As the sun's golden glow started to spill slowly over the length of the city, Reynolds woke up in Kayla's bed. She was lying next to him, having gotten back from work while he was asleep. He smiled at the sight of her, splayed out in bed. Her hair fanned out around the pillow and one of her legs encircled his waist. She slept like a child, messily. It was the only thing she did with any innocence and he was grateful to be the one who woke up next to her each night. Every other thing she did was done carefully with absolute precision. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and at his touch, she squirmed and smile in her sleep. He kissed her forehead and untangled himself from her and the sheets.It was the morning of Ceneau's wedding and Kayla had planned for it for weeks. By all indications, she wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to make sure all her efforts did not go to waste.The day unfolded with a seamless rhythm. He prepared breakfast quickly. It was pumpernickel wa
It was going to be long, long, day, Ceneau surmised.Even worse, it was going to be the first day of his life he would be obligated to be with one woman. It was the first day in a long time that he did not wake up to a woman tangled in his sheets. The one week he had stayed in São Paulo was the last week of freedom he would have, and he knew it. He spent his days as he wished, with whom he pleased. He faintly remebered kissing a bartender at the back of the bar, her hand already halfway down his zipper, his, palm in the globe of her buttock. Ceneau sighed. He already missed the vagaries of bachelorhood.Looking at his alarm clock, he saw that it was a few minutes past 5 a.m. It was just hours to his wedding. After his disappearance, the family had kept close watch on him, as if they half expected him to up and vanish one night. The truth was, it was not as though he had not thought of it. He had dreamed of it, in fact. He wanted to book a flight, pack a bag hurriedly and head for
Gaude's daily routine had not been broken for a little over ten years.Every morning, he disassembled his handguns and put all the parts together again. Afterwards, he oiled them and made sure that the cartridges were full. Truth was, it had been years since he had had to draw his weapon and fire in defence of anyone. After being assigned to Ceneau Johns, most of the tasks he faced each day were of a more menial nature. He drove his young boss around the city and to events. He served as protection, which too often simply involved standing still in his dark suit and looking tough—an easy skill to acquire after having been trained at the academy. Gaude had worked for Ceneau for so many years, he could no longer trace the memory of being assigned to him back to the beginning. However, if there was one thing he had come to know about the young man, it was that he disappeared whenever he felt overwhelmed.It made the man unique compared to the rest of his kin. The Johns were balls of ra
Rey arrived at the church half an hour before the groom's brothers.He was dressed for the occasion: chukka boots and a black Armani suit that fitted him like a glove. Only a handful of guests were present to witness the ceremony, and they were all dressed like him. Ceneau was yet to arrive at the church and the air was already tense from the waiting. His mother had already assured them that Ceneau was on the way, but Rey doubted it. He knew a lie when he heard one and he could knew a poor liar when he saw one. Ceneau's mother was a terrible liar. Her face was a mask of worry.Sean, Tate and Lloyd whispered frantically among each other at the second time row. Hamish sat with his father at the front row, in his tux, as urbane as always. He smiled and shook the guests when they approached him, as though there was no problem at all. Guests milled about, greeting each other and sharing hand shakes.In the heart of the hustle and bustle, an unsettling hush spread amongst the Johns like r
"Where to next?" Reynolds asked the taciturn man.The silence in the car was sharp and bladed. Coupled with the fact that they still had no idea where Ceneau was, Rey could not help but feel stifled.Gaude glanced at him. "A bar a little further down.""What's there?""Ceneau, hopefully."Rey gave the man a dirty look and he relented. "It was somewhere Ceneau, Tate, Sean and Lloyd used to visit when they were younger. It has long since been overtaken by a biker gang and all sorts of people, like a rendezvous for the worst kind. The brothers stopped visiting the place a long time before then. Their taste changed. It is luxury hotels and expensive vacations now. But not Ceneau. Whenever he is in the country, he goes there.""The gang, they don't make trouble for him?"The bald man shrugged. "They could try if they wished to. I am often with him though. It would end poorly for them. But they don't even go near him. They stay away; leave him in peace. He says it is a haven, that place."G
"The Johns are a beastly people." Gaude told Ceneau quietly, while looking straight ahead.If they were not the only persons in the vehicle, Rey would have turned around to check for the person who spoke. He had never heard one of the Johns family aides speak ill of the family or the patriarch. The act itself seemed like treason.Gaude ground his teeth. "They lie, cheat, steal, kill, all to get what they want. It is their nature. And they make us to be just like them, too. Only more violent. More prone to do harm. The things we have done for them." He mused, shaking his head."So why don't you leave?" Reynolds asked.Gaude looked at his as though he was slowly losing his mind. "What?"He repeated himself. "Why don't you leave? Find your own path. Haven't you had enough?"The guard shook his head. "You don't just leave when it comes to being in service of the Johns, Mr Reynolds. Clearly for all your skill you still know little to nothing about these people. Besides I do not know any ot
"I could use a guy like you." The bartender told Reynolds when they approached the counter."Oh, how so?" He asked. Gaude was still irritated from his encounter with the men and he had for a short while taken a step back. For this, Reynolds was grateful. The man had a soldier's approach to anything and everything, and while violence and force usually got the job done, Rey had long since learned that their were other ways to go around a problem.The woman shrugged. "I saw what you did over there for your friend here. I was going to call my husband, but it would have been a mess. You stepped in and did what you did. Let's just say I am a big fan of your method." She grinned. Reynolds grinned back. She was married and friendly, therefore she was safe. "Well, my method is expensive." He said. He did have to cover the cost of their drinks, didn't he?"The price of peace. It is a small price to pay, wouldn't you say?""Perhaps,"She was looking at Rey the way Kayla looked at him most days
Another figure had emerged from the shadows - Jamie, an old friend of Rey's.James "Jamie" Corrigan was the golden boy on campus when Reynolds was in college. He was not a jock or anything, but you could not spend the day without hearing something about what Jamie did. He was smooth-faced and stereotypically handsome in the way that college girls loved. It helped that his parents were like Riker's —filthy rich. They owned an assortment of businesses in the country and the name Corrigan was a household name. Reynolds struck up a friendship with him by accident of place. Jamie was the last person he expected to see in a room standing next to a man like Riker."Rey," Jamie said, opening up his arms as if preparing to embrace him, but keeping his distance. "It has been too long."Reynolds glanced between both men, his head spinning with confusion. "Apparently, it has. Tell me you are not with him."Jamie offered him a small smile. "I am," He admitted.He had grown a tad, morphing from