Natasha

“Welcome home,” Satan says to me.

It’s not his real name, but it’s how I’ve always thought of him. He’s nothing less than the Devil himself, living out his life on Earth. Terrorizing everyone who dares cross his path. He takes lives like they mean nothing to him, because they don’t. All that matters to him are power, wealth, and terror. I’ve lived in his world for too long, holding onto my humanity as best I can. Now, it’s all going to be over soon, and I can wipe the filth from my body, if not my soul.

“What happens now?”

“Lover boy is going to come looking for you.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“He will. He was at the bar, and I’m told he looked like he was going to pass out when he heard you were on your way here, with some ‘bad men’.”

He laughs, and it takes everything I have to force the smile onto my face. I have to smile when I want to throw up. I have to play this game, so he doesn’t shoot me dead, like the nothing I am to him when he isn’t looking for some entertainment. I won’t die before trying to save Haring.

I can’t let him know this is more than a job for me. If he knows I fell in love with Haring, there would be no chance of either of us leaving this basement alive. As it is, I’m pretty sure the moment Haring enters this room will seal my fate, but I’m not giving up hope just yet. I can’t. Haring has come to mean everything to me, and I won’t lose hope for either of our sakes.

“Good. This will all be over soon.”

“You didn’t enjoy your time with him? My sources say otherwise.”

“It wasn’t unpleasant.”

“You’re going to be rewarded for your part in all of this.”

Yeah, with a bullet to the head. “Thank you.”

“You can relax in your room until he arrives.”

“I’ll stay here; it’s better if I look tired, and hungry when Haring sees me.”

“Very well. You are sometimes smarter than I choose to believe. Maybe I’ll even let you have a little more power when this is all over.”

“Thank you.”

He leaves, and I breathe the first full breath I’ve taken since the moment I was ordered to leave Vegas. I didn’t stay down here to look pitiful, but to scope things out. There are cameras on me, so I can’t be obvious, but knowing what I’m working with might save us.

I stretch my arms as I pass the small table in the middle of the room. I bump it “accidentally” and realize it’s too sturdy to be of any help. The chairs won’t come apart easily, either, so they’re out. The room is all brick and concrete, which means no busting out that way. In the dark recesses, there are weapons cabinets made of steel, but they’re locked. If one was open, I could try for a gun, but I doubt I’ll get that lucky.

There are windows, but they are high, and have bars over them. Basically, the only way out is up the stairs, and without a miracle, there’s no way we’ll make it out that way. I’m hoping for a miracle, but planning for a suicide mission. Mine.

I will not let Haring get killed while there is still a breath in me. I will fight and die if it means he has a chance of getting out of here. I had a choice in all of this, but he didn’t. Even with that damn loan, and the power thrown around to help him, he doesn’t deserve this. He appreciates what he’s been given, and he wants to work hard to earn it. I know that now. I’ve seen the kind of man he is, and I love that man.

I’ve seen many people die in this room—and others—who didn’t deserve it, but my hands were tied. They still should be right now, but I will not allow things to go down the way they’re supposed to. I couldn’t go on living if I did, because his life is my life too. It sounds dramatic, and like some Lifetime movie, but it’s my truth.

I’ve lied, cheated, and yes, slept my way to where I am right now, but I don’t regret it. I can’t regret it, because that regret would cripple me, and I have to be the strongest I’ve ever been right now. I’ve earned myself a place of trust, and a tiny bit of power. Everything I did was to keep myself alive, but that doesn’t matter now. It was all for nothing if I can’t save the man I was sent to help kill. I never imagined he would be more than the man I saw on paper, that he would completely captivate me, and own me in just a couple weeks’ time, but he has.

Satan warned me he was charming, but my love for him has nothing to do with his cocky attitude. I find him amusing when his ego comes out to play, but it’s the quiet moments, when he’s holding my hand, or feeding me Chow Mein noodles that made me fall for him. His love for his sister, and the care he shows me strengthened my feelings for him. It’s in his work, and his compassion for every person he crosses paths with. That’s the Haring Kingston I know and love. I’ll love him until my dying day—which I’m pretty sure will be today. If I can die knowing I saved him, all of this will finally be worth it.

“He’s here,” one of the men yells down to me.

Those words instill a chill in me, and a resolve. It’s time for me to be the best actress I’ve ever been. I’m shaking inside, but I force myself to walk confidently to the table, and sit down. I can do this. I have to do this. I will do this. For him, and maybe, for me too.

Haring

I was grabbed as soon as I got off the train in Union Station. I expected it, and I didn’t fight it, because I’ll do anything to keep Natasha alive. I don’t have any illusions that she’s safe right now, so all I can hope for is that she’s still alive.

We pull up to a house I’ve driven by, but never been inside. All of my dealings with these people have been in my rink—their rink now. I was never invited here, and I never asked if I could have a look. When dealing with mobsters, the less you ask for, the better.

I want to run inside now, but with guys surrounding me, that’s not possible. Luckily, they’re walking briskly, and we’re inside within seconds. He’s waiting for us. The man who I sold my soul to, before my sister and friends took it back for me. Now, he’s got the woman I love, and I’d kill him right here on the spot if I had to.

“So good to see you again, Haring.”

“Where is she?”

“You were warned what would happen if you set foot on this soil again.”

“Where. Is. She?”

“The beautiful Natasha is downstairs, waiting for us.”

He motions to the open door to his right, and I don’t hesitate. I jog down those stairs, and there she is. Natasha is sitting at a table, looking tired, but safe.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine.”

The man I hate above all others speaks from behind me. “Of course, you are. Why would I hurt one of my best employees?”

No. “What?”

“She works for me, and she did a wonderful job. After all, you’re here.”

“What is he talking about?”

“I’m sorry, Haring. There was nothing else I could do. I had to do my job.”

She says those words in a monotone voice. Her eyes are blank, and her words stab through me like a knife. Natasha never cared, and she’s been setting me up since the beginning. I fell for the wrong woman, and now I’m going to die. In this moment, I want to die. No, that’s not true. I want to forget I ever met her, but I want to live. As painful as it is, I would never choose death.

“Don’t feel bad, young man. She is very good what she does, in and out of bed.”

He says this while caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. She keeps her eyes on me, and I see a flicker of regret before the blankness returns. She looks like a shell of herself, and I want to run to her, and take her into my arms. Even after everything I’m finding out, and knowing she betrayed me, I want to comfort her.

“Why? Why are you doing this? You got your money, and my rink.”

“You were to be an example to others I borrowed money to, but your friends were too powerful to let that happen.”

“You think they’ll let it happen now?”

“No one is here to save you. By the time they realize what happened, it will be too late. Your body needs to hang outside the precious roller rink you love so much.”

“Killing me will only bring their wrath to your doorstep.”

“Perhaps, but I’ll take my chances.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Cocky until the very end.”

“Wouldn’t be me, if I wasn’t.”

I see the gun raise, and catch me in its sight. I see the hand slide the safety back, and I watch the finger flex against the trigger. I’m frozen, knowing there’s nowhere for me to go. This is the end. Until it isn’t.

“Run, Haring!” Natasha yells, as she slams into the man she works for, causing the bullet to hit the ceiling. “Run, dammit!”

I hear more shots, and grunts as I finally move. Before I can make it to the stairs, the door opens, and Reina’s there, followed by my sister and some of her friends. Their guns are blazing, and I duck under the stairs until the bullets stop. It’s only then that I turn around.

Natasha is the only one standing, and her hands are up in surrender. I don’t know if they are going to shoot her, but no matter what, in the end she tried to save me. They need to know that.

“No! Don’t shoot her! She’s Military Intelligence,” Jake says, speaking before I can. He’s shielding her with his body, although she’s not cowering behind him.

“What? You know her?” his wife, Isa, asks.

“Yes. We used to work together.”

“Neither of you felt we needed to know this?” Reina asks, moving to stand in front of them.

“I wasn’t going to blow her cover, and get her killed.”

“But my brother was expendable?” Matisse asks, coming to my side.

Natasha shakes her head. “I knew you’d come for him, and if you didn’t, I was prepared to die to save him.”

“She tried to get me out,” I tell them, and then it comes to me. “At the barbeque, you were both tapping your legs as you sat next to each other. Was it Morse Code?”

“No, it was our code. Morse could be picked up by anyone, so we developed our own for each other years ago,” Jake tells me.

“You were one of his women, weren’t you? You got a ‘Jake necklace’.” Isa states it, but we all know it’s a question. One I’d like to hear the answer to, even though I shouldn’t care.

“I turned down the necklace, but yes, we were once intimate. It was a long time ago, and we realized very quickly that we were better off as friends.”

“It’s okay. I mean, I know he wasn’t a virgin when we met, but I wanted a frame of reference for all of this.”

“I would’ve kept her secret, regardless,” Jake states, and I can tell he means it from the fierce look in his eyes.

“Thanks, Jake, and thanks for getting them here.”

“We came for my brother, not you.”

“I am well aware of that, Matisse. It’s what I planned on.”

A staring contest begins between the two women I love. Yeah, I still love Natasha, because love isn’t something you can just turn off. I’ll never trust her, or believe what we shared is real, but my heart still beats for her, and only her.

“My mother will be here momentarily,” Jake tells us.

Natasha looks to the ceiling. “We’ll have to be de-briefed; my boss will insist on it.”

“Liz?”

“No, Reina, I don’t report to her. My boss is her second-in-command, James Kanta.”

I see a look of pity cross Reina’s face, before she responds. “Oh.”

There’s so much in that one word. So much I want to know, and so much I shouldn’t care about. Natasha just gives her a grim smile in return, before turning to hug Jake. He hugs her back, and I feel a stab of jealousy. Isa and Jake are insanely happy together, but he had my woman before I did. I don’t care how long ago it was, or how short-lived their affair was; it happened, and I hate it. I hate him a little, even though we’ve become friends. If I thought my life was fucked up before, it’s nothing compared to what I’m going through now. Un-lucky me, yet again.