The Escort

45 - Runaways

Being on the run didn't exactly help calm Michael's raging paranoia, and every time he had to set foot on the street, his heart would be pounding and his nerves were on edge, he had to struggle real hard to stay in control.

Luckily for him, the voice of reason was still winning the fight.

Now that the truth was exposed, the clock was ticking. One of them was gonna have to make a move sooner rather than later, and he needed to be prepared. Standing against such powerful people could be intimidating even for him, even having Bill, Mesereau, and Saul on his side.

***
"Tom said he'll call me back as soon as he gets the report, but everything suggests it was a murder." Bill stated nonchalantly as he poured an excruciatingly large amount of syrup on his pancakes.

"Oh, my God..." Laura whispered shakily and Michael hurried to stroke her back. "She had it coming, girl. Juliette knew what she was getting into."

"Yeah, that bitch was kinda askin' for it, doing shitty, shady business with shitty, shady people." Slash huffed bringing his ringing cellphone to his ear. "Yeah? Oh, hey babe. Nah, I'm off the business for a little while... Who? You don't say... Well, u tell that motherfucker to back the fuck off or I'll dump him. Yeah, u tell him I said that. Okay, bye."

He hung up and rubbed his face with frustration under MJ's attentive gaze. "All tight?" He asked and Saul finally looked at him. "Nah, man. Vultures are tryna steal my customers. U know how it is."

"What u mean he knows how it is?" Laura asked with a frown, turning to his man who was conveniently looking away and drinking orange juice.
"Michael, did u sell drugs?" She nudged him, almost making him choke on his drink.

"C'mon baby, it was ages ago..."

Her wide eyes remained intensely fixated on him in a scolding manner as he snickered and Bill shook his head disapprovingly. "You better not go back to that stuff ever again, son. And Saul, you better start considering other business options, young man."

"Aw Bill, c'mon dude, I'm good at it!" He smirked chewing on his toast and the old man's frown deepened before Slash continued. "Maybe one day I'll find myself a hottie and turn my life upside down for her, right Mike?" He teased as Jackson grinned and threw a grape to his face. "Shut up, dimwit."

Laura tried to smile at that statement, but couldn't. She felt tremendously guilty about everything, so she simply excused herself and left for the balcony.

Minutes later, she felt his presence, followed by his tender touch, the one she knew so well, as he brushed her hair off her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her. "I know what bothered u, he was only messin' round, he ain't mean it."

She licked her lips, anger still boiling inside her, but she refused to worry him any further. She'd had enough and was ready to take matters into her own hands, the way it should've been since day one. Telling him about it was only going to make him try and stop her, and she had to go solo on this one.

"It's okay." She answered, but he knew her better than that, so he moved back and turned her around to face him, locking his big eyes on hers. "I told u many, many times, there's nothing u should feel guilty bout, nor responsible for. I chose this, I wanna do this. The fact that I love u so much only serves to make it all that much more significant, but I would've done every single thing even if u weren't mine, cuz it's the damn right thing to do."

She stared at him, he truly was a God sent angel, and she had to protect him no matter the cost. She swallowed her words, the need to finally bid farewell to him and embark on a mission she was certain she wouldn't come back from.