ADLER**FOUR MONTHS AGO**He could hear the elevator go down and for the first time in his life since the afternoon his mother died, he wanted to drop to his knees and give it all up.It was over. The wet towel seemed to burn against his skin, the wet towel over his head was now hot lava, and the metal around his finger was rapidly heating up and cutting off his circulation.He couldn't make it, there was no use trying, for what he had done, this was well-deserved, two hells in one lifetime, he dared anyone to beat that?But Lily? His mind tugged. What about Lily? The thought that he was never going to see her again was too great a loss to take without trying.Adler rose.Then came the beam, whirling down and landing on where his lower legs were supposed to have been if he hadn't rolled over just in time, his palm flattened on the hot ground.Holy fuck! He snapped it back to himself and hastily yanked out the hot ring, hoping to save it but then kicked against the idea when the band s
ADLERWhen he reached the Villa, the memories came hurling in. The last time he had been here, under that open shed, Larissa and Dimitri were having the time of their lives.He could still remember the lively evening, how he heard the chatters as soon as he parked, looking around him at the goons on every turn.Presently there was no single soul on this premises, but Adler knew better.Parking Kyra's motorcycle right in the center of the compound, he observed the house, its windows, all dark, except one of them, on the ground floor, the orange glow giving it an eerie touch.The gun firm in his left hand, Adler moved through the shadows, the moonlight his aid as he advanced headfirst through the entrance.Maneuvering his way through doors, following the orange glow, he placed his finger readily on the trigger, listening for a sound.But nothing came, just the faint silence.He felt it was coming to this, watching his opponent spiral down a rabbit hole as he struggled with the obsession
ONE YEAR LATER**RUNE—KYRA**"...I'm just saying it's not fair Laron gets to spend the summer break with Luigi," Rune followed Kyra to Laron's wardrobe. "Luigi gets all of his weekends. What time do I get to have?"Kyra snatched Rune's equestrian leggings and walked back to the bed. "You're exaggerating again." She folded the leggings and tucked them into Laron's nearly overflowing box before turning to him. "You gave him the go-ahead, remember?""Yeah, but that was before I realized it was for a whole month. He's monopolizing all of Laron's free time," Rune sighed, flopping onto Laron's bed dramatically. "I just miss hanging out with my son, you know?"She stayed silent, and when he looked up, she was staring at him."Why?""Well," she zipped the bag close and walked up to him, "why does it seem like you haven't learned how to tell Laron no?"Rune frowned. "What are you saying? I tell him no all the time.""No, you don't." She straddled him, placing her hand flat on his chest. "Alri
Lily"...I’ve always been his, and he’s always been mine."I shut the book I had been reading aloud to a couple of senior citizens, my relief and sadness of leaving another fictional world to face my harsh reality.Catching myself in time before I slipped into my daily dose of sadness, I looked at my listeners, all sitting on the same settee, attention still on me, and I knew they shared my sadness about it ending."Finn reminds me of my late husband," Clare, one of my patients under me, whispers as if she was telling me a dirty little secret.I chuckled, standing on my feet, knowing there was about to be trouble. Counting mentally, I was at three when another voice of a grey-haired woman grumbled, "Enough of your fictional husband." I saw Sarah rolling her eyes at Clare, her hand curling around her walking frame as she struggled to stand up.It didn't stop Clare from staring at her ring and smiling fondly at memories she had made up from my constant reading to them of my romance boo
"You have to get married to him, Lily.." I watched him raise his glass and sipped from his wine, looking unaffected by the death sentence he just spilled on me.My throat suddenly went dry as my fingers began to dig into my skin; I fidgeted and stared at the familiar face in the portrait, the angry dark eyes, the raised chin, and the hollowed cheekbone.Enzo Dimitri, best friends with Greg, wasn't the kind of guy I liked to be around, and you guessed it, he wasn't the type of guy that wanted ordinary people around him.He wasn't the kind of man with marriage in mind; what happened?Greg saw the question in my eyes and answered them, "Dimitri needs one of his sons to fill in his position back in Russia, and the only way Enzo is getting in is if he gets married."With a shaky breath, I demanded, "And you thought I was going to be perfect for a devil-like Enzo, Greg? You know who he is! You know what he can do!"He leaned in and grinned in my face, his fingers under my chin, "Did you th
I stepped out of the Taxi to find my landlord next to the blue building with peeling paint that was my abode which I shared with my mum and little sister.Seeing him, my first thought was to get back into the taxi and flee that Arena; maybe returning when it was almost morning or sleeping back at Lucia's place tugged at my mind.But then he immediately turned, spotting me on the sidewalk, and his face turned a shade of red, and it wasn't the cold.Squaring my shoulders, I scaled past running bicycles of rebellious teenagers before dodging balls of children trying to hit their goalpost made of piled stones; then finally, I stopped before Squalo, my landlord Squalo wasn't his real name, but few people knew what it was, and most of his Tenants weren't one of them, but I heard the reason he was called Squalo was because of his ability to instill fear in his debtors.And now I was one of them.Standing before him, I jumped into action, "Signor Squalor, things have really been tight lately
Hoodies had some way of making me feel safe. That it had been the clothing I had worn when Greg almost took advantage of me was the reason.It had taken him a lot of minutes trying to pull it off, giving me a chance to slam a kick into his groin—the best moment of my life.But now this gigantic hoodie was doing nothing to shield me from the coldness in Enzo's eyes, blonde hair slicked back just like Greg's, and his grey eyes held all the disgust he had for me.Surely Greg would have told him about me, and this had to be Greg's way of punishing me.Standing before them, hoodie cap over my head, eyes to the floor, but a few times raising my lash to stare at them, to see Greg's doting eyes on Enzo, whose heated gaze was on me.This was Greg's office, where his father's Art and photo frames were stuck to the wall. When I worked here with my mum, this was my favourite place to clean, intentionally spending hours in here but making sure not to touch any ammunition.The last time I had been
Losing the most important person in my life was my breaking point. Remembering back, it was at this time I lost the will to leave.Nothing held meaning anymore, not the urge to continue moving on when there was nothing to live for anymore.The beautiful house, bright lights, floral gowns, and made-up face.Speaking of a made-up face, there was a lot of mess streaking down my face, soiling the white gown I wore. My shoes had been kicked off my feet as I lay on the rug on the floor, sobbing with my hands wrapped around my knees.I couldn't fathom how many minutes or even hours I had been lying down here, blocking the outside world out. The girl who helped me dress looked helpless, trying to get me up and to the car.All she received was a teary stare before she scurried for.There was no use going to the church to continue this mess. The reason was dead; the cause could have been alive if two men who owned so much had just helped me out.𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒈! A burning sensation filled my chest at