79

79
Aielle’s lungs burned long before she reached the bottom of the stairwell. Walking out of the hospital with her head down, Aielle walked in the other direction, away from her bike. Leon may have given her a silver lining but she wasn’t going to fuck around and find out.

The night air bit into her skin, humid and sharp with exhaust fumes and the faint, sterile tang of hospital disinfectant. It clung to her hair, to her clothes, to her guilt. She’d spent years building the perfect cover, fucking two brothers, stealing Intel, maps, routes — all of it gone in a matter of seconds. One wrong step, one unexpected awakening, and now she could feel the invisible noose tightening.

Why did she come here like a witch compelled to see Ivon? Why was she more concerned about how he was doing that her actual mission? With Leon and Ivon trauma bonding on the top floor, now was the perfect time to carry out their mission, yet…

“Fuck me” Aielle kicked the unfortunate empty Pepsi bottle in her way. “Fuck me, what am I doing?”

Several people threw concerned, confused glances her way, reminding her of the scrubs she hadn’t discarded. Walking deeper into the packed open car park, she tested every car handle, mindful of the ones with tricky alarms.

She got lucky on the tenth row, a faded white KIA that had seen better days. The keys were even tucked neatly in the sun visor. The owner probably thought no one would ever think of thinking a rundown junk, but Aielle was desperate.

Maneuvering the hazard out of the park and to the gate took all the stored up patience she had. Smiling at the guard, she didn’t dismiss his look of disgust; he was displaying enough for them both.

Jerking back and forth into the highway, she gripped the steering for dear life and didn’t take her foot off the brake pedal. After thirty minutes of enduring the worst kind of torture in a stiff contraption, she pulled into a motel, and spent another five minutes parking.

Leaving the keys on the seat, Aielle flipped off the car and kicked the back tire. It’d be a blessing if her bike remained in the park overnight without the guard calling the towing company latest 11am.

“Welcome to finest hotel in town, we have a suite available for 50 dollars a night. Will that do for you miss?” Aielle dropped the cash on the table, snatching her hand back before he made contact. “Room 23, it’s right by the staircase, you can’t miss it.”

She didn’t miss it alright. He placed her in the middle of a sex ritual or whatever was happening in the other rooms. Tuning out the satisfied sounds of grunts, moans and furniture noises, Aielle made sure to slam her door a little too loud, cross checking the lock several times before dropping on the bed.

It was going to be a long night of her rethinking her rash decision making and cooking up a plan to get her bike.

Jerking when her phone buzzed, Aielle cursed and winced when the brightness momentarily blinded her. It was a text from her contact. “You’re all over the place, Aielle. What if you got caught in the hospital?”

Rolling her eyes hard, she typed out a cool response. “I didn’t get caught, that’s the take back, and are you following me? I wouldn’t be flying all over town if I knew you were going to shoot him.”

“We’ve been over this and get off this line, it’s an unprotected source.”

“Who the fuck is going to be tracking my messages right now? Leon? He doesn’t even know how to type one out. In case you forgot, you shot the whiz brother.”

“I am only here to remind you about her plan, don’t stray from it, don’t get sentimental and for God sake, stop meeting Leon in alleys.” The dots danced underneath this message and then another appeared. “Your bike is out front. You can thank me later.”

Tossing her phone to the side, Aielle dozed with one less thing to worry about, but her brain wouldn’t shut up about Ivon, and the next thing she was thinking about his new girlfriend – the sole reason he got shot. What was it with the Valachi’s and toxic women?

~

“Did you enjoy your stay?” The beady eyed manager looked creepier in daylight. “Make sure to leave glowing recommendations on our site.”

Aielle didn’t blink at the absence of the KIA, quickly hopping onto her bike and gunning it out of the parking lot. What she needed was a familiar bed and food, she wouldn’t be able to function otherwise.

Forty minutes later, she was dressed in her own clothes, sipping hot fresh coffee and catching up on the news like a normal person except she was hooked on any update about Ivon.

Unsurprisingly, ‘Miss Rose showed up at the hospital this morning to show her support for her boyfriend’. Aielle stored her name for later use, slightly disappointed with her replacement, she lacked the spark Ivon desired.

Rose was perfectly put together: hair, clothes, shoe – a delicate rose feeling the sun on her face for the first time didn’t scream Ivon’s type. She looked like she’d throw up if she stepped into a club.

Stabbing the power button of her tablet, Aielle killed her connection to the outside world. What was it to her if Ivon chose to settle down with America’s finest house wife?

He was better off with one happy ending than the one the snake in his house was going to offer sooner or later. Rose was one woman and Carys was a different breed. Now that woman was the kind that fit the beautiful blend the brother’s needed.

It seemed she had stuck to her word of playing detective, leaving the adult play to the side. That high wall wasn’t going to stay standing for long, not with what was going to hit the Valachi’s

Carys was going to make a hard choice or Aielle would make it for her with a big smile on her face.