Set free

Chapter 5 Niko's POV

" Glad you could finally join us " Nick quipped at me sarcastically as I made my way to the car. He looked up at the plane with a bored expression. I looked over my shoulder to see what he was staring at. It was the air hostess standing at the door, looking utterly f*cked her clothes still a mess and like she was falling in love as she stared down at me. Turning back, I shrugged, eyeing his yellowing eye that would have been black and bruised from the punch I landed on him a week ago with satisfaction. I smirked, and he rolled his eyes, then his eyes glanced at my arm that he shot. He couldn't see the wound. It was under my shirt, it was barely a scratch. I wish I could have seen that eye in its glory.

" Next time you make me wait while you get your kicks, it won't be a flesh wound " he snapped, turning and getting in the car. My dark chuckle followed him as I climbed into the passenger seat at the side of him. " Like I have never had to wait for you while you tried to f*ck your demons or your boredom away. Like I haven't had to watch that sh*t while some woman bounced up and down on that tiny d*ck of yours making me feel sorry for her, that she had to endure that misery and act like she was f*cking enjoying it " I snipped back at him as he pulled off like the hounds of hell were chasing the car down to end our miserable lives.

He almost let out a long breath. I eyed him out the corner of my eye as he smirked at the road. " If my nine inches is tiny brother, then you must have a needle d*ck" I laughed at that one. Both of us have been blessed, so we have been told numerous times when we have banged the same bird, or we made it into an orgy with a few girls and us. We knew our sizes because one group of women in particular took an interest in knowing the size and bounced on our c***s until we were rock solid and then measured them. He had me beaten by an inch and I never live that sh*t down. But I had a centimeter on him in girth. " At least my needle d**k touches the sides " I threw back and this time he laughed, his shitty mood forgotten. He hated that I had left him here on babysitting duty. His bitchy mood was not because I chose to bang the hostess, but because he hated not having my back.

We have been side by side for years, no lovey-dovey sh*t, we may share a girl or two but we ain't really craving each other's c**k in private, secretly loving the other. We were just co-dependent on each other, more him than me. He didn't bang the same girl twice for a reason. He has attachment issues and he knows it. Nick is an all-in or all-out kind of guy and obsessive as f*ck. More than likely, because his druggy mom used to leave him in the house alone from the age of six for days at a time until one day when he was thirteen. She just never came home; no dad, no other family in the picture. It would take some patient ass woman to put up with him. He would be like a rabid starving dog chasing a bone. He would flip if she even breathed towards another guy.

The thing was, he knew that about himself, so he f*cked and chucked women. He knew once he found the one, it was game over. For her and for him. In the real world, I'd encourage my friend to get help, because whoever he finds and gets together with that relationship wouldn't be healthy, it would be toxic. He would never hurt a woman, unless she pulled a gun on him with intent to kill him.

The first time me, and he met, he tried to steal off of me and I beat him up. He had looked up at me bloodied and said" F*ck, all I wanted was a cheeseburger ". We were just kids. I had been selling bags, and he thought I would be an easy target given I was younger than all the other dealers. I laughed, helped him up and bought him the cheeseburger and gave him a job. He was smart. Even as a kid, he was calculated and smart, numbers were his thing. He just got it. Who knows how he hardly ever went to school, but they just made sense. We soon learned he had some photographic memory. As soon as I gave him the luxury of money, he paid for online classes and got his degree, then dug deeper and became a genius at the market trade. His obsessiveness paid off for him in that respect.

" You going to see her ? " He asked as we pulled up outside of the house.

I shook my head as I climbed out. " Not yet, who has been dealing with her the most you to Tarrick ? " I had ordered that only them two interact with her, none of the others. You can never be too careful. All the men I trusted, but only two I trusted with my life and something as big as this. I didn't need her charming her way into one of the men and her manipulating him to go give her dad a message she was there, or she manages to get any sort of information out of one of them, even if it was just a harmless mishap. Easy done, she gets friendly with one of them bam their lips start blabbing s**t they shouldn't.

" Tarrick mostly, the chick, is mute most of the time , keeps quiet and puts her head down when we go in the room to drop off food. Like I said, she plucked up the courage to ask for clean clothes and then this morning asked if she could have some paper and paints. The room is surveilenced, so I figured why not it stops her just staring out the window all the time like a frozen doll. Since Tarrick took them in, she's been at the desk painting. Stopped to eat lunch, then went back to what she was doing " he shrugged as we walked into the house.

The men nodded at me as we walked past. I kept the men here at a minimum. Most of my men were back on the mainland waiting for a call. Not much new about this place and I kept it that way. The ones that came were the ones that had been with me for years and I knew were trusted among all the rest.

" I want you to go in. I want to see how she reacts. Go close to her, in her space and ask her questions. I want to see how deeply this good behavior is conditioned in her. Everyone else would be kicking and screaming like a mule. The only explanation she isn't is because of all the act right brainwashing she has had. Who knows what they taught her? Maybe this is all part of that. They trained her in a k********g situation, how to act, how to knock folk off guard, relax around her before sh strikes " I mused as we walked.

Nick grunted his agreement. I walked into the control room and found Tarrick there watching the cameras. He had his feet kicked up and was eating his lunch, but his eyes scanned all the monitors.

" Good to have you back, boss " he grinned at me, dropping his feet back to the floor as he sat up.

" Feels good to be back " I grinned back at him. Tarrick came to me after Nick. Tarrick worked for another dealer , but he was young and was in a debt to him. Tarrick played around with the product and got himself in sh*t. His role module parents didn't teach him any differently. That was why he worked for him in the first place, to clear off their debts. A deadbeat father in and out of jail mum was too busy with the drama of that to care if her son was getting beaten daily. As long as he worked for her habit, it didn't matter. I had beef with that dealer and took care of him. While at his house doing that, I found Tarrick unconscious after his last beating on the floor. I took him with me, and he has never seen his parents again since that. Now he was skilled at taking care of himself. Nick and I taught him that. He was like the little brother we never wanted.

" Go get me some of that " I pointed to his bowl that was filled with what looked like pasta, chicken and a creamy sauce. The chef here always had food on tap, with the men I did have around, someone was always hungry.

" Here take this. I only took one bite, I'll go get more " he handed me his bowl, which I took gratefully. My stomach was growling at me to fill it. I hadn't stopped to eat, too eager to get here.

He got up and sauntered out of the room, fishing some pasta up onto the fork. I sat and turned my attention to the screen. I couldn't see her face, she was bent forward, concentrating on the paper, her hand swept across the page.

I found myself wanting to know what it was that had her so enthralled. What was it she was drawing ? I barely tasted the food as she captured my attention, then the door opened and my eyes hardened. Concentrate Niko, I scolded myself. Nick came round the door and I watched as she looked up slightly and her shoulders tensed. Reaching forward, I tapped on the sound on the control pad.