Fuck. I hadn’t realized there would be a quiz this early on in the game.
I stumbled to find my words, “Your new distribution ring has your profits up 13 percent in the last month. That… high end grow lamps may be expensive on such a large scale but worth every penny?” I wracked my brain to recall everything that had been said in the past forty minutes, but everything else was numbers and measurements that I couldn’t fully remember, or quite understand.
“This isn’t a test dear, just a question.”
“Oh, okay.” I nodded and let out a breath of relief.
“Another lesson you’ll learn today, whether you’re ready for it or not, do not let anyone take you for a fool.” He nodded and turned back around to the door. “Come with me, Anastasia. Thank you for the intel, Mack.”
I followed behind Kaleb as he marched through the warehouse door and straight over to Raffie, who was sitting on the sofa with the others. From the way they all conversed, I wasn’t sure if they were all friends or just really chatty coworkers. In a flash, Kaleb had grabbed hold of the back of Raffies neck and dragged him over the back of the sofa. Coming up from behind had been sneaky but had caught Raffie off guard.
“I don’t take too kindly to liars and thieves. A lesson you should have learnt by now, Rafiie.” Kaleb threw the lanky man to the ground at his feet.
Kaleb straddled Raffies chest, pinning his arms under his knees. At the sight, one of the other men stood to rush to his friends’ side. I hadn’t known that Kaleb was carrying but at the sudden movement, his hand whipped behind his back and pulled a glock. “Move again and you die.”
The friend raised his arms in the air and slowly resumed his seat. He must’ve been new around here, everyone else in the room acted as if they were watching a rerun of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. No reaction whatsoever at the scene in front of them.
I kept my eyes trained on the man across the room as Kaleb began whaling his fists into Raffie’s stoned face. It wasn’t exactly a sight that I longed to see. After all, he was my father.
The sound of Kaleb’s beating stopped and I made the honest mistake of looking over at him. A sight that wasn’t about to leave my mind anytime soon. So much blood. I swallowed harshly to keep the bile from rising up.
“You’re out, Raffie. If I ever see you again, you know what I’ll do.” Kaleb rose and sent a swift kick to Raffie’s stomach before straightening himself up. As he headed towards the door, he called over his shoulder to the group, “Sara, take care of him.”
I followed blindly behind him, not giving the group or the warehouse a second look. I felt sick. But what sickened me the most was the fact that I understood what just happened and why.
“Do you...make an example out of all your employees? Or just the ones stealing weed?”
“He was stealing money as well. How did you know he was stealing weed?”
“He was high…”
Kaleb smiled and started the engine, “we’ve got three more of these to check in on today. Is that still okay with you?”
He was driving, I was looking out the window but I could feel the weight of his question knock into me. It was expectant, gauging my reaction. I bit my lip and replied cheerily, “of course.”
I didn’t know what I’d thought would happen while I was shadowing Kaleb. I had somewhat expected the illegal activities, the drugs, the odd company he kept. I didn’t expect that it would feel so natural. As I thought about it I could have laughed, but what if it was in my blood. After everything I’d been through - my entire life - had been reason enough for me to be a spineless shut-in scared of everything that moved. That wasn’t me though.
I was independent and strong, maybe that had more to do with my DNA than I had realized.
Sunset had long passed in Philadelphia as I watched from the car. People milled about the Varela property talking and drinking, hugging and air-kissing. I hated this aspect of high society. It seemed like there were new faces coming and going for hours. Not just at the Varela estate but up and down the street, apparently everyone’s social lives were in full swing… on a Wednesday night. There was no doubt that I was in the posh end of Philly.
Every now and then, I caught a glimpse through the window of Ana in a ridiculously girly dress. It was beautiful, but I almost laughed out loud at the soft pink ruffles. I knew without a second thought that Ana, my Ana, hadn’t chosen that outfit. It hugged her chest but let out at the waist. Whilst it wasn’t my taste I still wanted to stride in there and rip it off her.
But I would’ve wanted to do that regardless. She could’ve been wearing a brown sack for all I cared and I still would’ve found her irresistible.
Fuck. And there I was sitting alone in my car, in the dark, rocking a semi.
The front door opened and I sank just a little bit lower in my seat. I watched as she made small talk with a blond guy on the porch steps. Jealousy rose up inside of me. Was this the guy? Her ‘betrothed’? The word felt sour on my tongue.
The guy had no idea that I was prepared to kill him in an instant. Especially if she planned to go through with this bogus wedding. I almost snorted with laughter at the thought. I would have no problem taking the life of anyone who tried taking away my Ana.
No one else was getting my angel!
The blonde guy hopped in the red convertible parked on the drive.
