Chapter Ten
Mina was resting when her phone buzzed beside her on the couch. Seeing the unknown number, she was very hesitant on answering it. But she did, nevertheless.
“Mina? This is Greta,” came a sickeningly sweet voice, “Is it okay if I talk to you for a bit?”
Mina’s anger flared, “What do you want from me?”
“Nothing I want from you, sweetie,” she sighed, “I have more than you could ever wish for. But I just figured since you and Aaron were getting so cozy, then maybe there are some things you should know.”
“There is nothing I need to know about him from you,” Mina shot back, “If there’s anything at all, he’ll tell me himself so please have some respect for him and not breach his privacy?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to know anything?” she stressed, “I mean, if that’s the case then I hope he’s told you about his biological mother. There are a few things he will never give into because of her.”
“What do you mean?” Mina’s voice fell, concerned and on guard.
“I just wanted to let you know that you can’t go very far with him, if you know what I mean.”
Mina was slightly sure she did, but she didn’t think Greta would’ve assumed such a thing happening.
“I’m sorry,” she played coy, “I don’t get you.”
“Tsk, well, all right,” Greta murmured, “Just make sure you keep your guard up. Aaron can be very difficult to get through to. He’s very reserved.”
Mina had absolutely no clue what Greta was going on about, “Look, if there is anything at all, Aaron can tell me himself. He’d keeping you at a distance so please respect that and let him be at peace, maybe? You’ve already done him and I enough damage with your antics so don’t ever call me again.”
“I– what?”
“You sent men to her house to hurt me,” Mina breathed almost despairingly, “How stupid do you take people to be, Greta? I know it was you behind it. Good bye now.”
And she hung up. Chest ached with frustration and guilt, though she knew she wasn’t to blame one bit. She felt bad because Aaron had to deal with it on her behalf. But who would be better than him to do so? He knew these people, had history with them, and knew their weak spots.
Her phone buzzed again, flashing Aaron’s name. She quickly answered it, “Hello?”
“Hi. You doing okay?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” she sighed, “When will you be back?”
“I’m meeting up with Greta in a bit,” he informed her, “We need to clear up a few things. Won’t take long, I guess about an hour or so.”
“Okay then, should I make anything for us?”
“I kind of feel like take-out tonight. I’ll get some on the way, okay?” he said cheerfully, “You sit back and relax. Anyway, I gotta go. See you.”
“Sure,” Mina chirped, “Bye.”
Usually it helped ease her mood when talking to Aaron, but it wasn’t the case this time. Greta’s phone call had left her extremely curious, insecure, and concerned. She didn’t want to commit to someone who wasn’t willing to in the first place, but did she really know if Aaron was like that? And with all that had happened between them, what were they really?
But whatever there was to happen in the near future, would it be worth the danger to come? Mina felt it in her bones that what they were dealing with wasn’t some pesky case of jealousy. There was more to Greta, Tyler, and Aaron. There was a lot she didn’t know, and she hated not knowing.
Mina did not stay easily. Mina found no difficulty in leaving all that was unhealthy to her. No matter how she felt about it.
Her life had been nothing but an escapade from bad people. Bad men like her father who hit her repeatedly because he had nothing else to do. Bad guys like those in her high school who harassed her for kicks and threatened her with spreading photo-shopped images of her if she didn’t sleep with them. Bad men like those in her university who tried to deliberately rape her simply because she was ahead of everyone else, and the bad women who supported them behind her back because they were just as envious. Bad people like her neighbors where married men tried to force her onto their laps and push her hands against their crotches.
She’d suffered a lot. And she’d suffered enough.
After her mother, her own self was her first priority. And nothing could change that.
Aaron asked for nothing but water. He wanted space in his stomach for the take-away he promised to have with Mina. Not that anything from here could satisfy his fill, anyway. Like any other high-end restaurant, it charged more and served ridiculously less.
Greta felt too awkward to order anything other than wine. No one liked eating alone like this. So alone. There was nobody but them, the restaurant staff, and Aaron’s own security. It was very obvious when sitting smack in the center of it all.
The large room was lit golden through a crystal chandelier that shone right above them. Two adjacent walls were made of glass overlooking the city while the other two were pasted with elegant wallpaper. The white epoxy floor gleamed under the chandelier’s glow as soft music echoed through the walls.
“You should get yourself something,” Aaron broke the silence, “This will probably be the last time I ever take you out like this.”
“No, thank you.”
“Now tell me – and be honest, please – why are you being this way?” he inquired carefully, “Sending people to attack Mina? What good will that do?”
“You know how I feel about you, Aaron,” she started firmly, “and if I can’t have you, then no one else can.”
“And what will that do for any of us?” he tried reasoning with her, “I’ll be unhappy, you’ll be without me, your brother will probably end up in jail-”
“What does she have that I don’t?” Greta cut through viciously.
“She’s an amazing person, Greta.”
“Is there really something between you and Mina?”
He pursed his lips and shrugged, “We make a great team when it comes to Xbox. We’re both good cooks, artists, and love to read. I could go on. We have a lot of things common between us.”
“You know what I mean.”
“And does it matter either way?” he shot, “You and I are over. I can be with whoever I want.”
“You broke up with me for no good reason.”
“I broke up with you because you didn’t trust me, Greta,” he stated with a drop in his voice, “I left you because you didn’t respect me in the slightest, nor do you have any for others. I dumped you because I couldn’t see a future with you. I never could, since the beginning.”
Greta sat still, silent. Aaron knew she was hurting, her eyes were turning red as tears pooled in them. Her knuckles were white from her grip on her glass, and he was surprised it hadn’t crushed in her hold yet.
“I’m so sorry I gave you any hope when there was none to begin with,” he spoke softly, reaching out to her. But she moved away and downed her drink.
“We really are over, huh?” she muttered audibly under her breath. Aaron sighed. A crying Greta was not something he had the energy to deal with.
“I’m leaving,” she announced, but security moved in to cage her from walking away.
“Sit down,” Aaron ordered as he leaned back in his chair, “we’re not done yet.”
“What else do you want from me?” her voice trembled, “You’ve taken enough, more than you should have.”
“I have taken nothing I came here for,” he stated coolly, indifferent to her emotions, “Take a seat.”
Greta huffed indignantly and plopped onto the chair. Aaron placed his ankle over his knee and started to interrogate her.
“I thought you hated your brother.”
“Not enough to not ask for help.”
“What did you tell him about us all?”
“I only sent him pictures and said I wanted Mina gone.”
“Who is he working with at the moment?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Then you’ll never leave,” he mentioned pointedly, and Greta gritted her teeth.
“The Cannes.”
“And?”
“Rodriguez”
“Go on.”
“That’s all. They’re both second largest in the underworld.”
“And what is Tyler’s plan for us? I know Mina isn’t the only one he’s after.”
Silence.
His hidden ear piece clicked awake, “Rodriguez often sends their people to break into banks. He’s after your money.”
He’s taking his revenge, it dawned upon Aaron. Revenge for what? Probably for him not stopping Tyler from falling into his inconveniences. But he had tried. He’d talked to him all he could. And when he tried to pull Aaron into it and almost endanger his life and future, he had no option but to walk away alone.
He remembers the night well, when they sneaked off the campus and away in a truck for the weekend. Tyler had told him they’d be camping. It took a while to get there. They got to a site and started to hike uphill, and for a very long time. Aaron kept asking for breaks, finding good spots to set up camp.
“We can’t see the stars from here, Ronnie boy,” Tyler’s chuckle came out sinister. It had really thrown Aaron off the edge and his gut instincts screamed at him to turn back. Leave him there. Run away.
But he’d never listened to himself anyway, and so followed Tyler to the top. And it felt like forever. It wasn’t until they came across a strange cabin did they stop to rest, and Aaron had been grateful but something screamed danger all across the area. Something in the air didn’t smell right. Burning, but not of wood. He remembered it all too well. It resembled the scent of weed Tyler had given him a week ago. And suddenly he really didn’t want to be here.
“Come on in, Aaron,” Tyler called from the door, “The party hasn’t even started yet.”
He wasn’t sure if it was really a party, but he could tell something of the sort was definitely happening in there through the windows and cracks in the wood spilling out lights that changed colors. He ran after Tyler and made sure he didn’t lose him. Aaron wasn’t the most social person and hardly knew anybody personally.
“Aye, Colby!” Tyler called out to someone on the far end, and a mop of red hair on a pale skeleton of a person bounded towards them. Aaron was concerned his head would fall off. Tyler chatted away, so he took to observing his surroundings. Dusty, spider webs, animal rugs and mounted animal heads and skulls. A few girls he recognized from his university were present there, dressed scantily in leather and fur, paired with too high heels and colorful make up, some smoking joints on the laps of seemingly older men who were doing the same. Those men were either in suits, leather jackets, or topless.
And it wasn’t long until more and more people arrived, and music started to pulse through the air and into the floor, travelling up into chests and making hearts thump to the beat. But Aaron didn’t like this beat. It was slow and uncomfortable. He could see people starting to rub against each other and a weird sense of claustrophobia he never had before acted up. And he decided he had had it and turned to leave, until a familiar hand dragged him by the elbow and into the crowd. Soon he was thrown into a room relatively quieter than the party outside.
“Boys, say hello to Aaron,” Tyler introduced him to a bunch of men. They were the same older men smoking and being entertained by his university’s girls. They sat at a long table, and the others were filled with two of his own university fellows. There were three more seats left, and Tyler dragged Aaron to one and plopped right beside him.
“We’re all here, now let’s get to business.”
Tyler and the other two boys pulled out cases and slid it over. Aaron didn’t understand what was going on but it was clearly a negotiation of sorts. They talked with authority, respect, and wisdom. But they knew they were still committing a crime. Names of drugs thrown about, prices, amount, deals made, dealers paid. And finally came the nightmare of a lifetime.
“Aaron here wants to work with us,” Tyler said. Aaron went pale. Absolutely still. Silence, as he looked around. They all looked back at him waiting for an answer, “don’t you, Ronnie boy?” Tyler nudged him in the ribs.
Aaron didn’t know what he was thinking or how he managed to even move, but he was on his feet and running. Pushing past bodies and jumping over them, flying out the door and just running downhill, not once looking back. His legs burned, his chest burned crying for air, and all he could hear was blood rushing in his ears as the adrenaline poured into his system. He did not stop. He couldn’t.
He reached the truck, grateful that Tyler always handed him the keys for the way back, knowing he would come out drunk or stoned, incapable of driving. Aaron always took care of him after, but not this time. This time, he was done with Tyler for good.
He’d driven back to university and demanded for a helicopter to fly back home. Packed his bags with all that was important and rushed to the rooftop. No one questioned him because they knew he never used his privilege or resources unless it was an emergency. And this was the most dire one he’d ever been in.
Upon reaching home, his dad was the first one he rushed to. It wasn’t long before Tyler’s parents were contacted and he was dragged back home by Dave McCarthy’s security. And it was all a mess after, but he’d still managed to escape with the help of the syndicate’s branch in New York.
Ever since then, Aaron’s life was surviving one accident after the other. It took a lot of work to get it to stop.
He knew the war had started again.