by A. G. Khaliq
I shook my head, deciding to ignore it, knowing that my imagination often had a habit of playing tricks on me, especially with all of the nightmares and flashbacks I’d been having lately.
I rubbed my chin in thought, as I took in my surroundings. I noticed an alleyway on one side, and it ticked off a bell in my head…
“Wait,” I murmured to myself. “Isn't this the street where I saw Donte kill that man?
Felicia lives here, I remember.”
I let out a sigh that I didn’t know I was holding.
“I should pay her a visit and get some information from her.” I nodded to myself, knowing that she would be able to give me valuable information, since the man who was about to rape her had mentioned her brother Alfonze Michael, who was one of the men that had been murdered.
I dusted myself off, and then began making my way to her home.
I arrived outside of her flat door. The place was gloomy and eerily quiet.
“Felicia?” I called out.
There was no response.
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“Felicia?” I repeated.
There was still no response.
“The door is open,” I murmured to myself, as I reached for the door handle.
I allowed myself to walk inside, and looked around the room, trying to figure out where she was.
“Felicia, are you in here?” I called out.
I jolted back in shock and let out a scream as I saw Felicia standing there with a gun pointed straight at me.
“Don't make another move or I'll shoot!”
she screamed angrily.
“Felicia, it's fine, I'm not going to hurt you!”
“Who are you?” she demanded, her voice dropping to barely below a whisper.
I drew out a deep breath, knowing that I had to tell the truth to her. “I'm Special Agent Maya Bradshaw. I'm here to talk about what happened to your brother, Alfonze Michael.”
Felicia let out a heavy sigh, throwing the gun to the side, as she coughed up a sob. “I'm so sorry,” she mumbled, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I didn't mean to point a gun at you…
I've just been terrified that somebody is coming to kill me too, especially after my brother was murdered.”
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“You don't have to apologise,” I sympathized, scratching my arm awkwardly.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course,” Felicia said uneasily. “Please, take a seat.”
“Thank you.”
I followed her to her sofa, and sat down with her, crossing my legs.
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28
maya
“This is what I've been given on your brother,” I explained, shrugging. “By my boss.”
I took my phone out of my pocket, and showed her the photograph and description that I’d been provided when I took on this mission.
ALFONZE MICHAEL.
19 years old.
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Shot outside of Hunters Lane.
Known to have a crack addiction.
Deceased.
“Yeah, all of that is true,” Felicia murmured, narrowing her eyes, “except my brother didn't have a crack addiction.”
“Really?” I asked, taken aback. I furrowed my eyebrows. “Why does it say that he does, then?”
“I don't know,” Felicia mumbled exhaustedly. “I know that my brother was involved in some dodgy shit, because he owed some people money.” She broke off her sentence, shaking her head. “But then they shot him.”
Tears began falling down her cheeks. I felt my heart twist into knots as I watched her cry. I couldn’t imagine how she must have been feeling right now. The loss of a loved one would be enough to tip anybody over the edge.
“It's okay, girl,” I whispered, trying my best to help her feel better. “I know what it's like to lose somebody. You'll heal with time.”
“My brother wasn't a bad man,” Felicia sighed timidly, wiping her eyes. “He was so young… And they robbed him of his future.”
“Do you have any idea as to who could 225
have shot him?” I asked.
“I think it was the Mafia…” Felicia began, scratching her chin uneasily, “but I don't know.”
I felt my heart drop as she mentioned the Mafia. I couldn’t help but to take the opportunity to ask about Donte.
“Was it Donte Abruzzi that shot him?” I asked.
“No, no, Donte is a close family friend,”
Felicia denied. “He and Alfonze were good friends, he looked out for him like a brother.
When he found out that Alfonze died, he was broken. He's been sending me and my family money for food and our living… And he saved me from getting raped.”
I took a deep breath in, my heart hammering against my chest. “But I thought that Donte was Russian Mafia?”
“I have no idea what he is,” Felicia shrugged, “but he didn't kill my brother. Donte isn’t that kind of man. I know he’s involved with some shady people, but he wouldn’t be capable of killing innocent people.”
“Okay, thank you for letting me know,” I breathed.
I couldn’t help but to feel waves of relief. I felt reassured, knowing that I’d now got confirmation that it couldn’t have been Donte 226
behind the murders.
“Do you know where they're holding Alfonze's body?” Felicia questioned tearfully.
“Why would anybody be holding it?” I asked, taken aback. “You should have had the funeral by now.”
“There hasn't been a funeral,” Felicia muttered.
“What?” I said blankly, unable to make sense of any of this. “That's really strange.”
Something terrible was going on here…
But I couldn’t quite figure out what, or put my finger on it. Maybe this case was going to be a lot bigger than I thought… Because the more I investigated, the more questions I seemed to be left with. It felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere.
“Please find out where his body is…”
Felicia pleaded. “I need closure.”
“I will,” I reassured her. “I promise I'll get to the bottom of your brother's murder.”
“Thank you.”
“And Felicia, can you do me a favour?” I asked quickly.
“Yes?” she replied uneasily, folding her arms.
“Don't tell anybody my name or who I am,” I responded quietly. “About Secret Service, or that I came to visit you. You'll blow the whole 227
operation if you do.”
“I
understand,”
Felicia
nodded,
swallowing. “Thank you for coming to see me.
You have my word.”
“Thank you.”
I got up from my seat, and began making my way out of her apartment. I felt so sad for her, that my heart twisted into knots. I wanted so much to help her. I felt so useless and helpless, because I knew that no matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able to bring her brother back…
I wouldn’t be able to change the fact that her brother had been robbed from her…
I tried my best not to think too much into it. This whole case was stressing me the fuck out.
I sighed heavily, my heart beat raising through the roof.
I began walking home, rubbing my chin as I continued to gather my thoughts. By now, it was dark outside. The cold breeze rushed to my face and my cheeks.
The streets were eerily quiet as I walked, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. I suddenly saw a massive shadow looming over me, and feared that I was being followed again, but I knew that nobody was outside at this time, so it must have been the dark sky playing tricks on me.
Nevertheless, it had made me a little 228
paranoid to carry on walking home in the night.
I took my phone out of my pocket.
“On second thoughts, I'll call an Uber,” I muttered to myself, quickly opening the app, doing my best to locate a local taxi.
Before I could order one
, a deep, raspy voice calling my name snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You wanted a taxi, Sapphire?”
I looked up, to see Donte standing there, next to his Ferrari.
He was wearing a black jacket with no shirt, paired with black jeans, so that his entire perfectly chiselled chest was on display. I found myself flushing bright pink as I stared at him. He was so sexy, that it was hard to focus on anything else but him, whenever he was around. I bit my lip, doing my best to stop myself from drooling and looking like a fucking prat.
“H – Hey, Mr Abruzzi,” I stammered, doing my best to zone back in and stop making myself look like a fool.
“It's cold outside,” Donte shrugged, with his hands on his hips. “Let me give you a lift home.”
I scratched my neck sheepishly. I wanted to say no, but I couldn’t resist the offer to be able to spend more time with him, especially after 229
how awkward it had been between us both for a little while. Now was the perfect time to speak to each other again and make amends, especially after the conversation that I’d had with his brother Arturo at work this morning.
“Only if it's not too much trouble,” I smiled at him.
“Of course not!” Donte grinned. He took some steps towards me, and wrapped his big, strong arms around my waist, making me feel warmer from the cold. His touch was enough to set me in fire, and twist my insides into knots, causing butterflies to hammer against my chest.
He guided me towards his car. “Hop in.”
I nodded happily, feeling safe and comforted in his arms. I reached for the car door, and sat down inside. He followed me inside, sitting on the Driver’s seat.
“Thank you for this,” I smiled sheepishly.
“It's really kind of you.”
“Don't be silly, it's the least I can do,”
Donte grinned. “Everything aside, you've been doing really well at work, and I'm proud of you.”
“Thank you,” I said shyly. I had a wide smile on my lips, and I couldn’t stop it from forming. He just made me so damn happy whenever I was around him.
“What were you doing out alone so late on 230
a work night anyway?” Donte asked, rubbing his chin. “You can't be walking alone at night with the amount of creeps lurking at this time.”
I let out a giggle, finding it sweet how much he cared for my safety and well-being.
“I was just visiting one of my new friends,” I lied, shrugging.
“I see,” Donte smiled.
There was a little silence between us both, as Donte continued to drive down the Highway.
Heat roared in my ears. Now would be a good time to apologize to him for all of the misunderstandings that we had between us…
“Look, Donte…” I began, scratching my neck and biting my lip sheepishly. “I really am so sorry for how I've been behaving towards you. I had no idea that the woman from your office was as a result of an arranged marriage.”
“Don't apologise,” Donte shrugged exhaustedly. “It should be me that's saying sorry.
Asking you out on a date, and then sleeping with another woman afterwards because I couldn’t handle the rejection. I behave so childishly sometimes, I hate it.” He sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I put my hands up and take responsibility for my actions. I’ve been a dickhead, and you don’t owe me anything. I should’ve taken it as a man. I'm really sorry.”
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I felt my heart twist into knots as he said these words. I felt so fucking terrible. He really was such a sweet soul. He was apologizing when he hadn’t done anything wrong… Everything in this situation was a result of me and my immaturity, not his. He didn’t have to apologize for sleeping with another woman, when we weren’t even an item in the first place.
“Don't be sorry,” I reassured him. “I promise, it's fine.”
I let out a sigh that I didn’t know I was holding. I couldn’t resist the temptation to ask him more about the woman, and the words spilled out of my mouth before I had the chance to stop them.
“Do you-” I breathed, “d – do you want to marry her?”
“Fuck no,” Donte remarked, repulsed, looking sickened by the very idea.
I couldn’t help but to feel relieved. It was reassuring knowing that he didn’t want anybody else, so there wouldn’t be any bad blood or competition between us.
I bit my lip, knowing that I was probably going to regret this later.
“In that case…” I began shyly, “can we start again?”
“What do you mean?” Donte asked 232
curiously.
“I'd like to go on a date with you,” I admitted, my cheeks flushing bright pink. “I was scared to let another guy in, but I think you're a lovely man, and I want to see where this goes.”
As soon as I said this, Donte parked up the car, and turned around to face me, his eyes burning into mine. I felt a little nervous under his gaze, but I couldn’t stop myself from continuing to tell him how I felt.
“I felt the chemistry too, ever since we met,” I admitted sheepishly, “and I'd love to give us a try.”
“You just made me the happiest man in the world,” Donte whispered, in a deep, raspy voice.
I let out a giggle, trying my best to ease the tension in the air before I ended up losing my self-control and jumping his fucking bones.
“Aww, is the big bad wolf blushing?” I remarked sarcastically.
“I'm never gonna live this down, am I?”
Donte laughed.
“Nope,” I giggled.
Donte chuckled in response.
“I – I think it's cute,” I admitted nervously, scratching my arm.
As soon as I said this, the car went eerily 233
quiet. Donte’s eyes smouldered with lust, and I found myself biting my lip. Heat was rushing to my cheeks and flooding through my body, and I couldn’t fucking stop it.
Without warning, Donte picked me up and threw me into the backseat of his car, trapping me with his strong arms. His face was just inches apart from mine, and I couldn’t help but to let out a whimper. I was on fire. He used his finger to gently lift up my chin, forcing me to look him in his eyes, as his gaze burned into mine. He was so close, that if he just came an inch closer, we would end up kissing. There was hardly any space between us, and I couldn’t help but to allow my hands to rest on his rock-hard chest, to allow myself to balance myself.
“I promise you won't regret this,” Donte whispered, causing electricity to shoot through my body. “You're so gorgeous, Sapphire.”
I could feel myself going crimson as I bit my lip in anticipation.
“I don't know why you have any reason to feel insecure…” Donte breathed. “Your ex must have been an asshole, but not me. Nobody compares to you… You don't realize how beautiful you really are.”
His eyes continued burning into mine, leaving my stomach in knots.
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There was so much heat in the air right now, that you could cut it with a knife.
His hands began tracing circles on the sides of my waist, and I couldn’t help but to let out a moan as I shivered and trembled underneath his touch.
“Fuck,” he growled, slowly moving his hand to my thigh as my breathing became laboured.
He made me feel sexy…
He made me feel wanted…
He made me feel things about myself that I didn't know I could feel…
He made me feel appreciated,
Valued,
Special.
I could feel my breath hitch in my throat, Wondering why I hadn't given him a chance earlier.
He had such a beautiful way with words…
I felt alive.
For the first time in ten years, I felt fucking alive.
And I loved this feeling,
This feeling of wanting someone so much, And them wanting me all the way back.
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maya
“You're
so
/>
beautiful,
Sapphire,”
Donte
murmured, in a deep, raspy voice that caused goosebumps to rise on my skin. “It's hard to hold myself back when I'm around you.”
“Then don't,” I whimpered, in a voice that I didn’t recognize.
Donte let out a sigh, his hand moving higher up my thigh as I moaned. I needed his mouth on mine. I needed to taste him. Every touch that he made on my skin made me 236
desperate for more.
“P – Please,” I shivered, wrapping my hands around his neck, pleading that he would kiss me. I wanted his lips all over me. On my mouth, on my neck, on my nipples, on my chest…
“Fuck!” Donte growled. He squeezed my thighs, causing me to wrap them tightly around his body…
Before he withdrew himself from me.
I whimpered at the loss of his touch. Why did he stop? Had I done something wrong?
He looked just as disappointed as I was.
“I want to do things properly with you, Sapphire,” he said, shaking his head. “You're special. I don't want you to feel like you're just a hook-up to me. You're so much more than that…”
I already knew that I was more than that to him. Part of me loved how much he respected me, but part of me was hating this fucking slow-burn. The more time I spent with him, the more I wanted his hands all over me…
“That means a lot to me,” I mumbled.
“That's really thoughtful of you to do.”
“I mean it, Sapphire,” he sighed, folding his arms. “Being the CEO of lots of companies, I've had to work my way up from the bottom, 237
from nothing. I'll be real with you, girls have always just been hook-ups for me. If I'd got distracted growing up, I would never be in the position that I am right now.” He broke off his sentence, taking a deep breath in. “My mother always taught me to respect women, so I've not got into a relationship with anybody before, knowing that I would be hurting them. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to give them my all.” He sighed. “But now, well… I've made it, I've become the man that I wanted to be with all my successful companies. And now I just want a woman to share it with.”
I drew out a deep breath, my heart hammering against my chest.
