Aaron Calloway

I open the door to see Liam and Cassie watching some show on the TV. Cassie runs scared but Liam stops her

"You... you took me. You... you broke into my apartment. You locked me in a room!" Cassie screamed at me. I mean, she actually yelled, nothing like when she got mad at me at Palmer's.

This was full of anger and disgust.

I have no idea how she knows it was me. I made sure she was asleep every time I went into her room, that I never spoke to her, that she never saw my face.

Cassie tried to run into her room, but I caught her just in time.

Liam steps in front of her, glaring up at me. Liam doesn't like the way I have handled this but I knew Cassie would freak out if I had told her at her apartment that people were after her because of me.

I never, ever, wanted Cassie to get into this or be hurt, so I thought of taking her and letting her go when I had killed every single one of Moreno's people, including him, but they found her, and finding all have them has taken longer than I thought so Cassie can't leave.

I can't be the reason she gets hurt and this was the only option I was ever given when people were after me so it must work for Cassie. I'm just sorry that Cassie is so scared, I tried so hard to make her happy, her favorite flowers, cooking food for her, giving her what she wanted like the hairbrush. I know that Cassie isn't like me. Hasn't been raised like I have.

I was never meant to meet Cassie, I was only supposed to be at Palmer's for a week.

"Let go of her, man." Liam grunted.

"No, she'll run."

I can't have her running out that door and into the arms of men that will hurt her; I mean into the arms of my enemies.

Unconsciously, I hold on to Cassie's waist tighter. Touching her still sparks fires on my skin. A thought, I must control.

Cassie screams and I turn to make her face me, in hopes that she will calm down.

"Look at me!" Cassie looks up at me with such broken apprehension.

My heart pulls every time I see her in such fear.

This was only a job and Cassie was just a pretty woman, putting her into hiding wasn't meant to happen.

She never should have been involved with me.

Cassie spits in my face after I told her to calm down. My mother always told me never to say those words to a woman, so I should have expected it, but her actions make me mad.

Mad at myself.

Mad that I have caused such a woman to do a disgusting thing, a hateful thing.

I wipe the spit off my cheek, slightly proud of her aim. Liam puts his hand between Cassie and I.

I walk around Cassie, taking my coat and leaving out the door.

I walked out of the house and down the steps to my car. Once I get it, I pound at the steering wheel.

I did not mean it to be like this. Cassie was meant to stay in that house for a bit while I sorted things out but Moreno and his organization went into hiding, so I spent the first few days hunting them down, one by one.

I did kill a few of the lower-ranking member that were careless, but by the time it got back to Moreno; he sent his men after Cassie again.

I drove off thinking of Cassie in that room.

I know it was cruel to leave her there by herself with nothing to do but as I explained to Liam, I couldn't risk them finding her.

I still don't know how they found out where she was. I was careful to make sure no one followed me and yet I was out for two hours and come back to Cassie being pulled out by some disgusting pig that dared to touch her.

I was fuming, I wanted to do more than just put a bullet in his thick skull, but I had to get Cassie out and safe.

I drove to another safe house. The house Cassie was in was an old house I used to use for hunts, it has a kitchen, bedroom, and an office; that I turned into a surveillance room of Cassie.

Watching Cassie in that room fulled me with guilt, but I had no other way of protecting her.

I had to leave everytime she cried and screamed .

Every time Cassie cried, I went out and killed one of them.

When she screamed, I hunted them down more, and more.

I pull my car around the back of the house and walk inside. I text Liam and ask that he stay with Cassie while I am gone.

I decided that I need to focus on finding Moreno rather than watch Cassie so she can leave and hopefully we can all forget about this.

It takes hours to find Moreno's higher ups, but I do; not once taking my mind off Cassie and how happy I want her to be.

One of his men is at a club tonight so I went before it opened to find exists and sneak away places.

While doing so, I walk past a place that sells women's clothing; a purple dress caught my eye. I stared up at the soft garment, the ruffles in the front and the small straps.

I couldn't afford to lose focus but the small voice in the back of my mind is screaming that Cassie will forgive me.

Without hesitation, I brought the dress and asked for it to be sent to my house.

I texted Liam and told him to set the dress out for Cassie.

Moreno's men yelled out from the room in front of me, they locked the door; shouting in their dialect.

After a few days of sitting outside the club, watching and waiting; I decided to move on, in doing so I found a house where a few of his men guarded Moreno's son; James.

In one swift move, I kicked the door open, doing so it hit one of the men in the head. They opened fire, forcing me to step behind the door frame. The bullets rained against the fragile wood, too heavy to try and fire back; I looked around and saw a door to an ajoining patio that connected the two rooms.

Quietly, I moved around the other room until I was outside the room containing my targets, I lifted my gun in front of my chest and shot at the two guards.

James reached for one of the guns lying on the hardfloor, he discharged the weapon towards me but only a clicking sound is made.

"Guess you're out."

James reached for another gun but I stood on his hand. He yelled out in pain, begging me to stop.

Picking him up by his collar, I dragged him to his feet then pushed him onto the chair behind him.

"What the fuck do you want!" He spat at me with a muddy spanish accent.

"Where's your father." The boy only laughs at me.

"I will never tell you!" He spits at me but it falls short and lands in front of my feet.

It reminds me of Cassie and weirdly, how much I miss seeing her. I take in a deep breath and repeat in my head that this is just a job, a job that will make Cassie safe again after I fucked up.

It's just another job.

I take my army knife out of its sheath and plunge it directly into his leg, the feeling of it is like stabbing butter. The boy screams out and I cover his mouth with my gloved hand.

"Where is your father." I say just as calmly as the first time.

I am willing to torture the answer out of him for as long as it takes.

Through closed teeth, James seethes out the same response to my question.

I take a firm grip on the handle and twist the knife in his flesh.

It takes strength to do such a thing, the feeling of the blade moving through layers of muscle is indescribable.

"C'mon James."

He groans in pain but still gives me no answer.

I pull the knife out of his torn thigh and he grabs at the wound with tears in his eyes.

Behind him on the dining table is a bottle of vodka, pulling off the cap, I pour the alcohol over his leg and again, he screams out.

"Ok, ok, on the desk behind you, address." He waves his pointer finger over my shoulder, as while as eyeing up the gun on the floor.

I take the knife and stab it through his leg again but making sure to dig into the chair as well so he is pinned down while I get the paper.

Not making any more mistakes

350 Albany St Apt 3F, New York, NY 10280.

The paper had a coffee circle on it and a small tear on the edge.

I turn back to James, he is clearly cussing me out in spanish.

I take my knife out and pour the rest of the alcohol on his wound; I walk towards the door, ready to go to the address on the paper.

"You're dead, asshole!"

I put the address into my GPS when I got back into my car, Albany Street isn't far from where I am now.

I make sure I have all loaded weapons on me before walking into the building. The outside has pale bricks half way up that turn into terracotta bricks, the door has a red shade over the top.

Walking up the stairs to 3F, the doors are all a simple white wood.

Holding my gun tight to my chest, I stand to the side of the door and knock.

No answer.

Just as I ready myself to kick the door in, the door busts itself open, ejecting a bloody and beat up man out.

The man groans on the floor, tucking his arms around himself as his blood puddles on the old wooden flooring.

Another man walks out from the same door, yet this one is almost twice the size of me, the clear use of steriods bulging out the seams of his clothing.

The man, grotesquly growls towards the floor. I remain in my space beside the door frame, watching as the fight continues.

I peak my head around the corner with my gun tightly aganist my chest, looking for Moreno but there's no one in the room.

Should've carved Moreno Jr up just for knowing he would have lied.

Seeing no point in staying, I turn softly on my heels and place my gun back into its holster. Steriods must give you advanced hearing because the man stands up - fists covered in blood.

"And who might you be?" Steriods accent is that of a strong New Yorker's, and three ciggrettes deep.

He walks closer to me, clunching his fist.

I ready myself, pulling my hand around to my holster but when i tug at the weapon, nothing loosens.

"Got you now." The man bolts at me, swinging fists across my face like its a pinata.

I roll back against the wall trying to get a vantage point over the giant but at every point, the punches land.

I don't know how it happened but he got me on the floor and wail from above.

Each punch pushed a new thought of Cassie into my bruised head. Thinking about how she hates me, and how I treated her so bad - yet the more the violence insued the less I thought about that and the more I focused on how I don't think anything could make me hate her.

The way her eyes dart around looking for the nearest animal, her hair that sways in time with her hips; enchanting me.

Her laugh when Luke would put boxes on his head to cheer her up after a bad day.

Her smile whenever Winston would talk about his wife.

Her nose that scrunches up when she gets mad.

How delicate she touches things.

How delicate she touches me.

The thoughts faded the second I reached around and put a bullet through his head, and when his body hit the floor next to me, my only focus was getting out of here.

Using the walls all the way down to the front door to balance my unsteady feet. I open my car door and my body begins the drive. My head pounds with the names of those left to kill and the bodies I've dropped already.

The car turns off at the front of my door.

As I walk up the steps, I see my reflection - battered and bloody. There's no way I can let Liam and Cassie see me like this, Liam will get mad I didn't call him and I know it will scare Cassie more.

As I make my way to my room to clean up, I have to walk past the kitchen, knowing that's where Cassie and Liam most likely are. I quickly move through the door and accidentally slammed the door in my rush. And again when it came to my bedroom door.

Pulling the first aid kit from under my bathroom sink and unclipping the lid. I'm low on bandages and a few disinfectants but have just enough on the necessary things.

I take gauze from the kit and apply it to my forehead and the bridge of my nose where the bleeding is most consistant. The disinfectants have little screw tops that were a mission at the worse of times to get off so I opted for the half full bottle of vodka that lives in my cabinet.

My ribs are bruised and definitely swollen, the jabs to my b0dy affected me the most even though my face in the mirror remained the same neutral tone as it always is.

A knock aganist my door made me frown, the unwanted intrusion seemed to make the pain worsen.

"Aaron, man, c'mon." Liam hollered from just outside the door. I can hear him whispering to Cassie that it's alright. I must have freaked her out with all the slamming even though my quick pace was meant to deter the fear from seeing my wounds.

Placing a harsh hand on my knee, I raise myself with the left over strenght off my medical table that is my toilet lid. As I walk out of my bathroom and up to the bedroom door,

"You can't be mad. I didn't kiss her man!" I stop in my tracks.

"If you're going to be mad, be mad at me."

"Aaron, seriously, we were about to but we didn't." That was enough for me to hear.

I'm gone for two days and ask that Liam takes care of her, and now he's making moves on her?

He's meant to protect her when I can't be there and he's taking advantage?

I kick the door open. Liam mumbles to calm down, that it wasn't a big deal. Yet I can't get the images out of my head, her with another man, her chest heavy and eyes fluttering, back arched so deliciously you could come undone from the mere sight of it. Her soft breath meeting with what's left of yours, craving and scratching for each other; a moment of solace.

I don't care that it was Liam, I just care that it wasn't me.

Liam and I have fought before, bloody fights and loud berating but never before have I wanted his head this badly and all over one girl, one girl I don't even know.

My fist collides into Liam skull; my fists move in motions my eyes cannot keep up with.

My vision blurs and I step back, I can hear Cassie scream but it's too muffled to make out words. I can tell that Liam is in front of me based on the shape of the black figure. The room spins and the last I hear is that of Cassie squealing and Liam shouting my name.

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