Adonis

"Where are we going?" The guy in my hold asked with fright as I walked past the school's entrance. "What are you going to do with me?"

Ignoring him, I scanned the car park and once I sighted my car, I dragged him along. Once I had him settled in the passenger seat, I entered the car and the first thing I did was kiss my head against the rim of the steering wheel.

I still couldn't believe that an erotic portion of my thoughts about Ruby came to pass and truth be told, it was better than my haunting thoughts imagined it to be.

I have been with a few women in my life, out of pleasure or to kill boredom but none of them has ever gotten to me as much as Ruby has. I don't find myself thinking about them at odd hours of the night. My head doesn't paint their pictures to make my yearning a little less painful.

And I certainly do not feel a mix of guilt and happiness after I've had a sexual escapade with them.

"What are you doing now?" the boy beside me spoke and I instantly recalled why I dragged him out of the school building. "What-?"

"How dare you touch her?" I asked, my voice thick with anger as I recalled the rather audacious move he pulled on Ruby.

"I was-"

The middle of my forehead deepened with a frown, I moved forward and his words, whatever they were to be, were cut short. My eyes which were maintaining the intimidation that my voice earlier carried, shot right into his and I saw his fear return.

Bryan flinched as I reached for a handful of his full hair.

"Why did you put your hands on her?"

"I didn't..."

"You didn't mean to?" I pulled his face closer to mine. "It seems like I haven't warned you enough."

"C- can you please stop looking at me like that?" his voice quivered as he spoke and at the same time, his hands tried to find ways to get him out of that situation.

"What? Why on earth are your cheeks suddenly red?" I asked, my lips scrunched per my curiosity at his actions.

"Uh... Can you just move your face a little farther away?"

As my partial curiosity no longer existed, I let go of his hair and told him to wear his seatbelt with a sharp command. Kicking the car to life, the seatbelt worn on my side, I stepped on the accelerator and we were out of the school premises the next minute.

"Is this about that day? Is this about Ben?" Bryan asked after a few, blissful minutes of silence. "I told you, I don't know any Ben. I didn't kill him."

"The same way you didn't kill Maddison or your parents?"

"What?" His feigned reactions were starting to test my patience. "Do I look like someone that would even kill an animal for fun?"

My sharp glare darted in his direction. "Do I look like someone who can get rid of that stupid manhood of yours if you don't stop lying to me this second?"

"Uh..."

"If you don't want to speak the truth," I narrowed my eyes and my sight returned to the road ahead, my fingers clenching the wheel, "I'll force it out of you."

"Where are you taking me? Isn't this against school rules?"

"Do I look like I give a damn about rules? If you are not going to start spewing the truth, keep shut and prepare yourself for the worst day of your existence."

"W-worst day? Where are you taking me?" He reeked of feigned dread, he certainly took his acting classes well. "I won't let you get away with this. Hey!" He kicked the door. "Stop the car! I said stop the car!"

"Don't think about hitting that glass," I stopped Bryan before his head could kiss the window. "You'll just get a nasty cut on your head. You might even die."

Bryan faced me, pure hatred in his eyes and when he heard me chuckle, his hands quickly reached for the steering wheel, causing an imbalance in the car. "Die?" he asked, his voice a sinister tone.

"You think I'd die and not take you along with me?"

The car swerved in the wrong direction and from the corner of my eyes, I caught the imagery of the cars behind us halting in their tracks.

Since I suspected Bryan would do something that nasty, I reached for the small compartment in between our seats and brought out my help for the day.

"Sorry Bryan. If you are going to die, do it after you've paid for your crimes."

I uncapped the syringe with one of my hands. "You need to face hell before you actually go to hell."

The car took some more nasty turns that caused other drivers to honk out of fright.

"You don't know what I've done old man. The devil got nothing on me," Bryan boasted as he held on to the wheel as though his life depended on it.

Actually, his life depended on it.

"The devil must be so proud of you. Anyway..." I carefully introduced the end of the syringe into a portion of his neck and in the next seconds that followed, his tight grip loosened, his firm, angry words became slurred and peace was restored in the space.

After I got the car back on track and tended an apology that pissed everyone off, I began the journey... The journey that might ensure that Ruby is no longer a target of the Xylem gang.

~~~~

"Fancy seeing you here on this beautiful day Adonis," Carmila greeted as I stepped into the lively abode of the Xylem gang. "I see you got the dress code," she excitedly said. "Do you care to join this party? This one has a great tongue." Her hands patted a red-haired lady whose state of nakedness matched others like her who knelt in front of Carmila as if she was some kind of goddess.

"Do I look like I want to party?" I asked sternly, my eyes wearing pity towards one of the girls who looked like she had undergone more pain than pleasure.

"Oh." Carmila peeped at the figure that was in my grasp. "You brought a gift for the boss. Does that mean you are coming back to the gang?"

"You wish."

She scoffed as I walked past. "That little girl must really have you wrapped around her fingers as the rumours say. I hope you don't regret it. And yeah, don't forget to fuck her good, she needs to experience that at least."

"Shut up, Carmila."

Her annoying laughter filled the lonely corridors of the VIP area of the mansion that the gang usually used for their parties which have a lot to do with sharing sexual experiences and carrying out the exchange of goods.

A groan behind me halted my steps and I let go of Bryan in a way that caused his back to hit the ground violently.

"Ow!" he cried, his back arching as he reached to soothe the pain with his hands. It took Bryan a few more minutes to realise that he was not in a familiar environment.

His eyes squinted with inquiry, he soon assumed an erect position and when his eyes landed on mine, he sneered at me. "Where is this place?"

"Hell on earth." I reached for his collar and resumed dragging him.

"Let go of me this minute! I said-"

"Who is that noisemaker?" a voice thundered from one of the rooms. Accompanying the thick voice were heavy footsteps that caused me to stop walking.

It wasn't a familiar sound and I didn't want to be harsh in my movements, so I waited.

The approaching figure was indeed not a familiar sight. My eyes connected with the tall, roughly built man in front of me.

"Adonis Klaus?" his coarse voice asked while his biceps flexed without being willed to.

"You know me?" I asked and his eyes darted to Bryan after he replied to me in the affirmative.

"Know you? I'm supposed to kill you whenever I see you."

I heard the sound of Bryan swallowing his pride and I became tempted to laugh. For once, he was truly showing immense fear. But I didn't laugh. Instead, I said, "I brought a gift for Maximus."

"Is it a beneficial one?"

"What do you know? You have only been here for a few hours."

"How do you know?" he frowned.

"It is simple. I've always taught my boys that fists are never enough. You always need a weapon, no matter who your enemy is." My head tilted as I watched his face wear confusion. "And whenever someone says they have a gift for the boss," my grip on Bryan still solid, I began to walk towards the hefty man, "it is up to the boss to decide what is beneficial. You just focus on getting your boss out of trouble."

"But-"

I threw him a salute as I walked past him. "You have a long way to go, young man. And you have a lot to learn if you want to survive in this messed up world. See you around."

I kicked the closed doors open, intruding into what seemed like a really important meeting. The diamonds that sprung out of someone's hands, and spread out in different directions told me that I just gave Maximus more reasons to hate me.

Or maybe not.

"Adonis!" Maximus bellowed from his seat. "I heard you brought me a gift."

"I see you guys are still into gossip," I played along with his cheerfulness.

"What can I say?" He got up and signalled to the visitors to leave the room. "We always need a source of entertainment. Where is this gift?"

"This boy." I pushed Bryan into the room and he helplessly fell to the ground. Maximus crouched in front of Bryan and gave him an inspection with just a glance.

Maximus faced me once again. With anger now evident in his expression, he asked, "What do I do with him?"

"Whatever you want. He killed Ben after all."

Maximus scoffed. "You really will do anything to avoid admitting your crimes, I thought you were a man of principle."

"Bryan Lockwood was Ben's friend. Remember Ben never stopped about a particular friend of his. That friend is Bryan and Ben was his first victim."

Maximus faced Bryan, placed a finger underneath his chin, lifted his head to a high angle and he asked with his thick voice, "Is it true? Did you kill Ben?"

"Uh..."

"I hate it when people aren't sharp, so you had better answer me."

"I didn't-"

Out of nowhere, Maximus whipped out a gun, killed the safety, and with his finger on the trigger, he placed the firearm on Bryan's head.

"I know murderers like you are always scared of death. You act tough but deep down, you dread the day you will be caught. So, I'll ask you again... Did you kill Ben?"

Bryan sighed. "What if I say yes, will you pull the trigger?"

"You are wasting my time young, man." Maximus pushed the trigger a little more.

"Okay." Bryan sighed again and I could tell he was tired of his pretence. "I'll like to get up first."

Maximus drove the mouth of the gun further into Bryan's head. "Talk."

"Okay. Yes, I knew Ben Xylem, he was a weird kid. And yes, he was my first victim. My first kill. How on earth could I possibly forget the look on his face while my poison consumed his body?"

I had no idea when my legs began to walk towards the other side of the room where I could see Bryan's face. My change in direction allowed me to see the smile plated on Bryan's face and I realised how much of a threat the boy was.

"Is this a joke?"

Bryan paid no heed to Maximus's question. "I hate it when people look down on me, I hate it when friends betray me. Ben made those mistakes, and so did Melissa and Maddison but I didn't mean to kill them at first." We locked eyes and I felt disgusted at the delight he proudly wore. "I just meant to mess with them a bit."

"How are you not in jail?"

"Because I am smart," Bryan replied Maximus who got to his feet, disbelief on his face. "You are a gang leader, right? So, you should understand these things."

Bryan's face was flung in another direction as Maximus kicked him fiercely.

"Who is this bastard?" Maximus growled, his pain mixing with anger.

"Ruby is making the same mistake," Bryan said with a chuckle, with no care about the blood painting the side of his lip. "Adonis, you need to keep an eye on her because these days I can't control myself."

"Maximus," I faced the man who looked like he wouldn't mind spraying some bullets into Bryan, "are you going to leave Ruby alone now that you know that I am not the reason Ben is dead?"

"I told you. It's now beyond me. Ruby's matter is deeper than you think, so I can't promise anything."

"What?"

"Thank you for bringing this bastard to me though, I owe you one."

"But you said-"

"It's beyond me now, Adonis. Just focus on protecting her now more than ever."

"What on earth is going on?" I asked angrily. "You said you were using her to lure me."

"Do you think her mother's death was to lure you too?" I frowned at his sentence. "As I said, things have gone out of hand, this issue is really complicated."

"That's just-"

"I'll deal with this psycho now." Maximus whistled and the hefty man from earlier stormed into the room.

Without fuss, he lifted Bryan off the floor and while he walked out of the room, Maximus looked at me, gratitude and apology in his eyes.

And he said, "I miss having you around, Adonis. This place is no fun when you are not here."

"I'm not coming back."

"I know," he replied.

"Good." Never had I seen Maximus look so helpless and that made me realise that the battle was truly not over.

So with the aim of finding the extra forces that would prevent Ruby from living a normal life, I walked past Maximus, my long-time brother, and friend who was going to deal with Bryan in a satisfying way.