SEVEN

I thought Pablo and his gang were the scariest-looking men I had laid my eyes on in a long time, but the man standing adjacent to me reminded me of Hercules. He stood a reasonable distance away, yet one could easily see he was brawny. His well-defined muscles hugged his shirt that had a few buttons opened and the top and the sleeves rolled up as if he had come prepared for a fight, but his hands were tucked casually into his pant pockets.

“Who the fuck are you?” Pablo brawled.

“Leave the girl alone,” He repeated, his tone was quiet but commanding.

I take the opportunity to wriggle my arms again in an attempt to get them free, but Pablo’s grip tightened even more. His colleague had released me to move towards the stranger, cracking his knuckles as he did. 

“You have a chance to turn around and walk away like you didn’t see anything,” Pablo’s colleague warned, but his words do not move this stranger, instead, they angered him. His stance grew even more rigid, and his muscles were screaming to be let out of those rather tight shirts, but he doesn’t utter a word. 

Pablo too stepped forward, dragging me with him as he did, and I winced as his fingers cut deeper into my flesh. His colleague grunts before he rushed to attack the stranger, and then everything happened in a flash.

One second Pablo’s friend was charging at him, and the next, he lay on the floor, moaning and screaming in pain. Pablo let go of me, grabbing his knife from his pockets with his arm mid-air to stab the stranger, but the stranger caught his fist with the knife a few inches from his face and the knife went falling to the ground. 

What looked like an effortless kick from this stranger sent Pablo to his knees in front of him, gripping his ribs and raining curses. I had to pinch myself to be sure this was real, that I wasn’t dreaming, or to remind myself that this isn’t any movie, because how can one man possess such strength, fighting off two men without moving an inch from where he stood?

“What are you?” Pablo's eyes widened in disbelief.

“Now is your chance to walk away before I am forced to do something drastic,” His voice remained cool while Pablo scurried to his feet, falling a few times back before racing away, and his colleague who was badly injured barely managed to keep up with him. 

“I’ll find you, and I’ll kill you and your entire family if I don’t get my money. That’s a promise,” Pablo’s voice echoed back as he ran for his life.

I shuddered at the threat, because I knew he was going to do it. Pablo and his gang are notorious and I learned he had turned a family of five to ashes in the past when they didn’t pay back the loan they owed him. I should be thankful to Mr. Hercules here for saving my life, but I feel he only just succeeded in making things worse for us.

My eyes stung with unshed tears that were becoming harder to hold back.

“Are you hurt?” for the first time, Mr. Hercules moves from the spot he’d been standing to inspect my arms that was red from Pablo’s grip. Asides from the redness, I’d also managed to sustain a graze on my elbows when I fell, and little marks of blood stained the area, but nothing too serious.

His brows creased when he saw the injury, a soft curse escaping his lips. “Bastards,” 

I shrug “It’s nothing,” I yank my arms free from his. “Thank you, but I should hurry home, my mom would be overly worried now,”

But he blocked my path “Not so fast, Aria,” 

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open at the same time, then I snapped them shut almost immediately. I have never met him before, yet he knew my name and it rolled off his tongue like we were friends. 

“Who are you, and how do you know my name?” Fear and panic laced my words. 

“My name is Marcel. Relax, I’m not here to hurt you,” 

Marcel. I blinked, the name didn’t ring any bell. “How do you know my name?” 

“My Al-” he stopped himself, then cleared his throat and started again “Let’s say I have had my eyes on you for some time now,”

It may be the build of this man, and the extraordinary strength he possessed that gave me the hunch to be wary of him. I didn’t trust him, even though he’d just saved my life. His next words drove me into utmost shock.

“Aria Azalea Edgar. Eighteen years of age. Daughter of Elinor and Harold Edgar. You have a Sibling, Audrey, working two jobs some blocks away from here. You have lived downtown St. Matthew road for the last seven years. Most of your childhood was spent at Dawson. Recently graduated from high school. Your family is in deep mess at the moment, owing a debt of over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Your father owes Pablo a hundred and ninety thousand, exclusive of his other debts…”

My mouth dropped open and close several times as he continued to recite all my family problems, without leaving any detail out. The more he spoke, the more I am reminded of how much mess we are in and Pablo’s threat ringing somewhere at the back of my head. The tears I’d been fighting finally dropped to my cheeks when he was done, and I tried to find my voice for the first few seconds. 

“How…”

Marcel shook his head “It doesn’t matter how. What matters is why,” He smiled devilishly, “My Al-” Again he stopped and cleared his throat.

“Slade needs your help. We need your help,”

What can an insignificant person like me have to offer a man like Marcel? He reeked of wealth and affluence. His skin looked tough, but that had to be from too much fighting rather than suffering.

“Who is Slade? And what are you talking about?”

His brow furrowed and anger crossed his features as if I had just insulted the man he mentioned by not knowing about him.

“Let’s say he is my boss. I owe him my life and loyalty. It’ also my duty to protect you,” He relaxed the frown on his face, but I can tell he is still annoyed. It’s hard to imagine Marcel being under anyone’s command, or serving anybody which is why I grew more skeptical about him. I should flee from his presence this very minute, but he knows my address. He recited my phone number and knows all the places I had to do menial jobs to get money. If he needed me, he knew exactly where to find me and so far so good, he hadn’t hurt me.

“You need to come with me,” he adds “Slade can make all your family debts go away and give you a life of affluence and luxury that you so much desire. You and I know that you can’t raise that sum in a hundred years by moping grounds and cleaning toilets. Your sister desires to go to college so bad, and you can make her happy by paying the price. Don’t you get tired of seeing your mother cry every day? Are you not tired of looking over your shoulders, for fear of that Mongrel?” he points in the direction Pablo and his friend had just fled. 

This man had to be delusional to think I would believe his words and just go with him. This isn’t some sort of movie, and things like this don’t just happen out of the blue. 

I laughed “You have to be joking,”

His features hardened again, the frown returning to his face.

“This is no joke Aria. As it is, you have little time left and so do we. You heard Pablo, he would not hesitate to turn your family to ashes, or even abduct you and Audrey and make you his sex slaves for the rest of your lives,” his harsh tone made me flinch.

I clenched my jaw “That’s a cruel thing to say,”

He pursed his lips “That’s the truth Aria,” his gaze held mine, daring me to argue with him.

I pondered on his words, and I hate to admit it but he was right. If he hadn’t shown up, Pablo would have carted me away, and I wouldn’t be able to fight him off if he tried to force himself on me. The thought made me shudder.

Marcel smirked “You only have to do one thing Aria,”

I grit my teeth and made to shove him out of my way, but he doesn’t budge.

“I need to get to my mother,” I seethed.

“I see you are stubborn,” he sighs, finally stepping out of the way “I’ll take you home,”