As soon as they arrived at the house, Orlando was the first to get out of the car. He opened her door and waited for her to exit. He slammed the doors as soon as she did and then dragged her towards the house. Sebastian tried to intervene, but Orlando moved on as if he did not hear a thing.
She was quite taken aback by him. She had noticed the frown on his face, but she had brushed it off as nothing. His voice when he talked to them earlier was much calmer. He unlocked the doors and pulled her in. Then he detached from her and began pacing. She stood still, terrified that if she made any move, he would lose the last restraint he was holding on to.“He asked me, you know…” he began mumbling, loud enough for her to hear. “Why are you doing this? And I did not have a good enough answer then, and even now…” then he paused in his tracks, his eyes bore into hers until she looked away. “Why am I helping you?” He took a few steps forward.She retreated."Orlando reclined back on the chair, sitting across from Romano, whose snake-like eyes watched him intently. He casually drummed his fingers against the table.Romano stood up and returned with a bottle in his hand, pouring himself a glass and sliding another glass towards Orlando. “Any thing of note happen over the weekend?” he asked in a relaxed tone of voice with a tinge of curiosity.Orlando took a moment to think about the weekend he had just had. All of it. He had finally seen his family, after more than eighteen years. He stuffed drugs down a man’s throat until he overdosed. Elena left his home, and got kidnapped and he had to link up with his friend and old partner in what the news described as a “gun battle showdown”He had lost his temper and had shot the men more times than was necessary. All of the emotions he was feeling all weekend, the anger, the nostalgia, the brief moment of happiness, the feeling of lust was all because of one woman. Elena. The
There was a small knock on the door. She stood up almost immediately, smoothed her dress, and walked to the door. It was who she expected it to be… Orlando was leaning at the entrance of her room. The sleeves on his white shirt were rolled up, a few of the top buttons on his shirt were undone revealing his hard chest. His hair looked like he had run his fingers through it, his eyes looked tired.Surprisingly, she felt a pang in her chest, she was worried about him and his well-being. He peered inside, and that was when it occurred to her that he wanted to come in. “Hi, I am sorry…I…” She rambled and then paused.He walked inside like he owned the room, which he actually did, but it was more than that. It was the confidence in his strides, his overpowering presence, the masculine yet soft scent of his cologne as it wafted through the room. It was a large room, and she knew it did not matter if she was pressed up against the wall, she would still feel him, like he wa
Camilla looked over her shoulder, her heart racing in her chest. The park was busy at midday, and she thought the crowd of people would relax her nerves, but it only seemed to heighten them. Her eyes bore into everyone she assumed was suspicious, and every sudden noise caused her to jerk involuntarily. She clutched tightly to the purse in her hand, then felt a hand on her shoulder. She shuddered and spun around as quickly as she could.“Aunt Camilla, I am really sorry I startled you…” Imani walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.Camilla let out a sigh of relief as she clung to her. “I have a lot on my mind, mija, none of it is your fault.”Imani sat beside her on the park bench, staring at the older lady. She had dark circles around her eyes and looked like she had aged out of worry. “How have you been, Aunt Camilla?”Camilla took her hand in hers. “In all honesty, I haven’t been okay…” She peeked over her shoulder. “I don’t think it is safe
Orlando zoned out of the conversation happening around him in the conference room. The room was spacious and well-lit, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of the city skyline. He had his back to the tall window, and although the room was soundproofed, he was lost in the scenery outside. It all seemed calm compared to the atmosphere in the room.A long table ran down the center of the room, surrounded by comfortable leather chairs. They were all seated around the table, with Romano at the head.“From all I could gather, Doc only entered Paris a few days ago, which tells me he was somewhere else before that…” Sebastian explained. “Now, I have been able to identify two more cities he visited before then, but that does not help us.” He twirled his chair around. “As a matter of fact, it makes our work even harder. With more cities on the timeline, it means more places to look.” He turned his attention to Orlando, who seemed distracted.Romano banged t
She was deep in her thoughts and did not see or hear him walk towards her until he spoke.“Ready?”She involuntarily shuddered. She was not only startled but stunned by his voice, the way the word smoothly rolled off his tongue and reverberated in his chest. She looked up at him, and he had the same expressionless look on his face.And then his eyebrow shot up. Then it occurred to her that he had asked a question to which she did not answer, and they had been standing in the same spot for a long time. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.He walked ahead of her, and she followed suit. She noticed he did not bother with the security men on each side of her, nor did he spare her a look. He just presumed she was following him. Or could he hear the soft tap of her footsteps? She thought to herself. Or maybe it was the loud beating of her heart in her chest, maybe he could hear that and everything else. Every squeak in her trainers, the awkward no
The doors burst open, and Elena jumped to her feet just as Orlando rushed in. He stood in front of her, shielding her from the door. “Now, I don’t know what he is going to ask you, but I need you to lie, a very convincing lie. They know nothing about you or your father. Everything they will know is whatever you tell them through the words you say and the words you don’t say out loud…”“Who…who do I…”Luca strolled in at that moment, on alert when he saw them detangle from each other. His green eyes glared at both of them. “Am I interrupting something?”“Yes, yes, you were…” Orlando answered.Luca was not expecting a reply in the first place, let alone that reply. He straightened up. “I need to talk with Elena… alone,” he drew out the last word for emphasis.Orlando turned to her, his gaze lingered longer than Luca was comfortable with, but he tried not to show it. He waited patiently until he heard the door click behind him. “You’re getting a
Orlando was anything but calm as soon as he walked out of the door. He paced from one end to the other, then halted. He loosened his tie. Despite the strong air conditioning, he felt sweaty. He hated this feeling, the vulnerability he felt, why did he care so much. It was just a light interrogation, nothing could go wrong, nothing could go wrong, he chanted in his head, yet his fears wouldn’t go away. He decided to occupy himself.He went down to the lounge, soft sultry music playing in the background. The place reeked of booze and sex.The light was dim, but he could make out the few people dancing on the dance floor. He walked up to the bartender, who left the other guests he was attending to and handed him a drink. He murmured his thanks, took a sip of his drink as he took in the length and breadth of the room. There were silhouettes of people in the background going at it. It was wild, maybe this was what he needed. One wild night to purge himself of whatever it was
There was a pin-drop silence, a stark contrast from the noise that had just been emanating from the cramped apartment. Of course, the neighbors paid no heed to them like always; they were all sick of the constant fighting. She couldn’t blame them; anyone would be sick of it. Violet stared wide-eyed at the lump figure on the floor, lifeless, blood seeping out unabated, soaking the dingy rug. The face of the man who had swept her off her feet when they first met was now a crushed skull and mangled flesh. Her nose crinkled at the rusty smell of fresh blood. Her dark locks were sticking out at odd angles. A purple bruise was beginning to form around her left eye. The little girls began to cry. Soft cries turned to wails, and her heart broke at the fear in their voices. Nobody deserved to see the sight before them, not young children at least. She pulled the girls in for a hug, wiped the tears from their eyes, and wiped blood from the little cuts on their hands, paying no heed to the blo