Blurred Lines 1: CHASE
Chapter 114

-Chase-

"Who the f**k is he?" Carlota asked; at the same time, a low, incredulous chuckle thundered down my throat.

My accomplice's moss green eyes carved my way, tossing questions at me with her stare.

"I can't f*****g believe this," I hissed, my mind wary.

"You know this Samuel guy?" Carlota pressed, brows arching.

Turbulent confusion filled my head. How does this add up to anything? Samuel and Kenzo? The slow sink of this revelation made my heartbeat slow, the ground beneath my Italian leather shoes turning into a marsh. Kenzo gave us an answer, but instead of wiping away the fog, it clouded my head with more questions.

My gaze dropped to Kenzo. The guy naturally had a pale complexion, but given his situation and the venom swirling in his veins, he was paper-white pale, beads of sweat sprouting on his skin. He was already under intense pressure, and I was about to double it. I grabbed Carlota's bloody dagger on the table. Crimson stain coated the blade's tip, and pounced at Kenzo, pressing the edge against his neck.

"Chase!" Carlota jerked on her feet. For someone who turned Kenzo into a human target, she sure sounded worried about his safety.

"The sedan? Was it part of your plan?" I growled, my blade puncturing his skin. Blood dripped from his skin, his green eyes popping out, lips parting in a contained scream.

"W... what Sedan?" His voice shook, his ice-cold fingers wrapped around my wrist, preventing the blade from digging into his skin. The guy was f*****g petrified, about to pee on his pants, but I need more confirmation than that.

"Did you follow my girlfriend?"

"No," he said pointedly, his voice strained. "Samuel instructed to have you followed, but not your family. He said he had bigger plans for them."

"What plans?!" I growled, fear slithering from my head to toe. This was not going the way I wanted it to be.

Who was the sedan driver? Does this mean we have a third player? Why would they want to hurt Sofia?

"I'd tell you if I know, please..." Kenzo whimpered, fear crystal clear in his paling green eyes. "Our club never hurt innocent people. Everything about this was fucking messed up." Tears blurred his sight.

I stood straight and glanced at the men who wanted to take us down minutes ago, looking them straight in the eyes one by one. The angst they exhibited before was history. They all wore the same solemn look, remorseful and guilt-stricken. "I already killed three of my men for this f*****g debt, but I could never hurt innocent people like your daughter and girlfriend. That was against our principles."

"What do you mean three of your people?" Carlota interjected.

"Vincent... you had him killed." This solved Vincent's disappearance.

Kenzo glanced at the glass window, loneliness coating his face; he almost looked like a harmless man. "They were good kids. Known them since they were in their teens. But a debt is a debt, and it must be paid."

"I don't know what kind of debt you owe Samuel, but they are not worth the lives of the men you killed. Rocco, his killer, Stanly, and Vincent... No man is worth four lives, especially someone as vile as Samuel Cardoso."

Kenzo's eyes were distant as they glided towards Carlota. "No apology is enough for what we had done, Carlota, and if my death will give you the closure you need, I would gladly accept my end. My men will let you walk out of this place unharmed, and you won't be associated with my death in any way; you have my word. Just don't hurt my daughter. She has nothing to do with me. Her mother won't even accept the money I send her monthly. She... she left me to protect our child from my world."

Carlota gnawed the insides of her cheek, nodding.

"Samantha, were you the one who found her?"

Carlota's eye snapped at me, spatting confusion with wrinkled brows. I glared at her, willing her to keep her questions for later. Nodding, she kept her mouth shut.

Kenzo started with a shudder. "I argued with Samuel. I didn't want to hurt the girl and her son, but he was adamant about using her. Said she fucked her up. That's why he was in jail."

"The kid... is this him?" I showed him Cyrus' picture.

"Yes."

"Where is he?" Kenzo stilled, wary of my intention. "I won't hurt him," I hesitated, continuing. "Samantha said I am the kid's father." Carlota gasped, stiffening in her seat. "But I had to be sure." Understanding dawn on Kenzo. "I'm keeping him in a safe house in Japan."

"Japan?"

"Yes. That's where he is safe from Samuel's reach. That man has no regard for anyone's life apart from his. If he didn't save my life, I wouldn't associate myself with him, but I refuse to let the kid be in harm's way." "You're protecting him," Carlota butted in, huffing. "How f*****g noble."

"I know it's not enough to atone for my mistakes, but I'll protect that kid until Samuel is done with his plan."

"What plan exactly?" Carlota asked.

"He didn't tell me everything. All he asked me to do was make you suffer and your brother." He met Carlota's eyes. "He said there was only one way to hurt the two of you by killing your man. You'll be in agony, then your brother will hate seeing you in pain. Then he gave me an address and said I should take the boy and make his mom work for me. That's where you come in. You were the final task." He looked up at me. "He told me to have you followed, report everything to him."

"What kind of work did Samuel order for Samantha?" I asked. Knowing him, he will put Samantha at the center of it all. Maybe we can figure out his next move from there.

"I had to sell her to a certain businessman."

Anxiety knotted my throat, realization nagging on me. "Nikos Avlonitis?"

"Yes," Kenzo swallowed, licking his drying lips. "He needed something from him."

Nikos? Why the fuck does his name and face keep popping into this situation?

"How the fuck are you even getting orders from him?" Carlota hissed, impatiently dropping back in her seat.

Kenzo chuckled. "You think prison would cut all his connections? He was living like a king at LaRosa Penitentiary. He has access to a phone, computer, a f*****g pizza delivery.... "Not for long. Once Eros finds out about this, he can put him in hell," I grumbled.

"Samuel had told me to stay low after Vincent and that I was done paying my debt. He had everything he needed in place. Whatever he was planning, it's in the last phase."

"So, spill," Carlota asked. She dropped me off at the riverside cafe where I left my car. She parked her body on the driver's side door, blocking my escape.

"Can we not do this now? You just left Kenzo to die." She refused to give the guy what kind of snake venom the darts were soaked in.

"He'll feel like shit for three days, but he'll live," she said, checking her nails. "Don't change the topic!"

"There was no venom in those darts?"

Carlota rolled her eyes. "No, just a good mix of Santino's poison." I shook my head, crossing my arms, pinning her with a narrowed glare. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on FindNovel.net. Visit FindNovel.net to read the complete chapters for free. Santino loved mixing his drugs. Eros once said that the guy was immune to poison. I don't believe shit, but I saw him mix drugs that shouldn't go together just to get himself to feel anything.

"What?" Carlota shrugged her shoulders. "It was harmless. Santino made sure of that, but I wanted to play mind tricks on him. He deserved more, if you ask me."

"Why didn't you then?" I pressed, curious about her reason for not killing Kenzo. She had all the reason to take no pity on him, but she did.

"It's Keiko... she was a good kid," she glanced into the water; the pastel glow of the sunset lit up the sorrow in her green eyes. "And I know killing Kenzo will never fill this empty void in my heart from Rocco's passing... nothing will, Chase. But I have a reason to move forward, and that is to help protect your family."

I was stunned. Sofia despised this woman because of my actions, but here she was, helping me protect them, putting aside her anger. "And after all this is done?"

She smiled at me, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Then I'll look for another reason to keep me occupied."

I regarded her under the warm sunset glow. Walking beside her, I leaned on the edge of the SUV's hood. "Samantha, she came to me to spy on Eros. Samuel sent her."

Carlota huffed, nudging my shoulder. "Your poison... beautiful girls."

I chuckled. "You know me too well, huh?"

"Yeah. I was your poison once," she giggled; it was so carefree I wondered how she switched off her emotions and looked so chill and happy the next.

Though, her statement reminded me of the problem I needed to face when I got home. "Sammy, we got her out of her father's business and gave her a fresh start. At the engagement party, she came to me-"

"Oh, the girl you were photographed with?" She put the point together.

"Yeah. She asked for my help. Of course, I didn't pay her any mind. She was from my past. And I knew entertaining her would do me no good." I paused, mulling over the events over the last few weeks. "Then Sammy was at this party Sofia and I attended last night. I caught her date hurting her, and she told me about Cyrus... said I fathered a child with her."

"Do you believe her?" Carlota asked the thousand-dollar question.

"Not one fucking bit. Sammy is a bitch."

"But?"

"But if there was truth in her words, that I am that boy's father... I can't deny him, Carlota. I won't be that man."

"Then Sofia heard all of that?" I nodded. "Man... no wonder you were in a dry spell."

I growled. Carlota giggled. "It's not funny, Carlota. I've worked so fucking hard to be where I am, to keep my family safe. I won't let Samuel ruin it."

She placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping it. "We won't, Chase. I won't let you lose your family like I lost Rocco."