Kaze wanted the whole thing to be over. At least, he did not want to leave with regrets. Without another word, Kaze walked ahead. Seeing that Kaze did not refuse, Leah dragged her suitcase to tag along. “When you meet my mother, you talk about the person you’re trying to locate. We can help you with tracking the person down. Of course, you can let us know anything else you need as well.” Leah was eager to help. “It’s okay. Let’s head out.” As the crowd slowly exited, Kaze extended his hand out to shield Leah. Kaze’s towering build and outstretched arm kept Leah securely by his side. Leah had a hard time dragging her large suitcase. Kaze’s protection gave her a sense of security and assurance. As the crowd elbowed past, Leah was safe from people bumping into her. Whenever Leah was out alone, she would always get pushed and shoved to the side. However, Leah could take her time because of Kaze’s protection. The wondrous feeling was growing on her. The journey qui
Perry simply left the business-class carriage to stay out of the limelight. Upon stepping off the train, Perry felt that Leah and Kaze were too close as they were having a laugh. Perry was furious. Leah should be his. They could only break up on his terms. Plus, Kaze humiliated Perry, so the only thing on Perry’s mind was to get back at him. “That cheating couple. They are already hooking up.” Perry stared at the pair grimacingly as rage took over. He would not let Leah off so easily. Whipping out his phone, Perry contacted a local street gang. Perry had a thing for racing cars. He came to know this gang through one of his hangouts and treated them once before. The gang mentioned that they would have Perry’s back whenever he needed help. Perry could get his revenge on Kaze through these people. After sorting everything out, Perry laughed with glee. He followed Leah and Kaze out of the station. Perry was not going to miss the drama. The thought of Kaze pleadi
Kaze did not offer any words of comfort after Leah poured her heart out. He did not echo her sentiment about her mother. He always seemed composed, never interfering too much or making judgments about anybody’s affairs.Leah found it odd that Kaze was different from the friends she knew.“Why are you so cool about it? Aren’t you curious about me and my mother?” Many people would pay close attention whenever Leah brought the subject up. They would ask a few curious questions. Though Leah felt uneasy talking about it, she loved the attention. Leah was expected to be independent, growing up. Despite keeping her grades up as her mother wished, Leah had few genuine friends. However, her complaints always got her a lot of attention from her friends. Leah thought this was the case with everybody. Now that she was ignored, she began to see the bigger picture. Perhaps these people approached her for a reason, and the reason did not come with the best of intentions. Leah was gr
“You don’t have to keep things inside. Just be direct. Since your mother doesn’t have time, just be straightforward with her, and speak your mind.” Kaze felt irritated, just waiting there. “When is your mother coming? Have you called her?” Once the girl was picked up by her mother, Kaze could leave. “I couldn’t get through to her, but I called her assistant. They are on the way.” It was common that Katie’s phone was unreachable. Leah did not feel too sad about it. She could get in touch with Katie’s assistant anyway. “At least she makes time to pick you up.” Kaze could tell that Leah was rebellious to get her mother’s attention. Hence, he said something to ease the tension between the mother and daughter. “Do you think so? She might be here to pick up a client. “I’m always the one to make compromises. I don’t believe that she’s coming all this way to pick me up.” Leah was skeptical of her mother’s commitment to her. “Just wait and see. If she is here just for yo
The tall man struck the bat on the ground multiple times, producing heavy clunks with each hit. His friends in front of him smirked with their arms crossed. “This girl is quite the looker but she’s not too bright.” “Yeah. She must be dumb to ditch a rich guy for a poor bastard.” Leah was nervous. She had always lived under her mother’s protection and had never experienced the wickedness of society before. She would visit the club with friends from time to time and had a few close encounters with conflicts but was never part of it due to the excessive protection. This would be her first time getting into trouble. The man seemed to be after her specifically. Yet when she heard the man’s friend, she realized something was off. “Who are you working for?” Understanding her mother’s influence and status in Butterworth, Leah gained the confidence to stand up once more. Even if the men were gangsters, they would have to be respectful to the Northborn Group and its CEO. Le
Kaze remained standing on the spot with his luggage, watching as the men approached him with a blank face. “Are you that useless? You push the girl forward to take all the heat? You are quite tall yourself, not that bad looking, but why are you that useless?” The tall man, Keeble, was surprised. As the situation unfolded, any man with a sense of humanity would step up to protect the girl—saving the damsel in distress. Yet Kaze remained unfazed, like a rock as if he was not part of the confrontation. Keeble and his men were notorious gangsters. Their fists could solve most problems quickly. Their swiftness and ruthlessness allowed them to make a name for themselves in the underworld. People would always come to them with requests similar to this and they could use it to make good money. Despite their experience in handling similar situations, this was the first time they had encountered such a setback. It was Perry’s order to deal with Kaze and use it to intimidate Leah,
It was exactly what Keeble wanted. First, verbal humiliation. Then, when Kaze ran out of patience, Keeble and his men would beat him up. Since they were close to a hospital, Kaze would survive the beating but it would be a lesson that he would carry for life. “My mother is the CEO of the Northborn Group. If you so much as touch him, I will make you pay.” Leah initially did not want to reveal her identity but she had no choice. Keeble and his men forced her with their intimidation. If she could not stop them, Kaze might be dragged into a whirlpool of trouble because of her. “This is none of your business. Why don’t you step aside and let us deal with him.” Keeble looked at Leah, surprised by her background. Whether or not she was telling the truth, he dared not mess with the Northborn Group and had decided to let her go. “He is my friend. If I walk, he walks; if you hurt him, I’ll call for help.” Leah noticed her words had power over Keeble. She tried to bring Kaze a
Everything happened quickly. When Keeble’s bat hit the ground, he noticed his target was missing. “Keeble! What happened?!” “What?! How did he get there so fast?” “Keeble! Can’t you aim properly?!” His friends were surprised by the sudden twist in the outcome but were not overly concerned. “It seems like he’s professionally trained. No wonder he just stands there the whole time. Turns out he’s quite fast.” Keeble knew what happened. The moment the bat was swung down, Kaze already predicted the trajectory and reacted accordingly, allowing him to dodge the hit easily. The swift reaction clearly indicated Kaze was powerful. “I don’t want trouble, but if you people chose to be persistent, I wouldn’t mind teaching you a lesson but I’m sure you won’t be able to handle the consequences.” Kaze had been holding back but Keeble and his men continued to annoy him, grinding his patience off. “I thought you can’t speak. Why didn’t you say anything at first?” Keeble scoffed.
“Kaze can pull the punches for sure. I mean, he has the Butterworth branch chief’s trust for a reason. “There has to be something for him to win the branch chief’s approval.” Edmund doubted there was depth to Kaze. After all, Edmund decided whether to take on a person based on their abilities. It made no sense to pay attention to losers, as he would hold them in contempt. Edmund had been impressed with Herman, who excelled in strategies and management. That was why Edmund bumped Herman up and made sure he stayed on top. “Got it.” Herman nodded and had one foot out the door. “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. There’s one more thing.” Edmund pointed at the table. Herman approached and stood on bent knees. Pleased with Herman’s submission, Edmund passed him a wine glass. Herman took the drink humbly before looking carefully at Edmund, awaiting his orders. “The wine was just airlifted from abroad. I can vouch for the taste. If you’re looking to sip on the finest, yo
Time went by, and a towering man in a suit showed up outside the door. Picking up on the noise inside the room, he knocked on the door. It was hard to tell whether the person inside could hear the knocking, so the man waited outside. The door was opened, and a woman, her face flawless with makeup, popped her head out and saw him. She cocked her head back at Edmund. “You have a guest, Mr. Witterson.” “Let him in,” Edmund instructed. He then leaned in to take the drink from the girl next to him with his mouth. The other girls cheered him on. The group was lost in their fun. The man, who entered the room, stood by the sofa respectfully. He kept his head down, his gaze staying low at the bottles of alcohol spread across the table. It was a bit of a wait before the man approached at Edmund’s order. “Tell me about Dwight.”While listening to the girls’ singing, Edmund turned to Herman. Herman rushed over as soon as Edmund called. He won a lot of money at poker toda
In this particular circumstance, Morris had to play it safe so that things would not get out of hand. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into the mess. At least, he finally saw the Wittersons’ true colors. Morris’ friendly advice was met with disrespect and insult. However, the Wittersons were a force of nature, and Morris was not about to take them head-on. Despite his frustration, Morris had to walk away. Well, Edmund would soon face his downfall at the height of his power, and Morris would be there to enjoy the ride. Still, it did not sit well with Morris to have a young fella walk all over him. It had crossed his mind to keep the Wittersons in check, but there was only so much he could do. Morris had to be the one to back away as the Wittersons grew haughty. Morris believed there was more to Kaze’s visit to Westeros. Nothing major happened in Westeros recently. At least, there was nothing worth the other branch’s attention. However, a representative of the
Morris suggested entertaining Kaze well. Things would not be good for the branch if Kaze got dirt on them. That was where Edmund disagreed with Morris. His idea was to send someone to sound Kaze out. Edmund was smug because Morris’ decision was wrong. “You shouldn’t do that. Kaze is here on behalf of the Butterworth branch. You don’t want tension between both branches.” Morris looked at things from a wider perspective. Edmund believed Kaze was just a doormat of little importance. “You just overthink things, and it’s not good for your age. You’re getting senile.” Edmund did not take Morris’ advice seriously. He believed he was right. “You’re not getting it. Kaze is from Butterworth. Even if he doesn’t hold a high position there, we were in the wrong. We did not keep our tracks clean either. “Now that he’s back, I’m worried that he’ll cause us harm.” Morris was only giving a heads-up because the whole branch was at stake. Edmund was young. Due to his lack of judgmen
“We should be generous to our guest from Butterworth. You can arrange as you see fit. Please don’t house him in a messy home. Hire cleaners to tidy up the place. “You can report back to me if you need more money, but it’s not a reason for you to misuse the funds.” Herman wanted to hang up. The money was now in Dwight’s bank account, so he was washing his hands off the matter. The plan was to keep Kaze happy. He was just an insignificant member of the Butterworth branch anyway. The whole thing would blow over soon enough, so long as Kaze kept to himself without taking things too far. Herman would figure out a way to get him out quickly anyway. Maybe Herman and his friends did not have to do anything to get rid of Kaze. “Got it. I’ll be a good host, Herman. I won’t let you down. I’ll keep you in the loop.” Dwight was over the moon to get the notification about the money transfer. “Just play by ear and arrange what you see best.” Herman hung up and continued playing pok
“It’s becoming a hassle now. Are you going to inform the Viper’s Den about the change of accommodation?” After much hesitation, Kaze nodded to take up the offer. Dwight was thrilled. It only hit Dwight that he had to communicate with the Viper’s Den. Kaze was booked for a hotel stay, and Dwight’s job was to take him to the destination. Yet now, Dwight took him to his home. “I’ll tell my superior and see what he has to say.” Dwight was not sure whether the change was appropriate. Nevertheless, he did not want to pass up on a great opportunity. He simply grabbed the bull by the horn. If Kaze stayed at his place, the Viper’s Den members had to respect Kaze’s request even if they had a problem with it. “But when they ask, you can say that you’re getting along well with me. Living together just makes work more convenient.” Feeling unsettled, Dwight tried to get their stories straight with Kaze. Hopefully, the Viper’s Den would not come after them. “Aren’t we friends? I k
Dwight gave some suggestions. “But I’m worried about being a nuisance to your family.” Kaze remained hesitant, torn between decisions. “No, you won’t. I usually live alone. They stay somewhere else. They barely visit. I’ll just let them know not to visit for now,” Dwight replied. Dwight figured out what was in it for him. He could not let Kaze leave. “I don’t want to put your family in an awkward position.”Kaze was still considering the matter. “Relax. They don’t live with me anyway. The room I have for you is tidy. No one has stayed there before.“I’ll hire some help to freshen up the place. I can guarantee you an experience no less than at the hotel.” Dwight spoke with great confidence. “We should finish our food and doggie-bag the rest. I’ll take you to my place.” Dwight was ready to get things going. Kaze took the offer and nodded. “I’ll be in your care then.” Kaze was glad that his plan went through. Dwight had no idea that he got played. Nevertheless,
“I’m new to the place, so I don’t know much. Can you show me around when you’re available?” “No problem, but I usually have some stuff to take care of. I can’t be there 24/7. “Why don’t you propose to the branch that you want me to be your guide and attendant?” Dwight suggested. There was no telling whether Kaze would accept his proposal, but it was an opportunity to prove himself. He was never involved in the core operation. Often enough, he was the branch members’ punching bag. Though Dwight was aware that he was not good enough for the big stuff, he still wanted to succeed. Kaze was the trusted aide of the Butterworth Branch chief. He was in Westeros for a reason. By joining Kaze, Dwight would come across the major players. Kaze saw through Dwight’s plans. “Sure. I’ll do that.” Kaze did not mind the request. “Great. I’ll let them know on your behalf. I’ll be responsible for your needs while in the city.” Dwight was overjoyed at the opportunity. “So you live
“You must be rich. I often see rich people picking tabs for everybody. Talk about extravagance.” The tension in the air was lifted when Kaze offered to pay for everything. “I’m not. Consider it an apology,” Kaze explained, not wanting to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. He did not see the point of continuing the conversation. Dwight’s angry screams came from outside. “What the hell is this? I only ordered a bunch of stuff. Why am I being charged an exorbitant amount?“What do you mean my friend is paying for everybody? That’s throwing money away,” Dwight said while storming his way over. “I know you have money, but you shouldn’t do this, Mr. Lee.” Dwight did not approve of this type of generosity. “You rubbed them the wrong way. It was only right to apologize. Besides, it’s not a lot of money.” Kaze looked at the bill and handed a bank card to Dwight. “It’s my treat.” The consumption was barely a dent in Kaze’s savings. The meal did not cost more than his us