SARIAN I became immobile, unable to talk. I couldn't even breath, this, all of it felt like a very bad dream I wanted to wake up from.My chest tightened making it impossible for me to breathe.There were far too many photos. An excessive amount of blood. The face I had grown to love was in too much pain. Father, lying limp in each picture. Beaten. In pieces.Lost. I gazed at them—the dried blood at his temple, the ropes gnawing at his wrists, the cracked floor underneath him. His eyes were open in one of the photographs. looking, begging, for a chance to live again.Who was he begging?Don Julio?With shaking hands, I reached for that picture and saw it—the moment that broke me to pieces. The picture wasn't taken today. Or yesterday. I stared more, my eyes moving.An inconspicuous timestamp in the corner. The date was a week ago.I dropped the picture immediately as if I had been stung .No. . No, its not real. He was alive so it can't be. He should have been still alive. “My fat
DON JULIO I sighed as if the world was pressing down on my chest, I reclined in my leather chair and ran my hands through my hair.The amber liquid swirled in a slow circle as my fingers aimlessly traced the rim of my glass. Something deeper, something hidden was hiding beneath the layers of ice and indifference was weighing me down instead of the alcohol. Sarian. Her name rang in my head like a dagger, piercing the haze of my mind, her face, her eyes, even with the way she shook.Very similar to Sophia's. To get the memory to back off was impossible, I clenched my jaw but it did nothing to push the memories back.I hated it. The way she looked at me as if I was more than the monster I was, I hated and loved her stubbornness.I took a swing and massaged the back of my neck as the memories came flooding back.The same face Sarian had was exactly the same with Sophia.A doppelganger?My father never loved him, in fact I knew if he had found a genie, he would wish I was never born
DON JULIO She moaned as if it were real. As if she thought I was impressed. Actually I wasn't. Not one bit.She moaned louder and teased her clit, her legs wrapped around me with practiced ease, the smell of her expensive perfume drifting into my nose and her body was soft. But she was not Sarian.And I didn't want her to be. I only wanted something to distract me and here it was and now I was no longer interested in having sex with her. And before it even got started , she ruined it. Her hands slid under my shirt in a desperate attempt to make contact but all I could think about was marble floors and blood. My club. And Sarian again.Damn it.She kissed my neck and I allowed her to, her fingers trailing down to my crotch. My fingers were slow and cruel as they teased her inner thigh. She gave a gasp. Then there was a whimper. I saw the change in her expression, the glimmer of seduction in her eyes. Not the right move I hovered over her, pushing her back against the pillows
SARIAN I stood there for a while but then, my legs felt like jelly, my heart had been broken into pieces and there was a deep wound that I knew would keep bleeding forever, one that would take forever to heal. Father and Marie were dead and I was left in this cruel world with no other person but Don Julio.I wondered what they might have done to him.Chased around like a mouse, beaten? Tortured? Shot to death?And I had the evidence in my shaking hands—grainy black-and-white pictures that had a dried blood and old smoke odor. Images that documented his last moments. His last anguish. I hated them. I hated the fact that I examined every one of them, that seeing them was something I couldn't erase from my memory and that they were etched there forever.I was having trouble breathing. I had trouble thinking. He was gone. My sister was too. I kept thinking if my life could have turned out differently if I was born to someone else, if father had become the artist he said he wanted to be
SARIAN It hurt so much more than anything and no matter how hard I tried to push her words out of my mind, it still stayed like it didn't want to go away.She was right.I was in a cage Even after she left and the wind howling announcing the beginning of rainfall later that night,I could still hear Allegra's laughing. Her tone was cruel, piercing and slicing through every tender spot in me like shards of glass. No doubt, her words had make me hate my life again. I kept my eyes forward as I walked without a sense of direction. I wanted to go faraway.I passed through the long corridor led past shadows and the music that continued to sound from the clubs interior. I saw some of the dancers, their gazes were still on me. Joking. Making judgments. As if I were Maybe Allegra's minions were there too. Without giving it a second thought, I ran.The cold air outside encircled me like a punishment. It was really quiet outside at night. Yet. It seemed as though everyone had forgotten this
SARIAN Matteo pulled me through the chilly night air with an almost painful grip on my arm. I winced abd tried to yank my hand free from his grasp but it was futile. His urgency-filled accent caused his breath to come out in short gasps. I knew that something was terribly off but what ?Both men. I had seen the look of hatred in theur eyes and I even made out a glint of fear in Matteo's eyes too but he had looked composed and brave.“ You don't speak to anyone you don't know or haven't seen before, you don't go out alone.” He said in half English, half Italian.Almost unable to keep up with his pace, I mumbled as I tried to catch my breath.“Okay.”As the club's noise grew farther behind us, we hurried past neon lights that flickered like broken stars. Despite my hair being pulled by the wind I chose not to fix it. I was already scared and wanted to be safe under Don Julio's wings.The pounding in my heart was too loud that o could almost hear it.Even more terrifying than Matteo's w
SARIAN The room felt cold as though the coldness I had felt outside while sitting on the bench was nothing compared to this.I was shaking, my eyes never leaving the body and the blood. My head was pounding and I felt like fainting as my legs seemed to give out.I was still suffocated by the metallic smell of blood that filled the air and stuck to everything.I swallowed hard and then the next second I was unable to look at the body. I didn't want to again as my eyes stung with tears.But the girl they dragged away was still crying and begging and I could still hear the muffled sounds of her cries leaking into my mind and making my stomach turn. Through the pause Don Julio's voice asked .“Where did you go?” I went cold. So cold that I thought my heart would stop beating and I might just have a stroke or something.I could feel his gaze piercing me like daggers slicing through whatever remaining self-control I might have. My legs melted beneath me and I fell to the ground before
SARIAN It had begun to rain and I felt so cold. One of the girls had brought dinner which I had eaten in a hurry. I wanted to sleep but it was hard and this room felt like a prison even though it wasn't locked. The small table in the corner, the rigid bed without sheets and the white walls were all so empty exactly as I felt on the inside. It had been hours since I had shed a tear. He would be happy to see me cry and I didn't want to but the sting persisted behind my eyes and in my chest like an unhealing wound. Too many things were happening at the same time and Don Julio had thrown me in here as if I were a teenager who threw tantrums. On the edge of the bed, I curled up with my arms around my knees and my eyes fixed on nothing. Then the silence descended like a fog and I wanted to embrace it when I heard it.Click. The door flew open. I didn't look up until his shadow struck the floor. Don Julio.The devil himself. He was standing there as though he had every right to be
SARIAN I had no idea when I'd fallen asleep. I had wanted to read a book, do something rather than let the anger I was feeling consume me. But then I didn't know why I was even angry in the first place. I was sitting on the edge of that miserable motel bed, one minute looking at the discolored ceiling and wondering how I had gotten into this mafia nightmare. How I hated my life right now and what my life could have turned out if just one act hadn't been put into consideration.The following morning I woke up to the sun still hiding behind the clouds, making everywhere look gloomy like it was about to rain and to a sound that I was unable to identify at the time—sharp, far away and strange. Not a warning. No thunder. It wasn't the sound of rainfall.No. A pop. Next came another. Then threw more. Then there was a shout. After that the glass broke. My eyes remained heavy as I blinked rapidly, my heart unable to keep up with the confusion. I briefly thought I was having a dream, that t
SARIANDust and cheap air freshener mixed with the smell of old wood in the motel room. That was all I got after travelling for hours only to inhale this.The mattress felt like it wanted to engulf me as I sat on the edge of the bed. Don Julio had instructed me to go to my room and stay put so the door clicked behind me and my thoughts were swirling like they wanted to consume me.Even now, his deep smooth voice echoed in my ears tinged with that familiar, derisive tone that made my blood boil. At the time I didn't respond to him. All I did was turn around and leave. But that didn't mean I wasn't thinking. I was damn angry and then the next minute, I didn't know what to feel, my eyes grew heavy but I didn't want to fall asleep either.What made him bring me here? What was it that he wanted from me? If that Allegra girl would be here, then he shouldn't bring me along. I had nothing to do with his business. Actually, no. Not at all, maybe in a way. I shrugged, picked up a book, old but
DON JULIO She pretended like she wasn't scared but I knew she was.Although it was subtly concealed behind her typically composed face. I shut my eyes and said nothing at first then before she could understand what was happening,I pulled her up.“Dinner is over.”But she was stubborn and she refused to get up like her bum had been glued to the seat.One of my men from the sides of the room briefly raised his shirt up showing a gun and she complied.“Sometimes you need a slap or two to reset your brain.” I said as we left the restaurant to my room upstairs.However tonight didn't feel like any other night. She tried appearing shock once when I asked her if she knew why we were at Calcutta apart from the stupid lie she had told me.“I'm sure you’re wondering why we’re here.” I said reclining in the chair across from her. “For people like us India isn’t exactly on the travel map is it?” She took a tiny breath and
DON JULIO Supper was awkward. My expectations were unchanged but for some reason tonight's silence between us felt more burdensome. Rohit had been killed and his body disposed properly. Let The Crows wait. Let them wait for information they won't get.As I closely observed Sarian, the hum of the dimly lit restaurant and the clinking of silverware against plates faded into the background. For the most part, she kept her head down, her eyes darting anxiously over the food I had ordered for us both.I knew there were a thousand and one questions she wanted to ask but she did not. I wasn't sure if she was just preoccupied with whatever was on her mind or if she was scared to look at me or the questions were pulling her down.Whichever it was, it was better that way. But then, I didn't want to put up with her silence for too long.“ Eat.” I told her calmly but firmly.I wasn't asking. It w
DON JULIO Her eyes bulged. NahShe didn't expect this.She blinked rapidly at me which didn't surprise me. That look in her eyes as if I had just caught her red-handed told me everything I needed to know. I had expected her to fight back, to tell me a few more lies, and argue as usual because she had a sharp mouth. It didn’t happen.She parted her lips slightly and blinked once and twice while she fumbled for an answer. I could almost hear the wheels turning in her mind as she weighed and calculated but nothing came. She then swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on mine.I scoffed and continued driving.The unavoidable and weighty truth hung between us. Calcutta was not the location of the vault. That I was aware of. And she didn't know I knew she was lying.Silly..Although she underestimated me she thought she was smart. She was unaware that my eyes were constantly on her, constantly observing and calculating everything.I didn't miss a single word or movement. And I took pride in wh
SARIAN The engine hums a steady rhythmic sound that drowns out everything else in the car. It's almost calming but it made me feel like we were taking a trip to help. But my anxiety isn't eased by the calmness that seemed to be around me. The tension that has existed since we left the mansion stayed even though I didn't want it. This feeling of something bad approaching—something, I can't quite place but know was coming—was sending shivers up my spine. Two cars ride behind us and another two before us leaving us in the middle. Don Julio sat opposite me, with his piercing eyes fixed on the road ahead and his firm unwavering grip on the steering wheel. He had instructed his men that he wanted to drive and his eyes were filled with anger again. The car was so quiet and as usual, his words were precise and clipped and he only spoke when absolutely needed. And I was thankful for the quiet at the moment. Particularly at this point and I was not sure what I would say to him if
DON JULIO Early in the morning there was a certain quietness that comes only when the world is just beginning to wake and you don't need any kind of need to relax and mind your business. Coffee in hand, nursing it slowly, not ready to take a sip and a magazine in front of me. I looked busy but it was my mind that way. The curtains were parted a little and the sharp rays came in slowly. I wasn't drinking it though. I was deep in thoughts and then my eyes moved to something else. I was focusing on her instead. Sarian. She lay on the bed still asleep, the sheets just barely covering her body. Intimate but unsaid memories of last night were still hanging in the air between us. I shut my eyes and then ran my fingers through my hair. Although it had been close, we hadn't made love. I teased her body, made her arched for me, made her dripping wet and left her exhausted. We had a stronger bond than I had experienced in years, something that no one had given me, not even Allegr
SARIAN It had begun to rain and I felt so cold. One of the girls had brought dinner which I had eaten in a hurry. I wanted to sleep but it was hard and this room felt like a prison even though it wasn't locked. The small table in the corner, the rigid bed without sheets and the white walls were all so empty exactly as I felt on the inside. It had been hours since I had shed a tear. He would be happy to see me cry and I didn't want to but the sting persisted behind my eyes and in my chest like an unhealing wound. Too many things were happening at the same time and Don Julio had thrown me in here as if I were a teenager who threw tantrums. On the edge of the bed, I curled up with my arms around my knees and my eyes fixed on nothing. Then the silence descended like a fog and I wanted to embrace it when I heard it.Click. The door flew open. I didn't look up until his shadow struck the floor. Don Julio.The devil himself. He was standing there as though he had every right to be
SARIAN The room felt cold as though the coldness I had felt outside while sitting on the bench was nothing compared to this.I was shaking, my eyes never leaving the body and the blood. My head was pounding and I felt like fainting as my legs seemed to give out.I was still suffocated by the metallic smell of blood that filled the air and stuck to everything.I swallowed hard and then the next second I was unable to look at the body. I didn't want to again as my eyes stung with tears.But the girl they dragged away was still crying and begging and I could still hear the muffled sounds of her cries leaking into my mind and making my stomach turn. Through the pause Don Julio's voice asked .“Where did you go?” I went cold. So cold that I thought my heart would stop beating and I might just have a stroke or something.I could feel his gaze piercing me like daggers slicing through whatever remaining self-control I might have. My legs melted beneath me and I fell to the ground before