Chapter 6 - Thoughts To Ponder

Kalvin sighed as he ran a hand through his damp hair.

He tied his bathrobe and reclined on his couch at home with a tumbler of whiskey in hand trying to sort out his thoughts.

Whatever he expected from today, finding his twin flame wasn’t it.

Kalvin had been genuinely shocked to feel that shortening of breath and see the soft pulsing of light emanating out from both their wrists and the red string coiling from his forearm towards and connecting towards his twin flame.

He had always assumed that he would never find this person.

Why would he- someone with a soul stained by sin- find his destined person when people far more deserving never did?

Somehow, of all people, it was this little brat, bright emerald eyes full of innocence and honesty. He lit up the room with his bubbling laughter and exuberance, full of life and passion.

A shining angel compared to a dark demon.

Yet this was his ‘other half’. A person who was supposed to fill a missing void.

Kalvin had watched him during lunch, fascinated with his wild gestures and expressions that held his thoughts open like a book to be pursued.

This Aian Creeshia surprised him more than once during the brief few hours that they had spent together.

“What’s with that look? Do people normally come and try to leech money off of you?” Aian

asked with a small snort. “Man, you need better friends.”

Upon seeing that passion and enthusiasm, particularly when photography came up, Kalvin had decided to buy him a camera to replace the broken one.

Even getting the most expensive one in the store was pocket change to him. He didn’t think twice about it until Aian tried to refuse him.

“What part of ‘I don’t want your money’ did you not understand?”

Who was this person who told him no?

Once he had recovered from his surprise, anger had taken hold.

He had wanted to help, clearly Aian was in no position to get a new one himself. Yet he stood there, glaring up at him with defiance blazing in his jade eyes.

Kalvin sent people scurrying with his own glare and yet this brat was standing there ready to go toe to toe with him over a gift- of all things.

“You aren’t used to people telling you ‘no’, are you?”

Kalvin wasn’t sure what to make of this person who wanted nothing from him.

He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he met someone that didn’t want something from him, be it money, power, or prestige.

The way his twin flame lit up when they walked into that camera shop only confused him further.

Why would you turn down a gift when it clearly meant so much to you?

“I can look after myself. I get that you’re my twin flame but that doesn’t mean you owe me anything.”

He had seen the panic flit across his face as he had called Aian to the register at the store. Seen him open his mouth to protest only to be cut off by Kalvin’s phone call.

Who was this brat that got under his skin in a few scant hours so that already he wanted to possess all of him, give him the world just to see those green eyes light up with pleasure or that fiery stubbornness?

Aian had made it clear that he wanted nothing from him, as much as that confounded Kalvin.

But what did he want from the little raven head?

Twin Flame. 

It was in Kalvin’s nature to take and possess but in what way?

The term twin flame was vague and for once, he was at a loss to make sense of his own emotions.

Kalvin sighed. This was not an answer he would find at the bottom of his glass of whiskey in the dead of night.

Not this time.

No, he would need to spend more time with this intriguing person by the name of Aian Creeshia.

*****

Kalvin casually cleaned his gun as he reclined back against a long table.

The dull shine of the metal caught the dim warehouse lights and gave it a satisfyingly menacing look.

“No, please!” the desperate whimper caught his attention and he glanced down at the bloody man cowering at his feet.

He contemplated his choices while one of his men cuffed their captive with an instruction to remain quiet.

The scrawny coward had dared betray him by selling off some of his goods at a much lower price, undercutting the market to get quick sales then pocketing the profits.

Wasn’t his stance on betrayal well known through Ecliprises by now?

His men had roughened him up once he had been captured and then again in front of Kalvin. A number of guards and workers lined the walls, stone faced while they got a reminder about what betrayal meant to him.

If the stupid man had just come forward and said he needed help with financial difficulties, he would have been given help.

Kalvin looked after his own and had many company policies in place to help his staff. The man needn’t have resorted to stealing.

Idly, he wondered what Aian would think if he could see this dark side of him.

Fear? Accusation? Disgust?

Murder, petty crime, drugs, weapons, bribery, rigging stocks, political bargaining, information brokering.

All were things he had dabbled in at one time or another.

Assembling the gun with practiced ease, he relished in the final sounding clicks as everything slotted back into place.

The whimpers at his feet grew louder as he flicked off the safety. His eyes skimmed coolly over the traitor as he leveled his gun to point right between wide, teary and panicked eyes.

They were just wasting time at this point. He had no use for turncoats and betrayal had the same punishment for everyone.

The sound of the trigger clicking was drowned out by the gunshot that echoed around the walls.

A number of his men flinched at the sound even though they expected it. The cowering traitor crumpled to the side as blood painted the concrete floor behind him.

“We are done here,” was all he said.

The thick silence remained as his men filed out of the warehouse and even his right hand man, Blake, had no words right then.

Betrayal always left a bad taste in his mouth.

He gave no other orders, trusting in his staff to take care of the clean up without instruction.

After changing his clothes, he was finally able to leave the warehouse. He dismissed Blake for the evening and made his way to the waiting limo.

It was time to pick up Aian.