Dalliance - Z.M. (An Exquisites Original Story)

46; Broken Bones

Chapter 46

"The devils's gonna make me a free man.
The devil's gonna set me free."

(Zayn's POV)

"There you go, ten grand each. Don't spend it all in one place."

Raine and I take the envelopes out of her hand. There's a glint of excitement in Moon's eyes at the sight of us accepting such a morbid payment, but if Raine and I had to kill, there was no way we were doing that shit for free.

"What now?" Raine asks Moon as I cut the envelope open and begin counting, knowing better than to trust a two-faced, narcissistic drug lord.

"I don't have any leads yet," Moon tells us as she leans back against the booth of the same bar we seem to meet at regularly now. Although the ease in her attitude leads me to believe that she owns this bar, just like Apollo owns places we tend to host meetings at as well. What better way to launder money than to invest it in an establishment that keeps on giving?

"Then I guess we're done here," Raine deadpans.

"Not so fast," Moon stops her, taking the cigarette that was behind her ear and lighting it. She extends her arm over the booth, exhaling a hit as I finally count ten grand whole, just like she had promised. Raine hands me her envelope as well, nodding at it. I begin counting.

"There is something I want to bring up to the two of you," Moon begins, the slow drag in her voice leading me to believe that what she is about to say won't be pleasant for the both of us to hear, but then again, nothing to come out of her mouth ever is.

Raine sighs, picking up the glass of bourbon she had ordered upon arrival. Although the woman who sits across from her is her reflection, they seem to have nothing in common other than their hatred for one another.

"Now, I ain't the typa boss to meddle in my employees' relationships," Moon begins.

"Employee is a loose term given we're basically doing this at gunpoint," Raine mumbles. I let out a laugh.

Moon pays no mind to Raine's attitude, clearly used to it by now. She continues speaking.

"But in this case, I need you both to hold up a believable front on both ends of the deal."

"Meaning?" I ask, tucking away both Raine and I's envelopes in my coat pocket.

"Look, it won't take Apollo long to figure out that someone on his team is rat," she says, the cigarette balancing loosely on the corner of her mouth. "Once he starts noticing how many of his people are starting to get killed, the first thing he will do is try to find the rat. And the timeline will eventually lead him to the both of you."

Raine finishes her drink and immediately motions for another from the bartender, not being able to stay sober these days.

"If you two are publicly together in front of Apollo and his bitchy cousin, they will distance the two of you since they basically only use the two of you as their little plaything, or vice versa," she says, laughing a bit. "Which will ultimately result in a loss of intel for me, and a trail of suspicion for them."

"What are you talking about?" Raine asks as the bartender brings over another glass of bourbon.

"I'm gonna need you two to break up," Moon states.

Both Raine and I laugh simultaneously. She looks over at me as I sit back in the booth, crossing my arms over my chest. I nod at her, mentally telling her that she can fight this battle, so she does.