Chapter 65: Taken By Surprise-1

▪ J A D E▪

Blaire and I paused by the entrance of the diner, our eyes focusing on the

scene before us.

I guess Rosita had not been lying after all. There was Cristiano, sitting near the back of the diner with Rosita herself, whose hand was resting on top of his on the table.

That friend-stealing bitch!

How dare she?

My anger began to rise and I was finding it hard to process that he would be avoiding us because he wanted to hide his relationship with Rosita. Was he really that busy spending time with her instead?

The questions that suddenly bombarded my mind threatened to make me loose my cool.

I had no problem with Rosita dating Cristiano. Everyone knew she had a huge crush on him, as most girls on campus had. However, what was pissing me off about this entire situation was the unsettling feeling I had about Rosita since day one. I always felt like she was hiding something and

I was always one to trust my gut instincts.

The fact that it seemed like Cristiano had been avoiding Blaire and myself because of Rosita had my palms itching.

I was this close to taking out my switchblade and sheathing it into the side of Rosita's neck.

However, I knew that I could not be hasty. I needed to take a few deep breaths and calm down. Finding out the truth behind the situation had to be my priority as I feared that my jealousy of Rosita may have been clouding my judgment. I was resentful that she was trying to steal Blaire away from

me and now Cristiano, they were my friends! Shaking my thoughts away, I refocused on the situation before me.

Cristiano and Rosita seemed to be in a heated argument. He angrily pulled his hand away from hers. The both of them were so caught up in their dispute that they did not notice Blaire and I had entered the diner until we stood next to them.

"There's nothing you can do about the situation, Cristiano. He's coming to meet me here," Rosita said.

"I don't know why I listened to you and came out here in the first place. I should have known that you were just lying again! I told you, Rosita, I'm not interested..." Cristiano's words died as he suddenly noticed us standing next to their table. "Jade! What are you doing here?"

Raising an eyebrow, I watched as his face went from serious to panicstricken in a few short seconds, his eyes widening with what I could only describe as fear.

Cristiano suddenly stood and gipped my upper arm, "Where's Jee-min?"

"See, Cristiano. I told you I wasn't lying! I told you Jade would be here!"

Rosita said with a triumphant smile.

Frowning at his firm hold, I exclaimed, "What the fuck? Let go, you're hurting me!"

His hold on me slackened a bit.

Not wasting any time, I then fired off a series of questions, "Are you ok?

Where have you been? Why haven't you been returning our calls? Why are you even here with Rosita? Is she really your girlfriend? What did we do for you to be ignoring us?"

"Why are you laughing? Who the hell are you calling?" Blaire asked as she eyed Rosita suspiciously.

"It's hard to explain, Jade," Cristiano replied releasing my hand fully now.

His eyes scanned towards the door, "I was really busy just trying to sort some things, you wouldn't understand, I- I needed a break from everyone," he said while shaking his head, "look, you need to leave, right now!"

Rosita hung up and placed her mobile phone back in her pocket before standing up. She then walked out of the booth, sizing up Blaire, her brown eyes narrowing as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You're so stupid..." Rosita said with an obnoxious laugh.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Blaire fired back.

Within seconds, the both of them began arguing with each other. Blaire accused her of being a liar and stalker, not understanding why she would try to keep Cristiano away from us.

The way we were behaving sounded irrational, I know.

But seeing Cristiano's distraught face when we had entered the diner had sent us into protective mode against our friend. My gut had been right, something was most definitely wrong with this entire situation. Not to mention having no idea why he had been avoiding us, it was only obvious that we were worried about him.

A few customers turned to look at the four of us as our voices began to raise.

With each passing minute, we seemed to get more agitated, especially Blaire and myself as our questions remained unanswered. Unfortunately, during our heated confrontation, we began to lose track of the time.

It was then that the front door to the diner was roughly pushed open and seven armed men entered, "Alright no one move!"

"Shit!" Cristiano exclaimed as he saw Miguel enter, "Jade, run!" Recognising one half of the Fuentes twins, I quickly tried to grab Blaire, but Rosita beat me to it, suddenly holding a gun to my best friend's head. At the same time, Cristiano dragged me and ran to the back of the diner, ducking behind a booth.

"Come on, Jade, there's nowhere to run. We've got the building surrounded and I know that you're here alone! Don't even bother trying to bluff or I'll kill this pretty little thing here" the Mexican man sneered.

"Hey baby!" Rosita said excitedly as she brought Blaire over to him.

"You're not needed anymore," Miguel simply stated as he raised his gun and shot her between the eyes.

Blaire screamed as the young woman's blood splashed across her face.

Miguel made a tsk sound as Rosita's body fell to the floor. It was in this moment that I realised everything had been a set up, and like idiots, all three of us fell right into their trap.

Shit!

"It's too bad Rosita had to die; she was a good fuck..." Miguel made another tsking sound as his eyes refocused on me. "Don't look so surprised, she's been our scout for the past few years and has done an excellent job of providing our boss with intel on you. Imagine my disbelief when she told

me that she was bringing you to us."

I knew there was a reason that I did not like Rosita and were she not already dead, I would have killed her myself.

It was around mid-afternoon, so the diner was not overly crowded. There were about twenty or so customers who all began screaming as Rosita's body rested on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

"Listen up! Be quiet and do as you're told and maybe you'll leave here alive!" Miguel barked, shooting four random people to emphasise how serious he was.

The action silenced everyone.

Without hesitating, the Mexican man had pulled Blaire to him, her holster flashing as her jacket flapped open. He quickly unarmed her before pressing her back against his chest, his gun aimed at her head.

"Do you have that gun I gave you for Christmas on you?" I asked Cristiano softly, while doing my best to keep my nerves at bay as I worried about Blaire.

Shaking his head, "I-I forgot it in my car."

"Oh come on!" I hissed out.

Letting out a deep breath, my eyes fell to the half-eaten roasted potatoes and steak that sat in a cast iron skillet on the table in front of us. Emptying the contents while we continued to keep our heads down, I then handed it to Cristiano.

"Okay, keep this with you, not that I think any of the customers will try to grab you, but if they do, Rapunzel that shit okay?" I commanded, referencing a scene from one of our favourite animated movies.

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I briefly closed my eyes to steady my heart rate and even out my breathing.

A few seconds later I spoke again, "Miguel is talking shit about having the place surrounded. You need to pass through the front to get to the back, as the side entrance has been out of service due to construction since we last visited with you a few months ago. I noticed it when we drove by. I need you to go to the bathroom and escape through the window."

"I'm not leaving you–" Cristiano started to say before he was silenced. Shoving my car keys in his hand I cut him off, "Shut up, this is not up for debate. I'm the only one of us who's properly armed. I can't focus if I have to worry about you as well!

I need you to go to my car and bring it around the front, it's parked a few buildings over in the back of the parking lot. The jammer should be off any minute now. Jee-min and the others will be able to get a lock on our location and they'll be able to spot the car easily on the street. I will do my best to hold them off. There's only seven of them and I have fifteen rounds."

"Miguel probably already called for reinforcements!" Cristiano argued.

"Well I guess you better stop flapping your mouth and flap your ass instead and get a move on and do as you're told! Give me your phone!" I ordered.

Huffing with a look of displeasure on his face, Cristiano gave me his mobile phone before he quickly crawled off in the direction of the restrooms. I could have just used the phone to call Dominic instead of sending Cristiano to the car, but I needed to get him out of the way to ensure his safety and I knew that he had wanted to feel useful.

This way I could focus solely on Blaire.

From their position at the front of the diner, Miguel and his men would not have been able to see Cristiano as he escaped into the bathroom.

Simultaneously, to keep their eyes focused above the tables, I poked my head out, "Why don't you let these people go? It's me you want!" I yelled while my fingers quickly dialled at the same time.

"And risk them alerting the outside world to what's going on in here?"

Miguel retorted, "Nice try! I thought you were smart, why are you even trying to negotiate? I have your best friend's head pressed against my gun; I will kill her!"

I was pretty sure that passers-by had heard the gunshots, so the police were probably on their way already. All that was left for me was to find a way to stall and make sure that Miguel did not shoot Blaire.

"Cristiano?" Dominic's voice answered on the third ring.

Of course, he had Cristiano's number, why am I not surprised, I thought to myself. But I could not focus on that right now.

"Hey dad–" I began to say in a cute voice. Interjecting, his tone was harsh as he spoke, "Don't even try to play games with me! Where the fuck are you, Jade?"

Deciding not to waste any time, I apologised profusely for evading the bodyguards, then quickly gave him my location and a run-down of the situation before another gunshot was heard. The sound caused me to jump and drop the phone on the floor, which slid across the tiles and out of my reach. Dominic's unintelligible shouts were heard from the receiver.

Peering out the side of the booth, I saw that Miguel had killed another customer. Apparently, the man had been trying to discreetly reach into his pocket for something. As bad as it sounded, I was relieved that he had not shot my best friend as I had initially thought.

"My patience is up, Jade. Get up now or I kill Blaire!" Miguel threatened.

"You need to let her go first!" I countered.

"Are you really willing to risk her life? Is that how little you think of your friends?" he enquired while taunting me.

My mind immediately ran on Blaire's unborn child, but I knew I needed to keep my cool and not act irrationally. I blinked my eyes a few times, forcing myself to focus. As a precaution, I quickly took off my jacked in order to remove the chest holster and conceal the Beretta M9 in my right back jean pocket before replying while putting my jacket back on.

Scoffing as I stood, my lower body hidden behind the booth, "The way I see it, she might be dead regardless of what I decide. So, if you really want me to cooperate, you will let her go!"

From the look on his face, the Mexican knew that his time was running out, with a scowl, he roughly pushed Blaire away from him, "Raise your hands in the air and go to your friend!" he instructed as he kept his gun pointed at her slowly retreating back.

On shaky legs, Blaire began walking towards the back of the diner. Miguel then commanded to me, "You too! Take off your jacket and raise your hands and begin walking to the front. I'm sure that you're hiding a gun somewhere but you better not try any funny business!"

When we reached each other halfway through the diner, Blaire threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly, not wanting me to go.

The sudden sound of three gunshots filled the room, and before I comprehended what was going on, blood began to spurt from Blaire's gurgling mouth onto the front of my top as her body slumped forward.

Realising that the bullets did not pierce through as I was unharmed, it was clear to me that Miguel had fired hollow point bullets. This type of ammunition expanded on impact causing maximum damage without exiting the body.

That fucking bastard!

"I'm... Sorry..." Blaire uttered as the life left her eyes.

"Why did you do that?" my own eyes immediately blurred with tears as I looked at Miguel, holding my best friend's body.

"I didn't like the way you bossed me around," he said nonchalantly.

In that moment, I saw red.