Page 9 of Stolen Moments with a Bad Boy

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

My pleas fell on deaf ears. Janeiro abruptly got up and walked out the door. Tears formed in my eyes as I watched him walk away and back into his shop. I turned and looked at Londen. She gestured her head as if to follow him. From the timewe met, Londen always encouraged me to stand up for myself. Being a young woman and a business owner, she said it was important that I commanded my respect, even if it was given. Londen even took me to her gym and showed me all kinds of self-defense moves.

A woman could never be too prepared when operating in a man’s world. Londen grew on me and became the big sister I always wanted. She came from a rough background, and that was why she had a late start with her education. Law was something she was very interested in, but she just didn’t know what her main focus was.

I had my life together, but love seemed so hard to acquire. I shook my head at her before I walked swiftly to my office and through the hidden stairs to my place. I kicked my sandals off and cried softly into my pillow until I drifted off to sleep.

Five

Janeiro

I felt like a whole asshole. I’d hurt the one woman that had shown genuine interest in me in years. I royally fucked up. All Erie wanted to do was get to know me. I hid my emotions for so long that I struggled at times with allowing anybody to get close to me. Erie was the most beautiful and kindest soul I had ever met. Yet, all she got was hot and cold vibes from me.

It wasn’t that I intentionally tried to hurt her, but my childhood trauma still had a hold on me. Erie’s get to know me questions just triggered a feeling in me I didn’t like. I felt discomfort.

All I wanted to do was stare into her pretty hazel brown eyes and listen to her beautiful voice. Why did she require more of me? Fuck. The demons of the past ruled me. They intervened with my dreams and my day-to-day routine at times.

I wanted to let the past go, but it was so hard to do when it felt embedded in my soul. The only way I slept good was when I killed. Every bad guy I killed felt like I killed my abuser all over again, except it wasn't enough. Would it ever be enough?

I snapped out of my thoughts and focused on the assignment in front of me. For months, I’d worked at getting invited tothis underground poker game. It was set up in the basement of a laundromat, one of the most important places that parents brought their children with them while they washed. I looked around the table at the other six card players. They were all from different parts of the world, yet they had two things in common.

Those monsters loved poker and trafficking children. Word had gotten around there were quite a few kids missing from this laundromat and neighborhood, and that piqued my interest. My assistant and handler, Dawn, sent me the location. I cased the place while she secured me the invite.

Now, here I was about to end all their lives, and they had no clue. It didn't help that I was a great poker player either. The plan was to kill them, rescue the children they had locked somewhere in here for shipment, then give the kids tonight's winnings.

I scanned my surroundings. There were two buff ass guards by the front and back entrance. There were two guards under the small window and more foot soldiers down the narrow, dark hallway where the bathroom was.

That hallway had to have led to where the children were, or there wouldn’t be any guards back there. The dealer tossed out a few cards, and the guy next to me quickly played his hand. He was the last to go, which worked out in my favor because I won this round too.

“Player four has won again,” the dealer announced.

Groans and murmurs filled the room. Cards were slammed down in anger.

I went to reach for my winnings when a beefy hand landed on top of mine. My eyes shot to the side and examined the Russian mobster with devilish eyes, a thick beard, and tattoos that covered his neck and hands. He had no clue how much joy he just brought me. My opposite hand slid under my blazerand locked onto my semi-automatic with a sixty round magazine clip.

“If you're thinking you are going to walk out that door with all of our money and you’re the new guy, you best think again. You’re not leaving this place,” he warned in his heavy Russian accent.

I leaned closer to him and smirked. “I’m glad you said that because neither are you.”

Quickly, I shot him in his neck. I stood abruptly and snatched him in front of me.

“Argh!” he yelled.

Pop! Pop!I took out the two guards by the front door. Swiftly, I turned my gun on the guards by the window.Pop! Pop!The guards by the back door shot at me, but I used the mobster as a shield. They riddled his body with bullets before I popped both of the guards. I dropped the mobster and snatched up the Asian crime boss from the table. My arm wrapped tightly around his neck. He was my new shield.

I turned my weapon on the other traffickers and popped each of them right between the eyes. They all slumped to the floor while the sound of heavy footsteps raced toward us. I turned us toward the dark hallway and shot every dark figure that loomed forward.

“Please don’t kill me. I can pay you!” he screamed.

“Shut the fuck up. I don’t want your dirty money. I could never be bought by a child molester.”

I shot him in the head, and he dropped to the floor. A hail of bullets filled the room, and I ducked and hid by a wall. Those bullets pinged off every area in the roomy basement. The industrial size washing machines and dryers took most of the shots.

The shooter stopped firing, and their hesitant steps filled my ears. His unsure body awkwardly entered the room, and Ipopped him right in his temple. He slumped to the floor, and I fired my way through the hallway, dropping their bitch asses two at a time. I made it to the end of the hallway. There were three more guards, guarding a room. In no time, they went from standing to on the floor, bathing in their own blood.

I kicked them out of the way then kicked down the door. My heart immediately dropped to my stomach. There had to be over fifty kids crammed in this little ass room. They all looked dehydrated, tired, and filthy. There was no telling what these kids endured. Despite everything, today was the end of their suffering.

“Hurry. Let’s go. Don’t mind the dead bodies. Just run over them,” I directed.

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