Chapter 12 Devil In A Black Car
Cole Ryder’s POV
I knew I said I wanted to be in the shadows and watch my little kitten a little while longer, but every single time her ex showed up, I was one minute away from taking my words back, grabbing him in broad day light and skinning him alive, one layer at a time.
Today was not an exception.
Watching my little kitten go about her day and life had become my favourite playtime. Of course I still got excited by the blood of my enemies, but something about Celene, living life, existing, gave me greatest pleasure to watch.
But Immediately I saw his car crawl up to her driveway, my hands tightened around the steering of the car.
"Boss...you're squeezing the steering again" I heard Jeffery’s voice from beside me.
"Remind me again why I thought staying away from her was a good idea?" I asked him, my eyes still on her ex, walking towards her door.
"Because you did not want to scare her?"
"Another reason"
"Because you want to watch her a little longer"
"That's a weak reason, Jeffery."
"Because you're the heir of the Buenaventura family syndicate, prime leader of the the Buenaventura Mafia. You are nicknamed Paimon, the demon himself, and you don't want to ruin this! Calm down, Boss. I'll handle him. "
"He's a roach, Jeffery. Roaches don't die until you squash them to pieces."
"In front of your lady? That's a nice way to introduce yourself to her." Jeffery said, knowing fully well what that image did to me.
My eyes went back to the scene unfolding in front of me.
I had come to know Celene and all her tells and body language. I knew something was wrong the moment she didn’t laugh.
Celene always laughed when she was nervous. I noticed that about her early on. A breathy little sound she tried to swallow down like it embarrassed her. Tonight, there was none of that.
She stood stiff in the hallway outside her place, shoulders tight, keys clutched in her hand like a weapon she didn’t believe in. Daniel was too close. Too comfortable invading her space like he still owned it.
I watched from across the street, the engine idling low, lights off. The black car i had chosen blended into the night like it was born there, just how I liked it. I kept my hands loose on the wheel, jaw clenched so tight it ached.
My instincts were raging at me, sending mixed signals to and from my nervous system.
Get closer. No. Stay put. Watch.
Daniel leaned in and said something I couldn’t hear. Celene shook her head once. Sharp. Final. Good girl. My kitten has always known how to speak for herself. A ghost of a smile touched my lips as I remembered the night i saved her and how she had stood up to me... My fierce little kitten.
Then he grabbed her arm and the smile disappeared.
Cold rage filled my spine like ice. My fingers curled before my brain could stop them. Killing him would take nothing from me.
I could already picture it. The slow walk across the street. The way his face would change when he realized he had made the worst mistake of his life. His screams... I could end this in seconds. No witnesses. No noise that mattered.
Jeffery’s voice echoed in my head, calm and irritating. "Boss... remember what you said last time. You show yourself too soon, you lose control of the board. "
Daniel yanked her back when she tried to pull away. Her head hit the wall behind her, hard enough that I heard it even from where I was sitting.
That was it.
The door opened inside me. The one I kept locked for a reason. I reached for the handle, ready to step out amd be the fucking grim reaper to the bastard.
Then she moved.
I watched her, spell bound as Celene drove her knee up and hit him right where it counted. Daniel choked on a sound that was half surprise, half pain. His grip loosened just enough for her to twist free. She shoved him back, stumbled once, then bolted inside and slammed the door.
I froze.
Relief hit first. Sharp and dizzying. But then, i couldn't still excuse the tiny prick of guilt that stabbed my chest.
I sat there breathing like I had just run miles, knuckles white, heart slamming against my ribs like it wanted to run out and save her. I knew she was safe. She was okay, but then, after what he had just done...there was no way he would be safe from me.
I almost went to him anyway.
I almost crossed the street just to make sure he understood that touching her again had cost him everything. I imagined his neck under my hand. The crack. The silence after.
But I didn’t move.
Instead, I watched Daniel recover. Watched him curse, kick the wall, drag his hand through his hair like a child throwing a tantrum. He stood there for a while, staring at her door like he expected it to open again for him.
It didn’t.
Eventually he stormed off, rage dripping off him like sweat.
I stayed seated in the car.
Minutes passed. Ten. Maybe more. I didn’t look at the time. I watched her window instead.
The light came on.
A shadow moved inside. Slow. Careful. I resisted the urge to storm in there and demand to see her injuries, but I knew one thing for sure....
She was hurt. He had hurt her.
The thought settled deep in my chest, thick and heavy. She shouldn’t have had to save herself. Not like that. Not alone. I told myself I was protecting her by staying hidden, but right then it felt like a lie I was choking on.
I wanted to go to her. To knock. To make sure she was breathing fine. To see her face and know she was still here. I didn’t.
I stayed in the car, watching, memorizing the shape of the building, the rhythm of the street, every exit, every shadow.
Now I needed to teach that little fucker a lesson. Weak men always had a way of getting on my nerves. They ruin their lives with their bare hands and then turn around to blame someone else for the misfortune that follows. Daniel thought tonight was the end of it.
It wasn’t.
He crossed a line Jeffery warned him about. He crossed that line, and lucky for him, I do not forgive. I also do not plan for his punishment to be quick and easy either. It will be slow. It will be hard. It will all come crashing down in him. Like the grim reaper, I would take everything else before I took him.
I started the engine and pulled away slowly, already planning the dismantling. One good thing about living in the shadows...Celene didn’t know it yet.
But she wasn’t alone anymore.