CHAPTER TWO
MASON
The car rolls to a slow stop beneath the flickering neon sign, its purple glow stuttering across the windshield as the engine idles a beat too long. The driver, Neo, turns off the engine and steps out onto the sidewalk.
I grip the door handle and push, getting off with Vincent and my uncle David.
The bell above the restaurant door chimes sharp and brittle as we step inside, dragging every eye up from half-eaten plates and unfinished conversations.
Voices lower, shoulders tighten, eyes steer away with hesitation, then Vincent’s voice pierces through the silence like a double-edged sword.
“Ten seconds.”
That’s it.
That’s all he has to say.
Just two words.
And chairs scrape against the floor one by one as the customers gather their things, leaving cash on the tables.
The room empties around us too quickly. The door chime rings repeatedly as they spill out through the exit. Then Vincent guides me forward with a firm hand as he leads us to the booth at the end.
We settle in before a young waitress in a yellow-outfit hurries toward us to clear the table, then comes back to take our order. “Is there…” She clears her throat to steady her voice. “Is there anything you’d like, sir?”
My uncle orders only water. Neo smiles at the young woman, telling her he’s not hungry.
Her hand tightens around her pen when her gaze rests on Vincent. “Soup and salad.” He grumbles under his breath. “For the boy, get him fish soup and rice.” His eyes flicker over me.
The woman nods and disappears, only to return a few minutes later with our order. The trays clatter against the table, the scent of spice curling through the air. She sets everything down quickly, eyes lowered, before she retreats behind the counter.
Silence settles in, heavier now, pressing in from every corner of the establishment. Vincent starts eating and I follow suit, fingers tightening around my spoon. I can’t refuse to eat. I haven’t had a nice meal since last night.
My body trembles at every clink of metal and the steady rhythm of breathing across from me. But Vincent acts like no one else exists in this moment except him. Like this is normal. Like the tension coiled around my throat isn’t suffocating me.
Boom!
The memories flood in and my heart skips a beat, hands visibly shaking as I shut my eyes and count every breath I take.
After a moment, the tension in my bones slackens, and the waitress comes to clear the plate and collect the bill.
Once she’s gone, Vincent looks at all of us with a sickening smile, then he nods toward Neo.
The other man, his second in command, pulls out an envelope and a smartphone box and hands them over to him.
He slides the phone box to me and taps his fingers on it.
“It’s already charged and has everything you need.
” Vincent says. My hands tread around the box and I lift it off the table and put it inside my hoodie.
He takes out the pictures and places them on the table.
“What am I looking at?” The word slips from my lips, and his eyes snap to me in a quiet assessment.
“This is the King family. They run the Black Viper Syndicate in Kingston City. They are one of the most powerful mafia men in this country.” Vincent explains.
“What am I supposed to do, sir?” I ask, hands hovering over the picture as one man particularly catches my eye.
Vincent notices, a low chuckle rumbling in his chest. “That’s Saint King, the oldest and next in line for kingship. He’s the one I’m after.”
“What do you need from him?”
“It’s not what I need. It’s what you could get for me.” He shrugs. His words send a sickening chill up my spine. “You’ll work in his company.” He clarifies any doubts I have. “You’ll find me something I can use to destroy his family’s empire.”
“Evidence to launch an investigation?” I ask, stuttering.
“Brilliant.” He commends.
“I get it from my mother.” The memory surfaces uninvited, softening the tension on my shoulders. My gaze flicks up to my uncle. His jaw locks with an emotion I can’t read. I break eye contact and look at Vincent.
“There’s also something else.” Vincent trails off.
“What?” My brows arch.
“You’ll have to sleep with him.”
My stomach drops, and my chest tightens. I have to sleep with him. Against my will?
Vincent doesn’t let me ask any questions before he goes on and on. “I’ll give you two weeks to figure something out, then I’ll come to collect.” He leans back against the booth and stares at me.
I jerk my head in a nod even as his words replay in my head.
I’ll come to collect.
He didn’t need to shout to exert his influence.
I had seen him kill a man so easily, like violence were his second skin.
And he would do the same to me if he thinks I’m useless to his cause.
I’ll do whatever it takes, infiltrate whomever, just so I’m safe.
“If I do this, I’m free.”
His eyes squint, and he leans forward, elbows resting on the table. “You are not in a position to negotiate, Mason. Just do what I ask.”
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”
“Good.” he sighs. “Neo will take you to your new apartment in Kingston City. You’ll settle in and wait for some of my friends to meet with you. They need your blood samples to make sure you’re negative.”
“I am.”
He doesn’t give me a response; he looks at Neo, who gives a hard nod.
We leave the restaurant after Neo pulls up in front of the establishment in the black Audi 5. Streetlights smear into gold streaks across the windshield as we drive through the sleeping city.
In one night, I was taken from a town in Kingston to an illegal auction house in Queenstown, territory of the infamous Bishop Empire.
I have never been the type who steers into darkness.
I have always run in the other direction without looking back.
I even had to spend the past seven years of my life turning down opportunities.
Jobs from high-profile companies. Invites to galas. All because I was terrified that the man who had ruined my childhood would come after me again.
And I wasn’t wrong.
He did.
He’s right here with me, sitting beside Neo as the car hums against the asphalt, bringing us to the new city skyline that gathers on the horizon.
I have always been a fighter. Always knew what to do next, but this. There’s nothing I can do. Not when the world is coming down on me and I’m forced to stand and watch the collapse.
What matters now is what Vincent wants. And every part of me wants to fight. But fighting means I get to end up with a bullet in my skull. I’ll do whatever I need as long as I come out of this alive.
The car slows down in front of a four-story building. I shut the door as I hop off. My boots scuff against the grey sidewalk. I lift my head, and a soft sigh spills through my nostrils.
“This is where you’ll stay. It’s already furnished with everything you need.” Vincent stares at the building.
“Everything I need?” I look at him, and he cocks his head at me.
Right. No questions. Just follow every fucking order because remember, you have no choice.
Nothing else matters except this moment and the days yet to come.
“I’ll wait in the car.” Vincent says and slips back in whilst Neo retrieves the apartment keys from his pocket and hands them to me.
He leads me through the double doors and we head upstairs via the elevator. The machine dings and opens into the hallway. Neo and I head over to the second door on the left. He inserts the key into the hole. The latch clicks twice, then he grips the doorknob and opens the door into the apartment.
I step into the living room, releasing a sigh as I take in everything. Though not extravagantly furnished, the place is much better than my former place, and it will suffice for the duration of my stay.
Unless he’s keeping me forever.
The idea of being indebted to this violently dangerous man for the rest of my life makes my spine go cold.
Then Neo turns around and shoves the key into my stomach.
“Look around the house,” he grunts. “I suggest you do exactly what my boss says unless you want to end up like that mercenary.” He slaps my shoulder and strides toward the exit.
The memory surfaces uninvited, but I push it back.
After the soldier leaves, I try to get into bed hours after I hear the engine of Vincent’s car speed away. But my body is still on full alert as everything replays in my mind. It’s only a few hours to sunrise yet I can’t get myself to drift into sleep.
All I see is.
Van. Bullet. Pictures.
Three of them. Playing a loop in my head until the sun rises and pours into the apartment through the transparent windows.
Vincent’s wretchedly haunting voice.
My uncle’s demeaning stare.
When a knock comes at my door, I drag myself from the living room couch to the door, looking through the peephole. On the other side of the frame, a woman in an all-leather outfit stands beside a man wearing white scrubs.
It’s the people who’d collect my blood.
I unlock the door and stand aside, and they walk into the apartment. The woman doesn’t even look my way, but the doctor attempts a smile, fingers firmly wrapped around a first aid kit.
“I’m sure you’re already aware of why we are here.” The woman says and settles down on the couch.
“I am.” I shut the door and join them in the living room.
The doctor kneels in front of me, snapping on gloves.
He looks through his kit and sets everything he needs on the side table.
I roll up my sleeve and hold out my arm, making a fist, then he secures a tourniquet snugly around my upper arm, just tight enough to bring my veins into clearer relief beneath my skin.
He cleans the area with antiseptic, then the pain comes in as he inserts the needle into me and pulls steadily into the syringe. With enough blood samples collected, he releases the tourniquet, withdraws the needle, and applies gauze with firm pressure to prevent bleeding.
“That will be all.” He says and secures the sample in his box.
“Put in your phone number.” The woman sits up and approaches me.
I tap into her screen, then save my name as Rose. She makes an odd sound when she looks at her screen, then fakes a smile at me. “Once the test results are out. I’ll call you, send you the location of the club, and you’ll check in for work.”
“Alright, ma’am.” I answer.
They gather their stuff and leave me once again in the haunting silence of the apartment. A cold realization churns up my throat. I’m getting closer and closer to being thrown into a war I don’t want to be a part of.
And I can’t save myself. I have always tried to save myself. Tried to run, but running won’t save me from the Godfather.