Page 17 of Kronos

Kronos: Age Thirty- Five

Inevertoldmybrothers about that night or what I was going to try and do. They had me committed to rehab the first time I showed my weakness, who knows what they would’ve done if they found out about what I wanted to do. Since that night, I’ve worked my ass off by focusing on what the family needs.

Ayres and Hypnos have enjoyed us working together. We once divided what we did and how things were handled, but not anymore. We all handle everything together, the way it should be. I’ve noticed that we are stronger this way.

We’ve become loan sharks too. It’s crazy how easy it is to find our prey. I think my favorite part is when I get to do the imitation. It’s who I am. No, scratch that. It’s who I’ve become.

Today, we are going to see Martina Torrez. It’s taken some time, but we finally pinpointed her ass down. Ayres has been in contact with her, and she swears she doesn’t know where Haydes is. I find that I don’t believe her. Yet, Ayres does. I think he still has feelings for her.

“Are you sure about this, Ayres?” Hypnos questions. I have a gut feeling that this could be bad for us. She’s a dirty cop, there’s no getting around that. Doesn’t matter though because she’s still a cop.

“Yes. She told me to meet her at the Timber Wonder Bridge. She wants to meet there to give us intel about Haydes.”

Something feels off, but I don’t say a word. Ayres has been through enough to know when to do something. However, I have trust issues. Hell, I can’t even trust myself half the time.

“I have drones flying, to make sure we aren’t followed and to tactically take out anything that might pose a threat to us.”

Of course, Hypnos has drones flying everywhere. I should really start believing in his ability to electronically cover our asses. Sometimes I forget he’s a grownup and not still in college.

“Well then, we should be alright,” I tell them as calmly as I can. It’s ridiculous to have butterflies in my stomach.

I get antsy anytime I’m around the police. They can be bought and manipulated. It should give me some comfort, but it doesn’t. It reminds me of how much our father got away with. Hell, how much we get away with. Torrez is a prime example of someone you shouldn’t trust.

The meeting went off without a hitch, and we have a new place to look for Haydes. I’m not really worried about that right now. I’m more worried about Ayres still being into Torrez. He chose to go with her even though Hypnos and I warned him not to be involved with her. I think he’s thinking with his dick, but there’s not much I can do about it.

“We have to let him learn on his own,” Hypnos says quietly. He knows I’m not happy about this as we make our way into Wolf territory.

“My question is, why is Haydes here in this place?” I question, wanting to know why he would ever be in the woods of Timberland. Especially with the motorcycle gang. Sure, they would make some good allies, but we know they have beef with the Zapata’s.

“Well, it could be that they don’t know he used to be a part of our organization. If they did, they would never allow him to be here. Even if he’s against us, they want nothing to do with us. Hell, you know Zapata won’t even come near us.”

Hypnos isn’t lying. “Yeah, I get it. Still, he’s walking a very thin line here. The Wolves are likely to blow shit up before they ask any type of questions.”

“Let’s go in, do some recon, and then get the fuck out.”

“I agree with you Hypnos. We must stop and talk to the head of the gang first. You know we set lines and we are getting close to fucking up this truce in our hunt to get Haydes.”

Hypnos sighs but he doesn’t disagree. “They are like animals.”

I hate to break it to him but we are a lot like them. It’s not like we don’t hunt down people and murder them. Instead of telling him that, I turn the music on and plow through the invisible barrier toward what I hope is Haydes’s hangout.

The Wolves were all too happy to let us know that someone matching Haydes’s description bought a house down in Middle Town. They gave us permission to case the area but not start anything. Pussies. Of course, we agreed because it’s a residential area and houses most of the gangs old ladies and families.

“I hate that we have to be polite,” Hypnos says as he twirls his knife in his left hand. Over the years he has become scary good with his knives.

“Me too, but if there are kids here, we don’t do our shit in front of them.” I may not have a lot of scrupulous ethics, but we don’t fuck around with kids.

“What was the road again?” I fiddle with the radio as I take the next right and Hypnos laughs.

“Trail Winds Drive. Wolfe said we make a right here and then a left at the stop sign.”

As soon as I make the left, I come to a dead stop as a young woman crosses the street, wearing a green tank top, blue jean cut-off shorts, and flip-flops. She turns and waves at us, and I nearly lose my shit. Bright green eyes—eyes I fucking know. It’s a damn good thing our windows are so tinted no one can see in our car. Still, just as I am getting over the Goddamn eyes haunting my dreams, they pop back up.

“You alright?” Hypnos asks, looking at me with concern he normally doesn’t show.

“Yeah. The woman that’s crossing the road just shocked me.”

Hypnos laughs and shakes his head. “You need to get laid, man.”

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