The bright sun greets my eyes as they slowly open. My entire body ached, the pavement of the sidewalk scraped my backside as my ribs burned with every subtle move I'd made. I don't even know what hit me...what I do know is that I'm laying on the sidewalk.

              I could feel thick, warm liquid running down my forehead, it doesn't take rocket science to know what that was.

              All of a sudden I feel a pair of arms reach underneath my arms and forcing me onto my feet. My knees buckle and I begin to slump on one side but I feel myself getting held steady once again. There had to be two men holding me up.

              I silently rip my gaze off of the sun and onto a tall young man.

              The man was pretty intimidating, he had a tall, lanky yet muscular build, his toffee colored skin was engulfed in scars and tattoos, he wore a red bandanna over his nose and mouth which immediately gave me the impression of a thug. His buzzcut revealed several stitches that seemed to have been sewn years ago. He wore a baggy tank top over some denim shorts.

              This is it. I'm going to die. Right here, right now.

              I let my head hang low, the blood now emerging from my forehead to my nose, letting my hair curtain my view of this thug in front of me.

              I find myself thinking of Leo and Nathan finding my dead body in a ditch.

              And my mother happily doing drugs knowing that I'm gone. It doesn't bother me much, she hated me since conception.

              I feel a rough pair of hands stroke my hair, I knit my eyebrows in confusion. Were they trying to comfort me?

             Suddenly, I feel my hair getting tugged, I yelp as I felt the roots of my hair getting pulled in the process, the person behind me with the fistfull of my hair in their grip uses it to their advantage and holds my head up at a painful angle so that I was facing the thug.

              My eyes widen as I realized that I was staring at the end of a gun. The thug was even closer know.

              "Do you know where Ace lives?" The thug asks me in a thick Puerto Rican accent, his lips pressed together in a thin line. His brown eyes burning into mine. He held his pants up with one hand while pointing the gun at my head.

              "Speak or die." The thug in front of me threatens, pressing the gun closer to my forehead. His lips were lifted up in a sadistic smirk.

              "W-who are you?" Was my response.

               The man chuckles, "Where are my manners? I'm Pablo. But in short, call me your worst fucking nightmare." He spoke with a bite of venom in his voice.

              "Please..." I beg, my lips trembled slightly.

              "You ought to be dead showing your black ass around our territory." Pablo spat in disgust, grabbing the collar of my shirt, ripping me away from the two people that were holding me up.

                Pablo brings his face closer to mine, he smelt like the weed that mom would smoke when she couldn't afford drugs. "Now answer my fucking question!" Pablo snaps, his voice no longer taunting me.

              "I don't know!" I yell.

              Pablo uses his thumb to take the gun off safety, his calm face now contorted to a nasty scowl. A part of me wanted to rip out that silver nose ring of his.

               Pablo lets a low chuckle escape his lips. "I don't think you understand. I will kill you, your family and everyone you fucking love."

              "Where is Ace Williams?" Pablo questions me again, his fingers nearing the trigger.

              Ace? Who the hell gets involved with these people?

              My left eye twitches as my lips form into a grimace. This fucker threatened Leo. My only motivation.

               I find myself talking...before Lyra did it for me, "If I knew I'd tell you. But leave my fucking family out of this." I growled.

              Pablo's finger was now on the trigger. I close my eyes. I'm going to die.

              Suddenly I hear a police siren, that sounded not to far away from the bus stop...judging from Pablo's startled look, he heard it too.

              The end of Pablo's gun connects with my temple, sending me crashing down on the sidewalk once more. I yell out as I felt the pavement scratch the side of my face, bringing a sharp sting along with it.

              "We'll find you. This isn't over." I could hear Pablo growl harshly, he violently kicks me in the stomach, nearly hitting the stitches that I made weeks ago, my stomach twists in a knot as I cough violently.

              With those venomous words said, Pablo was gone.

              I purse my lips together. What am I going to do?

--

              Hours after the incident at the bus stop, I went back home and patched myself up before beginning another night at The Grind. Luckily my mother wasn't home to make my life a living hell like she usually does. Nathan somewhat knew that I was still upset about Leo leaving and damn near giving me heart attack so he let Leo stay the night at his place.

              Now I'm cleaning the counter tops of the bar I would monitor as the club starts to close up.

              The loud, R&B music played in the background as people started making last minute hookups and dances.

              "Watch your step." I heard a voice warn from behind me. My mind immediately shoots back to the incident that happened this morning.

              "Leave me alone!" I scream out, squeezing my eyes shut as I cock my hand back, preparing to slap the person who was behind me.

              This guy's reflexes were out of this world. It was like he predicted my next move before it even occurred.

              My hand was caught in mid air within a split second, my eyes quickly open only for them to meet the eyes of Ace Williams.