A Beautiful Monster

Scarlett wakes up early. Or rather, she barely slept the night before. Her mind is jittery with what Ryder is planning to do. She can’t help but feel ominous about his ‘sleuthing’. Is he gonna torture someone? Or kill a person? The mafia men aren’t very forgiving when it comes to their enemies…

Her phone beeps. It’s a message from Ryder.

“Meet me at the cafe at the 25th street,” she murmurs. “Come alone.”

She quickly freshens up and heads out. Thankfully, Hector and his cronies are busy with Elle so she didn’t run into anyone on the way. She quietly steps out of the house and heads towards 25th Street. There’s a small cafe at a corner but to her surprise, it’s not open yet.

Scarlett frowns. She tries to peek through the window but there’s no one inside either. Where can he be?

“Aye girlie, ya got any puffs?”

Startled, Scarlett spins around to find a shabby man in his seventies. The man has shaggy white hair and he’s wearing a half torn hat. His shirt is in tatters and he stinks of al