Silent Echoes

by Aleisha Maree

  State-of-the-art kitchen.

  The rest of the buildings house people that run the farm. There is also a massive guest house that is for my grandparents, and a glasshouse for my grandfather for his flowers.

  - “Couldn’t. I’ve been ferrying the women from my club out to the motels on Lake Road after your fuck-wit cousin and his fuck buddy blew up my club.”

  My hands tighten over the steering wheel, my jaw clenching as Layla’s hand finds my thigh.

  - “Where are you now?” I ask him.

  - “Back at the motel on Lake Road getting my dick sucked. I’m stressed, man.”

  - “Fuck sake, meet me at the farm. I’m just about there.”

  - “Got it. Leaving now. Pick this up later, babe. Keep that pussy wet for me,” I hear him say before I hit end.

  My eyes meet Layla’s, “Fuck, I’m sorry about that. He’s like, well sick.”

  Shaking my head as her hand reaches for my face, and she cups my cheek, I turn into the warmth of her touch, never knowing anything so fucking insanely sexier than her and her touch.

  “It’s no problem at all. I look forward to meeting him. I hope he likes me as you seem really close.”

  Smiling at her “Oh, baby. He likes you. We have been watching that compound remember? He’s my right-hand guy.” Winking at her as my house comes into view. Layla gasps next to me, her eyes scanning the vast area.

  “Micha, this place is beautiful.”

  “Thanks, babes. I bought it for you.” Pulling around onto the white sparkly pebbles, I take the loop past the water feature that has white and blood-red roses planted around it, to the front door. It’s a huge, oak door with my crest right in the middle. The Walsh crest too. Never forget who you are. My father’s words sound inside my head.

  “Wait! What!” She stammers out as I open my door, step out and lean back down.

  “This is yours, ours. I bought this the moment I saw you. I knew I wanted to start something and have a safe place for you and my grandparents.”

  “B-b-but you didn’t even know me,” she says as I walk around the car, opening her door and pulling her body into mine.

  “Babe, you get to know a lot about someone by watching them.” I kiss the tip of her nose.

  “Now let’s get you inside so you can meet my pops and Nona.”

  Saying that my grandparents approved of Layla would be a true understatement. My Pops, for the first time since I can remember really smiled. Not a forced I must smile, but an actual smile.

  This was the first time I’d seen it in his eyes. It’s the same way he looks at my Nona. He pulled her in and held her close exchanging hushed words with her that only they could hear.

  My Nona fixed pasta, wine and cheese stealing glances at me and Layla, her smile wide and her eyes shone. She was happy, so happy.

  The first time I had truly seen both of them happy after the heartache left from my mother leaving.

  She couldn’t handle it any longer. My Nona found her in bed with my father’s jacket on, clutching a photo of him to her chest. I can’t really blame her. I was wild with anger, filled with hate and on a one-man mission to destroy all that came within ten meters of me.

  The riddle she left behind, I always had inside my pocket close to my heart and it means more now that I truly understand what it’s like to love when you were so filled with hate.

  “Love is a tragedy designed for two. What would you endure to see it through? I was nothing then there was him. The keeper of my soul, the giver of my pain. He was madness I was his paradise. Innocent love stories bleed for the longest.”

  Looking at my Layla as the memory invades me, it has my spine quivering because my reality is dark. And my demons are darker. I am madness just like my father. It’s in my blood, and she is a paradise that I love to get lost in but would hate to taint with the hate.

  She is so innocent in this world, even though she was bought up in it. Walking in it daily is a different story.

  “So that fucker, Damon, is a sick and twisted prick harboring some pretty sadistic secrets.” My head turns to the door as Jimmy storms in, flowers from the fucking 7-Eleven in his hand and a smoke going in his mouth.

  Passing the flowers to Nona she eyes his smoke before he kisses her cheek and spins her around in his arms dancing through the kitchen.

  “Watch out, Poppy. I’m going to steal her one day.” He winks at my grandfather.

  Nona slaps Jimmy’s chest and scolds him.

  “Shhh, enough with you, boy, and no smoking in the house.” She waves her tea towel in front of his face as he turns toward the door flicking his smoke out.

  “So, this Damon cat, fuck man, he’s a dirty piece of shit and Ian? Wow, man, I hope he dies before I get my hands on him for real. Nona, I mean like no disrespect.” Jimmy blurts out pouring coffee from the stove into the cup.

  “Bro,” I say moving my head to the side toward Layla. She’s sitting down at the table with her coffee cup still lifted to her lips. She hasn’t moved it since Jimmy’s grand entrance.

  “Right, fuck. Ok, I was just saying is all.”

  Taking a gulp of his coffee, he places it down and walks over to her. Taking the cup from her hands, he places it in front of her. Her eyes follow his movements, mine follow her.

  “Sup, Gallo princess. Nice to meet ya finally. I kinda feel like I already know ya. Creepy, right?” Layla looks at him like a stunned deer, a beautiful stunned deer caught in the very fast and changing headlights of Jimmy.

  “Yeah, following people will have that effect on someone,” she says. Jimmy laughs loud, slapping his hand over his chest then looking at me then back to her.

  “I fucking like her already,” he says kissing her cheek.

  “Oh, make him cry, hurt or break his heart and I’ll fucking kill ya,” he breathes out. Nona gasps at his statement as Pops stands signaling the end of this meet and greet.

  “Jimmy,” I hiss out. “What, bro, just being like the big brother and shit. Isn’t that what ya meant to say when they bring home a Girl?”

  “Only if you’re the brother of the girl, dickhead. Fuck, shit, I mean sorry, Nona,” I say pulling her hand from making the cross over her chest to my lips, kissing her knuckles.

  Cursing and Nona, not a good mix. Disrespecting women in Nona’s presence not good either. Jimmy will never learn.

  Chapter Eleven

  When the sun doesn’t rise, we talk with ghosts.

  ~ Micha Ragen

  “Ian,” he said as Ian walked into his office.

  “My favorite soldier,” Damon says rubbing his chin.

  “Damon.” I sat next to my Pops; Jimmy leaned against the window looking out over the farm while watching this video on his laptop.

  He had his hacker mate hack Damon’s computer and cameras at his house, club, office and safe house. Same with all of Ian’s. Dumb fucks think they are clever.

  Damon pours Ian a whiskey on ice. He takes it from him sipping it as he pulls out a chair.

  “So, this cousin of yours is becoming a rather large problem,” he says taking a smoke from his pack and lighting it. I watch him inhale.

  “Welcome to my fucking world then,” Ian scoffs inhaling a puff of his own smoke. Look at these two siting there like kings.

  “Well, something needs to be done about it,” Damon says leaning back further in his chair as a young girl, and I say girl - she could not be any more than sixteen, walks in with next to nothing on her shaking body, falls at Damon’s feet as he moves his chair out slightly. The table’s obstructing the view, thank god, but you can see the telltale bobbing of her head as his hands fist her hair. Another young girl enters and begins to dance in front of Ian.

  I have to look away as my Pops clears his throat. “Jimmy,” I bite out.

  “Yeah,” he says twisting toward us. “Pretty sick, right? Like? Like fuck, I’m all down on a blowie and a lap dance, but not from babies.”

&nb
sp; I raise my eyebrow at him.

  “Look, we don’t wanna see this,” I say and point my head toward Pops.

  “Fuck, right, well they don’t talk much while this goes on. Ian ends up getting his dick sucked and well, they then pick up their chat.”

  Watching Jimmy fast-forward the tape, Pops picks up a glass of whisky and swallows it down, pouring another he guzzles that one too.

  “You know that this little club isn’t my real business.” His hand moves around the room as Ian does up his belt on his jeans. “Sex slavery is, though.” His smile never wavered, the snake. “And that has what to do with me?” Ian says lighting another smoke then sucking it back like it was air he requires to breathe. He smokes to excess when he’s nervous, Damon makes him nervous. Just as nervous as my blood is boiling in anger with the plain disrespect, dishonor and distrust he’s showing his family right now.

  “When was this taken?” I snap out annoyed.

  “Last night,” Jimmy says. “So, he’s meeting with him before the hit on the motel?” I ask Jimmy. “Yep, brother. I watched a video from all the meetings. He’s been feeding Damon info now for months. He also outed you as the Riddler and wait for it.”

  He says pointing to the screen.

  “My niece, Ian.”

  “What about her?”

  “Well, I have men bidding on her. Men that are bidding millions and millions. I have men expecting her and wanting her for their own personal pleasure.” This is getting sick. I can’t handle listening to what he plans, well had planned to do to my baby.

  “You like her, don’t you? You want to fuck her.” Damon says and my fists clench.

  “I don’t want anything to do with her,” Ian says.

  “I’ve just been watching him watch her like you said to do.” Ian fidgets in his chair.

  Damon tisks him.

  “Well too late for that. I see her dancing in your eyes. I see you getting hard over her. I watched you whack off while you watched them fuck.” Anger creeps up my spine as heat laces up my neck traveling to my cheeks. My Pops is here listening to this.

  “Not too late. Find someone else to do your dirty work for you. I’m over this shit. I want out. You wanted the Riddler, I gave you the Ridder. If you hadn’t killed his fucking father and brother this shit wouldn’t be happening, and he wouldn’t be here fucking with my claim to the business. Pops would leave it all to me and I wouldn’t need you.” Ian’s voice gets higher as he’s starting to panic.

  “Why would I do that? You’re doing such a nice job at it,” Damon says to Ian while pouring another drink.

  “What’s your end game, what do you want from me?” Ian asks him looking around the room, pulling at his shirt collar.

  Damon leans back in his chair and puts his hands behind his head.

  He was wearing a white wife-beater and a heavy gold chain around his neck with gold rings on his fingers. He screams old school Mafia mixed with a paedo. Makes me sick.

  “You know, Ian, this whole drugs and whores thing can’t last. There’s new competition every day and that shit is undercutting me at every turn. Then, my boy, I have your family that are taking a lot of my business and also my power and respect. That fucking Riddler cousin of yours has taken a lot of my men from me. And now he has his hands on my niece who was, and well with your help, will give me a rather large payday.”

  “I can guess that’s a right kick in the balls then, Damon,” he says.

  “You young guys think it’s all about shooting guns and fucking women. Really, this shit is a business. We need new territory, but that won’t happen because the city is in love with your family and I want to take that family out and put you in at the top, under me of course, and start expanding my new market of sex slaves and toys for the rich and dirty.”

  “These women are, well, cheap as fuck, since they’re free. Disposable too. I figure I’ll start with girls like the ones who just serviced us, pretty and worth the investment, and slowly transition to women that are a little more high-end.”

  A chill ran down my spine listening to him talk. He was talking about these girls like they were fucking products or some shit for him to sell and then throw away when they got too used up. He genuinely seemed to think that forcing humans into sex slavery was a great idea, at least from a business perspective.

  “And like your niece,” Ian said pulling me from all the dark thoughts of how many pieces I could cut Damon into.

  “Ah, yes. My niece. She’s a pretty thing, it’s her bloodline they are after. Oh, and her tight little pussy’s fetching me a lot. Right now, the men are up to three million and you’re going to get her back for me.” Ian laughs.

  “From Micha? Like fuck I am,” he says, and I scoff. Yeah, bitch you know who’s stronger.

  “Yes, you are,” he said to Ian.

  “No, I’m fucking not. I like breathing,” Ian states standing.

  “This meeting’s over. I have given you more than enough,” he says turning to walk toward the door.

  The door opens before Ian could reach it and in walks two men. Both huge, both holding guns to his head.

  “Two options here, Ian. Be the solider I know you are and take Micha out. Then bring me the girl or tell me where they are, and I’ll do it myself.” Standing, Damon walks up to Ian, his stare locked on the men before him. His fingers twitching, he wants to pull his piece.

  One of the men step closer to Ian, his gun pressing into his forehead.

  Jimmy moves toward me “What? I didn’t see this,” he says. I look at him and ask, “What do you mean you didn’t see this?” He shrugs his shoulders. “I shut the lid when the girls came in saying shit was on fire, man.” His eyes burning into mine. “Then I focused on getting my ass outta my club before I went down in burning flames.”

  “Sorry, my phone went dead,” I said to him, my eyes moving back to the screen.

  “Yeah, ya said that,” he says as I turn up the sound and Jimmy crouches down next to me.

  “So, Ian you have been such a forthcoming solider so far with your little tidbits of information on the inner workings. What will it be this time?” Damon leans in close to Ian’s ear. Ian caves, I see it in his body the way his shoulders drop and his eyes change from hard man to scarred man.

  “He has a farm outside of town, the Old Willow Estate. That’s where they have moved her to. But my Nona’s there, man.” With that Damon rubs Ian’s shoulder.

  “See, that wasn’t that hard, was it?” And just like that his man pulls the trigger and Ian’s brains and blood splatter all over the room, the camera sending an eerie red hue through the screen toward us.

  Pops slams the lid down, his face somber, his eyes wet from tears unshed. Standing he announces, “We have a war to prepare for.” He walks from the room and all I can do is stare after him, frozen.

  Chapter Twelve

  She’s the poem that I could never write.

  ~ Micha Ragen

  My skin hums with life when I am around her. It’s like she’s in me. Inside my fucking blood just flowing through my veins.

  Leaning against the doorframe I look in on her sleeping body in the bed that is ours, this is meant to be a safe place and a war is about to descend on it. Looking at the way the moon streaks her white skin with such stunning silver it makes me quiver. I’m ravenous for her. I’m ravenous for the power she gives me when I’m with her. She allows me to unleash my animal inside and doesn’t even flinch. She is confident and fierce. She could destroy me with one flick of her blade and I would allow it. I’d die for it. I’d destroy the world and all that’s in it just to keep her safe. The thought of Damon selling her has my skin crawling in more than anger, more than disgust, there is no word for it.

  Anger rolled through me. I hated that Damon killed Ian and my poor Pops had to see that shit. I hated that my anger and vengeance had brought a war to my Pop’s table. That’s my home, where I wanted my family to be safe, was about
to become a battleground. Fuck knows how many men Damon had coming with him. I had sent scouts out, eyes on him. They’re watching, waiting for his next move. He will know that I will be watching, though. So I send him one last Riddle to keep him guessing and to let him know that I am ready.

  Riddle me this. Within the twilight who is it you wait for? Will there be sadness upon your farewell?

  Kissing her forehead, I pull the covers over her body. I sit in the armchair in front of the open window and just watch the night bleed into dawn.

  I could hear her stirring in the bed by the way her breathing changed and the rustle of blankets as she stretched. I crack out my neck, her warm fingers found either side of my shoulders.

  “Did you sleep at all?” she asked me her voice sexy laced with sleep. Shaking my head. “What, Micha?” She moves in front of me, her body dressed in one of my shirts. Oversized on her little body but hitting the small curves of her hips and breasts. One side is falling off her shoulder, my hands find her hips pulling her down into me, my mouth finding the skin of her exposed shoulder.

  “I had to keep watch.”

  “Do they know where we are?” she asks as her hands run through my hair pushing the strands off my face. Her eyes meet mine as I raise my head up to hers.

  “Yep,” was all I said when Jimmy busted into the room.

  “We’re on, brother. Layla, you gotta hide, baby girl.”

  “I ain’t fucking going anywhere.” She stands from my lap, my hands still on her hips.

  “Oh, sweetheart, yes you fucking are,” Jimmy says as he steps into the room.

  I shake my head; my hand finds her ass patting it.

  “Babe, you gotta disappear. He’s here for you and you only,” I say to her as she tears her stare from Jimmy.

  “Oh, and let’s not forget to fuck you in the arse for fucking with his head and then actually fucking his niece,” Jimmy laughs lighting a smoke.

  “Oi, no fucking smoking in here.”

  Jimmy holds up his hands stepping back from her glare.