by Anya Palvin
....She's pleased.
What woman desires a man that can't protect his family? Think about it...
If you get married and start a family, there won’t be happy days alone, rainy days also comes. There will even come a time when someone or something which will try to threaten it. It will be through a life or an affair; a traitor or jealousy; money problems or death or sometimes even sickness. Something will happen at some point, and that's when the nature of the man you married will come to revelation based on how he will face such situations.
The man who allows his wife stay home and be her bitch pulling all the financial weight instead of sharing its burden can never be a real man in my record, and will never earn my respect. Neither will the man that thinks it was okay to jerk around his wife and disrespect or abuse her in any way.2
Julia feels fortunate right now, because no matter what happened to the trust in their relationship, Gadeno's always been a man she could depend on no matter how a situation turns to be. He gave themmore than just an ordinary life, and sheltered them against anything and everything that can be a threat for them, and it is good to know she can always feel safe with her two strong men by her side. "Gadeno" she utters his name in a way that only she is allowed to, and he stops what he’s doing and looks up at her. He stands still waiting for her to talk him out of everything he's planning on doing, and he braced himself for the argument that could follow her seek an effort to change his mind. "Bring me his head." She surprised him with her order and he offers her his sexiest smirk, and continues throwing shirts and jeans in his Burberry duffle bag.
Pieces felt secured enough to take a nap in his bullet proof truck with windows and doors cannot be intrude by any of Choker’s armed men.
The sun rose and the beam of lights started to come through the glass and into the truck. He slowly rise and everything seems different, the trucks his men drove in on are red now instead of black, and the grass and hedges that were destroyed last night from hand grenades have been remarkablywiped away. There's no sign of the remains of his men in the yard, it's as if last night was erased from their memory.
There's a loud knock on the window, and Pieces pees himself when he sees Gadeno standing there. "Fuck" he looks down at his now wet crotch, and hesitated to touch it
. "Pieces! Get the fuck out here!" Gadeno yells and Choker steps outside as soon as he hears his father's voice. "Dad" he walks over and they greet each other briefly. "He's been in there all night, the truck cannot be ruined. The key only controls the engine but it can’t be used to open the doors." Choker explains but his brows creased when he sees the smile on his dad's face. "What's his plan?" Choker wonders to himself.
A large truck pulls up the driveway with a crane and wrecking ball. "Park the other trucks on either side, blocking his escape doors." his dad orders and Choker orders his men to do so immediately. "What the fuck are they doing?" Pieces confuse to himself trying to figure out what they’re conversing about. "It's no use Gadeno, you can't hurt me!" he shouts as loud as he can so they can hear him. "That's not exactly true, Pie." Gadeno smiles, and signals the driver of the crane to pull forward. When Gadeno realized what they intend to do, he tries to open the doors and fought hard to push it but the other trucks were parked on each side blocking the doors so it’s no use.
The driver of the crane raised the wrecking ball high and swung it hard, and it came crashing down on the windshield, and into Pieces' body. The impact killed both him and his truck. It was actually unsure which really killed him, the impact it caused to his body or the shock of seeing something as heavy as that heading towards him. "Let's go have some breakfast. i’m hungry." Gadeno puts his arm around Choker and they walk shoulder to shoulder towards Gadeno's rental car.
14.
Dark men are usually described as crepuscular; active and vibrant at nights or during twilight, and considerably ashen during the days.
Choker's never had a good week straight like this before, but now he's smiling and grinning for no apparent reason. This odd behaviour passed through his father’s keen eyes but instead of asking his son directly, he gives Keys a questioning stare.
The three men are comfortably sitting in an Upper East Side bar, taking in NYC’s afternoon rush traffic from the window. Choker's wearing a brown suede knee length coat, dark brown Versace suit and gator themed boots. Gadeno's still in his jeans and T-shirt and Keys is comfortably dressed in a black puma jogging suit.
"What's with him?" Gadeno asks Keys. "Uh, dad...I'm sitting right here." Choker says dryly but his eyes are fixed on his phone as he reads and replies to Ciara's messages. "No offense Gadeno, but I'd like to ask you the same question." Keys interrupts and Gadeno's grin widens. "I grew up on stories about you, the mob and the love story to rival all fairytales. The last time you've been this ruthless and calm at the same, is when Julia said she'd marry you. Hey did you really cut your wedding short and blow up the church?" Keys chuckles and Gadeno shakes his head as he looked back in the past. "I didn't blow up the church, just the wall. I came to know that the reverend was an undercover agent, Pieces hid a million dollars’ worth of cocaine in the back room wall, and in the middle of the fucking ceremony, this prick had the nerve to wear a wire and the shit triggers the mic to make that squeaky annoying ass sound. I was so mad. I didn't know it was Pieces at the time, but I don't think anyone would forget the temper I threw that day." he flinched as he walks down his memory lane. "Well you know what they say about the apple not falling far from the tree." Keys jokes and Gadeno turns his attention to Choker. "Yup, your little Prince over here just may have done a few things for the record books last night." Keys spills and watched his friend smile foolishly at the corner. "What's her name?" Gadeno asks, leaning his head to one side. "Drum roll please." Keys says beating the table like a drum with his hands. "Ciara, she's a surgeon." Choker says proudly and shows his dad a picture of her on his phone. "She's beautiful, but why is she with you?" Gadeno jokes and Choker rolls his eyes.2
Emergencies are pretty slow today at the hospital. Things seems to have been slow for awhile. Only a few flu victims and two asthma patients did walk in treatments. There was a patient scheduled for a heart transplant today, but he died late last night, so there's nothing much to do but sit and wait for the hours to pass.
"You're unusually livelytoday." Caitlyn’s been observing Ciara's every move. "I plead the fifth." she continues to smile. "Uh, how's the baby? Did they find a good family yet?" Ciara tries changing the subject by asking about the baby Caitlyn took home. "The baby is fine, she's actually in the day care lounge downstairs, I completely forgot about the whole other family thing. I'm sure they'll call when they find something." Caitlyn sounds attached to the baby already, but who wouldn't be? She's adorable. "I still can't believe you're single, you're awesome." Ciara praised Caitlyn, but her smile fades when she realized who is standing behind Ciara. "Uh, I should start my rounds." Caitlyn says in a low voice and walks away down the corridor as fast as her legs could carry her. "Ciara" Henry interrupts and she slowly turns to face her father. But he's not alone, the head of the hospital's HR department Mr. Jackson, and his wife the managing director of their sister facility in Africa are both standing beside him. "Mr and Mrs Jackson, hi." she greets them in a warm and professional manner. "We have good news, and we simply needed to tell you in person." Mrs. Jackson opens the conversation followed by a warm smile. "You are over qualified for the job you have now. There are rarely any surgeries being done, and your talents and knowledge could be better put to use elsewhere. We want to offer you the anaesthesiologist and head surgeon position at our private facility for various researches and testing in California. The pay is 30% more than you're making now, lesser hours and we provide transportation and living headquarters for you as well." Mr. Jackson explains. "Wow, uh, I'm flattered...California? Dad we just bought that loft like a month ago." Ciara tries to find a reason not to leave.2
"Yea, I may be over-qualified and underworked because there a
re hardly any surgeries being done. But relocating to California? That's mad! That's crazy right? Well on the upside, Javier whines about the traffic in the city, and after everything that happened here last night and before, maybe moving can actually be a good thing." She contemplates to herself. "It's not like he would actually move from his giant mansion in Venice to a cramped apartment in LA. How will this long distance relationship thing work? We haven't talked about anything or something or someone keeps getting in the way. I can't make any serious decisions until I make things clear between the two of us. I just can’t." She worked out her next move in her mind then turns her attention back to her bosses and her dad. "Umm, can you give me a day to think this over?" She asks politely and her dad frowns, a disappointing expression. "Take a few days off and hopefully we'll see you in LA on Sunday." Mrs Jackson seems genuinely considerate while her husband and daddy are both scolding.
Besides Caitlyn, who would I miss here? Danny and Tom have access to the Senator's jet so they can fly out to see me whenever they wish. I can't believe I'm 24 years old and I only have 3 friends. That's so strange...or maybe it's a good thing. I can't wait to tell Javier.
...
"Dude how many pills do you need?" Choker asks, impatiently stomping his feet. "Ok first of all, a month or 2 ago you would've been buying twice as much, and coming back for seconds two days later. Don't judge me and my bitch Molly because you're in a relationship. I use to share her with you, and now I have her all to myself so leave me alone." Keys snaps slowly counting his 7 Molly pills one by one. Choker rolls his eyes, and soon felt his phone vibrate in his hand. "Hey" he automatically smiles when he hears Ciara's voice on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry I didn't make it there yet, my dad came and I’m spending a short time while he’s here. But I can take you to lunch now if you're free..." he paused, and gives to her time to response.1
New York is so cold in the fall, not snowing but just really cold, you can see the air freeze right in front of you when you open your mouth to speak. "What do you mean you have a few days off? You literally schemed and lied for 2 days off. What did you do now?" He seems concerned, but happy she doesn't have to work. "Ok I'm on my way." he hangs up and throws the rental keys to Keys. "You can hold onto it for the night, I'm taking the subway." he says before crossing the street.
This is the first time Choker will be taking the subway. He’d never done this before but he watched Ciara do it yesterday, so what's the big deal? Besides he’s a fast learner.
Subway virgins tend to look for signs and instructions as soon as they pass through the station to the waiting area, it's so easy to spot a person who's never been down here before, and right now Choker sticks out like a black man in a red neck state.1
He avoids touching anything, and he's dressed like a spoiled upper east side or just someone who doesn't belong down here.
Three thug looking muggers stand a few feet away watching his every move, and they board the train as soon as he did.
There are so many combined smells on a subway train, but the one that is dominant is a musty metallic one from the rails and seats, and the chill of cold metal and AC. Choker easily spotted a seat at the back of the train where a lady and her baby is sitting alone quietly. The three muggers slide opens the door to the back and found seats across from Choker. To the average person he looks like a spoiled rich kid wandering around but maybe it would've been smart to do their research first before attempting to rob one of the most dangerous men of our generation.
"That's a nice coat" one of the guys say mean mugging, trying to intimidate Choker. "Let me guess, you want my coat and my watch and all the money in my wallet right?" Choker asks the question, and soon after his laughter gets so deep, that he starts coughing as well. "I don’t think I’ve got time for this shit" the one that seems to be the leader of the unorganized pack says. "...And I do?" Choke asks, his cough finally subsides. "Three things you did wrong. One, you're trying to rob me with 2 knives and a rusty ice pick instead of guns." after he says that all three guys look at each other bewildered, they didn't reveal their weapons so how did he know that? "Two, I can see your faces, and I'm sure that security camera is still working and that means it can see you too. That’s why people like you get caught in no time and spends your whole lives in jail. It's ok to be street smart, but without being tech smart, book smart, and an excellent plan before you get to a job, you'll only end up making a fool of yourself." he says calmly, and the woman almost starts panicking but Choker's confidence gives her courage, and she hugs her child protectively.
"So I'm gonna let you talk it over amongst yourselves and tell me if you still want to do what you came in here for." he looks at his watch, and his eyes darken in preparation for what is to come.
***
"Any messages?" Ciara asks the door man again for the fifth time in the past hour. She's been waiting in the lobby of her building for over an hour. He’s not answering his phone and whenever she tries to rings him again it goes directly to voice mail.She has one of those gut wrenching feelings that something bad happened but fights with every fiber of her being to practice optimism.
She stares at the revolving doors, hoping the next person that walks through will be the one she’d been anticipating.
Yea the traffic is terrible but he was just about 10 or 15 minutes away. Not even 3 accidents and a child birth emergency could keep him an hour late. This is New York for crying out loud, there are several routes to get any and everywhere, and then there's the subway option as well.
"Why can’t I calm myself down? This is Javier we're talking about, he's okay. And he has to be." she scolds herself.
Someone walks up behind her and kissed her neck, and from the reaction her body makes, she knows it's him. As soon as she turns around and looks into his dark dangerous eyes, she safely lets out a sigh of relief and kissed him hardly.
15.
Choker arranged for the rooftop garden to be evacuated so that he could give Ciara the perfect first date, but when they got there, the hotel manager had other plans.
"I'm sorry, sir. We will refund you the money immediately to your card. We had it all set up for you as you requested, but our investor strictly prohibits renting the rooftop garden today. I apologize again for the inconvenience." He nervously fidgets in front of them.
Choker's too busy gazing at Ciara's sexy white maxi dress with two thigh high slits, to hear anything what's his face said. "Sir?" The man tries getting Choker's attention away from Ciara's distracting outfit. "I'm sorry what?" He finally pays attention. "Thank you Gordon, go find something to do, I'll take it from here." Mya says as soon as she walks over, the general manager skipped off in the opposite direction.
Mya is the main investor of this golden Upper East Side Hotel with its famous rooftop garden. She's absolutely gorgeous; classy, young, independent, and frustratinglyrich. Choker had somewhat of a fling with her a few times in college. Ok it was more than a fling, and way more than a few times but they never actually used titles to describe whatever it was they were doing. She is the first girl other than his mother to know his intentions of controlling his father's business, and everything that doing so means. She's just as ruthless and as cruel as he is, and that's probably why the sex was so amazing beyond words. She did things most women would frown upon, and he loved every minute of it. She wanted to get married and have a son for him just like his mother did with his father, but we all know marriage and kids detest Chocker most, especially during that time. The last time they’d encountered was when she told him to go have his fun and when he was through doing whatever it is he wanted to do, she'd be there waiting on her throne, and she meant every word she said back then.
Choker knew she planned to take over the world, by buying, selling, trading, rebuilding, and investing in every profitable business on the face of the Earth, but New York is the last place he'd ever expect to see her.
Her parents are wealthy Royals who both sit on the Legislative council of the Sul
tan. Her dad is Arabian and her mother is biracial- half Russian half Bulgarian.
Mya has the most beautiful flowing dark hair, the sexiest sugar brown eyes with light grey in them, and at only 5"7 she still has the shape and build of a goddess, it's almost as if they made her every feature perfectly on a table and sent her off into the world to be the envy of every girls.
I can’t see any reasonable excuse just why Choker didn't try to commit to her back then. Yea he was only 20 when they met and after a few years of ruling the school together, maybe they both got a little too cocky.
For the first time in well, ever, he's speechless. Ciara's standing beside him smiling and in a pretty good mood, but the look on Mya's face is absolutely scary...even for him.
He frets silently, with memories of their last conversation brewing in his mind.
(Flashback)
Two years ago
Choker rests his head in Mya's lap. They're in her father's mansion in London, lying on the grass while peacefully looking out at the lake, and she's gently stroking his hair. "We're going to rule this world someday, you and me. I know you Prince, I know you like I know myself, every corner of you because you are like me just as I am no different from you. I know you're not ready to get married and I get that. Go, have your fun, but when everything out there gets boring, and you get tired of it all, I'll be here waiting. I'll always be." she promised and he kissed her passionately, as if agreeing to everything she said.
(Present day)
Maybe he did agree, at the time. Who knows? But things are so much different now. Aren't they?
"Well if it isn't the dark Prince per se." she greets him but she doesn't touch him or step any closer than 3 feet in a distance. "Hi Mya" he says in a low deep voice. Careful Choker, that voice could get you in trouble, the lower you speak, the sexier you sound.
