Due to growing up with a deadbeat drunk father, Anaya Flores has always despised men.
When a mysterious woman who scams corrupt wealthy businessmen seeks her out for a job, she gladly accepts.
It isn't until she meets her latest assignment; an und...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Iris has been keeping a low radar lately and it's been extremely hard to track her so tonight we're meeting with one of her ex men that agreed to work with us. It was hard to get ahold of him, and of course, he had a price and wouldn't talk unless we offered him a large sum of money.
Right now Zayn and I are sitting in one of his tinted, bulletproof cars while Tony drives us to the location of the meeting which happens to be a restaurant downtown. I made sure to wear shades and so I wouldn't be recognized. Zayn was uneasy about letting me come but I assured him I would be able to handle it.
Thunder sounds as lighting appears in the dark grey clouds above us. Seconds later rain starts pouring down fiercely. We step out and umbrellas are held above us as we enter through the back door. We're escorted to a secluded darker area of the restaurant where the silhouette of a man is visible. As we approach him his face comes into sight. He looks like he's in his mid-fifties and has a dark scar across his face. Something tells me Iris had something to do with it. He looks over his shoulder every five seconds, with a paranoid expression on his face.
We take our seats across from him and Zayn slides over a check with a bunch of zeroes towards him. He grabs it quickly and clears his throat.
"What do you want to know?" The man asks.
"Everything." He demands.
•••
"She never stays in one place for too long. She has about a couple thousand girls working for her all across the states. Here are some license plates of the last car she was driving in." The man pulls out a picture and some other files and hands it to Zayn who reads them over carefully.
I'm trying to focus on the conversation but I feel as if I'm being watched. A certain figure of a man seems to be staring at me from a table away and I furrow my brows. I can't get a good look at his face and it's distracting me. As soon as I turn my head he looks away. I shrug it off thinking it's probably some pervert, and continue to listen to the man talk about all he knows.
When we're done and start wrapping things up I excuse myself to go to the bathroom quickly. I fix my lipstick before heading back out but stop in my tracks when I hear a voice call a name that was once mine.
"Raven."
I begin to walk faster, trying to distance myself but he calls the name again until I hear his footsteps right behind me.
"I'm sorry, I don't know you." I say quickly.
He grabs my shoulder and pins me against the wall roughly. His arms are so strong that I can't seem to get him off of me.
"You don't remember me, angel?" He asks in a raspy voice. The name rings a bell and flashes of a time I spent long ago with a monster reappear in my head. My stomach sinks and my breathing becomes harsh.
"Get off of me!" I yell, but he clamps his hand over my mouth.
"You ruined my life, I should've known you were a con artist. You took my money and left me with nothing, dumb bitch!" He grumbles and slaps me across the face making my cheek sting. "Took me a while to find you, only to figure out you were whoring yourself out to some other man."
The insecure, scared, young girl in me takes over and I feel completely powerless. He begins to strike me again, but is suddenly yanked back by Zayn. I never thought I'd be so happy to see him in my life. He punches him in the nose making fall to the ground, and wastes no time to grab him by his hair and smash his head into the large hallway mirror. Blood splatters against the glass and the man cries out in pain. I shut my eyes in horror. Tony joins us quickly after hearing the commotion and grabs him from Zayn.
He shouts and spits at my direction and I stare back at him, my body not registering what just happened.
"Kill him." Zayn orders in a low voice to Tony and he nods before disappearing with the beaten man.
He walks over to me and analyzes my red burning cheek. I stay still against the wall and close my eyes taking deep breaths while counting backwards. A habit that I've grown attached to ever since I was little.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
I open my eyes to Zayn looking angry and concerned. "Who was that? Was he with Iris?" He asks, out of breath.
"No." I whisper, "He's nobody."
"What do you mean?" He asks confusedly and I shake my head.
"I don't want to talk about it." I say, before walking towards the exit and into the car. He follows closely behind and grabs my hand.
"Anaya, look at me when I talk to you." He snaps and I push him away.
"Just drop it, okay?!" I shout at him and head into the car. I rest my forehead against the cold glass of the window, trying to regain my composure. The rest of the ride is silent.
