The Protected One

I m a g i n e

I turned to my side when I felt a body next to me.

I shot up immediately and looked to my right, but relaxed when I saw it was Claude.

I slapped his chest.

"Get up, stupid." I said stretching.

He groaned in response.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was already 12:37, and I was still in my clothes from last night.

I lifted the cover off  of my body and began walking down the stairs.

From a distance, I could hear the chatter coming from the kitchen.

"There's our girl." Marco smiles.

"Still in yesterday's clothes. Sis really outdid her self."Sophia laughs.

I playfully roll my eyes.

"I was really tired last night okay."

"Yeah. That was evident. Sit down, have some breakfast."Tomas says.

He didn't have to tell me twice.

I sat down on a chair at the island and almost drooled when I saw the plate in front of me.

"I just wanted to let you guys know that there will be a meeting in Seattle. We will all be going, the jet leaves tomorrow so I need you all to be ready by then."Xander says.

"Seems like there's always something in Seattle." I point out.

The three oldest share a look.

Xander sighs.

"There's been some foul play in the business that traces back to Seattle, New York and Florida. So far New York and Florida have been dead ends. Seattle is always where we seem to get unlucky."

"Foul play? Like what? I ask.

"Missing artillery, substances..."
He takes a long pause.

"Here and there we find our men brutally murdered all in the same way. All with markings on them."

"Are the markings the same? Maybe theres a pattern or something."

"Whoever did this never marked two people the same. The only pattern we identified was that they carved the number of times the person was stabbed onto their backs with a knife." He explains.

A chill runs down my spine.

"This doesn't sound like a coincidence guys." Sophia Alice speaks up.

I nod my head in agreement.

"So this meeting does what exactly? I ask.

"It's to inform all of our men what's happening. This person or people aren't coming after us directly but more of what we have. They're good at what they do."Felix says.

"There's something off about what they're doing. They're ruthless, careful, but they also slack. I'd say which ever group or person that's doing this is new but extremely dangerous."Dylan says.

I look up at him.

If there's anyone's guess that will probably be right, it's Dylan's.

They all look at him as if they're thinking the same thing I am.

Xander nods his head slowly, and the three oldest all make eye contact again.

I wonder if they have some kind of telepathy.

"Alright well, we're going to be in the office. You guys can spend your time getting whatever you need for the trip." Xander says, then excuses himself from the room.