HAKAN ** I saw the Nightingale’s eyes fixated on my pendant and I knew the exact moment that she realised who I was. If she lived in that kind of neighbourhood, then she was a street kid like I had been, raised around violence and some of the most depraved sets of humans to ever exist on the planet, my kind of people. Of course she would have heard of me, I was infamous as Scorpion. Hardly anyone knew my real name was Hakan, except those closest to me like Tivan who called me Kan even though he knew how much I loathed being called that. Throughout my life after being trafficked from my home to this country, I had never once regretted all I had done to survive and get to this point. But as she stiffened in my arms and her breathing rate increased as her pupils dilated in fear, I felt a twinge of regret. I wished I wasn’t the kind of man she automatically had to fear. “Y…you’r.re …” She stuttered as she tried to move away from my arms but I didn’t let her. Instead, I wrapped my arms

HAKAN***As I realised that Nightingale had never been touched like this by a man before, I both hated and loved it. I hated that I was the first man to touch her because she deserved better, and the same hands I was touching her with had spilled blood countless times. And I fucking loved it because no one else had ever touched her, heard what she sounded like when she was being pleasured, or tasted her. It made my possessiveness of her multiply to levels I never knew existed. She hid her face in the crook of my neck and I stroked her hair with one hand.“You should have told me, Nightingale. I could have hurt you if I wasn’t already going so gently.”I tried to remove my hands from between her legs because she at least deserved better than being touched for the first time in the back seat of a car, no matter how expensive the car was. But she held my hand.“I’m sorry, I forgot. Please don’t stop.” Her voice was so low that I barely heard her. But, her second statement was spoken wit

NIGHTINGALE***For several seconds after I made my request, Hakan was silent, though his eyes never left mine. I was beginning to feel self conscious because I had never been so brazen before, but I forced myself to stand still and not cower.“Nightingale.” He sighed and I knew that he was about to refuse me.“You’re tired, you need to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, we can discuss about it.”“I don’t want to talk, I just… I need you.” I said, my voice lower than I wanted it to.Despite what I was saying, I was unsure, and he could see it plain as day.“Baby, if you go ahead with it, you’ll regret it in the morning when you’re more level headed.” He said so gently that tears prickled my eyes.I wasn’t usually an emotional type, I hardly ever cried, but the events of the past hours had turned my emotional fortitude to mush. And it was ironic that now that I was giving a man free rein to touch me as much as he wants, he’s rejecting me. The others that I didn’t want, all wanted

NIGHTINGALE**I felt so warm, and I wondered if we had been cut off again. I tried to remember if I had paid our electricity bill on time but my head felt so groggy. Maybe Quetzal didn’t turn on our small fan. It didn’t circulate air so much, but it was better than nothing at least. I tried to turn, but I couldn’t, there was something heavy holding me down, the same thing that was heating me up. I groaned, Quetzal could be so clingy sometimes.I tried to remove her hand or leg, whatever part of her was over me, probably her whole damn body by the feel of it, but I couldn’t move her. She was heavier than usual, and when did Quetzal get muscles?“Quetzal. Get off me, you’re heavy.” I said as I tried to turn again but the arm around me tightened so I couldn’t move.“Who is Quetzal? And where does he live so I can… have a chat with him about touching what’s mine.” A voice said from behind me and my eyes snapped open immediately.That definitely wasn’t Quetzal. I was still held tightly so

NIGHTINGALE**I held on to the wall as I hyperventilated, tears streaming down my face as I tried to force air into my lungs. I was so focused on breathing that I almost didn’t hear a small groan of pain. I only heard it when it came a second time. I paused and looked around but I didn’t see anyone. I was about to turn around again when Ms Alisha’s body groaned and twitched. I moved to her and rolled her over, she groaned in pain as I helped her sit up and lean against the wall.“Night…” She tried to speak and then began to cough.I got up to get her a glass of water to drink and a bowl of water to clean her wounds with. When I returned to her, she was crying. I realised why when I saw her looking in Kaylee’s direction.“Here, drink some water. Don’t look at her, just drink.” I said to her even as my own tears never stopped flowing.I wanted to ask her what happened, ask her for my sister, but she was in pain, both physically and emotionally. The least I could do was give her a few m