by A. G. Khaliq
461
60
brett
I stood next to the door of Phillip’s office, unable to believe my fucking ears. Unable to process or comprehend what he’d done. What a sick, twisted, manipulative, conniving son-of-a-bitch…
Maya’s mother didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve to fucking die. She didn’t deserve to pay for Maya’s mistakes. She didn’t deserve to get caught in the fucking crossfire.
I could only imagine how badly Maya was 462
hurting right now. I felt fucking terrible for her.
And it hurt me even more knowing that I couldn’t be there to help her. To reassure her that everything would be okay. To run my hands through her beautiful hair, and hold her in my arms.
“You killed her fucking mother?!” I spat angrily, bolting into the room at full speed, seething as I balled my hands into fists. “That's out of fucking order! You twisted bastard!”
“Oh, spare me the fucking self-righteous shit, Brett,” he snapped back angrily. “She left you, remember? Or have you forgotten about that, because she’s still living in your head rent-free?”
I shook my fists angrily, unable to hide the rage written all over my face. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to suffocate him, and make him plead for air.
The fucking bastard…
The motherfucking bastard…
“Why do you even care about her?” he retorted, smirking. “She's already moved on from you.” He laughed, amused at himself.
“She's fallen in love with the fucking enemy.”
I could feel my blood run cold. Unable to believe my ears. Unable to believe what the fuck he’d just told me. What the fuck I was hearing.
463
“What?” I said quietly, my voice dropping to barely below a whisper.
“Guess your dick game just wasn't that good, huh?” Phillip jested, roaring with laughter.
Laughing at my hurt.
Laughing at my fucking pain.
I folded my arms angrily, my blood roaring in my ears. My veins pulsing, making their way to the surface of my skin alarmingly.
This motherfucker had no idea who he was fucking with. What I was capable of. I’d shoot him twice in the head with no regrets, the fucking cunt…
“Consider this a warning to you, too,” he went on, seething. “I won't hesitate to make your life hell, if you defy me too.”
He broke off his sentence, shaking his head angrily.
“Go do your fucking tasks, and stop snooping in on my private conversations!” he warned, raging.
He rolled his eyes and stormed out of the room in a huff, slamming the door hard behind him. Leaving me here dithering, contemplating what he’d just told me. Replaying his words over and over again in my head, like a form of motherfucking torture.
Maya had fucking fallen in love with 464
somebody?! Or was Boss just trying to pull my fucking leg? Piss me off, knowing that him saying this would get a reaction out of me?
Either way, I would get to the fucking bottom of this. Maya had another thing coming if she’d moved on from me so fast. Leaving me, just to jump on another man’s dick the next day…
This shit was far from fucking over.
465
61
maya
I clutched my chest, terrified. Pleading for air.
Pleading to God to put an end to my suffering.
This numb feeling within me.
He killed my mother?
My own boss...
“HE
KILLED
MY
FUCKING
MOTHER?!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face, as my body trembled into a frenzy, and I lay here, still outside of the club, in my shaken, psychotic state.
466
This had to be a fucking joke.
This had to be some sort of fucked up joke...
I whipped my phone out of my pocket, desperately tapping some numbers into my keypad, as I shivered in the cold. My world continuing to crash down on me. Feeling like my life was worth nothing anymore. Feeling like I would be better off dead…
“Hello?” I pleaded down the line. “Is this the Oklahoma residences?”
I let out a sigh, as I prayed. Prayed that this was all just a huge misunderstanding. That my mother was alive. I prayed that the nurse would give me good news at the other end of the fucking line. That my boss only said that to scare me…
“Yes, how may I help you?” came a nurse’s voice on the other end.
“It's Maya,” I mumbled. “I wired some money to my mother last week. I just wanted to ask you to check up on her. Is she in good health?
Is she okay?”
My heart hammered against my chest, as I felt my ribcage begin to constrict.
“Oh, Maya!” The nurse took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. As if she was preparing herself for what she was about to tell me. As if 467
she was practicing what the best fucking way would be to let me down gently. “I'm so sorry.
Your mother passed away in her sleep yesterday night.” She broke off her sentence, letting out another deep breath. “We're currently making funeral arrangements for her. I'm so sorry for your loss.”
Trembling, my phone fell to the hard floor, smashing into hundreds of tiny pieces.
So this wasn't a sick, fucked up joke.
My boss.
My own boss...
Was capable of killing my own mother.
My own mother...
In her vulnerable, old age...
By now, it felt like my heart was about to explode. Like somebody had ripped it out of my chest, and was cutting it with a chainsaw. I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t fucking breathe.
That sick, twisted bastard.
Fuck this mission.
He killed the only family I had left…
My mother.
My mother…
Who brought me into this life.
Who loved me dearly.
Who watched me grow from a little girl 468
into a young adult. Who fed me. Clothed me.
Who stayed up all night by my bedside, nurturing me whenever I was ill. Who bore me in her womb for nine months when she was carrying me, putting herself through endless sleepless nights for the sake of me. Put me through an education. Made so many sacrifices for me. Tried to save me from the dark dangers of this world.
I continued to sob. My tears falling from my cheeks down to the ground, pit-pattering onto the floor in tiny little droplets. Knowing that my life was over. Knowing that I would never move past this. Knowing that I would punish myself for this, for the rest of my time. As long as I fucking breathed.
I would never be able to hold my mother’s hand again. I would never be able to spoil her again. To pay her back for all of the favours she’d done for me as I grew up. For looking after me. I would never be able to give her the life that she deserved.
Because she was gone.
At this point, I wanted to put an end to my own damn life. To hold a gun up-to my temple, blow my own brains out, be put to rest six feet under the fucking ground. At least that would put an end to my own damn suffering.
469
My mom didn’t deserve this.
She didn’t deserve to fucking die.
I felt sick.
The bile reached my throat.
My throat went dry…
My whole body shook uncontrollably.
I started to lose sense of my surroundings…
Unable to comprehend what the fuck had just happened.
My mother was dead…
And I couldn’t save her.
I didn’t pull the trigger…
But I knew that I was to blame for her death.
I knew that this was all my own fucking fault.
470
62
donte
I was still dithering in the private lounge, contemplating what the fuck had just happened.
I let out a deep sigh that I didn’t know I was holding. I told her I loved her…
And she ran out on me.
She fucking ran out on me.
What was this woman doing to me...?
I found myself folding my arms uneasily, as I continued to recount the incidents of 471
tonight. I knew that the spark was still very much there between me and her.
I knew that she felt for me what I felt for her.
It was just going to take time. It was going to take time to make her see that I was the man for her. To make her see that we were better together than we were apart.
There was no way in hell that she was running away from me that fast.
Not after things just got a whole lot more real.
I'd seen her leg.
I'd got the whole picture.
And this time…
I wasn't just going to let her walk away.
I was going to run after her.
I let out a deep breath, before I turned on my heel, and broke into a run. Not wanting to waste another second without Sapphire in my life.
We’d both suffered enough. It was time to put things right.
I bolted out of the club, trying to search the area. Trying to locate and pin-point where she was. She hadn’t left that long ago. She can't have got far.
I continued to run around the club 472
exterior, doing my best to look for her.
And then…
I felt my heart leap to my throat.
That was when I saw her...
Collapsed on the floor, crying.
I could feel my heart shatter into millions of tiny pieces. Seeing her in this state. Seeing her so upset and broken.
“Sapphire?!” I called out desperately.
I bolted towards her, crouching besides her, pulling her into my arms, allowing her to sob against my chest.
“Sapphire?” I whispered, as I stroked her hair, holding her tightly against me. “What's wrong?”
I felt so goddamn helpless. Watching her collapsed on the floor...
Crying.
Did I cause this...?
Was she crying because of me?
What the fuck had happened?
She looked like she'd been crying for a long time.
I couldn't bear to watch her cry.
To watch tears fall down her beautiful cheeks.
Her phone was smashed all over the floor.
Maybe she’d received some bad news. I had no 473
fucking idea.
I had to do something.
Anything.
Anything to make her feel better.
“Baby, what's wrong?” I murmured, tilting her chin up to look at me. I wiped her tears with my thumbs, feeling tears well in my own eyes. “Tell me. You can trust me. I hate watching you cry.”
Sapphire swallowed down a lump that had caught in her throat. Staring back at me, looking completely and utterly broken.
Lost.
Shattered.
Torn.
“I don't know what I'm going to do, Donte,” she wept.
“What happened, baby?” I pleaded.
Planting a kiss on her forehead. Giving her the reassurance that I was here for her.
Sapphire’s chest heaved upwards and downwards as she sobbed.
She took a deep breath in…
…And a deep breath out.
A deep breath in…
…And a deep breath out.
“M – m – my-” she stammered timidly, trembling, shaking her head.
474
“Your what, baby?” I asked her gently.
She let out a sigh, and coughed up another sob. “My mother passed away,” she said finally, tears streaming down her face. “I don't know what I'm going to do without her.”
She sobbed against my chest, her small hands clinging onto me.
And it broke my heart.
It fucking broke my heart.
Seeing her this hurt.
I knew how she felt.
I didn’t know what I'd do if my own mother passed away…
I gently stroked her hair, running my hands down her back as I did my best to soothe her. To comfort her. To try and help her to vent and feel better.
But as I did this, I couldn’t help but allow my mind to wander. I was in a state of fucking confusion.
Something about this just didn't make any sense to me.
This was a bad moment, but...
I let out a sigh, shaking my head. Feeling stressed out as fuck.
Her file had said that her whole family was deceased...?
But according to her, her mother had only 475
passed away now...?
I furrowed my eyebrows, not knowing what to think, and not knowing what to make of this. Why would her file say that her mother passed away long ago, with the rest of her family…
When she’d only passed away now?
I was right. This wasn’t the right fucking time to allow my mind to wander, and burst with questions. Sapphire was grieving right now, and I had to be here for her. She was clearly fucking devastated about this whole thing.
I was probably overthinking it. Maybe it was an error on her file, or maybe she'd only learnt the news of her mother being dead now.
Either way, I shouldn't be thinking about it. My beautiful girl was hurt and heartbroken right now, and I had to do all I could within my power to make her feel better.
I continued to hold her against me, with my big strong arms. Giving her the support and comfort that she needed. Letting her know that it was okay. It was okay to cry, and it was okay to be upset. It was okay not to keep everything bottled up. It was okay not to pretend to be strong, when deep down you were hurting.
“Don't worry baby,” I murmured softly against her hair. “With time, it will get better. I'm 476
here for you.”
I let out a deep breath, my heart hammering against my chest.
“And I'll always be here for you. We'll get through this,” I promised her. “Together.”
Sapphire hugged me tighter, not withdrawing from my grasp. She kissed my chest softly, her wet tears soaking my skin.
“Thank you, Donte,” she mumbled. “That means a lot. I don't know what I'd do without you...”
When she said this, I couldn’t help but to feel shivers shoot through my body. I wasn’t wrong to believe that she felt the same way about me. She’d been suffering without me, just as much as I’d been suffering without her. And now, we were finally going to stop playing games with each other. We were going to keep it real, because I didn’t want her to be miserable.
Hell, she made my fucking life complete.
“It's cold, baby,” I said softly. “Let's go back to my place. I'll make you a nice meal, and we'll talk about it.”
“I'd like that,” Sapphire replied, sniffing.
I took her hand into mine, giving it a tight and reassuring squeeze. I helped her to get to her feet, wrapping her body in my jacket, to stop her from feeling cold. Then I wrapped my arms 477
around her, and led her to the direction of my car.
Knowing that we would lay all of our cards out on the table tonight.
Knowing that it was finally time for us to be open and honest with each other.
I was going to allow her to grieve. To kick and scream, all that she wanted. Because that was what I would do if my own mother had passed away.
But then I would tell her the importance of moving on. The importance of letting go.
The importance of staying brave, and to carry on pushing forward with her life.
478
63
maya
Donte led me into his house, guiding me up the stairs while his hand was gently caressing and stroking mine, giving me the reassurance and comfort that I needed.
We reached his bedroom, and I slowly withdrew my hand from his, already feeling sad at the
loss of his touch.
“Is it okay if I use your bathroom?” I asked wearily, nodding in the direction of his en-suite.
“Go ahead, baby girl,” he reassured me.
479
I nodded gratefully, taking deep breaths in and out as my heart pounded against my chest. I made my way to his bathroom, and locked the door behind me.
When I looked in the mirror, I realized that the makeup on my leg had faded. Which meant that Donte will have seen the massive, ugly bruise.
I let out a sigh, shaking my head.
I didn't care anymore. I didn't want to lie to him anymore. I was tired of making myself miserable. I was tired of being sad and upset...
Crying every night, because I kept cutting Donte off.
And for what?
For a man who fucking murdered my mother?
Enough was fucking enough.
I rummaged through Donte's cabinet…
Desperate to find some first aid material.
I found some scissors, plasters, and a scalpel.
I’d got what I needed.
I dusted myself off, and then I fumbled with my back, looking over my head into the mirror.
I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid.
That I'd compromised myself, and 480
forgotten I'd been wire-tapped.
That my boss was actually spying on me this whole time, listening to my conversations, and fucking following me.
I cut open the scar on my back slowly, wincing in pain, and then pulled out the tracking device that Boss had put in my back.
I allowed the blood to dry up by dabbing a cotton wool pad on the area, and then sealing the wound with a large plaster.
And then I threw the tracking chip into the toilet, and flushed it.
“Good fucking riddance,” I hissed to myself angrily.
I didn't care about the fucking mission anymore.
I just wanted to be with Donte.
I knew that Donte didn't murder those people.
I was sure that Donte would tell me about any involvement he had with the Mafia in due time…
But for now…
I just wanted to enjoy being with him.
To love him.
To be loved by him.
Because now that I'd lost my mother...
I had nothing left to lose.
