𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐒

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 | 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

d.c.
Ayleigh raises an eyebrow, stepping away from me. She backs away from me, but just enough to create a gap between us.
"What?" She asks, looking up at me, her hands on my forearms. "Why would you say that?"
     I exhale, shake my head, then look back at her with parted lips.
     "I think the family is going to target your brother." I say.
     Her eyes grow wide and she looks scared. But, based on what she told me the last time we talked, if her brother dies, then everyone would really be gone.
     "Target?" She asks, the word foreign on her tongue. "What do you mean Target?"
     I exhales sharply and raise an eyebrow. She knows what I'm talking about but she's in denial.
     "They want him dead, Ayleigh. And I think they want me to do it..." I say.
     She raises her hands to her mouth, covering her face as she look at me.
     "No," She says angrily, backing further away. "Please tell me you won't."
     I nod, approaching her. My hands are down by his sides, trying to put her at ease.
     "I won't. Why would I come and warn you if I was going to go through with it?" I ask.
     Her breathing becomes rapid and shallow as she begins to hyperventilate with fear.
    "Tell me you won't, Devin! Promise me!" She exclaims.
     I nod, getting even closer. Her breathing is even quicker.
     "I won't, I promise." I say, placing my hands on her shoulders.
     Almost as if her skin crawls when I touch her, she shoves me away in disgust.
     "Get away from me!" She screams, stepping into the hallway. "I can't trust you. Get out of my house, now!"
I shake my head, approaching her even more, growing even closer to her.
"No!" I exclaim. "Not until you say that you trust me."
She stares at me, almost as if she's trying to find a way to trust me, but cannot.
"How am I supposed to trust a murderer?" She asks, placing her hands on her head. "Your father wants the only family I have left dead!"
I shake my head, pointing at her as I try to defend myself.
"Frasier is not my Father. You know that, Ayleigh." I say.
She nods, laughing hysterically as she walks down the hallway, away from me.
"Oh, well, he might as well be." She says. "Your father gave you up when your Mother died. Frasier has raised you from the very beginning. He implanted the idea of joining the Mafia into your head. And you took it!"
Something inside of me, mended a long time ago, snaps, ripping open an old part of myself.
"And your father didn't?" I ask, stopping quickly before I say anything else.
She stays quiet, looking up at me, her blue eyes full of tears.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." She says.
I approach her, wanting to apologize a thousand times over for my behavior.
"I'm sorry, Ayleigh, I didn't mean it." I say, exhaling sharply.
"It's fine," She lies, all emotion drained from her face.
I take her face in my hands, making her look up at me.
"I didn't mean it," I whisper. "Truly, I didn't. I don't know what happened it just slipped."
She nods. I lift her face to look up at me again. Her eyes are so beautiful—a mixture of deep ocean blue and a light ashy grey. Her eyes are watery, tears dripping down her cheeks. I wipe one away, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
"You know that I won't hurt him," I whisper. "I made a promise that I wouldn't hurt him. I keep my promises... Especially for you."
     She looks at me now, nodding. More tears drip down her cheeks as she looks at me.
     "I didn't mean to hurt you." I whisper, sighing as I speak to her.
A loud crash comes from just down the hallway. We both flinch. I look back down at her, an eyebrow raised.
"Do you have any pets?" I ask. "Or is someone else here?"
She shakes her head, looking down the hall. Her eyes are wide and fearful.
"No. That came from the bathroom just at the end of the hall." She says.
I nod. I point at the window at the end of her bedroom.
"Go out that window and climb down to my car. Wait for me there. If I'm not out in thirty minutes, drive away and go stay with your Brother."
She nods and walks to the window. I walk into the hallway, grabbing my gun from my waistband. I walk slowly, keeping quiet as I approach the bathroom. I look back at the bedroom and spot her climbing down from the window. I push the door open and raise my pistol. Theo Irving stands before me, a vase shattered at his feet.
"Dammit, Theo, What the Hell are you doing?" I ask, lowering my gun.
He furrows his brows and exhales sharply, shoving his gun back in his waistband.
"Damn, Dev, I didn't think you'd be here. Did Frasier call you over too?" He asks.
"Yeah," I lie. "He wanted me to come scope the place. What about you?"
He reaches into his pocket and retrieves a yellow card.
"I got one of these," He says, handing the card to me.
My stomach flips and nausea floods over me. Ayleigh Cochran, 24, hit to silence.
      "You're here to kill Ayleigh." I say, furrowing my brows.