Sinners & Saints

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"How we looking baby girl?" Rio asks me as I look over the numbers from this last run. "Looks like we're ahead of schedule. Might get this one done and have time to do another run before the deadline." I tell him. "Good. You're doing great Princess." he tells me. "Thanks Rio." I say and he smirks at me. I've been working for Rio for over a year but I've known him for a long time. We trust each other. My brother Eddie got me this job when the company I was working for closed and I was left unemployed. The inner circle, where Eddie and I are, are considered family. We take care of each other. My brother is my best friend and I can tell him anything but, me being Eddie's little sister and knowing Rio as long as I have, they are both really protective of me. "Head on home Princess. We got this." he tells me. "You sure?" I ask. "Yeah. Go home and chill. Take tomorrow and just relax. I'll call you if I need you." he tells me. "Yeah. Okay." I tell him. Kissing his cheek like I always do, he says "Get Bruno to take you home." I nod and head to find Bruno.

Getting home, I get out of Bruno's car but not before saying "Thanks for the ride." He laughs and says "Anytime Princess." They all call me Princess. None of them know my real name other than Rio and Eddie and we want to keep it that way so that no one can find out anything about me. Keeps me safe...to an extent. But what they didn't know was that it's not the gang's enemies that I was afraid of. It's the man I happen to be sharing a home with currently.

I walk into the house and see his shoes by the door and there's a pair of heels that aren't mine. I freeze. I move towards the bedroom and hear moaning. I open the door and see my boyfriend having sex with another woman. "What the fuck?" I ask and they both look at me. Pissed off, I walk over to the bed and grab her hair and yank her from the bed. Pulling her down the hall, I sling her outside, still naked and slam the door. "Are you fucking serious?" I ask. "What's your fucking problem?" he asks. "My problem? My problem is I get home from work to find my boyfriend fucking another chick in our fucking bed." I shout. "Bitch you better watch how you talk to me." he says, getting in my face. "What the fuck are you going to do?" I ask. He grabs a handful of my hair and slings me to the floor. Getting in my face, he says "This is my house. My rules. Don't want your fat ass anyway. Get your shit and get out." he tells me before kicking me in the ribs. When I catch my breath, I get up slowly and start packing what clothes I can and head out to my car.

Driving away from the house I shared with Denny, I try to think about where I can sleep that will be safe. Deciding the only place I can go is back to the warehouse, I head that way. Parking, I head up to my office. I walk inside and put my bag in the closet and lay down, covering up with my jacket and falling asleep.

The next morning, I feel someone shaking me. "Princess. Wake up." Eddie says. I open my eyes and see my brother there. "What are you doing here? Thought Rio told you to take the day." he says. "I...um...decided to come in and get some work done." I tell him. As I sit up he says "Don't lie to me." I move a little and wince and he notices. "Let me see." he says and I don't move. "Let me see Celeste." he says and I know he's serious because he used my real name. I raise my shirt a little and he sees the bruises. "What the fuck?" he asks. "Bruno dropped me off and when I walked into the house, he was in bed with another woman. I kicked her out and then confronted him about it and he grabbed me by my hair and threw me to the floor. He kicked me in the ribs and then told me to get out of his house. My bag is in the closet. Please don't say anything. I just need a couple of days to figure something else out." I tell him. "Fine. But you need to tell Rio. You know Denny's gonna have to pay for this shit." he tells me. "You can't tell anyone. Please Eddie. Seriously." I almost beg. "Fine." he tells me before kissing my cheek and heading out to get some work done, leaving me to my thoughts.