LAYERS OF LOVE (LOL)

Vincent

She plagues my mind. She shouldn't yet the only thing in my mind is her. I can still smell her from the moment I was dancing with her earlier in the evening at her own wedding. The lemony scent is stuck with me even though I have take shower after shower. My wife is busy with our children and that gives me some time to think things through clearly. A part of me is a bit lost and worried about what our little arrangement is going to look like now that she has found her heart a permanent home. It sounds like a puny joke coming from a married man whose heart has had a forever home for as long as I can remember but somehow her being around makes it beat better, faster, with more vigor. I run a hand through my hair frustrated that I can already tell I'm jealous of the man who put a ring on her finger. Being completely honest, I knew how to define our relationship before but now that she has settled down with someone of her choice, I have no idea what to call it. It is even harder that I wanted her to choose me even though I knew it would never work, I could never be the committed husband type because, as luck would have it, I've been married longer than I have known her.

I walk out of the house with one destination in mind. The drive there is not easy with the rain pouring down with vengeance upon the earth. I get worried that this is God's way of revenging against me but I brush it off hoping that it'll have stopped by the time I get there. Loud music plays from the stereo but my brain just can't assign meanings to the words with the amalgamation of emotions that I am experiencing. I swerve through the traffic hoping to get there faster and easier as I can only take so much before I burst. I slam onto the brakes outside the warehouse. Loud music as well as voices can be heard from the heart of the huge house. Some guys are littering the outside and even though they seem quite care free I can tell that their head is in the game with the shift in their eyes and the pretty obvious weapons underneath their shirts tucked into their belts. I receive smiles from them as I walk past them to the inside of the warehouse. I find it quite interesting how every boss I've heard of has the respect and fear of their men whereas all I have is a family with mine. We all are friends as long as what is required is done. I keep it quite clear for them.

Within the walls underneath the heavy metal music playing as if people will not need their eardrums tomorrow, sits a man on a small metal chair. His arms and legs are tied to it rendering him incapacitated. His long hair sticks to his body as sweat trickles down his neck. He has not been punished in any way and that is because I instructed so. I look at him, his head turned to the floor probably too weak to look up. While no one has physically harmed him, he has not had any fluid or food for days. I tap on his shoulder a bit too roughly which jolts him awake. His eyes are tied but they have a lot of fight still left in them. I make a mental note of that deciding that his resolve needs to be broken. As if on cue, one of my men brings me a seat and I settle myself opposite the man and calmly wait for him to speak. He knows what I want and he knows I'll get it some way. Even though my anger is simmering through, I also understand that if I mess up, it'll bite me, in this line of work. I therefore swallow it and let it stay hidden. I look at the white man who still wears a defiant smile and laugh slightly before giving a signal to my men who waste no time setting up.

"Now Dwayne, the line that is right infront of you is going to cut through your neck the moment you lie to me. See that machine that they have just attacked to your hand? It is a lie detector. For every lie you tell the line comes closer so think carefully on what you are going to say." I speak and before I finish my phone rings. On the screen my wife's name appears and everything in the warehouse shuts down as I speak to my sweetheart. I give my second in command a signal that allows him to continue with whatever I had started before walking out.

"I just went for a little drive honey. I will be back before you know it." I tell her as soon as I am away from the ruckus that has picked up the moment I have walked out. She whispers not to be late before she blows me a kiss and hangs up. In that moment I am reminded of her innocence and the reason as to why she can never be a part of this side of my life. While Peris likes walking on the edges of danger as if it is her friend, my innocent wife plays safe and that is what I love about her, about both of them. I smile looking up to the moon and listening to the voices inside. This is a part of me that my wife will never know about.

It is a part I like to keep to myself and to the girl that has become a little bit too comfortable with the animal within me. I take a deep breath before walking back into the warehouse. I can see blood trickling down Dwayne's neck a good reminder that it hasn't gone according to plan. I smile and stand by the door watching as my men work him down to his last nerve before he screams out just one word.

"Eldy. Ziko Eldy."

(Eldy. They're in Eldy)