What did I expect after so much crying?
My gaze falls on my bracelet and I nearly break down again. I’ve been so distracted by the chaos of the shooting and Julian being hurt that I momentarily forgot my best friend died. Right in this place where I’m staying.
My eyes fill with tears, but I wipe them away.
I could cry all day, but that won’t bring her back. I throw the covers off. I won’t let Zoe’s death be in vain. I’ll mourn her later after I find out why she was killed and who did it.
I change into shorts and a T-shirt. I’m halfway to the bathroom when a breeze comes through the window. Shadow. He’s crouching on the window pane, wearing the same dark jeans and white T-shirt from yesterday. His hair is dishevelled and dark circles outline the metal grey of his eyes.
He’s about to knock. Seriously, what’s the point if he’s already there?
“Don’t you ever use the door?”
“Sometimes. Not today.” There’s no hint of his usual playfulness. Instead, a gloomy aura is strapped tightly around his features.
“So?” I approach until I’m standing in front of him. “What are we going to do?”
The grey of his eyes darkens as he narrows them. “There’s no ‘we’.”
“What do you mean there’s no ‘we’? I need to know the truth.”
“And you will. Just stay put.” A fleeting pain passes through his closed-off features. “Zoe wouldn’t have wanted you involved in this.”
“Well, Zoe is dead!” The shout shocks him as much as it shocks me. It seems that Shadow hasn’t been processing her death just like me.
His jaw tightens and his handsome face morphs into something eerily dark. Dangerously menacing. A killer. Just like Julian.
“Let me help,” I coax, using the calmest tone I can manage. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
“There’s nothing to help with. I analysed the video and found out who was on the roof with her.”
My breaths turn shallow. “Who is it?”
Shadow shakes his head. “I’ll finish him myself.”
“Just tell me who is it? Did Mist send him? Is he that shady man who I thought was Ghost?”
Silence stretches between us. My fists clench, and it takes everything in me not to shake Shadow.
After what seems like a year of measuring me up, he says, “You won’t get in my way?”
I nod. “Absolutely not!”
“You can watch if you want,” Shadow says. “Tonight. I will finish him in the same place he finished her.”
And then, he climbs down the window.
Energy pumps in my veins. My feet find themselves striding to Julian’s safe. He doesn’t think I notice, or he probably does and lowered his guard around me, but I caught the combination to the safe. I enter the pin, and the safe clicks open. There are only guns and knives inside. I pick a similar handgun to the one we practised with and caress the trigger.
I hope Julian will forgive me. Not only for stealing his gun, but also for hiding the truth. I will tell him once I take care of Zoe’s killer.
I won’t only watch as Shadow told me. I will shoot the bastard who took my family away in the damn forehead.
27
Ghost
President Joe and I meet in an abandoned warehouse at the south-east end. Grey walls and granite floors surround us. It’s secure enough that I’m sure no one would eavesdrop. I picked up President Joe myself, so he didn’t know where we’re meeting ahead of time.
I stand across from him in a straight posture. Pain is pulsing from my wound even though I took as many painkillers as possible.
President Joe is in one of his usual double-breasted striped suits, complete with the red bowtie.
He’s weaponless, too. I made sure of that. Not that he usually carries weapons.
“Some might think you brought me here to kill me.” His tone remains neutral which means he’s sure I won’t. “You know I have nothing to do with the attacks, right?”
“Yes. However, someone from your side and another from mine are trying to stir a war.”
His fingers glide over his bowtie. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m still not sure about the identity of my traitor.” I retrieve my phone and tap a few things. “I am, however, sure of who met with my traitor.” I show him the security feed of the camera I recently installed in the warehouse area. “See for yourself.”
Someone opens the warehouse’s door. It’s a storage situated on the outskirts of Le Salon. The person inside is hidden from the camera’s range. Only a hand appears, but it’s gloved and gives nothing away. Not even gender. However, the rat who walks to the door is as clear as the sun.
“Fucking Johnny.” President Joe spits and loosens his bowtie. “He will be taken care of. You have my word.”
“If I find him, I will take care of him myself. Do I have your permission?”
I don’t need to ask for permission to slaughter the rat, but it’s an offering of mutual respect to President Joe.
He clicks his tongue as if disgusted then motions away. “I have no place for traitors in my turf.”
“Not even if he’s you’re right hand?”
“Not even if it’s my own family.” His eyes fill with harshness as if he’s seeing demons. Maybe he did disown his own daughter as the rumours have it.
“Brilliant. Now that we have that under wraps,” I pause at the burn in my wound. Omega’s pain-suppressing effects would be nice now. “Here’s the deal. If you pay me double a month’s earnings, you will be granted twenty-five per cent of the factory’s shares.”
President Joe remains silent for a minute, fingering his bowtie. The best way to negotiate is to give them a deal they can’t refuse. President Joe has been salivating over the factory ever since he heard of the first one. Twenty-five per cent is huge and more than he could’ve ever hoped for.
We still have seventy-five per cent, and therefore, we’re the owners. Hades won’t hear about this since it’s only between President Joe and me. I didn’t even tell the others.
No matter how much I hate continuing the drugs’ production, we have to keep the factory as a leech until all of Team Zero’s members are out.
Now that I have Elle, I will take a step back and stop thinking I can save all of Team Zero. No matter how painful the thought of losing my own family is, losing Elle is a lot worse. No idea what that woman has done to me, but I know like the back of my hand that I won’t be able to live without her.
Not anymore.
I can understand Shadow now.
“Thirty per cent.” President Joe tries to bargain.
“Twenty-five is my final offer.” I loosen my injured arm to ease the pain. “Take it or leave it.”
He maintains silence for a full minute while staring at me. A tactic to have me succumb. Humans loathe silence and they either fill it or become flustered while trying to bypass it.
We were taught such psychological tricks at a young age. If President Joe thinks he can beat me at my own game, then he better think again.
When I remain completely unfazed, President Joe must’ve realised that his trick doesn’t work. He sighs. “You have yourself a deal.”
We retrieve our phones. I transfer the deed the lawyer has given me – because the factory is legal. President Joe will need to bring his lawyer next time to finalise the permanent ownership.
This initial document ensures that I’m keeping my word about selling him the shares.
President Joe transfers the money to the Swiss bank account.
A victorious smile animates his face. Even his bald head seems to be shining as he offers his hand for a shake. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Ghost.”
I give a firm handshake. “You, too, President Joe.”
Not really. But it’s the only card I have.
Once he leaves the warehouse, I
relax my shoulder. It hurts like hell. I try dialling Shadow, but his phone is turned off. Again. He’s been missing since yesterday. If he knew I was shot, he would’ve barged in, fists raised and demanded we ‘kill them all’. He hasn’t shown up for our morning workout either, which is concerning, to say the least. He better not have injected himself with a full dose of Omega and done something reckless.
He’s barely in line after cheating the detox for so long.
Mist isn’t talking to me either, but she came over yesterday when Aaron was stitching me up. She stood at his side with a grumpy expression and ordered him to hurry up, just like Elle. Although she wasn’t talking to me, Mist stayed until Aaron confirmed that my wound is nothing serious. Because she’s that loyal. To me. And to Hawk.
Time to do right by her and by my mate.
I dial Hades. He picks up after a few rings. He’s always slow at receiving calls. He likes to be the one who tosses the orders, not the other way around.
“Ghost,” he says in that smooth voice. “It’s past the end of the month, so I assume you have good news.”
“I do. I have double the production fees.”
“Wonderful.” I can almost see that heinous smile. “Transfer them.”
Not so fast. “Let Hawk go.”
“I will.” He sounds annoyed. “Once you transfer the money.”
“I kept my part of the deal, so I need you to keep yours. I’ll send you an address and I need Hawk there in half an hour. If you don’t drop him off, there will be no money.”
“You little...” he trails off and his breathing comes harsh through the phone. “Are you threatening me? I have all your precious Team Zero, Ghost.”
“And if you don’t let one of them go, I won’t continue running this business or sending any money.” I pause for good measure. “You know that President Joe is waging a war, right?”
I don’t have to say it, but he knows how much the rest of Team Zero are loyal to me. If I’m out, so are they. No one will run Hades’ gangster business. At least he thinks they’re loyal. I’m not so sure anymore.