Lethal

Chapter 1: Attack

I froze. Oh, no.

"And the baby?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

When I got none, I looked up at him.

"What happened to Ever, Xavier?"

That's when I noticed his eyes, how red they were.

He'd been crying.

Oh God, please no.

He shook his head and looked away, tightly pursing his lips as he struggled to provide me an answer.

"I don't know."

"What?"

"They weren't there." he said, "But God, their room, Lexi. It was trashed, and there was blood everywhere- on the bed, the walls."

Frustrated and in despair, he ran his hands through his hair. I could feel the anger radiating off of him.

"I don't know where my wife and daughter are." he said, "And I don't know how to find them."

I stood frozen for a few seconds. For the first time in years, I didn't know what to say.

On any other day, this man would call me from his phone and bark out instructions for any particular deal. Some days he would face-time me with his wife and daughter in the background, the three of them appearing like a normal yet crazy family, playfully pushing each other out of the screen.

Xavier was one of the most powerful mobsters in the country and he was known across the world for it. Not many would have the balls to mess with him. Those who did are dead, in ways that one cannot even imagine. Some buried, some burned and some thrown in the ocean.

"Please help me find them, Lexi." his plea was a whisper, and my throat closed up when I saw a tear roll down his cheek. He was angry and frustrated, but beyond this, he was in despair.

I thought of Aurora, his gorgeous wife, her sarcasm and wit that always got her in trouble, yet so fierce and protective of those she loved. And their daughter, Ever, the naughtiest two-year-old I'd ever met.

You know people in your life that have always been strong. No matter how bad a situation gets, they're always the ones to remain standing fiercely throughout. But when you see the same people break, it pains your heart too. And I could see it happening right now.

I looked at my Boss. And my heart hurt when I saw the strongest man I know cry over his family.

Wiping away my tears, I walked up to him.

"Look at me," I firmly placed my hand on his cheek, "look at me, Xavier."

When he finally did, I only saw pain and anguish in his eyes.

"I'm going to find out who did this, okay?" I promised him, my voice shaking with emotion, "I am going to hunt down every single one of them, and then I'll make them pay."

He nodded and my own eyes welled up.

"And I'm going to find Aurora and Ever."

"I don't even know if they're alive, Lexi." his voice trembled.

"Until we find a body, I'm bloody well assuming that they are," I told him with finality, stepping back.

"What if they're not?"

"As I said before, I'm going to hunt them down." I whispered, "And I am going to rip them apart. Limb by limb."

After Xavier left, I sat down with Feroz in his office, scanning through the evidence of the previous night's attack.