Chapter 6 - "Could you take a picture of Lucius' face?"

"This is a strip club."

Natalia looked at her phone, before lifting her eyes at the sign that said Women's Freedom.

She glanced at the nervous eyes of Charles who turned away, feeling guilty for even thinking about what kind of women were in there. Wasn't it misogynistic to walk in there? It was a bit ironic and insulting that the name of the company was Women's Freedom; he wondered if the owner had done that on purpose. He didn't want to be associated with anything related to the exploitation of women.

All of that was crossing his mind, and Natalia giggled when she noticed his face had grown stern, his eyebrows furrowing as he closed his eyes and nodded his head, agreeing with his own thoughts. He realized that she had been staring at him, which made his cheeks grow red as he quickly turned away from her.

"Stop making fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you Charles," she snickered, shaking her head through giggles. After a short pause, she admitted, "I think you're very cute." That only caused his cheeks to flare red even more, and when their gazes met, he was certain he saw a very subtle expression that he had been catching glimpses of these past few months. "You know we're not related, right?"

"Yes, we are," Charles said instantly, furrowing her brows and not understanding why she was bringing that up now. "Dante and Uncle Lu are siblings."

"You don't have any of Dante's genes; Nate had a surrogate give birth with only his own genes." He turned to her with widened eyes, to which she added, "My dad told me that."

Charles slowly nodded his head; he actually didn't know that. He had always assumed they had found a way to mix their genes and gave birth to him, but it made sense since he looked identical to Nate without any resemblance to Dante at all. Still, Dante was just as much his father as Nate, which was why he wasn't understanding why she made that distinction.

"I don't know what you're getting at," he murmured, a bit offended. "They're both my dads anyway."

"Because I don't want you to think it's gross when I do this."

All of a sudden, she leaned forward and Charles inhaled a sharp breath. Her lips grew closer and closer, until they were seconds from settling onto his when he suddenly recoiled, averting his face, her lips landing on his cheek instead. When Natalia realized what had happened, she slowly distanced himself and observed his face grow a dark pink. He knew she was definitely going to think he rejected her, hence he had to tell her the truth in that moment.

Before he could though, she formulated her own conclusion aloud. "So you do think it's gross if we were ever to do anything?"

"No, no!" he shrieked, vigorously shaking his head. "That's not it! I promise!"

"Then what is it?" she insisted, turning her body to face him again.

Charles felt his throat start to clench; he hadn't told anybody this before. It wasn't as though he was embarrassed or humiliated by it, but he just didn't feel comfortable sharing it with anyone. It had never really been a topic of conversation though, but in this moment, he felt as though it was the only way to keep their friendship intact.

That was why he exhaled a long slow breath before he admitted, "I think...I think I like guys." Natalia's eyebrows raised in shock, her mind rushing through a series of thoughts to see if there had been any signs that she could have missed in past instances. "I didn't know until last year, when you started dating your childhood friend, Lyle? The one you met downtown near a hot dog stand years ago. I think you said Nate brought you downtown that day."

Natalia vigorously nodded her head with a smile. "I'm surprised you remember that story."

"I only remember because I had the biggest crush on him," he admitted sheepishly, his fingers tapping nervously on the arm rest of his seat. "And I was so jealous of you during that time. In all honest," he leaned forward and whispered, "I was a bit glad when you two broke up."

"Charles!" she yelped.

"What? He was so my type, so hot," he shrugged his shoulders, as if there was no other way he could have felt.

Natalia couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head as she glanced upwards at the strip club. "I'm glad you told me," she said softly, facing him one last time with a smile.

Charles paused for a moment; there were times he wished he could have chatted about people he found attractive or the series of crushes he had, but never had the chance to do so since nobody knew. From everyone in his life, he was glad that it was Natalia that he told first, because he was finally going to be able to feel comfortable, at least around one person.

"You know what?" he grinned. "I'm glad I told you too."

There was a silence for a moment, as if they were both taking in what they had to do. They were letting the positive air vanish, remembering that they had to give a duffel bag full of cash to someone that was as dangerous as their own families.

After a few seconds, Natalia exhaled sharply before nodding her head and pushing open the car door. "One last time. Are you ready?"

"No, but let's go."

***

The moment they entered the strip club, they had a clear view of a naked woman finishing her routine and men shoving more money at her feet. Charles swallowed hard; he was way too young to witness these sights. The atmosphere was smoky, overwhelmed with the scent of alcohol, marijuana and sweat, to the point that they both coughed, lowering their eyes. The body guards had been alerted that they would show, hence they were escorted through the club, numerous eyes turning towards them and one customer going as far as to grab for Natalia's hand, to which the body guard halted him right away.

Both of them didn't say a word, stiffly walking through and trying their best not to make eye contact with anyone here, especially the ones with the bodies covered in tattoos. The body guard lead them to a staircase, and it was once they read the top that they read a sign saying, "V.I.Ps." It was a long corridor, the carpet and walls completely red, with multiple doors along the sides.

They passed a few, Charles squeezing his ears with his fingers when he heard loud sensual loans from both women and men, but there were also screams and shrieks, as if there was something too gruesome and painful happening in one of the rooms. Both their hearts were racing and Charles could practically feel his heart pounding against his chest cage.

This was the very last one he would accompany her to, because he never wanted to be in a position to witness all these things that were meant for adults.

Finally, they reached the end of the hall, with two large black doors, and the body guard stood at the side as he motioned for them to enter. "He's waiting for you."

Both of them glanced at one another, swallowing hard. Charles could see it in her eyes, Natalia was shitting her pants. He had never seen such horrifying fight in her gaze; this was clearly not what he had expected. She needed someone to be there for her, hence he reached for her fingers and interlaced them together, nodding his head in hopes to comfort her. It worked, since the same determined regard that crossed Lucius' eyes whenever he got mad, appeared into hers before she pushed open the door.

A television was blasting the most disturbing porn that Charles never thought was possible. Women were being whipped, their hands and legs bonded, men all around them, their nails digging in their flesh, burning candle wax dropped on their bodies, being choked to the point that they fainted.

But it soon went completely dark.

"Ah, you're here. Oh, you brought a visitor?"

Instantly, both their eyes turned, finally realizing there was a man seated on the lengthy sofa in front of them.

The moment their gazes met, Charles felt his heart stop. It felt as though everything else in the world had disappeared, and he was stuck mesmerized in this man's gaze.

He had never seen such gorgeous man before.

The man was seated on a long rounded sofa, with his legs crossed, his arms extended on either sides of the sofa's top edge with a cigar hanging on the edge of his mouth. He had been staring at them, his siren light chocolate eyes peering deeply within Charles' gaze as though he could pierce through his soul and visualize all his memories, and Charles felt his breath halt. All his nerves were violently elicited, and he swallowed hard multiple times, the lust overwhelming his brain to the point that he forgot where he was.

He wanted this man.

The man knew the exact emotions running through Charles' eyes from his look, and couldn't help but chuckle, leaning his head backwards as he took a long inhale from his cigar. He was wearing a burgundy robe that was tied at his waist, but the entire upper portion was loose, his upper body completely exposed. Hence, the moment he tilted his head backwards, Charles' eyes glided along his exposed adam's apple, all the way to his pecs that had a bit of hair on his chest, and the line down the middle of his chest that continued along to his abdomen, that had each ab structure separate with shadowed grooves.

When the man returned his head down, he snickered when he realized Charles's cheeks had gotten much more pink, and he had licked his lips so much that they were glossy.

He sent a few fingers through his black curls as he asked, "Who are you?"

"You know who I am," Natalia snapped, furrowing her brows as she stepped forward. "I came to—"

"Not you." The man retrieved his cigar and pointed it towards Charles. "I want to know who he is."

Charles gulped, feeling his heart lifting itself into his throat. He was too nervous to speak, maybe the lust had overwhelmed him a bit too much. He had never felt any of these feelings before, the rushing warmth throughout his entire body, along his spine all the way to his feel. He couldn't help but wonder how it would be if this man ever came close enough and connected their lips toge—

He was nudged by Natalia, who sent him a narrowed look

Charles shuffled a bit and cleared his throat. "My name is Charles."

The man stepped tilted his head to the side. "How old are you, Charles?"

He exhaled a shaky breath. "I'm fifteen."

"Ah, quite young," the man smiled, pushing himself to his feet. There was a slight disappointment that cross his gaze, but it soon disappeared when he snapped his fingers.

When he did, two crawling women came from around the couch, approaching him. Then, they laid their heads at his feet. "Meet Bella and Ava, my dogs."

Charles thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Natalia was trying her hardest to stay composed, but all her alarm bells were blasting in her brain.

"Ava," he leaned forward, pointing towards the duffel bag Natalia carried. Then, through a menacing tone, he growled, "Fetch."

The woman obeyed, crawling forward and heading for the both of them. Charles couldn't stop himself from shrieking away, which made the man laugh. When the woman came closer to Natalia, Natalia had no idea what to do, until the man said sharply, "Put it in her mouth."

The duffel bag was huge, hence when she did, it landed on the ground. Then, the woman began to drag it with her teeth towards the man, who watched with glee as she got closer to him. It took some time, but eventually, the duffel bag was at his feet, and he finally sat back down and waved with his hand. It had to be some sort of sign, since both women crawled around the couch again, hidden from view.

The man say back down and interlaced his fingers, appearing genuinely pleased and he said, "You finally got me my money. All a hundred thousand—"

"It's fifty thousand."

Instantly, the man's face fell, and Charles flinched at the way his eyes darkened immediately. "Our deal was a hundred thousand. You said you were going to drop off a hundred thousand."

"I lied." Natalia tried to maintain a sharp tone, but the fright caused her voice to quiver a bit. "I will give you the fifty thousand at a later date."

The man tilted his head to the side, planting a finger on his jaw. "I don't want it at a later date."

"If you don't want it at a later date, then you're not going to get your money and I'll send my father instead." Charles squirmed beside her; maybe it wasn't best to threaten him. "I haven't told him yet, but I will."

It seemed to work though, since after a few seconds, his face softened and he rolled his eyes. "What the hell, fine. I don't really have the resources to fight the Hercules troop anyway, might as well wait for the money. When should I expect it?"

"In a couple months."

The man slowly nodded his head and stood back to his feet. "I'll tell you what; I'll give you three months. Get me the rest of the money and we're even."

Natalia felt as though the tides were turning in her favour. That was perfect, because in three months, she would be ungrounded. It might even be before that if she behaved correctly, and she could find other means to acquire the rest of the money.

She rapidly nodded her head and answered sternly, "I will."

"Now," the man examined the duffel bag and waved his hand dismissively, "be on your way."

Both Charles and Natalia glanced at one another, before they twisted around and started heading for the door. It had worked, they were finally going to be able to leave this place and not have to think about it for a while. Without realizing it, Charles was holding in his breath, wishing that they were outside already so that they wouldn't have to walk through that horrendous strip club. As for Natalia, she couldn't even contain her smile as she reached for the doorknob.

"Oh, one last thing. I wasn't talking to you."

Both of them simultaneously glanced over their shoulder, and when they heard the metallic clank of the trigger safety unlocked, they both felt as though time had stopped, and everything was happening in slow motion.

"And I don't like liars."

Without any hesitation, the trigger was pressed, and the loud gunshot sound caused Charles to instinctively leap away, his hands both over his ears. He had never heard the sound of a gunshot in person before, hence his ears began to ring and he felt destabilized for what felt like hours. He even forgot what happened for a few seconds. Then, he was certain his heart had stopped when he realized what had just happened.

Natalia had been shot point blank in the forehead.

"I don't answer to threats," he said, returning the gun inside his robe. "I know about the Hercules, I know about the Wolves, so I'm not scared of them whatsoever."

Then, he turned towards the paralyzed Charles whose eyes were locked with his unconscious best friend and the pool of blood growing around her.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Please, on your feet."

He reached for Charles forearm, forcefully pulling him to his feet, but having to hold him for a few minutes afterwards since Charles legs wanted to collapse on their own.

"By the way, I was talking to you. You have three months to get me the rest of my money, and then we're even for this," he pointed to Natalia's bleeding and quivering body. "Nod your head to let me know you understand."

Charles' mind was completely gone.

It was his own body reacting on its own when it nodded.

"And if you want to tell your sorry excuse of a troop leaders, tell them that I'm related to Thomas; they all know him. Anyway, that's not important. What is important though is that whatever you decide," he pointed towards Natalia and smirked, "you bring them back that body. Also," he planted both his hands together with a long grin across his face as he beamed, "could you take a picture of Lucius' face when you show him his dead daughter?"