This was the first drenched evening in July.

The downpour was heavy. The sky was screaming, spitting out lightning occasionally.

I sighed at the dark dawn and turned my blue Hercules to the right - another dingy alleyway.

"You sure this is the place?" I glanced at a silent Sawyer to my right.

He was sporting dark skin with a green lens, and a big mole on his left cheek.

Gone big and handsome for our mission tonight.

"Hundred percent. Now, turn left."

I rolled my eyes and did what he said.

This was the thousandth turn we had taken in the last twenty minutes.

Where the hell in Downtown was this guy taking me!

?Wait. Wait. That building. Yeah, that gray one on the right."

"Every building is gray here, Sawyer!"

"Not that one with the red neon. Stop!"

I pulled an abrupt brake, making us jerk forward at the impact.

Sending a sharp glare at Sawyer, I pushed the door and stepped out into the muddy ground.

The sweet smell of garbage was the first thing to welcome us there.

I scrunched my nose and stared up at the glaring red sign over our heads.

'Ben's Bar'

I frowned.

"Didn't the guy run a betting house?"

"It's just a cover-up, Doll." I flinched as warm air tickled my left ear.

Sawyer smirked wide when I glared at him.

"Don't do that again."

"Do what?"

That infuriating, stupid smirk!

I grumbled under my breath and walked to that shabby bar.

"By the way... You look great in black."

I halt on my steps and stared down my dark hands.

The insane amount of foundation I spent on my skin makes me shudder. Not to mention the waste of money since I would never use them again. I hoped.

"I was talking about your leather look, Doll. Never thought I'd see you in anything but dress."

Yeah, this jean jacket, red crop top with matching leather pants, and knee boots were rare for me. Not to mention the pin-straight, black wig in a ponytail sort of made me feel badass but I would never tell this prick.

"I hate it, anyway." I shrugged and walked fast.

"Even that cool black diamond version?"

I threw him a sharp glare over my left shoulder.

Sawyer chuckled and matched my steps.

No words were spoken until we stopped near that grungy gray metal door.

"IDs, please." A boulder-size bouncer stretched his tanned, beefy snake-vines-tattooed arm before the door.

Sawyer smiled. "Oh, but we're here for the Black Swine."

Black Swine?

I raised my brows at Sawyer's pin-straight posture.

The beefy arm dropped from the doorway, though. That was a good thing, I guess.

"Get in and find Rob. He's at the bar," he grumbled low and opened the door with a screech.

"Thanks. Come, Doll." Sawyer looked at me and dragged me inside by my arm.

I sighed and followed his lead in silence.

God knew what hell was waiting for us there!

An odd remix of some hit songs screamed through the speakers just as we stepped on the aqua-blue, glass tiles.

Flashes of bright pink and blue poked our eyes in the otherwise dark ambiance while we moved through the sweaty crowd of drunk dancers.

By the time we reached the crimson bar table, we were heaving, breathing, sweaty mess ourselves. Well, mostly me. Sawyer seemed like he could do this ten more times.

We found two empty black stools and plopped down.

"Hey, folks!" A tall, brown-haired, and silver-eyed bartender with an easy smile, strolled toward us. "What can I get for you two?"

Sawyer offered his famous laidback grin in return, resting his elbows on the black bar top.

"How about you Rob us? In a good way, of course."

The smile faltered on the bartender's face. Only to return back seconds later.

"Sure!" He gave us a plastic grin. "Just a sec."

He sauntered away and came back a couple of minutes later.

This time, a lean Asian with blond hair and dark eyes was trailing behind him.

Must have been our Rob.

I eyed Sawyer who offered a discreet nod.

"Hey pal, you wanted to see me?"

Sawyer straightened his posture and smiled.

"Yeah. I actually wanna know about the Friday Special. Heard it's quite famous around here."

Rob smirked, flicking his blond bangs with his tattooed wrist.

"Alright. Come with me," His eyes fell on me and never left, making me squirm a little. "Is she with you?"

Sawyer took a moment to answer. His piercing golden gaze was stuck on that Asian bartender's face.

"Yep." I flinched with wide eyes when Sawyer rested his right arm over my shoulders. "She's with me."

Why did that sound like a double meaning?

I frowned, trying to subtly shake that heavy meat off my body but failed. Hard.

"Okay, guys," Rob smiled. "Follow me."

He turned around and slid out of the bar.

Sawyer stood up, pulling me with him and making me hit his side with my elbow.

He hissed low in response, glaring hard at me.

"Boundary, Sawyer," I whispered in his ears, smirking as his breath hitched.

I glided past his mountain figure —ignoring that heated gaze of those molten gold pools — and found Rob walking away.

"Let's go."

I stepped forward but halt when the big arms of Sawyer engulfed mine.

"Boundary impossible, Doll," He swiftly maneuvered us through the wasted crowd of senseless. "At least, for now."

I stared at his somber face as strange bubbles began to flutter in my stomach.

A slow smile crept up my face.

We crossed the dance floor and walked through a narrow, dim red corridor.

The intertwined bodies of heated minglers crowded the hallway as we passed through them.

Some girls were stumbling out of the bathroom, laughing and slurring among themselves.

One of them spotted Sawyer and gave him a liquid smile.

"Hey, Ha'some." She hiccuped, trying to stand straight.

Her smeared red lips and running mascara made her look like a clown as she flipped her slick auburn curls.

I expected Sawyer to respond with his infamous smirk. But much to my widened eyes, he didn't even glance at the bronze beauty.

Rather his arms tightened around me as he pulled me closer when a drunk man in a creased black suit staggered past me.

The fluttering in my belly intensified and I had to gulp a hard lump.

Cool down your ovaries, Mirasol!

This was just an act of responsibility. Nothing else.

Men like Sawyer and Devon were not cut out for the likes of you.

Wait! Where the hell did that even come from, damn it?

"Here's your stop."

I flinched out of my thought at Rob's husky voice.

He was standing beside a rusty-brown door. A lazy smirk plastered across his face.

"Thanks, pal." Sawyer nodded at him, his arms never leaving my shoulders.

"Sure." He eyed me as he walked past us. "Enjoy your time."

I shivered at his low whisper as a creepy chill froze my body.

What the fuck!

Sawyer clenched his jaw hard. "Let's go."

He removed his arms from my body and twisted the knob, walking in without me.

I raised my brows at his sudden change of mood but followed him nonetheless.

The bone-chilling inside was a stacked-up office with various files and piled-up newspapers all around.

The room furnished with a gray table in the middle. A couple of black metal chairs to sit around. And, a twenty-two inches black flat-screen on the front wall. That was it.

Oh, I missed that bald man with a balloon -size stomach who was stuffing greasy cheese pizza.

Ben Holmes.

He looked a bit... Healthier than I had seen in the picture, though. Those must have been recent pounds.

Anyways!

He was seating at the closest chair to the tv, watching a bunch of sweaty men toss around a black-and-white ball in some green field.

Their red and blue jerseys seemed familiar. But I knew shit about soccer so...

Damn! I didn't even know what the hell were they doing with that ball!

Yes. I was living under the sports rock, I confess.

But what the hell Sawyer was even thinking when he brought me here?

I mean, I hadn't told him about my lack of understanding regarding soccer so that was fair. But in my defense, it was embarrassing to admit that I knew nothing about one of the most popular games in the USA so...

A sigh escaped my breath.

"I am doomed either way," I muttered under my breath.

"Did you say something?"

I flinched and offered Sawyer a plastic smile, shaking my head.

His knee honey-gold eyes assessed me for a while before they stopped on that burly man in the room.

Sawyer cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Hello, Mr. Holmes. I'm Fred." Sawyer – or Fred, for now – outstretched his right hand with a smile.

Ben took a bored glance at him and put another cheesy goodness inside his mouth.

Rude!

Sawyer smoothly retracted his hand and clasped them together in a polite manner. Smile never wavered from his face, though.

"We've heard a lot about this club, especially your Friday Special sounds very appealing to certain crowds."

Ben oozed boredom as he looked at Sawyer again.

I fisted my hands which were itching to deliver a sharp punch.

Would the fake glass of my princess-cut emerald ring break while cutting through his cheek?

Hmm...

"But we're not here for some ordinary bet, don't worry. We heard you're looking for something exciting for some time so I hope our proposal would be appealing to you."

"What proposal?"

Oh, look! That ball of grease could speak.

Fan-fucking-tastic!

Sawyer smirked.

"One round for the highest bid."

"Girls are not cheap." Ben stuffed the last piece of pizza, eyeing me once

My eyes bulged out as my skin crawled at his leery gaze.

Girls! What girls!

What the fuck did he mean!

Sawyer chuckled low in response

"That's an interesting option, Mr. Holmes. But we're not talking about that."

"Then wah?" Ben spoke while chewing.

I frowned hard.

Mannerless!

Sawyer smiled. "Your shares of Trexon Empire."

Ben stopped munching and furrowed his bushy graying brows.

His beady brown eyes intensified as they drilled Sawyer's face.

"Who are you?"

He smiled. "An interested party."

I gasped aloud — clammy hands clasped my mouth — when Ben pulled out a shiny black gun from underneath the table.

And, pointed at me.

❤Welp! Looks like Mirasol is in deep trouble.

How do you think she will get out of this or worse – she'll never see the sunrise again? *shudders*

Let me know what are your theories, fieries. I'll see you all in the next update!

Till then, take care of your mind, body, and soul

Love you
— Sabrina❤