Chapter 3 Chapter Three
Asher’s POV
My mother was a philosopher. She believed there was no such thing as destiny, only demand and supply.
She was wrong.
I had seen her watching me, the new neighbor. She wasn't entirely subtle with it. I could see her every time, and we had thin walls. I could hear the hum of her hair dryer, the buzzing of her sex rose. Something about her called out to my curiosity, but I wasn't sure until I saw the necklace.
It could be a coincidence, but we lived in a world controlled by fate.
Then I began the watching.
Judging from the times I had been in her room when she was at work, I could note she was bad at punctuality and very disorganized.
I guessed that was why she was good at marketing.
Or maybe she was good at it because of the government agents cycling around her.
A marketing supervisor with a SWAT falcon tattoo on her neck.
Please, who were they deceiving? They really needed to try harder in training their undercover agents.
Arvin, or was it Sierrarvin?
It was hard to keep up. I got all the information I needed in less than twelve hours.
It wasn't that hard to fish, and she could have picked a more vague name. The daughter of Kingpin Mario, my father's oldest friend.
Truly, this was fate.
She was shaken by the whole incident but didn't want to show it. I had to drive her home immediately, and she was quiet the whole time.
“Hey,” I grabbed her cold hands as I walked her to her door.
“I know we just met and all, but if something is wrong, you can tell me,”
“No,” she answered swiftly. “It's fine. I saw the same person the other day, monitoring me. Alicia suspected it could be a drug dealer looking to deal,”
“You should report it to the police,”
She nodded. “I will, and thank you for tonight. I had a wonderful time,”
“It would have ended even better if we weren't interrupted,” I said, and finally, I got her to smile again.
It was a wonder how someone so beautiful could spawn out of the worst atrocity the world had ever seen.
I was one to talk. My mother was an angel and I was nothing like her.
“Goodnight, Asher,” she waved as she walked in.
“Remember, I'm just on the other side in case you need me,”
“Appreciate that,” she muttered genuinely.
I watched her shut the door before I swiftly unhooked the top buttons of my sleeve, seeing that I had work to handle.
I sat back and waited for him to regain consciousness. Low-level thugs who didn't know their place, desperate to reach a higher position of power just to abuse it for their personal benefit.
“Where am I?” he voiced weakly from the chair he was strapped to. I took a look at the saline water I had connected to his arm with an IV. It was meant to cleanse the chloroform used to knock him out.
“I wanted to drain your blood…” I said as I obtained the content of a vial with a syringe.
“Allow you to witness your own slow death carefully,”
He trembled delicately. “Mr. Caster, I'm —”
“I'm not a Caster,” I interrupted him. “My father was a Caster. The California Mafia belongs to the Caster family, but a West runs it. My mother’s name runs it,”
“I'm so sorry. I thought —”
“You thought you could blackmail me,” I heaved.
“No one except the council family knows me, and you thought you could leverage your way into selling drugs in my city by blackmailing me with my identity,”
“Forgive me,” he cried, shuddering with fear.
I hated that I loved this. It made me feel like my old man.
“I am not angry about that,” I said. “I am pissed that you ruined my moment. You made her scared, you made her uncomfortable,”
“I will apologize to her, sire. I didn't mean to scare her, I wasn't there for her,”
“Of course you weren't,” I riposted with a brief smile.
“You know nothing. When I moved the empire to California, I made a decree. No drugs, no gang wars, but yet you lowlifes still defy me,”
“It's our source of income, sir,” he burst into tears as I walked closer.
“What's your name?”
“Fredrick, boss,”
“Fredrick, the world is vast and has unlimited opportunities,” I explained.
“Every system exists for a reason. You work with it and you will get results,”
“I will work with it,” he shook vigorously as I injected the saline bag with the content of the vial.
“I know you will,” I muttered as I watched the liquid flow into his body.
“Please… please. You will never see me again, she will never see me again, I swear on my —”
He didn't get the chance to finish before he got knocked out.
It was a sedative. I did plan to take him out completely, but that wouldn't suit the new path I'm on.
“Take him with the next shipment to New York,” I ordered one of my men.
“He won't show his face around here anymore,”
“Yes, boss,” he responded.
My business with Fredrick had taken my whole day. I had to make sure he didn't have a friend snooping around as well.
Don't you worry, Arvin. Your secret would be safe with me.
I got home and began fighting the temptation to check in on her. She hadn't replied to my text, probably with the US Marshals concerning the incident.
It was the reason I had to handle it quickly. It was a risk, as she could be relocated for her safety.
I was just about to step into my living room when I heard her loud laughter, and her voice wasn't the only one. There was someone else and it wasn't Alicia.
I hurried over, desperate to know who it was. I hadn't even knocked when the door flung open.
My eyes popped in shock as I stared at a bare-chested man with a wrench in his hand.
“Can I help you?” he asked so casually.
Wow, Arvin. I didn't know you had it in you.
“Yes, I'm looking for Arvin,” I replied, carefully noting how he smelled exactly like her and with a wet stain on his jeans.
“She's upstairs changing,” he answered with a wide smile.
I had to restrain every cell in my body.
I guessed she was right about being mysterious.
