Mafia's Trap- Jaden

Chapter 2

     Katherine POV

    Standing in front of the bathroom mirror I looked at my puffy hazel eyes staring back at me . My brown hair is a complete mess. Oh! I feel so tired already. For some reason I couldn’t sleep well last night. I looked at the clock to check what time it was. s**t! I am super late today. I slept through the alarm again. Hurriedly I took a quick shower and got out of the bathroom and started to get ready. I grabbed whatever clothes I could find from the closet, got dressed and left the apartment.

      My stomach growled as I was walking down the road. I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast but there was no way in hell I would have reached on time. I entered the nearby cafe to grab a coffee to drink on the way. I paid quickly and dashed out the door. Gosh!! It’s windy today. I should have worn my jacket. I hugged myself a bit tighter to make myself warm.

     I reached the library just in time. Putting my bag down and realised that I forgot my coffee on the counter in my haste. Wow! Just wow! What a great start to the day!

      Just then Mrs. Johnson  entered, ”Katherine the books that we had ordered have arrived, please organise them on the shelves and make the entry in the register.”  

         “Yes Mrs. Johnson,” I replied.

    I looked at the huge pile of books before me and I immediately got to work. I was so engrossed in my work that I didn’t realise it was evening by the time I finished.  After recording the details of the last book in the file I logged out of the computer, just then my stomach growled urging me to have some food in my system. I am so tired right now. My feet are killing me after standing all day long.

     I have never been more thankful for Friday. I just need a break. I decided that I am going to give myself a treat this weekend and just relax without worrying about a damn thing. Maybe I’ll do the home spa, Amelia keeps talking about. That’ll be nice. I deserve some pampering after all the hard work I do daily.

       I have never been the last one to leave the library, today was my first. Mrs. Johnson had left for the day as she had some emergency that needed her attention. I hope to God everything's fine with her.  I stepped out of the library and locked the door behind me, keeping office keys in my hand bag safely, I headed home. 

       Sun had set below the horizon, and it was dark outside. I clutched my bag tightly to my chest. There is small pepper spray in my bag. I know it’s not much but at least it is some kind of defense and it makes me feel a little brave. The road was quite deserted. All the shops were also closed. I hurried my pace to reach home as soon as possible. I am sure my feet are gonna kill me after tonight. It was a chilly evening. I cursed myself once again for forgetting to carry my jacket. I can't wait to reach home and crash on the bed.

       As I was walking on the sidewalk I saw a kitten in the middle of the road. It looked so terrified and helpless being all alone out in the cold that I didn’t have the heart to leave it alone. I looked around for any signs of her mother but I couldn't find any so I went towards it  and picked it up. It snuggled in my arms. I was petting her head when suddenly a sleek black car came speeding forward in my direction and I managed to scoot away just in time. I glared at the passing car. Who in their right minds would drive like that? The windows of the car were tinted so I couldn't make out who was driving it, must be some drunkard. My heart was beating so fast due to the near miss accident that I could in fact hear it. I calmed my erratic heart and started walking home .

      I had hardly walked a few minutes with the kitten in my hand when all of a sudden I heard voices from a dark alley just a few feet ahead of me. I sneaked over to the alley and found the source of the voices. I noticed the same car that sped past me a few minutes earlier was parked across the road and two well built dangerous looking men in black suits were standing near it.They seemed to be engrossed in an important discussion. Since it was dark, I couldn't make out who they were or what they were talking about. All I could see were their silhouettes.

      All of a sudden, the silence of the night was scattered by the sound of a gunshot. Wait... what? Was it really a gunshot I heard? The deafening sound of the gunshot paralyzed me. The noise of the gunshot echoed through the dark alley, leaving an annoying ringing sound in my ears.

       I was scared out of my mind. I wanted to run as fast as I could but my body wouldn't budge an inch. I couldn’t see anything as my line of sight was blocked because of those two men. But I am pretty sure I caught a glimpse of a dead body covered in blood on the cold concrete ground. I wanted to scream at what I just witnessed but no voice came out. My mind was not able to process any coherent thought. I felt completely numb. 

      Both the men were well built and had broad shoulders. One of the guys turned around and looked in my direction. 

      That movement jerked me back to my senses.     

     "s**t" I swore under my breath, held the kitten tightly in my arms and  dashed out of the dark alley, not wanting those dangerous men to catch us and put bullets in my head for witnessing them committing a crime. 

         I ran as fast as I could without even pausing to take a breath. By the time I reached my building, I collapsed on the stairs of my apartment. I was gasping for air. My legs felt like Jell-o making me wonder if I can ever use them again. I looked at the kitten in my arms, for some reason tears threatened to spill from my eyes. I couldn't believe the horrific incident that I had just witnessed. I hope to God that please don't let them find me. I can't put my family at risk. 

        I don't know how long I sat on the stairs to gather my senses before I decided to head back to the apartment. 

           Rose looked at me after I entered the apartment, “Are you okay Kat? You look really pale. Do you feel sick?” she asked, her voice full of concern.

        “No I am fine Rose,” I replied, trying to sound unfazed not wanting to let them know about what went down.

         Just then Amelia entered the living room,” Ooohh who do we have here? Hello kitty kitty. Where did you find her sister? She is adorable. Can we keep her? What do we name her?," She exclaimed enthusiastically while taking the kitten from my arms.

         ”Hold your horses, Amelia. I found her in the middle of the road. She would have been run over by the passing car had I not picked her up. We’ll have to decide whether to put her in a shelter home or keep her here with us. I picked her up as I didn’t have the heart to leave the poor thing alone in this chilly weather", I tried to be as calm as I could while narrating the story to her, not wanting them to know the turmoil inside my head.

          “Nooooo pleaseeee, I promise I’ll take good care of her.” Amelia was trying to persuade me. She went to the kitchen and brought some milk for the kitten and started feeding her. "See I'm already off to a good start, aren't I?" She winked at me.

         “We’ll see about it”, I told her with a tired voice, thereby putting an end to the conversation.

The terrible scene just kept flashing right before my eyes. Who in the world could be so cold and heartless to murder a man in the middle of the road. I hardly touched my dinner as I lost my appetite. 

       After dinner, we all sat on the couch to watch our favourite TV show - American Horror Story. I was watching the screen but couldn't register anything that was going on. 

      Rose asked me again with a mouthful of ice cream, “Are you really alright Kat. You hardly ate anything and you are being too quiet.” concern clearly etched in her voice.

        I didn’t want to worry her so I forced a smile, "I am alright Rose, just a little tired. No need to worry.” I said blatantly.

       “But it is worrying because you have not lectured me since you came home. And it’s been what (looking at her watch).. like two hours.” Amelia said sarcastically while petting the kitten who was now resting peacefully on her lap.

      I was about to get back at her when suddenly... 

        CRASH..

         We heard the shattering of the glass window. Startled and confused, all three of us looked at each other, all of us thinking the same thing : What the hell is going on? 

      We immediately rushed to investigate. 

     Rose let out a loud gasp when she saw the shattered window pane. My eyes wandered over to a stone lying on the floor with a note wrapped around it. I timidly picked it up. 

       “What does it say?”, Amelia enquired. I opened the note with shaking hands and read the message out loud.

                                                   RUN BITCHES!