Ch. 31..40

Chapter 31

"Sir, we found the girls," One of his men appeared beside them and informed them.

Sebastian didn’t bother looking at the guard or acknowledging what he said; he simply lowered his head to Zeno, who he was still holding to himself, and whispered, "We’ll talk about your reward later." And then he released Zeno and walked away.

"Fucking bastard," Zeno murmured, balling his fists in anger as he followed them to walk around the house.

He wondered why they weren’t entering the hotel anymore, why were they going behind the building? But he didn’t wonder for long.

He walked behind the building and saw another gate behind it; one of the men used some instrument to quietly unlock the huge gate, and as they entered, Andre signaled them to be as quiet and stealthy as possible.

Zeno’s gun was already in his hands, ready to shoot any intruder, he didn’t want to get surprised like the last time.

As they walked into yet another dark compound, Zeno almost threw up from the stench of human waste; the whole place looked like a military prison, with shabby houses scattered around it.

Zeno wondered what Mr. Glen must be hiding in such a place. He was just about to whisper something to another guy when he heard the sound of a woman’s crying voice.

"Andre, I think I heard something," Zeno whispered to Andre, pointing in his left direction.

"Let’s check it out," Andre replied.

Zeno motioned for two more guys to follow them while the rest went in the opposite direction with the boss.

"I hear it," Andre whispered.

"Shh, someone’s coming," Zeno said and dragged Andre behind a water tank.

They remained very quiet as the approaching guy cluelessly walked closer to them.

Zeno turned to Andre and nodded to him, using his fingers to count down from three, and when he reached one, he swiftly stepped forward and dragged the guy behind the tank, using his hand to cover his mouth while making sure he held two of his hands tightly behind his back. And, Andre wasted no time in pointing his gun dangerously close to the guy’s chest.

"We just want to know where your boss keeps the girls," Zeno said quietly beside the guy’s ear.

The guy refused to talk, shaking his head in protest.

"No?" Zeno asked with a raised brow.

"Then you leave me no choice. Andre," Zeno nodded at Andre.

The guy watched in horror as Andre fixed a silencer on the mouth of his gun.

"Mmph! Mm!" The guy struggled to break free but Zeno made sure he couldn’t.

The next second, the guy’s scream was muffled by Zeno’s hand over his mouth.

Andre had lowered his gun to the guy’s knee and made sure he shot right through it.

"Quiet, Brad, the next shot will be between your legs," Zeno whispered.

The guy was scared; he didn’t mind being called Brad, as long as he didn’t get shot again, especially not on his family jewel. He breathed heavily as he tried his best to remain as quiet as he could be with the chronic pain in his knee.

"Ready now?" Zeno asked.

The guy vigorously nodded, fear getting the better of him.

"Should have saved us all the stress, Brad. Go," Zeno pushed him out from behind the tank, not releasing his hold on him.

The guy, well... Brad, managed to limp ahead and led them toward the building at the far end of the compound.

He pointed his hand to the door, motioning them to enter.

"Yeah, we’re not that stupid, Brad," Andre said, sharing an amused chuckle with Zeno.

They were having fun calling the guy Brad.

"Now, go forward and open the door; we’ll be right behind you as you lead us to the girls," Zeno said, releasing the guy.

"If you mess it up, the silencer is still very much fixed," Zeno reminded him.

They cautiously followed Brad into the building, walking through the cage-like door and going deeper into a dark tiny but long passageway.

Zeno could hear it now, the woman was wailing loudly as a voice was threatening her to keep quiet.

"Here," Brad whispered, pointing to the next door in front of them.

Zeno looked at Andre and nodded.

Andre immediately spoke into his earpiece, informing the other guys of their location and situation.

Zeno slowly approached the door and listened in.

"I’ve warned you severally, Teresa, if you lead them to us, I’ll kill you before they can save you," A man threatened the crying lady.

"I j-just want to go home to my c-children," Teresa cried.

Zeno clenched his fist as he heard the woman’s words.

He understood that the man had been notified of their presence and had gathered all the girls to hide them here. But today wasn’t his lucky day.

Zeno angrily pushed the door open and pointed his gun at the man who was standing in front of hundreds of girls and women in the large room.

"Hank! You Traitor!" The man instantly raised his hands in surrender as he saw Zeno’s gun pointing to his head.

He was shocked by how they had found him without him hearing them come, he glared at Hank, disappointed by his betrayal.

"Are you Teresa?" Zeno asked the lady kneeling in front of the man.

"Y-yes, please, don’t hurt us," Teresa begged, shaking.

She thought it was another gang that had come to take them away.

"Don’t worry, Teresa, we’re here to help," Zeno went over to the man and placed his hand on his shoulder, forcing him to kneel in front of the woman.

"Bastard, you’ll pay for this!" The man barked as his knees touched the ground.

He felt insulted, being forced to kneel with women he had beaten and punished severally. He felt very angry, and he used his eyes to search for anything he could use to harm Zeno.

"Zeno, they are almost here; we’ll need to move these women out from here," Andre informed from the entrance.

"Noted," Zeno replied.

"Teresa, get up," Zeno said to the woman.

"S-sure?" Teresa asked apprehensively, she’s never been given that kind of option for three years now. She felt like Zeno was trying to find reasons to punish her.

"Yes. Do your friends understand English?" Zeno asked, looking over at the sickly-looking girls kneeling in the room with their heads bowed.

"No, español," Teresa replied, cautiously standing to her feet.

"Quick, tell them to get up and leave the room," Zeno said.

He knew from Teresa’s voice that she was from Mexico, and he guessed the women were too; from their looks, he could tell. But he didn’t want to speak to them directly; he didn’t want to create unnecessary bonds.

Teresa stared at Zeno for a second longer, then down at the man kneeling in front of her before quickly turning to the women.

"levántate nos vamos!" Teresa said in a loud shaky voice, waving her hands to the women in a get-up gesture.

The women looked scared but managed to lift themselves with their weak legs.

Andre shifted away from the door, motioning them to pass the door in a single file.

"As for you, you’re coming with us," Zeno drew the man up by the collar and pushed him toward the door.

Outside the building they had found the women; Sebastian and some of his men were already standing there while some men were busy directing the women out of the hotel; there were already coaster buses parked in front of the hotel waiting to take them to a safe place that was provided by Sebastian.

Sebastian’s sight immediately locked on Zeno as he walked out of the building. He noticed he was holding a gun to a man’s head and didn’t even bother looking his way.

This side of Zeno was kind of addicting for him; he felt like he couldn’t get enough of his ruggedness.

Zeno finally looked Sebastian’s way but instantly removed his eyes from his.

He brought the man toward Sebastian, stopping three feet away from him.

"Boss, he seems to be in charge of the girls," Zeno reported professionally.

Sebastian reluctantly removed his eyes from Zeno and slowly looked the man up and down, his face emotionless.

"Name?" Sebastian asked indifferently.

The man had already sighted Sebastian the moment he walked out of the building; fear instantly caught him as he realized that he’d been caught in the Web of the deathly mafia king.

He knew without being told that he needed to cooperate to survive, even though at the back of his mind, he knew that cooperation wouldn’t guarantee his safety With the mafia king.

With Sebastian Orion, people still got killed after cooperation.

"J-jhon," He stammered.

"Good," Sebastian said simply.

"Andre?" He called Andre who was handing Hank over to someone else.

"Yes, boss," Andre appeared beside Sebastian instantly.

"Bring Jhon with us," He ordered.

"Yes, boss," Andre replied and immediately went behind Jhon and chained his hands behind him, pushing him away from there.

Zeno saw that everything was taken care of and decided to leave.

He wanted to hurry up and meet the rest of the guards so he could ride back with them. He didn’t plan on sitting in the same car with Sebastian again.

Sebastian allowed Zeno to escape from him, but he simply followed him behind, observing what he wanted to do.

Zeno sighed in relief as he wasn’t stopped by Sebastian; he was heading toward one of the vans the guards had come with, but before he could enter, he felt someone drag him back by the collar.

"Ugh!" Zeno choked as he was forcefully pulled back by the collar, but the pulling didn’t stop after he had been pulled away from entering the van.

He was dragged to the same spot Sebastian’s car was parked in front of the hotel.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Sebastian asked behind Zeno, releasing his collar.

Zeno sighed in relief and stepped away from him.

"I wasn’t running, boss, I was just trying to join them for a ride," Zeno said, rubbing his neck.

Sebastian raised a brow at him and walked closer to him.

"You don’t get to stay away from me, Zeno, don’t forget that I own you," Sebastian put a finger under Zeno’s chin and lifted his face.

"I won’t forget that, boss," Zeno replied coldly and removed his face from Sebastian’s finger and pulled open the door to the car, angrily entering it but closing it gently.

Zeno was hurt by Sebastian’s words, but he loved the car so much he couldn’t bang the door closed as he wanted to.

Sebastian smirked and entered the car...

 

 

Chapter 32

Zeno remained quiet as the car drove into Sebastian’s mansion, he couldn’t help but wonder how the other guys were doing.

Did they manage to find the evidence?

He was more than surprised to see Thomas and Jeremiah’s car parked in front of the bodyguard’s building.

He wondered what could have happened.

The car came to a stop in front of the mansion, and Zeno hurriedly climbed down from the car.

He hurried over to the car but found that no one was inside it, that meant that they must’ve gone inside the building with the other guys, but he couldn’t go after them because he didn’t know his way around yet, he’s only been to the gym and the arboretum.

He was about to call them on the phone when he received a text from Sebastian Asking him to return beside him.

Zeno turned his head behind to see Sebastian quietly leaning on the car like he was waiting for someone. Was he seriously waiting for him so they’d enter the house together?

"Bastard," Zeno cursed lowly and turned away from the guard’s building.

He knew Sebastian was just trying to make a point, his point being that he owned Zeno and would order him around however he wanted.

Zeno was starting to feel like he no longer had his rights; he felt his human rights slowly being stripped from him by Sebastian, but he didn’t intend to let this go on for long.

It was time he started working on his plan with Zeno’s father. Just getting him to fall for a girl would liberate him from all these unnecessary situations.

He reached Sebastian’s front and bowed slightly, "I’m here, boss." Zeno said quietly, biting down the anger that wanted to show through his voice.

"Good boy," Sebastian patted Zeno’s head then proceeded to walk into the house.

Zeno was boiling with anger and humiliation as he watched Sebastian’s tall figure enter the house with his head held high.

Zeno reached the living room the moment Ken was coming down the stairs, Butler Nicole following calmly behind him.

The moment Ken saw Zeno, he flew down the stairs and ran past his father, spreading his cute arms as wide as they could go.

"Zeno!" He flew into Zeno’s waiting arms, giggling happily that his one true friend was finally back.

Sebastian felt neglected. His son had waved him off just for a common guard! He wasn’t happy one bit.

"Welcome, master," Butler Nicole noticed his sour mood and decided to greet him instead.

But Sebastian ignored him and went up to his room.

"Wow! Look how strong you’ve grown, I almost fell from your hug," Zeno praised and lifted the young lad off the floor.

He had surely missed him, he was the only person who kept him sane amidst his chaotic life.

"I want to eat your strawberry cream; Nicole refused to make me one," Ken complained as Zeno carried him up with him to his room.

"Don’t worry, I’ll make you one, champ," Zeno replied, patting the boy’s hair.

Zeno stared at the door opposite his and remembered that he had seen Sebastian in front of it that morning before they left for the mission. Could it be that this was the room?

He was about to unlock his door when the opposite door suddenly opened.

Zeno slowly turned and was surprised to find a bare-chested Sebastian still holding the door handle while leaning his other hand on the side of the door. It was really his room.

Zeno couldn’t help it as his eyes slowly trailed down his boss’s body, from his broad-toned chest to his rock-hard Abs and down to his hot, daunting V-line that suddenly disappeared into a white towel.

Towel?!

Zeno instantly removed his eyes from Sebastian’s body, turning to continue unlocking his door like nothing happened.

"Had your full?" Sebastian asked in a deep voice.

Zeno quietly pushed open his door and lowered Ken in front of it and made to go in with the boy.

"I asked a question, Zeno," Sebastian said, raising his perfect brow at Zeno.

Zeno quietly sighed. He thought he was going to get at least a one-minute break from his annoying boss, but he had thought wrong.

"Sorry, boss, I seem to have missed your question," Zeno replied as he turned to face Sebastian.

"Daddy asked if you’ve had your fill," Ken proudly repeated as he came to stand beside Zeno, thinking he had just helped Zeno out.

Sebastian smirked at Zeno and quietly waited for his response.

Zeno cursed Sebastian in his head before replying, "Yes, I have," Zeno’s voice sounded so calm and coordinated, but, deep down, he wanted to pierce Sebastian’s eyes with a fork.

"What did you eat that made you so full, Zeno? I want to eat too," Ken said, tugging Zeno’s pants.

Zeno opened his mouth and closed it, not knowing how to respond to the innocent kid. Even if he told him, he couldn’t eat what he ate. It would scare his innocent mind.

"That’s okay, Ken, go ask Nicole to make something for you if you’re hungry," Sebastian said to his son.

"No! I want Zeno!" Ken said strongly, stumping his little foot on the floor.

Sebastian looked directly at Zeno as he said, "I want him, too."

Zeno felt a warm tingle go down his spine from the way Sebastian looked at him and from the words he had said. He knew for sure that Sebastian’s ’want’ of him was not as pure and innocent as Ken’s.

"Zeno! He’s doing it again, he doesn’t want to share you with me, just like that time daddy was watching your-"

"Tell Nicole to give you all the ice creams you want," Sebastian interceded before his talkative son spews his secret.

"Yay! See you later, Zeno," Ken instantly released Zeno’s pants, which he had been tugging, and quickly waved him goodbye before running down the stairs, screaming Butler Nicole’s name as he ran.

Zeno stood there, confused by what just happened. Did he just get fought over for by a father-and-son duo? And how unreasonable was Sebastian to shamelessly and openly argue with his toddler?

Then again, what was Ken trying to tell him about Sebastian not wanting to share him and watching his what?

"You can quit dreaming and come help me shower," That alone, forced Zeno back to reality.

He immediately stepped away from Sebastian who was now approaching him predatorily.

"I can’t do that, boss," Zeno said with a furrowed brow as he kept moving backward away from Sebastian.

Sebastian pushed closed Zeno’s door as he followed him inside his room, the door locking automatically.

Zeno realized that he seemed to have played right into Sebastian’s hands as he saw his door lock behind him.

He kept moving back until his back hit the wall beside the door to his bathroom. Zeno instantly panicked as he watched Sebastian cover the distance between them.

Sebastian stopped right in front of Zeno, placing a hand on the wall beside his head and surprisingly leaning his hips into Zeno’s.

Zeno drew in a very sharp breath the moment he felt Sebastian’s strong hip press against his. He felt his Traitor body start to react immediately, but he was going to pretend like he felt nothing. He wasn’t willing to become anyone’s toy and by the way, he was a straight man.

"Your dumbness turns me on, Zeno," Sebastian whispered against Zeno’s lips.

Zeno unconsciously licked his lip as he saw Sebastian’s lips slowly approaching his. But, when he thought of the words Sebastian had just said, he felt more dumb.

Okay, play time’s over.

"With due respect, stay away from me, boss," Zeno warned.

Sebastian only scoffed and then slowly started to rub his hips against Zeno’s, lifting his face with his fingers under his jaw.

Zeno instantly felt like all the cells in his body were producing a warm glowing fire that slowly heated his body from the inside and slowly transferred the burning desire down between his legs, stirring him up.

"You’re forgetful, too," Sebastian said.

"W-what do you mean?" Zeno found himself asking.

He wasn’t even sure of what he was doing anymore, he could only feel the building pleasure between his legs.

Sebastian suddenly grabbed Zeno’s chin, forcing him to look at him.

"You don’t get to say no to me, Zeno, I own you," He whispered huskily.

Zeno didn’t know where he got the courage, but he did; he looked Sebastian in the eyes and scoffed, "I just did, boss, and I’ll repeat it." Zeno challenged.

"I dare you," Sebastian warned darkly.

"No, Ugh!" Zeno said, clenching his jaw.

In the blink of an eye, Sebastian roughly turned Zeno to the wall, using one of his hands to pin Zeno’s wrists above his head and pinning his waist to the wall with his other hand.

"You’re getting brave," Sebastian whispered against the shell of Zeno’s ear.

Zeno gritted his teeth in anger as he felt his cheek plaster to the wall. This was not how he wanted to live his life, being a plaything for his fellow man, he wasn’t going to just sit around and let Sebastian treat him however he wanted.

"Let me go," Zeno spoke angrily.

"How do I make you understand that you no longer have a voice, Zeno?" Sebastian slowly slid his hand around Zeno’s waist, unbuttoning his pants and zipping them down, causing them to fall on Zeno’s ankles, leaving him only in his briefs.

Zeno struggled to free his wrists from Sebastian’s hold but the hold on him just got stronger.

"How about I fuck you to make you understand that I’m I can do whatever I want to you?" Sebastian asked seductively behind Zeno, drawing his earlobe into his mouth.

 

 

 

Chapter 33

Zeno shut his eyes tightly and bit down on his lips to keep himself from releasing any sensual sounds.

This wasn’t supposed to be sensual, it was supposed to be annoying, but as he felt Sebastian’s long and strong fingers dancing around his waist, dangerously sliding a finger into his pants, he felt an overwhelming need wash over him.

How was he supposed to resist him now?

Sebastian noticed how Zeno’s breathing quickened and smirked to himself, he got him right where he wanted him.

"Submit to me, and you’ll discover that you’ll enjoy it... a lot," Sebastian clenched his jaw as he felt his cock twitching under the towel.

He really wanted to pull down these damn briefs and slam himself into Zeno, but somehow, something was stopping him; he wasn’t supposed to care about what Zeno thought, but he felt the urge to get his consent before doing anything to him. But, he didn’t know how to.

"I thought you hated me?" Zeno asked, breathing heavily as he was still held against the wall.

His resistant threshold was speedily winding away.

"I do," Sebastian whispered.

He brought his hand up to Zeno’s mouth, sliding his middle finger into his mouth.

"Open," He huskily ordered when Zeno refused to open his lips.

He saw that Zeno was still stubborn and suddenly held his chin and turned his face to the side, capturing his lips in a hot and fiery kiss, closing his eyes from how soft and addicting Zeno’s lips felt.

Zeno felt himself tilting his head up to properly align with Sebastian’s lips, ignoring the voice in his head that was telling him to step away from his boss.

He felt his hand released from above his head, and instead of pushing Sebastian away, he slightly broke away from their kiss and faced him, urgently wrapping his hands around Sebastian’s neck, but when he went to kiss him again, Sebastian suddenly stepped away from him, smirking at him.

Zeno stood there, breathing heavily and staring at Sebastian with a cute and confused frown.

He wanted to ask him why he suddenly stepped away, but he bit his lips to keep his mouth shut; he didn’t want to make a fool of himself or seem cheap and desperate by asking him why he had stepped away from him and left him feeling empty.

He simply stepped out of the pants that had pulled around his ankle, pulled his shirt over his head, and hooked his fingers around the waist of his briefs but didn’t pull them down, he saw how the look on Sebastian’s face changed from cocky to desirous, and this time, he was the one smirking.

He knew then that he also held some kind of control over him.

He slowly walked over to Sebastian, only stopping when his body was just a breath away from his.

He locked his eyes on Sebastian’s hooded ones, sexily biting his lips as he raised his hand and placed his finger on Sebastian’s lips, sliding his thumb seductively from his lips down to his Adam’s apple.

He felt Sebastian’s gulp on his finger, and the next thing he knew was that he was lying on his bed with his back, and Sebastian’s Greek sculpted face was staring down at him with such intensity that made him almost forget his own name.

"What-"

"Shh," Sebastian brought his lips dangerously close to Zeno’s lips, teasing him with his hot breath.

"You’re playing with fire, Zeno," Sebastian whispered against Zeno’s lips.

Zeno made sure Sebastian was looking into his eyes by hooking an arm around his neck, "No, Seb, you’re the one playing with fire," Zeno said seductively.

Sebastian was about to make cold remarks when he heard the name that Zeno’s hand called him; it sent those warm, mushy feelings traveling down his body.

He felt Zeno’s thumb circling his tout nipple and his legs, pulling the towel off his waist and wrapping his legs around it, pulling his now naked body down to his half-naked own.

He hissed in pleasure and shut his eyes as he felt his freed cock rub against Zeno’s enclosed one.

He needed him out of those damn briefs, now!

Sebastian wasted no time in lowering his head to capture Zeno’s lips in a hungry kiss, but it never happened, because Zeno turned his face away from him before his lips could meet his... Checkmate.

Sebastian smirked and nodded slowly in understanding.

He suddenly grabbed Zeno’s hands and pinned them beside his head.

"Play time’s over, Cutie," Sebastian said huskily.

Before Zeno could respond, he felt himself being flipped over on his tummy, exposing his back to Sebastian.

Alarm bells went off in Zeno’s head as he realized the critical situation; this wasn’t how he had planned for it to go; he only wanted to tease him back and show him that he also had a certain amount of control over him.

But now, he was lying on his tummy, his ass perfectly positioned for his narcissistic boss to do whatever he wanted with it.

"Never challenge me, Cutie; I’ll always win," Sebastian said beside Zeno’s ear, hooking his fingers into Zeno’s briefs and slowly pulling them down his ass.

"Don’t do it, please," Zeno begged.

He couldn’t do anything as his hands were once again caged above his head.

Sebastian chuckled deeply, the sound sending tingles down Zeno’s spine.

He felt Sebastian pull his briefs down just below his ass and felt his large hand spank him hard on the ass.

"Aash~" Zeno moaned unconsciously, surprised at his reaction to getting spanked.

As a man, he never thought getting spanked could be this arousing; he felt his dick twitch from the impact, and his body instantly started burning and yearning for more of that painful pleasure.

"You sure you don’t want this?" Sebastian’s voice sounded strained as he lowered his hips behind Zeno and slid the head of his cock across Zeno’s opening, gritting his teeth as he fought the urge to just slip his monster into Zeno’s tight ass.

The imagination of how warm and tight Zeno would feel around his cock was already making his visions turn blurry.

"Mmn!" Was Zeno’s only reply as he bit his lips tightly and clenched his fists.

Both of them were hot for each other; each needed the other as a matter of urgency and desperation, but none wanted to make the first move.

No one wanted to cave in first.

"I’ll take that as an approval, Cutie," Sebastian whispered.

Zeno knew he wanted Sebastian, but not this way. His first time with a man can’t be with him feeling like an object.

He knew love was never going to happen between them, but since they had gotten this far, he needed to make some rules. He wasn’t just going to let Sebastian do whatever he wanted with his body.

He felt the head of Sebastian’s cock sliding through his ass; his will to stop him was greatly dwindling as he felt so good with the way Sebastian’s cock felt against the skin between his ass.

He wondered how it would feel when he finally entered him.

’Fuck!’ Zeno cursed internally.

As hard as it was for him to stop at that level, he still managed to do it.

"Stop! I have aids!" Zeno suddenly said, knowing it would instantly kill the mood.

And, it did.

Zeno remained on the bed as he felt Sebastian slowly lift himself off his bed and, without saying a word, quietly left his room.

Zeno released a long and heavy sigh, clenching his sheets in his hands.

He almost got fucked by his boss! Should he have let him have his way with him? He was also curious to find out how good it would feel to do it with a man. From the little experience he’d had with Sebastian, he was sure it was going to be better than doing it with a woman.

He suddenly had an idea, he was going to reverse the tables now.

Zeno had just finished showering when Butler Nicole called him asking him to come downstairs.

He threw on a white shirt and army blue shorts and quickly headed downstairs.

On reaching the living room, he found his friends standing in front of Sebastian, who was sitting on the long sofa and looking very pissed.

What was going on?

He walked closer and discovered that they weren’t alone, they had brought Lucia and Julia back with them.

"He’s here, master," Butler Nicloe lowered his head from behind the sofa and quietly informed Sebastian.

Sebastian raised his face and looked in Zeno’s direction as he came and stood beside Jeremiah. He frowned as he noticed that Zeno completely ignored him and was busy communicating with Jeremiah through his eyes.

He felt powerless by Zeno’s actions as if he needed to step up his game in being in control of Zeno and his emotions; he wanted to be in control of him whereby he wouldn’t be able to look away from him when they were in the same room with other people.

He knew Zeno had lied earlier in his room and he had just played along. He only stopped because, just as he had thought before, there was that strange urge within him that wanted him to get Zeno’s consent before doing anything with him, and it seemed like he wasn’t going to be able to do anything with him until he got his consent.

Zeno must be his, willingly or unwillingly.

 

 

Chapter 34

"Boss, these are Lucia and Julia, Mr. Glen’s ex-workers, and his nephews, Thomas and Jeremiah," Ida introduced the ladies and the guys in front of him to his boss.

Sebastian’s piercing gaze searched Lucia and Julia skeptically, then to the twins, narrowing his eyes dangerously when he reached Jeremiah, remembering what he did to Zeno on the balcony at Mr. Glen’s hotel.

"What makes you think they’re his ex-workers? And how stupid would you be to believe that his nephews would betray him?" Sebastian asked slowly, tilting his head to the side to regard Ida and the other guards with scrutiny.

Zeno’s eyes narrowed, his gaze locked on Sebastian’s "The way they spoke about him, boss, a mix of fear and reverence. They know him, boss, Intimately. And the things they said..." Zeno’s voice trailed off, his jaw clenched in a tight line.

"Let’s just say I’ve heard from the women we’ve rescued how Glen is not a person to risk your life for. These people before you, are no different. They can’t lie just to protect him and risk their lives by coming into our home; Glen is not worth it to them," Zeno’s voice was controlled but firm.

Everyone was surprised at Zeno, they couldn’t believe he managed to find the nerve to speak to the boss in that manner.

Sebastian on the other hand, stared at Zeno with a secret glint in his eyes. Zeno might not realize it, but he called his house ’our home.’ It made Sebastian feel things he couldn’t explain and pushed thoughts that were not fit for the situation into his head.

"You can vouch for them? Traitors? Or was this your plan with them? Bring them under my roof and plan a sabotage right under my nose?" Sebastian asked with a scoff.

Zeno’s expression remained unyielding; he felt hurt hearing Sebastian accuse him of betrayal after almost getting shot on his stead back at Mr. Glen’s hotel; his voice took a sharp edge as he said, "Traitors, perhaps. But these ones..." He pointed at the twins and at Julia who had her face lowered all the while.

Thomas was secretly pulling Zeno’s shirt behind them, signaling him not to continue as he saw the stormy look on Sebastian’s face; the atmosphere was starting to turn chilly with his brewing storm.

Zeno shrugged Thomas’ hand off and continued, "They spoke of him with a depth of emotion that can never be faked. And the details, boss – the details they shared... only someone who’d been close to him would know such intricate things about him," Zeno’s eyes glinted with a fierce intensity.

Sebastian remained silent, just staring at Zeno with an unreadable expression.

"Believe us, Boss, these aren’t just any ordinary traitors. Them, and those other women we’ve rescued, are the ghosts of Glen’s past, come back to haunt him."

Sebastian dangerously stood, slowly approaching Zeno.

Others subtly shifted away as he approached but Zeno remained standing, holding his piercing gaze.

"Are you ready to be punished on their behalf if I ever notice otherwise?" Sebastian asked, his stone-cold face just an inch away from Zeno’s passive one.

"We’re ready to take the blame, boss," Cody suddenly spoke up.

He didn’t want Zeno to be responsible for the newcomers when he wasn’t even aware they were being brought back here.

Sebastian’s eyes flashed with a hint of anger, " You weren’t spoken to, Code," the coldness in his voice was palpable.

Zeno felt insulted by the way Sebastian was talking to and treating everyone, but he bit back his retort, his jaw clenched in silence.

"I’m sorry, boss," Cody bowed his head and stepped farther back.

The air was thick with tension as Sebastian’s gaze lingered on Zeno.

"Zeno, I asked you a question," Sebastian said in a dangerous whisper, tilting Zeno’s face up by his chin.

"I’m willing to be punished if one of them should ever betray us," Zeno said firmly, looking right into Sebastian’s eyes.

As Zeno finished speaking, Sebastian’s gaze kept lingering on him, the secret glint in his eyes flashed with a hint of warmth. He said it again, ’Us’ Sebastian felt his cold heart starting to melt away just a little tiny bit.

For a small moment, the tension between them seemed to dissipate, replaced by a sizzling spark of connection.

But Sebastian quickly masked it with his usual stoic expression, clearing his throat to break the silence.

"Everyone heard you, Zeno. Do not go back on your words," The subtle emphasis on ’Us,’ was still resonating inside Sebastian’s mind, leaving him with a sense of uneasiness.

"Yes, boss," Zeno replied and stepped away from him.

Sensing the escalating situation, Butler Nicole stepped forward, "Master, shall I assign them a room?"

Sebastian pushed the thoughts of Zeno’s choice of word aside, focusing on the task at hand, but the seed of curiosity had been planted. What was it about Zeno’s words that stirred something deep within him?

Sebastian’s voice was calm and measured, "Do that, Nicole, duties too." He ordered.

"Yes, Master," Nicole replied politely.

"Everyone, leave," Sebastian ordered.

"Yes, boss," The guards replied and instantly turned and started walking away.

"Not you," Everyone turned at Sebastian’s voice and saw him holding Zeno’s waist to stop him from leaving with them.

They all shared a worried look amongst themselves, pitying Zeno.

"Follow me," Butler Nicole was quick to say and distracted them from their boss and Zeno’s interaction.

Zeno frowned as he looked down at Sebastian’s hand around his waist. What was he trying to do? To let everyone know about their little secret?

"I never asked you to Leave, Zeno," Sebastian moved closer behind Zeno and drew him plush against his front, locking his hands around Zeno’s waist.

"Eager to follow your Jeremiah? Jasper? Which of them?" He kissed him behind his ear.

Zeno closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "What can I do for you, Boss?" Zeno asked calmly.

He didn’t have the energy to entertain Sebastian at that moment, he wanted to go to his friends and find out the whole story. Whatever Sebastian believed was his business.

"Boss? Not Seb anymore?" Sebastian whispered, raising one hand to Zeno’s chest and lowering the other between Zeno’s legs, cupping him and gently moving his hand up and down while his other hand slowly circled Zeno’s nipple through his shirt.

Zeno froze, alarmed by Sebastian’s brazenness; he quickly looked around the house to check if anyone was around; he wouldn’t know how to explain such posture between him and his boss. Especially to Ken.

When he didn’t see anyone, he sighed in relief and immediately placed his on top of Sebastian’s own that was threading to unzip his pants.

"Seb is unofficial, boss," Zeno slowly stepped out of Sebastian’s hold, but didn’t release his hand.

He slowly rubbed his thumb over Sebastian’s thumb and down to his wrist while looking into his eyes.

"And, my relationship with you is an official one. Unfortunately, I’ll just stick to calling you Boss," Zeno released Sebastian’s hand and turned to walk away.

"You’re too bold for someone whose grandma’s life is on the line, Zeno," Sebastian subtly reminded Zeno but was surprised when Zeno didn’t turn or pause.

Zeno was smirking as he walked ahead, this was just the beginning of turning the tables, he knew he couldn’t continue to resist Sebastian’s seductions, but he didn’t want to give himself up to him that easily if he was going to have him, it was going to be on his terms this time. He wasn’t some object to be owned.

He was almost at the exit door when he heard the smooth sound of the electronic door lock.

He frowned and stared at the door in confusion.

’Sorry, Zeno. You are not allowed to go out,’ Siri’s voice sounded above him.

"What the fuck," He muttered under his breath and turned to look at Sebastian who was still standing in front of the sofa, a smirk on his handsome face.

Sebastian smiled satisfactorily as he saw Zeno walking back to him. Good; he needed to discuss some things with him and also make some things clear.

"I need to leave," Zeno said as he stood a foot away from Sebastian.

Sebastian bit his lower lip and gave Zeno a sexy smile.

"So," He moved closer to Zeno and Caressed his cheeks, chuckling at the cute confused face Zeno was making.

"What does it take to be unofficial with you?" Sebastian asked in a whisper.

Zeno took a second to understand what Sebastian had just said. His eyes widened in realization, he didn’t expect Sebastian to give in to him this easily, but again, it might be one of his traps.

He shifted from Sebastian before replying, "I have AIDS-"

"We can run a test for that, Cutie. I know you lied," Sebastian put his hand into his pocket and regarded Zeno with serious scrutinizing eyes.

Zeno was baffled by Sebastian’s reply, then, if he knew he was lying, why did he stop?

Because he asked him to stop? He removed that idea immediately from his head, Sebastian wasn’t humane enough to be considerate of another’s feelings.

Maybe he had something urgent to attend to, that’s the only reasonable thought that made sense.

"You’re staring, already falling for me?" Sebastian asked as he saw Zeno’s eyes intently taking him in from hair to toe.

Zeno immediately snapped out of it and wore a cold mask on his face.

"Over my dead body," He replied.

"We’ll see. Now, answer my question, Zeno, or there wouldn’t be any options for you anymore," Sebastian warned.

Fine, Zeno had nothing to lose. As long as he could finally remove his Nana as a bargaining chip between him and the Orions.

"This time, it’s going to be on my terms and conditions," He stated clearly.

"Good, I have a few things too," Sebastian closed the distance between them and grabbed Zeno’s face, slamming his lips onto his.

Zeno didn’t kiss him back, he wanted to draw the line between them before participating in any unofficial activities with his boss.

Sebastian slowly withdrew from Zeno’s lips and whispered in his ears, "Get used to it, it’ll happen more often." Sebastian smirked.

 

Chapter 35

Zeno was sitting beside his friends in the cafeteria as they discussed the final mission tomorrow, but he couldn’t make out any words they were saying. He had toned them out and was lost in his thoughts, deeply thinking about what had happened between him and Sebastian inside the house an hour ago.

After Sebastian had kissed him in the living room, he didn’t see him anymore. He left him standing frozen in the living room and went out of the mansion with his flashy car.

This action left Zeno confused.

Why was Sebastian giving him hot and cold signals?

He had thought they would proceed to discuss the terms and conditions that would now be guiding their unofficial relationship, but, Sebastian just left him there and decided to take a ride out of town.

What a monster!

"Zeno? Are you listening?" Jasper asked, gently tapping Zeno’s arm.

"Oh? Oh my god, I’m sorry, sorry about that," Zeno was flustered by his thoughts.

He was angry at himself for letting the thoughts of his annoying boss occupy his mind. Was he letting himself unconsciously open up to him? No way!

"That’s okay," Jasper chuckled.

"I understand, It has been rough these past few days," Jasper replied.

Zeno nodded, glad that no one could hear his thoughts; he would have been super embarrassed by now.

"How did you guys end up bringing the girls over here?" Zeno asked.

"Hm, it was quite an unexpected event," Cody replied, then he went ahead to narrate to Zeno how everything had happened back at Mr. Glen’s house.

"Shit, that man is really a psycho," Zeno sighed and looked around the table at his friends.

"But, isn’t this going to jeopardize our mission tomorrow?" He questioned worriedly.

"No? How?" Thomas was the one to ask as he sipped his soda.

"I mean," Zeno shrugged, drumming his fingers on top of the table, "Mr. Glen’s gets released tomorrow, and, when he eventually returns to his home, he’ll first be met with a systematically shut down house, then he’ll discover that his properties were tampered with, his two lovely sons were gone, his chef was missing and his lovely trusted cousin was missing too," Zeno frowned.

"Don’t you think he’ll immediately know the culprits behind those incidents?" Zeno questioned sensibly.

Everyone remained quiet, looking at each other in sudden realization of how true Zeno’s words were.

"Hey, guys," Andre suddenly dropped his plate of food on the center of their table and proceeded to lower himself beside Zeno.

"What’s up, Andre?" Zeno asked, adjusting so the bench would fit in Andre.

"I overheard your discussion," Andre said.

"So?" Cody asked, agitated.

"Calm down, Cody, I’m not the enemy," Andre said with a chuckle.

Cody simply ignored him, the air between them tense as if they had an underlying dispute.

"Chill, Cody, he’s here to help," Ida gently patted Cody’s lap as he noticed how tense Cody was getting with Andre’s presence.

He knew the reasons for the tense atmosphere between the guys and he was just concerned the friction between them would affect their work.

Cody suddenly felt Ida’s hand on his lap and instantly stilled, his body feeling like a warm cloth had been placed over him, melting his worries away, but it was short-lived, for Ida soon retrieved his hand and continued like nothing had happened.

This was starting to get on his nerves. It’s been two days now since their encounter in Glen’s house, and Ida’s been ignoring the hell out of him, the little moments he acknowledged him always felt like an imagination because before he could savor the moment, Ida would withdraw, going onto another thing like he never initiated a contact with him.

"What do you have to tell us, Andre?" Ida asked in a serious tone.

He could feel Cody’s gaze beside him but he forced himself to keep his face straight. He knew from Cody’s actions that he regretted what happened between them, and he admitted to himself that it was his fault for letting his feelings drive him. Now, he’s lost his best friend, and he knew that Cody wasn’t as comfortable as he used to be around him anymore.

"Well, you guys don’t have to worry about Glen finding out about what happened to his house," Andre informed.

"Wait, are you saying..." Jeremiah asked, pausing midway to think about something.

Zeno was eager to know what they knew, and so was the rest, except Thomas who also had an idea like his brother.

"Yes. John had informed the boss about Glen’s movement when he gets released tomorrow," Andre said, smirking.

"And, what’s this he’s told the boss?" Zeno asked curiously, wondering if Sebastian’s absence had anything to do with the information John gave him.

"Glen wouldn’t be returning to his home directly; her fears there might be spies sent by officials to track him home, so he’ll be going to one of his secret houses," Andre informed proudly.

"Great," Jeremiah said.

"Yeah, at least now, we don’t have to worry about him finding us out. The mission would still be as planned tomorrow," Thomas explained.

Jasper silently nodded, getting the whole picture together.

Zeno took a second before he understood what they were talking about. If Mr. Glen didn’t return to his home tomorrow, he wouldn’t find out any of those things he’d mentioned before, and there would be no need to panic over their mission.

They would still show up as his bodyguards, and when the time came, they’d be the ones to take him down.

"That’s good, everything seems to be working out fine for us," Ida said with a slight nod.

Cody scoffed at Ida’s comment, drawing attention to himself, "You alright?" Jeremiah asked Cody who remained mute, looking interestingly at his fingers as if they were the most interesting thing at that moment.

"I’m perfect, Jerry. Thanks for asking," Cody was talking to Jeremiah, but his eyes were trained on Ida’s side profile.

"Right," Jeremiah replied.

Zeno noticed how Cody kept staring at Ida like he had wronged him; Ida, on the other side, did everything possible not to turn his face and look at Cody.

Something was up, but he was going to pretend like he knew nothing.

"Um, where’s Lucia and Julia?" Zeno questioned, looking at Jasper.

Jasper shrugged, "I don’t know, the last I saw of them was when they went with Nicole," He explained.

"I know," Thomas suddenly raised his hand like he was in a classroom.

Cody rolled his eyes, "Does anyone else know where they are?" He asked, ignoring Thomas who was sitting right in front of him, waving his hand above his head to get someone’s attention.

Jeremiah sighed, using his palm to cover his face in shame, "Quit it, Thomas, tell us already if you know."

"Ah, since you’ve asked," Thomas said victoriously, smiling at Cody.

Zeno was busy staring at Ida and Cody’s silent interaction.

They ignored each other but were still very much aware of each other.

"Well, Julia’s going to become the cook, and Lucia will now be in charge of the bodyguards," Thomas informed.

"What?!" Ida asked, disbelief written all across his face.

How and why did they suddenly make Lucia the head of the bodyguards? That was his position!

"Chill, Ida," Thomas chuckled, satisfied with the reaction Ida was giving.

He had already imagined he would act in that manner.

Ida scoffed quietly, "I’m Chill, Tom. Chill as ice," He replied sarcastically.

Cody found Ida’s reaction funny; he looked like a kid who was denied his favorite toy. He was about to say something to Ida but Thomas beat him to it.

"Don’t worry, Lucia was Just made in charge of our welfare in this building, more like a chaperone, so you see, you’re still the head, undisputed," Thomas teased.

Ida heard what Thomas said and instantly calmed down; he wouldn’t have rested within himself if Lucia had been in charge of him.

"Okay, that’s great then," Ida said.

Zeno shook his head at Ida; he was just realizing that adulthood was a forced belief; everyone was still a child within, even the strongest human too. He believed that one never truly part with one’s inner child; it wasn’t even possible. How could one live the primary character and voice that shaped them into the strong intimidating adult they were today?

He looked around the table, staring at everyone’s faces, and smiled.

They still bickered like children, showed their emotions the same way Ken did, and played like children too. But, this was the same set of people who turned formidable in the face of danger.

"Children," Zeno muttered.

"How dare you call us children, Zeno?!" Thomas asked playfully, pointing accusingly at Zeno.

Zeno chuckled and stood from the table, sliding past Andre.

"This," He flicked Thomas’ finger away from him.

"See you guys later, have to go check on Ken," Zeno said.

"I’ll come with," Jeremiah volunteered and immediately stood to follow Zeno.

Zeno paused, looking for a way to tell him that Sebastian would kill him if he found him uninvited inside his home, "Um-"

"You can’t; only he gets to freely go in and out as he pleases," Cody interrupted Zeno’s reply.

"Why?" Jeremiah asked, squinting his eyes at the guards at the table.

"Because he’s special," Andre simply replied with a shrug and went ahead to stuff his mouth with food.

Zeno heard his reply and tensed up. Was he going to tell everyone about Sebastian and him? How was he going to defend himself if he did?

But another question overtook his worries: Was he really special to Sebastian?

 

 

Chapter 36

That night, Zeno was making dinner for Ken in the kitchen while the boy sat on the stool beside the table, playing on his tablet.

"Zeno, do you know where Daddy went to?" Ken asked, not removing his eyes from the screen.

Zeno paused the onion he was chopping for a second as he heard the question concerning Sebastian, "No, buddy, but I know he must’ve gone to do some work," Zeno poured his chopped onion into the steaming pot and walked over to Ken.

"Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon, okay?" He patted the boy’s head gently.

"Fine," Ken nodded.

"Zeno?" Butler Nicole called from the kitchen’s entrance.

Zeno turned and looked at the Butler, frowning as he saw him holding a piece of white paper and a pen in his hand, he wondered what he was planning to do with those in the kitchen.

"Yes, Sir, how can I help you?" Zeno asked, wiping his wet hands on a kitchen towel and walking toward the butler.

"The boss has asked you to state your terms," Butler Nicole said as he met Zeno halfway in the large kitchen

Zeno was left confused by what the Butler said.

What terms was he talking about?

"What do you mean?" He asked the Butler.

His brain couldn’t connect to any storage with the information Butler Nicole was giving.

"The boss has asked you to jot down the terms and conditions you require to be in an unofficial-"

"Oh, right!" Zeno Immediately snatched the paper from Butler Nicole, looking back at Ken to check if he was paying attention to their discussion.

"Right, I’m sorry," Butler Nicole replied, bowing in apology.

Zeno walked over to the dining and drew out a chair to sit on. He proceeded to take the pen from the Butler and wrote down all his terms and conditions.

It wasn’t much, but it was something that would make him be at peace.

1. Never threaten to hurt my Nana.

2. Outside the bed, we’ll remain professional.

3. Never interfere with my life.

4. Sex must be consensual.

5. Never see me as gay; I am not!

6. No more lip kisses.

Zeno paused and looked at what he’d written; he was satisfied with it; he didn’t want much; his main concern was getting his Nana out of the way; other things were secondary.

"Here you go," Zeno folded the paper in two and gave it back to Butler Nicole.

Butler Nicole just nodded politely as he took the paper from Zeno. He was about to leave when Zeno stopped him.

"Yes, Zeno?" He asked Zeno, already knowing what he wanted to say to him.

Zeno raised his arm below his chest and stared at his fingers in reluctance.

"I’m not going to ask how you knew about this...thing, between the boss and I. I just want to ask you never to mention it to anyone," Zeno said quietly.

"Even if you didn’t ask, Zeno, I wouldn’t. I’ll never betray the boss," Butler Nicole said and walked away.

Zeno nodded to himself and went back to his cooking.

He had just finished feeding Ken his food when he heard Siri’s voice welcoming Sebastian into the house. He thought he wouldn’t care or react when Sebastian came back, but, he found himself frozen in his actions, his heart seeming heavier and faster in rhythm.

"Daddy is back!" Ken jumped down from the table and dragged Zeno’s arm as he ran towards the door to welcome his Father.

Zeno didn’t expect the boy to drag him along to meet Sebastian; he felt uncomfortable as he approached Sebastian who had his back turned to them.

"Daddy! Where did you go?!" Ken asked as he hugged Sebastian’s leg with one hand while still holding Zeno tightly with his other hand.

Sebastian felt his son behind him and immediately put his phone into his pocket and turned to attend to his son, but as he turned, he was surprised to come almost face-to-face with Zeno.

He frowned at him, not saying anything to him.

"Um, I-"

"It’s time for bed, Ken, come," Sebastian bent over and carried Ken off the floor, ignoring Zeno.

"Can I sleep with Zeno tonight?" Ken asked, looking back at Zeno as his father took him upstairs.

Sebastian’s clenched his jaw at his son’s question. Ken’s never asked to sleep with him, but here he was asking to sleep with someone he’d barely known for two months.

"No, Ken, he’s not family, what did I tell you about being professional with my employees?" Sebastian asked sternly.

He kept in mind to find a means to restrict Zeno’s contact with his son, allowing him to come in contact with him only when it must be his job.

Zeno scoffed as he heard what Sebastian was telling Ken, he pitied the poor child for having such a senseless father.

As he cleared up the plates from the dining, he thought about poisoning Sebastian’s food that sat covered at the head of the table. Maybe he should, the world would be better and brighter with one evil gone.

He dares to ignore him? Fine, he was the boss anyway, he had the right to do whatever he wanted.

But Zeno promised himself never to bring up the mutual contract between them anymore. He would even be glad if this was him losing his interest in sleeping with him.

Zeno quietly went up to his room. If this was how everything died down, then he’d be the happiest...right?

***

Ida had just finished taking his bath and was ready for bed. He had just pulled his PJ pants up his waist when a soft knock sounded on his door.

He wasn’t expecting anyone; the boys had all returned to their rooms, so who could it be?

He walked over to his door and unlocked it, slowly pulling it open.

"Cody?" Ida called with shock, instantly stepping aside for him to let Cody enter.

Ida watched Cody ignore him as he walked past him into the room.

He closed the door, slowly turning to Cody who was standing at the center of his room.

"Cody, is everything okay?" Ida asked cautiously, walking over to the other side of his bed to take his shirt from the bed and quickly wore it, not wanting to make Cody uncomfortable.

Cody scoffed, ’Of course you’d ask such a dumb question.’ He thought to himself but still didn’t reply to Ida.

Ida saw how quiet Cody was and slowly approached him.

"Hey, you can tell me, what’s making you look so worried?" Ida came close to Cody and gently placed his hand on his arm.

"Don’t fucking touch me!" He pushed Ida away.

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry, calm down, Cody," Ida said as he raised his hand beside his head and stepped away from the angry Cody.

"Of course, you’d step away, that’s what you do best," Cody accused, angrily stepping toward Ida.

"Cody, I can’t know what’s wrong if you don’t speak to me," Ida said apprehensively.

"Why didn’t you stop them?!" Cody asked.

Ids looked at him with utter confusion, what did he mean? He couldn’t understand a single thing he was saying.

"Stop who, Cody?" Ida questioned, perplexed.

"You just stood and watched Thomas attack Jasper when you could have just explained the situation to him!" Cody accused angrily.

Ida instantly understood what Cody was talking about, but he couldn’t possibly be this agitated because of what had transpired between Thomas and Jasper in front of Mr. Glen’s hotel.

Or was he using this as a way to channel his hidden emotions to him?

Ida raised a brow at Cody, smirking, "Is this really why you’re angry, Co-"

"Fuck you!" Cody suddenly closed the distance between them and attacked Ida’s lips with his, kissing him relentlessly.

Ida was too stunned to move or even kiss back; he just stood there with his eyes widened in shock.

Cody noticed that his kiss hadn’t returned and slowly pulled away from Ida, avoiding his eyes.

"I’m so stupid, I should’ve known it was a one-time thing," Cody said quietly and turned to walk away.

It took Ida a few seconds to understand what was happening, and when he did, Cody was almost out of the door.

"Ugh!" Cody grunted as he was suddenly pulled back into the room and his back was slammed against the door.

"What do you want?" He questioned Ida, not looking at his face or eyes.

"You," Ida said and immediately tilted Cody’s head up to his and instantly captured his soft lips.

There was no longer hesitation, their clothes flew off their body one after the other as they battled each other to the bed.

"I thought you didn’t want me anymore," Cody complained breathlessly as Ida climbed on top of him, naked.

"Never," Ida whispered huskily, kissing along Cody’s neck, loving the feel of his racing pulse.

"But-"

"Shh! Enough talking," Ida suddenly flipped Cody on his tummy, "I’ve missed this," Ida whispered into Cody’s ear as he aligned his cock on his entrance.

"Then show me how much you’ve missed me," Cody was panting as he raised his ass to let Ida’s shaft slide into him.

Ida wasted no time in showing Cody just how much he’d missed him.

Tomorrow, they could talk, but, tonight, no one was saying a word, except it was words that would inspire their moments...

 

 

Chapter 37

The next morning, Zeno stood with his friends in front of the mansion, waiting for the Van that’ll take them to Mr. Glen’s event.

Thomas and Jeremiah had left before them; they went to play the role of the loyal children who were worriedly waiting for their father to return.

John had just called and informed them that he was on his way to pick Mr. Glen up and take him to the secret Hotel where he would be selling off all his girls. He was planning to relocate to another country since the government had started to suspect him of fraudulent activities.

Zeno hadn’t seen Sebastian since he woke up that morning; he had unconsciously used his eyes to search everywhere for him. He was almost tempted to ask Butler Nicole where Sebastian had gone off to that early, but he held himself back. After all, he had done his part; if the other party didn’t agree to his terms and conditions, then everything would be null and void.

"Let’s go, the van’s here," Jasper took Zeno’s hand and led him to the gate.

Zeno absently followed, still lost in his thoughts.

As they settled inside the van, Jasper sat beside Zeno, observing his worried features.

"You okay?" Jasper asked quietly, leaning closer to Zeno.

Zeno forced his mind to focus on the present as he heard Jasper’s worried voice beside him. Now wasn’t the time to think about unrelated stuff, he had to keep his mind on the mission at hand. Fuck Sebastian and fuck his cold shoulder treatment.

"I’m fine, Jasper. What’s wrong with those two?" Zeno asked, using his head to point Jasper to Ida and Cody, who sat opposite each other but didn’t look so much like they were happy with each other.

Jasper shrugged, "Don’t know, they’ve been that way with each other since morning," Jasper replied.

Zeno wasn’t guessing it anymore; he was sure that there was something between those two, and he didn’t just mean any normal friend-related stuff; he meant that kind of intimate relationship stuff; he believed they were just like he and Sebastian, who’s if they haven’t gone deeper than them.

"Fuck this!" Zeno suddenly punched his thigh, frustrated over letting Sebastian’s thoughts get into his head again.

The guys turned to stare worriedly at him.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" Jasper questioned.

"Yeah. I’m sorry, just some random thoughts," Zeno replied.

Jasper understood that Zeno didn’t want to share his worries so he let him be for the rest of the ride.

"Everything flows normally till the boss orders otherwise," Ida said as they climbed down from the van.

Zeno noticed that this was another hotel entirely, and, from the looks of the environment, it was located very far away from the city.

If Mr. Glen wasn’t hiding anything from the public’s eye, then why did he have to build hotels in such shady places?

No car was parked outside the gate; every vehicle was tinted, and all headed into the compound.

Zeno noted that, unlike the last hotel they visited yesterday, this one was easier on the eyes, and there was functioning electricity here too, maybe because of the program he was conducting there that day.

They met the twins in front of the hotel, elegantly suited up, "You dressed up nicely," Jasper commented tapping Thomas’ shoulder.

"That’s what I do," Thomas posed proudly.

Cody scoffed at him, looking away in another direction, "Too proud." He said loudly so Thomas heard him.

"Don’t sulk, babe, you’re still hotter," Ida lowered his head and whispered beside Cody’s ear.

Cody widened his eyes and found Zeno staring suspiciously at him, he quickly removed his eyes from him and stepped away from Ida.

"No need to hide it, It’s obvious," Zeno spoke loudly.

"Huh? What’s obvious?" Jasper asked, looking confused.

"I don’t know what he’s talking about," Cody was quick to defend.

"The talkative isn’t doing much of the talking today. What could be wrong?" Thomas asked.

Ida was just quiet, secretly smirking at Cody.

After their night in his room, Cody had wanted to repeat the same thing by turning cold on him, but he made it clear to him that he wasn’t stepping back this time; he would flirt with him till he fell in love with him too.

"Where’s your father?" Zeno asked Jeremiah with a smirk.

"Don’t push it, Coach, don’t push it," Jeremiah said with a half smile.

"Come on, he’s waiting for you all," Jeremiah said and led when into the hotel and up to the very last floor.

Typical Glen, always hiding away in the highest towers like Rapunzel.

They reached his door and knocked gently on it.

They heard a shuffling behind the door before the door was finally opened.

Mr. Glen stood beside the door, motioning for them to go in with his hand.

They walked into the room one after the other and Mr. Glen shot the door behind them.

He stood in front of the door and faced the guys in his room.

"I’ve sent your payments to your accounts. After today, you don’t need to work for me anymore," Mr. Glen said casually but his eyes scanned across them suspiciously.

"But, our contract with you isn’t over," Ida said.

Mr. Glen waved his hand dismissively in front of his face, "Never mind that I paid in full," He replied.

"No, sir. Not that. I think he wants to ask why you’re discharging us so quickly. Is our service not to your liking?" Zeno asked.

Mr. Glen paused, tilting his head to the side, observing Zeno.

"How about you tell me, Zeno," Mr. Glen walked up to Zeno, looking right at his face.

"How about you tell me how I got exposed to the SWAT team, Zeno?" Mr. Glen said directly, looking from one guard to the other.

The guards weren’t surprised by his question; it was expected of him to suspect them, and it was expected of them to reassure him.

"Sir, no one here betrayed you, but, we suspect that Mr. Orion’s men might have infiltrated your business, leaking your dealings to the Government," Zeno replied calmly, showing no signs of nervousness.

"That bastard," Mr. Glen cursed, "I’ll make him understand that I’m not one to be messed with," he said furiously.

For some unknown reason, hearing Mr. Glen curse Sebastian didn’t sit well with Zeno; he clenched his fists beside him, controlling his anger.

"Don’t worry, Father, we’ll be right beside you when you take him down, such a man doesn’t deserve to walk freely," Jeremiah said, sounding promising.

Mr. Glen nodded, glad he still had loyal underdogs to carry out his dirty deeds.

***

Down at the event hall, Sebastian stood in a dark corner, monitoring how everything was going.

His men were spread in disguise all over the room, awaiting his order, and he had noticed that Mr. Glen had also recruited more men to guard his hall.

He had asked all the women who worked for Mr. Glen to dress and show up as he had planned for them to; in his usual style, they would disguise themselves as waitresses with their price tags pinned to their clothes.

"Sir, I think I saw Zeno just now," Julia came and informed him.

Hearing that, he immediately scanned the hall, but couldn’t find him, "Go." He ordered her.

She bowed her head and left to mix with the other girls.

He had brought her along because John had informed him that Mr. Glen asked every one of his girls to be brought out today for auctioning; leaving Julia behind would raise suspicion from him, so, he had asked her to join a few of his other guards to the event.

She had come to inform him about Zeno because he had ordered her to secretly follow him around and report to him any suspicious acts from him.

Yes, he was still suspicious of him; the chip he found in Zeno’s clothes still lay on top of his table, unstudied; he wanted to be sure that Zeno would not bring harm to his family, his son.

But, again, he had seen how Zeno interacted with Ken, could he be so good an actor to fake all those moments?

That was what he had to find out.

He was about to move to another corner when he saw Zeno walking into the hall with Mr. Glen by his side. He tried, but he couldn’t take his eyes off him.

A bigger part of him told him that someone as beautiful as Zeno wouldn’t be capable of hurting someone, but again, that’s how he underestimated his ex-wife.

He wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

Zeno entered the overly decorated hall and felt so out of place, not out of place because it looked classy and rich, but out of place because he knew the backstory behind the illegal gathering, and he wasn’t used to this whole illegal vibe, he wasn’t raised that way, his Nana would surely get a raised blood pressure if she learned about how he lived his life now.

He was walking beside Mr. Glen, going over to the table that was assigned to host when he felt those familiar piercing gaze from the corner.

He already knew who it was, so he didn’t bother looking in the direction of the gaze.

Why look? He didn’t want to turn to a person who wouldn’t acknowledge him.

They reached the table and Zeno politely pulled out the chair for Mr. Glen.

"Thank you, Zeno," Mr. Glen said as he lowered himself to the chair.

"Father, there’s something wrong with this whole place," A voice suddenly spoke beside Zeno who stood behind Mr. Glen.

Zeno turned to find the familiar face he recalled to be Marcus, Mr. Glen’s son.

What did he mean by what he’d just said?

 

 

 

Chapter 38

"Marcus? Why are you here? I booked you a flight to France," Mr Glen turned in surprise to look at his son behind him.

Zeno and his friends observed quietly, noting the panic on Mr. Glen’s face as he looked at his son.

"France? Yes. But, I changed my mind when I discovered you were hosting an illegal party," Marcus said loudly.

Mr. Glen’s eyes widened, and he immediately stood up and dragged his son to a corner; Zeno followed behind quietly.

"Keep your voice down, Marcus!" Mr. Glen hushed.

Marcus angrily snatched his hand away from his father, turning his face to glare at Zeno, his hair falling across his face.

"And who’s this? One of your underdogs for your dirty games?" Marcus asked condescendingly, pointing at Zeno.

Zeno raised a brow at him but remained quiet. He wasn’t here to engage in a fight with a spoilt grown-up.

"Stop this, Marcus. I asked you to meet your Mama in France, what are you doing here?! It’s not safe!" Mr. Glen questioned.

"Oh, so you do accept that it’s not safe. I don’t get it, why and when did you turn this way?" Marcus asked, staring at Father as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"You don’t get to question me, boy! When your Mama left with half of my money, how did you think I got back on my feet? From my stupid hotel?" Mr. Glen glared at his son.

"Don’t be delusional, son, you also benefitted from my evil acts. The cars, the good life and all, where did you think they came from? Huh?!" Mr Glen was angry.

"Everything I did was for you! Did you hear me, you, son, no one else," He said.

Marcus shook his head, looking at his father disdainfully.

"No, Father. You did it all for yourself, it’s your nature: greed and wickedness. The hotel was enough to give us a stable income and a good life, but this part of greed? It was all for yourself," Marcus said quietly.

Zeno caught a tear slip down Marcus’ eyes but he was quick to wipe it away.

He didn’t know their story, but Marcus seemed like someone who loved his father, he wouldn’t be so hurt and disappointed if he wasn’t.

"Sir, I think they’re here," Zeno went closer and said to Mr Glen, pointing him to the entrance where a group of men dressed in expensive suits walked into the hall.

"Go far away from here, Marcus. I know I did bad, and if I go down, I won’t take you with me; you’re my only son, and I love you," Mr. Glen said and turned away from Marcus, marching back to the table.

"You!" Marcus called Zeno as he was about to walk away.

Zeno slowly turned, raising a questioning brow at him without saying a word.

"Can I ask you something?" Marcus asked, walking closer to Zeno.

Zeno narrowed his eyes at him, wondering what he could want to ask of him.

"Mm," Zeno nodded.

"Tell me honestly, would there be a chance of bail for him?" Marcus asked, sniffing and looking away from Zeno.

Zeno frowned as he stared at Marcus. Why was he asking about bailing his father? Did he know what was about to happen to his father?

"I-"

"Never mind! Don’t answer that," Marcus said and suddenly walked away.

Zeno sighed. The guy was surely hurt from learning his father’s true colors.

"It’s a pity, he did love his father," Jeremiah said behind Zeno.

Zeno turned to him, smirking, "Are you sure he’s the only one who loved Glen?" Zeno smiled.

"Oh, please, if not that I’ll be charged with murder, I’d have killed the bastard long ago," Jeremiah scoffed.

Zeno shook his head, he understood how pained Jeremiah and Thomas were. The man murdered their father in cold blood.

"Come on, let’s go see what’s next," Jeremiah subtly held Zeno’s hand and led him back to the table.

As they were reaching the table, they saw John approaching Mr. Glen’s table with a few suited men, and immediately, they knew who those men were.

Poor Glen, he didn’t know what was coming for him.

"Boss, these are the Russian men I spoke to you about, they are interested in a total buyout, no matter the price," John introduced the men standing behind him.

The guards saw an evil glint shine across Mr. Glen’s eyes.

"Please, young men, sit with me," Mr. Glen said to them, pointing to the chairs around the table.

"Садиться(saditsya)" One of the suited men translated to the others in Russian.

As they sat down, Three girls came along and placed drinks in front of them.

"Please, accept my hospitality," Mr. Glen said.

The men nodded.

"My name is Viktor, and these are my brothers; Sergei and Ivan," Viktor introduced, his words thick with the Russian accent.

He seemed to be the only one who could speak and understand English amongst his brothers.

Mr Glen politely raised his glass to the brothers, gently clinking it with theirs.

"So, Mr. Glen. We want to buy a hotel and girls, possible?" Viktor asked.

Mr. Glen nodded vigorously. He was still skeptical if there would be any reasonable people who would be interested in buying his hotels, but here they were, and Russians, too.

He knew Russians were always loaded with money, he wasn’t going to let these pass him by.

"Sure, sure, Viktor, I’d love to sell them all out to you and your brothers," Mr. Glen said, smirking.

"Oh, great, great. The girls, do they do chores...if you understand the kind of chore I talk about," Viktor said, taking out his cigarette and lighting it up.

Mr Glen chuckled darkly, "Trust me, Viktor, they’ve been bent to do as their master pleases. Especially in that kind of chore," Mr. Glen burst out laughing.

Viktor laughed lightly, nodding at him.

"I talk with my brothers, we come back soon," Viktor said to Mr. Glen.

"Sure, I’ll wait for you, take your time," Mr. Glen replied, smiling.

Viktor nodded and turned to his brothers. He said something to them in Russian, and they stood and left the table.

"Nice one, John. Nice one," Mr. Glen said to John, gulping his wine.

"Come here," He waved at Zeno.

Zeno nodded and walked over to him, leaning down to hear what he wanted to say to him.

"Find me the sexiest girl. I can’t leave without getting some," He chuckled, patting Zeno’s arm.

Zeno secretly balled his fists but still managed to nod calmly, "Yes, sir."

Jeremiah followed Zeno Immediately as he walked to the other side of the hall.

"What did he say?" Jeremiah asked as he walked up to Zeno.

"He wants a girl to fuck before he leaves tonight," Zeno said, clenching his jaws.

"Bastard," Jeremiah cursed.

"Hey, have you seen the boss?" Jeremiah asked, looking around.

He hadn’t seen him since he came, he wondered how they were supposed to operate without him here.

Zeno bit his lips and shook his head. It was true; he hadn’t seen him; he had only felt his gaze on him, but he didn’t turn to see him. So, he wasn’t guilty of lying.

"I hope he gets here before it’s too late," Jeremiah murmured.

"Hey, guys, I think I saw Marcus talking with the boss," Cody suddenly appeared beside them.

"What, how’s that possible?" Jeremiah asked.

Zeno was quiet; he didn’t know what to make of the situation; how did Sebastian get in contact with Marcus? What was he discussing with him?

"I don’t know, they left the passage before I could get closer," Cody replied to Jeremiah.

"I’ll be right back," Zeno said and walked away from his friends.

He walked up to a group of girls standing beside the wall with their trays of drinks in their hands.

"Hello, ladies," Zeno said to them.

"Oh, hi. Oh my god, he’s the one who saved us the other day," One of the girls said excitedly.

"Hi, we’re grateful for your help, we wouldn’t have been able to be free ever again," Another girl said, smiling.

"I and my colleagues were happy to help, um, I just need a little favor from one of you," Zeno said, not knowing how to say it to them without them thinking he was working for Mr. Glen.

"I’ll do it," The third girl said.

Zeno was surprised to hear it; he stared at her skeptically, not sure she would still be interested if she heard what his favor was.

"Are you sure?" Zeno asked.

"Yes," The girl replied.

"Ok, you just need to sit beside him and, well, give him the impression that you’re willing to sleep with him tonight," Zeno said, scratching the back of his neck.

The girls chuckled at his embarrassed face.

"He’s too cute," One of them said.

"I’ll do it. My name is Rita. Let’s go," Rita said and dragged Zeno away from the other girls.

"Boss, I hope you’re satisfied with this one," Zeno said as Rita walked over to the table, purposely swaying her curved hips.

"Perfect, Zeno, just the right size," Mr. Glen said, smiling evilly.

Rita went and lowered herself on the chair beside Mr Glen, slowly placing her hand on his thigh, caressing it up and down.

"Impatient, are we?" Mr Glen roughly held the girl by her neck and forcefully kissed her lips.

Zeno removed his eyes, angered by the sight before him.

"Ah, Mr. Glen, Maybe we come back later?" Viktor asked, seeing as Mr. Glen was busy forcing himself on the girl.

"No, not at all. Get out!" Mr. Glen quickly pushed Rita away, turning to the Russian brothers with a bright smile.

"Ok, John said to us, you show us a video, true?" Viktor asked.

Mr. Glen nodded, "Please sit; the screen’s over there," he stood and pointed to the huge projector screen on the wall of the stage.

The brothers nodded and sat down, waiting for the video to start.

Mr Glen had planned to hook his buyer’s interest by advertising the best parts of his hotels in a short video.

He motioned for John to start the video and, he did.

As the video started, Mr. Glen felt his soul leave his body; his brain took a few seconds to come out of the shock.

It was a video where he tied some women’s hands together, standing behind them and fucking them one after the other.

He instantly turned to John beside him, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?!" He gave John a very hard slap on the cheek, breathing furiously.

At that moment the door burst open, and a group of official agents trooped into the hall.

Before Mr. Glen could react, he was surrounded by the agents, guns pointing dangerously at him.

"Sir, reporting," One of them saluted to Viktor.

Mr. Glen couldn’t believe his ears, so he snapped his head to Viktor who was giving him a smug look. He immediately wanted to call out to his guards, but he saw them standing beside his arch-enemy, Sebastian Orion.

But that wasn’t what shook his nerves the most; it was the person standing behind Sebastian.

And it was no other than his son, Marcus.

 

 

Chapter 39

Zeno had been standing in a corner with Cody and the twins before the video of Mr. Glen’s evil acts was played.

Ida and Jasper had met them immediately, and together, they went outside to bring in the official agents.

Zeno noticed Sebastian beside him but never turned to look at him; this was a time for seriousness and not for unserious people.

"Mr. Glen, I don’t need to tell you what you did wrong," Viktor signaled to one of the agents, who came forward and immediately cuffed Mr. Glen’s hands behind his back.

He did try to struggle but he was subdued by the agent. He stood there, looking around the hall helplessly, and the looks he saw on the girls’ faces, especially Rita, had a hint of satisfaction in her eyes; this made him realize that they’d all been in on this the whole time.

He felt so dumb; how couldn’t he notice that his so-called bodyguards were Sebastian’s men, and they had managed to get his son and nephews to betray him too?

Mr. Glen realized the gravity of his situation as he summed up everything in his head. There was really no escaping this time.

Was this what his son was trying to warn him about earlier? Indeed he’s been greedy to reason with his brain.

Sebastian approached him, a smug smile plastered on his face.

"You should have stayed on your lane, Glen. I must say, it wasn’t like I was unaware of your illegal business, but I chose to ignore you until you decided to mess with me. Now, you’ll face justice for your crimes," Sebastian said casually, smirking at Mr. Glen.

Mr. Glen could only clench his fists and glare at Sebastian.

He knew what Sebastian was talking about, he had sent someone to spread fake news in the underground world saying that Sebastian Orion was into human trafficking and drugs just so he would remove the attention from himself, he had somehow even managed to sneak in a few underage girls into Sebastian’s hotel and went ahead to take a picture and sent it to the whole underground association to make the whole thing look believable.

When he didn’t hear any response from Sebastian, he relaxed, thinking that his moves were so smooth, and that’s why he didn’t get caught. He didn’t know he’d just been wallowing in stupidly in the eyes of the guards.

"You! You played me, Orion!" Mr. Glen growled, clenching his jaws angrily.

"I suggest you remain quiet and listen, Glen." Viktor came behind and firmly grabbed Mr. Glen’s shoulder, "You have a lot of things to pay for," He whispered to Mr. Glen.

"Ivan, please," Viktor said to his brother, and he came forward with a medium-sized book.

Ivan stood in front of Mr. Glen and read him his rights, after which they asked him to confess if there were other hidden places he huddled under-aged girls.

Sebastian stepped forward, his eyes cold and calculating, "You’ve caused irreparable harm, Glen. It’s time you pay the price." Sebastian said, looking disgustingly at Mr. Glen.

Mr. Glen was panicking about his future. He couldn’t believe this was how it ended for him. All his money was going to be left behind, and his name and image would be tarnished.

As they led Mr. Glen away, Marcus approached his father, a mix of sadness and anger on his face. "Why, Father?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper

Mr. Glen turned his face away, unable to meet his son’s gaze. He knew he had lost everything: his business, his reputation, and his family.

The agents took Mr. Glen away, leaving the group to process the events that had just transpired.

They knew this was just the beginning of a long journey to bring justice to the victims and unbox the human trafficking ring.

They knew men like Mr. Glen were still out there harming innocent lives for their selfish goals.

Zeno slowly approached Sebastian but paused. He didn’t want to be the first to talk to him. He was curious to find out how Sebastian got Marcus to betray his father, but he would be patient and hear it from someone else.

Ida suddenly came and bowed in front of Sebastian, "Boss, how did you...?" He started to ask.

"Let’s just say I have my ways. We’ll discuss the details later," Sebastian said and walked away from Ida.

He past Zeno without sparing him a glance and went over to Marcus.

"Mr. Orion, I want to thank you for what you did; even if he was my father, it doesn’t mean I was in support of his evil ideas," Marcus said; his face was set hard, but Zeno could still see the pain in his eyes.

"You’re now the owner of these hotels, use my flight line and send all these women back to their respective homes," Sebastian said and patted Marcus’ shoulder.

Sebastian was about to walk out of the hotel when Marcus suddenly called out to him again, "Mr. Orion," He ran up to meet him.

Sebastian remained indifferent as he turned to look at Marcus.

"I don’t want to inherit anything from him, can I work for you?" Marcus asked.

Sebastian chuckled, "All my men are confident and fearless," His eyes met Zeno as he said that, but Zeno was quick to remove his eyes.

"Are you?" He asked Marcus.

"Yes, I am," Marcus replied eagerly.

"If you were, you wouldn’t be a coward and run away from your responsibility," Sebastian said and waved his hand around the room.

Marcus understood that shying away from his father’s properties was indeed cowardly; he needed to prove to Sebastian that he could be trusted before he could even think of working for him.

"I understand; I will take care of the properties, and I shall gain your trust," Marcus said, determined.

Sebastian only nodded and walked away.

Zeno and his friends were about to walk leave the scene when a group of girls came to them. They were led by Julia, whose face was filled with a satisfied smile.

"Um, Zeno?" Julia called softly.

Zeno asked his friends to go ahead while he listened to the girls.

"How are you, Julia?" Sebastian asked.

"We want to say thank you, me and my friends: Rita, Naya, and Bunny," She pointed to the girls beside her.

Zeno recognized Rita, but the others weren’t familiar to him, "It’s okay, Julia, we just followed the boss’ orders," Zeno gently patted Julia’s arm.

"At least. You get to return to your homes now," Zeno smiled at the girls.

"This is why I brought them, Zeno. We can’t return home; our lives are worse there; we were thinking maybe, since you’re the one closest to the boss, you beg him on our behalf to take us in. We’ll do whatever he asks us to do, but please, don’t send us back home," Julia pleaded, the girls beside her nodding in agreement.

Zeno sighed. This seemed like a simple favor from them, but to him, it was a hard task.

He didn’t know how he was going to speak to Sebastian given their current static relationship. But he couldn’t tell the girls that he wouldn’t help them, he had to find a way.

"It’s alright, Julia, I’ll help out. You can join our van with your friends, let’s go?" Zeno smiled at the girls.

"Oh thank you!" Julia suddenly hugged Zeno out of excitement, the girls smiling widely at Zeno.

Zeno gently placed Julia down; he understood their excitement; being free from slavery after years would be exciting for him, too.

"Let’s go," Julia said to her friends and followed Zeno out of the hotel.

Zeno suddenly felt that piercing gaze on himself again, but when he looked around, he couldn’t see anyone around.

As they settled down in the van, Zeno explained to the guys the situation with the girls and no one seemed to have a problem with it.

"How are you feeling?" Jasper asked quietly beside Zeno.

Zeno turned to him and playfully raised a brow at him, "You seem too worried about me, do you have feelings for-"

"Fuck! We’re being tailed!" The driver said from the front.

"Camera on," Ida said and a two-sided screen slid down from the screen of the van.

Everyone saw the two white cars chasing them with speed; the girls were starting to panic, but Cody could be heard telling them to calm down.

"Step on it, Steve," Ida said to the driver.

The passengers lurched forward as the car accelerated. The guys watched as the car tried to catch up to them, but their van was way faster. Ida quickly sent the plate numbers to their boss.

"Who the hell are those!" Zeno asked as he saw two men in masks bring their upper bodies out from the front windows of the white car behind them and start to shoot at their van.

"Mother Fuckers," Ida muttered and pressed a black button above his head on the roof of the car, and the screen immediately showed four guns ejected from the trunk and, within a second, shot down the two guys who were firing at their van.

The guns kept firing at the cars behind, causing them to slow down and allowing their van to turn a corner and outrun them.

As they drove into the compound, Sebastian was already standing in front of the mansion, his hands buried inside his pocket and his face looked very angry.

He dangerously walked towards his guards as they came down from the van.

"I asked you to find out everything about Mr. Glen, how the fuck did you miss his partner?!" Sebastian barked, glaring at the guards.

 

 

Chapter 40

Zeno didn’t understand what Sebastian was angry about, they never knew that Mr. Glen had any partner, and neither Lucia nor the twins had mentioned anything of the sort to them.

"We’re sorry, boss. We were careless," Ida apologized, his head lowered.

Punch!

Sebastian landed a heavy punch on Ida’s jaw. "Am I paying you to be careless?!" He barked, his eyes narrowed in anger.

Ida didn’t move an inch, he maintained a straight face and lowered his head in submission, "No, boss. We are wrong," Ida replied.

Cody, who was standing behind Ida, moved forward and held his hand from behind, secretly consoling him.

Zeno felt anger boil within him as he saw how Sebastian was talking to them; he saw the girls huddling up in fear beside the van, and he almost felt like swinging right back at their fucking boss.

What a psycho.

"Did you see their faces?" Sebastian asked Ida, referencing the message he had sent him earlier.

"No, boss. They were all masked," Ida replied.

Zeno understood that Sebastian was asking about the plate number Ida had sent in the van.

"We have to apply extra caution. His partner is not happy that we took down his main supplier. I will find out who this mysterious partner is," Sebastian said, his tone serious.

"Yes, boss," Ida replied.

"You better do the research and give me a reply before morning," Sebastian ordered.

"Yes, boss," The guards replied.

Sebastian was about to walk away when Lucia spoke up from a corner.

"I think I know who this partner could be," She said and walked over to stand beside the guards.

"Permit me to speak, boss?" She bowed her head to him.

Sebastian was more than interested in hearing what she had to say. He wanted to know who it was that had the guts to attack his people so openly like that.

He was never one to be messed with; whoever it was, was about to follow the same path as their partner, Mr. Glen.

"Speak, Lucia," He slowly turned to face her, a hand in his pocket.

Everyone was curious to know, too; they all focused on Lucia, waiting to hear her reply.

"He calls himself ’The Prince.’ But his real name is Darren," Lucia said and fished out her phone from her pocket.

"I’ve seen him a few times when he came over to pick girls from Mr. Glen’s house; this is his picture," Lucia turned her screen to Sebastian.

Sebastian moved closer and took the phone from Lucia, zooming in on the face of a young man with blonde hair who would be about his age too. He scoffed and returned the phone to Lucia.

The Prince? Good thing he called himself that. He put himself in his rightful place; he was the Prince, but Sebastian was the king of the underworld. And he would make everyone understand that once a king, always a king, they can’t uproot him.

"What does this Darren do?" He asked.

"I believe he’s the owner of Vibez Media. It’s a movie producing industry and-"

"I know him," Bunny suddenly spoke from the corner of the van, between the girls.

Sebastian’s attention was now drawn to the girls; he recognized Julia but not these two. What were they doing in his house?

Zeno bit his lips as he saw Sebastian looking over at the girls; he hadn’t had the time to explain the situation to him; how was he going to manage him if he blew up?

"Who are you?" He questioned.

"I’m sorry, boss. I brought them with me," Zeno quickly replied before Sebastian faced the poor girls with his rage.

Sebastian slowly turned to Zeno; this was the first time he’d spoken to him since today, he had thought that Zeno was going to keep ignoring him the whole day.

He ignored Zeno and turned away from him.

"Ida, Lucia, you," He pointed at Bunny, "What’s your name?" He asked.

"Bunny, sir," Bunny replied.

"Good. Follow me," He said and immediately turned and walked toward his mansion.

"I’m sorry if I’ve caused you trouble, Zeno," Bunny said quietly.

"Please, forgive us for the trouble," Julia pleaded.

Zeno shook his head at them, "Don’t worry, you guys did nothing wrong. It’s just the tension in the atmosphere," Zeno replied.

"Let’s go," Ida said to Lucia and Bunny.

"Hey, I..." Cody started but paused, not knowing what he wanted to say to Ida.

Ida smiled and lowered his head beside Cody’s face, "I’ll find you when I’m out?" He asked in a whisper.

Cody nodded, turning his face away from Ida shyly.

"Okay," Ida replied with a smile and walked away.

Cody returned to the bodyguard’s quarter with the rest and the two girls while Ida, Lucia, and Bunny headed into the mansion.

Zeno stood behind for a while, contemplating whether he should go in or not. He didn’t hear Sebastian call his name when he was asking them to follow him inside, so he didn’t know how if Sebastian wanted him inside his house at that moment.

On second thought, he moved forward and headed inside the house.

He can’t keep standing out there like a fool. He had to get some rest too.

He entered the house and couldn’t find the others anywhere. He wondered where they might have gone, did they follow Sebastian up to his room? He knew that was impossible so he couldn’t help but wonder where in the world they were.

He knew this house had places he had never explored as it was so large, but he had expected them to be in the living room.

"Zeno, the boss has asked you to join the conversation in his study," Butler Nicole appeared behind Zeno who was standing at the center of the living room.

"Oh, where is that?" Zeno asked, looking around the house.

"Come," Butler Nicole said.

He followed the Butler and walked past the stairs that led to their rooms. Then the Butler pushed open a white door that Zeno had believed to be a wall all those while.

"The first door," Butler Nicole stood beside the door, holding it open for Zeno to enter the white passage.

Zeno nodded and walked into the passage and softly knocked on the door.

"Come in," Lucia was the one who opened the door.

Zeno walked into a large office that had every single thing in white.

He never knew Sebastian loved white this much since most of his things were in dark shades.

He saw the others sitting on a long sofa and went to join them.

"You stand, Zeno," Sebastian spoke, his tone indifferent as he stared at Zeno with an unreadable expression.

Zeno halted in his movements and went to stand beside the sofa, his fists clenched behind him.

"Bunny, what do know about Darren?" Sebastian asked, skillfully rotating a pen with his fingers, ignoring Zeno once again.

"I know that he’s a fake communist and an evil man," Bunny frowned as if she were recalling a bad experience.

"He had bought me from Mr. Glen for a short-term service. He lied to me that I’ll be acting in his new movie because he needed an extra, but, when I got there, he forced me into, into..." Bunny paused, feeling ashamed to say what she wanted to say.

"He forced you into pornography?" Lucia asked directly.

Bunny bit her lips and slowly nodded her head.

Sebastian scoffed, "Asshole," He muttered.

Zeno heard Sebastian and couldn’t help but steal a glance at him. These last few days had really made him question Sebastian’s motive in life.

He had thought because he was a mafia king, he’d be the one doing all the shady and dirty business, but it turned out he was the one stopping them. Was that why he was the king? Because he dared to go against those dangerous men who claimed to be unapproachable and powerful.

He had even successfully made the most dangerous men to cower in his name.

Just how big was this man?

"That’s what he does, boss. He portrays Vibez Media as a film industry to the world while he secretly uses under-aged girls to produce explicit films anonymously," Lucia informed.

"Good, we have a witness. Bunny, do you have access to the video?" Sebastian knew his question was inappropriate, but he had to; he needed all the evidence he could get.

"No, sir, but I do know where he stores all his videos in his company," Bunny replied.

"Hmm, so we have to retrieve it then, Ida?" He called.

"Yes, boss," Ida replied.

"You and Zeno shall be going to retrieve these video files. I don’t care how you get it, even if it meant starring in his video, do it and make sure you get me the video files," Sebastian ordered.

"Yes, boss," Ida replied.

"Yes, boss," Zeno reluctantly replied.

Was Sebastian crazy? He was literally sending them to become porn stars!

"Good, Bunny, provide them with all the information they’d need," Sebastian said.

***

Zeno was lying on his bed in his comfy PJ, thinking about everything that had happened.

He wondered what else he would experience in this next adventure with Ida.

From the car attack that happened earlier, he believed that Darren was more dangerous than Mr. Glen.

He just hoped retrieving those damned files would be easy.

He couldn’t sleep, he was forcing his mind not to think about Sebastian. He should be glad that he had decided to drop the issue of wanting to sleep with him, but he still wanted to know what caused his sudden change of mind and attitude.

He sighed and climbed down from the bed, going to the toilet to pee.

He had just finished watching his hands when he heard his door being opened and then locked.

He quickly rushed out of his bathroom to check on the sound when he was suddenly pushed up against the wall.

"Boss?" He asked. He was shocked to see Sebastian’s handsome face as he caged him between the wall.

"Tonight, it’s Seb," Sebastian whispered huskily into his ear, slowly tracing his fingers from Zeno’s hand up to his upper arm.

Zeno couldn’t believe this was happening; he thought this Chapter was long closed; if it wasn’t, he wasn’t going to do it without having him sign the contract.

"I-I thought we agreed on-"

"Signed," Sebastian slammed a laminated document against Zeno’s chest.

Zeno was in disbelief; he was angry that his heart was already racing excitedly. He wasn’t gay!

"Get on the bed, Cutie," Sebastian whispered seductively against Zeno’s neck and grabbed his ass behind him simultaneously