MELANIE

“Guess what, Mel?” My best friend whispered quietly as soon as she got into the cafe where I worked. I wiped my hands off the apron and turned to face her.

I arched my brows at her. “What is it, Kay?”

“The Reaper has been released.” She announced and almost immediately, my brows darkened with confusion. The Reaper, as in Nikolai Volkov? Never! That's not possible. This could be one of her sick pranks.

“What did you just say, Kay?” I asked her, while folding my hands across my chest. I didn't want to believe that he had actually been released from jail. Didn't Judge Marcus pronounce that he'll never get out? “How…. How did you know?” I stuttered. I need to know how she got this information. Who knows, it could be fake news.

Of course it was fake news. After all, fake information was always the order of the day in our country.

“I saw it on the fucking news. He was released from prison three days ago. I wonder why the press didn't release it earlier.” She replied with a sigh. “You can check it yourself if you don't believe me.” She handed her phone to me and I took a peek at it. The boldly written headline was glaring at me.

NIKOLAI VOLKOV HAS BEEN RELEASED FROM JAIL.

Goodness! This was not fake news. It was posted by a verified news channel…. Judy Media.

A wave of fear washed over me immediately. This was not fake news. There was even a picture attached to the news. A picture of Nikolai leaving the prison yard, with two men and a woman dressed in suits. Oh goodness!

This was not fake news.

“You know what that means right?” She asked when she didn't hear any words from me. Of course I knew what it meant. I don't need any soothsayer to tell me that Nikolai Volkov would come for me. Especially after what happened that day.

“He'll come for you, Mel. He'll want revenge for what you did.” She added. Those words caused goosebumps to crawl over my skin. She was supposed to soothe me, not this.

Another fresh wave of fear washed over me as I heard those words. He'll come for me. He'll want revenge for what I did. My mind traveled back to the incident that had led me here… the incident that had led Nikolai Volkov to prison.

Four years ago, I testified against him in court. I lied to the Court that I saw him kill Mr Vincenzo in front of his own house. Of course it was all a lie. I don't even know who Mr Vincenzo was. But Nikolai, I knew who he was. He was working under Luca Dante Ramos, as an underboss. I knew that they were people that you shouldn't mess with.

Boy, I never meant to lie. I did it to save my sister. I needed money for her surgery and the only opportunity I got was to lie against Nikolai Volkov. That was all I had to do, to get money for Betty's surgery. I did it without a second thought. I had NO option. I could vividly remember the deathly smile that Nikolai gave me as he was led to the police van. He had stuck his middle finger at me and asked me to go fuck myself while I continued giving my fake testimonies.

“I'll be back for you!” Those were the words he had said to me that day. He had vowed that he'll come back and that once he did, I'll pay for lying against him. And boy, he was back. He was indeed back. He won't hesitate to make me pay for my actions.

Oh goodness! What should I do? I've never felt so helpless in my life like I did now. Not even when my sister was on the verge of dying.

“What should I do, Kay? I can't stay here anymore.” I let out as soon as I found my voice. Nikolai was released three days ago. Why didn't he come for me? Could he perhaps have forgiven me?

Of course not! Mafia men are NEVER forgiving. They're ruthless. He'll come for me.

“What else, Mel? You should be on your way out of the country. You need to leave with your sister before he makes his way to your house. I'll text you my nephew's location. He stays in New York. You can hide there for a little while until Nikolai stops looking for you.”

I nodded. She was right. I should make my way out of the country before he gets to my house. Without a second thought, I pulled the apron from my neck and placed it on the table, as I got ready to leave. I didn't need to tell my boss, Mrs Emma, that I was leaving. Because if I did, she won't let me leave.

And I didn't want to take any chances. Not when my life was in danger.

“You should leave now, Mel. Time is not on our side anymore.” Kayla urged me and I nodded. “I'll let Mrs Emma know that you left already, due to an emergency” She said to me as I snuck through the backdoor. I was almost on the verge of dying, but I didn't let it get to me. If there was anything I needed to do, then it was to be strong. Now is not the time to cry.

I dialed my sister's phone, but she didn't pick up. “Oh come on, Betty!” I groaned in annoyance when she didn't pick up after the third ring.

She still didn't pick up even after dialing her contact for the third time. I quickly boarded a cab home. When I got home, I found her dancing in the sitting room and I rolled my eyes. If only she knows the danger we were in right now.

“Hi, Mel?” She greeted me when she finally noticed my presence. “Why are you back so soon?” Her brown eyes trailed to the grandfather clock on the wall. “It's not even six. Is there a problem?”

“We need to leave here right away.” I ignored her question. We'll have plenty of time to talk about that, but for now we need to get out of here, before Nikolai makes his way to us.

Her face contorted into a frown.“Ah! Why? What's wrong?”

“I'll tell you when we get to the train station, Betty.” I said in a firm voice and she rolled her eyes. Thankfully, she didn't ask any more questions. Instead she did as I told her. She quickly got into the room and began to pack our bags, while I got our necessary things.

After what felt like forever, we were done and together, we made our way to the cab. Yes, I'd asked the cab driver to wait for us and he did.

“You still haven't told me why we're suddenly leaving our house, Mel.” She groaned for the umpteenth time, but I ignored her.

The cab driver came to get our luggages as he saw us coming out of the house. He helped us to place them in his booth and when we were done, we got into the car, ready to leave. I couldn't wait to leave this place, away from Nikolai.

He runs the country. Therefore it wouldn't be easier hiding from him. Therefore it was best I leave.

Just when he was about to drive out of the compound, our car was blocked by three cars. Three black SUV cars. All identical without the plate numbers. The driver honked for them to leave, but they didn't. They remained there, without any care in the world, like the compound belongs to them.

Two hooded figures came out of the car and stood before us. It was clear that they were troublemakers.

“What the hell?” The driver hissed as he got out of the car to go make them leave. But the next minute, I heard the sound of gunshots and all of a sudden, the driver collapsed to the ground.

What the hell?

“Did you see that?” A startled gasp escaped my sister's lips as she watched the scene before us. Anger washed over me and I quickly got out of the car to go meet the people. Betty tried to stop me, but I didn't listen.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? How dare you shoot him?” I hissed through gritted teeth as soon as I got to where the hooded man was standing. He didn't respond. Instead he just stared at me like I wasn't talking to him, like I was an ant.

I heard the sound of a car opening. I thought it was my sister, and I was about to yell at her to go back, but I was wrong. It wasn't my sister. The sound wasn't even from the cab. It was from the car in front of me. I tilted my head to the side to see who it was.

Goodness! I didn't want to believe the person standing in front of me.

It was none other than Nikolai Volkov. Fear and panic became one as I stared at his face. Oh goodness! He came right in time.

He made his way towards me, a smug smile on his face. “Hello, Melanie? Miss me?”