by A. G. Khaliq
himself at Donte, punching him so hard that his jaw swung.
Felicia screamed in fear, a blood-curdling scream.
“Felicia, run!” Donte screamed.
Felicia bolted out of the alleyway, sobbing as she left. Donte turned back to the man, and punched him so hard, he fell to the ground.
Donte clambered on top of him, punching him in the face repeatedly, until his face went blue and one of his eyeballs rolled out. The man’s jaw snapped as he coughed out blood, and two of his teeth knocked clean out. Donte wrapped his hands around the man’s neck, squeezing it as the man pleaded for air, his lungs failing him and collapsing as he struggled to breathe.
Donte let go of the man’s neck, before standing on top of his balls, severing them and causing the man to cry out in pain. And then he took out a gun from his pocket, and shot the man three times in the chest, sucking the life out of him as the blood pooled around his body…
And then he turned on his heel, putting the gun back into his pocket, and began walking away from the man.
“Oh my God…” I murmured to myself, trembling as I recounted everything that had just happened. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I 183
was supposed to be used to this in my line of work, but I couldn’t stop my heart from hammering against my chest into a frenzy…
Donte had killed him.
So I wasn't wrong to think that he was in the Mafia…
But none of this made any sense to me.
He'd saved a woman from being raped…
What if she was going to be the next victim of all of the murders that Boss had shown me?!
It certainly seemed like it…
But Donte didn't kill her…
He killed the man who was going to rape her…
So was Donte a good guy?!
I didn't understand…
I took a deep breath in…
…And a deep breath out.
A deep breath in…
…And a deep breath out.
The man had said something to the woman.
Felicia…
“You know what'll happen to you if you defy me.”
“The same fate that your brother Alfonze Michael had…”
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I felt my blood run cold as I realized who he had been talking about.
Alfonze Michael was one of the men that had been murdered!
The one that my Boss had shown me before he sent me here!
That meant that Donte couldn't be behind the murders…
It was this dead man on the floor right now!
I couldn’t believe how I got Donte so wrong. How ill I’d treated him, when really, I didn’t know the half of it. He wasn’t a bad man at all, and I’d spoke to him as if he was a stone-cold disgusting bastard.
I felt so fucking terrible and ashamed of myself. I was so quick to judge him and jump to rash conclusions, without even giving him a chance…
He’d killed a rapist. A serial murderer.
He’d dealt with a disgusting man in a better way than cops ever could.
I’d called him a monster, and said that I could see darkness in his eyes. But Mafia men I knew willingly took part in human trafficking, and the sexual abuse of women. Donte clearly didn’t though. And after how harshly I’d treated him, he probably didn’t even want to fucking 185
know me anymore.
But I shouldn't jump to conclusions so fast…
I needed to investigate.
Get to the bottom of this.
But one thing I did know…
Was that I owed Donte an apology.
I should apologise to him today…
Tell him how sorry I was for my immature, appalling behaviour, and maybe we could start off with a clean slate.
“I better get to work,” I muttered to myself.
As shaken up as I was by this whole thing, I knew that I couldn’t let my real-life take a backseat whenever things got tough. Boss was right.
I was going to get close to breaking point.
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23
maya
I arrived at work, and made my way to the Reception desk, where the receptionist Sainabou was sitting, as usual.
“Good morning,” I smiled, waving at her.
“Morning,” she greeted.
“Has Mr Abruzzi checked in yet?” I asked sheepishly.
“Yes, he's in his office.”
“Thank you,” I replied, with my hands on my hips.
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I took a deep breath in, and then began making my way to his office, my heart hammering against my chest.
“Mr Abruzzi?” I called out.
There was no response. I rubbed my chin in thought. He had to be in there, because that was where the receptionist said he was…
“Mr Abruzzi?” I repeated.
There was still no response. I fiddled with the door handle to realize that it was open, so I made my way inside.
As soon as I went inside, I could feel my heart drop inside of my chest.
“Fuck, I'm so sorry!” I cried out, mortified.
I saw a thing that I wasn't expecting the second that I stepped into his office…
He had a girl's legs spread out on his desk.
He had his hands all over her. Running up and down her back and her bum and her legs.
His lips were all over her neck, and she was moaning uncontrollably.
I felt frozen to the spot. I should have left, with what I was just fucking witnessing. But I could barely move. He was taking his time with exploring her body, treating her like a goddess, pushing himself in and out of her, squeezing, licking and nibbling her skin in all of the right 188
places.
The girl was so beautiful, with plump lips, pretty eyes and a body to die for.
A body without marks, bruises or scars like I had…
I shouldn't have been so mad, but tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn't hold them back. I could feel my heart shatter into millions of tiny pieces as I watched them.
I’d seen this woman before…
I’d seen her the first time that I ever met Donte… She'd walked in to his office, straight after I had left.
Donte folded his arms uneasily, as he realized that I’d walked into the room. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. His facial expression fell. He went from enjoying himself, to looking torn and broken at the very fucking sight of me.
The girl got off of him, with a cold, bitter expression on her face. She looked like she wanted to kill me.
“If you don't mind,” she began coyly, “it's kinda rude interrupting me and my fiancé.” She smirked. “We're clearly busy.”
Donte looked at me with a cold expression on his face.
Her fiancé?!
I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. My 189
throat felt so dry, that I couldn’t get any words out. Without another word, I ran out of the room, and as soon as I was out of sight, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
I made my way to the bathroom, my chest heaving upwards and downwards as my breathing became laboured, and I stared at myself in the mirror, fucking hating myself.
I really had no right to be mad.
Me and Mr Abruzzi were nothing…
Just work acquaintances.
But it hurt so much…
Seeing him with another woman,
Kissing another woman,
Getting intimate with another woman.
And she was fucking gorgeous.
She had beautiful, toned long legs, Curly hair,
She pretty much looked like a fucking supermodel.
I was nothing compared to her…
I felt my heart leap to my throat, as tears continued to prick in my eyes.
I was the one that turned Mr Abruzzi down…
Even after he tried so hard to get a date with me,
When he'd make me laugh and giggle and 190
I'd flirt with him too,
; And then I shut him off as I remembered he was Mafia.
But what I saw today...
Was nothing like the man I pictured him to be.
How dare I compare him to my ex, Fibonacci?
Fibonacci abused women like me, He didn't save them from rape and murder like Mr Abruzzi did.
My instinct was telling me that Mr Abruzzi wasn't a bad person.
That the Mafia was just something he was associated with…
But he didn't dictate its bad behaviour…
But I couldn't shake the anger and rage building up inside of me.
He was so fast to move on.
He got himself a fucking fiancé!
It just made me feel worthless.
It made me feel easily replaced.
And it hurt me so badly.
But then again I couldn't complain…
Because I was so horrible to him, I shut him off…
I let out a sigh that I didn’t know I was holding.
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I guessed that the ship between me and him has well and truly sailed…
I came here to say sorry…
But I found him bending another woman over his desk.
So as much as it hurt me…
I knew that I should just let it go.
After all, I was Secret Service.
I wasn’t entitled to a life…
So I should just let him move on with his.
And focus on the task, as fucking usual.
I turned on my heel and made my way out of the bathroom, knowing that I should get to work now.
After all…
Work was all I was ever fucking good for.
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24
donte
Sharon had left my office a little while ago…
And here I was, back to feeling like shit.
I knew that I'd told my mom that I wasn't going to chase Sapphire anymore, But when she'd walked in on me and Sharon making out, I couldn't mistake the hurt in her eyes.
My heart had dropped as soon as I saw her. I felt ashamed of myself, and ashamed that I’d been so reckless. I was really forcing myself to 193
be with Sharon, hooking up with her, just because I couldn’t handle the fucking rejection from Sapphire. I fucking hated myself.
She looked shattered as soon as she saw me. She watched intently, like she was trying to burn the situation into her memory, and etch it there permanently, memorizing every fine detail.
Like a form of fucking torture.
I couldn’t stop the tears from welling in my eyes. I was so tired of pretending to be strong, and having a rough, tough exterior, when deep down, I was weak as fuck. I was tired of keeping my emotions bottled up, because society always fucking downplayed the mental health of men.
But Sapphire knew how much I fucking wanted her.
She knew, but she continued to take advantage of my feelings anyway.
Didn't she realise that I was doing this to try and get over her,
And the way that she behaved towards me?
It was for the best…
But seeing the expression on Sapphire's face when she saw us,
It looked a little like she cared.
Maybe Mom was right…
Maybe Sapphire was just keeping her 194
guard up.
“What am I meant to fucking do?” I sighed to myself exhaustedly, rolling my eyes.
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25
maya
I’d worked in my office for three hours coding Python programs, and now, it was time for my lunch break. Work helped to distract my mind from what happened earlier. I still felt like shit, but keeping myself busy always helped me to keep my mind off shit that was bothering me.
I’d been trying to figure out a way to gather evidence inside of Indigo Limited, but I couldn’t, because my User Card only gave me access to certain privileges. I just hoped that 196
something would pop up for me soon.
As I made my way to my canteen, I played Candy Crush on my phone, feeling lame because I still hadn’t made any friends at work yet. I wasn’t watching where I was going, so before I knew it, I fell slap-bang straight into someone, and she fell to the floor.
“Oh my God, I'm so sorry!” I said, mortified.
I let my hand out for her to take, helping her to get to her feet again. The woman dusted herself off, and I got the chance to look at her properly. She was a beautiful woman, who was wearing a hijab (an Islamic headscarf), paired with black leggings and a black shirt. She had a pretty face too, with tanned skin and big brown eyes.
“I'm such a clutz,” I sighed exhaustedly.
She giggled in response. “Don't worry about it. I should've watched where I was going.”
“Me too,” I smiled.
“Are you new here?” she asked sheepishly.
“I don't think I've seen you around here before.”
“Yeah, I started about two weeks ago,” I explained.
“No wonder!” she replied, with her hands on her hips. “Which sector are you working in?”
“I'm a software developer,” I grinned, 197
shrugging. “What about you?”
“I'm one of the accountants,” she explained.
“I see. Brains and beauty,” I exclaimed, and she let out another giggle.
“Thanks girl. What's your name?”
“Sapphire, and you?”
“Yasmeen. Where were you headed just now?”
“It's my lunch break, I was just gonna pop out and get something to eat.”
“How about we go together? I've just got a few documents to save and then it's my lunch break too,” Yasmeen shrugged.
“I'd like that, girl.”
“Let's go.”
We made our way to the computer room, and Yasmeen swiped her access card, before sitting down at a computer. I sat down next to her whilst I waited for her to do what she needed to do. I couldn’t help but to allow my mind to wander.
If Yasmeen worked in the accounting department…
That meant that she got to see all of the transactions of this place.
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All of the money that went in and out.
Now was my chance to start gathering any evidence that I could present to my boss…
Anything that showed that Indigo Limited was corrupt…
Alongside with nailing down the Mafia.
I drew out a deep breath.
I would need to see if there were any shady transactions…
Or numbers, for that matter.
“Hey Yasmeen?” I smiled.
“Mmhmm?” she replied, continuing to type away on her computer.
“Is it alright if I use one of these computers to check my emails?” I asked sheepishly.
“Of course, girl.”
I loaded up a computer. Since this was one of the accounting computers, I would be able to get access to the financial statements.
I loaded up the financial statements, and scrolled through them, trying to work out any anomalies.
Yes, there were definitely some shady transactions here…
A lot of large sums of money coming in from international and offshore bank accounts.
My heart hammered against my chest.
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I should take pictures of these, I thought to myself. They could be useful later.
I whipped out my phone and began taking pictures of all of the shady numbers, before quickly dusting myself off and putting my phone back in my pocket.
Done.
I rubbed my chin in thought, as I turned back to Yasmeen, who was still on her computer.
“You nearly finished, girl?” I asked, shrugging.
“Yep,” Yasmeen replied happily. “Let's go.”
I nodded in response, and we started making our way to the hallway, ready to go to the canteen.
On our way down the hallway, we saw Donte standing outside of his office with his arms folded. I swallowed, not wan
ting to see him after how much I’d embarrassed myself around him.
But much to my dislike, Yasmeen stopped by to greet him before we went to the canteen.
“Hey, Boss,” Yasmeen grinned.
“Hey Yasmeen,” Donte waved at her, smiling. He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw me, looking like he’d just seen a ghost.
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I prayed that he wouldn’t speak to me…
I prayed…
“Is it alright if I have a word with Sapphire in private?” Donte asked, scratching his neck.
“Of course,” Yasmeen smiled.
No, no, no, don’t leave me alone with him, Yasmeen! I screamed to myself internally.
“I'll wait for you in the canteen, Sapphire,”
Yasmeen shrugged, and then walked away, leaving me alone with Donte.
I scratched my arm timidly, not knowing what to do or say. I felt like such an idiot. Donte continued to stare at me, expressionless. It was impossible to figure out what he was thinking, or what his next move was going to be.
“I – Is everything alright, Mr Abruzzi?” I stammered shakily, breaking the awkward silence.
“Look Sapphire…” Donte began, with a timid expression on his face, “about what you saw in my office…”
“You don't have to explain yourself to me, Mr Abruzzi,” I mumbled. “You're entitled to do whatever you like. I'm sorry I intruded.”
Donte folded his arms awkwardly. He looked like he was about to cry.
“I actually went in to tell you how sorry I am for my behaviour,” I admitted. “I was really 201
rude and hostile towards you, and I apologise for that.”
“Sapphire…” Donte whispered.
“The truth is, I've had a really bad experience with men in the past,” I breathed, because he deserved an explanation. “My ex had darkness in his eyes, and I was terrified to go through that again. But I know now that you're a good man, and I want you to know that I don't think those things about you.” I broke off my sentence, shaking my head. “I was drunk, and I didn't mean it.”
“Thank you,” Donte mumbled.
“I wish you the best with your fiancé,” I said, gutted. I could feel my heart twist into knots. “I hope she makes you very happy.”
“But I don't want her,” Donte murmured.
