"Hidden love is better than open hate." - Matshona Dhliwayo
Arthur's POVAfter a quiet night infront of the television forced to watch Ryan Gosling desperately trying to love some rich girl who's parents doesn't approve of them, but unlike real life things seem to work out for them. I peek over Lilith to find her fast asleep.People who tend to live separate lives should probably continue doing so. If someone writes a book about how a woman's mind works the first chapter should state why woman believe that love from two different worlds could actually work.I lean back my head resting it on the edge of the couch keeping my gaze on the woman asleep with her legs thrown over mine. She had a life of her own before I intervened. She looks so peaceful in her sleep not a worry about the monsters chasing her... or the one who actually have her in his possession.I let her legs fall onto the couch when I stand up looking over her turn for a second, but she doesn't wake. She mumble something about office buildings and apartments before snuggling up into a fetus position and sigh loudly.I grab another beer from the fridge. 'Need something stronger' I mutter placing it back into the fridge rather opening the cupboard next to it and settling behind the kitchen counter with a glass and a bottle of vodka.'I need to finish what I started.' I throw the first glass down my throat tingling with burning sensation then refill the glass to sooth my burning throat. The first glass is the worse. I need to get this dealt with tonight. I pick up the jacket draped around the back of the chair and head for the door, but once I feel the coldness of the door knob under my touch I turn my head looking over my shoulder to watch Lilith still asleep for the last time before I open the door to get over this part of my life for good.'Just where I thought he would be.' I grin walking over to the big guy with the brown hair facing the bar and without any hesitation I place my hand around the back of his neck and slam his face into the counter ignoring the men pointing their guns at my back. I take a seat next to him. "Long time old friend." I mutter when he lift up his head to face me. He won't be able to hide that. I glance over his already swollen nose and eyes. I still got it. I twitch my hand. Feels good."Arthur..." He exhale leaning his head backwards in a matter to stop the bleeding. "Gentleman." Only one word needed to settle his men. He gesture with his arm stretched behind his back to get the men to lower their guns. "I hope you brought a deal with you when you decided to enter my club." He speak once the men leave us and retake their positions. He shove a glass over the counter towards me. I grin and empty the contents. Mmm... That burning sensation again."You should know better than to threaten me." I laugh at his attempt knowing that I could have easily taken down him and his men without messing up my hair. "Besides... I come baring gifts." I push forward the empty glass with two fingers smiling at the young woman behind the bar who obviously kindly refills my glass. Okay maybe not so kindly as carefully, but fuck if I care. "At a price of course." I snarl."Name it.""Three million... and I never see any of your faces again." I test the waters. The money won't be a problem. Kuznetsoc will pay any price to find the person responsible for pulling the trigger of the gun who shot his son and Lilith is the only clue to his riddle. It is the leaving part. He has been running the streets for over ten years. New York is his territory. His home."Half the money and you leave the country." The grip on the glass his holding beneath his lips tighten."Did I say this is negotiable?" I roll the glass between my forefinger and thumb making the vodka twirl around."We stand to loose too much if we leave." Fury cloud his tongue through gritted teeth when he take a stand, but he lower himself back into his seat again with my hand firmly placed on his shoulder."I am afraid that is the deal my friend. Think about it." I gulp down the rest of my drink and place the empty glass on the bar catching the girl behind the bar's attention. I nod at her before I turn my back to them and take a step towards the door.Lilith's POVA cold breeze tightens around me sticking to my skin waking me from a good sleep. I lift my head up taking in my surroundings. The room is dark, but unlike that hotel room there is soft lighting shining through the curtains. Arthur is not to be seen. "Arthur?" I whisper searching the small one bedroom apartment. I enter the bedroom my hands softly touching against the wall searching for the light switch. I turn on the light when I finally push my finger against the switch. The bed is neatly made up. Every corner of the comforter smoothly tucked in without any wrinkles and the matching black pillows is puffed up and extremely near to perfectly straight in a line next to each other. Perfectionist much I shrug. Nothing even looks out of place in the perfectly organised room and this is coming from someone who is sitting her foot in here for the first time. Scared of getting caught I turn away and switch of the light.All of the tension leave my body once I leave the bedroom and my subconscious accept that Arthur is not home.I rub my hands together waiting for the kettle to finish boiling hot water after washing the dishes. I triple from one foot onto the other trying to warm up my body while searching for the coffee. This man practicality have everything in his kitchen cupboards accept for coffee. Who doesn't have coffee.'Well then.' I smirk at myself strolling back to Arthur's bedroom. I need a jacket if I want to go get coffee.'Wow.' I gasp when I open his closet, but I should have expected this. Jackets hang in his closet from one side to the other. Colour coded! His shirts folded one on top of another in a square stack and there is no difference to his pants.Carefully I take out a jacket draped over a coat hanger and push my arms through the sleeves one by one and then zip it closed. The smell of Arthur draped around me and I return the empty coat hanger to its spot and close the door."Arthur." I stumble back a few feet."What the hell do you think your doing?" Arthur enter the apartment slamming the door shut behind him. He is furious and smell like a liquor store."I... I... just...""You. You. What?" He take two steps closer to me. "You want to leave?" He questions me, but I don't answer. Fear crawl up from my scalp."If you want to leave... Go!" He shout making way for me to pass him, but my body don't move. I am frozen to the spot. My feet planted into the ground. I stare at him with wide eyes."Please... listen... to... me..." I stutter through sobs. Let me just explain. Please listen to me! I mentally shout holding up my hands infront of me."No." Arthur viciously pull me up from the ground to my feet. His hand fisting in my hair he pulls me against his rock hard body. I didn't even realise I was sitting. "You will only get hurt outside." He whisper against my cheek."You are hurting me." He let go of me instantly pushing himself away from me like I was burning him. I stumble towards the ground by his push. He turn his cold murdering eyes at me. And there I sat for a minute or so not moving while I witnessed his eyes turning back to normal."You want coffee?" He finally speak looking at the mug infront of the kettle. The tone of his voice is rasp, but I don't answer him. He glance back at me and then the mug again before walking over to switch the kettle on again. He open the fridge and take out a small container.I watch him with intense eyes opening the container and spooning two teaspoons of the contents in the mug. Coffee in the fridge. I make a mental note that he keep his coffee in the fridge. In the fucking fridge. How should I have guessed that. "Oh" I gasp."Get your ass on the couch." He nod his head to the side bringing me the mug. What a gentleman not even helping me of off the floor though he is the reason I am flat on my ass, but I mean he did make me a cup of coffee so all is forgiven, right? Wrong. Wrong in so many ways. "The couch." He remind me again, but this time I obey. I startle getting onto my feet, but I quickly make my way to the couch.He place the mug on the coffee table infront of me then turn around walking away. "Wait..." The word is out of my mouth before I could place my hand infront of my mouth to stop it. "Thank you.""I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?" - John Lennon"Bitch" His voice echo through the empty building sending ripples bumping against my skull. My feet comes to a pause and I grab my head with both my hands each on a side. Stop. I need the voice to stop.Suddenly I fall onto the ground my face hitting the ground instantly. The sound of teeth clenching pain in my ear. An enormously heavy shadow crush me to the ground. I can't scream. I can't move. The inner line of my mouth is plastered with the horrible taste of metal. Warm thick liquid wet my dry lips letting drops roll over my cheek to the ground. I try pushing the weight of off me, but it is too heavy. My lungs heaving for air. I cant breath. I am suffocating. I loose control over my arms and legs. My whole body turn numb. I need to fight this. I need to.My e
"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak." - Audre LordeIsabella's POV"Have you heard of her since she left?" Feodor roll onto his side flexing every muscle in his upper shoulder, reminding me why I agreed to go on a date with him six months ago. He eyed me at the gym for a while, but when he came over looking all manly, buff and damp with sweat to ask me out for dinner I couldn't resist. We were kind of in the same line of work, which we adore and we immediately hit it off."No." I turn on my side to face him dragging my finger over the outline of his tattooed sleeve. "I am really starting to get worried. She doesn't have any friends beside me and she hasn't reached out to me yet." I follow the line onto his stone hard chest."Maybe you should reach out to her." He suggests moving me underneath him. "You really think that is a good idea?" I position myself so that his knee can fit be
"People always talk about how hard it can be to remember things - where they left their keys, or the name of an acquaintance - but no one ever talks about how much effort we put into forgetting. I am exhausted from the effort to forget... There are things that have to be forgotten if you want to go on living." - Stephen CarpenterSlowly I close the apartment door behind me when I get back to the apartment. The sun is setting, evaporating the light between the white walls of the open plan kitchen and livingroom. I am late. I should have left earlier, but I missed Isabella so much and to be honest. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. My eyes search for any sign of Arthur, but there doesn't seem to be anyone here. I take a step deeper into the apartment dropping my phone into my pocket."Shh..." A whisper next to my ear send bolts of terror exhilarating through my body. A huge figure behind me set his hand over my mouth and a strong arm wrap around my body. He pull me back with him until we r
"Life is so full of unpredictable beauty and strange surprises. Sometimes that beauty is too much for me to handle. Do you know that feeling? When something is just too beautiful? When someone says something or writes something or plays something that moves you to the point of tears, maybe even changes you." - Mark Oliver Everett"Please don't fuck this up again." Arthur open the door in the dark garage where he parked the sleek black Lamborghini. Can you believe the answer to the make of the car was on the steering wheel all along. I didn't notice that before Arthur got out of the car.He switch a dim light on waiting for me to take the first step into the room. I step through the doorway into a room filled with old furniture and sealed boxes. "From better to worse." I mumble stepping between newspapers scattered over the floor."I am glad you feel that way." I turn to face him looking at me with a grin on his face. This is funny to him. "This is where I'll lock you up if you even th
“What the fuck did you do?” Feodor enters my bedroom a fury ball of fire. His eyes dark and staring. Feodor nearly never gets angry. He is the most considered and caring guy I know, which doesn’t really suit his job description as he is supposed to be a very mean and uncaring person. Sometimes I am not sure to why he decided to choose this job, but he seem to be good at it so who am I to question his motives. “What are you talking about?” I immediately stand up straight feeling like a five year old girl who got caught with her hands in the cookie jar, although the five year old will know what she did as she is doing it as to I whom doesn’t have a foggiest. I clasp my hands together behind my back. Standing there like a dumb struck teenager, but there is no fear, no sweating of palms, no heart raising or even a twitch of anxiety. The only emotion peeking from behind the curtain is uncertainty. I don’t know what the fuck I did. “Do not play innocent with me, Isabella.” He whispers stalk
Lilith’s POV “So what do you want to do today?” I moan at the sound of Arthur’s voice plunging me from sleep. I am so tired. I need more sleep. The past couple of days were draining. Physically and emotionally. If I have to hear one more gunshot or be scared for my life for one more minute I might just kill myself. I open my eyes at the realisation of my last thought. “Anything that doesn’t have to do with somebody losing a life over.” I cringe at my own words. This has become part of my daily routine. Someone dies. We run. I survive. “I was thinking… shopping.” I smile as I sit up from the couch which has become my new bed. I cannot seem to sleep all alone in the enormous house of Arthur’s and I can’t expect to sleep in his bed with him. So I sleep on the couch in the living room and I noticed him sleeping on the other couch although he always seem to be awake before me and going up to his room as if he didn’t fall asleep next to me on the couch and moved over to the other couch du
Arthur’s POV “This is a mistake.” I push Lilith away from me. I do not make mistakes, but this is a mistake. I shouldn’t have been there, but revenge seemed so sweet. Now the revenge tastes too sweet and it is going to blow up in my face. I need to sort this out now, today. “I need to go. Please, don’t leave.” I place both my hands on either sides of her face lifting her head slightly so that she can look at me. “I need you to trust me. You cannot leave this house. I will be come back. You will be safe here until I get back and then I will explain everything to you.” I stare into her shiny dark eyes which has started to well up, but there wasn’t time for this. I needed to know that she understood. “I need you to answer me.” I command “Yes.” She breathes nodding before turning her head away from me. As soon as I reach my armoury room I change into a pair of dark jeans, a black V-neck t-shirt and put on my boots. I strap on my 9mm underneath my shirt, grab my sniper case and insert my
Isabella’s POV My stomach tightens as little drops of sweat covers my body. My breathing gets worse and I could almost feel my heart getting tachy against my rib case as Viktor paces up and down in front of me and Feodor. He told me not to come with him and let him handle this alone, but I couldn’t. We might not be assigned together, but in my little mind we are a team. “So your boyfriend over here tells me you lost your phone.” Viktor takes as close stand in front of me. So close that I can smell his dark oak center cologne. He was dressed ever so neatly like he always was in his freshly pressed disgner branded suits and extremely overpriced leather shoes. The man was dressed in a million dollars, but even though he had all the money in the world, the world he wanted will always be out of his reach. He was too successful and accomplished to have it all. “Yes, sir. I am sure it will turn up.” I reply using every inch of self control left in my body to not glance over to Feodor whos