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“Sir?”
“Hmm. . .?”
“The marksman who shot you has been captured,” Jordan looked up at Skull, who was reporting the latest news update to his boss.
“Where is he?” he asked as he took a swig of his liquor. His left hand held the glass while his injured right arm rested on his desk.
“Down in the basement of the warehouse, sir,” Skull's eyes wandered from the neat pile of files on his boss's desk to the scattered sheets of paper which were sprawled out right in front of him. His eyes briefly stopped at the sight of the picture of a seemingly familiar woman.
A crease formed between his swarthy forehead, making his dark shades slightly dip down his nose as a frown made its way onto his face when he thought deeply about where he had seen such beauty before.
In the flash of a few seconds, his eyebrows suddenly shot up his forehead when he recalled that sh
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬“No, no, no, it can't be. He can't be here. He just can't be fucking here! At this fucking place! At this motherfucking time!” Ori shouted.With her heart pounding in her chest, Emerald ran down the stairs in nothing but her towel when she had heard the glass–breaking shrill come from below. Reaching the last staircase, she walked into the hallway leading to the entrance of their house to see her friend, Oriana pacing around the space while gripping tightly at her red mane.Her eyes were wide with terror as she kept pacing back and forth while mumbling incoherent words under her breath. Emerald kept calling her name but she received no reply from her.“Ori? Ori, what's the matter? I heard a scream,” she prodded but her friend still remained unresponsive.Emerald was worried about her friend. She had never seen her look so disoriented. Yeah, Oriana wasn't the most organised person
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬Her expression remained the same as her eyes scanned through the answers provided by the search engine to the two alphabets her friend had typed in. Website after website after website and the same words - Dangerous, Ruthless, Inhuman - or words synonymous to them were still being continuously made use of.She swallowed thickly the lump that had taken form in her throat as she read through the articles published on Wikipedia, but for some reason, she still doubted that the man that was currently sitting on their couch, awaiting her presence, was capable of doing any of the things the articles had stated about him.For some reason, she didn't want to believe it yet she couldn't help but feel that she wanted to know. She had the hunch that she might regret not finding out what she could when she still had the chance to, so she exited from Wikipedia and tapped on the Images bar. She needed absolut
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬ "What would you be making for dinner tonight?" "I don't know. Maybe, you guys would have to chew on some Cheerios or something and wash it down with some milk, water or juice, whichever you prefer. I'm completely drained from today's sessions," the shrink established as she and her friend walked through the black gates of their house. "Oh, come on, Mera!" the redhead whined with infantile humour as she stomped her feet on the gravel floor behind Emerald, her car keys rattling due to the motion. "I'm famished!" she continued to wail. With her head pounding mercilessly as a result of the hectic day she had had at work coupled with Oriana's puerile tantrums, she couldn't help but wish that her friend's heels would break from the impact of her feet hitting against the rough ground. "If you're so hungry, why not cook for yourself?" chaffed mockery laced her word
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬Underneath the mizzle of cold water, Jordan stood with his head hung low as different thoughts ran a marathon endlessly through his mind. Eclectic thoughts they were, yet they all originated from one source — her. His siren of a therapist.He groaned and ran his hand through his hair as he raised his head to collide his face with the drizzle flowing from the shower above his au naturel state. He looked hellishly beautiful as the drops of water raced down his sleek tanned body which was rippled with thick muscles and festooned with the finest of ink.The scene that had played out downstairs crawled its way into his mind again and he could feel his fists clenching tightly, his jaw going tense as the overwhelming urge to rip apart every bone in the arms of the man that had held his gem consumed him. His gem.But as much as he would like to torture him and watch as the life is drained out of his eve
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬“Mar, have you had dinner tonight?” her mother, Maggie's silken voice came through the phone as Emerald grabbed the milk carton from the refrigerator.Almost as if the guilt ate into her, she blinked rapidly a couple times before clearing her throat, unsure of whether to tell her mother that she was just about to eat dinner at past 10p.m at night or that she would only be consuming a few of her famous baked goods accompanied by a glass of cold milk.Her mother had a strict rule against eating late at night, eating measly or insubstantial amount of meals and most importantly, not eating anything at all.Emerald knew that this rule was made the utmost prioritized law in her mother's constitution all because of her. She remembered how she had made herself suffer from the bottomless contrition that had devoured her soul at such a young age.She remembered all
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬Rummaging through her neatly arranged closet in nothing but a grey coloured bathrobe with her hair wrapped up in a towel around her head, Emerald skimmed through the rows and columns of hung clothes, looking for an outfit to wear to work.Now that she looked at it, she noticed that she had more formal habiliments than casuals. Even down to her footwear; other than her plethora of slipper slides, she had only a cornucopia amount of Converse and sneakers to rely on for both a punctilious and dégagé setting, coupled with a few heels.After a few more minutes of scrutiny, Emerald settled for a white and pink striped blazer and pant suit set before pairing them up with a white long sleeved turtleneck top.On her way out of her closet, she grabbed a pair of white FILA sneakers to go with her outfit before proceeding to get dressed.Few seconds later, sh
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬“Thank you.” Emerald thanked the taxi driver as he helped her with her luggage — a mini suitcase and her shoulder bag. She already had some of her things here and she wouldn't be staying for long, so there was no need to pack excessively.The young man gave her a small smile and a nod before getting back into his vehicle and driving off, leaving her to stand alone before the gates of the average sized yet undeniably comfy home.Her mother had never been one to savour extravagant houses or grandiloquent mansions. She was a simple woman whose tastes were modest yet intricately riveting and Emerald had inherited that beautiful trait from her, amongst many others. That was also one of the features that had pulled Luca towards her.A warm smile graced Emerald's lips as she thought of the people living behind the closed entrance doors of the house. This house held so many mem
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬Music wafted softly from the stereo system and across the backyard of the house as the guests associated with each other with warm and welcoming smiles engraved vibrantly on their faces.Different gifts of varied sizes crammed the centre table as the celebrant's family delivered more wrapped presents to the already piled heap on the table.Emerald, Armani, Maggie and Luca, together with Oriana and Logan — who had arrived the day before to help with the preparations — tended to the guests, mingling with them with wide smiles on their faces.Feeling as though her legs would fall off anytime soon, Emerald walked over to an empty chair, away from the crowd and plopped down into it. She loosened the straps on her heels, freeing her feet from the hellish hold of the three inched devil.Heaving a sigh of relief, she massaged her feet before setting them do
Grunting as he hurriedly threw on his clothes after haphazardly picking the first fabric he could get his hands on, Jordan had never in his entire life, multitasked as much and as frantically as he currently did. He buttoned up his shirt—his quivering hands making the task more difficult than it ought to be—while shaking his head to get rid of the water residue in his hair from his quick shower (the quickest he had ever showered), not having the time or patience to towel it dry as he simultaneously paced the length of the room in socks to find a pair of comfortable shoes since they were all only gathering in the backyard.Finally done securing the buttons on his shirt, Jordan grabbed a towel, fed up with the water marks ruining his shirt from his damp hair, and ran it vigorously through his hair; he crossed the room with a pair of shoes in his hold (ones he had also grabbed at first sight), only to suddenly howl in pain when he stubbed his little toe against the wooden bedpost.“Fuck!
If anyone had told Jordan three years ago that he would have all he currently had, he'd have probably stared them down with an emotionless expression before flinging a dagger in-between their eyes. But now as he stood in the kitchen of their home—one Emerald had been so adamant on contributing to purchase—doing the dishes, he couldn't help the smile that seemed to never leave his face whenever he caught glimpses of the shimmering wedding ring around his finger through the lather. He had been smiling more since they had gotten over the incident two years ago. Surely at first, he had been consumed by the guilt, but after Emerald vowed to leave him for someone else if he didn't suck it all up, he had eventually gotten over it, the both of them choosing to set it amongst the things of the past they wanted to forget. Presently, as he hand-washed the pile of dishes from the lunch buffet his wife had just consumed after already having breakfast and brunch, with snacks in-between, he could
Three months. . .It had been three months since that dreadful day. Three months since he had heard her voice. Three months since he had seen those whirlpool of her emerald green orbs. Three months since she had graced him with that heart–stopping smile of hers. Three months of merciless torture for Jordan and Emerald's family.And through the seemingly endless course of these harrowing months, it had made him wonder if he would ever get to hear her sweet voice call his name ever again, if he would ever look into those bottomless orbs of hers and see his image reflected in them ever again, if he would ever feel her warm touch against his ever again. The war had been won, the obstacles had been passed over, but the casualties and damage done was irreversible and too great to bear, especially for Jordan, who was ridden by overwhelming guilt. Perhaps if he had kept his unwarranted anger at bay that night at the club, they would have finished off Carl and wouldn't have had to deal with t
Hello everyone, this Author's Note is prepared with regards to my previous about the new book I intended to publish. So there's been a change of plans and I've decided to publish a totally different book instead and leave the Yuletide novella for the holiday seasons. The next book has already been drafted and will be published this month, maybe on the 4th of April as a birthday gift from me to you guys, so we'll see how it goes. Just wanted to inform you all. With mixed feelings, I announce the completion of Behind Their Veneers. There would be an epilogue and maybe a bonus chapter or two and then we'll close Emerald's and Jordan's book officially. I'm so happy and sad about this, cause I'm going to miss these two, but it'd pave way for our upcoming couples — Remi and Zion. You're all going to love them, I promise. Well, that'll be all for now. Thank you! Your author, Laramie.
Emerald could only hear the deafening ringing in her ears, she could feel her head throbbing as though someone was using her head as a drum to beat an arrhythmic tune. Her vision swam, multiple black dots clouding her eyesight as she dangled right off the edge of consciousness. Letting out an agonising groan, she let her head fall, her forehead hitting the floor as she was unable to keep her head up any longer; it felt too heavy for her to carry, so she remained on the floor, her pulsating head against the cold ground as she tried to recover her bearings. Vaguely hearing the clicks of heels tapping against the floor she laid her head against, Emerald groaned. To her, the small clicks sounded like the harsh shrill of cymbals clashing against each other. She heard the footsteps stop in front of her and with a pained moan, she squinted her eyes open, seeing doubles of each image as she stared cross-eyed at the pair of spiked hee
A feminine voice cut through the silence of the room, interrupting Owen's response and Jordan turned his head toward the entrance of the basement when he heard the clicks of heels tapping against the floor. A blonde woman came into Jordan's view just as several masked men shuffled into the room, taking up one side of the basement, surrounding the woman, while his own men took the other side and surrounded him and Owen, their stances rigidly alert. Frowning deeply at the new and unfamiliar intruder in the room, Jordan stood to his feet, pulling Owen with him before facing the unknown woman. His eyes remained glued to her face as he tried to shuffle through his memories for recognition of her while the woman was busy ogling his body, visibly undressing him with her gaze as she licked her lips. He had never seen or heard of her before, Jordan concluded, and not having the patience to deal with an evidently horny
Emerald felt as though she had been walking for hours non-stop since she and Jordan began walking down the stairs. She couldn't count how many times she had tripped over rocks and unleveled ground and how Jordan had prevented her from hitting the ground every single time.Her ankles felt strained and were throbbing in pain but she suppressed every pained groan that threatened to escape her lips; the last thing she wanted was to be a burden to Jordan, since Owen hadn't followed them down the tunnel, although she wondered why, because they needed all the help they could get.Feeling completely exhausted, she was about to ask for a five minute break when they finally stumbled upon a door. Jordan shone his flashlight on the disequilibrated structure, pulling Emerald behind him protectively before pushing it open gently.Sneaking in appeared farfetched at this point when the door creaked rather loudly, makin
The shrill sound of cars honking on both sides of the teal colored SUV irritated Emerald to no end. She stared out of the tinted windows, eyes glued to the slowly moving traffic they were currently stuck in, but her mind far away from her consciousness.When the recollection of where they were currently headed struck across her mind again, not that she ever forgot, Emerald dug her nails into her left thigh, trying to use the sting from the self infliction to distract herself from the jitters she felt.Her breathing increased, almost coming out in pants as her heart rate spiked. Her chest constricted and she could feel the familiar violent waves of a panic attack drowning her. Shutting her eyes, she tried to control her breathing, but found it near impossible as hot tears began to race down her cheeks.Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms lift her off the leather seat of the car and into their lap, familiar warm
'Dear daughter. . .' 'Dear daughter. . .' Those two words stared back at Emerald, glaring at her and mocking her from the surface of the bloodstained paper. She was currently at home, alongside Jordan, who had been adamant on not leaving her by herself. Thankfully, while the entire hullabaloo went down, her mother had been too tired and deep in her sleep to wake up to the sight of the blood on the hospital floor and Emerald's lower area, as well as the mess that was Oriana's face. Not wanting to deliver such terrible news to her while she was still so weak and on a day that was meant to be the happiest day for the entire family, they had decided to keep it from her for now, at least until she recovered a bit. But Emerald had been too restless to sit still. One look at her pale and sweaty face, slightly swollen, dull and bloodshot smaragd orbs, shaking form a