Chapter 17: It's A Secret

At Chris's house.

Chris stood facing some of his bodyguards who had failed their mission. His eyes reddened as he stared at them. Then he gave them a very hard slap on the cheek. No stone was left unturned.

"You're incompetent! You can't even carry one person," Chris scolded. He gritted his teeth.

They all chose to remain silent because they didn't want him to get too angry. Chris had a bad temper, and no one could dampen it. But that was only temporary. After letting his temper out, Chris' demeanor would return to normal.

Honestly, they had to admit to themselves that they were incompetent. Carrying a weak girl should have been easy. But in reality, they were all wrong.

"Why don't we re-plan, Boss?" Jhon suggested. "It looks like we acted too rashly without careful planning."

"What do you mean exactly?" Chris walked over to Jhon and gave him a sharp look.

"From what happened earlier, at least we know the state of the house. It seems very difficult to bring the girl here when there are so many people guarding the house." Jhon continued. He had a very serious look on his face.

"So, what's your next plan?" challenged Chris. He thought Jhon's words had some truth to them. Maybe he was being careless when giving orders.

Jhon whispered in Chris's ear. He spoke for a long time, and none of his friends could hear him. Chris just nodded, and grinned.

"All right, Jhon. For now we're not going to do anything," Chris said as he looked at his men one by one. "You'll have to wait for further orders," Chris ended their meeting.

***

"Would you like a drink?" Angela approached Chris who was sitting alone in his dark room.

Chris turned his head, and looked doubtful about Angela's offer. As tempting as it sounded, tonight Chris wanted to be sober and sober. That way he could think of the next step in bringing his father's killer here.

"Alright, you can keep me company for a drink," Chris replied not wanting to disappoint Angela.

Angela left Chris for a while. She went to the basement, to where the decades-old bottles were kept. She grabbed one, then hurried back to Chris's room.

"Can you hold this bottle?" Angela held out the golden yellow beverage bottle. Meanwhile she had brought two long-stemmed glasses.

Chris opened the bottle and poured the liquid into each glass until it was bubbly. He took one from Angela's hand, and pressed his glass against hers until it clinked softly. The liquid ran down his throat and caused a burning sensation in his body.

"Why don't you drink it?"

Angela shook her head with a smile. She finished her drink in one gulp. She held out her glass, asking Chris to fill her empty glass.

"Are you sure you want to join me for a drink?" asked Chris hesitantly.

Chris remembered what Angela had said about not liking drinking and getting drunk. As much as possible Angela had always refused his offers of wine, Vodka, and the like. So far, he had never disturbed Angela's principles. But tonight Angela seemed to have changed her mind.

"Of course. I want to get drunk, and put all the bad memories behind me," Angela replied, then she regretted what she had just said. She had revealed a dark side that she had been hiding from Chris.

"What do you mean exactly?" demanded Chris, suspecting Angela was hiding something from him. He held Angela's left wrist very tightly.

Angela gave a stiff smile, then shook her head quickly. "Nothing. I'm just talking." Angela swatted Chris's hand away, then grabbed the wine bottle and poured it into her and Chris's glasses.

Chris touched Angela's chin, pulling her up so that her face was facing him. Chris gave Angela a sharp look and gritted his teeth. He really hated a lie or a secret being hidden from him.

"Tell me, what have you been hiding from me all this time?" Chris demanded in a hoarse, heavy voice.

Angela's body trembled under Chris' deadly eyes. Now she regretted revealing something she should have kept to herself. Chris's temper would explode violently if she knew the truth.

"I have nothing to hide. I'm just talking," Angela shrugged, then looked away.

Chris decided that for now he would keep quiet and not press Angela. Later, when the time was right, he could ask her again. She was pretty sure Angela was hiding something from her.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" asked Angela half drunk. Her eyelids felt heavy to open.

Chris smiled. His hand gently caressed Angela's cheek. He brought his face close to hers and kissed her open, inviting lips.

"You can sleep here," Chris whispered, then he lifted Angela's body and laid her down on the mattress.

After that Chris left his room. Now he needed some time alone. He would let Angela stay in his room. Because he had never been able to sleep with anyone in his room.

***

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Joe was drinking with Antonio at the club they had been to in the past. The club reminded Joe of his first meeting with Briana. Who would have thought that Briana would now be living with him. Life is unpredictable.

"You don't usually drink like this, boss," Antonio chided after seeing Joe half-conscious. His employer looked very disheveled.

"I want to forget about Briana for a while. At least then I wouldn't have to remember that it's because of her that I'm now at odds with my brother," Joe said, shaking his glass. "Instead, I'm reminded of our first meeting here," Joe added in a dragged voice.

"Do you regret any of it?"

Joe shook his head slowly. "No. .... I don't regret it at all," Joe replied quietly. "Maybe our destinies are intertwined."

Antonio did not respond. Now Joe was frantic. So he didn't want to add to his boss's burden.

"Looks like I have to do something," Joe said later. Now he was in a fully conscious state.

Antonio's eyes widened instantly. He watched Joe, making sure that Joe was not drunk. Joe's words were very suspicious.

"What do you mean, boss?"

"It's a secret," Joe said, then put his finger to his lips. "You don't need to know," Joe concluded with a grin.