Carlos’ heart couldn’t help but thump in unreasonable fright as he made for the balcony in Alejandro’s hotel room. Making his way through the room, he felt a bit suffocated by the pungent smell of marijuana and used condoms. The coalition of the two contrasting odors were beyond repulsive and it made him want to leave in a hurry- just like he wanted to leave Abu Dhabi .His stay at Yas Island which he had expected to be nothing but soothing and a perfect chance to get away from the wear and tear of New York’s elbow grease. But then it had been just the same damn thing every day like he was in a disguised New York on the Eastern side of the world, instead of the Eastern side of America. He was still going about all of Alejandro’s business even though it was meant to be a summer holiday getaway for everyone, but then, it had been for everyone but him.Predicaments as such made him regret joining the life crime, but he was already knee-deep in. His unforgiving boss made it all the more d
Emma felt a renewed confidence as she drove from the hospital to the home she would soon be referring to as one of the places where she’d once lived.She felt in charge. She felt like she had finally had a say in what her life was going to turn out to be. Her mother’s plan gave her a kind of confidence that she couldn’t quite explain. It felt like she had been suffering all the while for nothing.Looking at the city flying by her window through her shades gave her a vague sense of exhilaration. It had been a while since she had enjoyed a simple decent ride in the city. It felt like she had been missing out a lot being with Kylian.Her phone buzzed. She was pleased to see that it was her mum. “Hello, Mom,” she said, leaving it on loudspeaker.“Hello Emma,” she said. “How did the trip to the hospital go? How’s our baby?”“Our baby’s doing just fine, the scan showed that it’s still intact. Nothing to fear.”“You better take care of yourself and our little one. You are literally carrying
"Rise and shine sleepyhead," Chloe teased as she put down the tray on the bedside stool, "You've been sleeping a lot lately."Max's eyelids slowly cracked open, as he took in the early morning sun rays which made him forget about his worries for the moment. He just wished that the morning would continue going on for however long."Breakfast is already here," Chloe announced, running her hand through his muscular chin, "Get up and dig in. I bet you already had your fill of sleep in the weekend."That single statement floored him back into the hard slab of the reality that he was living in. He'd been levitating from his worries up until then. The weekend had been one he wished to forget as quickly as he could. Remembering the incriminating pictures in his phone, made his appetite vanish, though he could perceive the delicacies on the tray— delicacies which he would kill and die for on any given day. Breakfast seemed to just bring memories of his ordeal with Debby that Saturday morning.
"What then?" Max said, still reeling from the sudden news he was being tackled with, "What then does he expect us to do?""He told me to play along, and go for the meeting," Chloe said, "But that would be too damn difficult, I can barely pick up his calls, let alone present a business proposal."Max was perplexed by the news more than he was perplexed by the solution itself. He questioned how many other things had been going on without his consent the past few days. Why did all the drama have to wait up until they were on the brink of their breakthrough before it all unfolded?"I've gotta call Gray." He said."But that's not going to change anything," Chloe said, "It's not going to make all the legal defense that he has behind him suddenly disappear into thin air."Max was thrown into complete disarray. They were left with no option but the one that Gray had offered. The consequences would be unspeakable if Alejandro ever found out that they were aware of who he really was. Their stay
Kylian had woken that morning, feeling quite on top of his game. He hadn't felt that refreshed in a while. It had been a close call when he saw Shirley at the concert venue. He hadn't known of his apparent fame up until then when all the eyes were on him at that point.He had a lot of problems lined up, but his time with Maya made it all seem like unimportant trivia. Every time he left her, it felt like he was slowly coming back in touch with his harsh reality.Every passing moment in his office had him glancing at his phone, expectant of a possible text from her, which was yet to come. He knew that was bad for his concentration, but still, he entertained the bad habit, which was so uncharacteristic of him."C'mon Kincaid, you've got work to do," he told himself as he looked at his phone once more. He didn't know how much time he had for work before his mother would come with the lawyer to discuss his divorce. He quickly threw his phone in his bottom drawer and locked it. Forgive me,
The beeping of medical machinery, the chattering of medical personnel, and nightmares of death had all made a seemingly frantic endeavor to slowly bring Francis back to reality. He had thought he would die the moment the bullets came piercing through his upper back, but somehow he found himself awake and alive.It took a few moments before he could feel his body, the intense pain in his midsection, the bandages on his skin, and then the soft mattress of the hospital bed underneath his body.What had happened? He couldn't recall how he had gone from getting out of his car to talking to Emma to being at the point of death and in the hospital and in that pitiful state.Slowly, his mind recalled how he'd been scooped into a stretcher while he had been bleeding out. The desperate utterances of the medics inside the ambulance, trying to keep him alive still echoed as it all played back in his mind. He had instinctively pulled out his phone and dialed 911 as he watched Emma drive off and lea
Sofia was roused from her sleep by the voices she heard outside her room. There seemed to be a heated argument going on, but it was more like an outright expression of rage, as Diego's voice was all she heard.For some reason, she was scared and worried that the heated verbal session somehow had something to do with her. She slowly got out of bed, gaining her orientation as soon as her feet hit the floor.His voice got more audible and his words more articulate as she made for the door. She gently opened the door, hoping that he wouldn't suddenly turn in her direction, as his voice seemed to come from the balcony, on the right.She stuck her head out of the door, out enough to see Diego standing at the railing of the balcony with two others with their hands behind their back and face to the floor as they received a brutal tongue lashing from Diego.Diego was all tensed up, "What did you do?" He fumed at his men. "I told you to aim for that bitch. Just, what the heck did you do?"The t
"Look who's out in New York City flirting when he's barely made it through his second divorce in the same year." Emma jeered as she walked closer to the both of them."Divorce?" Maya asked, being totally lost. "What's that Kylian?""It's nothing, Maya," he angrily turned to his would be ex-wife, "What exactly do you want Emma? Why are you just being such a sore loser?""Sore loser?" She chortled dramatically, "I can see why you wanted out of our marriage so bad.""Whoa...slow down," Maya said, "Married? Seriously? Who's she?""Don't pay attention to her, just listen to me, okay." Kylian said, looking her in the eye, being as earnest as he could, but Emma was still in the background negating everything he had to say to her. "She's just my—""I'm his wife!" Emma yelled out in an annoying rant. "And he's about getting a second divorce frome me, all because of his cheating ass can't just stick to a single woman at a time.""What the fuck, Emma?" Kylian retorted as he was torn in-between d
Chloe pushed the doorbell of the door where she once lived. It felt like ages she’d been at Emma’s doorstep. The number of calls and the text messages she had gotten at the wedding made it feel like it had been really something urgent.She’d had her doubts about making that visit. The last time she remembered, Emma had wanted her downfall so badly that she had gone to the extent of allying with dangerous criminals, even putting herself in danger in the process.After a while of waiting, she pushed the doorbell yet again. She heard some footsteps trotting steadily in her direction. She held her breath in anticipation as she couldn’t tell why she had been called out there.“Chloe,” Emma said, “You’re here.” She hadn’t expected to see her after all.“Yeah, I’m here.” Chloe’s eyes ran a quick subtle scan through her. Her wandering eyes were caught by the little bump in her belly. She was shocked as she hadn’t been told that part of the story. Max…come on. He had sadly left out that import
“I look stupid!” Ollie exclaimed in a mild tone of disappointment as she looked in the mirror one more time. “I look like a total goof.”“No, Ollie, you don’t,” Chloe protested as it had taken her and the costumier a considerable amount of time and energy to get her in that. “You look elegant.”Chloe looked over at the other girls on the bridal train as they silently complained about Ollie being way too vocal about her own complaints. And her dress too.“Elegant? Are you kidding me right now?” Ollie seemed like she’d never be satisfied, even though she was just a few minutes from walking down the aisle.“I’m not. Besides they’ve put in their best to give you the best, so it’s best that you just…” Chloe was out of words as she walked up to Ollie from behind, her tone becoming more and more hushed as he advanced. “Give them your best reaction. The dress is just perfect, Ollie.”The glistening white wedding gown had a very elegant flay. Maybe just too elegant to the point it puffed proud
Emma was getting uncomfortable in her seat. How had Kylian gotten his hands on all that? It was probably Francis, but how had he gotten to Francis?Her attorney was totally unprepared for that sudden twist in the case. It had been a walkover up until then. That woman’s testimony had them all dumbfounded— she, her mother, and her attorney. They were all thrown in disarray.“Emma, when did this happen?” Her mother, Amelia questioned from behind in a whisper. She had no answer that could appease her mother’s curiosity without implicating her as well. Her lips seemed to shut off their own accord.She knew she was about to face cruel music which she hadn’t rehearsed its dance steps. The look on Kylian’s face when he said, “It’s over,” almost made her lose it in front of the judge. She would be giving herself away before the case was over if she hadn’t gotten her act together.“You could have told me about this,” her attorney whispered faintly in a way that meant that she was really in big
"Don’t worry,” Kylian’s attorney told him not to do the one thing that his mind had been doing subconsciously since he’d set foot in the courtroom. “You’ll be fine.”“Sure I will,” he said, trying not to discourage his attorney before the grueling duel began. Either way, he wouldn’t be that much of a mess. Worst case scenario, he’d have to see Emma at their board meetings.“Kylian,” his mother called out from behind in a whisper. “Keep your composure out there, our fifty percent depends on it.”“Thank you, Mom, you’re doing such a great job at easing me of the pressure of the moment. Very commendable.” He said, harshly sarcastic.“Thank you, Kylian. Just don’t fuck this up for us.”He was a bit taken aback to hear his mom say the ‘f-word’ in public. “It’s really sad you called me just to tell me this.”“Now’s not the time to get in your feelings, young man. Go out there and get our family’s legacy. That’s all the pep talk you need.”As much as he hated it, she was right. He inhaled de
Max had his shades on as he walked through the construction site on the hot sunny afternoon.“The long-awaited upward progress has finally begun.” Mr. Singh mused as he was almost following all of Max’s footsteps throughout the site.“Isn’t it lovely?” Max replied with a smile. “Feels like we started just yesterday.” He was glad that it had been all running smoothly despite him being occupied with all the many personal challenges that he somehow managed to see himself come out on top.“It sure does.” Mr. Singh seemed like he had a default positive response for everything he had to say. It had Max wondering if he’d ever get to see Mr. Singh mad, even just once. He itched to see that moment, except that it didn’t have to be on the job that he was doing for him.Max believed that it was all because of the remarkable presentation that he had put forth. He strongly believed that it was still speaking for him up until then. He hadn’t questioned his moves and followed him with blind trust. H
Ollie picked up her phone and dialed frantically, “Did you hear about Alejandro on the news?” The report on the news seemed untrue, and she assumed that Chloe hadn’t seen it yet. “Alejandro has been arrested on numerous charges?”“Yeah, I heard,” Chloe said, unalarmed like they hadn’t lost one of their biggest potential partners after they had set quite a huge part of their budget plans around him and his cash, especially. “He’s been arrested.”“You know what that means?” Ollie still believed that she wasn’t getting the full scope of the impact of that news in particular. “What’s going to become of our plans and all?”It took Chloe quite some time to get a sigh out from her end of the line. “Well, we are going to figure something out, Ollie.”What? She meant to ask but swallowed it in as she sought a much better response but she couldn’t find any other, that forced her to say it out anyway, but more softly and politely that didn’t make it seem like Chloe had said something unreasonabl
“It’s on the news, Chloe,” Max stared at the TV screen in wild wonder, calling out to Chloe who came running, “They finally got him.”“Businessman known as Alejandro Navarro has been finally apprehended by the forces on charges of illegal drug trades, manslaughter, sex trafficking…” the TV presenter went on and on with his many dirty deeds.“Damn, he’s got quite a lot going for him at the moment.” Max remarked as he reclined on the couch, “Good thing they got him. There could’ve been trouble if they didn’t.”“Yeah,” Chloe said looking on in anticipation, “Nothing on Diego yet?”“Wait for it.”“Alongside the underground drug lord, the notorious gangster, Diego Gutierrez was also found in the building. After much resistance and shots fired, the swat team was able to break in and apprehend the two men and a few other survivors from the heated exchange. Two hostages were found in the basement of the building, a male and a female, suspected to be victims of his trafficking crimes…” The pre
It was the D-Day of the raid. Gray couldn’t deny how nervous he was, but he had to what had to be done. His heartbeat surged forcefully with each stop and turn of the vehicle.Most of all, he hoped the resistance they had predicted would what they’d be faced with. He’d heard stories of how vicious the Mexicans could be, and he didn’t want the mission to be a continuation of that tale.“Alright,” he finally got the courage to speak up amid the men in the large trunk of the van, he was about to attempt to make them not feel what he was feeling. He took out the large tablet that had the blueprint of the building.“The operation is simple.” He didn’t believe it was, but he had to say it anyway. “First, we surround all possible exits of the villa, which include the main gate, the back gate, and one other hidden gate on the Eastern side of the fence…”“Second, we ask Alejandro and his men to come out peaceably. If they don’t, which they most probably wouldn’t, we first hit them hard with so
Kylian tapped on the door, hoping that he’d somehow made it to the right door, following Maya’s directions to her place.The block of flats had way more homes than it appeared to have while viewing it from the outside. One could easily get lost in there. It had him wondering how the inhabitants kept from mistaking another door for theirs.He tapped yet again. He heard some faint footsteps approaching the door and expected to see Maya’s dazzling face. He could hear hands working desperately at the lock and that made him brim with anticipation.Finally, he thought, till the door opened for him to see a tall macho man with overgrown beards and tattoos scattered all over his body. The shock from seeing the stranger made him almost unable to speak. He had heavy rock music pounding in his apartment.“Can I help you mate?” his deep voice could make anybody’s knees buckle with frightful intimidation.“Sorry…I came to the wrong door,” Kylian broke out in an uncoordinated stutter, “I was lookin