Chapter 14

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I sat uncomfortably in the police station with Clyde leaning back beside me like this place was his living room, it reminded me of how comfortable Sergio had been in that cell.

"Steven!" Clyde greeted happily and my frown deepened as my eyes met one of the policeman that had 'arrested' Sergio and I. He saw me and laughed.

"Clyde, hello." He greeted, "– and you. Are you alright? Hope we didn't scare you too much."

Instead of replying, I pointed to Clyde who was laughing, apparently Sergio has shared our fake arrest story with him and he found it hilarious. "I need some information." He said.

Steven's face went serious before motioned for us to follow him and we followed him to what looked like his office. It wasn't filthy but it wasn't very tidy either. There were folders everywhere, even some stacks in the corner on the floor making the room seem much smaller and stuffier. The only tidy looking thing was his desk and the cabinet in the corner, but only because all the drawers were closed.

"I'm looking for a name." Clyde said as he took a seat while Steven did too. I followed their lead despite how much I wanted to leave the little office.

"Why?" Steven frowned. Clyde raised his brows and Steven sighed, "Whose?" he asked.

"The witness in the Richardson murder case, who was he?"

"Why? I refuse to get involved in another murder case of yours." Steven said pointedly.

"Steve, you know your name will never be mentioned. So, can you find the name?"

"You mean Dec..." Steven drifted narrowing his eyes.

"You know his name out of your head?" I asked.

"You don't forget the only witness in a case like the Richardson's very easily – or at all. Especially when it’s him."

"What do you mean?" I asked edging closer to him.

"Well, the way they were killed was just so –"

"His name." Clyde cut him off.

"No, how did they die? How were they killed?" It was finally my chance to find out, maybe if I knew how, I could figure out why.

"You wanted a name, Alex. You get that or you get how they died." I glared at Clyde and he raised his brows at me. I grit my teeth motioning forward and he looked at Steven, "What was his name?" I guess I could get him to tell me how they died once I found him.

"You better not be planning anything stupid, Clyde." Steven warned as he looked between us before he sighed, "It was a friend of theirs, apparently. Declan."

"Hatton?" I looked at Clyde asked that, "Declan Hatton – are you serious?" Clyde was shocked, Steven nodded.

"What's wrong? You know him?" I asked.

"Nothing. No." Clyde replied, "Are you sure it's him?" he asked the man across us.

"I can never forget, especially since both of your gangs are such big names in this city." Steven said before he frowned, "You better tell me now if you are planning a gang war here, Clyde. I will not let that happen, it’s too dangerous and reckless." He added.

"We are not, I assure you. Thank you, Steve. We'll leave you to your work." Clyde pulled me from my seat by my arm and shoved me towards the door.

"What the hell?" I hissed.

"You do not want to mess with that man, just let it go." He said.

"Excuse me?" I looked at him.

"He's dangerous, very. Someone like you trying to threaten him is sure suicide for you." I gave a laugh as we reached his car. "I'm fucking serious, Alexander. You have a nice, comfortable life going for you; you should just forgive what happened and move the fuck on." He said. I frowned.

"Look here, Clyde. I have my work and you have yours. The only thing you need to be worried about concerning my life is my selling your shit, other than that, stay out of it." I said, immediately climbing into the car afterwards.

He followed me in.

"You go after him and you'll be dead before you even find a trace of him." He said to me before he started the car.

I ignored him as I pulled Sergio's book from my bag and resumed my reading while we started on the way home.

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"What is this?" Clyde asked the man he had been speaking to since we walked into this warehouse.

I had somewhat of idea as to why I was forced to go with him, apparently I couldn't be left alone and everyone was busy with 'work'. so I was dragged along with Clyde like a child without a babysitter. I wouldn't have been this annoyed to be there if I didn't have a ton of homework to do while I had left my work at the house, in my room.

At the moment, I was seated in the corner of the room tossing little Acid squares from my hands into a bowl which seemed to be annoying the man's guards but I couldn't have cared less about them. I was bored, I had nothing else to do.

I needed my phone back...

"Who the hell is this?" The guy motioned to me and I gave a wide grin back to tick him off more.

"No one that is any of your concern. If we have any more problems –"

"We won't." The man cut him off. Clyde's brows rose and I was surprised to hear a mumbled apology from the man.

"Alex," Clyde said.

I dropped the rest of the Acid back into the bowl as I got up and looked at my fingers wondering if I should wash my hands. I was still wondering when I was shoved from the office by Clyde as his hand gripped the back of my neck. I pushed his hand away from me as we entered the hall and began walking through the dimly lit hallway with two of Clyde's guards following us.

"How old are you?" Clyde muttered annoyed.

"Shut up." I received a smack to the back of my head and turned to shove him but I was shoved by one of the bigger men, his name was Nigel. I grit my teeth as Clyde smirked at me.

"Get him outside." Clyde muttered.

Before I could question anything Clyde had left into another room and I was being shoved further down the hall towards where we had come in.

I walked out of the building with the two built guys that made me feel bad about having to be dragged to the gym by Jordan. Because I didn’t know what we were actually doing next, I stopped to let them step in front of me before I followed them across the parking lot to the black Land Rover they had been driving us around in but they made no attempt to open the car. were we just going to wait for Clyde?

"Are we just going to stand out here?" I asked.

"What? You have a problem with that?" the other guard, Ryan asked as he lit a cigarette.

I opened my mouth but stopped. I had a feeling they didn't like me very much and I wasn't in the mood to get beat up again. Was there a mood for getting beat up? Let's just say I had gotten enough punches in the past few days and though I was willing to fight back, the odds here were against me. Again.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Ryan laughed blowing his smoke into my face. "Pussy." It was becoming harder for me to keep my mouth shut.

"Oh no, he doesn't roll that way. I mean, he lives with a guy. Good looking little fella too. Now HE could turn me." Nigel smirked. How did he know about Jordan?

"Stay the hell away from him." I hissed.

"Or what?" Nigel asked before he reached out and grabbed my jaw, "Where's that big mouth now?"

I was pissed by the way they thought they could talk to and treat me so I swung at him and hit him square in his jaw before I followed it up with a knee to his gut, but instead of falling to his knees like I expected, he retaliated with a fist to my eye.

I slammed back against the car covering my face. I might have misjudged his speed by a lot but I had been right about his strength and I could feel blood trickle down my pounding face, a result of the hardest hit I had received in my life. I was sure I couldn't even see out of my eye.

I let out a grunt as he hit me again causing me to fall to my knees clutching my stomach. Fuck, I should have ignored them.

Why do I keep doing this?!

"You disrespectful piece of shit, you're nothing in this game." Nigel spat, "You think just because you live at the house you're better than the rest of the dealers?"

I grit my teeth trying not to sound out how badly my face and stomach hurt as he grabbed my shirt pulling me to my feet before slamming me against the car. I glared at him as he pinned me to it.

"You ain't shit here. Dealers are scum in our world. You could be killed and replaced in less than a minute. The only thing you're above here are diseased prostitutes. Don't you forget that." He hissed.

Stubbornly – and incredibly stupidly – I shoved my hands out into his chest causing him to stumble back before he tried to hit me again but I bent to dodge it and he hit the window smashing it. I was about to run but I froze seeing bright headlights coming towards us, I saw the car’s windows roll down before the guns were pointed out.

He seemed to read my face because suddenly he ran and I stumbled to follow as shots went off. I leaned against the front of the car squeezed between Nigel and Ryan as they grabbed their guns and fired back. I covered my ears wishing I was somewhere else, somewhere safer and quieter, but since that wasn't possible, I wish I had a gun and a bulletproof vest.

"Stay out of our way!" I heard someone shout as they drove off while something landed on the ground rolling away from us.

"Shit – run –!"

I followed the pair as best I could with one eye since the other was now swollen shut as we ran across the parking lot and dived behind a car when an explosion went off.

I covered my head as all the windows above me smashed blew out accompanied by a deafening boom before everything went quiet and all I could hear was the ringing my ears and the crackling of the Land Rover burning up.

"Oh no." I whispered peeking over at the car.

"What?" Ryan hissed.

"Fuel."

"Fuck –" we dropped down again as another explosion sounded this time all that was left was crackling fire before shouts filled the parking lot.

I looked up ignoring the ringing in my ears to see that part of the ground and second floor walls of the warehouse were destroyed but Clyde looked perfectly clean, as did the men that followed him.

"Oh my God – the car!" Clyde cried dramatically as he pointed to the burnt Land Rover.

I let out a shaky breath as I let my forehead fall onto the gravel where I had been laying. This can't be my life... I've worked so hard. I studied, I did everything I was supposed to and I never even went to those dumb parties my friends invited me to, how could I be here right now?

I clenched my teeth shoving myself off the ground before I looked at Nigel.

"Don't fucking shove me like that again." I hissed clenching my fist.

He gave a laugh as he stood up but I wasn't intimidated by him so I kept my glaring eyes on him.

"You want to speak to me that way again?" he asked stepping forward.

"Stop! This is not the Goddamn time for this!" Clyde yelled as he walked over to us, "The hell happened to your face?" he asked me.

I ignored him walking away from all of them to get some air. I watched Clyde mutter a few things before he brought his phone to his ear and immediately noticed his mood only darken as he spoke to whoever was on the other end while the pounding in my eye crept back as my adrenaline died down.

I clenched my fist running my eye over the fire, the men and the building. Sergio better give me a set date for when I could go because I was getting sick of this. All of it. I refused to live like them, not for longer than I had to.

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