It was a cold morning. I could smell the freshly scythed grass from the kitchen open window and it filled me with contentment, that, and having the knowledge that whoever killed my brother was in Nightcore.“Zamani, are you still here?” Orion questioned, as he sat on the stool next to me at the kitchen island. “By the way, what time did you return yesterday?”“Midnight,” I answered, taking a long annoying slurp from the mug to irritate Orion.“Westwood is a dangerous place at night and it is inappropriate for a girl to walk alone at night.”“Oh no,” I waved his fake concern off and laughed. “Are you worried for me?”Orion turned to look at me, a glare plastered on his face. “Are you such a fool, Zamani?”My eyes widened and my jaw clenched in annoyance. “You don't have to be worried. Monty brought me home.”“That fucking slime,” Orion murmured under his breath. But not too much because I heard him.I shook my head. “Do you always have a problem with whatever I do or whoever I associat
One of the things I loved was seeing Orion get riled up that his face would almost shatter like a glass.It made me excited.Inside of Midnight Oasis was loud and crazy and yeah, the music was soul soothing, as well as soul crushing and deafening. I wasn't immune to the noise and I wondered how Orion did it.I followed behind him like a confused puppy and he had no choice than to tighten his grip on me, all because he claimed he didn't want me to get lost amidst the unholy crowd.The crowd was unholy alright, but there was a particular wave of good vibrations that filled the place and truly, the name of the club fitted its aura.“Zamani, are you alright?” Orion asked on top of his voice.If I said I was alright, I would be lying like the pathetic liar that I was, but I didn't have it in me. “I am not okay. My eardrums are in danger.”His face curled in a smug smile. “I told you to stay home, but you refused.”“You can't tell me what to do and not,” I retorted.Surprisingly, Orion rele
“I am not supposed to indulge you in any conversation for now. However, Zamani, I'd like you to excuse Blackwood and I,” Tesfaye commanded, as he stared at Zamani, and then back to Orion.Zamani swallowed a lump forming in her throat and nodded. “Alright then. I'll be filling my stomach with free drinks.”Orion tensed. “Don't you get drunk, Zamani. You are already a tough case to deal with.”Zamani sneered at Orion and then flashed a smile at Tesfaye. She walked out, leaving the two tough men alone.“What were you thinking bringing that crazy girl here?” Tesfaye questioned, a hot steam of anger radiating from him. All his jokes and sweet words to Zamani were just pretense and thank God, she didn't fall for them.“She followed me. I intentionally lost her upstairs, but I don't know how she found this place,” Orion commented, his jaw tightening. He was as equally pissed as Tesfaye, for they saw Zamani as a big threat. But Orion was more pissed because Zamani engaged Tesfaye in a convers
I was stupid, I knew that. But I never knew or thought my stupidity would strike a nerve.North froze on the spot while he was in the process of opening a door. He blinked twice, trying to recover from the reverie. “How…how did you know about Nightcore, girlie?”I shrugged. “Everyone in Westwood and beyond knows Tesfaye is the boss, and we had a conversation before you came.”North rolled his eyes. “That's so bad. I wanted to show you something interesting, but it seems you are only interested in Nightcore.”“I'm not going to lie to you,” I answered.“Anyway,” North held me by the wrist. “You are too innocent to know any danger.”I groaned. I knew deep down that I was a troubleshooter, but who cares? “What do you mean by that?”North laughed. “Have you killed anyone before?”I cringed at the question. I have never hurt anyone except myself and Orion and I would never take a life, considering that was a cruel and wicked thing to do. However, I needed to play it cool. “Yeah, with my gra
North sped down the illuminated roads of Westwood and I sought that as a cue to rest my head on his back, fluttering my eyes close as the warm night breeze brushed down my cheeks.I tightened my grip around his waist to avoid my brains splattering on the road. As much as I loved pain, I cherish my life so much that I can die for myself, but, no thank you.“Zamani,” North coughed, as his back vibrated. The sound reverberated through my chest. “Allow me some air, please.”“Oof! Sorry,” I apologized and retracted my hands from around his enormous body a little bit.“All good,” he said and I felt my cheeks turn crimson like an overripe tomato.Some minutes later, North pulled up in a slum-like area. He parked under a street lamp post that was flickering and it got me nervous. I was not stupid enough to know that he gave me a gun and asked him to follow him in order to jump somebody.I hopped off the bike, holding North’s arm for balance. He pulled off his helmet and his gaze met mine. I s
“How did she do last night?” Tesfaye was in a state of utmost distress. Ever since he met Zamani last night at the club, he has been disturbed and on edge. No one has made him feel that way, not even Detective Klondike. And now, he was expecting to hear news of Zamani’s great fuck uppery.North shook his head and then smiled. “Girl is wilder than a lion. I could not believe she could handle herself.”Tesfaye nodded, taking a drag from his cigar. “When you've stayed that long in rehab, I am sure you'll have the balls to do whatever. She will be good for business, but damn, she's crazy.”North shrugged. “She seems to know what she's doing. However, I have a feeling she playing us. Girl has a boyfriend as a detective.”“Fuck,” Tesfaye murmured. “She's a snitch.”“Maybe. She kept on asking all those questions about Nightcore. I think she wants game.” North smiled as he remembered how sultry Zamani looked last night—the first night he met her—and how he kissed her soft lips.“You think she
A piercing noise kept on ringing inside my ear and I wondered where it was coming from. I fluttered my eyes open that was still heavy with sleep and found my phone on the nightstand, knocking over the lamp in the process.I grabbed my phone and checked the screen to see a ‘no caller ID,’ which was weird because I don't usually give anyone my contacts, even the police. “Who's this?”“Yo Zamani. How good are you at handling business?”I groaned at the person's nonchalance and disrespect. “North, is that you?”“Who else, Zamani? I'm running out of time,” North said and I could hear he was out of breath.“This…this is…” I checked the time on my bedside clock. “It's four thirty in the morning.”“Yes, and I need your help. Are you going to help me or not? It's important.”I sat up on my bed and let out a loud yawn. “I've got therapy at noon. Where should I meet you?”“Midnight Oasis. How fast can you get here, Zamani?” North asked.“Uh…in the next two hours,” I answered, feeling my energy s
I rapped on the door continuously that had Monet Morales’ name plaque on it. The job I was sent to do was different from the one I had in mind.There was no way in my right senses that I believed the words that came out of North's mouth and according to common sense, the timeline of his story didn't match up.After a moment later, the door finally swung open as a short ginger haired girl stood before me, an upset look on her face. North definitely has a type.“What do you want, Africa?” Her tone was mean and scary and I am not even African. I am Italian with Hebrew and African origin.I dug into my tote bag and brought out a blue file. “I have a package for Monet Morales, that's you I think.”She dragged the file from me. “Yeah, that's me.” She opened the file, only to find a white paper with three words written on it and a hundred dollar bill. “It ends tonight? What does that even mean?”I shrugged. “I don't know. I was asked to deliver it to you.”“By who?” she demanded, throwing th