Free Reluctant to Share: (A Mafia Love Story) by Claire Aubrey Page A

me.
    I turned around and saw
the back of a woman as she hurriedly ran in the opposite direction. I chased
after her, and within seconds, I had her within my arms. My hand was quick to
cover her mouth, stopping her from screaming out.
    I should have grabbed
my gun then and killed her on the spot. That would have eliminated any chances
of her getting away and identifying me in the murder of Marcus. But I made the
mistake of looking straight into her beautiful, fear-ridden eyes. So instead of
pulling out my gun, I dragged her out to my waiting car.
    Chris, one of the other
Alpha Outlaws members, was sitting behind the steering wheel, ready to drive at
my command.
    "What's with the
chick?" he asked as I pulled the young woman into the car.
    "Marcus tried to
pull one over on us; so I shot the dumbwit. This chick just happened to be at
the wrong place at the wrong time."
    "What? She
witnessed you killing someone and you're still letting her live?"
    "Stop asking
questions, Chris. Just shut up and drive."
     
    Vivian
    I had just finished
typing up the first draft of my midterm paper when the phone rang. I answered
promptly and was greeted by the voice of my mother on the other end of the
line.
    "Vivian, I'm so
glad you're home to answer the phone," she said.
    "Of course, I'm
home, Mother. Where else would I be?"
    Ignoring my rhetorical
question, my mother proceeded to say, "Your Aunt Paula just called to say
she'll be coming over for a visit tomorrow. So could you please be a dear and
make a trip to the grocery store to buy some ingredients for me to whip up
dinner for us all tomorrow evening?"
    "Yes,
Mother," I said as I grabbed a pen and a notepad to jot down everything my
mother wanted me to buy.
    As soon as I got off
the phone with my mother, I changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeve
shirt. Remembering that the weather had been chilly as of late, I grabbed a
scarf and wrapped it around my neck. Then I went outside to walk to the grocery
store a few blocks from home.
    Along the way, I came
across some barricades that blocked the path I was going on. The signs there
indicated it was all in preparation for the marathon race tomorrow.
    Yes, of course, how
could I have forgotten? Some of my classmates from school had been talking
about that race earlier today. Apparently, they had been training for months
and were really excited about it.
    I often thought about
running a marathon someday. But it was just wishful thinking on my part,
because with everything else on my plate, there was no way I could ever find
the time to train.
    With the usual route to
the grocery store now closed, I walked along one of the small, narrow roads
instead. The path was dark and vacant, but I figured it was safe since the
neighborhood I lived in never appeared on the evening news during crime
reports.
    I was walking along,
minding my own business, when suddenly I heard the sound of two men talking in
the near distance. Looking around to locate the source of the voices, I finally
saw the men standing in a dark alley close to where I was standing.
    Both of the men were
tall and fit, but one of them was noticeably taller. The taller one was holding
a flashlight in his hand, and with that little bit of light, I was able to
catch a glimpse of his face.
    He was strikingly
handsome with deep, penetrating eyes and a chiseled jawline. I stood there for
a moment just admiring his looks. Suddenly, the scene before me drastically
changed.
    The handsome guy I had
been gawking at had a gun pointed at the other guy's head, leading the other
guy to beg for his life. I stood frozen, unsure of what to do. Next thing I
knew, the gun had gone off, and the handsome guy was leaving the scene.
    My flee-or-fight
instinct finally kicked in, and I started to run away. But I didn't get very
far before I was caught and trapped within the arms of the guy I had just seen
committing murder.
    His hand covered my
mouth in an instant, making it impossible for me to yell for help. Fear