When the thought of him finally struck me, the wave of emotions and yearning started flooding back. I knew no matter how hard I tried not to think about him, it was just as inevitable as my feelings that would suddenly pop up, unannounced. I had been shaking all the thoughts of him right after the night I’d escaped from the Houstons, not wanting to feel like shit after turning my back against him and practically lying all this time. I didn’t want to imagine the hurt in his eyes that hinted betrayal, I didn’t want him to catch a glimpse of my awful reality, and I didn’t want him knowing that I was accused of killing Primo, his best friend. I couldn’t stop loathing myself for letting all of these be out of control and made Catherine retaliate that ended up in a huge commotion.
Opening up about Miguel to my friends felt rather odd than relieving. This wasn’t anything like that conversation you would have with your friends about a specific guy. I just wished that they wouldn’t take this as something else.“I knew you’re going to ask about him.” Kourtney grinned at me with her eyebrows wiggling suggestively while Daniel was just quiet in front of us.
We didn’t have a choice, and as much as I wanted to decline William’s offer, I knew this was the only option we had. I agreed to the plan and he promised that what happened back then wouldn’t happen this time. We would be more cautious and prepared so we would be safe. He couldn’t promise us that we wouldn’t be hurt along the way; this path we got to take was dangerous. But with us working together, I think we got this.Right after we were introduced
The shooting range training went well. Kourtney was still having a hard time holding a gun while Daniel on the other hand seemed like he already knew what he was doing. But something that bugged me throughout the whole training was Hansel’s gesture towards Kourtney and how vividly the moment appeared in my head. I didn’t want to make it a big deal and convinced myself that he was just probably being friendly. But I couldn’t help but think that maybe Hansel already laid eyes on her and he was already flirting. But that was near to impossible.
After our exhausting training yesterday, Gwen contacted us for advanced training. I had no idea what we would do today but since Hansel and I got nothing to do, we complied. We drove all the way to the location Gwen had sent us, and I offered to drive Hansel’s car since I knew he was still sleepy. When we arrived at the location, William and the others were already there. But aside from them, there were other people, who I would assume were William’s men, that surrounded the area. There were about ten of them if I wasn’t mistaken.
I was panting heavily as I ran as fast as I could. My heart was thumping heavily inside my chest and I was cursing myself under my breath. Everything was just going fine until these dudes suddenly showed up, unannounced. I kept up my pace, afraid to trip down and fall flat on my face. I didn’t want to lose one grand, and I wasn’t going to let those guys win. What would they think of me? That William trained me for nothing?All these thoughts were creeping in my head w
Why did Caley want to see us? It seemed abrupt and quite spontaneous how he suddenly thought of us. After Kourtney had a phone call with him, all she said was we should come with her. She even included Hansel who had nothing to do with Caley. All that was in my head right now was, since when did Caley and Kourtney get close? As far as I knew, they didn’t hang out often unlike Amanda and Emma. But I guess things just drastically changed when they graduated and I was being left behind.
Hansel was caught off guard and he wasn’t expecting Kourtney to bring him up in this conversation. He only came here for coffee, nothing else and for him to be the center of attention aside from Kourtney was so uncalled for. It made him uncomfortable, but his cheeks were slowly turning red in embarrassment. As if to make him even more unsettled, Kourtney leaned her head on Hansel’s arm that made me furrow my brows. What was she doing? “How long h
My mouth gaped when I saw his blood-drenched hands that were grasping the wound on his abdomen. His chest rose and fell and he was panting uncontrollably from the pain. I froze to where I was standing in utter shock, as I studied the scene in front of me. There was a knife placed beside him, some scattered utensils on the ground and the countertop, and an opened microwave with a bowl of pasta inside. There was a trail of blood across the island counter, and there was a track of dirt along with it.
The whole ride on the way back to the hotel was quiet. We immediately left Paola’s house after the conversation we had, and Miguel didn’t choose to persuade her more for he understood her situation. All that I could do at that moment was empathize with her for her loss and we did everything we could to not make her feel bad about not helping us. Miguel also had told her to go to their mother which Paola instantly declined since she felt hesitant to show up to him. Then we all bid her goodbye along with Xavier.
“I met up with our father yesterday,” Miguel said and it received a baffled reaction from Paola.Her eyes widened and she stiffened on her seat as she stared at Miguel.
The next day, Gwen, Miguel, and I left the hotel in the afternoon along with William’s men. We would be heading to the person Miguel was referring to yesterday and we would try to talk to him or her about Fernando. To be honest, I was full of anticipation and I was being optimistic about the outcome. I wouldn’t deny, I was still a little nervous.We were inside the car and Miguel was in the driver’s seat. Gwen was sitting at the back while I was on the shotgun.
No one knows where the golds are, only your father, I repeated Fernando’s words in my head. I was certain that I knew where my father hid them, and he entrusted those to me that’s why I became the new keeper. Why did he come up to that conclusion? Did the Houstons know that I hid the golds?“You know that my father’s dead, right?” I said, my tone was laced with resentment. “And the treasure didn’t die along with him.”
Seeing Fernando sitting in front of me was probably one of the most unsettling feelings I’d ever had. I stared at him in awe, trying to hide the anxiousness I suddenly felt at the sight of him. He plastered a stoic face, and only two guards were standing on both sides of Fernando. I was right, he looked just like an Italian mafia boss in his early thirties. But I knew he was older than that, he just appeared younger because there weren’t any apparent wrinkles that formed on his face. I knew where Miguel had inherited his features, and I could already visualize how he would look like when he got old.
I was seated in front of these men who were gawking at me as if I was prey they needed to devour. There were five of them, and Fernando sat in the middle, contemplating. Beside Fernando was Dmitri, smiling mischievously like he was planning something sketchy. They’d locked William up in a chamber, and I was left alone because we got caught. We failed to conceal the secret between Arthur and William, and we were about to escape Mexico when we got caught by Fernando.
We got out of the car and moved closer to the house that looked just like a freaking castle. It was an old-style house, a bit outdated if you would ask me. But it was gorgeous, dark, and foreboding. It was the house you would expect a beast would live in. The house was surrounded by trees that there were dried leaves that scattered all over their unkempt lawn. The grass had grown tall, maybe because no one was staying here and no one looked out for their house. The hedges that ran along the front of their house also looked dehydrated, and they weren’t the luminescent green color we’d always had at our home. This looked more like a haunted mansion that no one would ever dare to stay here for long.
I was in a deep slumber for the entire ride that I hadn’t realized that we’d landed already. Though I’d already slept, it seemed like I had just blinked my eyes and now we were here. It was quick, about an hour or two rides that I honestly didn’t expect. Gwen had woken me up when we arrived and we quickly got off the plane. William’s men, who I barely communicate with, held our luggage. When I roamed my eyes around the place, we were taken to another hangar which wasn’t expected.
I was in a deep slumber for the entire ride that I hadn’t realized that we’d landed already. Though I’d already slept, it seemed like I had just blinked my eyes and now we were here. It was quick, about an hour or two rides that I honestly didn’t expect. Gwen had woken me up when we arrived and we quickly got off the plane. William’s men, who I barely communicate with, held our luggage. When I roamed my eyes around the place, we were taken to another hangar which wasn’t expected.