Alex
Los Angeles, California

My eyes watch the fight happening in front of me with boredom. I've seen it so many times I'd lost count, and I can't take this shit anymore.

Blood, screams, yadda yadda yadda. Give me something else to watch.

Sighing, I stand up from my seat. I sense someone doing the same behind me, and I grit my teeth.

"Don't you trust me, Nick?" I ask sarcastically, tilting my head toward the young man.

He stares blankly with his dark eyes, his tattooed arms crossed over his chest. I roll my eyes and start walking away. "I'm going for a walk. You're not my dog. Enjoy watching people hitting each other."

I leave the hot and dark room to step into the long hallway, and when I glance over my shoulder, I'm surprised to see he hasn't followed me.

Smiling, I start walking down the hall, my heeled boots clip-clopping. I get far enough to not hear any screams anymore, and when I turn the corner, I nearly jump.

"Miss Pierce." The woman bows in front of me, and I want to scream.

She's in her thirties, petite with blonde hair and blue eyes. She's as innocent as a snowflake, and I can't understand how she can work here.

"Don't do that, please," I order, which makes her look up with fear.

"W-what?"

I sigh. "Don't bow like that. I'm not a queen."

"But Mr. Valdez said—"

"I am my own person," I declare bluntly. "I don't need anyone to talk for me. I'm not your queen, Maya."

At the mention of her name, her eyes widen. She seems surprised to hear me say her name, and I don't know why it bothers me.

"Where is Cole?" I finally question in a softer tone.

She clears her throat and smiles. "In a reunion."

I point to my right. "This way?"

"Yes, Miss. But I don't think you should—"

I'm already walking away, my fast steps not once faltering. Maya must think I'm crazy. I shake my head. I can deal with the consequences. I've seen enough since I'm here, and Cole is an angel compared to some others.

I reach the door to the room and open it. Everyone looks up.

I step inside and cross my arms. I meet Cole's icy eyes, and it's fair to say he doesn't look very happy. I smile.

"I was supposed to train today," I announce, watching as he stands up from his seat at the end of the large glass table.

"Gorgeous, now is not the time," he says, a warning in his voice. I narrow my eyes.

"I'm bored, Cole."

"Alex."

This time, I shut up. He makes his way toward me and grabs my arm, leading me away from...

My eyes finally wander around the room. Men with tattoos, piercings, and scary expressions are currently staring at me. I blink.

"I'm busy. Why aren't you with Nick?" he asks lowly, his expression dangerous.

I shrug. "I guess he's getting tired to follow me everywhere. Not that I can go very far." Pausing, I step closer. "If I don't train today, then I want to go out."

"You will have time to do that. Later," he concludes, his voice leaving no room for discussion. I scowl.

"I like her," a male voice interjects from across the room, and I turn my head toward a man in his thirties sitting at the table. He's rubbing his chin thoughtfully, his eyes running up and down my body with way too much interest. I cross my arms and swallow nervously.

Maybe I shouldn't have come here.

The man in a dark suit with tattoos covering his whole neck finally smirks and raises his gaze toward Cole. But his next words are still addressed to me. "Come here, baby."

Hell no. All the men in the room have their eyes fixated on me. I feel like I'm the last damn meal on an island and they're going to fight for it.

I glance at Cole. He's staring back at the man blankly. All right, then. With annoyance, I turn and calmly make my way to the table. Once I reach the man, his strong cologne makes me want to grimace and sneeze, but I remain still.

He looks up and without warning, grabs my wrist painfully. I bite back a scream when I land on his lap.

"How much for her?" he demands, his hands gripping my thighs.

I want to vomit and kill him.

My blood turns cold, and I slowly raise my head. Cole remains silent, but his jaw is tightened and I know he's pissed. Because of me or the man, I can't tell.

The man starts to play with my ponytail, waiting for his reply, and I decide I had enough. Quickly, I grab the hand resting on my thigh and twist it until I hear a satisfying sound and his scream. He pushes me off of his lap, cursing loudly, and I grip the table to maintain balance as I raise my feet toward his face. My boot makes contact with his nose, and a muffled cry escapes his mouth as he raises from his chair and gets away from me.

I'm suddenly surrounded by angry men with their guns pointed in my direction.

"Kill her!" the man with a bloody nose orders in a yell, fury in his eyes.

"Enough!" another voice booms through the room.

Silence.

Cole is glaring coldly at the men, his own gun raised. The authority he has radiates from him, and I find myself feeling...relieved.

There's a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I shake my head and focus on the most important, which is the six armed men in this room who want me dead.

"Alex," Cole suddenly murmurs harshly, his eyes briefly meeting mine.

I gladly make my way in his direction, my fists tightened. Once I reach him, I mutter through gritted teeth, "I am not a prostitute, Cole. I thought I had made myself very clear."

"I know," he replies lowly, raising his eyes toward the wounded man. "Let's calm down, here. She's off-limit and is mine. You're not here today for that."

The man takes a step forward, looking daggers at him as he removes his left hand from his nose with a painful expression. I hope I broke it. "What the fuck? Why do you protect this bitch? She's—"

Cole pulls the trigger.

I don't flinch.

The man now lies on the floor, a perfect hole in the middle of his forehead and blood pouring out. I intertwine my hands tightly together and look away.

"Fucking mess." Cole shakes his head and puts away his weapon. The men slowly lower their hands with unsure expressions.

He grabs my hand and looks at a chubby man with dark skin and tattoos, who's staring at the body on the floor. The man raises dark eyes in our direction and slowly takes a few steps forward.

Cole announces in a hard voice, "We're done for now. I'm hoping our deal still stands."

"You just killed one of my men," he growls back, his eyes meeting mine for a second.

I feel Cole tensing, and I prepare myself in case I need to run for my life.

"You got plenty of men. Don't try convincing me you give a shit. He was a pain in the ass."

At the same moment, Nick enters the room. He glances at the dead body before his eyes travel the room to meet mine. Scowling, he looks at Cole.

"Clean this mess," he orders emotionlessly, walking away with my hand still in his.

As we walk past Nick, he gives me a menacing look that should scare me, but I just narrow my eyes and return the stare. No need to be moody. I didn't kill that man.

We walk down the hallway and turn the corner, meeting Maya. She looks down and stays quiet, but Cole only ignores her and keeps walking.

"You should have listened to me," he says with anger once we're in my bedroom. He runs his hands through his dark brown hair, a vein apparent on his forehead. Yep, he's pissed at me.

I cross my arms and lean against the wall. "You killed someone. So what? It's nothing new for you."

"Those men will think I'm weak, now. Because of you." He stares at me accusingly.

I keep my mouth shut, but there's a small, hidden part of me I almost forgot about that thinks, Good.

However, I only reply with, "I'm sorry, Cole. I couldn't let him touch me."

His lips tilt upward a little, and my eyes land on the two scars he has, one on each cheek. I tried to find out how he got them, but he never wanted to tell me.

"And you say you need to train?" He raises an eyebrow, walking toward me.

I roll my eyes. "Well, what else can I do? It's boooring, here."

"I can entertain you."

I smile, craning my neck up when he stops in front of me. "So, what was that reunion about? I'm guessing this is about drug trafficking."

His face turns serious. "Yeah. That was about an alliance, but then you came in." Cole shakes his head and sits on my black tiny bed. "That man was useless anyway. I think they know it's in their best interest to be on my side. They could have killed both of us, but they didn't."

"Is that really the only thing you do with your uncle's legacy?" I question curiously, and he frowns. "He wanted to bomb a city. You want money and power. To control people, to be a leader. Killing someone once in a while, and you have a perfect life."

He shrugs a shoulder. "Who doesn't want money and power? My uncle wanted the exact same thing."

"But he had different motives, didn't he?"

That seems to annoy him. He stands up and unbuttons the first few buttons of his white shirt. "Who fucking knows," he mumbles.

I can't help it. "Were you close to Dan Valdez?"

He narrows his blue eyes in my direction. "Why all the sudden questions?"

I shrug, my face blank.

Cole sighs. "I was twenty-one when he died. The perfect college student with no fucking money, who was living to please his mother." He clenches his jaw and looks away. "My mother hated him. She hated what he was doing. She didn't want us to have any sort of contact with him, because he would destroy mine and my brother's future."

He sits on the bed again, and I walk over to sit beside him, careful not to seem too interested in his story. But I am. He's telling me a lot more than I expected him to. I'm surprised.

"She died in a car accident one year after his death," he declares calmly, showing no emotions as he glances in my direction. I stay silent. "I was alone with my brother. I dropped out of college and fucked my future on my own. That's what she would say." He lets out a dry laugh. "She would hate me for what I'm doing right now."

"What were you studying?" I finally demand, skipping the part where he talks about his mother and his brother.

"Law." He chuckles, raising his head toward the ceiling. "Fucking ironic."

I laugh as well and look down. We stay quiet for the next minute, and I can feel him staring at me, preparing himself to ask me something in return.

He confirms my thoughts when he asks, "Do you miss your old life?"

I breathe in slowly and turn my head. He's studying my face intently. I retort, "Why do you care?"

Cole raises his hand and slowly touches my cheek. I'm surprised to see the small spot of blood on his thumb when he removes his hand. "That may be hard to believe, but I care about you."

I try my best to ignore his statement and choose to answer truthfully. "I had nothing anymore. Nothing worth staying."

I say it so easily, with no hesitation, that I wonder when I became such a good liar. I wonder what's real and fake.

I find it harder and harder to know what are the lies and what are the truths.

Am I even real anymore?

"Is that true?" Cole declares with curiosity in his voice, bringing me back to reality.

I nod.

"What about your boyfriend? Enzo—"

"Ex," I correct him bluntly, standing up. "You got time now? Let's train."

He slowly stands up, watching me, and I think he's not gonna drop it, but he surprisingly does.

"Can't. I still have work to do. Nick can train with you."

I groan. "Nick doesn't trust me."

"Then give him a reason to."

Tilting my head, I ask, "Why do you trust me?"

Cole pauses at the door and turns his head. My breath catches in my throat at the expression on his face, but I remain calm and wait for his reply.

He slowly shakes his head, his eyes locked on mine. "If you wanted to leave, you would have done it already."

I try not to react. "Not true. There's no way for me to leave...I mean, with Nick following me almost all day, every day. How could I?"

Cole steps closer to me, his expression unreadable now. "Why? Do you want to leave?"

I smile. "No. I'm just wondering why you would think that."

Cole grabs my hand and stays quiet for a moment. I hope he can't hear my fast heartbeat.

"When someone wants to escape, there's nothing that can stop them," he finally declares, his eyes serious as they meet mine.

I swallow. "You seem to be talking from experience."

He lets go of my hand. "Enough for today. Nick will join you in the training room."

I nod, deciding it's best if I stop arguing. Before Cole leaves the room, he grabs my chin and presses his lips against mine.

I'm so surprised it takes me a few seconds to react. It's not the first time he kisses me, but it's been a while.

And every time, something inside me screams in objection. It lets me know this doesn't feel right.

Cole steps back. "I'm sorry about earlier."

I'm too stunned to reply. He leaves the room, and I stay still for a good minute, trying to understand.

What am I doing?

Don't forget why you're here in the first place, a small inner voice reminds me, making me look up in surprise at my own reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. I pause, staring at my own self, and am stunned to notice how much I've changed.

Who is she?

I was always good at pretending. But now, I can't even tell when I am...and when I'm not.

Is Cole right? Am I staying because I want to?

It scares me.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. Don't forget why you're here in the first place. Don't forget. Don't forget.

Remember.

I still got work to do.

Nick.

I guess my next target is Nick.

*

That chapter was sooo hard to write. I got writer's block and a lot of mental breakdowns recently, sorry! 😂

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Alex is...um...different? Maybe? And I oop— 🙈

Vote if you want her to survive!!! (KIDDING. Not gonna kill her, but I might have to kill someone in this book. 🤷🏼‍♀️) 💛

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I love you.