I: What a tragedy

I joined the bustle at the pub as a bartender while one of my housemates, Maya, paced back and forth with orders. It was a big pub, but most of the people who came were gang members or people involved in criminal activities. Occasionally, a recently released prisoner would be seen here, too.

This city was full of danger, but I was used to it. The life I grew up in was always surrounded by the dark business our family ran. Although Papa had kept the female members of our extended family away from this business, Abuelo or Grandpa, didn't care.

Usually, he wanted us girls to serve as bait to trap men from enemy cartels, getting them killed at the hands of his men. This method always worked one hundred percent.

However, this mission was different. He only wanted me to monitor the activities of the Lopez family, the cartel that controlled this town, and report everything to him. To do that, I had to live among them, disguised as part of the lives of Maya and Bianca, two women who had become close friends at Alejandro Lopez's pub.

Now, I was doing it while enjoying the disguise. Meeting jerks wasn't my favorite, but the presence of Maya and Bianca made me feel a little comfortable.

"Your stomach still hurts?" Maya's voice interrupted my thoughts.

She came in with Rico, who had just finished delivering the order. I shook my head, looking at her with a pleading gaze. "Please don't make spicy cabbage soup next time."

"You don't like spicy? That's weird," Rico said.

"I like spicy food a lot. But unfortunately, Maya can't cook. She mixed rotten carrots in there," I replied, glancing at Maya, who was grinning innocently.

"Those vegetables are still good! It's a shame to throw them away. Don't you know how expensive vegetables are here? We have to save, Perra," Maya argued.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, you always say that to tease me and Bianca. You didn't even eat the soup."

"You're overreacting. Bianca looks normal. She's not sick at all," she retorted.

"Well, naturally, Jasmine has lived in New York for a long time. City people obviously have sensitive stomachs to random dishes," Rico taunted.

"I'm just an ordinary woman who still lives in the suburbs of New York. Even my life is much better here." That was another lie that came out so smoothly from my mouth.

I always said that I came here from New York to get to know the city that my grandmother had left behind. I took on the identity of a dead old woman and told many people that I was her granddaughter who wanted to live here for a while. It was still considered the truth, and I was just waiting for the time bomb to explode, revealing my true identity.

"Hello, peeps." Bianca's excited voice distracted us. Her appearance is becoming more and more revealing. She is wearing a tiger-print bikini with a wide white skirt, which faintly reveals her red panties.

I glared, shaking my head. "No, no, no. You can't wear that."

She shook her golden hair that we had dyed two days ago, waltzing away towards the stage while flicking her tongue at us.

Maya shook her head roughly beside me. "I should have burned those clothes."

"We should have," I muttered, biting my lip and sighing as she took the stage, talking to one of the guitarists who always entertained the pubgoers.

"But she's sexy, and beautiful," Rico said. "That'll attract the attention of other customers."

"Jerks and their eyes," Maya chuckled. "I'd rather pick scum and imprison myself in a virgin's prison for fifty years if there were only them left in this world."

"Me too."

<<<

The night was getting late, and the pub was getting full. I was forced to help the waiters deliver orders, risking being given lewd looks by those assholes.

"You're even more beautiful than Bianca. I can't believe this!" says Torres, a burly man with a dragon and cat tattooed on his head. "I just lost the tennis game I had with Alejandro. I need some fun tonight."

I stare at him with a frown as I placed six glasses on the round table filled with his friends. "If you see the ball as well as you see my ass, you'll win," I retorted, leaving to the whistles of my friends.

I shook my head at Bianca, who sat on a bar stool, taking a break from her performance.

"Guess what news I got this afternoon?"

"Alejandro won tennis against Torres," I said, sure she would boast about Alejandro Lopez's victory.

She shook her head. "No."

"And then?"

"I met a guy when I went out with Jandro this afternoon." Her gaze was dreamy, almost lewd. "He was very handsome. So handsome."

I raised an eyebrow. "How handsome is he that I can see your saliva spilling out of here?" I asked.

She rubbed the corner of her lips. "Like a Greek god."

"Where did you see him?"

"With one of the Lopez's."

I raised an eyebrow. "If he was with one of the Lopez, then he's a criminal too." I shrugged.

"Right," she said. "Alejandro said he came from New York and was working with his father." 

Alejandro was Marco Lopez's youngest son, and Giorgino Lopez was the first. Lopez had controlled the city's cartel network for a long time, bringing about a slow collapse for some residents. That's why people were never scared or hysterical about what they were doing. Dead bodies on the side of the road were a daily sight.

"But he's handsome. Very handsome."

"Do I have to remind you that you have Alejandro?" I raised an eyebrow.

She snorted. "Get him out of it. He can go fuck himself."

I shook my head lightly.

"If he comes here later, I'll tease him and ask him to fuck me."

"Ew," I frowned in disgust.

"I swear, you need to get laid, Jas," Bianca's mocking laughter rang out. "Maya may be a nerd but at least she's not as dorky as you."

"Bee, you need to change and get ready. You have ten minutes left," one of the band members said.

Bianca shook her hand and took a drink from my water bottle. "Yeah, yeah. Chill out." She said. "Bye. I need to change, and wear something sexier for that New York guy to see me."

I didn't answer anything but let her go to the changing room. Sighing softly, I sat in my chair and stared at the numerous customers. 

The entrance door opened, revealing Giorgino Lopez, who came in with a taller man in tow. My eyes immediately fell on the man as they stood amidst the sea of people. I kept staring at the man. The one who caught my attention and that of several women. 

Handsome. Is this the man Bianca was talking about earlier?

He was wearing a black t-shirt that fit his body well, allowing anyone to see his athletic body that was not overdone. His hair was short, with messy bangs covering his forehead. From a distance, I could catch his eyes, which were lined with thick dark lashes. His jaw looked solid with a slight shadow from his newly grown sideburns. His lips were thin and slightly curved upwards, like a restrained smile. His skin was tanned like it had been in the sun a lot, but it still looked smooth and well-groomed.

Sexy.

Giorgino spoke to Rico, seemingly ordering a drink. The handsome man stood next to him, his sharp eyes sweeping the room as if assessing every corner and person in it. His gaze paused for a moment on me. I felt my heart beat faster as our eyes met. Something in that gaze, a mixture of power, danger, and intrigue, sent chills down my spine.

"He's handsome, isn't he?" whispered Maya beside me.

I just nodded, unable to stop myself from looking at him. The man finally averted his gaze, but I could still feel the influence of his intense gaze. I swallowed and tried to refocus on my work.

No, no, no. You have to realize, Jaz. You're not here to fall for one of the dangerous men. It's for your mission. It's for your safety in your grandfather's hands.

Bianca returned from the dressing room, now wearing even more revealing clothes. She looked at the handsome man. "There he is, the one I was telling you about!" she whispered excitedly.

I didn't answer anything and chose to wipe the freshly washed glasses. Bianca quickly moved towards the man's table and started talking to them. Giorgino seemed happy to see Bianca, but the handsome man only gave a faint smile before turning his attention to the stage as if uninterested in what was happening in front of him.

"It's going to be a long night," Maya muttered as she continued her work.

"Tomorrow is the weekend. Everyone needs to have fun," I said. "Our paychecks will be increased and we can buy a lot of pizza," I continued.

Maya chuckled, there was approval in her tone, and then she said, "Damn, he's so handsome, and he doesn't seem to be from this town or the next town."

"Bee said he came from New York."

"Wow," she replied. "What did he come all the way here for..."

"He must be a criminal because hecame with Lopez," I said bitterly.

"Oh yeah, sure—Fuck, he's headed to us." The sound of a surprised sigh came from Maya.

I turned my head forward and looked at the man who was walking toward me, toward the bar, with his eyes that seemed to judge everything in this pub sharply.

"Maya... come here, help me," Rico's voice came.

Maya pinched my arm before she left. I put on as straight a face as possible as he fixed me with that piercing hawk gaze.

"What kind of drink would you like?" I asked politely and quietly, in Spanish, holding back the nervousness that was getting the better of me.

He sat before me with her thin, seductive smile, creating dimples on his both cheeks. "Just one beer," He was fluent in Spanish.

I nodded, quickly picked up the beer bottle, poured it into a large glass, and pushed it towards him.

"Thank you," he said in a low, heavy voice, which sent a jolt of goosebumps through every nerve in my body.

"You're welcome," I replied while forcing a smile. I pretended to be busy cleaning the bar, trying to avoid eye contact with him for too long.

But this man had other plans.

"How long have you been working here?" he asked, opening the conversation.

"About six months," I replied briefly.

"You don't look like you're from here," he said, sipping his beer.

I looked at him briefly before replying, "I'm from New York. My grandma used to live here and now she's dead, so I'm trying to make up for it."

He nodded slowly as if digesting the information. "I can see that. You look different," he said with a smile. The smile, though thin, was charming.

I looked at him and tried to focus on his eyes. A brownish color mixed with green. A little green but intense, like the dense forests in Alaska, which is my favorite place to vacation. It was deceptive. It was soothing. It was... horrible.

I blinked slowly and looked back down to wipe the empty glasses.

"So, you came here just to remember your dead grandmother?"

"Yes, this was my family's home before they moved to New York,"

"What's your name?" he asked, his voice like a beautiful, misleading hum that anyone could fall for, like the ghost stories my grandma used to read to me when I was little.

"Jasmine," I replied. For my name, I wasn't lying. "You?"

"I'm Dexter." His eyes flashed with pleasure. "Jasmine..." my name sounded soft on his lips.

I almost fainted at the sound. 

"God, you're so beautiful."

I could hear the whisper, making me startle and look up at him. He was still looking at me with deep hazel eyes while drinking his beer. The biceps on his arms were moving in an eye-catching way.

"What time do you get home, Jasmine?"

"It's Sunday night, and we're working late because we have a lot of customers,"

"Ah, too bad. You should have come home earlier so that we could spend time together."

I bit my lower lip. "Yes, that's too bad," I whispered.

"Do you have time after this?"

"No," I shook my head quickly. "I'm going straight home and to bed."

"Can you accompany me to the Blooms Hotel in the next town?" he asked. 

My heart beating fast. "Yeah, sure."

"And accompany me?" he asked with a deep gaze. He's not one for small talk. "Because I'm alone, and you seem quite fun." His eyes looked at me intensely for a long second, darkening and slightly pleading.

I almost said 'yes,' but I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I-"

"I'm not going to mess with you." He cut me off. "My phone's dead, and Lopez won't drive me to the next town over."

Of course, he won't. Lopez's power wasn't there because the area was heavily guarded by police and soldiers.

"And you're nice and pretty. I'll take you home tomorrow when my friend comes," he said again. "I'll book two rooms."

He seemed to be coaxing me into it, and from the look in his eyes, he was really desperate for help. I know that there were many women he could have taken to help him, but he asked me instead.

I wanted to refuse, but I was really hypnotized when I let him take me to that hotel at the end of my working hours, a place where all the darkness was thick.

No one made a move to attract each other.

He bought two hotel rooms.

But when he knocked on my door and he was in front of me, I couldn't resist anything.

The night was so wet and cold, triggered by the heavy rain. But he ignited a flame that slowly burned me with his touch.

Until he took something precious from me. My first.

Chaos came as the hot sun burned my skin, waking up alone in that hotel.

Completely alone.

Until everything turned into a nightmare when I saw my first brother at the door, pointing a gun at my head.

It was a nightmare that I knew would haunt me for the rest of my life.