Chicago, Illinois Painful screams could be heard through the door of the delivery room in the old hospital. Two men standing guard in front of the room endured their pain when the screams resumed. Dell Rosie, standing not far from the delivery bed, looked still, watching a nurse and a middle-aged doctor who helped give birth to a woman. Now and then, he glanced at his colleague, who was also watching from the corner room. There was a sound of a baby crying after a long struggle. Her loud voice filled the tension in the room. “Once again, Ma’am,” said the doctor with a low voice. “Inhale and exhale slowly.” “I can’t anymore,” hissed the woman. Rosie approached the delivery bed and said sternly, “If you choose to die here, Cinzia, imagine what will happen to these babies.” The woman moaned in tears at his words. “Please don’t hurt them,” she whispered in a hoarse voice that barely drained from screaming. The man paused again and signaled to the doctor to finish the labor immedi
It’s eleven o’clock on Blueberry Hill. A small town not far from the state of Michigan now looks dead with no activity after ten. Street lights could be seen lighting up the city, and only the howling of stray dogs was heard in the small town of fewer than five thousand people. Mia, who works at a restaurant in Blueberry Hill, looks busy cleaning kitchen utensils and floors. She wanted to hurry home, but doing it all herself made her discouraged. Usually, Matt, her boss, helps out, but today the man went out of town and gave Mia an assignment while Dorothy had already back home before closing. Once her work is done, Mia turns off the lights and locks the restaurant door. She walked toward her apartment five blocks away. The 22-year-old girl is accustomed to going home alone on foot because Blueberry Hill is a safe place with no criminal reports for more than six decades. All residents there are more accustomed to walking than contributing to air pollution by driving a car. On the w
Mia took a deep breath. She stared at the shabby motel on the side of the road not far from her destination city, Denver. After a long debate with herself, Mia finally decided to get out of the old truck that the middle-aged man had given her. The deal was for her to give a yellow envelope to a man named Jaxon Bradwood that was safely tucked away in her backpack without opening or breaking the envelope, sealed as it was first given, and after that, she was free to go anywhere. It seemed like an easy task, but something amiss had been on Mia’s head ever since she left Blueberry. She still didn’t believe that middle-aged man. Arguing for a long time with her thoughts, Mia decided to stay at one old motel. She had no choice. She realized she could not last long in Denver with two thousand dollars. A cheap room can save a few bucks for other necessities. The following day, Mia decided to continue the journey. Two hours later, she arrived in Denver and chose to stop at a restaurant befo
It’s been almost eight days. Mia has been asking about a man named Jaxon Bradwood, but no one knows him. Their reactions were all the same, looking displeased when she asked, and their gestures changed from being friendly and welcoming to being cold and rude. Now, Mia doubts the words of the middle-aged man. “Is he playing me?” she snorted irritably. Mia chose to return to the motel where she was staying. Every time she passed the lobby, Mia got a look full of investigation from the receptionist. When Mia stares back, the girl at the front desk will pretend to be busy with the computer in front of her. Mia decided to hurry to her room because she was being watched. She is very sick of being suspected and considered a criminal just because she is looking for a foreign man whose existence until now is unknown. Upon entering the room, Mia got a call from Matt. This is the fourth time her boss has called since Mia left Blueberry. The old man’s cell phone helped her stay in touch with
Max’s laughter, mocking her drunken state, made Mia so upset that she waved her hand aimlessly, which only hit the air. Her eyes felt heavy, and her body was starting to go limp. She wasn’t sure she would be conscious for the next few minutes. “I didn’t think you could be even cuter, Sweetheart. Your attitude like this is entertaining. “ Mia’s fist only lightly touched the surface of the man’s chest without hurting the target. She completely lost control of her body. “Hey, Max!” From the corner of Mia’s eye saw two tall men approaching them. Their faces were flat without emotion, but Mia’s feelings said there would be nothing good if they were visited by Bouncer. Not just one, but two at once. Mia was about to scream for help from the men, but Max seemed to know what Mia was thinking. Roughly, Max covered Mia’s mouth, who was about to scream. Max’s loud growl startled Mia until her heart was racing. The two Bouncers were standing so close to them that there was no longer any dist
Jaxon forced his body to leave the woman. He walked over to the cabinet filled with liquor and poured whiskey into his crystal glass. “We’ll see how long this woman gives up looking for me.” “But that’s not how you play, Jaxon.” “How do I play, Gavin?” Jaxon drank his drink, and without realizing it, several times, he pulled the tie, which was starting to choke him. “Every day you follow that girl’s movements, you even look… interested when you hear a beautiful woman with an angelic look looking for you alone on the streets of Denver, and you know it’s dangerous for her. She could be the target of your enemies.” Jaxon turned his back to Gavin. He didn’t want his best friend to see the expression on his face right now. When the girl set foot in Denver, Jaxon had heard of her. He even put in some spies to watch the girl’s movements. Jaxon clearly remembered the first day the girl arrived. At that time, he had just finished a meeting with some of his trusted people when Fritz sudde
An alarm sound woke Mia from sleep. Her gaze was still heavy when she found her cellphone on the table beside her bed. It was too early. Several times she blinked away the fog in her head until the sound of a knock on the door brought her back to her senses. Moaning softly, Mia got up from the bed. She was still clad in her shirt from last night. Her white bag is close to her cellphone. The motel room she rented was in the same condition as the last time she left, but her brow creased when she found the black coat on the other side of the bed. She was about to grab the coat when the sound of knocking on her door was heard a second time. “Room Service!” said whoever was behind the door. Mia forgot the suit and saw who woke her up at this hour. The smell of butter-covered bread teased her as soon as the door was opened. “Looks like you’re in the wrong room,” she said to the maid girl in the maroon and black uniform in front of her. The girl smiled kindly at her. “This is an order
“What is this?!” Jaxon snapped at Gavin, who looked bored looking at the cuticles of his fingers on his left hand. “Oh, I forgot about that,” Gavin replied innocently. Jaxon was about to jump over the table that separated the two, but his body was immediately dragged away by his three friends away from the table. Gavin, who accepted Jaxon’s rage, just shrugged and hid behind Rey’s body. Danny Johanson laughed with amusement when he read the newspaper that was still spread out on the table, even Nicko Anderson, who was holding Jaxon’s body, couldn’t help but laugh, adding to Jaxon’s angry fire. Gideon Rose and Connor Black were forced to drag Jaxon, their best friend, to the corner of the room. Rey glared at Gavin, who only gave an innocent face back. He raised his face, praying that he would disappear from the place. The commotion Gavin was creating made him lose his temper. He even thought of the best way to hide Gavin’s body — the corpse — in one of his old warehouses, or maybe