CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 21: CHOICE

The guys dropped me off at Uncle Blade's house. It was only 8:30 when I knocked on the door so my uncle was still awake.

He opened the door. "Crypto? What happened to you?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well, come on in. I'll get you an ice pack... or multiple ice packs."

I stepped inside which was better lit.

"My dog," my uncle said. "You've got blood all over you."

"I shouldn't have come back, Uncle Blade. You were right. It's too dangerous."

"No. You did the right thing. They would have gotten their way one way or another, only, if you hadn't come willingly, they would have harmed your friends."

"I don't have any friends. Not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"They moved away. It's not realistic to think we can keep our friendship. They're not coming back," I said. "It's better this way. If I don't have friends, nobody can hurt them... or me."

"Crypto, look at me. I've seen what the mafia does to animals. It makes them into cold-hearted killers. Please don't let them happen to you. You're not a killer."

"I am now," I said.

"No, you aren't. Not at heart."

"I can't change what I've done."

"What you've done doesn't define who you are."

"Then what does?"

"I... I don't have an answer for that."

"We act out who we are. We do what comes naturally to us," I said. "I am a murderer and I don't feel bad about that because that's who I am."

Uncle Blade sighed. "The mafia brings out the worst in animals, but don't forget about your good side. You have a heart and you care about those close to you and you want to do what's right. That's why you became a cop."

"None of that matters anymore. I don't get a choice to be good. I either embrace my bad side or I'm dead. You should understand that."

"Yeah... I understand. I just wish there was a way out for you." He went to the freezer and got some ice packs and helped bandage my wounds.

I had a hard time sleeping that night. If I didn't do what I believed was right, was life even worth living? Could I live with myself as a slave to the mafia for the rest of my life? Was I too much of a wimp to stand up for all that was right in the world? No. I didn't make it this far just to give in to evil.

By the morning, I had decided what I was going to do, what I had to do. I was going to do the right thing even if it got me killed, but first I had to gain the mafia's trust.