Firethorne

Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Damien

O nce I left Maya in the apartment, I marched out of the building and found Trent leaning against his car in the small car park, at the back of the building, tapping away on his phone. As he saw me coming towards him, he pocketed his phone and pushed himself off the car to stand.

“Don’t come here again,” I snapped, pointing my finger at him. “Do you hear me? I don’t want you here. She’s been through enough.”

“Enough of what?” He shrugged, not getting it at all. “Us saving her? Me showing up with her ticket out of here? Or didn’t you tell her that’s what I was delivering?” I stayed quiet for a moment, and he nodded to himself. “That’s what I thought.”

“You’re a good friend, Trent, and I appreciate everything you do, honestly, I do,” I said in earnest. “But she’s vulnerable. Fragile. She isn’t like the others. I’d prefer it if you just stayed away.” I was trying the kinder approach, but in reality, I wanted to pick him up and throw him through the car windscreen for questioning me.

“They’re all fragile and vulnerable. She’s exactly like the others,” he replied, but I disagreed. He had no idea what he was talking about. “So, are you going to give her the passport and the money?” he went on. “Are you going to explain what we’ve set in place for her?”

“No,” I replied a little too quickly. “Not yet. It’s too soon.”

Trent sighed, folded his arms over his chest and speared me with a glare that made the prospect of me punching him more probable.

“The longer she stays here,” he said. “The more dangerous it becomes, for her and us. The quicker we can get her out of here, the better. You know that. We’ve always done it this way. This time, it’s no different.”

“It is fucking different,” I barked as he pinned me with his stare.

“Because you like her.”

I wasn’t going to answer that, but he went on, “You need to get your head in the game, mate. You can’t let your personal feelings cloud your judgment.”

I moved to stand toe-to-toe with him, my face close to his as I seethed, “My head is in the fucking game. It’s so far in the game I can’t see anything else but this. Don’t fucking tell me what I need to do. I know what needs to be done and I’m doing it.”

“Then let her go. Do the right thing, Damien, and let her start her new life.”

“We do things my way,” I stated, growing tired of his bullshit. “And that means you trust my judgment. And you don’t ever fucking question it. For now, she stays here.”

Trent shrugged noncommittally, and then he glanced across the fields as he said, “Whatever you say, boss. But just know there’s been a lot of talk online, on the dark web. There’s a new shipment coming in soon.” He turned his head to stare at me again. “And you know what that means. We don’t have time to stop and wait. We have to keep moving. Those apartments will be needed again soon enough... if we manage to get them out.”

“We’ll deal with whatever’s coming our way when it gets here. But nothing is going to affect the way we deal with Maya, is that clear? She’s going nowhere.”

Trent nodded, turned to unlock his car and opened the door, ready to get in. “I hope you’re right, my friend. And I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I always do,” I snapped and stood back, watching him drive away.

He meant well, I got that. He wanted the best outcome here, and so did I. But he’d picked the wrong time and place to question me about it. He’d made the wrong decision, coming here today. I wanted to keep Maya’s space private, safe. I didn’t want anyone barging in and destroying that.

Because everything was different with Maya.

I felt different.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I didn’t like the thought of letting her go. Of not seeing her again. Because when she left this apartment, that’s what’d happen. Life would move on, and I wasn’t ready for that to happen.

I couldn’t explain it any more than I could explain why there were so many evil people in this world, like my father, who lived to cause immeasurable pain to others. I didn’t know why this girl, who’d entered our world only weeks ago, seemed to have such a hold on me. It didn’t make sense. And yet, she did have a hold on me.

Maybe it was because she was a deep thinker, a reader like me. I found myself wanting to know what she’d read, what she was currently reading, and what she thought about it. I wanted to know all her thoughts and opinions.

I wanted to know what TV shows she liked to watch, what her favourite food was. I wanted to learn about the places she’d visited, what she thought about them, what dreams she had. I wanted it all. I was like a starving man. I craved it. Any shred of herself that she gave me, I soaked it up. Maya was a quiet, thoughtful girl. A private person. So, to gleam anything from her, to be gifted her thoughts or ideas was like catching lightning in a bottle.

In my youth, I’d read fantasy novels about fated mates and destiny. I’d never believed in it, but maybe that’s what this was. Because what other explanation could there be for why this girl had come into my world and totally and utterly bewitched me?

I’d never admit it to anyone. I’d keep my mask firmly in place for the world around me.

I was Damien Firethorne.

Bastard son of Nicholas Firethorne.

Unscrupulous player, my father’s right-hand man. The type of person you didn’t dare cross.

But that wasn’t all I was.

I was a thinker too, a reader, a philosopher. I loved poetry and art. I could get lost for hours sketching something I loved. I was a dreamer. And that’s why I did what I did. I dreamed of a better world. I worked hard to achieve it. But there was always something missing. Like I was a puzzle missing a vital piece.

The longer I spent in Maya’s company, the more I thought that maybe, she was that missing piece.