♤PACTS♤

Chapter 36 - Playground Fighters

Danny Torent's POV

Have you ever wondered how it would be if you could go back in time? To stop things before they happen and save the incoming chaos? They say you can't hold back certain demons without the right lock and key.

The pain that radiates down my throat is a welcome distraction from the scene in front of me. Two dangerous women are conversing with a short, brown-complexioned man at the other side of the bar.

The hidden anger in Penny's eyes is unmistakable from this angle, and I hope she plans to hide it. My eyes drift to Taryn and stay on her for a moment. Her petite stature makes her look innocent and incapable of doing harm. And it makes it harder to find out more about her.

Looking for the connection between her and Charlie has been as easy as getting Penny to stop using cartoon characters to swear. Chloe won't tell me shit, and Jack isn't on my side anymore after my stunt in the orphanage home.

The striking resemblance between Taryn and the man in front of them doesn't go unnoticed by me, and I narrow my eyes at him.

Who is he, and why have I never seen him before?

The man offers the women a cocky look before slipping into the crowd and disappearing from my sight.

A figure sits beside me and keeps their head facing the bartender.

"I see you've met my protégé, Terry Alden." The figure beside me says.

I scoff and turn around to a smiling Chinaman.

"You know, Shane, your ghost skills get irritating by the day," I tell him and eye the patrons besides us. Save for the group I came with, everyone else is dead drunk or too focused on getting there.

"Mind telling me where the second Griffin twin is."

Shane sighs and reaches for my drink. He downs it before he speaks, "Lola is on the brink of insanity. I've tried talking her out of her plans, but she won't budge, and I promised Peyton I'd protect her no matter the cost. But how can I protect her from herself?"

That's a question anybody who has come in contact with a Griffin asks. A family where they want to save everybody around them for the sake of their own lives.

The rhetorical question hangs in the air like a bad omen. Shane's eyes remain fixed on the glass while I study his thin form.

The man has lost more weight since the last time I saw him. Fresh scratches adorn his knuckles, and knife scars mar his neck. His dark hair looks unkept, and his features look shrunken. He runs his hand through his hair, lost in his own thoughts.

"Is there anything else I should I know?"

He sighs but refuses to meet my gaze, "I've was sworn to secrecy, so I can't tell you what's coming. I can only tell you to beware of the Spanish Mafia."

With a calm face, I ask, "Why should the British Empire be wary of the Spanish Mafia? We've made amends and joined forces against the French Dynasty."

"How sure are you that the Fueretes will keep to their word? You might have saved his children, but Carlos can still cross you if necessary."

I know that Carlos and Shane know each other, but I don't know how well they are and on what terms.

Before I can dwell on it further, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pick it up and see Dinah's name flashing on the screen. I answer the call, and her voice comes out faster than a bat straight out of hell.

"Danny! I need you to find Marci! One second, she's in the car with us, and next, she's walking into incoming traffic. I swear it's like she disappeared-" Her voice cuts abruptly abruptly by a grumpy one.