The Gangleader's Gem ✅

21

"You look different," Vanni uttered as his eyes stayed transfixed on me.

I could see in his eyes that he was trying to find the word to describe my new look, but after two hours this is what he came up with.

I raised my brow with a frown, regarding him with a look of disappointment.

"That's the word you came up with since eleven o' clock this morning?"

I diverted my eyes from his form, taking up my Margarita and taking a sip.

After our horrid scolding, DJ came to our rooms distributing our next mission and course of action.

Giovanni thought since the media had a vague image of my appearance that it'd be smart for me to get a makeover.

Lea, their gang 'stylist' had taken up my case and did her best to make me not look like myself.

Gone was my straight brown hair with red highlights, replacing that was black kinky curls with gold highlights - which I had to fight really hard to get added in. Bangs ended above my eyebrows and my hair stopped at my shoulders, the shortest it had ever been.

I literally cried in that chair as pieces of my cut hair fell to the ground. I kept it a constant length all these years because that's how my mother liked it and now even that was taken away from me.

As much as I hated that she cut my hair, Lea wasn't as bad as the other gang members were. She was down to earth and by the way she spoke you could tell she wasn't voluntarily here.

Her dark eyes screamed hardships, her short frizzy mane showed signs of repeated cutting, something she most likely did to cope with everything around her... and her body, her scars, the distortion around her gang tattoo showed abuse, forceful actions.

We talked and bonded as she worked her magic on my hair. Lea was beautifully flawed, a woman who didn't deserve all that was forced on her but continued on believing that freedom is near.

Faith like that was hard to come by but there was something, someone driving her belief. Seeing that person again was her only reason for carrying on...

"I wanted to say beautiful but that'd imply that you didn't always look beautiful so I refrained from using it and different just seemed ideal," Vanni explained and I drifted from my thoughts back to the present.

A cool wind blew pass our table, taking my beach hat with it. Reaching outwards, Vanni caught it before it got lost in the crowd beside us. I took it from Vanni thanking him before fixing the hat on my head.

I looked at him, a dark brown tint covering the image before me. Sighing, I took off the sunglasses staring out at the busy Atlanta street. The cars honked around us as people rushed about, trying to make it to their destination on time.

We were on a scouting mission at Café de la Rey. We'd been issued the task of watching Mr. Wedderburn's assistant, Molly Jackson.

There was word on the street that Molly and Wedderburn were having an affair, something that could end any future mayor's chances of seeing that seat.

She was currently in a building opposite the Café, she had been there for almost an hour now.

"When do you think she'll make an appearance?" Vanni asked as he stared at the old, brick building with distaste.

"It's hard to say... It's been an hour and no movement inside the building and no one has left or entered. Plus the place looks abandoned," I said sipping my drink.

He leaded back in a black jacket covering a black, muscle shirt and dark blue jeans covering his lower half.

"Should we enter or continue to watch?"