SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. THREE YEARS AGO. “This is Captain Sherwood speaking, I need all units now at the harbor, we are currently under a car chase,” A blonde man in a leather jacket announced to his dispatcher. Besides him sat Jain Reynolds who was dressed in a brown leather jacket. It was dark now, and they were chasing a car that was a few meters away from them. It was hard to get to them. Every time they came closer, the car would speed up, and every time they felt they would lose them, they would find themselves closer to the vehicle. Jain didn’t seem to notice this because her eyes were on her captain who kept a stern face as he tried his best to catch up with them. Her stomach had a tingle whenever she was with Captain Tim Sherwood. This was because she liked him a whole lot, and even though she never told him about it, she always made sure it was obvious. That was how it was whenever she had feelings for someone. The only reason she couldn’t tell Captain Sherwood was becau
Detective Jain Reynolds could feel her head spinning as she heard the news. It couldn’t be true. At least that was what she was hoping. She heard that Carlos Borges was back in time. She was familiar with that name all too well. Carlos Borges was part of the Valdez cartel back in San Diego. That was when she had been in San Diego County and served as an officer. There was too much blood in her past whenever she recalled that name. Ernesto Valdez wasn’t the only mastermind behind the Valdez cartel. He had been working hand in hand with Carlos who was the most nefarious of them both. Carlos Borges was brutal and notorious for being involved in gang activity even in drug trafficking cases. Unfortunately for her, she was never able to bring him to Justice. Just like Ernesto, Carlos always found a way to get out of trouble. It was sickening, but she couldn’t just arrest him without a warrant. Her hands were tied when she watched the cartel kill Tim and her daughter, Hope. She had spent th
Lana stepped out of the vehicle and looked at the precinct. She couldn’t believe that she was about to do this. She had been here before to see Detective Reynolds and that was her mission today. Everything was getting out of hand. It was time she told someone about this, and Jain was the only person here at the precinct that she could talk to. Rylan was acting funny lately, barely letting her out of the house. This was because he had heard that there was someone back in town. Carlos Borges. Lana knew Borges very well. They had once worked together. This was a business deal with the casino. She was seated in the relationship between Carlos and Seth. So if Carlos was back in town, it meant that he had something to do with Seth. He was making another move, and this girl was going to make it a final strike. Lana found Detective Reynolds sitting on her desk. She didn’t look happy. Lana walked up to her passing sea of bodies who were moving up and down at the station. She wondered why the
Tristan Monreal poured some coffee into his mug and sighed. It was going to be another late night. He had just returned home from work and was exhausted, but he still had something to fix. It was Rylan’s video. When he had first seen Rylan at his doorstep, he had felt that Rylan was going to convince him to come and work for him again. Tristan was tired of that. He wasn’t sure he was going to work under somebody. He was successful and established. What more did he need?Tristan took a sip of his mug and stretched his limbs backward. His Harry Potter glasses were about to fall off from his nose bridge and he used his index finger to push it back to place. Tristan walked out of the kitchen and headed towards his digital room. He was thinking of calling that his bedroom because that was where he had been sleeping for the past week. It was exhausting, but a promise was a promise. The picture was hard to understand. He wondered where Rylan had gotten the video from. Another reason he didn
Detective Reynolds stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door hard. She was here to see Tristan Monreal and there was no way she was leaving without getting what she needed—the evidence that Rtln had handed over to him. Jain was grateful that Lana had come to her to report this. She couldn’t believe that Lana had been on her side the whole time. Rylan had evidence that would be useful in the case of Lana. But he had chosen to keep it to himself. She had promised to put him in jail soon, and that her promise was going to be kept someday. Detective Stanley Rogers arrived on the porch a few moments later. He was dressed in his usual white shirt and his shoulder holster on. They always looked like suspenders to Jain. His hair was brushed backward and ruffled and he had a stick of cigarette at the corner of his right lip. Stanley shoved his hands in his pockets as he stood beside Jain. Jain could perceive the smell of cigarettes as he joined her on the porch. She wrinkled her nose in
“Seems you like it here, Detective,” Stanley said as she arrived at the car. Jain shoved her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket and chuckled as she arrived at the car. “I don’t trust Tristan. I think he’s lying,” she said as she got into the car. Stanley stepped in and found her wearing her seatbelt. “What makes you say that?” He asked. Jain sighed and ignited her sedan. Jain reversed out of the parking lot and turned to him. “I think he knows who the murderer is,” Jain said. She turned to Stanley who had his brows furrowed as he thought about it. “What’s on your mind?” Jain asked. “I think you’re right, Jain. Maybe we should go back and interrogate him?”Jain shook her head. “There’s no need for that. We already got what we needed,” she said. “We have the evidence and we will run the analysis at the lab. We will fix the video ourselves and find out who did this.”Stanley raised an eyebrow at that. “Do you know anybody in our team who can fix this video?” Jain shru
Detective Reynolds couldn’t believe that this was the house she had left a few hours ago. She stepped out of the car to hear the sounds of sirens and ambulances as they arrived at the scene. This wasn’t true. Tristan was dead already. They had spoken a few hours ago, and now she was back here trying to solve his murder case. “Jain!” Stanley asked, rushing to her. Jain turned around to meet him. She had forgotten about him. And how had he come here so fast? “Are you okay?” Stanley asked as he stood before her. Jain blinked twice before she could regain full control of her body. She nodded at Stanley and sighed. “I’m fine. What happened?” She asked. Stanley winced and turned to the crime scene. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”Jain hated when Stanley said that. She stepped into the house and found a few police officers surrounding the scene. By the couch was Mrs. Lopez who was hovering over a corpse as she took photos of it. “That isn’t who I think it is,” Jain said. “It’s him
Rylan Daystar could feel the cold hands of guilt as he sat in silence with his hands cuffed. He was in a dimly lit room at the precinct which he was certain was the interrogation room. He had seen this one too many times in movies. Jain and Stanley were probably going to come in and play “good cop, bad cop” with him until he spilled his guts. He had news for them. Tristan was dead and it was all his fault. He shouldn’t have involved him in something this serious. Rylan didn’t know that Seth would be this serious in wanting to take him out. He had taken out Tristan which hurt so bad. Tristan didn’t want any part of this, but Rylan had forced him into doing it. He couldn’t believe this. It was hard to digest this. His best friend was gone. Watching his body being reeled into the ambulance was traumatizing. There was one thing for certain. If there was anybody who was going to avenge his death, it was him. There was no way he was going to let Seth Mannen win this time. The door swung
VENICE, ITALY6 MONTHS LATER. “Stay away from me!” The man yelled as he ran through the dim streets for shelter. Behind him, a man dressed in a black suit with a black mask was running after him. In his hand was an FN 5’7. The man in black pursued him endlessly. When the Italian man stopped for shelter, he pulled out his gun from the pockets of his leather jacket and aimed at the man in black. “Rylan. Watch out,” Williams called in his ear. “Holy shit!” Rylan yelled on his breath as the man pointed the gun in his direction. Two shots were fired and Rylan managed to dodge the bullets before they could hit him. “Are you sure this is our guy?” Rylan asked. “Affirmative. Dominic De Rossi,” Williams replied through the comms. “I just hope you’re right.”“When have I ever been wrong?”Rylan rolled his eyes and fired back at Dominic. The shot whizzed past Dominic’s head and he scrambled to his feet immediately. Rylan saw this and decided to go after him. They were on the main stre
“They let you in?” Jain asked. “Of course they would.”Jain sighed and drank her cappuccino. They were both seated at a table in the cafe. It was at their favorite spot—the table by the window. It had been two days since Rylan had spoken to Frederick. He could still remember the shock on his face when he told him he had forgiven him. It wasn’t something that Frederick had expected. Frederick was aware that he despised him, but there was no need to keep that grudge anymore. The battle had been won. The best thing he could do now was move on and that was ok his agenda. Jain shook her head in disbelief. She was baffled that they would let Rylan into the prison to speak to Frederick McCullough. Well, he was Rylan Daystar. “So what did you tell him?”Rylan lifted his cup of cappuccino and took a sip from it. His eyes went to the parking lot outside the window. The morning sun washed all the cars there with its glorious light including his black Audi. “I told him that I forgave him.”Ja
The door opened and a figure dressed in suit stepped into the facility. The sounds of footsteps echoed through the hallway as the figure made its way toward the door. When it arrived, a guard was waiting by the door who was heavily armed. He opened the door and stepped forward. He had a grim look on his face. “Welcome, Mr. Daystar.”Rylan smiled at him and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Where is he?” He asked. “Waiting for you, sir.”Rylan nodded and stepped forward. He was in a prison facility, one of the most dreaded in the country. Rylan was here to see someone special to him. He would call it a mockery, but there was something he would love to say. This was the last thing on his bucket list before he could tag this mission as a success. They arrived at a room and the guard opened the door for Rylan. Inside the dimly lit room, a figure was sitting at a table dressed in orange. Rylan clenched his jaws and stepped into the room. He turned back to the guard who was still sta
“I thought we were going to head back home?” Jain asked as they headed into their Airbnb. “Well, Los Angeles is a two-hour flight back, and my pilots are off duty for the night,” Rylan said, closing the door behind them. Jain sighed and rubbed her neck nervously. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been in a room alone with a man. That had been with Jacob; five years ago. Rylan took off his suit jacket and hung it on the cloth rag before folding his undershirt. “If this makes you uncomfortable I could get a different room for myself.”Jain turned to him. “You could do that?” She asked. “I mean, there’s no need for that.”Rylan arched an eyebrow at her as he folded his sleeve once more. “Okay. If you say so.”Jain nodded and proceeded to the fireplace. She was gazing at the crackling fire as she held her shoulders. It brought her soothing warmth. There was a center table in the small living room and on it was a bucket of ice with a bottle of champagne sitting in it. “Wou
WASHINGTON D.CRylan dropped his fork and reached for his napkin dapping his lips softly. Jain who was watching him had a glass of red wine in her hand. They were surrounded by people who also stayed in an expensive diner. One only Jain could dream of having. Rylan had changed her perspective on things over the last few days. She had managed to see the world through another pair of lenses; the expensive kind. Jain never knew that Rylan could be such a sweet person. She could vividly remember the first day she had met him. She and Stanley had been trying to solve the shootout that seemed to have happened to his club. When she had first laid eyes on him, she knew he was trouble. From the way he talked and moved, she assumed that he was as narcissistic and arrogant as the rest of all the billionaires in Los Angeles. But now as she sat across from him in an expensive diner, she couldn’t believe that she had been wrong the whole time. She had missed judging him, and that was fine by him
The party was lavish. There were lots of special dignitaries who filled the scene. The paparazzi wouldn’t stop flashing their cameras at them. This was the biggest party in the city. It was an awards party which would explain why there were so many famous people. A black Lamborghini arrived at the scene and halted on the red carpet. The door lifted and a figure stepped out of the car. It was Rylan Daystar who was dressed in a charcoal black suit with floral patterns and a shawl which was tied at his waist. He looked like a Frenchman. He moved to the other side of the car and opened the door. A woman stepped out of the car all dressed in a white gown. It was Jain, and she had a new look. Her platinum blonde hair which was always long was cut short now making her look dangerously beautiful. Rylan smiled as he watched her close the door of the Lamborghini. A valet came forward and Rylan threw the key to him. “Make sure you take good care of her.”“Yes sir,” the valet said, getting in
Rylan opened the door and stepped into the house. He had a grim look on his face. Arlene, who was seated on the couch engrossed with the television, looked up and saw him walk in. She immediately turned off the television and smiled at him. “Rylan. You’re back.”Rylan nodded. “Mom I’d like for you to meet someone,” he said standing aside from the door. Arlene raised an eyebrow at this. “Come in,” Rylan appeared to be speaking to the door until a figure stepped into the room.As Arlene saw the figure, she immediately flashed back. There was no way this was happening. He was real, and he was still alive. He was Paul Richmond. Arlene tried to speak but no words could converge. Paul looked at her and smiled. “Hey, Arlene,” he greeted. Arlene tried to look away but she couldn’t. His voice brought back so many memories. Like when Lauren had first told her that she was pregnant die him. Or when he had tried to combine her right outside the Vice chancellor’s office to come with him. Th
“I’m telling you son, the Los Angeles Angels might win this,” Paul said as he stepped out of Rylan’s Lamborghini. “Well, I hope you’re right, Dad. Because I have put a lot into this,” Rylan said, shutting the door of the car. Paul came to his son and wrapped his hand around his shoulder. “Trust me, son. You’ll see.”Rylan scoffed and they walked towards the entrance of the stadium. They had their seats reserved in the executive box. Rylan was here to watch his football team win the title. He was supposed to be here with Leah, but she told him she had some other pressing business to attend to. And so he decided to go with his father instead. There were now a few things left for Rylan before he could cross off his bucket list. Everything was going according to plan. “I saw you receiving the key to the city,” Paul said. “I couldn’t be more proud of you, Rylan.”Rylan turned to him. “You saw that? How?”Paul chuckled and patted his shoulders. “I was there.”Rylan’s eyes almost bul
“Do you have jitters?” Detective Jain Reynolds asked. Rylan turned to surprise. “Of course not.”“Well, you’ve been talking about your thigh for the last two minutes.”“I’m just anxious.”Jain turned to him. “About what?”Rylan kept silent for a few minutes to think about it. “About this, I guess?”Jain scoffed at his words. “You’ve been in front of a crowd a million times. This is the same thing.”“Well not exactly. I’ve never been in front of a crowd filled with police officers.”Jain laughed at his words. “Rylan Daystar is being intimidated by a crowd of police officers. Who would have thought?”Rylan rolled his eyes and placed his hands before him. They were both standing in a room alone. In a few minutes, they would be taken outside to be handed the key to the city. Rylan wasn’t exactly sure why he was there. When Jain had first told him about this at the cafe? He quickly declined the offer. The city saw him as a hero. But he wasn’t. He had so many flaws that would prevent