CHAPTER 39: Keeping Avery Safe

Marius

"Bro, what's wrong?" tanong n Cole sa akin pagkatapos ng meeting namin kasama ang grupo.

'Hayop na Haize at Sebastian na iyan," galit na galit kong sabi. "F*ck!"

"What happened?" nag-aalalang tanong ni Cole.

"That bastard! They found out about Jade's sister in Bremix and located them there!" galit na galit ko paring sabi. "Mabuti na lang at hindi nila na datnan ang mag-ina ko," sabi ko pa.

"Where are they?"

"Belle took them far away to hide. Kung mahahanap pa sila ni Haize doon, mapapatay ko na talaga ito kasama si Sebastian," galit na sabi ko.

"What did his sister say? May matitirhan ba sila doon?" tanong nito sa akin.

"Right now she's driving them away from the city. Ang pinagtataka ko lang ay kung paano nalaman ng mga hayop na iyon kung nasaan sina Jade?"

Napatingin sa akin si Cole.

"Give me your phone," sabi niya.

"What? Why?" takang tanong ko.

"Just give me your phone," sagot niya. "Password?"

I scan my finger at saka nag-unlock ang aking phone. Ibinalik ko sa kanya at nakita kong may hinahanap siya sa settings ng phone.

"Bagon itong phone mo?" tanong nito sa akin.

"Yes. I bought two months ago," sagot ko sa kanya. "Kaso nahulog ko sa tubig minsan so I let one of my men return it to the store where I bought it to be fixed. After two days, binalik ito sa akin. Why?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Hmm," sagot niya habang patuloy sa paglapirot ng aking mobile phone.

Ilang sandali lang ay ngumisi ito.

"Bingo," sabi niya bago ipinakita sa akin ang kanyang natagpuan.

Isa itong app na hindi ko man lang alam na naka-install pala sa aking mobile phone. Hindi naka display ang app na ito sa screen.

"What the hell is that?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Sigma cloning app," sagot niya sa akin.

"Cloning app?"

"Yes. Someone installed this app without you knowing it. This app was apparently out in any mobile app store a few years ago but before it can even make its debut, someone bought it from the creator, and then that app vanished," sagot niya. "Did you let anyone else touch your phone?" tanong niya.

"No one. Except when I sent it back to the store where I bought it," sagot ko sa kanya.

"That's probably the time when this app was installed on your phone. The uniqueness of this app is that it can be hidden and paired. All your messages, chats, phone calls, and conversations will be closed and passed to the other phone of whoever installed this app. In short, someone might already be watching you. Whoever did it is observing you and must be the reason why they tracked Jade" sagot niya.

"Haize," sabi ko sa kanya. "That guy must blaming me for his mate's death," sabi ko pa sa kanya.

"Throw that phone away and buy a new one. This time don't just let anyone buy it for you. You buy it yourself," sabi niya sa akin. "For safety purposes"

Later that afternoon, sinira ko ang aking mobile phone bagon itinapon sa malayo habang nagda-drive ako pauwi ng bahay nina Papa.

"Are you sure that they are safe?" nag-aalalang tanong ni Mama sa akin matapos kong sabihing natunton sina Jade sa Bremix.

"Belle took them away from the City, pero hindi pa rin ako mapakali. I need to go there pero alam kong baka may nagmamanman sa akin," sagot ko sa kanya.

"Why don't you just arrest Haize and Sebastian? Jusko anak, baka mapano pa sina Jade niyan kapag hinayaan nyo lang ang dalawang iyon?"

"Ma, we can't do anything unless may ebidensya. Hindi kumikilos si Haize at mga tauhan lamang niya ang gumagawa ng mga utos niya. He's clever. He won't do anything that will drag his name down especially when he knows that we suspected him," sagot ko sa kanya.

Alam kong nag-aalala si Mama sa mag-iina ko. he barely got a chance to talk to Cameron and Jade. Isang beses lang niya nakita ang aking mag-iina. Even him is excited about the twins. Sabi niya tanggap niya pa rin si Jade kahit ano ang pinagdaanan nito. He already considers the twins as his grandsons.

"Bakit do you have your two friends going against you son? Wala akong naalala na ginawa mong atraso sa kanila. Why are they doing this?" emosyonal na tanong ni Mama.

Bumutong-hininga ako.

"I don't know, Ma. Both of them wanted to take my mate away from me," sabi ko.

"That's unfair. Why don't they just support you instead? Are they jealous of you? Oo minsan mong nasaktan physically si Jade but that didn't give Sebastian to steal him away from you and not even the reason for Haize to get mad at you. This is all unfair anak. You already suffered too much. As a mother, nasasaktan ako na nakikita ang aking anak na nagdurusa. All I want is for you to be happy and to be with your family. Why do they have to be so cruel?"

Yumakap ako kay Mama.

"Don't worry, Ma. Kakayanin ko ito. At kapag hindi ko kinaya, alam kong palagi kayong nasa likuran ko ng Papa," sagot ko sa kanya.

That night, I could sleep a wink. Pinapanood ko mula sa aking GPS device ang paggalaw ng pulang tracker na nakakabit sa neckband ni Jade. It means that they are still in constant travelling at hindi pa nakakarating sa pupuntahan nila.

Just when I'm happy that my mate is back, why do unwanted people come and ruin it? Both of them are my friends. But why must the two of them, of all people, want me to suffer just by taking away my mate? Naiintindihan ko naman si Haize kaysa kay Sebastian who only wanted Jade when he isn't even his mate.

Biglang tumunog ang bagong bili kong phone. Agad ko itong sinagot.

"Marius, we finally caught the guy that must be Haize's eye in our group," sabi sa akin ni Cole sa kabilang linya.

"Damn, don't you ever sleep?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"I did and also I did it with Gaynell too," pabirong sagot niya.

"Lucky bastard. So who is this person that you caught?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Oh, you won't believe who it was," sagot niya.

"Who?"

"Shiela," sagot niya.

Nangunot ang aking noo.

"Sheila the beta?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Yes. The clumsy Sheila who always does everything with her clumsiness," sago niya sa akin.

"How did she become the spy? Paano nyonsiya nahuli? Napakalayo sa kanyang itsura ang maging isang spy," sagot ko sa kanya.

"Yeah, that was what I thought when I caught him in the general's office searching for something in the middle of the night. Man, she got me good. Who could have known that she's a fighter as well? Annndd also, she's not what you think she is," sabi pa niya.

"Omg just tell me already!"

Narinig kong tumawa ito.

"First, she's not clumsy. Second, she is not a beta but a freaking alpha. Third, she has a high rank in Kaizen, and four, she's an assassin who originally came here to kill you but later on changed her plan, and also, Kaizen has invaded your security. You can no longer trust anyone there. What I'm saying is, take care bro," sabi niya.

Napabuntong-hininga ako. I should have expected it.

Now I'm wide awake.

Shit. It's getting complicated! Damn it!

This was all planned. Haize planned it all. Damn it!

Bumaba ako sa bar ni Papa upang pakalmahin ang aking sarili sa pamamagitan ng pag-inom ng alak. I didn't have enough sleep when everything started.

Kahit anong pag-iisip ang ginagawa ako, maling sa akin ibunton ni Haize ang kanyang galit sa pagkamatay ng kanyang fated pair. If he wanted to blame someone, it should be his father since ito ang nagsabi na un inhabited ang islang na iyon. Kaya lamang pumayag ang Papa na makipartner sa kanya ay dahil sa assurance nito na wala talagang nakatira sa islang iyon. Bakit niya ako sisihin? It's not like I was the one who decided to do that joint expansion.

Tumungga ako ng alak sa baso pagkatapos ko itong salinan ng brandy. Yes, I do drink but occasionally. Kailangan ko lang uminom upang kahit papaano ay kumalma ako. Hindi ko maaaring galawin si Haize at Sebastian. That would ignite a war between Bree, Asturia and Aster. I know I am still in alliance but Kaizen has already invaded my security group. I need to find who they are and purge them one by one. Until I'm sure Bree is safe for Jade and my sons to go home, I will endure the distance between us in the name of their safety.

I would be lying if I didn't miss them a lot, including my wife. We are supposed to get married next month ngunit dahil sa sitwasyon namin ay kailangan i-move ito hanggang sa maging okay na ang lahat.

Nakatulog ako sa pag-iisip. Somewhere at the end of the tunnel. Alam kong magiging buo ang aking pamilya with additional members of Sandoval family.

"This is Brook," pakilala ni Cole sa akin sa lalaking kasama niya. "He was my friend back in college. His job is enemy profiling and believes me when I say he successfully pinpoints criminals over civilians. And I trusted him that he can clean your securities," sabi pa niya.

"Nice meeting you, your grace," bati sa akin ni Brook.

Nakipagkamay ako sa lalaki. Brook is also an alpha with an intimidating appearance. He is taller than us. And he has some scars on his face. If Cole trusted this guy, I should trust him too.

Hindi na ako nagpaligoy-ligoy pa. As soon as I met him, isinama namin siya ni Cole sa headquarters ng security team ng House of Sandoval.

Hindi ito inaasahan ng security members. Just by watching them, two hundred out of five hundred men were chosen. At ang two hundred na iyon ay iniisa-isa ni Brook.

"Don't worry bro. Brook knows everything when it comes to profiling," sabi sa akin ni Cole.

Tumingin ako sa kanya at tumango-tango.

If I wanted to start cleaning, I should start it within my territory.

Hindi pa halos nagsimulang mangalahatinang two hundred ay apat sa kanila ang sumubok ka makatakas ngunit bago pa man sila nakalayonay nadakip ansila ng mga pulis na nakaantabay lang sa labas in case that something might happen.

It's time for me to fight back, Haize.