Dangerous Desires Part 1: A Mafia Romance (Corrupt Me series)

by A. G. Khaliq

  his fists, knocking him down to the ground. I leapt back in horror, doing my best to suppress a sob. I wanted to intervene, but I knew that the man would probably kill me for being a witness to this whole thing. I felt my heart hammer against my ribcage, and my chest heave upwards and downwards as my surroundings closed in around me. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. It felt like I couldn’t fucking breathe.

  I couldn’t breathe…

  The man continued to batter the Chinese man, beating his face till it was blue, and he wouldn’t stop. The Chinese man’s jaw snapped, as his cries got weaker with every blow. He was crying out for help, and I felt frozen to the spot.

  I could barely fucking move.

  The white man joined forces, and began beating the Chinese man with his friend, to make him feel treble the pain. His skull cracked open, blood gushing out of his head, as half of his face had been beaten to a pulp, and he’d lost his ability to breathe. His eyeball rolled out onto the ground, as well as three of his teeth knocking clean out as he coughed out blood.

  He wouldn’t be able to survive this…

  There was no fucking surviving this…

  I continued to watch in horror, tears streaming down my face. I felt so fucking 313

  helpless. I should’ve helped the man. I should have willed my body to move. I should have put my life on the line to save him. It was what secret agents like myself were meant to fucking do.

  But I felt glued to the spot. I was fucking petrified.

  More than ever, I was so fucking ashamed of myself. I felt so fucking stiff.

  “This will teach you and your family not to fuck with the Russian Mafia,” the Puerto Rican said quietly, slapping the Chinese man’s face to the side as he spat on it, and kicked it down to the ground. “We were sent by them to warn you. Don’t say we didn’t give you a fair fucking chance to walk away from this free. See you in hell, motherfucker.”

  “Take this gun and finish the fucking job,”

  the white man spat angrily.

  He handed the gun to the Puerto Rican, and the Puerto Rican shot the Chinese man three times straight in the fucking chest.

  There would be no saving him now. No calling the ambulance. No need for paramedics.

  He was fucking dead.

  He.

  Was.

  Fucking.

  Dead.

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  I felt my lungs constricting, as I struggled for air. I couldn’t believe I had the nerve to just sit here and watch. My blood continued to run cold as I stared at the horrifying scene.

  “Clean up this fucking mess like it never goddamn happened,” the white man spat angrily, rolling his eyes.

  The Puerto Rican nodded, reaching for a body bag that he had in his car boot.

  Tears streamed down my face. As much as I wanted to beat myself up about this, and as much as what I’d witnessed would continue to haunt me, I couldn’t keep beating myself up about this. If I’d gotten involved myself, I probably would have been raped and in an even worse state than the dead Chinese man on the floor right now. Knowing that I was a woman, they would probably make use of me and torture me for months or even years before they killed me and put me out of my misery.

  And the murders and the rest of the innocent lives lost would go unsolved…

  My breathing became laboured as I continued to hold my phone shakily in my hand.

  I didn’t realize that I’d still been recording. I heaved upwards and downwards, trembling as I shoved my phone back into my pocket, willing my limbs to move. I accidentally bumped into 315

  the car, and one of the bins fell over. I leapt back in shock, tears welling in my eyes as I watched my life flash before my eyes. What if they’d heard that? Had I just exposed myself?

  “Did you hear that?” the white man whispered.

  “Hear what?” the Puerto Rican man shrugged, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows.

  “I could've sworn I heard one of the bins falling over. Are you sure there's no-one else here?”

  Both of them turned around, staring in the other direction as they searched the area. My heart leapt to my throat. While they were turned around, I had to run away, and fast, before I made myself known.

  I turned on my heel, willing my body to move as fast as I could, my blood roaring in my ears. I could have died tonight.

  I could have fucking died…

  But thank fuck I’d managed to get away before they saw me.

  The Lord continued to bless me in different ways everyday…

  Even though I was the last person who fucking deserved the Lord’s blessings.

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  41

  the puerto rican

  and the white

  man

  “Nobody here bro,” said the white man, shrugging, because he’d searched the whole area, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. “You're just being paranoid. Nobody comes around these sides of the city anyway, especially at this time.”

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  “Yeah, I guess you’re right, brother,” the Puerto Rican muttered, sighing.

  “Let's bounce from here,” the white man spat, rolling his eyes.

  “Yeah, let’s,” the Puerto Rican replied, grabbing hold of the body bag, as he dragged it towards their car boot, ready to evacuate the area and make themselves scarce.

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  42

  maya

  I bolted into my apartment. I hadn’t even stopped for a breath my whole way here, because I was so damn terrified. But they hadn’t seen me.

  Thank fuck they hadn’t seen me…

  “Thank fuck I've made it home in one piece,” I mumbled to myself, my chest heaving upwards and downwards as I gasped for air, desperately trying to regain my strength.

  I collapsed backwards onto my sofa, my whole face soaked in sweat from the running. I 319

  allowed oxygen to enter into my body and pump its away around my lungs and my blood.

  My heart continued to hammer against my chest. I made sure to lock my apartment door, to make me feel that little bit extra safe.

  And then I shakily took my phone out of my pocket, holding it out in front of my face as I watched the recording play back to me.

  I’d managed to record the fight that I'd just witnessed.

  It was risky…

  I was so lucky that I'd ran away from the scene before they had a chance to see me.

  But as shit as I fucking felt, and as scarred as I was with what I’d seen, I knew that this fight would be crucial evidence to my task…

  Even if I hadn’t managed to save the Chinese man, this recording would enable me to put a stop to these serial murders before more victims became involved, and even more lives were taken away and buried.

  I heard those motherfuckers mention the Russians…

  And I heard them say that the man that they killed was one, in a long string of murders.

  It was all coming together now…

  Everything was finally starting to piece together in my head, and begin to make sense.

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  Now, I had some more evidence to add to my report, and hopefully, I would be one step closer to getting to the bottom of this.

  I sighed heavily, my breathing laboured as I gathered my thoughts together.

  I couldn’t help but to furrow my eyebrows, and fold my arms with uneasiness, as I thought about my boss.

  I found it really weird that I hadn't even been able to have a conversation with my boss…

  Nor had I been able to run him by everything that I had gathered on the case so far.

  The shady transactions, the dodgy fight, the attempted rape on the street, Felicia’s witness account, and more…

  I guessed that it was just due to the nature of it being a high profile Mafia case…

  I took my head into my hands exhaustedly, as my mind continued to scramble with the different shit that had happened in Manhattan.

  I still needed to figure out a way to get my moth
er that money. When she said that she wasn’t being fed properly, nor looked after properly.

  Especially now that me and Donte were on bad terms, there was no way that I could ask him for a pay rise.

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  I needed to find a night job here, and fast.

  I let out a sigh that I didn’t know I was holding, before I let out a deep yawn.

  “But for now…” I murmured to myself exhaustedly, “I need to go to sleep.”

  I slipped out of my clothes and got into my night robe, lazily making my way to my bed.

  I regretfully slid into the covers, because I knew that as much as I needed to sleep, I wasn’t going to enjoy tonight’s rest.

  Because I knew that the murder from tonight was going to haunt me in my fucking dreams.

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  43

  maya

  It was a Saturday, and I felt like pure shit today.

  It was a weird feeling…

  A feeling of complete emptiness.

  For the first time in years, I was happy with Donte…

  But now I'd cut things off with him, I was back to this void feeling.

  This feeling of being alone.

  And I knew that my happiness should never depend on another person...

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  But I couldn't help but to feel torn.

  I enjoyed my time with Yasmeen, with Maisie, and with Millie.

  But the fun I had with them just didn’t fill that void in me.

  I sounded pathetic.

  It was like, it didn’t matter how many people I surrounded myself with.

  I would still feel alone.

  Donte was the only person I knew who could fill that void. Without him, I felt like nothing. I was almost ashamed that somebody I hadn’t known for that long could grow so important to me. But time wasn’t a measure of love. Somebody you had known for a few weeks could treat you better than somebody you’d known for years. I’d been with Fibonacci for years, and all he did was abuse me. But I had only known Donte for a matter of a few weeks to a month, and he’d already left a mark on me. He’d treated me like a fucking queen in his presence.

  A queen worthy of love and attention.

  And he was the one good thing I had in life…

  Yet I let him go, because I was living a double fucking life, and I was in a mind of my own.

  I couldn’t wallow in self-pity all day. I 324

  knew that I needed to keep myself busy to keep my mind off all of the things that had happened lately. It was the only way that I would be able to distract myself and keep my mind occupied.

  I rolled out of my bed, dusting myself off, before I yawned heavily, rubbing my eyes, trying my best to adjust to the daylight in my groggy fucking state.

  I didn't know what to fucking do today. I didn't feel like going out or doing anything. I let my mind wander for a little while, before deciding that I should probably eat breakfast.

  I yawned again, as I exhaustedly limped out of my bedroom, forcing myself to drag my feet to the kitchen, because I knew I wasn’t me when I was hungry.

  I began pouring some cereal in a bowl, and just as I was about to reach for the milk from the fridge, my doorbell began to ring. I rubbed my chin in thought, wondering who it could be.

  “Who's belling on my door now?” I muttered to myself exhaustedly, rolling my eyes.

  I dragged my feet to the front door, feeling like death.

  When I opened the door, I jolted back in shock, as I saw Yasmeen standing there, with a big grin on her face. I was happy to see her, but I wasn’t expecting her to be here.

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  “Hey girl,” she waved.

  “Yasmeen!” I exclaimed sheepishly, with a surprised expression on my face. “What are you doing here?”

  “Are you kidding me?” she denied, folding her arms. “We were supposed to be going out today.”

  “Shit…” I trailed off my sentence, shaking my head, disappointed at myself for having such a goldfish memory. “I totally forgot…” I scratched my arm awkwardly. “I really can't be arsed today, can we go another time?”

  “Are you kidding me?” she remarked, repulsed. “Get dressed! I'll be waiting in the car for you. And I’m not taking no for an answer!”

  “I haven't even had breakfast yet!” I protested. I really, really didn’t want to go out today.

  “We'll go to Subway on the way to town,”

  Yasmeen shrugged.

  I shifted about my spot groggily. Yasmeen had a victorious smile on her face, and I knew that when she had her mind set on something, there was no fighting her. The only way for her to stop standing here convincing me to go, would be to actually get off my ass and fucking go.

  “Fine!” I sighed.

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  Yasmeen

  clapped

  her

  hands

  triumphantly.

  “You won’t regret it girl. I know you’ve been feeling miserable lately, but I’ll try my best to help you cheer up today,” she smiled.

  I gave her a reassuring nod. I was thankful that she was making an effort to check on me and make sure that I was okay.

  “Give me half an hour,” I ordered, pointing my finger up pretentiously.

  I turned on my heel, quickly making my way to my wardrobe. I normally would have just rushed and put on the first thing that I could find, but seeing as I needed cheering up and I was actually going out properly after a long time, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to put a bit of an effort in.

  I stared at myself in the mirror, putting on some skin-tight blue jeans that did wonders on my ass and thighs, making me look curvy as fuck.

  I paired it with a pink crop top that did wonders on making my boobs look amazing. Then I quickly curled my hair, applied some lipgloss, concealer for my eyebags and dark circles, and some mascara to make my eyes look more wide and awake. I stared back at myself in the mirror, smoothing my hands over my ass as I checked myself out. I may have been feeling like fucking 327

  shit in my head, but I certainly didn’t look like shit anymore, so I felt a little bit better.

  I made my way out of my apartment, locking the door behind me. I joined Yasmeen in her car, sliding into the Passenger’s seat.

  Yasmeen was sat in the front seat, and a brown-skinned Asian man with black hair and a black beard was sat in the Driver’s seat.

  “Sapphire, this is my husband,” Yasmeen blushed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Mikail.”

  I smiled at him. I was happy that she’d found love, and done well for herself. Yasmeen was such a sweet and kind soul. She deserved every ounce of happiness that life threw at her.

  “It's nice to meet you, Mikail,” I greeted sheepishly. “Yasmeen hasn't been able to stop talking about you.”

  Yasmeen giggled, and Mikail let out a hearty chuckle.

  “Good things, I hope?” he asked, grinning.

  “Absolutely,” I smiled.

  They continued to laugh and exchange sweet nothings. I put my fingers to my chin, rubbing it in thought as I stared out of the car window while Mikail drove.

  “Where are we going then?” I asked curiously.

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  “We're gonna head to get some food, and then we'll go to the mall,” Mikail shrugged, as he turned over a bend. “If that's alright with you?”

  “Absolutely,” I nodded in confirmation.

  I was looking forward to today. Lord knows, I needed to take my mind off things and make myself feel better, and I guessed that a day out would do just that.

  I continued to stare out of the window, watching the surroundings blur as Mikail drove at a fast speed on the Highway. The hills were overlapping, the trees were fading, the sun was shining, and the engine was roaring.

  I was positive that today would be a good fucking day.

  We made our way to a restaurant, and ordered some food in a booth near the back of the dining area. I ordered pizza, as fucking usual. My go-to meal, that I could never tire o
f.

  When the waitress brought us our food, I dived in straight away, ravishing slice after slice, not caring about what Yasmeen or Mikail thought. Nothing bothered me when it came to food, because I loved it so fucking much.

  Yasmeen and Mikail laughed as they watched me wolf down the pizza. But I was 329

  happy to see that they had an appetite just as big as mine. Mikail wasted no time in finishing ten spicy chicken wings in just under six minutes, and Yasmeen was on her third milkshake in just fifteen minutes.

  We giggled together, as we talked about life, and the different random shit that we’d got up to, as well as exchanging funny and lame jokes, like “why did the mushroom move away from the other mushroom? Because there wasn’t mush-room”.

  One of my favourite jokes was “when do computers overheat? When they need to vent.”

  I’d got used to making computer jokes since I’d been a software developer at Indigo Limited. I’d turned into a bit of a coding nerd.

  I had a great time with Yasmeen and Mikail. It was nice getting to know Yasmeen better outside of the office. Not to mention that her husband was really funny, too.

  I was starting to feel a little bit better, and my attention was distracted from Donte. I tried my best to keep my mind off of him, and just enjoy my time eating and bantering with Mikail and Yasmeen.

  “So Sapphire, tell me,” Mikail began. “Do you have a man in your life?”

  I scratched my arm awkwardly, my face 330

  falling as I swallowed down a lump in my throat, not knowing what to say. I knew he didn’t mean to, but he’d completely killed the fucking mood when he said this. I didn’t want to speak about Donte. I had wanted today to just be about us three. Then again, he had no idea about my love life, and Yasmeen didn’t know that I was on bad terms with Donte, either.

  “She totally has the hots for Mr Abruzzi,”

  Yasmeen giggled.

  Mikail chuckled heartily. “How's it going with him?” he pondered. “Getting serious?”

  “Things didn't work out between us,” I muttered quickly, wanting them to leave the subject alone and speak about something else that wouldn’t involve speaking about him. “So I don't really wanna talk about it.”