Page 15 of Scared Love

Marco put a hand on my shoulder comfortingly while

Pops sat back down behind his desk, lost in thought. After a

long pause, he finally spoke: “Well we can’t change what

happened now.”

“But we need to be more careful in the future,” he added

sternly. “We don’t want any loose ends.”

“Pops, there was something fishy going on besides them

not giving us our money back,” Marco says, breaking the

tense silence.

“What do you mean?” Pops asks in a softer tone.

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“Do you remember how I said I met Sarah while I was on

a job?” Marco continues. “Well, it wasn’t at that coffee

shop.”

“Marco, what are you talking about?” I ask, confused.

“The guy we went to get our money back from, he was

trafficking her. I literally saw him putting his dick back in

his pants and Sarah balled up in a corner and he was just

laughing about it,” Marco says with tears welling up in his

eyes. “I saved her! Knowing the pain she was in, I killed

him.”

I feel a lump form in my throat as I listen to Marco’s

story. I have never seen him- my brother - like this before:

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vulnerable and emotional. It makes me realize how little we

really knew about each other’s lives outside of the family

business.

“Pops, we can’t let this slide,” I find my voice finally.

“We have to do something about this trafficking ring. This

is not how we run our city and I will not be associated with

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