𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞

84. Weak Little Creatures

The next day James had invited me to go to his bar, I didn't know what he wanted but he said it was pretty important. I got dressed and around five in the afternoon he came and picked me up.

"What happened?" I asked him worried.

James was so lost in that moment and the torment his brain was in. I had see it first in his eyes, then a tension of his muscles, an inability to think clearly soon followed.

"You will understand once we arrive in the club." he simply said, his veins were popping out in his hands. He was angry.

As soon as we arrived at his bar, James quickly got out and took my hand pulling me with him. When we entered all I saw was Lorenzo tied up in a chair with a piece of clothing stuffed in his mouth.

"It's time for the traitors to pay." James said with a sinister voice.

Cold sweat trickled down my sides, Lorenzo had told him everything, he was going to kill me too...I had my gun and my knives but I couldn't possibly fight all those men along with James. My stomach knotted. I was feeling sick. James slowly approached Lorenzo and hit him in the V under his ribs where the sternum ends. It paralyzed his diaphragm and he gasped and doubled over and then pitched forward onto the floor. James started throwing punches, one after another. He banged his nose with his forehead and pushed him away and hit him left cross straight right and he fell over along with his chair.

The bruise that had begun as a purple stain above his eyebrow had sunk into the socket itself, and so now it had the appearance of a black eye. From his nose, scarlet blood was making its way to his white shirt.

"James...list...listen to me. She is the traitor you are looking for, she...she put me to steal you." Lorenzo barely made out his sentence.

"You filthy pig, I helped you when you were in need and you had the nerve to steal from me...and stab the woman I...I care about.." he snapped. He attacked him and started kicking him on the stomach. "Do you know what we do to traitors like you? We eliminate them." he yelled with impossible force.

James took out his gun. He looked at it for a moment and then he raised it up to Lorenzo's face.

"Please...I...please James..she told me to do it..please...please.." he begged for his life.

James aim was true, the bullet pierced skin expanding from the supersonic impact to the size of a quarter dollar. Lorenzo hadn't really heard the shot, his face was filled with tears and blood. The bullet tore through him gathering flesh and tissue on its one way path through his abdomen. Every cell in his body reeled in shock at the immediate assault. His sight grayed to a pinpoint and as he struggled to live, his eyes were slowly closing.

James as as cold as ice, he didn't even flinch while killing Lorenzo. He turned and looked at me with his once glimmering green eyes. He scared me. That was the truth, he scared me, I didn't know how he felt inside but on the outside he showed no feelings. He had no feelings. I wondered if that was his reaction when he killed Victoria, that thought made me so angry. Maybe Lorenzo didn't deserve to die but it was inevitable, he had to die, he was just collateral damage.

James took my by the hand and lead me to a small dark room on the upper floor of his club.

"What was all that?" he asked me, his eyes continued being cold.

"He tried to save himself, even if I was the brain of this, how could he explain his men stubbing me?" I replied and sat down on the bed.

"I don't know. I didn't mean to scare you." his eyes started softening. "You are the most important person in my life Inanna."

I still wasn't used at him calling me Inanna, it was strange, it reminded me of Derange after all he had picked that name for me. Was it crazy enjoying all of this? His sadness, his frustration. Silly me. I was crazy after all, but unless someone could prove it I guess I would carry on with my mission.

James brushed his lips at mine. He kissed me and the world fell away. It wasn't slow or soft, it was passionate, wild comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below my ear, his thumb caressing my cheek as our breaths mingled. I ran my fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between us and I could feel the beating of his heart against my chest.

I was against his warm chest, chiseled to perfection. I splayed my hand against it, intending to push him away, but instead I left it there. He began nuzzling my neck with delicate kisses. So faint, they were whispers. I urged myself to push away, but couldn't. Suddenly I had no choice but to pull away, I fell next to him. My eyes closed and I sucked myself into a deeper place to cope. I laid on the bed, my face closed in a grimace, my skin pale and clammy.

I looked down at my shirt, my bandage was all bloody. The now browning blood had drizzled down my belly like so much rain down a window pane. The blood flowed like a lazy river. James rushed and pressed snugly against my opened wounds to stop the free flowing surge of sticky blood. I quickly took my shirt off and James literally run to his bathroom to see if he had any bandages or even a first aid kit.

James had put a lot of pressure on my wound, the bleeding had slowed to barely a trickle as he placed the bandages on my side. Then he covered it in another bandage that stretched around my waist.

"Thank you." I simply said, the pain was still there.

"Let me see if I have any pain killers." he murmured and rushed again to his bathroom. When he returned he was holding two pills and a glass of water.

"I have never been very good at talking. Whenever I try to express the emotions whirling in my soul, my throat tightens blocking me from saying anything. I chased after things that looked good, or women who were pretty but never truly had a place in my heart. I looked at you and then I realized that I loved you. You were so different from the other women I chased. You cared. Love radiated in your heart spilling out into the lives of all those around you. You weren't just pretty on the outside you had a beauty somewhere deep within." James finished his long speech and he was already looking uncomfortable.

"I...I love you too James." I said and hugged him tightly.

Was it really that easy to deceive someone? An I love you was all that was needed. Now I understood why some people said that humans were stupid. Of course they were stupid, letting their emotions guide them, humans were just bubbles of feelings. Was it really that simple? I love you...I said it without even feeling it but he was just so blind to see it.

Humans are made up full from emotions. They attach themselves to each other because they have emotions. The greatest risk in life is not taking one at all. Mother's get neglected by their kids they so lovingly cared for. Hearts are broken and dreams are shattered.