Chapter 2: A month to kill Episode
1028 Words
Raymond froze.
There was something different about her. She was dangerously gorgeous but worse, she was smiling at him.
She approached slowly. Her eyes fixed on him, sending a message.
Just as she got close, a tiny smile curved on her lips …before she passed him quietly.
Raymond's eyes closed, inhaling the soft, hypnotic fragrance she left behind.
“Wait!” he said— his voice was commanding but soft.
Ava paused. A teasing smile curled her lips. She turned around slowly. Her brow rose with expectations.
He bent down, picking up a necklace that had fallen from her.
“You dropped…..” he stopped.
His eyes widened. His hands trembled as he gently traced the heart-shaped carved pendant. The letter R was carved into it.
His breath grew louder as memories flooded him.
Ava watched his expression closely before speaking.
“That’s mine” she said, her voice soft and seductive.
She gently reached for it but Raymond's grip tightened. His gaze fixed on the necklace.
“How do… how do you have this?” he said, his voice breaking.
His eyes darkened and, without warming, he grabbed her arm, pulled her against a heavy pillar.
Ava gasped in pain, trembling. “What do you mean?”
Her eyes scanned down to his wrist. She grabbed it quietly, gently unlocking his wristwatch.
“Why do you have this?” he growled. His eyes blazed red, terrifying. His grip on her tightened. His legs pressing against her. Pinning her body down.
Ava whimpered as she finally loosed the wristwatch. A brief smile appeared on her lips before melting into a broken cry.
“It has always been mine” she whispered.
But then, before she could slip the watch into her pocket, he jerked her hand and the watch fell.
Raymond noticed the sound.
In a moment of distraction, Ava shoved him off balance, snatched the necklace from him and ran.
He clenched his fist, torn between chasing her and grabbing his wristwatch off the ground. He grabbed his watch off the ground, securing it on his wrist.
“Eva!” He muttered, his voice was low but dangerous.
Suddenly, a car was driving at full speed, stopped in front of Ava.
She jumped in without hesitation and it drove off.
The car stopped in front of a grand casino entrance.
Ava paused, taking a deep breath before walking in. The double door parted with a hiss of chilled air.
The deeper she moved in, the heavier the air became—thick with cigarette smoke, expensive perfumes and unrestrained laughter of powerful men.
The music pulsed in the background.
Ava walked confidently in the midst of men whose eyes followed her like they could devour her.
Two men dressed in perfectly tailored black suits walked by her side, guiding her deeper into the casino.
Around her, men laughed with half-naked women, fell over their laps. Some kissed, some flirts. While some fought over lost bet. The casino was wild with sin.
Ava ignored it all.
She walked through a narrow hallway and entered a small room.
Her heart raced as the door closed behind her.
It went completely silent. The room was dark and threatening.
A male figure sat on a throne-like chair. Dressed in black with a wide hat covering half his face.
Thick smoke poured from his mouth.
“Do you have it?” He asked, his voice was low, calm but calculating.
Ava trembled as she fell on her knees instantly.
“No but I will…..” she barely completed her words before the door opened.
Two men dragged in a young kid.
The boy was skinny, no older than ten years. He stood shirtless with an oversized trouser, his ribs was clearly visible, his arms thin with sharp bones beneath his pale skin.
One of the men had grabbed the boy’s arms painfully. He struggled, screaming in pain but he was no match for their strength.
Ava eyes widened in horror.
She bowed instantly. “Please don’t hurt him, I will do it right this time” she cried, pleading desperately. “ I will do anything….. please just don’t hurt him!.”
“Ava…. Save me.” The boy cried through tears.
Ava crawled desperately towards the man on throne. She wrapped her arms around his legs gently.
“Please….. please…. This is my first attempt. I won’t fail again.” Her voice broke as she begged.
The man raised one hand, signaling his men. The guards let the boy go.
Then he leaned forward. Gently lifting her chin with his fingers.
He blew a cloud of smoke on her face— slow but deliberate.
Ava closed her eyes, sobbing quietly.
“You know I hate seeing you cry” he said gently, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I have let him go. so don’t disappoint me…ok.”
Ava nodded, still trembling.
She took few steps back. The boy ran into her arms and hugging her tightly. She held him, checking his face, his arms, his back, she pressed a weak kiss on his fire head.
“Are you ok?” She whispered.
“Where did you go Ava?” He asked as his voice breaks as he cried.
Ava paused for few minutes. Her heart shattered. tears dropped down her cheeks.
She tucked his air behind his ears with a forced smile.
“Please….forgive me.”
From behind the man spoke out. “Your bond is strong” he said. “It would be a shame if we killed him. Right, Ava?”
Her eyes widened. She turned slowing, glaring at him.
“One month…” he continued. “You have just one month to retrieve Raymond’s wristwatch….and kill him.” He walked towards the door.
Just before he left, he turned slightly, not enough to see his face but enough to for his voice to be heard. “you know what happens if you fail.”
He smiled wickedly before walking out.
Ava hugged the boy tightly, tears fell freely. Fear filled her eyes. She clenched her fist as a stir of determination creep in.
“I won’t fail.”
- Writer
