Arrangement : with the gang leader

56

"Waar was jy?" White asks as I enter the house and everyone is seated in the living room, all eyes on me. 

I feel too tired to entertain this interrogation so I just ignore his question and greet him with a hug and say hi to everyone. Aside from feeling tired from all the work I did today, I oddly feel relieved about how I handled the Ade situation. 

"I tried calling you but your phone was off," Gumbi said and I just shrugged. 

"Battery died, so what's up guys?" I say to everyone. 

I notice that Ralph is with us today and that causes me to give Damien a questioning look. We never really spoke about how we're going to handle the Ralph situation but I guess I'll just leave that to them. Ralph is not just here as my spy but there's more to his relations with the guys than we've figured. 

But then again, I'll just let them deal with that bit. I get a notification on my phone and a smile creeps up.

Someone clears their throat quite questionably so I look up to see that all eyes are on me. I clear my throat and give them a thin smile. 

"So how's everyone doing" I ask and White chuckles. 

"Lerato, what's going on ngawe heh?" Gumbi asks and I just shrug. 

"I don't know what you're talking bout Gumbi so just ask your question." I say and he shakes his head. 

"Mhlambe uyakhohlwa ukuthi sise ngawela nx" Gumbi says, clearly pissed off. 

"What am I missing?" I ask and Shadow gets up and leaves the room. 

I furrow my brows in confusion and look to T for some help and she gives me a thin smile. 

"A letter came in..." she says and I look at them confused. 

"What letter?" I look at her and she gets up and reaches for a piece of bloody paper on the top shelf then hands it to me.

I carefully inspect the paper and I immediately know this is not him. Godfather is not messy. If it's anything messy that he would do, it is to send you your loved ones ashes. 

I look up at them before reading this letter. I can tell that they think it's him but I know better. I don't say though. Like I said, this is between me and him so I'll let them think they are helping just so they aren't on my neck while I do my own side work. 

"Read it Lee" T says and I open the letter. 

Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine is all that's written on the paper then at the bottom it reads 'I don't like repeating myself so now it's game on'. I think for a second and the only person that comes into mind is the one that's currently in my keeping. I don't think of Candice as the type to do such things but then again, I was warned against how crazy she can be when it comes to 'her man'. 

Another thing that also comes into mind is that Shadow might have been with far more women than those two. This is getting annoying. I want to only focus on one person at a time and maybe two at most but all these hoes are making this hard for me. 

"I thought they took you Lerato" T says with tears in her eyes and I feel a ping of hurt in my heart. 

I sigh, realizing how my actions may have come off as pretty insensitive. 

"I'm sorry. I was out studying and didn't want to be disturbed" I lied, "everything has just been a little overwhelming so I thought maybe if I just took some time off for my books that would be a great distraction you know" 

She sighs and engulfs me in a warm hug and the guys just stand there awkwardly. 

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late. I had lunch with momzi" Nelly says, coming into view. 

"Hey babes, how're you? How's the engagement life been treating you? I hope my brother's being nice" I say and she laughs. 

"He's amazing. No complaints," she says, going over to her man and kissing him. We coo at them and they blush.

I go out to look for Damien and I find him near his car smoking. 

"Baby, I'm sorry," I say before he bites my head off. 

He looks at me for a few seconds before he opens his arms out to me. I almost run to him and he chuckles. 

"I'm just glad you're safe," he says. 

"We checked on the lead we had on your guy and nothing. I'm almost losing hope because it feels like we're fighting an actual demon since we can't see him or find him. Just dead ends" he says and I can see how defeated my baby is right now. 

"Don't worry," I reassure him, placing a hand on his arm. "We've got this, and, most importantly, we've got each other." A small smile spreads across his face at my words.

"Me and you forever, huh?" he says, a playful glint in his eye. I rise up on my toes, and our lips meet briefly in a gentle kiss.

"I'm ready to fight for what's mine," I declare, determination evident in my voice. "It's me and you forever, baby." As I speak, I notice a faint blush creeping up on his cheeks.

"Are you... are... you're blushing," I tease, a laugh escaping my lips. He responds by pulling me close and kissing me deeply.

"I love you," he whispers as we part, his eyes locked on mine.

"I love you too," I reply, for the first time feeling ready to fully claim him as mine and mine alone.

If this is going to work then I have to accept that he is who he is and love him unconditionally. 

Out of nowhere, the sound of gunfire shattered the tranquility of the surrounding area, and we all instinctively dove for cover, seeking refuge behind anything that could provide protection. Our guards sprang into action, returning fire and trying to identify the source of the attack.

 Despite the chaos and danger, Damien remained surprisingly calm, cautiously peeking out to assess the situation without making a sound. That kind of scared me but I just found comfort in knowing that this is his world and he knows what he's doing and he's this calm because this isn't his first show.

 The exchange of gunfire seemed to last an eternity, with each shot ringing a memory I don't think I'll forget. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were all going to die, but finally, after what felt like an eternity, the shooting stopped. The attackers, having apparently tired or maybe having achieved whatever objective they had finally jumped into their cars and sped away, leaving us with even more questions than before. 

Or at least me since I know that's not the Godfathers work. It's too amateur. 

______________________

Hade man. It's assignment season and I forgot about that so nje I've been busy with all that kodwa ke nakho okuncane nje. Nizongi xolela zithandwa zam. 

Good luck to everyone else who's also in assignment/assessment season! 

I'll respond to comments as soon as I get the time but for now nje just enjoy the insert. Bii :)