The Mafia Queens

Chapter 35- Who is Mitch Holliday?

^^The song CJ was listening to (or this type of music anyway)-- also I'm just in love with the Birds of Prey soundtrack^^

Leo strode into the house, followed by the rest of the gang, save Dennis, who had waited at a warehouse for a while longer to deal with whatever dilemmas were too small to bother CJ with. He was due to check in later with anything he needed her judgment on.

 As she shut the door, CJ let out a shrill wolf-whistle.
"Brody, Adrian- stop boning and get down here!" Her best friend responded with some colourful language before they heard a pair of footsteps coming down the spiral staircase. 

"So, how was it?" Adrian asked, pulling beers out of the fridge and passing them around. Freezing slightly, CJ opened the glass bottle to take a large gulp.
"Oh, it went swimmingly."
"Yeah," Maria chimed in, "She only killed one guy in the end." CJ jabbed her side, making her laugh while calling her a snitch. 

"Cara!" Brody exclaimed, smacking her over the head.
"I mean, it could've been two if I just slit Brett's throat," she muttered under her breath. Despite how quietly she spoke, the others still heard.

"Brett: he's your ex-boyfriend, right?" Mike asked, dropping into a chair.
"No shit, dumbass," Iago flicked his temple.

CJ chuckled, shaking her head at the interaction. 
"Yeah, he was. It didn't end well, as you can imagine."
"Hold up-" Brody interrupted, "Brett was there?" The guys nodded in affirmation, as his expression grew angrier.

"What happened?" he gritted out, his hatred for her ex becoming quickly apparent.
"He showed up, was his normal dickish self, then fucked off," CJ dismissed, waving her hand in the air.
"You know you can't lie to me, Cee. Maria, what happened?"

Maria's eyes widened raising her hands and stepping away, refusing to get involved in the seemingly heated discussion. Brody sighed, raising his eyebrows at Leo, silently asking him to answer the question instead. 

"He mentioned some guy- Mitchell, I believe- and he had some dagger: said Andrew gave it to him," Leo recounted, much to his sister's chagrin. Brody's eyes widened in surprise.

"Mitch?" his voice softened as he spoke to his friend, sorrow in his eyes. CJ swallowed, nodding slowly.
"Don't give me that look. I don't need your pity," her hard facade hid whatever her true feelings were, "Besides, it's not like Mitchell can do anything in his state." She let out a crazed laugh, smiling to herself. 

"Right, well I have stuff to do so..." she threw up a peace sign as she backed away, "Later losers." Her friends opened their mouths to say something but were all left speechless from curiosity after the events of the last few hours. 

☆☆☆

In her home gym, CJ was hitting and kicking a punching bag rhythmically, sweat dripping down her forehead. The black earphones she was wearing were attached to her phone in the pocket of her yoga pants. Some sort of loud music was blaring into her ears as she took her frustration out on the fabric of the bag.

Relentlessly, she attacked the gym equipment, putting her full strength into each punch, swinging her body with each kick. Every assault on the bag was fuelled by every punch she had been dealt in the past, every time she had been hurt. 

Clear beads of perspiration roll along her skin, attempting to cool her body, though a fury burns through her veins like a relentless fire. While she works out, she allows her emotions to funnel out of her, repurposing it into her exercise. 

As she lifted her leg to boot the top of the punching bag, a knock sounded at the door, interrupting her. Turning her head, she saw her half-brother stood there; his arms were crossed and he was leant against the door frame. Rolling her head from side to side, hearing a satisfying crack, she pulled her earphones out: the music she was listening to still playing faintly.