by A. G. Khaliq
She nodded towards the blue bodycon dress that she’d picked for herself. My eyes narrowed across the selection, and stopped when I saw a beautiful pink gown which dipped at the cleavage and had a fishtail design to emphasise the ass. It was beautiful.
I made my way to the changing rooms, slipping into the gown, and stared at myself in the mirror, unable to believe my eyes. I felt gorgeous, and I could feel my cheeks flush bright pink. I smoothed my hands over my ass and my waist in appreciation.
“It looks amazing on you!” Lucy giggled as I walked out of the dressing room to show her.
“Thanks, babe,” I exclaimed, suddenly beyond excited to go out with her tonight.
I changed out of the gown back into my ordinary work outfit, and we went to the till to pay for our clothes.
“Let’s get out of here,” Lucy suggested, and we made our way out of the shop.
After eating fat, juicy, spicy chicken fillet burger meals from the food court, we made our way outside to the car park, satisfied after having a great day.
“Me and the girls will come pick you up from yours at ten o’clock, babe.” Lucy smiled as I got into my car, ready to drive home.
I nodded, and then began to drive home, a smile on my face for the entire journey.
Time passed quickly after watching some television, and before I knew it, it was night. I flicked open my phone to check the time.
“It’s nearly nine, I should start getting ready,” I murmured.
I made my way to my bedroom, slipping into the gown I’d bought earlier with Lucy, before sitting at my mirror, ready to style my hair and do my makeup.
I allowed myself to do a full beat of makeup, because I wanted to look my best, as I rarely ever dressed up. So I allowed myself to go all out, with foundation, to contour, to false eyelashes and aqua contact lenses.
“I look good!” I exclaimed.
I looked up to check the clock. I still had twenty minutes until the girls would come and pick me up. I had a bit of time to burn at home, then. I told Sophia that I was going out tonight, and then made my way back to my bedroom.
A sudden vibration of my phone caused me to jump, and snap out of my thoughts.
“Why’s my phone vibrating?” I murmured. “It’s not ten o’clock yet.”
I took my phone into my hands, to see that an unknown number was texting me.
* * *
Unknown Number: Hey, it’s the guy from the mall.
* * *
Raven: Hey! I didn’t think you were actually going to text me.
* * *
Unknown Number: Haha, I don’t forget a pretty face that fast.
* * *
Raven: So what name am I meant to save your number under, or are you just not gonna tell me your name at all?
* * *
Unknown Number: I told you, you’ll find out soon, babe. ;) All in good time.
* * *
Raven: Haha.
* * *
Unknown Number: What are you doing tonight anyway?
* * *
Raven: I’m going to hit the club with my girls, I haven’t been out for ages.
* * *
Unknown Number: Haha, that’s cute. I might go to the club myself actually.
* * *
Raven: Really?
* * *
Unknown Number: Yep, I want to go even more now that I know you’re gonna be there. Which one are you going to?
* * *
I found myself giggling. His comments felt a little inappropriate, but I couldn’t stop myself from blushing. He was cute, and he knew how to say the right things.
A sudden creak of my door caused me to put my phone down on my bedside table, as I looked up to see who it was.
Lazarus was standing at my door with a smile on his face.
“Hey babe!” I exclaimed.
“Hey babe.” Lazarus grinned. “What are you up to? I thought we could eat and watch a movie.”
I scratched my arm awkwardly, feeling a little guilty that Lazarus had already made plans for us, but I told Lucy I would go out with her tonight.
“Sorry, babe, I can’t,” I apologized. “I’m going out with the girls tonight.”
Lazarus rubbed his chin in thought, looking a little annoyed. His eyes burned into mine as he looked me up and down, taking in my outfit.
“Dressed like that? On a night out with your girls?” He folded his arms in disbelief, glaring at me with disapproval as he stared at my cleavage.
I bit my lip anxiously, not wanting to upset him or cause an argument, because things had been going so well between us. I did my best to rectify the situation, and lighten the atmosphere.
“Well, we’re going clubbing, babe, so I can’t exactly go to the bar wearing a bin bag,” I joked.
Lazarus rolled his eyes, but his facial expression went back to neutral.
“Whatever, just make sure you don’t drink too much and you don’t stay out too late.” Lazarus folded his arms.
“I won’t, babe, don’t worry.” I giggled, finding it cute that he cared about my safety and wellbeing.
Lazarus narrowed his eyes, as if he were trying to figure out something. I followed his gaze, and realized he was looking straight towards my phone, which was still lying down on my bedside table. My phone was flashing and vibrating repeatedly. I swallowed down a lump that had caught in my throat. It was probably the man I’d met in the mall texting me.
“Why does your phone keep buzzing?” Lazarus questioned, scratching his neck.
“Oh, it’s probably one of my girls…” I shrugged awkwardly, wishing he would leave the subject alone because I didn’t want to annoy him further.
“Show me your phone,” he ordered sternly, his voice cold. He folded his arms angrily, his face folding into a matter-of-fact expression.
“Why?” I asked, my facial expression falling because now he looked angry…
The last thing I could do was smile.
“Just fucking show me!” Lazarus demanded.
He moved me out of the way, and picked up my phone from the bedside table. He flicked through my messages, staring at them intently, and then bloody murder was suddenly written all over his face. He let out a blood-curdling scream I watched my life flash before my eyes.
The same feeling I’d had when I’d caught him in the mansion basement.
“Who the fuck is this random guy on your phone?” Lazarus screamed.
raven
“I-I can explain!” I quivered. “I met him in the mall today, and he said he wanted to be friends.”
“Friends?” Lazarus barked, cracking up with manic laughter. “The guy wants to get you in bed, goddammit! Babe this, babe that. It’s as if you want him to flirt with you! You’re not stopping him!”
“But I didn’t flirt back!” I was mortified.
“I don’t fucking care! You’re speaking to guys knowing they want to have sex with you! Do you not fucking care about how I feel? Do you just give your number to all the strangers in town who say they want to be ‘friends?’”
“Don’t be silly Lazarus, of course I care about you!” I pleaded.
“Well, it seems like you don’t!” Lazarus roared. “That’s why you’re going out dressed like that tonight! You’re going to see him!” He cracked up with more manic laughter, and I could feel myself tremble. “And to think I believed you for a second when you said you were going to meet your girls.”
Before I could comprehend what was happening, Lazarus’s hand shot up and shot straight across my face, giving me a painful smack that left my cheek stinging. I could hardly believe my eyes. Tears spilled down my cheeks, and I couldn’t stop them.
“You will not disrespect me again, bitch!” he seethed. “You’re not leaving this house tonight. I’m teaching you a lesson for getting on the wrong side of me.”
He punched my face, knocking me down onto the ground before clambering on top of me, repeating his torture, endlessly, relentlessly. I could feel my sur
roundings blur as he continued with his assault, and I faded in and out of unconsciousness.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t breathe…
Blow after blow, my vision went hazy. Hazy as I coughed out blood.
Knowing that the life I once knew….would never be the same again.
And before I knew it…
Everything went black.
Lazarus beat me, and said I’d broken his heart for speaking to other guys.
I was in agony when it was over, struggling to breathe, with bruises all over my body.
I couldn’t believe he laid hands on me, after all the times he spoke bitterly about the people who used to hit me.
He did the same. He was just like them.
I wasn’t just going to sit in his house like his puppy and allow myself to be disrespected. I needed to leave before he did any more damage.
I allowed my body to take the time it needed to recover in my broken, bloody state…before I would make my plan to escape, and leave this man for good.
I didn’t spend my life running away from the monsters in my past just to be trapped with another one…
lazarus
I was at the docks, taking care of my shipment responsibilities. It was a hectic day of work, and I had so much shit I needed to take care of.
“Is the shipment ready to collect, guys?” I asked Tariq and Luis, folding my arms.
“Yes, boss. The other men are coming soon to load it off the docks.”
“Good. Now contact our distro and tell him we need another package of firearms and more marijuana.”
“Yes, boss,” Tariq obeyed.
“Call Abdi and tell him to order the hit on the Surenos,” I warned. “We’re taking over their territory.”
Luis nodded, taking his phone out, tapping Abdi’s number into the keypad.
“All right, guys, take care of what I’ve asked you to do,” I sighed. “I’ll meet you later on, so we can come up with a plan to take down the Surenos. Right now, I gotta go down to the police station, and cover up our tracks.”
I turned on my heel, ready to drive to the police station.
raven
I made my way to Sophia’s room, wanting to make amends with her. I hadn’t spoken to her since the encounter in the mansion basement, and she’d been avoiding me deliberately ever since. I’d spent a week in my room, and now, I’d made a recovery. I didn’t want to be on bad terms with my sister. Nothing was worth tarnishing my relationship with her, the only girl who’d really had my back from the beginning.
“Have you forgiven me yet, babe?” I asked Sophia, sighing.
Sophia sighed too, shaking her head. “Of course I have. I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you, Raven. I just needed time to get my head together.” She let out a breath. “I’m your sister. I can’t stay mad at you no matter how hard I try.”
I did my best to give her a smile, even though my mind was elsewhere, constantly reminding myself of the torture that Lazarus put me through.
“Anyway…” I began timidly, not wanting to waste any time. “I’ve come to speak to you because we need to leave this house, babe.”
“Why?” Sophia asked, confused. “What happened?”
“Lazarus beat me up last week…” I took my head into my hands, rocking myself back and forth, not wanting to relive the bloody nightmare. I did my best to get myself together, and remain strong for Sophia’s sake. “I don’t want to be here. I need to leave him.”
Sophia jolted, shocked at my revelation.
“That prick laid his hands on you?” she shouted. She took her head into her hands, her eyes welling with tears. “He made himself sound so genuine ever since he helped us out…” She trailed off, furrowing her eyebrows. “But the red flags were there when we followed him that day. I’m not surprised he’s capable of doing such a terrible thing, the fucking bastard.”
She went on and on, cursing him out mercilessly. And as much as I agreed with what she said, it wasn’t going to change the fact that Lazarus had laid hands on me. It wasn’t going to erase what he did.
“Are you okay, babe?” Sophia mumbled, a timid expression on her face.
“I’m fine…” I shook my head. “But we need to leave before he comes back to the house!”
“But where are we going to go? And what are we going to do about money?” Sophia asked, her face falling as the full extent of what was happening hit her.
“I have enough money for us to get a cheap hotel for a couple of weeks just until I get another job,” I muttered shakily. “We’ll need to leave town so he doesn’t see me around here…so I can’t work at the coffee shop anymore.”
“I understand,” Sophia sighed. “I’ll just quickly collect our things.”
She turned, collecting our essentials before we made our way out of the penthouse, and out of the city.
lazarus
I was at the police station, doing my best to eliminate all of the evidence on the Manzellas that was already in the police records. I couldn’t allow the police to connect the dots between all of the murders and take down our whole operation. I had to be smart and clever with how I played this out, putting false evidence in the place of the genuine ones after deleting all of the dirt that they already had.
The poor bastards in the force were fucking useless…
I’d been a dirty cop for years now, and nobody had ever suspected me of foul play. Nobody had ever suspected me of involvement in anything shady.
And having a good front to the public was the best way to hide my own shit and make fuck-tons of money behind their backs. Running a whole goddamn organized crime circle.
“Right, now I’ve deleted all the records, I just need to get rid of these files,” I murmured as I tapped away on the computer.
I watched the files erase before my eyes.
“All done. Now this hit on the Surenos should go down smoothly, and none of it will trace back to us.” I nodded to myself in approval.
I got up from my seat, and suddenly felt myself sighing as the thought of Raven panged in the back of my head. Irritating whore.
“Now I’ve gotta go home and make it up to Raven, so the bitch doesn’t start acting up again,” I muttered to myself, rolling my eyes.
I exited the police station.
raven
Me and Sophia were on the train, ready to move to another city far away from London, and start a new life together. It was scary, because neither of us really had a clear plan or sense of direction as to how we were going to manage. But I knew it had to be done for the sake of our safety and wellbeing.
“We’re moving to the other side of the country,” Sophia breathed, as she stared out of the train window, watching the trees overlap, the hills whizz past, and the surroundings blur around us as the train picked up speed.
“He won’t find us now,” I reassured her, smiling.
She smiled back at me.
As long as I had my sister here with me…
I didn’t need anybody else.
lazarus
“Babe, I’m home!” I called out as I made my way into the penthouse. I threw my jacket to the side and let out a sigh, needing to fuck after having such a long day at work. “I’m sorry about before, let me make it up to you!”
I expected to hear the trotting of footsteps, or a call back, but all I could hear…was silence.
“Why isn’t she replying to me?” I murmured, suddenly a little paranoid as to what the hell was going on. I rolled my eyes, certain she was probably in her bedroom just crying and wallowing in self-pity.
Nevertheless, the lack of a response left me pissed off. I made my way upstairs, storming into her room…
Only to be greeted by nothing.
I could feel heat roar in my ears, and color drain out of my face in shock, unable to believe my eyes.
All of her clothes were gone.
My heart thumped against my chest as I slowly backed out of her room and made my way to Sophia�
��s, certain this was a misunderstanding. But then I went white as the realization hit me.
All of Sophia’s clothes were gone, too.
“Where the fuck have they gone?” I screamed. “What if she’s gone to talk to the feds about what she’s seen?”
I balled my hand into a fist, punching the wall behind me repeatedly, relentlessly, until I heard a bone snap, and blood began gushing out of my hand.
I brought my hand up to my face, licking the blood off of it, my pupils dilating as anger took over my body.
“You’re gonna regret crossing me, bitch,” I murmured, my voice dropping to barely above a whisper. “I’ll find you before your mouth even opens to tell the feds.”
I folded my arms.
“This isn’t over.”
lazarus’s men
Abdi, Luis, Tariq, Lorenzo and Kane were in a heated fight with the Surenos. Bullets were flying, people were getting beaten up, and others were getting taken out left, right and center.
“Where the fuck is Boss? He ordered this hit!” Abdi shouted.
“We haven’t got time to think about him, let’s just hurry up and finish the job,” Lorenzo snarled, slicing the neck of the nearest man.
All of the Surenos had been wiped out.
“Now we gotta clean up this shit,” Tariq sighed. “Abdi, you get rid of the bodies. We’ll go tell Boss about the hit.” He nodded towards Luis.
