In The Midst of Trouble

Chapter 21

Laid on the bed, I had Jack nestled on my chest. He was clinging to me like a child clings to their favorite toy. The tension in his body was long gone now and he had cooled down, something I was immensely grateful for. My fingers raked into his hair, massaging his scalp. “Are you feeling better now?” I asked him and he sighed, moving his head to face me.

“Yes. Thank you for not running away, even though I am a monster,” he trailed off sadly.

I smiled sadly as well, and caressed his face. “You’re not a monster, baby. You’ll never be a monster to me, and I don’t think anybody else would think that,” I told him. He moved away from me and got up from the bed. His lilac shirt was crumpled and his face was sullen. “Where are you going?”

He held out his hand to me. “Come. There’s something I want to show you,” he said. Taking his hand, he helped me up and then led me out the door, to his office which he kept under lock and key. My heart was thumping; I’d reckoned that this room was special and now I was about to find out why. For some odd reason, the mere idea of finally knowing both scared and excited me. This is not normal behavior…I must be losing my mind.

 

Nevertheless, he opened the door and motioned for me to enter, which I did without an ounce of hesitation. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the spacious room. Everything was just as it was the last time I’d been in here, the last time we had a huge fight.

Hugging myself, I watched as he walked behind his desk and squatted. I almost laughed, had he brought me here just so he could show me how to do squats? After some fumbling, he clicked something and then the book case on the right wall moved forwards before sliding to the side, revealing a secret door. My lips twitched in amusement. There is nothing that could convince me that this wasn’t absurd.

“And this is the part when you tell me that the whole reason why you keep this room shut is because of this clandestine room where you keep all your weapons, ammunition and other criminal stuff,” I laughed, crossing my arms.

Jack didn’t seem amused. “Gen, I know you’re trying to down play everything right now but what I’m about to show you isn’t a joke. Some have died for making the mistake of venturing into this room. I would appreciate it if you weren’t amused by any of this,” he spoke in a clipped tone.

I shrugged. “Okay.” I made my way over to the threshold of the secret room. He went in before me and flicked a light switch on, giving light to a creepy room with high walls and various black lockers. As though that weren’t creepy enough, there were portraits of many men, all devious looking. There were symbols as well, and an overall draught that made me shiver uncomfortably.

“This used to be my father’s sanctuary, back when he lived in this house,” Jack huffed, sliding his hands into the pockets of his trousers. He looked at one portrait in particular. Getting a closer look, I realized the uncanny resemblance between the man and Jack; that was undoubtedly his father. Same eyes, same hair and same facial expressions. There was another one of him, with Arturo and they both looked tense.

He motioned towards the photos. “These are my ancestors dating back to when Texas was still a part of Mexico. All heads of the Hirano Familia. I don’t want to go into too much detail about their activities as it contains much sensitive content, but at the same time, you know how it goes with these types of things,” Jack exhaled and tapped the wall.

I gulped, tucking a tuft of hair behind my ear. “H-have you ever killed?” I dared to ask. The pictures of him with a gun didn’t sit too well with me. I’ve been around firearms but the thought of sleeping with a murderer made me nauseous.

He shook his head and I sighed in relief. “I could never bring myself to doing it. Threatening? That’s a lot easier but I’ve never spilt any blood.”

“But you might at some point.” I pointed out.

Jack nodded. “That’s true but just know it will be a last resort. Anyways, I’m sure you’re aware that Arturo thought he’d become the head of the ‘businesses’ but my father didn’t trust him. In fact, I’m certain that he was the one who killed him,” he muttered and I did a double take. “My father was suspicious of him. You see, he was the younger and more responsible son so he got to become the head. Arturo was infuriated by this and everything was tense since then. He left me a letter outlining this, and how he could be possibly linked to my mother’s death too.”

That was a lot of information to take at one go, I had to old onto a locker. “How could you survive knowing all of this. And Arturo-,”

“Don’t concern yourself with that imbecile. He’s just a toothless bulldog. The other night he tried to assert his dominance which resulted in quite a scuffle. He might not like it but I do run the show around here and it’s about time he understood that,” he said gruffly, a flash of anger in his tone. That would explain the huge bruise he had on his cheek. “Where did you get the gun?” he asked suddenly.

I chuckled nervously. “It’s the one that…Aurelio, umm, pointed at me.” Jack scrunched his nose up in disgust, and thankfully let the matter slide. He mumbled something to himself and shook his head. Biting the inside of his cheek, he nodded his head. It was like watching someone having an internal monologue. Not very attractive, not in the least.

“I think I’ve shown you what I wanted you to see. Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said and ushered me out of the secret room. It felt so good to know the complete truth now, even if it isn’t ideal. I believe that transparency in a relationship is key. But in this case, I wasn’t quite sure where I stood with Jack. Obviously, our lives would never be the same again.

And something just crossed my mind. When we have children, that does that mean that one of my kids will eventually take over as the mafia head? How was going to get things back to normal, staying around at home knowing my husband is leading a double life? He could get killed at any moment, and because I was linked to him, it meant that I was in danger too. Hell, even my parents and brother could get potentially hurt.

I held my forehead, my pulse already beginning to spike. Jack came up behind me and placed his hands on my hips. “It’s a lot to process. That’s why I wanted to tell you slowly rather than doing it like I’m ripping a bandage,” he murmured and put his chin on my shoulder.

Was I supposed to act like a mafia boss’s wife? That would entail me becoming ruthless, mean and lethal…of which I couldn’t see myself becoming any of these things. I stepped out of his grasp and went to sit on the couch. The room felt like it was spinning and I couldn’t even breathe.

He came and knelt in front of me, taking my hands in his. “You could leave, if you want,” he suggested but with much hesitation. I knew that he couldn’t lose me, and if that ever happened it would be the end of him.

I didn’t look at him. “You know that I can’t do that. For one, you’re my soulmate and I don’t think it could ever bring myself to leaving you. Jack, I love you but right now I don’t even know where my life is going. And leaving isn’t even an option, I could die you know,” I told him honestly. He sealed his lips in displeasure after I said those words.

“Even if you leave me, I’d make sure nothing happens to you. I swear on my life.”

I smiled sadly. “I know. But would you be okay with that?” I asked and he matched my smile. That was answer enough. He was giving me a choice. “I’ll have to think about it,” I replied and he let go of my hands, walking over to his desk. He sat on the edge and crossed his arms.

“I’ll respect that. I’ll be out of town for a couple of days, so that should give you time.” Great, just what I needed. More time away from him. Some silence passed between us before he spoke again. “I think we dodged one very important here…who in the hell sent you those photos and how did they get into our f—king bedroom?”

My eyes widened. Oh my gosh, why hadn’t I thought of that too. I had a feeling that the photos came from Arturo or Aurelio, but as for the how part; I had no clue. That could only mean one thing though;

There was a mole amongst us.

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Who do you think the mole is???