Black Knight (Markos)

It was three in the morning and I was driving around New York pretending I was out clearing my head. It was just a fucking lie I told myself to pretend I knew what I was doing when it came to Hazel. 

My phone rang just as I pulled up to the address Ivan had gotten me. 

“Carter is in. The shipments will be arriving soon. I don’t know what you said to him but it worked. “

Of course, it fucking worked. I was the most powerful and dangerous man in New York. A lot of his actions were motivated by fear. I was unforgiving and everybody knew it. Carter was smart to accept my escorts, drinks, and deals.

“Be ready for him and be careful. “

“What did you do? Apologize? “

“I don’t apologize to anyone. He was happy with the girls you sent and drinks. All I had to do was stroke his ego by telling him he has the best ammo and product in the business. “

“Okay. Where are you? I thought you would want to see this shipment for yourself. It is the biggest one yet. Is there somewhere more important than this? “ 

Ivan was getting on my nerves. 

“I told you to get off my case. The next time you ask me what I fucking do during my free time you will end up with a bullet between your eyes. “

“We both know you can’t kill me. “

“Don’t be so sure. “

I hung up on him and stared at Hazel’s building wondering if it was a good idea to show up that late at night. She was going to think I was stalking her. But if I played my cards right, I could get my plans for her rolling. 

I left the car before I could second-guess myself and entered her building. It looked like shit. The structure looked so old it might have been built in the nineteenth century. There was graffiti and drawings on the walls where the paint was peeling. 

The smell of pot, nicotine, and meth greeted me as I climbed up the stairs. It seemed like a building that had more drug addicts than sober people. 

When I got to her floor, I saw a man with his hand on her arm in the corridor. She was trying to break the hold he had on her. The man was short, fat, and fucking ugly. I was going to cut his fucking arm off for touching Hazel. 

I walked closer to hear what they were arguing about. 

“Let me go!” Hazel yelled. 

“Are you fucking with me, bitch? “ He yelled back. 

The closer I got, the more I saw that his grip was harder than I had imagined. She was going to have a bruise there in the morning. And he was too fucking close to her. 

“Please, I just need a few more days. “

“I don’t–”

“The lady doesn’t appreciate being touched like that. You’re hurting her. Let her go. “

My words were clear, sharp, and authoritative. 

The man looked at me from head to toe. He was assessing me to see if I was a threat. With my hands in my pockets, I was calm as I waited for him to defy me. I was itching for a fight. Anything to distract me from Hazel.

“Who the fuck are you? “ He asked but he still didn’t let Hazel go. I avoided her gaze and

forced my eyes to remain fixated on him. 

“Your hand is still on her arm. “

He assessed me some more before letting her go. Most people found me intimidating and he wasn’t an exception. He glared at Hazel who had been quiet the whole time and walked to me. 

He was dirty up close and anyone with a nose could tell he didn't shower enough. He tried to step away from me but I blocked his way each time which made him stop looking at me questionately. I smiled and pointed at his chest near his heart. 

“You have a stain on your shirt. You should take care of your clothes. We wouldn't want

them to be permanently stained red, would we? “ 

A smart man understood exactly what I was telling him. 

“Tell her to pay her rent and I won’t have a problem with her. You look rich. You could pay

for her. “

“How much is it? “

I didn’t come to pay Hazel's rent but the man wasn’t decent.

“Six hundred.”

I took out a wad of cash and gave him the six hundred he wanted and he left. Hazel was rooted to her spot staring at me like she didn’t know what to do with me. She turned and unlocked her apartment door. 

“What are you doing here this late? “ She asked as she ushered me into her apartment. 

“Did he hurt you? “

“No. Answer my question. What are you doing here? “

I knew Hazel had lost everything but I didn’t think it was that bad. She lived in a shitty apartment. Her space was small. The paint on the wall was peeling off and her things barely fit in there. 

There were cracks in the walls as well as the floors. There were leaks in the piping of the building judging from the sound of water dripping somewhere in her apartment. 

She had done a good job of trying to make it look as appealing as possible. Her decorations littered the walls and every space she could use. However, it only did so much to mask that she lived in a place no human should.

I brought my eyes to her and closed the distance between us. I was so close to her, I could see the rapid rising and falling of her chest telling me that her heart was racing. Good. I still had an effect on her. 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you. “

I brought my hand to her hair and tucked a strand behind her ear. The action made her breath hitch. She wanted me as much as I wanted her if not more. I was going to exploit that as much as I could.

“H-How did you find me? “ Came her small voice. It was almost inaudible. 

“I have my ways. “ 

I dropped my hand and stepped away from her. Hazel wasn’t safe. She lived in a shitty neighborhood in an even shittier apartment with a douche of a landlord. How she had survived six months like that was a mystery. 

“Are you okay? It's okay if the interaction with your landlord has affected you. You are

only human. “

The soft look on her face turned hard in seconds. 

“I’m not the naive college girl you knew all those years ago. “

I leaned in to whisper in her ear and said, “Oh yeah? She looks the same to me. I wonder if everything else is the same or better. “ 

Her blush came from her neck all the way to her cheeks. I chuckled and changed the subject.

“How did the interview go? “ I asked. 

I could tell she didn't know what to do now that I was in her space. She was too nervous around me but she tried to act like she wasn’t. 

“I didn’t get the job. They changed their minds. They are no longer hiring. “

There was silence after that. We stood in the middle of her apartment staring at one another. 

“You can’t pay my rent, Markos. I can handle myself. “

It didn’t look like she handled it earlier but I didn’t say that. 

“What are you going to do about your unemployment status? “ 

“Keep looking–”

“Come work for me, Haze. I own a string of hotels and you can work for me in one of them. “

She stared at me suspiciously like she thought my deal was too good to be true. 

“I don't want you to feel sorry for me and I don’t feel comfortable with you showing up to my apartment this late. “

She was more stubborn than I remembered. She was no longer easy to control or manipulate as she had been. Her parents had done a good job of capitalizing on her old self.

“I’m sorry. I couldn't get you off my mind. I had to see you. “ I said and hated that it was the fucking truth. “What do you say about working for me? “

“I don’t know…”

“This isn’t an act of pity. I am just helping an old friend. It's the only way I can have you as close as I can. “

“I googled you. “ She blurted, making me smirk. She had been thinking of me too. Good. “I found nothing on you. “

I walked closer to her and leaned into her ear, “My name is not something you will find in any magazine or online article. I hate attention hence why I am a silent businessman. “

The biggest fucking gangster in New York had no business appearing in a simple fucking G****e search.