Page 9 of Dark Truths

“Double.”

Double? That’s it?

“You fucking betrayed the Bratva for double?” Alexei growls out our shared inner thoughts.

Boris sobs into his hands. “I regretted it right away. I’ve never done anything like this before, and I’m sorry. I'm so sorry.”

“You know the punishment for stealing, Boris.” I swallow hard against the cruel consequence. It's Bratva law and Boris knew that when he made the decision to steal. It has to be done, but I hate ordering it just as much as I hate the hidden part of myself deep down for liking it, too. “Alexei.”

My second steps forward, pulling a very frightening looking blade free from its sheath. The two guards that escorted Boris upstairs step in. One holds a shaking Boris still while the other ties a tourniquet tightly above Boris’s elbow before holding his arm out on the floor. He sobs and thrashes against the men's hold but they're stronger. Alexei approaches, and in one clean swing, severs the thefts left hand clean from his wrist. Boris’s screams echo through the office before he passes out from the pain. The tourniquet helps prevent Boris from bleeding out all over my office floor, but blood still pools from the wound.

I eye the blood with disdain. “Get him the fuck out of my sight.”

The guards gather his limp body and drag him from my office. Alexei follows, wiping the blood from the blade with a rag but then pauses at the open door. He smiles at someone before glancing over his shoulder at me. “Ana’s here.”

“Come in, Ana.”

The petite blonde enters, her eyes glancing at the pool of blood before meeting mine with a sultry smile. She knows better thanto question what she sees. One reason I like her more than the other girls.

“Find me afterward, Ana,” Alexei teases. “I’m in the mood for a little fun.”

I couldn't care less about sharing the girl. I rarely fuck her anyway. Hell, I rarely fuck anyone nowadays. And maybe that’s my problem. The root of my insane addiction with Gabriella. Maybe tonight will be different. Maybe I just need one good fuck to get the girl out of my system.

Alexei closes the door as Ana approaches. She’s wearing a black leather piece with heels that defy gravity and a face done up with more makeup than necessary. “Kneel, Ana.”

She glances down at the floor and the pool of blood where she’ll have to kneel. “But sir, the blood.”

I have no intention of moving from the front of my desk. “Kneel.” Finally, she does as told. Good. “Now take my cock out and suck on it until you choke. I want to see this makeup ruined by your tears.”?

I reach down and place a finger under her chin. When she looks up at me, a flash of Gabriella’s beauty replaces her face. My cock stirs in my pants, and I grit my teeth.

Ana notices and smiles, breaking the vision of Gabriella on her knees in front of me. She thinks it’s because of her, for her even, but it’s not. A dark-haired angel with bright eyes is to blame. An angel who might as well be a devil in disguise for making me feel this way. “And Ana. Next time, wear a brunette wig.”

5

Gabriella

March

Ilove the water.

And it's not because I live in Florida or because I own a home on the beach. It's not even that my July birthday aligns with the water sign Cancer of the Zodiac. No. It’s because the water soothes me. It calms me. And in a life that is always moving and changing, the water remains a constant for me.

When I see its depth and expanse, it puts everything into perspective, making me realize that my problems, no matter how overwhelming they may feel, are small compared to the greater world around me. Even when the chaos of life becomes too much, I’m reminded that the ocean rages sometimes too, but no matter how tumultuous the storm may be, it will eventuallysubside, leaving behind a sense of clarity and tranquillity in the calm waves.

And today, I need the serenity. Because today, I had to tell a first-time expecting mom that her baby was dead. I need to forget the look on her face when I said I couldn’t find a heartbeat. That sometime between now and her previous ultrasound, the fetus died.

You would think telling them the bad news or listening to them cry afterward would be the worst part. But for me, it’s the questions afterward. It's not because I don’t care to answer them, I do. It's because Idon’thave an answer for them. Medically, there’s no rhyme or reason to it. These things happen. The human body is a wondrous thing and sometimes it can sense when there may be something wrong with the pregnancy and abort it on its own. But no grieving mother wants to hear that. All that matters to them is that their baby is dead with no answer for why. And the what ifs will haunt them always. Just as the silent black-and-white screen will haunt me.

I drop my bag on the chaise lounge close to the water’s edge and slip my sandals off. The sand beneath my feet is soft and warm from the sun and I wiggle my toes in it, savoring the familiar feeling. I grab the bottom of my cover-up, pull it over my head, and toss the flimsy white material on top of my bag. The sun warms my bikini exposed skin, and after spending the day in scrubs at a chilly hospital, the warmth feels incredible. I take a moment to enjoy it. ?

Grabbing my goggles, I make my way down to where the waves kiss the shore. The tepid water gently caresses my ankles, soothing away the stress of my day with each gentle lap. When the water is knee high, I don my goggles and dive below the surface, plunging into the ocean’s cool embrace. It envelops me like a soothing hug, as if the water somehow understands the pain I feel and wants to help ease it.

Sunlight dances on the surface, casting shadowy patterns below that shift in time with the rhythm of the waves providing a clear view of the ocean’s depths below. It’s a beautiful world teeming with life and mystery. A variety of colorful fish dart among the swaying sea plants beneath me. Several are curious about my presence in their home and they come up to greet me before quickly swimming away.

I glide through the water effortlessly. The discipline and rhythm of stroke, kick, stroke, kick, breath…becomes a lullaby, calming my mind and soothing my depression until the weight of the days lifts off my shoulders to be carried away by the tide. Before I know it, I reach my turn around spot, a small sandbar now underwater because of the high tide, and start my swim back. It’s roughly a mile out and a mile back, making the trip a good exercise physically and mentally.

Rising from the water, I grab a towel from my bag and wrap it around myself before sinking to the sand to watch the sun set in a beautiful display of colors. Shimmering reds and oranges, tinged with pink and indigo, fill the horizon and reflect off the ocean stretching out in front. Soon, the sun will disappear below the horizon, replaced by the moon, and the stars will appear like twinkling lights in the velvet black expanse.

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