Chapter 38 Shut this down, Ash. Guilang is trouble. Words Lobos threw at me while he let me punch the living shit out of him a week ago. He should already know. . . I like trouble. I devour trouble. I enjoy chasing trouble until it can no longer haunt me. All this started with me wanting top quality drugs. Drugs I still haven't gotten yet because talks between me and Guilang's goons went sour. Well, since I started this whole shit, it's only fitting for me to end it, yeah? In the process of looking for Guilang, I found two illegal prostitution joints right here on the east side of LA. I tipped off the police and they swooped in immediately and had it shut down. Underage kids - male and female -were found. Mostly Asian. They were taken back to their country and integrated into the social service system. I heard some who were kidnapped were rejoined with their families. I despise people who prey on the weaker sex - children and females. I despise it even more, when they utilize th
Chapter 39 He shakes his head and water sprays everywhere, some droplets landing on my boots. His eyes are a bit unfocused as they land on me, but then they widen after a few seconds and he shuffles backwards until his back hits the wall with a shallow sound. He looks from koldis to me, and his eyes grow from dull to wild, and then to frantic - looking. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." I say, moving closer. Koldis chuckles from behind me. "I do hope you had a good night's rest?" My eyes flick to the empty plate a short distance away from him. "Looks like you were well taken care off as well." He says nothing except to swallow noisily. His Adam's apple bobs furiously, no doubt from fear. Shock. Or whatever the hell is running through his mind. "If you want out of here." I flick my forefinger around the basement. "You're going to have to play a game." I give him a smile, the one I reserve for slime balls like him. He stares at me dumbly, waiting for me to continue speaking. I chuck
Chapter 40"My goodness, Lis, your wardrobe is bursting full."Clarissa fingers a dress in leaf green. I know what she feels. It's soft delicate silk and wraps around my body when I wear it, making me feel and look like a sex bomb. She touches another dress, and yet another, and then she turns round to look at me."How did you get so many clothes in just two months?"I shrug, as I try to hide a smile because what can I say. Ash hasn't stopped with the gifts. The man spoils me silly by buying clothes, shoes, and jewelry for me, and even though I always protest, it falls on deaf ears.He said, and I quote- I want everyone to know you're a queen. My Queen.Even though he hasn't told me he loves me after that first love declaration, I know he does. It's in the way his eyes soften as he looks at me, and the way he holds me after he ravages my body. Speaking of which, I can never get enough of his hands on me.I
Chapter 41I give up when I realize I've been going over the same line for the past ten minutes. I sigh as I look up from my textbook and flit my eyes across my environment.Library environment . . . CheckQuiet atmosphere. . . CheckText books & Notes. . . CheckConcentration . . . UncheckFor the life of me, I can't seem to concentrate on a single word and that's bad for me because in less than an hour, I've got my first set of tests and school will close thereafter for a short break. t's not like I'm going to fail if I don't read. I go over my notes everyday, but I'm a stickler for repetition. I need to know I've got every last detail into my system and not go chewing my pen during the test.Perhaps the problem is because I haven't heard a word from Ash ever since he travelled and it's toying with my mind. He said it would take only a few days. Three days tops, he had said, but it's been over a week now,
Chapter 42🎵Ring-a-ring-a -rosies.A pocket full of posies, A tissue, A tissue, we all fall down. 🎵Joy swells in my heart as we come to a stop, mother's hands tightly encircling mine. Her eyes twinkle as she looks at me."Martha, stop filling Batista's head with girl stuff, that boy is going to become the mafia boss when he grows up."Dad's voice wafts over to where we're still hunched over on the ground, trying to regain our breaths. Mum tenses as she turns to see dad, who is already advancing towards us, his countenance dark and forboding."Oh, Marco, please don't say such things, he's just a boy, let him grow up the way he should, with joy, our love, and guidance."Dad prowls closer to us, his hands coiled by his side in fists. "Are you going against my authority?"Mum's hands drop from mine as she stands on unsteady legs. Her bottom lip is slightly open and trembling. She bends and whispers for me to
Chapter 43"Ash! Ash, please open your eyes, you're safe now."From far away I hear my name being called.This is it.Judgment day has come for me.I already know it. I'm going to hell."Ash! Open your eyes now, please. Come back to me."Those words smack of female desperation.Would an angel tell me to open my eyes and come back to her?"So. . . .maybe I'm not dead.Maybe.It takes grave determination and grit before I'm finally able to pry my eyes open, although they feel like bricks are weighing them down.That's not the only hurdle I have to face.My vision is blurred, but after blinking like it's going out of fashion, I make out a form standing over me."Ash!"That same voice calls out my name once more. A woman's voice.I blink once again and a face comes into view. Long blonde hair and blue eyes are the first things I take in. Recognition sweeps through me and I rear back, shock making my body tense."Bell?"
Chapter 44All through the ride to my place, I urge the driver to speed up. I've been dispossessed of my phone by, probably Guilang's men, so I'm running blind here. Maybelline's words about Alicia, play on repeat in my mind."Fucking hurry up, man." I growl at him for what seems like the umpteenth time.The man ignores me altogether, but I feel his watchful eyes on me through the rear view mirror. In all fairness to him, he speeds up, and in no time, he's swinging into the familiar residence of my street. Even before he stops in front of my gate, I'm opening the door and vaulting out."Hey, man, you haven't paid me!" The Uber guy's voice is like a whip crack stopping me in my tracks.I dig into my pocket but come up empty. Reluctantly, I turn to look at him. "Hold on, I'll send someone to you."As I step through the gate, two of my guards slink out from the grove of trees. The joy and relief on their faces make
Chapter 45Something is wrong.I can feel it.My body can testify to it.Bile rises to my throat and I know a second round of vomit is on its way. I won't allow it take me by surprise this time around.I vault up and rush to the bathroom, and just in time too, because the moment my head is bent over the toilet bowl, it all comes gushing out. The remains of my dinner last night, or whatever the first round of vomit didn't bring out. After a few minutes, when it's obvious my stomach is a bit settled, I stagger to the tap and splash some water on my face. The coolness of it helps to reduce the quiziness I'm feeling. After splashing a little more onto my face, I feel a shade better, and even manage to walk without stumbling back into the bedroom.What did I eat last night?I close my eyes as I try to recall. Ash took me to Parched for the night, to celebrate Chucho's passing.Actually, his murder.When Ash told m