NCT Ten | Mafia

Let her go...

Ten's P.O.V

I glance at my watch. Dead.

The water must have gotten inside. The hands are stuck at eleven and twelve. It's late, well past the time I should have checked back in with my guys. They'll be worried about me. They'll be pissed.

I don't mind pissing them off, but I don't like making them worry.

Any other time, I would have headed straight back to the hotel. Or at the very least, I would have found one of the few pay phones that are still around and called the secure number. Instead I'm sitting here, hidden by brush and a goddamn rock face, soaking wet, watching.

It didn't take her long to find someone. She'd only walked a few yards down the road before a car slowed down. I could see her dark nipples through the pale wet fabric of her dress. I tensed until an older woman got out. Not that I trust women, much. But I inherently distrust all men aside from my crew. I watched from my hiding spot while the girl gave her sob story, crying and pointing to the river.

It wasn't the stuff about Girl Scouts that got me, or the way she ate the fries, or the way she struggled to stay alive once she knew what I was doing. It was her desperation to be found with her clothes on. Fighting for that last bit of dignity, even when she was losing everything. That's what spoke to me.

You always hang on to what you can.

You never let them take everything. Some people don't get that. They think dead is dead, and it won't matter if you're dressed or not, if you kept your dignity at the end. When you've seen as much death as I have, you know it matters.

I keep to the shadows while the woman pulls a jacket from her back seat and presses it around her. And makes a call. An ambulance, maybe. I should already be gone from here. The girl will find her way back home. She'll be safe, most likely. But the world is a scary place. I know that more than most. What if she met someone worse than me? Someone who wouldn't feed her a burger and then let her go? And so I stay, watching, longer than I should.

I see Layla talking, shaking her head. That's her name, according to her phone. Her password is one-two-one-two. She really needs a better one than that.

The woman is looking around. Sensing somebody watching, maybe.

I made a gamble, but I don't think it's a bad one. Layla's a good woman, the kind who'll cut out little pieces of her own heart before hurting anybody else. She'll protect her people from me. She thinks I'm a monster, and she's right.

By the time the red and blue lights flash over the treetops, I should have been gone. I shouldn't be within a mile of cops if I can help it. It's not only about the danger to me, but about the fact that I could lead them to the rest of the crew.

Fuck.

It's because of the girl. Because of the strange feeling I get when I look at her, the tightness in my chest. Which proves I shouldn't be near her either.

I back away through the trees, making myself invisible.

It'll be a long time before they get organised enough for a search, and by then there won't be a trace of me. Except when I reach the end of the woods, where I left the van, something feels off. I move slower, silent and so damn careful. That's when I see it parked about half a mile back from the white van. A dark sedan. It's not a white cop car with reflective lights and bold lettering. No, I recognise the make and model. This is a detective's car. And there's only one detective who would be watching the radar close enough to suspect Layla's call had to do with me.

Detective Wonwoo has been a thorn in my fucking side.

And now he might catch me. I'm alone out here. No backup.

There's the crack of a twig ten feet to my left. He's in the woods with me. For a second I'm worried—about the crew and what they'd do if I landed in jail. Who'd be there to watch over them?

This spurs me into action. I crash through the woods, heading west, where there's nothing but miles of trees. No use being quiet when he already knows I'm here.

Then there's a bark. Fuck. He brought search dogs?

I turn toward the darkest part of the forest and plunge inside.

To be continues~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~