Saint's POV:
*The day before*The airport was crowded, each person going about their daily activities while the only thing on my mind at the moment was finding where the fuck Tequila was and making sure I made him regret ever crossing me."Do you see them?" I asked one of my men who walked beside me."Yes boss, over there," he replied signalling to where CJ and the rest of the gang stood."Anything yet?" I asked CJ as we got into the car."Nothing. We're still trying to track him".I puffed out some smoke before putting off the cigarette and throwing it out the window."Let's head to the red bar then."We drove through the back of the bar into the garage leading to the bar basement, somewhere we used as our hideout most times.Getting there, CJ gave me a briefing on the business and how Tequila had ruined things. The more I looked at my shattered hardwork, the more I promised myself I was going to kill him.I gulped down the remaining alcohol and stood up ready to leave. "Let me know when you find something more about them.""I hear his dad and his two cousins are his only family. His mother is nowhere to be seen." CJ said.I gulped down the remaining alcohol and stood up ready to leave. "Let me know when you find something more about them."We drove off and as we passed the bar, one of the hostesses caught my attention.She had bumped into someone, breaking the glass cups and spilling the drink everywhere. She was getting scolded and she looked downwards, saying something. I was guessing she was apologising.Her bright red hair which was packed in a ponytail bounced with each movement of remorse she did. She turned to go over the counter and as I saw her face, I was mesmerised. She was fucking beautiful. And instantly, I wanted her."who's that?" I asked still looking keenly at her."Oh, she's a newbie. Started working barely a month ago. She's just a bit clumsy. Nothing to worry about," CJ replied. "Why?"I shook my head at him. "Let's go," I said, glancing at her one more time.~~~*The present day*After CJ had informed me about finding one of his cousins, we headed out to the bar again. It seemed luck was on my side because she worked at my bar.I'll go check what is happening," CJ said then went to peek around. A few seconds later, he came back to the car. "Saint, It's Matrix. And he's got Tequila's cousin."I puffed out some smoke angrily and threw the cigarette to the floor. "Why did he show up all of a sudden?""Surprises me too," CJ said reloading his gun."Do we take him down too? He's not got a lot of men in there."I got out of the car signalling to the other car filled with my men to get out and head inside. "Not today. Matrix is quite sneaky. The girl is the priority today."As much as I hated Matrix and had a long history with him, I wasn't going to settle our differences this night. At least not yet."Keep the girl alive!" CJ called out to my men as we trooped into the bar.I walked into an unexpected surprise of seeing the red-haired girl from yesterday sitting in front of my archenemy, Matrix looking like she was going to pass out any second while he held a gun to her temple.I stalled for some time while I thought for the smartest move to make knowing if Matrix left with her that night, she'd be as good as dead. I cocked my gun at him and shot his hand making him stagger behind.As my men fought his, I looked up to see the girl attempting to run away and before I could reach out to her, Matrix knocked her out. He shot a gun in my direction and then fled before I could reach him.I signalled to CJ to get the girl and take her to the basement while the others finished the work there.~~~Jade's POV.I opened my eyes slowly and looked around, an unfamiliar sight in the almost dark room was staring back at me. A faint headache floated at the back of my head making me moan in pain and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.Where was I?I sat up suddenly, my hair falling onto my chest and arms. I still had my uniform from the red bar and the last thing I remembered was trying to escape from death and getting knocked out.The door opened and the light flicked on. I saw a guy with blonde hair whom I hadn't seen previously seen before walk in."She's awake boss!" He called out, walking out and in seconds a different guy walked in, anger visibly on his face. His man bun made me remember him and if I was correct, his name was Saint."Where's Tequila?!" He asked in a loud tone making me jerk up.Why the fuck was everybody asking me about Tequila. Who the fuck was he?"I don't know who that is," I replied quietly looking at him and watching as his frown deepened. I sank into the bed gripping the sheets as my hands started to be sweaty.It was as if my answer infuriated him the more because the next thing I saw was a glass cup hitting the wall beside me and shattering all over the floor. I felt a little piece slide softly across my cheek and a little pain followed.I was still shaken from that before the next thing I knew, he had strided to where I was and had his hands on my neck choking me."How the fuck don't you know your fucking cousin?!" He said in a louder tone as I struggled to breathe, kicking the air and scratching his biceps.My cousin? Was my cousin called Tequila?"Ma..mar.." I started, attempting to speak."What the fuck are you trying to say?!" He shouted loosening his grip a bit."Marc... Marcel?" I asked finally getting the words out. He stopped, released his hands and stepped back folding his arms.I coughed, finally breathing. "I don't know where he is. I haven't heard from him in three weeks."Saint punched the wall and turned to glare at me. His brown eyes stared like he could see my soul."I'm not letting you go. You're mine now until I find Tequila. Or Marcel. Whatever you know him as.""I didn't do anything wrong, I'm rea -" I started in an attempt to plead with him before he cut me off. I was still in hiding from my uncle and I honestly didn't want to get involved with this whole thing." You'll get everything you need," He said then called in the guy that was previously there. "Rex will guard you and also drive you where ever you want to go.""Can I at least still go to the bar? I need Betty by my side and my sister comes unannounced from time to time," I pleaded watching as he gave it a thought for some time.He insisted I wouldn't which I continued pleading to."No," He said "And that's final."Rex passed something to Saint who threw it at me. I looked down to see my phone, slightly cracked on the screen. It wasn't like that before."Someone has been blowing up your phone", He told me then turned to leave.I turned it on to see Betty's missed calls and before I could even call back. She started calling again."Jesus christ Jade. Are you okay? Where are you?!" She screamed immediately I picked up making me relieved to hear her voice."I'm fine," I lied trying to hold back my tears.I heard her sigh over the phone. "I'm so glad you are. On my way out I saw a man in his mid-forties with a bunch of dudes asking around for you. They told me y'all are related."My heart skipped a beat.Had my uncle finally found me?My uncle might have found me. This rang continuously in my head and traumatic events I didn't want to recall kept on replaying in my head alongside. "No," I muttered shaking my head. I needed to leave this place, I needed to move to somewhere else, I needed to escape and lastly, I needed a plan for it. I just had to come up with it quick enough, I had already promised myself I wasn't going to go back. Ever. It was the early hours of the morning as we left the bar quietly and drove to Saint's house which was where I would be staying starting that moment. I pretty much learnt he was the owner which Betty talked about and I knew I had to put my guard up around him. I was even more shocked when Rex said, "How don't you know Saint Gennaro Guerra, the infamous man and you live here?" And that was when it all clicked. I'd heard lots of stuff about him and let's say none of them were really on the positive scale. His house was quite large and beautiful. I scanned the area as we walked in
I woke up to Saint laying beside me breathing softly. I looked around to see we were back in the room at the bar basement where I'd woken up the previous day. I didn't remember us coming here.Flashbacks from the previous night came flooding in and Saint's little toss on the bed made the sheets rustle. I sighed, feeling the effect of the previous night's alcohol on me.How did I go from trying to run away to ending up in bed with him? I looked over to Saint and ran a hand continuously through his hair admiring how soft it felt. This woke him up and he looked at me, then held my wrist to prevent me from touching his hair again. "What're you doing?" He asked sitting up and taking a glance at the room. "I...I just maybe-" I started before he shot me a displeased look and got out of bed. He wore his vest and trousers. I just didn't know how this man always managed to make me speechless each time. "Get dressed, we're leaving in five," He said and headed towards the door but then stopp
I broke out in cold sweats as I waited in Saint's car with mixed emotions. What had happened in there? Was Saint hurt? Or was it my uncle? I picked at my cuticles multiple times as I kept on peeking at the gate. A few minutes later, Saint strutted out of the house and towards the car looking as calm as ever. His man bun which had been packed all along had little strands coming to his face. Unmistakably, he had shot my uncle and the fact that I wasn't hearing my uncle's voice any longer might have well sent a message to me that he was probably dead. I felt a mild sense of relief and at the same time, a bittersweet emotion about my uncle. He got into the driver's seat and examined my body for the second time again. "He didn't do it right?" I shook my head slowly at him. "No."And with that, we drove off. I didn't know why I couldn't bring myself to ask him about my uncle but at the same time, it wasn't like I cared that much. At least now, I didn't need to run away or hide any lo
What was going on today? I opened my eyes and looked at Saint at the same time he looked at me before getting outside the car to check what had hit us. He came back a few minutes later and started the engine without saying another word. Blood rolled down from the side of his head towards his temple and I saw him wipe it off The traffic light turned green and we drove off. From the side mirror, I saw a woman standing, a hat on her head with shades on, both arms folded. I didn't say a word to Saint either as I guessed he also saw her. CJ and the rest were already at the house as we got there. "Take her to the room," Saint said to him, "And put the guys at every corner of the house. Make sure she's safe." CJ signalled Rex to take me to my room which he did while he (CJ) left with Saint. I glanced back in an attempt to see if Saint was doing okay and I couldn't even tell. Betty had already rung my phone a countless number of times and I decided to call her back. "You fucking dis
I hesitated before answering. "Uh..", I started clearing my throat. "It's Jade". I Said walking into the room. I met his eyes through the mirror and proceeded to stand a few feet behind him unsure of what next to do. "I told CJ to not let you out of the room until you're well," He hissed at me eyeing me from the mirror, his back still turned towards me. "I.. I.. Uh... Didn't know that," I replied, hearing my voice come out more tin than supposed. He didn't respond or stand either, instead, he kept on dressing his injury while I watched him. His well-sculpted back and arms flexed once again with each of his movements. That was the first time I was seeing him shirtless while sober and I was using every bit of self-control in me to stop myself from running over to him and running my hands on them. I took a huge breath, dragging my eyes away from his body and looking elsewhere, anywhere around his room. His room was quite big, the walls were painted just the same as the rest of th
Saint's POV. They were not beating him up properly or that was what it looked like and I was pretty much starting to get impatient. The guy who had been together with Tequila the past month coughed up blood as one of my men kicked him in the stomach several times. He was a tight-lipped person and this kind of ones needed some special kind of treatment. We were at a partition of the bar basement or the 'dead hole' as I've heard some others call it. It was where everyone who crossed me ended up at. Nobody had ever made it out of here alive and it had always continued to be that way. Once you were taken into the dead hole, it was over. I put up my hand, motioning for my guy to stop kicking him. I took a huge breath and uncrossed my legs, rolling my shirt sleeves up to my elbows. "You're not going to make it out here alive, so you might as well start talking," I told him walking over to where they were. I grabbed his face making sure my fingers were digging into his cheeks which made
Jade's PovI hadn't seen Saint since after the day I had helped him dress his injury. Although I stayed in my room most times just like he had instructed and only went out to make food when I was hungry so it was likely possible that even if he was around, I still wouldn't have seen him. CJ hadn't shown up either and a few days had already passed. I missed Betty and wanted to see Suzy also since she didn't take my calls or reply to my texts so the plan to escape started creeping back into my mind. I stretched out on the bed, glad that these crazy incidents were happening after I had graduated from school. My next plan had been to get a job and move after running away from my uncle, then further my studies with the money my father had left in my name before passing away. But everything had gone wrong, instantly...in a flash. I turned over to the other side letting the sun rays hit my face as if it was going to make me feel any better. Just then a knock came in. I unbolted the door
I sat across Saint in the dining room, feeling his eyes on me with each awkward second that passed by. "It's fine, Saint," I told him again, still looking down at my fingers and picking at my cuticles. I heard him take a deep breath. "Is there something you want? Anything?" He asked and I looked up to meet his eyes. "Yes," I replied which made him cock a brow at me and lean back into his seat. "What's that?" "Let me keep working at the bar." He furrowed his eyebrows together, a frown appearing on his lips. Then crossed his arms. I could swear everything this man did was perfect. "Why?" He asked. "I mean, if I was there, Rex wouldn't have... you know..." I said quietly, trailing off. He didn't say a word again and then looked like he thought a little. I had noticed that he wasn't much of a talker and I was constantly getting used to his one-word answers or at most, a sentence. "Okay," He finally spoke up. "But on my terms and in my own ways. You go when I want you to and