One way of killing

“We should let her go,” James speaks to me with fear in his voice.

“What?! Why the change of mind? What happened? You were excited about her yesterday.”

“I don't see a bright light on this anymore. The look on your uncle's face right now. The visit from your uncle and what went down now. I see deadly challenges coming on our way.

“You are already getting beyond your uncle's nerves. I could tell by his expression. He knows you very well. That act you put up, anyone could read it. I promise you if he finds her with you. We will be done for before we take a step outside this place.”

“I won't let him find out. Why do you keep jinxing the situation? Are you tempting fate with me?”

“I have found out. Someone else will find out. I do not know of any deep secrets in our world. I don't think it's okay for you to continue getting involved with her.

“Whatever situation we are in. I am scared we are making it worse for her.”

“Is it okay if she dies in my uncle's warehouse? You asked me the same question, remember?”

“I do not mean it like that. I do not want harm to come to her. We could take her out of here and hide her far away, find a good doctor to do plastic surgery, and hide her in China or anywhere as far away as possible where no one can find her.”

“James, She is the first woman that I want. I see this as a blessing to me. She is the new hope and reason I have been searching for.

“I finally feel James... this woman in the bed made me feel… made me a man… I finally kissed and made love….

“This woman allowed me to feel all that… I thought I could not feel like that because of what I am.”

“You have been very lonely since you lost your mother. All you have done is struggle to find a way out of this life and you starved yourself of intimacy and love.

“It's okay. You are just a human, like any other human who has feelings. You rarely interact with anyone except me. You have nothing in your routine than to spy on your uncle.”

He is right… All I did in my life while growing up was study how to set up bombs and play with guns from the tender age of five.

No one could come into our house, and I was not allowed to step foot outside of the house.

The only tangible people I met in my life, except for those my father forced me to kill. Are James's mother, ‘Zia,’ James, my mother, my uncle, and my father.

After my parents' deaths, I still did not allow people in. Only James and Zia are the only ones I have allowed close to me.

“Humans need other humans to show them affection. So emotionally, we depend on other people around us.

“But you have only me and momma. It's a tiny cycle. It's not your fault you didn't grow up knowing this. Because your father made it so that you know no one except us.

“That's why the first time you break your routine, you feel too attracted to that person you didn't know could exist.

“The person who has come to you in an expected situation. And you know growing feelings for her.”

“What should I do, James?”

“There is nothing wrong with your feelings or emotions. So don't beat yourself up. It's too early to define that and be assured that you will continue feeling like that.

“Just give it time. And see what happens when she is out of sight. I am sure she will get out of your mind. Before you know it, you will have forgotten her, and you will be back to your normal you.”

“No... I don't want to go back to the time before her. I want to continue to love her and put an effort to make her love me the same way. I love her. I want her beside me for the rest of my life James..”

“Luciano! Stop… If anyone loves you, that's one way of killing them…...”

My heart drops. It hurts to think that all that James is warning me about is all true. She is already in danger because she is smart. What will happen if she gets entangled with me?

“You have saved her life from your uncle. That's enough. But this… you are killing her.

“ I see a bright future with her beside you, but I also see what all this entitles. And I'm worried. I assure you we are not the only ones who know who she is.”

“Who is she?!”

“She is a card every powerful man in this world wants to hold. Only you in this situation will lose more if you force yourself to hold on to her. And especially when your uncle is betting everything on her.”

“I understand your concerns, James… But for now, at least, I want to do everything I can to save her while she is by my side. When I fail I will send her away from me.

“I am not God. I don't know what awaits. But for now, what I know is my window is closing and I need to save her.

“ Let's leave out the feelings and save a life in need. Get all the four choppers ready. As we have practiced for the last two years, let's get prepared. I am sure we will hide her tonight successfully. But we won't survive my uncle in the next twenty-four hours.

“He will eventually find out. By tomorrow, my uncle will be with me if he hasn't found her then. Because I am the only one that he knows can save her from him. I can't let him have her.

“It's time, James… We will have to make it out without my uncle's approval. We will have to run away from the Mafia life into hiding once and for all.”

“So that is your solution. Running away?”

“I must survive, James. We must survive. We must live. A different life from this. Do you have any solutions to keep us alive if we stay?”

“Unfortunately, no,” James speaks while too broken. I understand his worries. The probability of getting killed while we escape is too high. And James does not want to die or see his mother die.

“I have exploited all the cards and options, and we don't have a good chance of staying alive if we stay. With Keirah already part of us.

“Unless we support my uncle and give Kirah back to him, but still he will never trust us. He will put those chips in our heads first before he does that to anyone else.

“I need us to execute the runaway plan. We have perfected it for the last two years. I believe it will work. It is no longer safe here.”

***

The forced entry alarm wakes me up from my deep sleep. I slept off on the sofa without my knowledge.

After James left, I kept on covering my uncle's every move last night through his laptop until I passed out.

Opening my eyes.

My eyes automatically travel to the doorway where the fuss that woke me up came from. And there is no one at the door. What triggered my door alarm?

From where I am through my lenses, I can see on the outside that there is no one forcing the door to come into the room from outside.

I try to find my laptop to see the recording on security cameras about what the fuss is all about. But the laptop is no longer on the table where I left it when I worked yesterday.

My eyes automatically travel directly to the bed, searching for Keirah.

Keirah is not in bed.

Ooh, Jesus…. Did my uncle break in and take her away?