"Are you sure you do not need any help?" Frenice asked as he pulled casually into the parking lot that led to the apartments. After briefly telling him in as few words as possible that I was in some shit concerning the residents at my apartment, I think he sensed that he would be getting no more information from me. I didn't stop to wonder how he just complied with what I was saying; I was too distracted and worried about Hadi to think of much else.
"It was probably them seeing your ass that got mine in trouble, so no," I snapped, tapping my foot nervously against the floor. Frenice barely stopped the car before I was already halfway out, unbuckling the seatbelt and ready to rush out of the door. It was his firm grip on my arm that made me stop, but if I was physically able, I probably would have unlatched my arm without a second's notice.
"Let me go," I hissed, about ready to throw a fist in his direction. Either immune or simply ignorant to the rage that was currently fueling me, Frenice calmly reached into his pocket to hold out a sealed envelope. I'm really getting fucking tired of these envelopes.
"If that's another fucking note-" I warn.
"It is your pay for your time," Frenice said. I hesitated only for a moment, snatching it out of his hand and ready to run up to my room. Hadi. I needed to get to Hadi. "Until we meet again."
There won't be an 'again', I wanted to say, though as he released my arm, I lost all thought of him completely - I didn't even bother shutting the passenger door behind me as I booked it across the parking lot, barging in through the front doors and running up the stairs that led to mine and Hadi's room.
"Port!" I yelled as I ran up the stairs, feeling uncomfortably shaky through the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "Port, I'm here-"
I rushed down the dim-lighted hallway, skidding to a stop in front of my door while fumbling for my key. After searching for a full five seconds, it dawned on me that I didn't even think to grab it from the coffee table before I left. I cursed, though before I could begin pounding on the door, it opened.
Only, it wasn't the same, middle-aged man that's known to rule over this section of Gallin, nor was it one of his buddies or guards or whatever the hell else they're called these days. No, Port was a distinguishable fellow who enjoyed wearing hot-pink suits and had his employees wear the same. The guy that opened the door could certainly match one of Port's boys in stature; he was wide at the shoulders and lined with muscle, but he was wearing the same, casual, torn-up clothes as almost anyone else who lived in these crappy apartments - only, there was a problem. I didn't recognize him.
The man grinned at the confusion on my face and stepped aside, as if gesturing for me to enter. I didn't bulge.
"You have ten seconds to explain to me what the hell you're doing here," I seethed, trying to peer over his shoulder to see if I could spot Hadi before meeting the guy's eyes straight on. I didn't care that he was taller than me. Whoever he was, he wasn't Port, nor was he with him, which meant that this was a trick. It was very cocky and stupid of him; you don't use a crime lord's credentials to pull your weight. I've seen Port beat the hell out of people for doing a lot less.
"Oh, is that her?" a new voice said from somewhere inside. "Let her in. I want to meet the champion in the flesh."
The man in front of the door raised his eyes at me in question. I rudely shoved past him, my fists balled at the side, and paused to survey the condition of the apartment.
There were three other guys - young men who couldn't be older than their mid-twenties. The coffee table was splintered and broken beyond repair, as if someone fell on it and it couldn't support the force or the weight, but other than that, everything seemed to be as it was before I left. No broken glass on the floor, the couch wasn't ripped to shreds . . .
YOU ARE READING
The Tales of Flesh and Blood
ActionOne robbery. Two murders. Three kidnappings. And all it took for everything to come crashing down was a single flash drive and a prostitute who wasn't who she claimed to be. None of which had much to do with Tria, initially, but somehow, she got stu...