The smell of fresh brewed coffee filled my apartment while I was busy putting away the groceries I had delivered. The shopper made sure to make backhanded comments about me being lazy when I met her to help bring the bags up the three flights of stairs. Little did she know, my car was taken and still in the hands of some felon, mobster douched bag.
Taking a mug from the cupboard, I poured myself a cup. I knew I would live to regret this later tonight when it would be impossible for me to fall asleep. It was already two in the afternoon. I had over slept again, a recurring theme the past few days. Once my normal amount of milk was added I gulped down as much as I could handle without burning my mouth, humming as the hot liquid made it's way down, warming me as it went.
Declan's face flashed behind my closed eyes, forcing them to open. Anxiety swallowed me while I mentally relived the events of the last few days. I've had moments of peace where I forget about what had happened but then the violent images of being kidnapped, threatened and almost raped flood my thoughts. I'd been trying to convince myself it was all a bad dream. If it wasn't for the fading bruises all over my body, I might have actually believed myself.
It's been three days and no sign, call, text message, hell- not even an email from Declan. Not that I wanted the man around but wondering when he was going to show up next had me on edge.
"This is insane..." I scoffed, shaking my head. I ran my fingers through my dirty hair before turning on my heal and heading towards my room, coffee in hand. Once in my room I set my coffee down on the dresser and grabbed a sweatshirt from my closet, pulling it over my head. Slipping into my grey converse, I grabbed my keys and headed towards the door. I needed to go for a walk to clear my head.
My fingers gripped the handle of my door but before I could twist the handle it was opening towards me with such force that it almost knocked me over. Instantly my heart dropped from my chest into my stomach when my eyes focused on the tall mass of muscle that stood in my doorway with a copy of my key in between his fingers.
Declan towered over my slowly hunching frame, a smile tugging at the sides of his lips. "Going somewhere?"
I took a step back trying to get some distance between us but he took it as an invitation in to my room. Declan snatched the keys from my hand and tossed them onto my dresser, knocking over my picture frames and used his boot to kick the door closed behind him.
Sucking in my bottom lip, I bit down to try and calm my nerves. Declan's smile turned into a devious smirk as he watched me hold my lip in between my teeth. I could feel my cheeks turning red, quickly making me let my now swollen lip go from the hold my teeth had on it.
"W-what," I croaked out before clearing my throat to steady my nerves. "What are you doing here?" I questioned, running my fingers through my hair.
Declan walked past me, letting his shoulder gently brush into mine as he went. The smell of sandalwood filled my nostrils. My eyes closed while I took in a deep breath, savoring one of my favorite smells that would now forever be jaded, always reminding me of him. Finding him again once I opened my eyes, I saw him taking a long drink from my coffee mug. Studying his face, I saw that the stubble that decorated his face a few days ago was now gone, leaving him clean-shaven.
"This is good coffee," Declan commented between sips.
"Uh, thanks?" I answered awkwardly.
"Right." He said, handing me the now empty mug. "You go back to work tomorrow so we have some stuff to go over."
Declan's tone was rough as he spoke. It seemed that even the mention of my Uncle was enough to make his anger rise. His hand reached out until his fingers wrapped around my forearm and tugged me towards him. My heart thudded inside my chest as the heat from his touch spread up my arm.
Declan pulled me out of my room to the small dinner table that was situated opposite of the kitchen. He pulled out one of the dark wood chairs that was tucked in and moved my body so that it was in front of the seat. Putting his hand on my shoulder he applied some pressure, a silent command for me to take a seat.
I sat down and watched him go into the kitchen to pour himself his own cup of coffee as well as filled my own and then returned, taking up the other seat opposite of me. His hazel eyes met mine, holding me captive in his gaze while he slowly brought the cup up to his lips. I hated how he could cause my stomach to flutter from just looking at me.
"Well?" I asked impatiently, trying to break the awkward feeling between us. The attitude in my voice earned me a glare.
His fingers were laced together around the black mug while his thumbs traced invisible circles on the smooth surface. "I need to know how they're getting the drugs. Are they shipping it here from a supplier in Europe or is the supplier here."
"Sure, that shouldn't be too awkward of a conversation to have with Mike." I scoffed. I had a bad habit of being overly sarcastic when I was uncomfortable.
Declan's face turned down in a scowl while he glared at me from across the table. "Please keep in mind that I don't need you. You're just more convenient than trying to go through Alex." Slumping back into the chair, I was again reminded of my place in all of this.
"This drug is a big problem. My syndicate is in charge of keeping the people in our community safe and since this shit hit the streets it's been bad. I'm sure you've seen it all over the news. All those people hunched over in the streets, rotting in front of everyone. Now it's spreading over Europe, a lot of our people have family overseas." Declan continued.
"Well I doubt he'll have that kind of information just laying around. Wouldn't you think he'd keep that stuff locked away at his house or something?" I asked.
"I had Nick tear through his house last week but we found nothing so I'm assuming any information would be in his office at the dealership." He responded before sipping his coffee.
"What exactly am I looking for?"
"Anything; documents from companies overseas, receipts for shipping companies, threatening letters." He rattled off. "Anything that looks suspicious or can officially tie him to the activity."
"What," I trailed off, afraid to finish my question. Instead I looked down watching my fingers nervously mess with the hem of my sweatshirt.
"What, what?" Declan repeated.
Sighing deeply I looked up at the man who sat across from me. "What about Alex?"
Declan rolled his eyes. "And what about Alex, little one?"
"A-are you going to kill him? My Uncle... I mean I don't even know him, really, but I know Alex is innocent. And if he is roped into this then it has to be because he's being blackmailed or something. He's a good kid, he wouldn't do this..."
His hand rose to his jaw rubbing his now clean shaven skin. "You really don't know Alex."
"Why do you keep saying that? It's not like you know him!" I snapped back angrily. Declan's eyebrow arched up at my response but he stayed quiet, letting me continue.
"What, so you tapped his phone and read a few shady text messages and you think he's some drug dealer? Fuck you, Declan!"
"Stop it, Scarlett." Declan warned.
"No, I won't stop it!"
"I'm warning you." He snapped in a low voice, his his hands clenching into fists.
"You kidnapped me! You're goon tried to rape me, you threatened to kill me, you're spying on me! You're just a sick, sick fuck who-"
In one explosive movement Declan shot up from his chair and rounded the table. The chair flew back against the wall, the backrest breaking as soon as it made contact. Grabbing my arms he lifted me up out of my seat and slammed my back against the wall. His head was craned over me while his hands were at either side of my head, caging me, making me feel impossibly small under him.
My heart was racing so fast inside my chest I was sure it was about to burst out from my ribs. The tension between us was so thick it was hard to breathe. The last time I saw him this angry was when Nick tried to have his way with me and I vividly remember what happened to him. Panicking, I started taking in fast, shallow breaths through parted lips.
"Please, I'm sorry!" I begged.
He grabbed a hold of my jaw, forcing me to look up at him. His eyes were brimming with anger. I whimpered the tighter his fingers dug into my skin, I dared not look away.
"You know nothing about me." He growled through clenched teeth. His hot breath spreading across my face while he spoke. "And you sure as hell know nothing about your brother."
He stayed silent for a few moments, keeping me pinned in place against the wall. He was so close that his chest was brushing against mine with every breath he took.
"Why don't you ask Alex about Aveleen? I'm sure he'd love to tell you what actually happened to his girlfriend." Declan sneered. Letting go of my face, he pushed himself away from the wall, putting some space between us.
My legs gave out and I dropped to the floor at his feet taking in deep breaths of air to try and calm my heart. I could hear my pulse hammering in my ears. How does he know about Aveleen? They were dating for over a year and Alex was head over heals for the girl. We all thought that she was the one for him until she disappeared. She'd left Alex almost six months ago, told him that she had been secretly seeing someone behind his back the whole time and was planning to move across the country with him. Alex told me over breakfast the next morning. He sat across from me at the diner, I remember his hands shaking while he poked around at his food. He would jump at every sound of the door opening, looking up in hopes that it was her walking through. Poor Alex was so shaken up.
When I finally caught my breath I looked up at Declan. His anger seemed to be subsiding, his shoulders looked relaxed and his breathing returned to a normal, steady pace. I was afraid to move from my spot on the floor, that somehow getting up would cause him to lash out again.
"What do you mean? She left Alex six months ago..." I whispered, half hoping he wouldn't hear the question.
Declan's hand reached out to me making me flinch away in response. His hand turned so his palm was facing upward in a silent gesture to take it so he could help me up. Looking up at him, I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. "You mean, he killed her six months ago."
His words hit me like a ton of bricks. I refused to believe it. "Alex loved Aveleen with every fiber of his being. He would never lay a finger on that girl. He told me she was seeing some other guy during their whole relationship. How he was some rich doctor and that they were moving across the country together because he got a job at another hospital. She left him, I remember it. I took him out to breakfast the next morning, he told me everything."
"No, Scarlett. He killed her. She found out he was working with the Odessa mafia and was going to leave him. Obviously he couldn't have that, what if she went to the police? He killed her to keep her quiet." He explained.
Looking down at my converse I shook my head. I didn't believe him. I couldn't believe him. No, he loved her and she was a deceiving bitch. She broke his heart. I felt Declan's index finger under my chin while his thumb brushed against my bottom lip before he lifted my chin up. Tears started to burn behind my eyes and before I could will them away they slipped down my cheeks. With watery eyes, I looked into Declan's as he spoke.
"He shot her," His free hand came to my line of site. He formed a gun with his fingers before shoving them hard into my chest above my breaking heart. His thumb folded down to mimic the hammer of the gun, "right here, in her heart."
My hands shot up to my face to try and wipe away the tears that fell freely from my eyes. I didn't want him to see me cry. To see that he had any type of power over me but it was useless. Wiping the tears from my cheeks I took a step back from him.
"I'm staying the night." He informed while he walked back into my kitchen. He opened my refrigerator door and started rummaging through it.
I stood there for a moment in silence, sniffing like a child. I used the back of my sleeve to remove the last of the salty tears from my cheeks.
"Why? You told me what I need to look for."
"Last I checked, I still have your car."
"Yea, when am I getting that back, by the way?" I asked sarcastically.
Declan shot me a look, reminding me to watch my tone. "And it gives me a chance to get to meet Mikhail face to face." He winked.
Groaning, I turned over and blindly searched for my phone. Slamming my open palm on my nightstand a couple of times until it finally landed on top of the noise. I proceeded to jab my thumb against the cold glass of the screen until it was silenced. With the sound killed, I brought my arm back under my blankets and rolled over, curling myself into a ball. My bedroom door creaked open and before I could turn to look, the light of my room flicked on, blinding me.
"What the hell?" I murmured still half asleep. I sat up in my bed letting the warm blankets fall from me as I brought my hand up to shield my eyes from the light.
"Let's go Scarlett, you've got to get ready for work." Declan announced. He stood in my doorway with a bright smile, clearly happy at how angry and confused I was. With my eyes finally adjusted to the light, Declan came into focus. Loose black sweatpants hung low on his hips while his chest was shirtless, letting me see all of his toned muscles and the tattoos covering his skin.
My cheeks flushed. I closed my eyes to not only try and tear my gaze from him but so I could rub the sleep from my eyes. I let out an over exaggerated yawn, trying to give myself some time to calm myself before having to look at a shirtless Declan again.
"Ugh, go away." I groaned, falling back against my mattress and bringing the blankets back up and over my head.
I heard Declan's heavy foot steps stalk over towards my bed just before the blankets were ripped off of me. I brought my legs up into my chest and wrapped my arms around them to try and savor some of the warmth but Declan tugged my arm until I was sitting.
"I have downstairs neighbors, you know. Stop stomping around all the time." I quipped.
He chuckled when I glared up at him. "Come on, I made coffee. Morning traffic into the city is a bitch so let's get going."
We'd been on the road for over an hour, stuck in the same morning commuter traffic I've come to expect. Declan was surprisingly nice this morning, despite his road rage and constant lane changes. He'd made us both breakfast while I got ready and for the two hours that I'd been in his presence he hadn't threatened my life once. A new record for him.
Once we got into downtown Portland, the traffic really seemed to let up which was a relief. I wanted so desperately to be away from him. The awkward silence between us was making me squirm.
It was nice to be a passenger for once, though. I got to take in all of the sights I would ignore while making this drive. The sidewalks were filled with people dressed in expensive suits or dresses as they made their way to their jobs. They all marched in unison and stopped together when the traffic direction changed. It was so seamless, like it was choreographed.
"Here we are." Declan chimed as he pulled into the lot, driving way too fast up to the front doors of the building.
Mike was standing out in front of the double glass doors, a look of concern on his face as he watched the black sports car speed towards him before stopping aggressively. Before Declan could put the car in park I'd already had my bag slung over my shoulder and was out of the door, thankful to not have to deal with his aggressive driving anymore. I swore I was going to lose my breakfast at one point.
"Hey Uncle Mike." I said, forcing a smile.
"Good morning, Scarlett. Who's this?" He asked, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with his index finger.
"Oh, this is, uh,"
"Declan Byrne, nice to meet you, sir." Declan introduced himself, thrusting his hand out for my Uncle to shake.
Mike looked down at Declan's outstretched hand before taking it cautiously. "And you are?" He questioned again, tilting his head to the side.
"Oh, Scarlett hasn't mentioned me?" Declans' hand moved to his chest, faking a hurt expression. "I'm the boyfriend." He looked over at me and winked, trying to sell his performance. I stood there, jaw dropped, completely disgusted at how nice he was acting to someone he's supposedly supposed to hate.
Within moments the two of them ended up in a deep conversation, leaving me standing off to the side watching Declan's amazing acting skills. I rolled my eyes as the topic of Declan's Jaguar F-Type R came up. The both of them were ogling over the car and its V-8 engine, rattling off specs.
Despite working here for two years, I had no idea about cars so their conversation sounded like they were speaking in a different language. I took this as my opportunity to leave and walked into the building, making my way to the reception desk. I could already see the piles of paperwork strewn over it while I was out on vacation.
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. "Some vacation," I mumbled under my breath.
Letting my bag fall from my shoulder and onto my desk, I looked up to find the two of them with the hood popped open inspecting the engine of the car.
I was pulled from my annoyed thoughts by the ringing of the phone. Picking it up I answered with my normal scripted response. "Thank you for calling Portland BMW. My name is Scarlett, how may I assist you today?"
Scribbling down the customers name, phone number and the obnoxiously long and over worded message, I finally hung up with them just in time to see Mike walking into the building towards me. My stomach flipped inside of me and I felt my palms become sweaty.
Now that I know that Mike could potentially be involved with illegal activity, he seemed like a complete stranger. A dangerous one at that. And now I have to sit here and pretend like I know nothing. How was I going to pull this off? Alex always told me I was shit at hiding how I feel, that my face always gives me away. Oh god. How was I going to act around Alex?
"Declan is a wonderful man!" The old man exclaimed, slapping his hand on the raised ledge of my desk, making me jump. A huge smile spread across his face. "Where did you meet such an interesting young man?"
"Uh," I quickly tried to come up with a fake story but instead I drew a blank. "Long story."
"Well, you'll have to tell me the story sometime! He sure does know a lot about cars, I'd love to have him work for me." He continued fawning.
"Yea, sure Uncle Mike." I answered.
"Oh, have the detectives contacted you about the shipping container?" I felt my eyes widen but I quickly tried to hide it by bringing my hand up to fix my glasses.
"N-no. They haven't." My hand was trembling. God, I was such a horrible liar. Trying to hide it I put it on the computer mouse and moved it around to make it look like I was doing something productive. "Have they got in touch with you?"
He took a deep breath through his nose and out of his mouth. "No, no they haven't. I sure hope they find who tried to break into it." He gave a tight lipped smile.
"Me too." Mike slid his hand from the desk and turned to walk away. "Hey, Uncle Mike?"
"Yes, dear?" He turned and flashed a yellow toothed smile at me.
What the hell am I doing? "Wha... what was in that container?"
I could have sworn I saw his smile falter. The light dimmed from his eyes but he quickly recovered, forcing an even wider smile my way.
"Just more cars." He quickly turned on his heal and walked down the hall to his office.
The rest of the morning was filled with answering the nonstop calls, scanning, faxing and filing papers and running notarized documents back and forth to the sales people. I was only four hours into my shift and my feet and calves were already on fire. That's what I get for wanting to wear heals, I knew better.
I was so immersed in trying to get everything organized and cleaned up from my time off that when my intercom buzzed I practically jumped out of my skin. The papers that I'd just finished organizing flew up into the air and cascaded down around me. Massaging my temples I let out a groan before hitting the talk button on my intercom.
"This is Scarlett," I spoke softly into the device.
"You're free to go to lunch, Brian is heading over now to man the front while you're on break." Mike's voice spoke through the machine.
"Okay," I answered awkwardly. Slumping into the office chair I looked down at the floor and the scattered papers with a sigh.
When Brian came to relieve me I grabbed my phone and my bag, slipped on my heals and headed towards the front door. Just before I made it to the glass I remembered that I didn't have my car.
"Shit." I sighed. Turning on my sore feet I started towards Mike's office. I'm sure he'll let me borrow a rental.
Arriving at his door I knocked twice and then waited for his response. Nothing. I knocked again, this time a little louder and called out his name. Still no response. I reached my hand out, pulling the handle down and opened the door slowly incase he was on the phone with someone. The sizable office was quiet as I poked my head inside.
Empty.
"I need you to spy on your Uncle. Figure out where these drugs are coming from." Declan's voice rang through my ears. I guess this was as good a time as any.
Sliding in through the open door I spun quickly, grabbing the other side of the handle and slowly let the door close without a sound. Taking in a deep breath, I kicked my shoes off not only for relief but so they wouldn't make noise while I snooped through the room.
My immediate thought was to go through the massive filing cabinets behind his desk but that would prove to take some time and I didn't know how much of that I had. Instead I opted for the drawers of his desk. If you were hiding documents about illegal activities, wouldn't you want them close to you?
The first couple of drawers seemed to be useless. They were filled with standard office supplies like staples, pens, paperclips and tape while the other two held booklets of empty sales receipts, stamps with Mikes' signature coated in black ink and random business cards.
Opening the fourth drawer I had little hopes that it would hold anything useful until I moved another unopened pack of branded pens. A tattered and stained envelope caught my eye. Everything I had seen while rooting through his things so far had been in pristine condition except for this. Taking it between my index and middle finger I quietly brought it out of it's hiding spot. Looking up at the door that was thankfully still closed, I opened the flap of the envelope and plunged my fingers inside the pocket. I felt something glossy before I tugged on the contents revealing multiple pictures.
They were grainy black and white pictures but as I focused on them they started to become clearer. The first was of the side of a shipping container labeled 'Ocean State Shipping'. The next pictures were of manifests for shipping yards in London, the ones we normally use, Port of London and Port of Immingham, both were marked as having arrived two weeks ago. The next one made my blood run cold. There, clear as day, was Declan dressed in a fitted black long sleeve top, black military pants tucked into his boots with his arm held out. In his hand was a handgun pointed at another man, one whom I didn't recognize, his back pressed against a brick wall.
I was finally seeing a glimpse of the monster he truly is and if I hadn't already realized how severe of a situation I was in, this really helped put it in perspective. Shuffling to the next picture as quickly as possible it took me a couple of seconds to process it. It was Alex, standing in front of an open shipping container filled with boxes dressed in all black. There was a gray strap across his body, situated at the end was a large rifle which he held with both hands. My stomach churned and I felt bile rise in the back of my throat the longer I stared.
"No," I whispered as my hands started trembling. Declan was right.
The last picture was of a man dragging someone towards a blacked out SUV. The background of the picture was different than the others, it definitely wasn't the shipping yard but I couldn't quite make out the blurry shapes. Bringing the picture closer to my face, I squinted my eyes to try and get them to focus and that's when my heart stopped. That was Nick and Declan from the other night and the person in the picture was me as I was being kidnapped in the parking lot of a gas station.
I stood there, dumbfounded as I continued to stare at the photograph. They knew about me, whoever they were. I was ripped from my thoughts when I heard the handle for the door start to turn.
My stomach sank as adrenaline started to coarse through my veins making all of my movements feel like they were in slow motion. I shoved the envelope into my bag and closed the drawer with my knee just in time.
"Scarlett?" Mike asked, confusion painted on his face.
I stood there behind his desk like a deer in headlights, not saying a word. Say something you idiot, before he gets suspicious!
"What are you doing in my office?" His tone changed quickly to a happier one, though it seemed forced. Did he know I was snooping? Did he recognize Declan earlier this morning? Did he know I knew?
"Uh, well y-you said I-I could go to lunch, but I um, don't have a car and I was wondering if I could borrow a um... um..."
Mike smiled as he held up his hand to cut me off. "A rental, of course." He circled around his desk until he was standing next to me. He looked down at me while his hand blindly opened one of the many drawers of his desk and grabbed a set of keys. He dangled them between his thumb and index finger in front of me.
Breaking the uncomfortable eye contact, I looked down at the set of key fobs that were clicking together. Taking them in my fist I quickly turned and went around the opposite side of the desk. I knew he was staring at me the entire time making every move feel unnatural. When I got to the door I tried to inconspicuously slide my heals on, praying he wouldn't ask me why my shoes were off in the first place.
"Declan seems very smart. I'd love to introduce him to some of my colleagues." Mike called behind me, his tone almost threatening. "Wyndham Pharmaceuticals is having a charity ball next weekend, I have extra tickets. You two should come."
My fingers curled around the handle of the door. I wanted in the worst way to run but I was scared that he'd chase after me. He knew. I knew he knew. The guilt of having snooped through his things mixed with what I'd just come to learn was making me feel sick to my stomach.
"Uh, sure, that sounds fun." I answered, still looking at the white door in front of me. I turned the handle of the door, swinging it open with all of my might but before I could take my first step out I heard him speak again.
"Scarlett." I looked over my shoulder at him. His lips were turned down in a scowl, his eyes dark with anger. "Don't ever go through my things again."
Nodding my head like an idiot in response I stumbled out of the office, closing the door behind me. I ran as fast as I could towards the bathroom. I couldn't crack in front of everyone. When I was inside a stall, I turned and closed the door with my body weight, letting out a shaky breath. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes even though I tried to will them away. I couldn't ruin my make up, I had to act like nothing happened. Taking another deep breath in I held it for a second before mouthing the word "Fuck". I ran my hands down my pencil skirt to try and dry my sweaty palms.
What was I going to do now? I had hard evidence in my bag linking my uncle, my brother and my dads' business to the Russian crime family. Not to mention Declan and his Irish syndicate. I had no where to go, no one to turn to. Declan promised he'd kill me and I'm pretty sure Mike would kill me if I went to the cops... if the cops would even believe me considering Nick was a detective for the Portland PD and he worked with Declan.
I'm in deep shit.
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