Dead or Alive

9.

The soul is a concept even the most profound spiritual beings can't fully understand. It's said that your soul consists of your mind, character, thoughts, and feelings.

When I was little, I thought if you lost your soul, it meant you died. That your soul and your heart were one in the same.

Now, I know there are people who walk around everyday. Living. Soulless.

—

Once again I was surrounded by the thumping of music. This time, I was alone, standing in a dress far to small for me and the ear piece seemed to ring alongside the techno music playing.

We were at another one of Theo's clubs, though it was similar to the one where I first came face to face with him, and my life came crashing down.

It was a few days from our initial conversation in the office. While they wanted to take me out that night, after my total lack of coordination and the wave of nausea I got every time I held a gun, they opted to give me more time to adjust.

Since then, I had learned at least how to aim and pull the trigger of a pistol. Lenny told me I was the farthest thing from a natural, and so they opted to me a knife strapped to my thigh over a gun.

I spent my other time completing my class work online and once my body guards got clearance to the hospital, they trailed me in my shifts as janitors or fake police men.

I hadn't seen Theo since our last conversation, and Lenny said that he had taken Victoria, the women I saw with him at the club, his wife, to Miami for the week to explain the situation to her father. I couldn't get a read on their relationship, and anyone I ask in the house refuses to speak on it. It's incredibly frustrating that no one will gossip with me. It makes me miss Roni more than anything.

I sit at the the bar, my hair high on my head in a slick ponytail and the glittering dress was Lenny's choice over mine. I pull at the bottom hem, that barely covers my butt, in an effort to make it more decent.

"Come on, Ad. They have to know you're fuckable and that dress is doing wonders. Stop messing with it." I hear buzzing in my ear, and i roll my eyes. I turn my head to the second floor and raise my middle finger which earns a laugh. I can't help but smile too.

"We are here for business. Stop fucking around and keep alert." I hear an all too familiar voice in my ear, and my skin prickles when I realize he is here. He didn't ride with us, and Lenny hadn't mentioned him.

Leaning forward, I tap the counter and the bartender delivers me a shot, to which i desperately shoot back.

"That's enough, Adeline," he chides me, and i can tell it's though gritted teeth. I roll my eyes, and about order another when the seat next to mine gets filled. I'm on high alert now, as I realize the reason I'm here in the first place.

He was a big man, his arms brushing against me as he sat, maybe in his late 20s, with skin as dark as night. He was handsome, and in any other circumstance, I would've been flattered that he was here. Now, all i want to do is throw up.

"So, am I to believe the most beautiful women in this bar is here alone? Because I've been watching you, and you haven't moved from this seat. Tell me, my dear, is this true?" He has a thick Columbia's accent and as much as I want to run, I turn into him, smiling and batting my lashes.

"I'm actually on the run, you see..." I draw out, my voice low as I place a hand on his thigh, my fingers tracing circles along it. Leaning in, I whisper softly, "So don't tell anyone." I giggle a bit and back up. His posture changes and his hand is on my back in an instant.

So easy.

"Oh, in a little trouble? It just so happens that I am very good at dealing with trouble." He says, smiling and trailing his hand down farther, just inches above my butt. I could smell his breath, stale with the stench of bourbon.