Twisted Hearts

Chapter 3: Deals WIth the devil

“TICK TOCK TICK TOCK, the lawyer ran up the clock, where will he go? Nobody knows TICK TOCK TOCK! The clock is ticking little Lawyer.

Gabriel stared at the note, blood rushing through his ears. The threats were getting creative, he exhales leaning against his chair. The first one was a few weeks ago, a rat tied with a bow around it had been found delivered to his house in a box. Then came a bouquet of flowers at his office, they were addressed for his memorial. He twisted the note in his hand, drawing himself out of his revenue as he stuffed it into his drawers.

He refused to be intimidated by anyone; he hadn’t built his company all to tear it down because a few powerful people didn’t like him. At that moment a knock at the door drew his attention, he fixed his suit jacket shifting comfortably in his seat.

“Come in,” His assistant opened the door slightly, leaning in through the c***k with her eyes on him.

“Sir…their here,” She muttered softly, Gabriel tensed before he forced his body to relax, Exhaling the nerves he looked back up at the woman.

“Let them enter,” She nodded and left. A few seconds later the door opened even more and a woman sauntered into his office. Confusion creased Gabriel’s brow as she stood before his desk for the longest moment before seating down. She crossed her legs, leaning on them and seized his gaze.

“Raven Evens, Nice to finally meet you Mr. Hastings, your reputation is that of a legend among our offices.” She spoke briskly, her voice tainted with authority, “Unfortunately the secretary of defense couldn’t be here...for security measures but he sent me to inform you of our deal,” From her bag, she pulled out a folder, placing it on the space between them.

“That is a confidentiality agreement, before I can say anymore you have to sign it to ensure national security,”

Gabriel hesitated for a moment, sliding the file to his side as he quickly scanned over the first few words. He had expected something like this; he was no i***t and knew the government would make sure all this was kept in the down low. That’s why he hadn’t dared even tell his brother about the meeting. His eyes slid from the folder to the woman who sat before him, studying him intensely. Raven Evans was a beautiful woman, from the moment she had walked into his office Gabriel could tell she had an air of authority to her that must intimidate many man.

He leaned in slightly, grabbing a pen off his desk and looked back at the woman.

“Tell me this Ms. Evans, why would the secretary of defense need my help in this case? Surely there are many DA’s who would love to help.”

“Sign the document and I’ll tell you everything, but for one I can tell you that what you’re going to do is going to be very dangerous and it will piss off a lot of powerful men Mr. Hastings. Tread carefully with this,” The woman warned. Gabriel paused on the document, his hands hovering over the dotted line for a brief moment. He shifted his gaze back to Raven Evans.

He had made a promise to himself the moment he decided he wanted to be a lawyer; he was going to fight for justice with everything he had. It had been because if a corrupt system that his mother had died, killed because she was a witness in a case. His chest tightened, making it almost impossible to breathe as he remembered those times; when his father was a broken man. He blamed those very powerful men for it.

Without hesitation, he pressed his pen against the piece of paper and guided it, sighing away his silence.

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He sat silently in his seat, flexing his bruised knuckles in slight agitation. They had pulled him out of training for this? Sebastian shifted, taking his legs off the long table and glanced at the door. The guards stood outside, ready to stop him from walking away if he so chose. But they wouldn’t dare, no matter what Raven had instructed them. Around here respect held more authority than a mere tittle, he had both the respect and the tittle to back him up at any given moment.

Head of the secret service, he shook his head, leaning back into his seat. That was a tittle he could get behind. He glanced at the door as it groaned opened, Raven Evans walked in. Placing her bag on the table as she leaned onto the palms of her hands, from the top of her blouse her breasts peeked through.

Sebastian resisted the chuckle that threatened to spill through him, he had his thoughts on the secretary of defense’s assistant and now they were being backed by her actions. He had met her type one too many times— fierce, ambitious and ready to use anything at their disposal to obtain their goals, even if it meant using their bodies. Too bad she wasn’t his type…or his gender.

His fingers brushed against his chest, touching the small chain he always wore, a good luck charm he had been given years back. Swallowing thickly, Sebastian gazed back at Raven.

“This had better be good Rave,” He hissed, leaning onto the table, his eyes narrowing on her, “You know I hate wasting my time,”

Raven Evans swallowed, turning her sharp gaze to the screen. Satisfied, Sebastian leaned back in his chair, his bicep muscles straining against his button down shirt as the woman walked to the head of the table. Above her, the screen turned on. Lighting up to a virtual file, The hairs on the back of Sebastian’s neck pricked up, his eyes turned to the two way mirror, brows creasing as he stared back at his reflection. Somebody was standing back there, his intuition was always dead on and he knew he wasn’t wrong.

Raven spoke up, momentarily distracting him from his thoughts.

“Xavier Braxton, born 1998 in Georgia, he moved a lot and was presumed dead a few years back until he wasn’t anymore.” The screen shifted to another image, of the same man only dressed well in black Armani.

“Meet Alexander De la Rosa, successful businessman and New York’s new favorite son, we suspect that Alexander is Xavier Braxton remade and its that very thought that has you here,”

Sebastian stared at Raven, his gaze hard and sighed. “You brought me here to tell me about a mission I myself started?” He pushed off his chair, his arms flexing and stepped to the side. He noticed Raven shift to her other side…away from him and rolled his eyes.

“Xavier Braxton aka Alexander De La Rosa, he’s been seen numerous times with the head of various Mafia families discussing business. He has corrupt De La officials and policeman backing him up and that’s why when he’s caught he never stays more than a few hours in jail. I’m going to use my family name to do business with Alexander and get into his little circle where I will get information so we can bring him down,” Sebastian said, finishing off by quirking his brow.

He glanced back at the one way mirror and then turned to Raven. “So, now that I’ve briefed you,” his voice was taunting, challenging, “How about you tell whoever it is you have outside to walk in so we can formally meet.”

Raven visibly tensed, turning to the mirror with wide eyes, she exhaled and her shoulders relaxed. “I was told you were the best, I guess they were correct.” She glanced at the door, “If we’re going to do this, to capture Alexander and possibly stop the most advanced criminal inner circle to date were going to need the best man on the job. The secretary of defense wants you to work with a partner,”

“No,” Sebastian hissed.

Ignoring him, Raven continued. “He’s an attorney; he has a 95% close rate. He’s the best and most importantly he’s incorruptible. You can walk in now,”

Sebastian turned to the door, ready to face his new partner. There was a brief pause…It opened and the man walked in. Their eyes met and he felt like an invisible force had knocked all the air out of him.