THE REASON

But they don't know I'm fightin' demons
I feel like dyin' every season
I've been swimmin' in the deep end
All my bitches know I'm leavin' at some point
Whether there's a reason or not

***

CHAPTER XXVI

*****

THE SECOND JORGE had set eyes on Daniel making his way out of the motel room a couple hours after the act, he knew exactly what was about to happen.

The two men met eyes, none of them breaking eye contact as Daniel slowly began to make his way over to Jorge as if hunting his prey. Jorge himself straightened up and took the small time he had to analyse Daniel's stance. It wasn't like he was going to fight him back if a fight were to break out, but at least he would know what he was up against.

It was late evening now, almost time for them to start heading off since they were travelling through the night to avoid being followed. Daniel was no longer shirtless and instead had his black hoodie back over him again.

Noticing his sudden silence, his friends who he had been sharing a cigarette with all turned around to see what had got his attention before letting out loud yelps of laughter once they realised who was approaching. By now, they had all been filled in about all that had happened and although they had stopped mocking Jorge for it a couple hours ago, the jeers and insults were back on their tongues, uncaring to the fact that he could die in the next few minutes.

“Should've minded you own business, shouldn't you have?” one of them mocked before they all patted him on the back and walked away, leaving him to his own fate.

Jorge's eyes followed them for a second, his lips set in a deep frown when he realised that they had taken the cigarette with them. They couldn't have let a dying friend at least enjoy one last puff?

As soon as he had turned around to look back at Daniel, he was surprised to see that he was already right in front of him. He wanted to take a step back, but urged himself to stay put as he looked him right in the eye to show that he wasn't backing down.

Jorge was expecting it, to get beaten or even shot, but no matter what happened, it didn't take away from the fact that he knew in his heart he did the right thing. Araceli was just as innocent as he was in the situation and as the person employed to ensure her safety, he wasn't sure if she would be safe if he left her so he stayed. It was as simple as that.

Of course, it became obvious that Daniel was truly no threat to her the second she had allowed herself to get close to him and snatch his gun. Any man with intentions to harm probably would've done so already because she gave him multiple opportunities to yet he never took any of them. Even the way he had grabbed was clearly in an effort to not cause her any harm. Jorge wasn't really sure what kind of relationship they had going on, but he knew that any man who was so willing to be gentle with her even after rightfully assuming she had cheated was very clearly a sucker for her.

She had him wrapped around her finger.

The two men stood there in silence and while Daniel's silence was caused by him thinking of what to say, Jorge's silence was him painfully anticipating the fist to the face that he was sure he was about to receive.

“What do I say to you?” Daniel asked, stepping back to lean against his car with his arms folded over his broad chest. He looked frustrated and if Jorge wasn't so busy trying to predict the exact second Daniel was going to whip out a gun and shoot him, he might've maybe felt kind of bad for him.

He let some seconds of silence pass between them before he too folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. “You could always just forget about this entire thing and ask me to go out for drinks instead?” Jorge suggested in his typical joking manner despite the fact that he was expecting to be brutally murdered any second now. Half the time he just couldn't keep it in.

Daniel peeked at him through one eye, his lips curving into a slight humoured smirk at his words. “Are you asking me out on a date?” he joked, to which Jorge shrugged and responded without missing a beat.

“If you were to say it, then you'd be asking me out on a date,” he pointed out which had earned a chuckle from his boss, “then I'd have to painfully reject you and let you know that I'm not gay. But if you're guy, I totally support—”

“Man, shut up,” Daniel cut him off, rolling his eyes at Jorge's inability to keep serious for too long. In all honesty, the way he had acted with Araceli was the most serious he had seen him get.

A moment of silence past them where Jorge contemplated asking him the burning question on his mind before deciding 'fuck it' and asking him anyway. “So, you're not going to kill me then?”

Daniel let out a loud breath and shook his head, unaware of the relief that had flooded Jorge. “What you did in there,” he said, nodding his head in the direction of the room, “is exactly what I paid you to do. Make sure she's safe and if she's not, get her safe. I'm not an exception to that order. Nobody is allowed to hurt her. Myself included.”

“So... you're not pissed?”

“No, I'm still fucking pissed,” Daniel said, making Jorge deflate.

That was the most Jorge had ever heard him speak in one time, so he kept his mouth shut and made sure not to interrupt, but it only lead to a stretched out silence between them as Daniel struggled to convey his thoughts effectively.

“Escucha [listen],” the sudden switch to Spanish had surprised Jorge, but it prepared him for the rest of the things he was going to say which consequently was also in Spanish. “I'm not always going to be around to protect her and when I'm not, I'm  expecting you to.”

Sensing that the conversation was now getting more serious, Jorge stood up straighter and looked Daniel dead in the eye.

“Some day, something might happen to me. I might no longer be here or something,” Daniel said, making Jorge's breath hitch in his throat for a second, “If that happens, I have only one order for you: you protect that woman in there,” he pointed to the motel room, “protect her and her son at all costs, you understand me?”

“Yes, boss.”

“You only take orders from her now.” Jorge nodded his head, but said nothing. “After this one that I'm giving you, any subsequent order you receive either from me or anybody else except her is ignored unless she tells you otherwise, you understand?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Good.” Daniel nodded, at least easing that worry out of his mind. Jorge had always been a guard that he liked a little more than the others only because of his attitude, but now not only did he like him more, he also respected him a lot more. Someone who was willing to go against him and put his life in possible danger to make sure Araceli - not just Araceli, any woman - was safe was someone worth respecting. Especially in the world were sexism and femicides was so common and ignored. “Understand that I'm trusting you with this.”

“I understand, boss, but...” Jorge trailed off for a second, a frown on his lips as he thought back on Daniel's words. “But are you planning on going somrwhere?”

“Not if I have a say in it, no,” Daniel answered, shaking his head at Jorge's worry, “but my time here is running out. I can feel it so I'm doing everything I can to make sure she's safe before I go. You understand now, yes?”

“Yes, boss,” Jorge answered, not questioning Daniel's words. In the world they lived in, he understood why he would feel like that. Usually people in high positions lived long, but while Daniel was a member of high standing - the leader at that - he wasn't the type to delegate the dirty work to other people. He was heavily involved with all that they did and that unfortunately put his life in even more danger than it already was. “They'll have to kill me before they'll be able to hurt her, I give you my word.”

Daniel nodded appreciatively at him, willingly putting his trust in him. He had high expectations for him and hoped that one day he would possibly even reach Pablo's position if he was still alive to see it. He opened his mouth to say something, but that was when a voice he had grown to love had called out his name.

“Daniel,” Araceli called out again, her heart beating heavy in her chest as she jogged all the way from the motel room over to where they stood.

When she had woken up from her nap, looked out the window and realised that Daniel and Jorge were 'speaking' to each other, she immediately had assumed the worst. What else did they have to talk about if not what had happened earlier? And she had no idea how pissed Daniel was still. In that moment, the only solution she could think of was to diffuse the situation if any issues arose.

As she reached them, the two calm and amicable, she couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit annoyed at the fact that she had ran for nothing. Clearly there was no situation and she wasn't hoping for one, but now she was out of breath and panting for no reason.

“You're awake?” Daniel asked, wrapping his arm around her waist as soon as she was by his side. It was never an act of show but more rather because he just needed to touch her most of the time. It had been a couple minutes since he had felt her skin and he was starting to miss her again.

“No, I'm still sleeping,” she replied sarcastically, giving him a blank look to which he rolled his eyes at. She then turned to Jorge and smiled. “He's not bothering you, right?”

“Ah, no,” Jorge said, reassuring Araceli of the lack of bad blood between them. “He only came over to ask me out on a date.”

Araceli raised an eyebrow at Daniel and crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you cheating on me?”

“Of course not, ma'am,” he butted in before Daniel could reply. “I had to turn him down; let him know that I don't swing that way.”

“I'm going to shoot you,” he said, casting a glare in Jorge's direction before turning Araceli to look at him. He grabbed her face and tilted her head up in his direction, biting his bottom lip as he took a few seconds to appreciate how beautiful she looked.

“Are you done?” Ara asked, an unimpressed look on her face, yet inside, her heart was soaring with happiness. “You could take a picture. I'm sure that would serve you longer.”

“Shut up,” he muttered half heartedly, squeezing her cheeks and placing a small kiss on her puckered lips. “Wait for me in the car, alright? I'll be with you in a couple seconds.”

She stretched herself onto her tiptoes and kissed him again before finally pulling away and smiling at the both of them. “I'll be counting.”

He rolled his eyes at her words, but said nothing else and instead watched the way her hips swayed as she walked away. His eyes followed her until she was out of sight before he turned back to Jorge who looked like he was on the brink of tears with laughter.

“So this is what love does, huh?” he said to himself, yet loud enough for Daniel to hear. “Couldn't be me.”

“Shut the fuck up before I kill you,” Daniel threatened, but at this point his threats had no bearing on him anymore.

“Right,” Jorge rolled his eyes before patting Daniel's shoulder. “Better get back to the misses. Can't forget; she'll counting.”

Jorge laughed as he walked away and Daniel let himself enjoy the fantasy of him shooting him behind the head but refrained himself from playing it out.

Instead, he shook his head and made his way over to the car he knew she was in. He was going soft and honestly, he couldn't find it in himself to give a fuck about it.

***

“What do you mean you can't locate them?” Lola demanded, her eyes narrowing at the brown-haired man she had grown accustomed to. Edward.

“Exactly what I said,” Edward rolled his eyes, still not having respect for her despite the fact that he slept with her on an almost daily basis. “We don't know where they are. Do you want a translation?”

“Don't get so snarky,” Lola hissed, glaring at him before sitting back and analysing her nails. “So now what do we do?”

“They haven't gone forever. That's all we know,” he shrugged, clearly not as bothered as Lola was. “We wait for them to reappear and then we decide on a course of action to take.”

“Can't we look for them?” she asked, appalled at the fact that she had to wait before she could take out her revenge.

He looked at her as if she was stupid and rolled his eyes. “The world is too big a place to look for people who don't want to be found. You know this, Lolita.”

Lola groaned and pushed out her desk chair until it hit the wall of her office. “This is all your fault,” she asked, making Demetri raise a humoured eyebrow at her. “If you hadn't of gotten trigger happy and tried to kill her, we would know exactly where they are now and wouldn't have to wait until they decide to show themselves. You understand that they have the upper hand now, right?” She pulled her chair back in and leaned over the desk so she was closer to her lover. “They could literally choose to spring up anywhere and take us by surprise.”

The look on his face was cold indifference and that's how it had stayed until Lola gave up and lost the staring contest. She stood up and picked up her phone instead.

“I'm going to call the Costillo's.”

Edward narrowed his eyes at her and leaned back in his seat as he watched her dial the number.

“You should be careful working with them,” he said, his thick Russian accent easily capturing Lola's attention. “They're very dangerous people. More so than Daniel; the devil we already know.”

“You don't think I know that?” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at the older man as he smirked at her.

“I'm just saying,” he shrugged. “If - when they find out you're working with me also, they will kill you in the most brutal way possible. You don't want to test them.”

“You don't understand, do you?” Lola laughed a cold, bitter laugh that closely resembled the kind of heart she had inside, “I'm willing to do anything just to make sure that bitch, Araceli, is ten feet underground. I don't care if my life is on the line in the process.”

“So why not just work with them alone? Without me?”

“Because they don't want her dead,” Lola said, gritting her teeth at the mere thought of Araceli. She then looked to him and smiled. “You do.” She walked over to where he was sitting, swaying her hips as she did so before crouching down between his legs in front of him, a seductive smile painting her lips. “You're the endgame, Edward.”

Before he could point out another flaw in her logic, she leaned in and planted a feverish kiss on his lips. One he didn't have the willpower to fight against.

Once they had pulled away, he let his thumb run over the pale skin of her cheek and said what he knew would make her happy.

“Call them then. And then after that call your little snitch so we can make a plan and be prepared for when the finally resurface.”

***

Yall need to start flaming me for all the grammar and spelling mistakes I make because wtf is this 💀

Okay, but like do yall know how like sometimes you'll be reading wattpad books and the male love interest is just completely obsessed with the female lead and like she barely does anything and she doesn't even reciprocate it and we're just supposed to sit there and think it's cute even though homegirl doesn't deserve it and doesn't even act like she appreciates it???

Okay, I feel like it's different with this story because like a) Daniel has treated her like shit for majority of it and b) Ara does deserve it because from the start, this girl has been devoted to this guy mind, body and soul. Like sheesh, let this nigga spoil her because she's been through it.

Anyways, I was working on this chapter before I even posted chapter 25 but I didn't have it finished but then someone asked for a bonus chapter and I just decided wtf why not?

DON'T think that this is going to be the norm though, okay? I'll try to update as much as I can, but a bitch still has school so I can't flop.

ALSO TELL ME WHO TF THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO MAKE STUDENTS PAY TO SIT THEIR STATE EXAMS??? Like now I just got to pay to be tortured? That's what we doing now?

But chile lemme go and see what I can do about the next chapter that's coming up cuz I lowkey have no idea what I'm going to write in it.

Byeeeee