12. CHAPTER 12
SEBASTIAN
I took a long drag of the cigarette before releasing the smoke into the air.
“She’s got hidden trauma, you know,” Logan said.
“What do you mean?” I leaned over the table, pouring the whisky into my glass, swirling it before taking a sip.
“The way she froze, completely shut down. I’ve seen it a thousand times.”
Logan had once been my right-hand man. When I left the Organisation, he became more of a bodyguard, hiding in the shadows until he was needed. He was ex-special forces.
He never missed a mark.
“Did you know that guy?” I asked Logan.
He paused. “I don’t think so. He was probably just trying his luck with Aria.”
I rubbed my stubble. Maybe he was right.
I looked up, taking another drag on my cigarette before putting it out as Connor walked in.
“All sorted?”
“You did a number on that guy,” he said, sitting down at the table. “But yes, not a trace.”
“When have you ever seen Sebastian do half a job?” Logan chuckled.
“True.” Connor shrugged, pouring himself a glass.
Connor was a pristine high-end barrister who had connections to everyone in that circle. He was fucking good at what he did. He’d get you off anything, no matter the evidence. He worked with judges, officers, and anyone law related to keep them out of the Organisation’s business.
“Did I hear right? Has Sebastian been making trouble again?” Hayden said, waltzing in and joining us. “Thought you were done with this life.”
“I am.”
I didn’t want to be, though. It was a constant struggle to stay away. These guys were the family I never had. I felt like I belonged here—not in the corporate world I despised.
I was trying to be as above board as I could for my granddad's sake, but every day was getting harder.
Then there was Aria. That light in the darkness that calmed my chaos with a single touch. She hadn’t long come back into my life, and I wanted to be someone who deserved her, but the man I used to be was still in there, and he’d come out if need be to protect her.
Like last night.
“Hmm.” Hayden patted me on the back. “Serfina’s taken Aria out today.”
“Where?”
“She said after your mess, Aria probably needed some retail therapy.”
“Tell Serfina to charge it to my accounts. Anything Aria wants.”
Hayden nodded, grabbing his phone.
“Logan, can you keep an eye on her?”
“Sebastian, Aria will be fine. Have you forgotten the family Serfina grew up in?” Hayden said.
Serfina’s dad was once part of the Russian mafia before they were forced out. He ended up in London and met her mother.
Serfina was five when they moved next door to me. Her dad still had connections and was extremely wealthy. He raised his daughters to be fighters, and Serfina was a fiery one.
Logan leaned forward on the table. “Do you want me to go?”
“No, Hayden’s right. She’ll be fine.”
“I’ve got to get going, I’ve got court in a few hours,” Connor said, standing and then shaking everyone's hands before leaving.
“I’ve got to go see Soran. You coming?” Hayden asked.
“Yeah, but I’m driving.”
The headlights from the passing cars flickered in and out of my windows as I drove down Edgware Road.
It was always busy. The traffic. The streets.
It was a vibrant place full of Middle Eastern restaurants and shisha bars that came alive at night.
Hayden sat back in the passenger seat, fiddling with the positioning.
He hated it when someone else sat there.
I laughed under my breath, but it must have been loud enough for him to hear, because he frowned at me.
“Who have you had in this? It’s dead straight,” he grumbled, trying to get it just right. I rolled my eyes.
He must have got the seat just how he liked it, because he finally stopped playing with it. I could see him out of the corner of my eye, grinning to himself.
“You’re officially Prince Charming now. Whatever will you do?” Hayden joked.
I glanced at him . Prince Charming? More like chaos in a tailored suit.
“Don’t go there,” I warned him.
“Oh, c’mon. It’s clear you like her,” he replied dryly, like he’d been waiting to say it.
He was right.
I did like her.
I liked her more than I should or wanted to admit to anyone.
Everything on my part had always been about protecting the light that she was.
Then things naturally started shifting between us just before she started uni. It became more than just a brother wanting to keep his sister safe.
And this time, I wasn’t going to leave her.
The smell of freshly baked bread always hit me when I walked into Soran’s restaurant. Hayden and I made our way through the busy space to the counter. The waitress’s eyes darted uneasily to Hayden and then to me.
“Is Soran about?” I asked.
She glanced us over again before disappearing out the back. I casually leaned my elbow on the counter to face Hayden. Within a few minutes, a familiar voice came from behind.
“Sebastian, Hayden. Always a pleasure to see you,” Soran said. You could tell he had a smile on his face just from his tone.
I turned to meet him. His thick black hair was in its usual style, slightly parted at the side and combed back. His beard looked fuller than the last time I’d seen him. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into a bro hug. He then proceeded to greet Hayden the same way.
“Come. Sit.” Soran gestured towards the table. He turned to the waitress. “Dayi, bro.”
She hurried out to the kitchen.
I’d picked up a few words of Kurdish here and there from time spent around Soran. He would tell us stories about his homeland and how he was named after the region he was born in. He’d tell us his bloodline was older than the streets of London. He was proud of his ancestry.
Like me and Hayden, we’d also met in the underground fight scene and hit it off quickly. We later allied, forming the Organisation with a few others.
With his background, it was only logical he’d step into this niche role. He had legitimate businesses, such as this restaurant, but he offered another service.
You needed someone to disappear? Soran was your man.
A few minutes later, the waitress came out with bowls of soup. The smell of earthy spices with a hint of sweetness hit me, followed by that of freshly cooked bread, like flour meeting fire.
Hayden wasted no time in tucking in.
“You know, your food is almost as good as my nan’s jerk chicken,” he joked.
Soran raised his eyebrows. “Don’t tell my wife that.”
I chuckled to myself. Soran’s restaurant was by far the best; it was always full of people enjoying themselves. The server soon brought out an array of Kurdish cuisine until the table was filled with everything you could imagine, from lamb kuzi and kuba, to my favourite, the dolma.
I didn’t know how he expected us to eat it all.
“No business until after we’ve feasted,” Soran said firmly.
We joked and laughed as we ate, reminiscing about our time together like it was yesterday. I missed it. It was nothing like the rigid corporate world that only saw black and white. The world of pretence. No one was loyal to anyone. They’d soon stab you in the back just to be on top.
The underworld was different; we worked together in our own way. Everyone had a role to play, but when the time came, we blended into one.
The restaurant soon closed, leaving only us in there. Trails of steam rose from the Kurdish chai in the glasses in front of us.
“You got what I asked for?” Soran asked eventually, stirring in his sugar.
“All here,” Hayden replied, pulling a USB drive from his inside pocket and sliding it across the table.
Soran was looking for someone, and Hayden was the guy who could track anyone or anything down.
If he hadn’t ended up down the illegal route, he’d be working for the one of the government’s intelligence organisations.
He could memorise complex codes and encrypted patterns, and once he’d seen a government server, he could visualise every weakness to it.
It was fascinatingly odd.
You needed information on people, and Hayden could hack any system without getting caught.
We sat sipping the tea in silence for a few more minutes before Soran stood up.
“Always a pleasure, Hayden,” he said, extending his hand.
Hayden and I followed.
“Sebastian—the door is still open. We want you back,” Soran said.
I shook my head. “You know I have other commitments.”
“It’s called a woman,” Hayden interjected.
I shot him a glare.
Soran chuckled. “Always a pleasure.”
I didn’t know how long I had been sitting outside Aria’s.
I peered at the time: 2 a.m.
I had dropped Hayden back home and somehow found myself outside, as if I couldn’t resist the pull of her.
Her light was still on.
Our connection was still rooted deep between us. I could feel it, and I knew she could, too.
She appeared at the window, and my breath hitched.
I took her in: that messy bun of hers she’d always have before going to sleep, with those little loose bits that fell over her face.
And those eyes. It had always been those shimmering moon eyes—the way the light would touch the darkness of my soul.
Then she closed the curtain, shutting me out of her world.
I started the engine and slowly pulled away.