by Cece Rose
“Professional?!” Theo exclaims, incredulity ringing in his voice. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he mutters under his breath a moment later, before releasing an annoyed huff.
I drive the rest of the way in silence, deciding that arguing with One is pointless, a waste of time and energy. Whatever he wants to do or say won’t matter once I leave this place for good. I just have to deal and make it through this for now.
Theo’s muteness, however, doesn’t last the rest of the journey. I tune Theo and One out as I drive, repeating times tables and street names in my head. It’s a handy trick I picked up a long time ago; it helps me ignore what people around me are doing or saying, while still focusing on a boring task like driving.
As we approach a tower block of flats, the satnav indicates we’ve reached our destination. I can’t help but think that maybe I took a wrong turn somewhere and confused the device somehow, but when Theo says nothing, I park the car on the road across from the ugly building.
“Wait in the car,” One barks, as he jumps out before either of us can argue. I look behind us and notice Three parking the old, silver Mercedes as One heads towards him.
“This isn’t what I was expecting,” I comment quietly to Theo, now that we’re alone and can be as unprofessional as we like.
“What were you expecting?” he asks.
“I don’t know, but not this,” I answer, gesturing towards the building.
“Why not this?” he questions, and I shrug.
“I guess just because of the fact he’s important enough for you to come out here yourself. I thought you didn’t do any of the actual dealing these days, thought you said you’d come a long way since school?” I turn to look back at him as I ask the questions, curious for his reaction as well as his answers.
“A few people, like BM, are all about respect,” he begins, pausing for a moment before fully explaining, “I lived in that building, Scarlett. After what happened with my dad, and before I was old enough to do anything about it, this shit hole is the place I called home.”
“How long did you live here?”
“Five years. Five fucking miserable years,” he repeats through clenched teeth. “I hated every second of it.”
“Then why are you giving him special treatment?”
“BM is used to being the top dog in our dynamic, if I don’t go with the flow, he feels unseated from his position of ‘power’ and lashes out. He’s an unreasonable man, and he would take it as a personal affront. And honestly, if he didn’t spend all his money buying from me, throwing parties, and gambling, he could afford to live somewhere damn better than this dive.”
“How does he make his money?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“Scams and stolen goods,” Theo answers, shrugging his shoulders and giving me a half-hearted smile.
“It’s a shame he wastes all of that hard-earned cash,” I comment, returning Theo’s smile with one of my own despite the insanity of our current situation.
“I’m glad he wastes it, he’s crazy. I don’t want to think what terrible, insane things he’d do if he had better money management skills,” Theo jokes, just as the door next to me is abruptly yanked open.
“Come on, we haven’t got all day. Don’t forget your merchandise,” One orders us around again.
“Scarlett waits in the car,” Theo demands. “I’m not taking her in there. No way.”
“Fine, but I go in with you, and Three waits with her,” One agrees, shutting the door in my face just as I’m about to get out of the car. I gape at him in indignation.
“You can’t just leave me in here!” I object, reaching for the handle. Three slides into the passenger side, taking the seat next to me. He leans over and snags the car keys, pocketing them for himself.
“We have your brother, remember?” Three reminds me, and I freeze, before turning around to face him with a stunned expression. He looks at me intensely and adds, “Just stay in here with me, okay?”
“Whatever,” I mutter, turning away from him. Whatever kindness I thought I’d seen in his eyes earlier, I disregard it. Nobody fucking threatens my brother.
We sit in silence as One and Theo cross the road, heading into the building. Three tries to strike up a conversation once they’re inside, but I just ignore him and tap my fingers on the wheel. At least I’m stuck waiting in this beautiful car. There are worse places to be trapped with an assassin. At least if he kills me, I’ll die in luxury and comfort.
After what feels like forever, I hear a phone vibrate. I turn towards Three, considering the fact I haven’t seen my phone since before being captured, I know it’s not mine. He pulls a phone from his pocket, identical to One’s out of date model, and unlocks it. He frowns at the screen, before shoving it back in the pocket from where it came.
“Wait here,” he instructs, before getting out of the car.
Not even two seconds later, he returns, opens the door, and throws the phone at me. I fumble with it, barely managing to catch it. “If it rings, answer it. Otherwise, don’t mess around with it. The last thing I need is you locking me out of it because you tried the wrong password ten times.”
“But what—” I begin to argue, not that it’s any use, because he shuts his car door again and cuts me off. Great. This is just fantastic.
I sigh deeply and rest my head back against the seat as I give up trying to reason with him for now. I can’t do anything that might risk my brother, and as I’ve been told to do nothing and wait, that’s what I’ll do. I glance at the time displayed on the phone, surprised to see it’s already half past two.
I shut my eyes for a moment but keep the phone in my hand so it’ll still get my attention if it goes off. I try and tell myself that whatever’s happening inside the building isn’t my problem, hoping that if I repeat it in my head enough, I’ll believe it.
“It’s not my problem,” I try muttering aloud, needing the message to sink in for my brother’s sake. And for my own. “Not my problem at all,” I continue, keeping my eyes squeezed shut.
Chapter Ten
“This really isn’t my problem,” I mutter to myself again, as I approach the main door to the building on shaky legs. I’d told myself this multiple times, but it appears little things like fear and good sense aren’t going to stop me.
As I approach the glass and metal doors, Theo comes sprinting out at full speed, catching me by surprise. His eyes widen in alarm as he sees me out of the car.
“Get back in the fucking car!” he shouts, grabbing my hand as he rushes past, dragging me back in the direction of the car. I run with him, functioning on pure panic and confusion as we sprint at full speed to it. Loud bangs sound from above us, and I look back over my shoulder at the block of flats as I continue to run.
“Those weren’t gunshots, were they?” I ask between gasps of breath as we reach the car. Holy shit, please tell me those weren’t gunshots.
“No time,” he insists, taking a few heaving breaths of his own, bent over. He only allows for a few seconds pause before straightening back up again and throwing me the car keys I thought Three had with him. “Get back in the damn car and drive!” he shouts, before diving into the passenger side. More gunshots ring out in the air, but this time they sound closer. I get into the car.
“Where are we going?” I ask, as I bring the luxury car purring to life.
“What the fuck does it matter!?” he exclaims. “Drive!”
Not needing to be told again, I put it into gear and slam my foot down, screeching out of there. I take a few turns as I drive, speeding way above the limit in this built up area.
“Take another turn,” Theo demands, as he looks over his shoulder out through the rear window at something. I do as he asks and take the next right. A few moments later he curses, “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s following us,” he bites out.
“What the hell happened up there?”
“You wouldn’
t believe me if I told you.” He sighs and takes another look behind us through the rear window. “You need to lose them.”
“What?” I question in an incredulous tone. He can’t be serious, can he? Who does he think I am, a stunt driver? I’ve only had my damn license for less than year!
“You need to lose them,” he repeats. “This car can outpace them, no problem.”
“On a fucking track maybe!” I screech, aware that I’m already driving way too fast. What if someone steps out onto the road? What if there’s a cute dog?
“Just keep driving,” he snaps. He eyes the phone I’d left sitting on the dash as it goes skidding across on a sharp turn. He grabs it and chucks it out of the window as we speed along.
“What the hell was that for?” I demand.
“Do you want the assassins to be able to find us?” he hisses.
“When they have my brother? Yeah, actually I do!” I snap back, flooring the car when an empty stretch of road comes up ahead of us. Theo leans over and buckles my seat belt as I continue to race forward. “Really?” I demand.
“Really. You won’t be any good as a driver right now if you go flying through the windscreen the second you have to hit the brakes,” he answers, before doing his own. “They have Caleb?” he pries gently.
“Is now really the best time to talk about this?”
“Fine. Later,” he concedes. “Just lose the damned dark blue BMW following us.”
“The three series?” I question, after a glance in the rear-view mirror.
“That’s the one.”
“And what should I tell the police when they eventually pull me over for reckless driving in a car I’m not insured to drive?” I ask, weaving through a few cars to maintain my speed and stay ahead of the BMW. Fuck, I usually hate assholes that drive like this.
“If we get stopped before we lose them, you’ll be lucky if you get the chance to say anything at all,” he mutters, more to himself than me I suspect. I try not to let his words feed the panic and anxiety already threatening to overwhelm me.
“I’ve got an idea, but it may be a little insane, and we’re probably about to die.” I tell him, before slamming on the hand brake and jerking the wheel hard to the right. The car’s tires scream against the tarmac, as the car spins around. I release the brake and slam my foot down again, speeding up as I drive along the wrong side of the damn road, attempting to avoid crashing into the fronts of other cars.
“You’re crazy!” Theo shouts, clutching onto his seat like he’s holding on for his life.
“Maybe,” I agree, pulling onto another road marked as a one-way street, one that is definitely not the way we’re headed. I speed down the side road, before coming to an intersection and finally turning onto a road where we’re flowing with the traffic. My breathing comes in ragged pants as I slow down to go with the flow of traffic, attempting to blend in. A ridiculous thing to try and do in a car that costs more than a lot of people’s homes.
“We need to ditch the car somewhere, it draws too much attention.” I glance around at our surroundings and realise where we are and what’s nearby. If anything that One claims is true, maybe I can find evidence of it there, and if not, maybe I can prove all this setup nonsense has nothing to do with me or my mother after all. “I have an idea. Mind if we make a stop?”
“Why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do today,” Theo jokes, giving me a lazy smile and appearing relaxed when I glance his way. Looking at him, you’d never know we just took part in a high-speed car chase. I let out a long breath.
“Good, we’re going to check something out. I need some answers, and I think I know where I can get them.” I turn the car onto another road and head towards the outer edges of London, feeling my pulse start to pound at just the thought of what I’m about to do.
It’s time to pay one of the family businesses a visit.
Chapter Eleven
“Why did you help me if you figured out what I wanted it for?” I ask Theo in a low voice, as we approach the exit to turn off for one of my mother’s offices.
She has an entire floor of the building for the business, one of the more boring companies she owns. There’s absolutely nothing exciting about the sale of water coolers. But she does have a personal office in this building, if I’m remembering correctly. One she rarely uses, thanks to her near-constant travels.
“You’re my friend, and I trusted that you had a damn good reason,” he answers simply, after seeming to give it a little thought.
“A good reason for killing someone?” I ask, my voice sliding an octave higher from sheer incredulity at our conversation right now.
“Well, you do, don’t you?” he asks, and I take a minute to really think about it. I mean, I do have a reason, and I believe it’s a good one. My only motivation is to ensure my brother’s safety, and he’ll never be safe with her around.
What other option did I have?
“I don’t know if that’s even the point…it’s still murder,” I admit, feeling suffocated by the blanket of guilt weighing me down.
“You’re not a bad person, Scar. Good people have to do bad things for good reasons sometimes,” he responds after a moment of silence.
“Is that what you tell yourself?” I ask, not trying to bait him or be a bitch, just genuinely curious. I park the car outside of the building in one of the many, surprisingly-vacant spots as I wait for his answer.
“I do what I do for a reason. Some are in it for the drugs, the money, or the lifestyle, but not me,” he offers as a vague response, turning to face me as I also move to look at him.
“If you’re not in it for the drugs, or the money, or even for the popularity—what are you in it for?” I question.
“My family,” he replies without hesitation. I blink, a little surprised at his answer, considering what little he’s shared about his family with me.
“Why do you need to do this for your family?” I continue to pry.
“It’s mostly for my mum and little sister. My mum, after my dad went away, she wasn’t the same.” He pauses, and I can see the strain of his emotions in his expression. “We lost our home and had to move into a fucking two-bedroom council flat in that damn block.”
“I’m sorry.” I knew it had been hard for him, but he’d stayed in our school the entire time, so I never thought too hard about what happened to them without his father’s money funding their lifestyle anymore. “How did you stay at our school?”
“One of my dad’s associates paid for me and Lisa to attend. I’m pretty sure my dad must have paid him beforehand, an in case of emergency kind of thing. If only he’d kept an emergency house for us too,” he jokes, a lame attempt at levity, before opening the car door without turning away.
“At least you got a good education?” I offer hesitantly, pushing open my own door and getting out of the car. I lock it once he’s clear, and we head towards the building side by side.
“I didn’t. After everything went down, I spent most of my time in school not actually there, because I was busy trying to make money on the council estate. It was only once I turned sixteen that one of dad’s old associates offered to hook me up. And from there on out, things started to get better. It’s only assholes like BM I have to deal with in person. Not anymore, though.” He smiles at that thought.
He opens the door and ushers me through, following me inside. A cold blast of air shocks me as we step into the building, making me shiver. Someone had clearly not told whoever set the thermostat that it’s freezing cold outside. We approach the main desk, and I try to force a wide, pleasant smile.
“Hi, how can I help you?” The receptionist greets us cheerily, as we come to a halt in front of her desk.
“I’m here to get something from my mum’s office, she owns Carrington Water,” I tell her. Her cheery disposition falters.
“She left something in the office? Are you sure?” she asks.
Worried she’ll want to check my ID, I take a risk. “Y
eah, she wants me to pick up a folder for her that she left here forever ago. She even let me use her car. You can see it out in the front car park from here,” I beam, pointing down at the screen tucked behind the desk that shows a live recording of the entrance from the outside.
“What car?” she asks curiously, and I grin.
“Come take a proper look.” I gesture for her to come over with me to the glass door, and I point out Theo’s car. “Totally makes it worth running errands for her. She never lets me drive it otherwise.”
“Wow,” she comments, her eyes widening.
“I know, right? So…I really need to get this folder, or she will never let me drive that thing again. It’s okay for you to let me up there, right? I mean, it is my mum’s company…” I request, watching closely for her reaction to everything I say. Any sign that I’m pushing too much, and I’ll have to ease off a little.
“Well, if you’re sure. It’s up on the seventh floor, but I don’t know if you’ll find what you’re looking for in there,” she explains, still gazing out the window at the shiny, black, luxury vehicle.
“I’m sure. She said it was in there, so I have to at least look,” I offer with a shrug. As she turns away from the car, her eyes seem to linger on the bruise on my face. They switch to give Theo a pointed stare straight after. She doesn’t say anything, but I can feel the assumption in her gaze. I swallow the biting remarks that threaten to spew from my mouth.
“Head on up then,” she says with a smile, gesturing towards the lifts. “And take care of yourself,” she adds in a quieter voice, when Theo begins to stride to the lifts ahead of me. My annoyance at her assumption wars with my appreciation of her concern.
“Thank you. It wasn’t him, but I will,” I murmur, flashing her a small smile, before rushing to catch up with Theo just as the doors to the lift slide open. We step inside, and I hit the button for the seventh floor without pause.
“What was that about?” Theo asks as we begin our ascent.
“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” I brush him off.
