Elena knocked on the door. She kept peering behind her, unable to ignore the irrational fear that Orlando would show up behind her and whisk her away again. The fear wasn't irrational; he had done it before, so what was stopping him this time? The door opened, and Imani's head popped out, her eyes widening like saucers as soon as she saw Elena."Okay, I want to be pissed and cuss you for abandoning me, but you look really tired and scared, and..." her high-pitched tone decreased with every word she said. "Are those tears?" She asked, with concern etched on her features. "Honey..."Elena was tongue-tied, feeling the bile rise in her throat. When she ran away from Orlando's house, the first place she thought to go was home, but she knew it would be the first place he would look, so she opted for Imani's house. On her way there, she had crafted a nice explanation of everything that had gone down and what needed to be done, but as soon as she laid eyes on Imani, the look of concern on her
Orlando knocked the miniature carving of a horse off his table. “You had just one job to do, track a young girl and know where she is at all times and wait for new orders. One job!” his unwavering glare held the man whose head was bowed in place.The man’s palm was sweaty, the sound of his heartbeat was almost deafening.Orlando was pacing about his large study room, his muscles flicked angrily in his jaw. He slammed his hands on the table, rattling everything on it. The man standing by the doorway shuddered involuntarily. “How did it happen?” He asked, spacing his words evenly, the spite dropping from every word he uttered.The man opened his mouth to speak but hesitated.Orlando banged the table and spun around. “I asked a question! Goddammit!”“She was quick on her feet, she weaved into the crowd effortlessly. I was going to do the same, but I stuck out like a sore thumb…” He gestured towards himself. He was a very tall man, with a large build dressed in black. “I was already attrac
The cop stared at the two jittery women sitting across from him. One of them had just given her statement and was filing paperwork. It was the early hours of the morning, so the station was almost cleared out.It wouldn’t be the first time someone would come to the station with a story or a report about the mafia. He had suggested that they keep their dealings under wraps as best as they possibly could. He was quite infuriated that he had to handle yet another of their matters, this time an escaped captive who knew so much about them, including their names. Normally, he would have picked up his phone and begun mouthing off to the guy he usually spoke to in the family, but this matter concerned Orlando, and he knew better than to lose his temper.The mafia already had the police in their palm long before he joined the police force or rose to his rank, but Orlando made certain the police allegiance to the family was sealed. He dug up dirt on whoever had dirt, danglin
Orlando was about to open the car door when Sebastian grabbed his hand. “I agreed to follow you here instead of having a quiet stay at home, which of course was what I planned to do. I don’t plan on dying here, what is the plan?”“Kill them…” he answered like it was obvious. “If they are Romano’s men then they are amateurs, he wouldn’t want to get his main guys involved…”“And if they are not?”He thought for a moment. “Surely, they are no match for the two of us.”Sebastian knew it but he also knew Orlando was not being rational, he was walking with a blinding anger. All he saw was red, he wanted the girl and he would do anything including endanger himself to find her. He had tagged along to look out for him.They were parked behind a rundown, derelict warehouse building. Sebastian scanned the area. “There are no tall buildings around, that eliminates the possibility of snipers. We have an edge because they only just arrived, they would
As soon as they arrived at the house, Orlando was the first to get out of the car. He opened her door and waited for her to exit. He slammed the doors as soon as she did and then dragged her towards the house. Sebastian tried to intervene, but Orlando moved on as if he did not hear a thing.She was quite taken aback by him. She had noticed the frown on his face, but she had brushed it off as nothing. His voice when he talked to them earlier was much calmer. He unlocked the doors and pulled her in. Then he detached from her and began pacing. She stood still, terrified that if she made any move, he would lose the last restraint he was holding on to.“He asked me, you know…” he began mumbling, loud enough for her to hear. “Why are you doing this? And I did not have a good enough answer then, and even now…” then he paused in his tracks, his eyes bore into hers until she looked away. “Why am I helping you?” He took a few steps forward.She retreated."
Orlando reclined back on the chair, sitting across from Romano, whose snake-like eyes watched him intently. He casually drummed his fingers against the table.Romano stood up and returned with a bottle in his hand, pouring himself a glass and sliding another glass towards Orlando. “Any thing of note happen over the weekend?” he asked in a relaxed tone of voice with a tinge of curiosity.Orlando took a moment to think about the weekend he had just had. All of it. He had finally seen his family, after more than eighteen years. He stuffed drugs down a man’s throat until he overdosed. Elena left his home, and got kidnapped and he had to link up with his friend and old partner in what the news described as a “gun battle showdown”He had lost his temper and had shot the men more times than was necessary. All of the emotions he was feeling all weekend, the anger, the nostalgia, the brief moment of happiness, the feeling of lust was all because of one woman. Elena. The
There was a small knock on the door. She stood up almost immediately, smoothed her dress, and walked to the door. It was who she expected it to be… Orlando was leaning at the entrance of her room. The sleeves on his white shirt were rolled up, a few of the top buttons on his shirt were undone revealing his hard chest. His hair looked like he had run his fingers through it, his eyes looked tired.Surprisingly, she felt a pang in her chest, she was worried about him and his well-being. He peered inside, and that was when it occurred to her that he wanted to come in. “Hi, I am sorry…I…” She rambled and then paused.He walked inside like he owned the room, which he actually did, but it was more than that. It was the confidence in his strides, his overpowering presence, the masculine yet soft scent of his cologne as it wafted through the room. It was a large room, and she knew it did not matter if she was pressed up against the wall, she would still feel him, like he wa
Camilla looked over her shoulder, her heart racing in her chest. The park was busy at midday, and she thought the crowd of people would relax her nerves, but it only seemed to heighten them. Her eyes bore into everyone she assumed was suspicious, and every sudden noise caused her to jerk involuntarily. She clutched tightly to the purse in her hand, then felt a hand on her shoulder. She shuddered and spun around as quickly as she could.“Aunt Camilla, I am really sorry I startled you…” Imani walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.Camilla let out a sigh of relief as she clung to her. “I have a lot on my mind, mija, none of it is your fault.”Imani sat beside her on the park bench, staring at the older lady. She had dark circles around her eyes and looked like she had aged out of worry. “How have you been, Aunt Camilla?”Camilla took her hand in hers. “In all honesty, I haven’t been okay…” She peeked over her shoulder. “I don’t think it is safe