Keep right. Keep right. Keep right.
My thoughts were on re-play, my eyes fixated to the road as I sped down the undivided highway.
It was dark by now, the night closing in faster than I'd expected and without the familiar yellow glow of the street lamps, I felt lost in the darkness.
I gasped as a motor bike sped past me, unused to being overtaken on the wrong side.
"Get it together Mila." I snapped at myself, shaking off my momentary panic.
"Keep to the right." I repeated, sure that as long as I repeated my mantra, there was no chance that I'd get confused and speed into oncoming traffic.
My senses were on high alert, and I shuddered at the memory of the police car that had passed me just moments before.
It had been the strangest sensation, a combination of the rawest fear and adrenaline accompanied by an exhausted sense of acceptance.
First, the lights had filled my rear view mirror, a blinding blue and red, shocking me from my stupor.
We'd driven in silence for a moment, as if both I, and the cop, were assessing each other; like a lion and a gazelle standing parallel at a watering hole.
"Shit." I'd muttered, turning down the music, my eyes fixated to the speedometer.
I hadn't been speeding. I was sure of it.
Then, their siren began to blare, the noise startling me so bad that I swerved slightly, my palms sweaty on the wheel.
'Maybe I have a tail light out?' I thought.
Yet there was no flash of headlights, no loudspeaker announcement. No indication that the officer wanted me to pull over.
"Please. Please. Please." I had muttered, forcing my foot to remain steady on the accelerator as the car drew closer.
I hadn't noticed at the time, but there were beads of sweat forming on my forehead.
The lights sped past me.
I let out a sob of relief.
Even now, my heart hadn't stopped thumping in my chest. The encounter was still too fresh, too real, the risk too high, for me to push it from my mind.
"In 500 yards, take the next exit."
I jumped as the automated voice filled the car.
I'd been driving for over an hour, following my phone's map blindly as it took me down the highway that lead out of town before steering me off at the fifth turning and leading me onto a darker, less popular road.
I was growing uneasy, the pit in my stomach expanding as I ran through all the possible ways that this could go wrong.
What if this was a trap?
I scoffed at myself, quickly realising how stupid I sounded. This wasn't some action film. I wasn't worth anything to these people, in fact I meant nothing to them. I was just some random girl caught up in the wrong mess. They were after the drugs. Not me.
"Take the next exit."
I checked my mirrors, confident that no one was behind me, before flicking on my indicator and taking the turning.
This road was slimmer than the last. Bare on each side with nothing but miles of fields and darkness to surrounded me.
"Continue on for 5 miles."
I shivered, glancing at my screen to see that the eta was only 7 minutes away.
I would get there with 8 minutes to spare.
Despite my unease, it was strangely comforting to be behind the wheel again. As though I was finally in control of something. The car was smooth beneath my touch, the radio soft in the background and in between the bouts of anxiety and restlessness, a glimmer of peace would wash over me.
But it never lasted long. I was hyper aware of the fact that I had no plan for after I'd got Iago back. Nothing other than find the nearest hospital and pray to God that they didn't ask too many questions.
I knew he would fight me on almost anything I said. Even half unconscious he would refuse medical attention. He had that self hating, forced mentality that he could handle anything. That idea that even if he couldn't, it was his cross, and his cross alone, to bear.
"Keep left."
I slowed slightly, keeping my eyes glued to the asphalt as I followed the bend, a whimper of relief passing through my lips as I reached the open road once again. A ghostly white glow had cast itself over the land to my right, illuminating my surroundings.
I knew without having to glance at my phone that I'd reached my destination. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting, but I was relieved to see the floodlit grounds, to know that I wouldn't be facing Ghost in the darkness.
"Turn right."
I obeyed the voice, taking the next turn, wincing as the car juddered over the uneven dirt track.
"You have reached your destination."
My sigh of relief stuck in my throat as my eyes came to rest on two parking gates blocking my entrance. Their red and white colouring feeling out of place in the otherwise monochrome setting.
I swore softly. There was no way of getting through it with the car, not unless I wanted to wreck Valeria's insurance premium.
I was going to have to get out.
I ignored the shiver that ran through me at the thought of standing alone, unprotected, in the middle of the car park but quickly sucked it up. There wasn't time for fear.
I threw open my door and reached over the middle consul, grabbing the duffle bag from the passenger seat. I sat there for a second, breathing in through my nose, before getting out the car and slamming the door behind me.
Without the protection of the car, I quickly realised that the car park area was immense. A huge sea of cement, cracked and crooked in its design, as though it had been dumped, rather than smoothed, over the earth.
At first glance it seemed empty, but seated just closer to the entrance than the centre, was a used Toyota Corolla, parked at a diagonal, it's boot angled towards me. It's once white exterior was dirtied by mud, skid marks marring its sides as though at some point it had been raced through a dirt track.
I was cautious as I approached it. Unsure as to whether it held what I came here for.
It was empty.
I glanced around, uncomfortable at my vulnerability, as I drunk in my surroundings.
The factory stood tall and intimidating to my right. It was more modern than I had expected, it's walls towering and grey, prison like in their coldness. It was very clearly unfinished, the remains of scaffolding still clinging to its exterior, large sheets of blue tarpaulin hanging uselessly from their branches, shredded at the edges.
I checked my phone.
5 minutes to spare.
I swallowed. The coke was taunting in my grasp.
What if Scott had swapped it for fake drugs? Tricked us into thinking it was the real thing, just to get his money's worth?
4 minutes.
No. It couldn't be that. Scott's fear had been too real. His guilt too palpable for him to betray us like that.
3 minutes.
Beads of sweat formed high on my back, growing heavy in their place until they dropped, leaving rivets down my back.
2 minutes.
Maybe I was in the wrong place? Maybe I was meant to go inside the factory. Shouldn't I have asked instead of blindly agreeing to Ghost' meeting place?
1 minute.
I gasped as head lights swarmed through the opening, followed by the sound of tearing metal as the first of two black SUV's forced its way through the barriers.
I was frozen in place as they approached me, continuing full speed ahead towards the parked corolla, before seeming to decide against it in synchrony, turning their wheels at the last minute so they could circle me. I felt like prey as I stood there, surrounded by a pack of wolves feeding off of my fear.
I shuddered as I caught the eye of one of the drivers, his green eyes boring into me, a threat of violence thinly veiled beneath the surface.
It was him that stopped first, breaking away from the circle they'd build around me and coming to a screeching halt beside the muddied Toyota.
I didn't say anything, didn't dare move as he stepped out, straightening his suit jacket as he went. He was different from Ghost's other goons, his position in their fucked up hierarchy allowing him to be taller, less bulky, to be built for beauty and status rather than brunt and brawl.
He moved with surety, rounding the car the open the rear door and my heart caught in my throat as Iago was dragged outside and into the open.
He was still shirtless, his body holding the same mass of mottled bruising, his hands tied behind his back, tape covering his mouth. The blood that had previously coated his face and body had smeared, as if he'd been hosed off, creating rivulets of shear red across his skin and his arms were goose pimpled, as if the water had chilled him to the bone.
Despite that, he seemed stronger than before, his body less close to collapse, his posture more defiant.
It took a moment for his eyes to meet mine.
'What are you doing here?' They asked, a look of anguish flickering over his features.
I smiled weakly.
In the time it had taken for my eyes to rake over Iago's beaten form, the other SUV had come to a halt beside its sibling, caging Iago between it and the corolla.
An eerie silence passed over the car park, and I shared a worried glance with Iago as the other driver emerged from his seat, moving to open the back door before resuming his place behind the wheel.
There was a moment of nothing, before Ghost stepped out from the car.
He was clad in the same black outfit as earlier, not an inch of skin visible below the neck, his hands covered by what I now recognised as dark leather gloves. This time, however, his balaclava had been removed.
I wasn't sure what I had been expecting him to look like, but beautiful wasn't it. The childish part of me had expected his rage and perversity to move outwards, to mar his features with time spent giving nothing and taking everything. But it hadn't, and he stood before me with glass skin and symmetry, poised and intimidating, his cold eyes the only sign that what appeared to be holy, had long since been dragged to hell.
"Show me the drugs." His words shattered the silence that had fallen over the car park and I flinched, but obeyed, moving hastily to unzip the bag at my feet, pulling open the top flap to reveal the white rectangular cuboids inside.
He nodded mutely, before glancing over to the driver who stood beside Iago, a large hand wrapped around his bicep, a glock pressed into his side.
"Get him in the trunk."
"What?" I asked, panic lacing my tone as my eyes flickered between him and Iago. "You said-"
"Calm down sweetheart." His grin was lazy, sharp teeth exposed in the floodlights. "It's just a little insurance that you both don't try and run."
I looked over at Iago again, half expecting to see my own panic reflected in his gaze, but his eyes held mine, steady, fearless.
'Its okay, Mila.' They seemed to say.
"Good boy." Ghost said, his eyes tracking our silent interaction.
I shuddered slightly at his tone, hating the possessive way his gaze raked over Iago's exposed skin.
Obeying Ghost's orders, green eyes shoved Iago forwards towards the Toyota, the sound of the car unlocking seeming to summon the other driver from his car, who moved to open the boot.
"Un-gag him." Ghost said all of a sudden, interrupting them as they moved to force Iago into the car.
I winced as green eyes ripped the tape from Iago's face, reopening his split lip, causing blood to spill down his chin.
"Mila go! Get out of here! They're going to-" I gasped as the driver pulled out his pistol, slamming it into the side of Iago's head, making him crumple, barely conscious, against the green eyed man holding him up.
"Take your time." Ghost spat, irritation warping his features, a poor cover for the rage I knew was simmering below.
I bit the inside of my cheek as I watched them cram Iago into the boot, his eyes dazed and lost in the floodlights, before the door was slammed and he was hidden from sight.
It was then that Ghost approached the car, his fingers trailing across the metal as both henchmen moved away in synchrony.
"You know Mila," He began, turning his back to me. It was almost mocking, like he wanted to highlight that he didn't see me as a threat, that there was nothing I could possibly do to phase him. "Iago was always my favourite. Eager to please, never caused trouble, quiet." Ghost's hand remained on the boot for a moment, caressing it, as if saying goodbye. "And then, out of nowhere, he started fucking up. Late to deals, increasing his gas allowance, food money spent but always an empty fridge." He turned back to face me, his eyes boring into mine. "I think we both know who that was being spent on."
I swallowed, my mind replaying each date we'd been on, only realising now that for each experience Iago had gone hungry just to spoil me.
"I knew it had to be someone. But I expected them to be bigger, stronger, you know? Someone that could really put him in his place. But the second he described you as his 'pretty slut'? I knew it couldn't be that at all. That he must have gone for someone sweet, and gullible, someone that would lay down their life just to save his. Someone that he could use."
My heart stuttered in my chest. Because that was it, wasn't it? This was about so much more than drugs, so much more than just money. This, was about jealousy.
"And use you he did. Because here you are. Standing alone in the middle of a parking lot, a bag of coke at your feet and bruises all over your pretty little face. Did you know that Frankie boy is sat in the back of that car?"
I shook my head no, unease sending a shiver through me.
'Just take the fucking drugs and shut up.' I pleaded internally.
"Soak the car."
I didn't have time to question what Ghost had meant by his order, as immediately after, the sound of gunshots and shattering glass filled the air.
I screamed, moving to cover my head on instinct.
Ghost laughed.
"God, you're like a mouse." He cackled, moving towards me as I finally looked up, my gaze locked onto the men behind him.
They'd shot out the four side windows, and were now moving to punch out the glass, their gloved hands moving effortlessly through the shattered mess.
"What are they doing?" I asked as Ghost approached me.
"Well I have to test the product don't I?" His tone was mocking.
"That's not what I asked."
He laughed again, shaking his head.
"You're so naive."
I ignored him, my eyes glued onto the men behind him. They seemed to be having an argument and green eyes was gesturing wildly, a jerry can held in his hand as the driver on the other side of the Toyota ignored him, using his can to soak one side of the car from the inside out.
A whimper passed through my lips.
They were going to torch it.
"It's a precaution. That's all." Ghost said. He was close enough now that I could reach out and touch him. "No need to panic. I just want to make sure I'm getting back exactly what I gave him. Because if he's cut even a milligram, I'm going to strap you in next to your little boyfriend and you'll both go up in flames."
I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak.
"Lucky! Get over here." Not green-eyes approached us, leaving a trail of what seemed to be gasoline in his wake before stopping beside Ghost and handing him a zippo lighter.
"Pass me the bag." I obeyed him, bending down to lift the bag before holding it out in front of me, forcing my hands to be still.
"Good girl." He answered, but didn't move to take it from me.
I watched silently as he reached inside, removing a packet of coke and holding it up to the light before nodding in approval. I tried to focus on him, but couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling in my gut as I saw 'Lucky' return to his SUV in my peripheral, this time seating himself behind the wheel.
"It looks good. But how does it taste?" Ghost continued, his tone still mocking.
I shivered at his innuendo, but refused to lower my gaze, watching as he removed a knife from his pocked and made a knick in the plastic, using the blade to collect a sample before bringing it to his nose and sniffing.
He was still for a moment, before his eyes rolled back slightly and he shuddered.
"Mmm. This is good." He paused, moving his head slightly from side to side. "Give me the bag."
"What about the key?" I asked, my voice steady even as my eyes flickered towards the white car.
He held it up wordlessly, a single key without a chain.
I swallowed, not quite trusting him, but obeyed, letting the strap of the bag fall from my grasp and into his hand.
What else could I do?
He smiled, holding out his hand in return, the silver reflecting in the white light.
'Its going to be okay.' I thought, my mouth turning sour with relief. 'Oh my God, it's going to be okay.'
I moved to grab the key but stopped short as his hand jerked backwards.
"There's only one problem."
My head snapped up, my eyes meeting the dark satisfaction that filled his for a split second before they flew down again, glued to the way he moved to flip open the lighter and spark it.
"I don't take betrayal lightly."
He dropped the flame.
Poor babies ;-; what do we think of Ghost in this chapter???
Thank you guys so much for 23,000 views!! I'm so grateful :DD
And thank you to everyone who has voted and commented, especially @Francesca_hates @Hannahsmilesss011 and @Samantha57874 <333 but also to @annamichell3 for finally getting me to sit down and finish this chapter!!!
Sorry this took so long to be posted! Some of you might be wondering 'What the hell could you possibly be doing that means you've been slacking so much with updates?" And the answer is SUCKING at time management 😭😭 but I'm trying to do better!
Love Maya xox