HIERARCHY [h.s.]

PROLOGUE

"Let's get one thing straight, sweetheart, I don't play for anyone but myself. I don't play for the money. I play to get ahead, to show lowlifes like yourself that I am and always will be on top. The best."

Her voice traveled through one ear and out the next, spilling on the tiled ground like the rest of the useless junk he would never need.

"You are a liability, my dear, and even though it would give me and many others such pleasure to throw you away, I have plans for you."

The male shifted on the edge of the pool table as the woman took another stab at the balls littered on top of it. His hands continued to clench tighter in his lap until he felt blood being drawn from his dry palms. His hands were always scarred, the result of his attempts to calm down his fear and adrenaline.

With every hollow click of her heels and the shifting of her position around the table, the boy grew in rage. She had no reason to talk to him the way she did. Her smirks were degrading, the way she stared at him while saying the most sickly things that could come out of a persons mouth made him want to do the worse and then some. But if he had an escape, he would have been gone years ago.

The silence persisted as the tall woman watched the balls clink together softly, falling into the pockets with gentle ease. Her eyes then raised to find his, unwavering and steady.

She wasn't going to speak, he knew very well she was stubborn like that.

So, with no choice, he parted his lips, cleared his dry throat and spoke in a jagged voice.

"Is it too much to ask of you to tell me what these plans are?" His words were dripping in caution as he was more afraid of upsetting her than anything.

But all he was met with was silence. Hard eyes and silence.

She leaned forward, wrapping her slender fingers around the adjacent edges of the pool table with her jaw clenched slightly. He could tell she was beginning to be irritated. After just one drink, any and everything seemed to irritate her.

In a matter of seconds, he watched her eyes soften, her features lose their harsh edge to it as she let a sigh escape her lips. It was an act, he knew it all to well. She would take the role of a caring motherly figure to gain his trust and acceptance only to throw him away to the dogs the first chance she got.

Yet every time he never ceased to come back.

Finally, the words he feared came to life, leaving her lips in a slow monotonous voice.

"I want you to get rid of that pretty girl you always have on your arm. She's dead to me, and she should be to you as well. Get rid of her on your terms or she goes on mine."

And just like that, he could feel the heavy weight of a trigger pushed against the pad of his index finger, blood pooling around his feet while the echo of a body hit the floor in seconds.

He knew what he had to do, he knew that the girl knew too much but she also meant too much to get rid of.

Without missing a beat, he nodded his head and pushed off the pool table, his mind swimming with ideas and sorrow.

He wouldn't let the devil get to him.

He would protect his diamond with his life if that's what it came to.