Calloused

15

..☆..Several Weeks Later..☆..

I watched the cars drive by as H and I sat on the corner of 7th street. We had rented out an apartment for the past month in hopes of getting to Vincent. We finally knew where his latest operation was stationed at and I hoped to end this quickly. Not for his sake, but for my family's.

"We should go inside, we've already started to draw attention to ourselves." H grunted as he got up. I looked across the street to see two burly men watching us suspiciously.

"We have to act normal, they're going to suspect something." I mumbled to H as he went to unlock the door to our apartment building. Without warning he reached down and grabbed my ass as the door opened.

My mouth dropped at the sudden contact and I felt my cheeks redden.

H kissed my cheek before stepping inside the dimly lit building. I followed him in shortly after I had recovered.

I looked over my shoulder to see the two men shaking their heads as they started laughing with one a other.

"What the fuck was that?" I growled at him as we climbed up the creaky old stairs.

The paint on the walls looked old and worn. The building smelled musty and moldy as well.

"Just playing the part, Princess." He snapped back.

"You could of done something else besides grab my ass!" I scowled.

"I was being polite, I could of kissed you." I couldn't see H's face, but I knew he was annoyed with me.

"Fuck off." I grumbled as we reached our floor. We went down the hall until we were at the last door on the end.

"Just try not to fuck this up." H sneard.

"Me? Oh that's rich coming from you." I snarled. We had been at each others throats again for the past week and a half. I wasn't sure why we had become so hostile but I had had enough.

"Why are you being such a prick?" I growled at him once we were inside the apartment.

A couch and TV were set up in the living room. The place looked pretty bare.

There was a desk set up in the corner by the window over looking the street outside. We had a perfect view of Vincent's place and had cameras set up to capture his every move. We weren't going to miss our chance this time around.

"Why are you being such a bitch." H shot back, going to the desk. He pulled up the feed from the cameras and displayed them on several different monitor screens. Each monitor had a different angle of the street, the building, and behind it.

"I'm just matching your energy. Maybe if you'd open up about what's really bothering you, I'd be less defensive around you." I frowned as I sat down on the couch.

"We're not on this mission to share our feelings and sing songs around a fucking campfire. We're here to accomplish one goal." H responded emotionlessly.

"It doesn't mean you can't be open with me."

"No, but my personal life is none of your fucking business anymore." I could feel the venom seep through his voice and spill onto my skin. It was as if he was warning me to stop trying to pry his personal issues out of him or else he'd do something about it.

I stayed quiet as I watched the monitors over his shoulder from my place on the couch. My eyelids started to grow heavy as I found myself fighting to keep them open.

I didn't argue with him because deep down I knew he was right. We weren't together anymore and I had only myself to blame.

..☆..

"Wake up." H barked at me. I groaned as I  sat up straight on the couch.

"Fuck, how long was I out?" I asked him as I rubbed my eyes.

"An hour." He responded coldly. H was definitely pissed off about something. The guys wouldn't even tell me what it was, which was a sign for me to stop pestering H about it. Would I listen to my instincts? Probably not.

"We got eyes on Vincent." He informed me. I practically jumped off of the couch and ran to the screen to confirm what I had just heard. Sure enough, Vincent was getting out of a black SUV and heading into the building across the street from us.

We had waited weeks to finally get eyes on the bastard. Now he was within spitting distance.

"Shit." I cursed under my breath. My father was definitely seeing this considering the cameras were linked to his office computers back at home.

"What now?" I asked H, unsure what the next move would be.

"We wait and watch him until we have an opportunity to erase him. Or we wait for the bosses orders." He responded calmly. I nodded, understanding his words.

This was a delicate situation that needed to be planned out thoroughly. There couldn't be any room for errors or mistakes. My father knew it and we knew it too.

As if on cue H's phone buzzed on the desk. He picked it up without hesitation.

"Yes sir... no sir." He responded. I couldn't hear who was on the other side but I knew it must have been my father.

"Will do, I'll start preparing for their arrival. Yes sir." H didn't say anything else as he hung up the phone. He got up from the computer chair and headed for the front door. He paused and turned to me. I'm sure I had a questioning look on my face as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm going to pick up a few things from the warehouse, stay here and keep an eye on the cameras." H ordered. Before I could ask any questions he was gone.

"Yes sir." I grumbled under my breath.

I sat at the desk, taking a few moments to look at each of the screens infront of me. Cars drove by on the street, completely oblivious to what was happening. I envied them and their simple lives.

I missed my home in Arizona and I missed the people who lived there. The guilt still nibbled at the back of my mind for what had happened to Bruce. I had lost track of all of the innocent people that were murdered because of me. I was always put first over everyone and I hated it.

I hated being the Mafia bosses daughter. I hated how much responsibility and pressure he put me under and I hated that I had to be careful with whoever I trusted.

But most of all I hated the way I had become. I hated that I could be so cold and heartless at times. So malicious and merciless. I missed Arizona not because of the simplicity of it, but because it gave me a chance to start over and have a heart again.

It made me feel like a good person again.