Zadia tapped her nails against the window of the car for the tenth time in a row, annoyed with how far this drive was. She wanted to go back to the safe house and sleep her ass off before Tino had awoken. The fact that she had to pee irritated the life out of her. She knew she should've never tried that homemade cranberry juice Adam made, but it just looked so damn good.

"Will you stop with the tapping, it's unnecessary," Roman mumbled, having enough of her. Zadia sure knew how to get under his skin and it took everything in him not to push her out of the car. He had eventually turned down the music to her liking because she had bugged him too.

"I've got to pee," Zadia whined, tapping her fingernails harder against the window. "Can you please just pull over?" She clenched her legs together, feeling like she was about to wet herself.

"No." He said, gruffly.

"Please, Roman. I seriously can't hold it. I think I'm gonna pee myself." She said, clenching her thighs tighter. She felt like a child begging her mother to buy her, her favorite cereal.

"Don't you fucking dare!" He cursed, quickly pulling onto the curb. He put the car in park and turned to look at Zadia. "Go."

Zadia looked outside at the dark and then looked back at him. "It's dark outside and there could be people watching me. Can you just cover me while I do it?"

Roman's face scrunched up. "Eww, no. I don't want to watch you pee." He argued. "And we're in the middle of nowhere, no one can see you." Just then a car passed from the side of them, its headlights shining into Roman's Jeep. Roman reached for his gun, not liking how the car slowed, before finally leaving. "Zadia." He said, his voice low. "Make it quick."

"You don't have to watch me do it! Just shield me as I do and keep your eyes shut through the process." She said. "And haven't you seen that one horror movie with the weirdos in the woods... they're always watching."

Roman groaned. "I'm gonna shoot myself if I have to hear any more of this shit!"

Zadia rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic. It's your fault we've even got to this point in the first place. If you would've just pulled over at the first gas station we passed, this all could've been avoided."

Roman clenched the gun in his hand. "Jesus Christ, let's go." He said, before unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the car door. Zadia did the same, smiling small because she got her way. The cool air blew against her skin as she stepped out. She kept the door open as she looked for any sign of someone. "Turn around." She instructed Roman as he walked over to her.

He sighed but did as told. His gun stayed in his hands and he looked around, trying his best not to deal with the awkward position Zadia had forced him in. "This is ridiculous." He mumbled, hearing the sound of Zadia pulling her sweats down. He hated being put in awkward positions... he hated a lot of things.

Zadia pulled down her underwear and squatted, emptying her bladder. She hummed lowly, and pushed hard, trying to finish quickly.

"Is that?" Roman paused. "Are you humming that stupid pop song?"

Zadia stopped for a second. "It's not my fault that it's catchy." She countered.

Roman chuckled and it surprised both Zadia and himself. "Yeah, catchy my ass."

"What? You've never had a catchy song stuck in your head before?"

He shrugged and mumbled, "Can't think of a time." And his response stayed stuck in the air, neither of them knowing what to say next.

Once Zadia was finished, she shuffled to her feet, pulling up her clothes. "I'm done." She announced, rubbing her hands to break the cold. Roman turned around and didn't say anything, he just motioned for her to get inside and when she did, he walked around the car and took his place in the driver's seat. "Is it cool if I turn on the heater?"

"Whatever." He said nonchalantly, pulling back onto the road.

Zadia leaned forward and turned on the heater, before adjusting the vent. "How far away are we from the city?" She asked, applying some of Roman's hand sanitizer to her hand.

"...Far."

"Okay, but like... how far?"

Roman sighed. "Don't start."

"What?" Zadia's mouth opened slightly. "I didn't even do anything... I'm just curious to know how far."

"I'm gonna turn the music back up." He threatened.

Zadia frowned and rolled her eyes. "Never mind then." She mumbled, finally putting her seatbelt back on. "Hey, did you ever finish reading that book?" She asked, really curious to know.

Roman glanced at her, his hand remained on the steering wheel. "Yeah... I did." He answered. "You were right... it was a good book."

"See, I told you so." She replied. "You may think I'm useless at everything, but when it comes down to books I'm pretty useful."

He snorted. "Still pretty useless if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't, asshole." She flicked him off. "Are you currently reading anything else? I low-key forgot the last thing I read... it's been a while."

A moment of silence passed. "The Guardians... by Ana Castillo." He eventually said. "It's old, but it's interesting... better than the new shit they have now."

Zadia shook her head. "That may be true... but don't sleep on the new books. These authors try their best."

"You mean they sugarcoat everything because everyone's so sensitive nowadays."

Licking her lips, Zadia pursed them in thought. "Okay, point taken but it still doesn't take away from their writing."

"If you say so, Zadia." He switched lanes, getting on the exit that would lead him right into the city.

"Okay, whatever Roman." She said sarcastically.

His face scrunched up. "Don't say my name like that, you sound constipated."

She glared at him. "One day, I'm gonna have the right comeback for your bullshit and it's gonna be deadly." He smirked a little but didn't say anything. "Dickhead." Zadia mumbled on.

—————

A total of forty-five minutes had gone by until Roman reached where he was supposed to be. It only took that long, because Zadia sucked at giving directions. It wasn't exactly her fault, she knew where the place was but when it came down to explaining it... it was hard to.

She always had that problem.

Roman pulled up front and center of the car shop and parked near the entrance. His eyes looked around, noticing how the place seemed closed, doors looked locked. "I think it's closed," Zadia whispered, looking around as well.

"Why are you whispering?" He asked confused, before pointing at the group of men that seemed to be gathered in an alley. "If it's closed, why are they coming in and out of an alley that leads into the shop." He glanced at her, shutting off the car. "Let's go. Remember, no talking and stay close."

Zadia's eyes widened. "What? We're actually going in?" She shrieked. "We don't even know who's in there or better yet what's waiting for us in there. It's a rising gang, they don't take kindly to outsiders barging into their place.

"Would you just stop talking and follow my lead. Keep the glasses on and your head down." He opened the car door, halfway and stepped out. "I'm serious about the no talking, we're just gonna go inside and all you've got to do is point her out and let me handle the rest."

Zadia raised her hand in surrender. "Okay, okay." She said, tired of his scolding. She got out of the car at once and slammed the door louder than needed. "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that. I'm just... nervous."

Roman shut his door, feeling annoyance creep into his mood. He put his keys into his pockets and began walking. "Let's go." He commanded, which made Zadia roll her eyes yet again. She still followed behind him though, making sure to keep up so she wouldn't get left behind. At this point, she did believe if she got lost Roman wouldn't bother looking for her. As they neared towards a fire hydrant, he looked back at her and said, "Act normal."

"Normal?" Zadia had said to herself. "I can't act normal... I'm not even close to normal." She bit her lips, trying to calm herself. "Stay calm... stay calm."

When they made it to the dark alley, Zadia pushed her head down, not trying to make eye contact with any of the guys that stood around drinking and joking with one another. From the glance she took of them, she could tell they were drunk. The smell of liquor-filled her nose as she passed them. Roman took a look at them and paid them no mind as he strolled by.

"Got, damn!" One of the guys said, nodding towards Zadia's backside. "Look at that ass!" They whistled when Zadia didn't acknowledge them. "Aye, you know you hear me. Let me get ya number!"

Zadia lifted her head, ready to give him a piece of her mind but Roman quickly grabbed her by the arm and pushed her in front of him so he could walk behind her and they wouldn't be able to look at her ass anymore. "I'll handle it." He mumbled, but he never went into depth about how or even when.

"Oh, that's your girl? I see what you workin with, maybe when you're done with her you can pass her to us." The one guy said, causing everyone in his group to burst out laughing. "We'll treat her good... we'll treat her real good." Zadia's cheeks burned in embarrassment. Sure, she'd been cat-called before... but never in front of someone she knew. She self consciously put her hands in her pockets, cursing herself for even wearing sweatpants and a cropped shirt.

She never felt so uncomfortable in her entire life.

Roman leaned against her a little to open the back entrance door. The both of them walked into the car shop that was filled with people socializing and loud music playing. "A party at a car shop... that's something you don't see every day," Roman said, glancing around the place. "See her anywhere?"

Zadia squinted her eyes, looking for any sign of Akasuki. "It's hard to tell, the glasses and the lighting make it hard to see." She said. "Maybe I should take it off."

"Don't," Roman said quickly. "Keep them on at all times, you never know who's working for who."

She nodded. "Maybe we should ask around then."

"It'll raise too much attention."

Zadia gave him a; are you kidding me look. "From the looks of it, we're the only people here with a... darker shade of skin. I'm pretty sure we've already raised attention."

"Can I help you guys?" A buff Asian man in a black suit asked. His voice was deep, almost resembling pop smoke. Zadia blinked, sort of taken back. She thought the only person that could sound like pop smoke, was in fact pop smoke.

"I'm looking for Akasuki," Roman said, getting to the point. "Where is she?"

The man's eyes shifted from the both of them. "Regarding?"

"A personal matter."

"A personal matter regarding what?"

Roman sighed. "If you ask me another question, I'm gonna shoot up the place!" He threatened. "Tell Akasuki, I'm here to see her and I won't leave until I do."

The man stared at them both, analyzing. When he was sure Roman wasn't kidding, he raised his fingers and motioned for another guy dressed in a suit to come forward. He whispered something in his ears and the guy quickly walked away, heading towards some doors that led somewhere else. "One second, please." He said politely.

They stood there, silently as the people around them continued with their fun. The other guy in the suit walked back through those same doors and whispered something in the Asian's man ears. "She'll see you, but only you."

Roman shook his head and pushed Zadia closer. "No, she comes with." He already knew leaving Zadia by herself would cause her to do something stupid.

He didn't have time for that.

"Go through those doors and straight down the hall." The man held out his hands. "No weapons allowed beyond this point." Reaching into his waistband, Roman pulled out his gun and turned it over to him. "...All of them." Roman sighed but handed him the other gun he had on the inside of his jacket holster.

"That's all I've got," Roman said and the man nodded, giving them the okay to go on.

Both he and Zadia walked through those doors and as soon as they were alone, she frowned. "How come you didn't give him the knife in your boot?" She asked him. She had noticed him put it there when he was leaving the car.

"It's not any of his business, and never go anywhere without a strap or knife." He explained, his voice low. "You'd be surprised what people have up their sleeves when they wanna take you out. Did you bring anything to defend yourself with?" He asked her.

Zadia's lips twisted. "What? No, you didn't tell me too!"

"I shouldn't have to tell you something that's basic human instinct." He stopped walking and kneeled to grab the double blade from his boots. He handed it to her gently and she held onto it, trying not to think about how heavy it was. "Now you know. Keep it in your pockets and keep it hidden. If something goes wrong, use it and get to the car. There's always a spare key in the space behind the taillights."

"Who the hell hides things in their taillights?"

"Smart people." He resorted as they walked. "So far I count five exits. Which one is the best to take?"

Zadia pointed at the door that was labeled; Exit on the other end of the hall. "That one?"

Roman shook his head. "Of course not. That door is obviously just painted to look like an exit. Look carefully, real exit doors always have a little fire alarm box next to it." He explained. "The best exit to take from here is the one located far east. My best bet is, it leads to another alley that is close to an opening."

Zadia nodded, listening carefully. "Okay... I got it." She frowned and whispered, "Wait. If something goes wrong and you're not here, how do I get back to the safe house?"

He shrugged. "That's for you to figure out. Weren't you paying attention to the roads and stuff that I took to get here?"

"It was a two-hour ride and you were annoying most of it, how did you expect me to remember all the roads and directions you took?!"

"Keep your voice down." He hushed as they got to the door. "We'll talk about this later, just pay attention from now on." He said, before knocking on the door. Zadia raised her eyebrows, surprised that he had some type of manners.

They heard a soft voice say, "Come in," and Roman took that as his chance to twist the doorknob and enter. From behind the cherry-colored desk, a beautiful Chinese woman with short hair and black lipstick smiled at Roman and Zadia. Her hand laid on top of the other, marble gray eyes watching them like a hawk. "What can I do for you guys? It must be serious if you all threatened to shoot up my shop." She stared at Roman. "I don't take kindly to threats."

Roman's eyes went from her before he turned around to look at Zadia. "Is that her?" He asked her and Zadia nodded. Roman turned around. "I'm looking for my sister," he pulled out his phone and opened his gallery before walking forward and setting the phone down on Akasuki's desk. "She was seen here with one of your guys a couple of days ago."

Akasuki put on her glasses and picked up the phone. She pressed play, watching the video. When she was done, she hummed. "Your sister showed up at my place over a month ago, asking for help. That man she's in the video with is Tim and Tim was murder two days ago." Akasuki raised from her seat, but her hands stayed planted on the desk. "She slit his throat and left him to die in his own home."

Roman shook his head, not believing her. "My sister wouldn't do that. She doesn't kill."

Akasuki chuckled. "Seems like you don't know much about your sister. She's a sneaky little thing."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Knowing her history, I think you already know what I mean..." Akasuki led on. "She wanted me to help her get out of the country, so I assigned Tim to help with that. In return your sister was supposed to gain me access to her husbands' house, so we could take him out and make this city a safer place but she had different plans. She killed Tim and took the resources I gave her. Haven't heard from her since."

"Why would she leave you high and dry?" Roman asked. "None of the things you've said is adding up."

Akasuki shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm left here cleaning up the mess she made in the little time that she was here. Last I checked, she was buddying up with Draya. They're probably long gone from this state, looking for innocent girls to use as mules."

Zadia, who had been behind Roman this whole time, couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't know Eliśa like that, but the thought of her using kids to transport drugs was unbelievable.

How could she do something like that, when she had a kid herself?

"She's hanging around Draya again?" Roman asked. Akasuki nodded. "As in Draya... the lunatic Draya?"

"That's right."

Roman let out a deep sigh, fist clenching. This whole thing was starting to feel like a never-ending nightmare and if he didn't escape it soon, he was going to lose his mind. If his sister was with Draya, it had to be because she was desperate. After all, there was no other reason beyond that. Or at least that's what he believed. He bit his lips, counting backward in his mind. "The resources you gave her, if you had to total it up... how much would it all come up to?"

It looked like Akasuki's ears perked up when she heard this. She sits back down. "If I had to sum it up, it would be around two hundred thousand." She answered.

Roman took his phone off her desk. "That's your final answer?"

"It is."

Roman reached into his back pocket and grabbed a card before handing it to her. "Call this number in the morning, you'll get your money by then. This covers whatever bullshit you had with my sister. If she crosses your path, you leave her alone. Agreed?" He was used to doing this, settling things before they got out of control.

It was how he kept the little peace he had in his life.

Akasuki pressed her finger to the side of her face. "I can work with that."

"If anything happens to my sister on your turf, I'm coming or you. If any one of your people does anything to harm her, I'm coming for them and then I'm coming for you. Got that?"

Akasuki smiled brightly. "Loud and clear." She looked over at Zadia. "Who's the girl?"

"Just remember to call." He turned to Zadia. "Let's go." They walked out of the room and made their way to the entrance. "Anything you just heard in there, pretend you never did. I don't need Lynn knowing about her cousin being around."

Zadia looked puzzled. She didn't know Lynn had a cousin... matter of fact, she didn't know a thing about Lynn. "I don't even talk to her."

"You've got a big mouth, therefore I had to remind you," Roman said, pushing open the door. From there, they saw the Asian man from before, talking to someone. It seemed as though more people were inside the shop. Roman walked over to him and the Asian man quickly gave him his weapons.

"Do you think your sister is really out there, using girls as mules?" Zadia questioned as he made his way back to her.

"I don't know," He whispered and it was the truth. He knew that when his sister first met Cortez, she was involved in the whole thing because he made her do it. But things were different now, Cortez wasn't in her ear. So for her to be doing it again was confusing.

Zadia pushed open the door leading into the alley. She looked straight ahead and sighed, seeing that the group of guys from earlier were still in the same place. "Fuck my life." She muttered. Zadia didn't want to deal with them again. She could smell the stale stench of urine from where she and Roman stood. The little light in the alleyway kept twitching as though some fly had gotten trapped in it. "Maybe we should take the other exit." She suggested.

Roman rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing all that walking." He brushed past her. "Come on." He grumbled, clearly in a bad mode.

Zadia let the door shut by itself as she trailed behind him. Her eyes looked at the graffiti on the brick wall, her mind trying to get her to chill. She saw some type of animal crawl into the open garbage lid and almost screamed.

"Damn! Ms big ass is back!" The guy from earlier shouted and then laughed. They all turned to look at Zadia and Roman. "Aye, I just gotta know. Ya fine ass, ever have Chinese dick before?"

Zadia turned to look at him and glared. "No, but I heard yours is the length of a baby carrot and I'm not impressed." She resorted, causing the man's friends to laugh at him.

"What the fuck did you just say to me, Cunt!"

"Exactly what the fuck you heard, dumbass!" Roman shouted, walking up to them. "What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?! Who the fuck even sits here and calls a woman a cunt because she's defending herself!" Roman moved up to the guy's face, angrily. "Go ahead. Say all that shit again!"

The guy sucked in a breath and spit on Roman's boots. "I said, she's a fucking c—" He didn't get to finish his sentence because the next thing he knew, he was being thrown against the brick wall. "What the fuck!" He cursed.

Roman grabbed him by his slick hair and slammed his face in the wall again. The man cried as his teeth got knocked out, blood all in his mouth. "Finish what you were trying to say!" Roman slammed his face again. "Go ahead!" One of the other guys tried to jump in but Roman was quick in pulling his gun on them. "You wanna die?" He asked them, letting the main guy drop to the ground. "Because that's exactly what's gonna happen if you don't leave! That goes for all of you!"

They took off running, not even for a second checking on their friend.

"Roman, you can let him go now," Zadia said. She was freaking out when she saw him put the gun to the man's head. The guy was being an asshole but that didn't mean he had to die. "Roman you don't have to shoot him!"

Roman could feel his temper rising. All of this was bringing back memories of the night his mother died. The alley, the group of men, and the catcalling... it was all too familiar. "Fuck that!" He clocked the gun back, pressing it to the guy's head some more. "Talk all that shit now that all your little friends are gone!"

The guy cried louder, his snot running down to his bloody lips.

"Roman!" Zadia shrieked. "You're gonna get us spotted, just let him go."

"I'm sorry." The guy screams.

"Roman, let him go! Now!"

Roman grinded his teeth, tilting his head to glare at Zadia. "Punch him." He said. "Make it a good one." Zadia looked down at her hand, her nerves all over the place. She didn't want to do this, the guy was already hurt as it is. "You think too much, just do it before I put a bullet through his skull!"

"Okay... okay fine." She curled her fingers into her palm and took a deep breath before sending her fist flying in the direction of the guy's nose. "Shit." She cursed, wiggling her fingers to numb the pain she felt. The guy on the other hand, held his now bleeding nose.

"That was decent." Roman moved the gun out of the man's face, only to point it at his knees. Both Zadia and the guys' eyes widened when they heard the sound of the gunshot, their ears ringing. Seconds after the gunshot came, the strong sound of a blood-curdling scream came afterward. "Stop fucking catcalling! Women don't like that shit!" Roman put his gun away and turned to Zadia like nothing ever happened. "Let's go." He went towards the car.

Zadia stayed behind, her feet unable to move like her brain was commanding. She stayed there, watching the guy cry and scream because of the pain he was in. The sight of it all was indescribable. "I... I." She stuttered, not knowing what to say. When she heard the sound of Roman's car starting, she finally turned around and quickly ran towards it, afraid that he'd leave her behind. When she got to the car, she opened the door and hurried inside. "Was... was." She was breathing so hard. "All that necessary, Roman?"

Roman pulled onto the road, with great speed. "...It was."

"He could die."

Roman continued to speed. "And that's my problem, how?" He asked coldly. "People die all the time."

Zadia couldn't believe his response. "What kind of sick shit do you have going on in your mind?!" Zadia shouted. "Yes everyone dies, but that... that back there didn't need to happen." She gripped her seatbelt, trying to put it on because of how fast he was going. "Slow the fuck down!"

"Don't tell me what the fuck to do!" Roman snapped. "What I did back there... If I didn't do it, who knows what he and his dumbass friends would've done the next time they saw a woman in an alley. You see all the shit they said to you while I was by your side, imagine all the shit that could've gone down if I wasn't there or better yet if you didn't have anything to protect yourself with! Those idiots will now think twice about what the fuck they say to any woman they come across. So yes, it was necessary and if you can't see that, then fuck off  Zadia! And if he does die, then good riddance, one less idiot off the planet."

Zadia clipped on her seatbelt and gulped. As much as it hurt her to admit it, he had a point... but she wasn't gonna tell him that. Instead, she lowered her voice and said, "Slow down, please."

Roman took a moment to glance at her and then sighed looking back at the road. He took his feet off the gas a little, sending the car back to its normal speed.

The two of them didn't exchange another word to each other for the rest of the night.

Not edited. Excuse any errors and point them out. Thank you!