Jermaine Rhoades wasn’t a Christian, but now he understood how Jesus Christ felt when he struggled on his way to his inevitable death. The same story applied to him now as he sat in the backseat of a moving vehicle with two guns stabbing both sides of his abdomen. He knew that if he made any wrong move, he would be dead. They were taking him to the location of the cartel. A place he already knew. He asked himself if the mask was necessary. Jermaine could feel his heart thumping hard against his chest. When was it going to end? Soon he hoped. He couldn’t bear the anxiety and fear anymore. He wanted this to be as quick as possible. This was exactly how Jermaine had pictured himself after stealing the compass and the map. He knew that it would end in his demise either way. He had managed to evade the quick one, immediately stealing it. He had escaped the guards and had fled the mansion only to be brought back here. At least Jermaine had done what he wanted. Which was to hide the compas
Eric ran his fingers through his hair as he stepped out of his vehicle. He didn’t need to be told that he was late. He had received a call from Adam early this morning about another body being found, and the victim was someone familiar. Eric didn’t need a further call to rise from his bed. After taking a shower, he drove like a madman to arrive here. Now he was standing behind the yellow tape with police cars and an ambulance at the scene. The scene wasn’t filled with people like the first one had been. Eric took note of that. “Good morning, Detective Hilton,” Officer Brady greeted. “Slow morning.”Eric chuckled as he rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. “Adam is going to kill me,” Eric said. “He’s been here for the past hour,” Officer Brady said, holding his belt. Eric nodded and patted him on the back. “I’ll go and see him now.”“Good luck,” Officer Brady said, lifting the tape for him. Eric walked under the tape and walked on the lawn of the house which appeared to hous
Selena Rhoades felt nervous as she rang the doorbell of the huge mansion. It was barely daybreak, and she wondered if it was a good idea to be ringing the doorbell of someone she didn’t know. She had never met Roman Lacroix in her life, but somehow he had a special place in her father’s heart. Selena’s mind went to her father. There was no doubt that he was dead by now. The cartel must have gotten to him. She was all alone in the world now. No father, and no mother. Selena’s face was swollen from crying. She had taken the bus here, and throughout the ride, it was nothing but tears. She had feared going blind from crying for too long. Crying isn't going to do anything. Her father had sacrificed his life to save hers, but there could have been a different approach to that. They could have left New York and gotten to another city where they would have started afresh, but her father had been against that. Jermaine was one of the most stubborn people she met. He had preferred to die than
Eric Hilton and Adam Coleman stepped out of the crime scene with cups of cappuccino in their hands. It was getting cold now, and Eric wondered how long he was going to keep drinking it. He was slowly losing his appetite with each passing second. The body of Jermaine Rhoades was being bagged and would be taken away soon. After that, they would go to Roman Lacroix’s office where he would surely answer a few questions from them. There was no escaping what was coming to him. Finally, they had him where they had always wanted him. All they had to do was apply for an arrest warrant and he would be theirs. That wasn’t going to be hard to get from Deputy Behrens. Eric sipped his cappuccino and watched Leonard step out of the house. He took off his gloves and placed them in his kit walking towards the men. “Gentlemen. I will study the corpse further and see what I can find for you both.”Eric nodded at that. “Thank you so much, Leonard.”Leonard shrugged. “I mean, it’s my job,” he pointed
In the dark room, a figure stood by the window which was illuminated by the moonlight. It was the Viper Don. He was thinking about what he had done. Just over twenty-four hours ago, he had taken Jermaine’s life right here in this room. He wasn’t still satisfied with that. Killing Jermaine was a good idea, but he had no other choice. Jermaine had something he wanted; the map and compass. Those two artifacts were of importance to him. Where the map led to was very important. But Jermaine knew that and therefore proceeded to steal them from him claiming they weren’t his. Nobody told the Viper Don what could be his and not. And those artifacts were his, passed down from generation to generation. All he had to do was find where the map was. With Jermaine dead, they had no other choice but to start from scratch. They didn’t know where to start. His men had ransacked Jermaine’s home that same night, but they couldn’t find where he had placed it. It meant that it wasn’t there. It would be s
Selena was sitting timidly on the couch when Roman returned. She was still feeling queasy about everything. The thought of being in a place where she had no idea of gave her that uneasy feeling. She was alone in the living room now, but she knew she was being watched. If Roman was a friend of her father, then she knew that there was something different about him. He wasn’t just an ordinary billionaire. There had to be a huge secret he was hiding. Selena had noticed this pattern in all rich men in New York City. There had to be something they were putting their hands in. Something dangerous and illegal. And innocent people like her father were paying for it every day with their lives. This wasn’t the first time she had heard of someone dying at the hands of a secret gang or cartel. It was well-known around the city. There were these groups that haunted the streets of New York day and night, trying to inflict damage on the people who lived there. Even the food at some point got tired o
“Please tell me you placed a tracker on her,” Roman said to Ben as he stood behind the monitor screen. Ben was silently searching through the monitor screen. Roman was getting worried already. Selena had done the stupidest thing ever. She had left the house and gone on to fend for herself. Didn’t she know that she was being looked for? If Jermaine was trying to protect, it meant that the cartel was after her. Why would she do something as stupid as leaving the only place that guaranteed her safety? Roman couldn’t understand her. A new screen popped up. It was information about Selena. Roman stepped closer to the monitor and read it. Selena was twenty-five and was in school to get her Ph.D. Roman was surprised by this. She had a good academic background, and she was smart. She would be a great addition to the team, but it seemed she didn’t want to be a part of anything that was going on here. Roman guessed she wasn’t a fan of his. “She has a pretty good background, you know?” Ben co
Selena Rhoades sighed as she stood on the porch of her house. Behind her was the yellow tape which cautioned people from stepping into the crime scene. Selena felt a churn in her stomach as she looked at the house. Just over twenty-four hours ago, her father had come home telling her to leave. She had known that her father was affiliated with bad men. She was aware of the crimes he had committed with the cartel just so they could live better lives. But Selena never asked for that. She never wanted this. All she wanted was someone who would understand her. Her father was the last person on earth whom she understood and could talk to about anything. Left with no friends and family left, Selena could feel the cold hands of loneliness grip her. She clenched her teeth together and stepped into the house. In the living room where they had argued last night was a chalk drawing of where his corpse had been found lying. Selena could feel her teeth grit in fury. This wasn’t fair. If her fathe