A Soft Storm

chapter 6

The ground was cold concrete, stained with blood all the way up to the walls. The only light was two flickering bulbs bolted to the ceiling. Shawn laid in the center, his face covered in blood with his hands and feet tied.

"You know, most people don't like it when their minions betray them." Mason walked forward, into the light. He was pulling leather gloves onto his fists, slowly as if to savor the moment, "So why the f**k did you think I'd let it pass so easily?"

The other men stood in the back, holding the boss's coat, and watching the show silently. Shawn looked up silently and managed to spit a bloody piece of mucus right before Mason's black shoes. mason grinned, bending down to pull Shawn up by his long hair. "When you and your stupid damn wife were in debt, I was the one who saved your sorry asses. And this is how you repay my goddamn kindness?" Still holding Shawn's head in place, Mason slammed his knuckles into his cheek.

Shawn grunted, coughing up puddles of red goo. "Y-Your... kindness means shit... c-compared to the money they-" He violently started hacking before continuing his quiet sentence, "...they offered."

Mason smirked, "And look where that's gotten you, huh?" He slammed Shawn's head into the ground and stood up, melting into a dark, unmerciful gaze, "On your f*****g death bed."

Sebastian walked over, handing the boss a silver pistol and slowly walked back to the others. Mason undid his tie, clicking the bullet into its chamber, "You should be honored, I normally like to finish bastards like you off with my own two hands. But, I suppose you worked for me for many years, I'll make this quick."

Mason held out the gun and without even a moment for anyone to breath or speak, the shot of the pistol filled the air. The boss was dull as he looked at his prey. He turned around, pulling down his sleeves while the others put on his tie and jacket. "The bastard gave it to Midnight Run, huh?" He turned to Sebastian who was writing it down. "For such pricey information, the b***h sold out to a shitty joint."

"Looks like we'll be busy for a while." Lyam chuckled, stretching out his arms.

Instantly, the boss walked forward, leading the others. "Seems so." The door shut, leaving Shawn's cold, dead body to rot in the darkness.

...

I was pissed.

The fact that he thought he had any f*****g threat to hold against me made me angry. The fact that Helena and Layla were frightened by him, pissed me off more. I wished he'd walk right through that door so I could shove a lead bullet up his ass.

The door opened and I widened my eyes, "How the f**k did you find me already!?" I screamed, throwing the lamp at the individual.

"... You're going to f*****g die." Mason looked up, his eyes flaming with ferocity with glass decorating his shoulder.

Just my f*****g luck.

I squinted my eyes, clenching my teeth, "Sorry?"

Instantly, he bolted towards me. Worth a shot. I booked it towards the door but felt my waist being pulled back as my hands latched onto the handle. I gritted my teeth, forcing my whole being to keep him from prying off.

How many times have we repeated this scene?

I felt myself smile a little then slowly turn into laughter. "Why the f**k are you laughing?" Mason hissed. My hands weakly went off as my giggles went on longer, causing Mason to let go as well. I turned around and slid down the door as Mason stared at me.

I looked up. Despite the fear and torture this guy causes me, overall... "I'm really happy." I smiled, noticing a change in expression in Mason. He covered his mouth and looked away, his face as red as my lips.

"What's with that f*****g expression..." He hissed, "Don't smile like that... you look stupid."

I grinned, poking at his leg. "Does my smile make you blush?" I laughed, "I swear you are like a grade schooler sometimes."

"Shut the f**k up." He looked back to me. "Why are you smiling?"

I leaned back, closing my eyes, "Sometimes I'm just really glad you found me that day."

Mason's gaze lingered on me for a moment and then he turned, "Sebastian get me our files on Midnight Run."

Midnight Run? Didn't Ludo mention that before?

I widened my eyes at my next question, "What did you guys do with Shawn?"

"Cassidy ." Lyam scolded me.

"What the hell do you think?" Mason pulled out a paper from a manilla folder, "He's dead."

I guess that's what I was expecting. I bit my lip, "Is Midnight Run the one he gave your data to?"

"Yep." Mason let out a breath, writing something down, "Shitty idea to steal such a powerful mafia's f*****g data though."

I was half listening, the other half focusing on the thoughts I had prior to their intrusion. I looked at the ground silently, letting my questions and contemplation drown my attention and mind. There were voices around me but, the world felt so silent, I could only hear myself and him , I could only sense my own presence and his.

Suddenly, I jumped, hearing the ring of my phone. I blinked, my eyes still dull and dazed. Mason looked at me like the others, waiting for me to pick up the constantly ringing phone. "Pick up the f*****g piece of shit." The boss hissed.

I looked down seeing the unknown numbers from before, lit up on my screen. I bit my lip and stared at it as if I were trying to look right through the entire phone. Mason glared at me, "What the f**k are you doing?"

Instantly, I took a deep breath, returning to reality and answered. I slammed the door open, earning a terrible growl from Mason, and walked into the hallway. All i could hear was small breaths and chuckling on the other end.

"Are you scared, Cassidy?" He whispered.

I shook my head, staring at the ground, "I've never been afraid of you." My teeth gritted to keep me from slamming the phone into the ground. "You've been gone for 3 f*****g years and you decide to show up now? You are a goddamn coward, you know that?"

"Maybe," he chuckled, "But aren't you as well? Hiding in that pretty little Mafia base of yours?"

My eyes widened, "How the f**k do you know-"

"Like I said, you have something I want, Cassidy. And I intend on receiving it. Things are different, now that everyone has gone and you only have 4 bitches left. Over these past 3 years, I've-"

"I don't give a s**t of who or what the hell you are now." I growled, squeezing the phone. "All I know, is that we have some unfinished s**t to deal with. What you want is something you can't have once you're dead."

I heard him laugh, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. You haven't changed much at all. If you still aren't some little chicken s**t, then meet me."

"Fine." I hissed, "The old base, 10 p.m." I slammed the phone into the ground before he could answer, watching it fall to pieces. My hands wrapped around my blonde locks and I started to breath heavily, placing my forehead onto the wall.

I was angry.

I was done.

All I wanted was to watch that bastard's blood run between my feet.

"Cassidy?" I heard Lyam quietly speak behind me and I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself. "What did you do to your phone? Are you okay?"

I nodded and looked to him, seeing him flinch as my eyes met his. I'm sure my expression was rather scary and unexpected. "I'll clean it up."

"Cassidy..." He touched my shoulder.

I paused, and pushed off his fingers. "Leave it alone, Lyam. I'm just the slave, don't waste your time worrying about things like my problems."

I didn't want pity. I didn't want someone to hold my hand and tell me "it's okay." Lies. It would all be lies. I've heard too many to want more whether it were beneficial to me or not. All I needed was myself.

After scraping up the pieces of my now deceased cellular phone, I went back into the Main Office. I was expecting a raging Mason but, he was silent, reading a couple of files while everyone else was doing their usual routine.

My chance was now.

I walked over to Mason'sdesk, "Do you want coffee, sir?"

He looked up to me and stared for a moment, making me a little nervous before he responded, "Yeah."

I appeared moments later with a hot cup of brown liquid and went behind his desk. Instantly, my hand shook and I spilled the hot drink all over his lap and the glass crashed onto the floor. He let out a hiss and I widened my eyes, "s**t. Sorry, Boss!"

"Fuck." He managed to save the documents and was holding them over the desk. Quickly I pulled some napkins from my bag and hurriedly tried to dry his pants. My hands slid over his inner thighs and I felt his legs twitch. I looked up, seeing his eyes were faced away in an attempt to not get turned on.

I grinned.

My hands slipped deeper into his legs and my eyes turned to his shelves on his desk. On them, was his different weapon choices. How unsurprising. My left hand grabbed his black pistol and I slipped it into my bag as I copied the action with the wet napkin.

One thing Mason forgot, I was still a criminal.

"I'll get more." I looked up, meeting his eyes and saw them linger on me before he turned away.

"You're such a useless slave." He shook his head.

I smirked and walked away, "Is that so?"

. . .

The world was dark, there were no lights in this neighborhood, only the lit up moon and small stars. But, growing up in this s**t place, I've learned how to make due without needing to see much. My steps led me to a small alleyway, at the end was this tall, chain fence. I chuckled a bit as my hands latched onto the metal and I began to climb over it, "This takes me back."

I landed lightly on my feet and instantly turned to the left to this abandoned, small building. The door was wooden with the glass completely shattered. It looked like this place had fun while we were gone.

Most people would have paused and took a breath to take in the fact they were about to probably kill someone. Or that they are returning to a place they spent their life in but, haven't seen in 3 years. But, I couldn't. If I paused now, I probably wouldn't have moved again.

I opened the door and felt my heart beat faster. The creepy f*****g creak just added to this eerie goddamn mood. I looked up to the ceiling, seeing the lights were still there. I turned to the left, hoping they still worked and flipped the switch. Only one turned on.

"Prompt, as usual." A voice chuckled. My body tensed and I looked forward, seeing the one person I've hated for the past three years, the face I wanted to destroy, sitting in a torn up, velvet chair.

"Rafe." My eyes narrowed and my gaze darkened just at the mere sound of his name. He chuckled, moving his blonde f*****g asshole head to look at mine.

"I see I'm not the only one who's changed." He looked at the outfit I was wearing. A black dress, covered by a jean jacket and converse. "Last time I saw you, you couldn't even afford a decent pair of shoes."

I grinned, sitting in the couch across from him. I cross my legs, spreading my arms on the back of the seat, "One of the few perks of being a maid." A cigarette stood between his lips and I let out a breath, closing my eyes, "You know, you and the damn boss share a lot of f*****g qualities."

"Oh? Is he now your new lover?" He grinned, blowing out a cloud of smoke, "You move quickly."

I lifted an eyebrow, glaring at him, "You act as if I had a lover before." I chuckled, leaning forward, "You and I both know, f*****g and being love are two separate ordeals."

He hummed amusingly, and put out his cigarette on the old tray. "Oh but, I was very much in love with you Cassidy, I still am." His eyes were so malicious is was disgusting.

I rolled my eyes, "Shut up. You used me for f*****g power and I used you for pleasure. Didn't seem like a bad idea at the time."

He grinned, leaning back in his chair, "Too bad, little Miss Gang Leader ditched everyone. In the end, our little affair didn't give me my end of the deal. Once you left, everyone else didn't give a s**t about the gang anymore and I was stranded. How fair do you think that is."

I clenched my jaw, angered by the little f*****g innocent game he was playing. I stared at the b***h, "And whose fault do you think that is?"

He laughed, "I suppose I hold a bit of responsibility." He leaned back.

"Enough with the bullshit Rafe." I yawned, "Get to the what you want to say. And then we'll be done."

He leaned forward, intrigued, "You know, when the gang ended, I still wanted everything we made the damn gang for. Money, power, and fear over everyone else in the neighborhood. So I left town, made this one b***h fall in love with me, Minni. Her Father lived here, the boss of one of the Mafias. So I did s**t like pretending to play lover and earned the father's trust. The old f**k let me join as he his apprentice and once he'd dead, I'll be Boss." His eyes narrowed onto mine, "And that's where you come in. You have power over the others, whether or not you are still leader. I'm sick of being the old man's b***h, so, I want you and the others to kill him for me."

"Kill a Mafia Boss?" I let out a laugh, "You're f*****g joking."

"There's s**t in it for you guys. I want the gang to join the Mafia and this time, we can actually get everything we've ever wanted. I'll have the money and the power that you failed to obtain and you'll be like spoiled bitches underneath me."

My grin lowered to a frown at the pathetic deal he was trying to make with me. "You actually think I'd do f*****g anything for a piece of s**t like you? I'd rather pop a bullet through your f*****g skull than the poor old guy's."

"Really?" He grinned, "I heard you've become apart of an extremely powerful mafia, the Savino Mafia, right? Well, if you won't do this s**t for me, what about your little fake f*****g family? I'm sure you've heard the name Midnight Run roll around that s**t place you've been hanging in nowadays. Turns out you and the old man may have more problems than you think." He lit another cigarette, grinning at his retort.

I hitched a breath, "Are you f*****g saying that you're an apprentice for those Midnight Run assholes?"

Rafe let out a laugh and nodded, "Yep. Once I found out we stole your precious little data, I figured this was a perfect chance."

"You're gonna get what you want since you guys stand no f*****g chance against that demon." I let out an irritated breath, "This was pointless."

"I don't just want to become the damn boss, I'm doing this s**t for you guys." He hissed, "I'm doing what you couldn't do for the rest of us."

"For us!?" I let out a laugh, "The f*****g gang was made because I just happened to come across these people one day. These people who promised they'd help me get my revenge then I could go back to my disgusting f*****g job and the goddamn streets or I could continue with this whole little gang bullshit. It was purely boredom. The gang was made just to cure my f*****g boredom. When you joined, that's when this whole power f*****g s**t brainwashed us!"

He snickered, "You act like you weren't involved in making everyone think that way. Nobody made a move without your okay. You wanted to steal and murder just as much as I did."

I let out a breath, "Of course I did. I went through s**t when I was a f*****g kid, I wanted to kill the whole f*****g planet! I've stolen since I was 6 years old! I didn't need you to f*****g tell me to do that s**t when I already did it!"

"Then why did you leave!?" Sting growled.

I stood up, pissed, "Because you f*****g killed my goddamn dad!"

"He was going to make you quit. What was I supposed to do?" He yawned, making me grow all the more pissed, "I wasn't lying when I said I'm in love with you. I want us to go back to that, I want us all to become what we've always wanted."

I shook my head, lowering my tone. "I've never loved you Rafe. We just f****d a couple of times because I wanted s*x. This is what you wanted. I never wanted power, nobody did." I sat back down, leaning back as my hand rested in my bag, "I'd rather f*****g die than go back to that shit."

He grinned, "Very well then."

The floor creaked and instantly, I let out an annoyed breath as I closed my eyes. My fingers wrapped around my gun and I extended my arm all the way out to the right and heard the bullet ring throughout the small building. "You're an i***t if I didn't think you were going to pull some kind of bullshit."

I turned, seeing one of his, probably f*****g mafia, bitches' corpse bleeding on the floor. Rafe chuckled, "You never fail to disappoint." I pointed the gun to his head and cracked my neck.

"I could never f*****g forgive you for killing my dad, you goddamn asshole." I shot it but, the gun was lifted up by some force last minute and missed his head. I turned around, seeing three more guys, all holding knives. "Seriously? You're going to come at a girl with a gun with f*****g knives. I almost pity you too much to kill you." One of them had their hand on my wrist and I slightly maneuvered my fingers so I could face the gun at his chest. I shot it and chuckled, "Almost."

It's not like I was as good as Lyam, or any other trained killer, at f*****g shooting. But, it was easy when you have idiots coming at you with literal knives.

I stood up, seeing the other two trying to climb over the couch to get to me. Almost uninterested, I popped two caps through their brainless heads.

It also helped that I had a bit of experience.

Spinning around, I held up a gun to the empty chair where Rafe was supposed to be. I clenched my jaw, "Fuck." He left. What a little f*****g b***h!

I looked to the four dead bodies and growled, slamming the gun back into my bag. In this neighborhood, dead bodies was a normal thing to see. So a problem with the authorities wouldn't be something to stress over. But the fact Rafe wasn't lying dead with them would be.

"Goddammit!" I kicked the couch, watching it move back a bit. What a damn coward. He hasn't f*****g changed.

I let out a deep breath and stormed to the door, slamming it open with my foot. My eyes looked up and I nearly screamed with the surprise. My back slammed into the now shut door as I gazed upon the 6 people who stood in front of me, "M-M-Mason!?" My eyes widened, viewing the pink bastard leaning calmly against the brick wall.

Not only him but, Lyam!? Leo!? Santo!? Vincent!? AND f*****g Sebastian!?

Masonlooked up, his sharp-toothed grin glowing through darkness, "Stealing my gun and acting f*****g weird as s**t, did you not think I wouldn't notice? I'm rather impressed though, I never thought you'd even use the damn thing let alone kill 4 people."

"And a gang?" Santo let out a loud laugh. "You're more interesting than we pegged you to be, Cassidy."

"How long..." I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself together. "...How long have you been here?"

Lyam chuckled, "I heard the whole phone call. I thought you were all talk saying he was going to die and s**t but, you surprised me."

"We followed you here." Mason leaned off of the wall, closing his eyes. "I can't let my thing make a mess without it's cleanup crew, right?"

He was... Was he... Trying to help me?

At that time, it made me angry. I thought he was trying to pity me, that they didn't think I could handle anything. That I was weak. "I don't need your help." I growled, "I did just fine on my own. Don't stick your f*****g nose in my damn business like some mutt."

Mason expression lowered into a terrifying scowl, "What the f**k did you just call me?" Sebastian held his hand in front of Mason to keep the beast contained.

"We were trying to back you up, so you didn't get yourself killed." Lyam growled, "What if the bastard had more bitches in there? What if they were professionals like the five of us? You seriously think you could take on more than one skilled Hit-man?"

My blood was already boiling, I was being unreasonable but, it probably wasn't a good idea for them to be trying to reason with someone who just killed 4 people. "So what if I couldn't!? Don't get your damn selves involved unless you are f*****g asked!"

Leo stepped forward, "Cassidy-" The Boss shoved the red head back into the wall with his single hand.

Mason's expression was stern and serious. I didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved that his not blowing his fuse. "Fine." He turned around, fixing his suit jacket as the others followed him, "If you steal from me again, I'll rip your damn eyes out."

As they disappeared, I slid down the door and let out a breath. My head hung in between my knees as I tried to gather myself. The fact that they actually came here to help their maid, I should've started crying and made out with Mason like any other b***h. But, I was so caught up with the fact nobody could help except for myself, that when others tried to take care of my own problems, I got pissed.

Friendship was a strange thing when you grow up around untrustworthy people. I had people that called me their "friend" but I never knew what that meant. It just sounded like a trap.

It's not that I didn't want to burden people or some f*****g selfless s**t like that. I thought relying on others, receiving help when not asked was them showing that you were weak. I thought, since I always had been, being alone was the only way you could be strong.

And I couldn't be weak.