Chapter 83 Soft spot
Silence hung in the car as Phoenix thought about how Diego had saved her. This man literally killed all of them without batting an eye. Then, he set the club on fire. Gawd! He is really a devil.
"Why did you save me?" she asked lightly.
"It comes with a price," Diego stated. "From now on, you work for me. I'm gathering my own army in the underworld. You'll train and work undercover."
"Hm, I accept," Phoenix agreed without thinking much. Diego owned her life now; she had no objections to it.
___
"I swear to Gawd, Phoenix, I was drunk! I didn't even know what I was doing!" Griffin yelled as he tried to stop Phoenix, who didn't respond.
"Phoenix," Griffin held her, his eyes tearing up a little.
"Do you know who saved me back there?" she asked, and Griffin frowned. "It was Diego. I belong to him now, and it was my choice to accept."
Griffin held her face close. "You can't leave me, please. Don't do this. I love you. I can't lose you too."
Phoenix shook her head and walked out on him, heading toward the car waiting to take her on her new journey.
Griffin went insane. He stole everything: his dream, his position, and now her?
"I'm killing him," he muttered, dangerous intentions burning in his gaze.
Diego stepped into a not-so-dark room, with both of his hands tucked into his pockets. His eyes scanned the room, sensing a strange aura hanging in the air.
"You're here," Griffin said in the dark. Diego slowly turned to him.
"Why did you call?" he asked.
Griffin sighed and stepped closer, his gaze locking with his.
"I'm here to apologize for being an asshole," he said.
"I'm not falling for your trick," Diego said.
"Is that so?" Griffin raised an eyebrow and made to punch him. Diego held his hand but then his eyes caught the spray in Griffin's other hand.
Griffin immediately sprayed the content, and Diego mistakenly inhaled some. His vision blurred as he tried to regain balance.
In the next moment, Griffin shoved a knife into his stomach. Diego cried out.
"You stole everything!" Griffin roared, removing the knife and stabbing him again.
Diego managed to push him away and tried to reach the door. He staggered and fell to his knees, blood dripping out of him.
"There's no escape, brother. Just stay still and let me kill you!" Griffin yelled, but then a figure appeared: the butler.
He pushed Griffin's back and glared at him. "What do you think you are doing?!"
The butler crouched before Diego.
"Young master, can you walk? Let me take you to the—"
The butler's words were cut short when Griffin drove the knife into his neck. Diego's eyes widened in terror.
"No!"
Griffin took a deep breath and faced Diego again.
"In your next life, do not mess with me," he stated, raising the knife to stab him.
"Freeze!!!!" Policemen barged into the room. Diego had actually called them on his way here, knowing Griffin might be up to something.
"It's a murder case," one of the police stated. Griffin didn't refute; instead, he was crying.
"I'll kill you, Diego!!" he roared as they finished handcuffing him. "I'll fucking kill you!"
Griffin was sent to jail, and Diego swore never to let him out. After burying the butler, Diego sat in the church, staring at the altar before him.
Romeo adjusted his suit and went to sit beside him. "You called," he said.
"Hm... how about you disappear and never come back?" Diego asked, shifting his gaze to Romeo.
"Will that ease the pain that I caused?"
"Very well. You've created the monster you wanted, Romeo. It's time for you to face it. Promise you'll go and never come back," Diego said, and Romeo sighed after thinking for a while.
"Fine, I promise."
However, in jail, Griffin's thoughts were occupied with Diego. Day and night he imagined how he was going to kill him.
\[FLASHBACK ENDS\]
__
Griffin's eyes flew wide open as he breathed erratically. He groaned from the pain coming from his stomach.
"Fuck," he cursed under his breath.
"Hey, Griffin," Phoenix's voice sounded. She was tied, hands apart, and her legs chained down. She could only move her head due to the poison Griffin had put into her.
She'd be paralyzed for days.
They were in an unknown place, underground.
"Nightmares?" she asked, her voice soft.
"Mind your business," Griffin grumbled.
"You came back here last night looking all bloody. What did you do out there?"
"I said, mind your business, Diego's bitch number one," he snapped.
"Jealous," Phoenix muttered. "I wonder where you got your help from. There's no way you'd have this place, treat yourself, and have peace of mind without any help," Phoenix said.
"Hm," Griffin grunted.
Two figures appeared, stepping into the room. Phoenix had guessed right.
Vincent and Vanessa.
"Cool. I knew you never changed. So you found a way to convince your brother to release Griffin, then used Vanessa's father's connections to get here. Tsskk... You guys really think you can beat Diego?"
Vincent scoffed and stepped forward. "You might be right. We can't defeat Diego, especially in his territory. A devil? Ha! Devils don't have soft spots, but he does. He might be deadly and dangerous, but one thing makes him weak: Candy."
Phoenix frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It is said love only distracts and lowers the way you think. Candy is a mistake in Diego's life. That is why things are just going our way," Vincent stopped when he was close enough.
"Just stop this bullshit. Aren't you tired of the constant war?" Phoenix faced Griffin. "Aren't you tired of that hatred in you?"
"Diego crossed his boundary. He should pay for it, along with Candy," Vanessa spoke this time. "He killed my father in a gruesome way."
Phoenix scoffed. "Stupid, you all are blinded by revenge!"
"You talk too much," Vincent spoke and injected Phoenix's neck, making her pass out.
___
Jameson took a deep breath standing before a door. He knocked on it twice and waited.
His face dropped when the person who opened the door turned out to be a guy. He was even shirtless.
"What?" Jameson mumbled.
Carl immediately smiled, recognizing Jameson. "You're Mr. Grumpy, right?" Carl asked.
Jameson looked back, wondering if Carl was referring to someone else, and when he saw it was him, he frowned harder.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in Jackie's dorm?" Jameson asked coldly, as if looks could kill.
"Ha, I'm Jackie's friend. I've heard a lot about y—"
"Where's Jackie?" Jameson cut him off, and Carl wondered what he had done to anger him.
"She's in—"
Jameson pushed him aside, storming in. Jackie, who was sleeping, woke up at the noise. A frown settled on her face when she saw Jameson.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a hoarse voice. Jameson gave Carl a look, and the guy immediately understood.
"I'll leave," Carl said and left the room. Jameson faced Jackie again.
"What do you mean by that? You aren't picking up my calls nor replying to my texts. Why?!" he snapped. Jackie blinked several times.
"My phone is faulty; I couldn't reply or call," she answered.
"Then why haven't you gotten another one?"
"Because I don't want to. My exam is fast approaching, and I don't want distractions. I've missed many classes already."
Jameson's eyes flashed with guilt. That was because of him.
"Why are you here, though? You're the one who kept sending me away," she pouted.
"I needed to talk to you," Jameson said.
Jackie stood up from her bed and stepped towards him, folding her arms.
"I'm listening," she said.
"A dangerous enemy of Diego is on the loose. He might attack soon, so just to avoid what happened to us the other day, you can't stay here. You need protection."
"Okay, I'll just stay with Miss Yazmine," Jackie said.
"Yazmine can't take any guests for now. She needs privacy..."
"I'll stay with Candy. She has a lot of room. I'm sure Mr. President wouldn't mind," she said.
'Is she doing this on purpose?' Jameson thought.
"My place..."
"Is the last place I'll go," Jackie completed his words.