TWENTY"Wait a minute!" Ajax steamed up listening to Melinda and Lucrecia recount their experience in Westwood. The anger in his icy voice and cold stare was unmistakable. He had been on high alert when he noticed Melinda and Lu's absence within Reynolds vicinity. Concluding it as some emergency girls day out or the emergency training Mel had indulged in that morning, he decided to be calm until he listened to them say they paid a visit to Westwood. "You visited that house. Again.""It was just on impulse and it was worthwhile." Melinda replied softly. If it was his overprotectiveness speaking, she had to make extra effort in restoring his calm."Yeah, it was." Lu agreed."The hell it was." He banged his desk, standing up with such suddenness that threw Melinda off guard for a few seconds."Really, you need to calm down. We haven't even gotten to the worst part yet." Lu managed. She was unaffected by his outburst. The man was growing feelings for his P.A and his temper was a way of sh

TWENTY-TWO"You know, for a moment in that restaurant, I was going to lose it. Mr Strange seemed to be very familiar with you." Ajax whined as he and Melinda trotted down the walkway leading to Reynolds entrance."Someone is jealous." She smiled. It would be fun to exploit this new discovery though she ignored the sensation from knowing that Ajax Smith was jealous."Yes, I am. I'm not ashamed to admit. I don't like to share what's mine" His frown was dead serious."Excuse me? Since when did I become your property?" She frowned deeply. "Don't answer that." She cut him short. "I think we already know how you'll answer that question. Fact is I am not your property or anyone else's for that matter." She hissed, winking at Jerome as he walked past them. "There they are. Excuse me Candy." Collins excused himself from the company of Reynolds cook as he sighted his sister and Ajax."Collins." Melinda rushed into his waiting arms. "It's so good to see you again.""Same here Celia. You don't l

TWENTY-FOURCollins stood before Ajax's black raspberry farm. The array of trees scattered on the landscape was a beautiful sight to behold. So was the bright orange glow of the sunset sinking into the horizon. Watching it, he had flashbacks of several moments like that. Those would be he and April watching the sunset every week while they ate burgers. It was a sacred moment that stopped when her condition became severe as she didn't need much exposure to the sun. Collins squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the way the light dimmed in her eyes with each day that drew her close to her deathbed."I miss you so damn much April." He whispered. The tightening in his gut was enough to send a tear trickling down his cheeks.Pocketing his hands, he made a solemn vow to protect everyone close to him. Especially when it was in his power. At this thought, he smiled. Who would have thought he would see his lost sister again after his family had concluded her dead?He frowned as his mind played a

TWENTY-SIX "What do I do?" Melinda asked herself for the umpteenth time, the million-dollar question, the question to every thought that ran through her head for days. She had resisted the idea of taking a quick trip to New York in search of the answers she so direly wanted but that would only send shit hitting the fan. Ajax would stop at nothing to make sure she didn't go alone and she wasn't doing a good job of getting accustomed to that culture. Apparently, it freaked out her friend, Sam and she wasn't all too comfortable with what it did to her freedom. If she was a celebrity, she would have appreciated it just a tiny bit. But she was a commoner trapped in the middle of all the shits she didn't ask for. Apart from not agitating Ajax, she had to be thankful for the internet. There was no need to fly to New York when she could browse the how-tos of pig Latin. She had done just that and that only topped the list of things birthing the question plaguing her mind now. The incoherent w

Twenty-Eight"Payne is psychotic. I'm sure of it. I just need to find proof." Those were the words that came out of Collin's lips the moment Lucrecia said "Hope you survived your visit to Payne's territory.""Hello, it's been a minute. I've been great. What about you?" She quipped, in a bid to ease him up a bit as he rapped those words of despair. He seemed tensed up as opposed to the last time she saw him when they had shared a moment- the moment that stayed permanently in her mind for days and nights when her nightmares didn't come. The moment that instantly replayed itself in her head, sending the butterflies in her chest to flutter when he had breezed into Reynolds when the first thing he had said was, 'Where is Ajax?" before rapping what Payne was."I've been..." He paused, obviously flustered and secretly sorry. He had almost forgotten about their kiss. "I've just been walking on thin ice." He stopped himself from reaching for her hands.Too late. Lucrecia was able to catch on t