Chapter 1

"They have a camera."

"It's fake."

"Diego," Tyrone states, "They got a camera son."

"It's fake."

I walk up to the house. Tyrone sits in the getaway car looking like an idiot. He damn near grabs me when I walk up to the house. I walk right up to the camera, grab it and pull it off. I pull the batteries out and drop them on the porch door.

He seems surprised as he joins me on the porch.

"How'd you know?"

"With real cameras there are usually two wires one for power and one for the video feed from the camera although this can be wireless and the power wire on some models go through the mounting bracket directly into the camera to prevent it from being cut."

He gives me a look.

"How the fuck do you know all this shit?"

I shrug. It's not the first time I've been asked that question. Jackie has been my backup man since I knew him. Maybe that's why I trust him to hold the bag.

"Just been through a lot," I tell him.

"You ain't gonna tell me are you?"

"Hell naw."

"Whatever man. Let's just jack this place. I'll keep lookout. You do your thing."

I put in my earphones. Biggie Smalls starts playing. When I jacked a house it always had to be Biggie Smalls. Always.

The lyrics are loud in my ear.

I GREW UP A FUCKING SCREW UP. GOT INTRODUCED TO THE GAME. GOT AN OUNCE AND FUCKING BLEW UP!

That's the life I live. I grew up a fucking screw up. That's why I don't care when I disarm the alarm and barge in Becky Aniston's house in Piscataway New Jersey. She has some nice jewelry. I take it all. I've always been the jewelry guy. I leave the petty entertainment systems to Tyrone.

Mrs. Aniston is never going to see it coming, but she'll know.

She'll know it's me.

~

"So the cops are coming. I'm talking about down the street because one of the neighbors heard me breaking some shit. I'm dropping tvs. I'm running my ass off thinking Diego is right behind me. No. He's not there. You know where this kid is? Guess? No...you guys need to fucking guess. This motherfucker---haha---this motherfucker here is trimming flowers. Taking thorns off. This kid leaves a fuckin' spray painted black rose on her fucking night stand."

They laugh. My girlfriend Malaysia punches me in the arm, "Why do you do that?"

I shrug.

"I just do. It's always been...my thing."

The rose. That was my little signature. When I robbed your house I left a rose. In my head I feel like everyone deserves to make their mark on the world, even the bottom of the barrel pieces of trash like myself.

"He's always so calm," a girl named Nina states, "It's so sexy..."

They are trying figure me out. What was in my past? Why am I the way I am? The crew looks over at me when she says it. I guess I have that impact on people. Maybe that's why Nina loves staring at me. I know it bothers Tyrone even though he doesn't say anything to her about it. The girl flirts with me heavy.

"My baby really is, isn't she?" Malaysia states, "I'm glad you got two eyes. But he's all mine."

"Yo girl relax. I was just giving your man a compliment," Nina responds moving to sit on Tyrone's lap showing my girlfriend that Tyrone isn't hers.

Tyrone doesn't say a thing but everyone knew how Nina was when it came to me. Maybe she knew I was the brains of the operation. Maybe she really did admire the fact that nothing really aroused me. I was as cool as a cucumber. It almost was like a mental flaw or something.

Nina was an attractive girl. She was so dark that when she came around a few months ago everyone thought she was African. She had long straight beautiful hair. Tyrone just had to get her. Malaysia and the other girls around the way hated her.

"He doesn't need your compliments, hoe," Malaysia barks back.

That's when I grab Malaysia. This isn't the time or place for the jealousy. I manhandle her taking her outside. She is cursing up a storm but I can tell that she likes it. She loves it actually when a real man takes control of her the way that I do. Maybe that's why when I grab her and pull her outside she is biting her lower lip sexually staring at me like I'm something to eat. She smiles with this flirty hair flip knowing damn well she was misbehaving.

"You like making a scene don't you?" I ask Malaysia.

She shrugs, "I don't know. I'm crazy about you. Don't trust that bitch Nina."

"She's with Tyrone."

"You're not Tyrone," Malaysia states, "You're special. Everyone sees it."

That was the thing about Malaysia. She's always treated me like I was special. She always treated me like I was something more than some petty thief. Truth is I don't see what she sees. I don't see what the others see either. Sure I could disarm ADT, Brinks and all these other home alarm systems. Sure I could pick a lock. Sure I was quick on my feet. I could steal. But where had that gotten me? Here, in a two bedroom apartment in Newark, New Jersey waiting for my next come up.

"Relax girl. I need you to just...go home and let me hit you up at a later time."

She nods, "You promise?"

I squeeze her cheeks a little bit, "I promise."

"I love you, Diego."

I don't say it back. Maybe a part of me loved Malaysia back but I've never really said it to her. Malaysia was cool. She was a down ass girl. She believed in me. Maybe I should treat her better than I did but I don't. Maybe I should try to really take advantage of the fact that there is someone who really cares about me.

Malaysia smiles with a half smile. She looks disappointed I didn't tell her that I love her back but I think by now she should be used to it. Maybe that's why she doesn't get mad like she used to. She kisses me on the cheek and walks away. She could have any man she wanted but she stuck around for me. This belief that I was someone who I didn't think I was.

She always seemed so sure.

I'm back in the house in no time. Tyrone and I have been staying together for sometime. Since he's been dating Nina she's been around a lot. Most of the others are headed out but I watch as Nina gets comfortable in the living room.

She's staring at me. Hard.

Tyrone walks in, "You tell him?"

"Tell me what?" I ask.

Nina continues to stare at me. Those eyes of hers just pierce right through me.

"I was telling Tyrone that I got a new job for you guys," Nina responds.

"We find our own jobs, girl," I explain.

Nina had that kind of personality where she was a little insensitive to how other people felt. The fact that she was attempting so hard to be apart of the criminal hustle that me and her boyfriend had going on was one thing. The fact that she was intentionally saying things to my girlfriend to get her uneasy was another. The girl just didn't know her place.

Tyrone walks over to me, "Give her a chance."

Tyrone was pussy whipped. I can tell. It's not that he isn't an attractive guy, but he's rough to say the least. How he pulled a girl like Nina was beyond me. Sure the streets talked. We were on a roll with robbing houses. The streets were excited about it. Maybe it's because how much we gave back. I liked to think of it as a modern day Robin Hood. I'd be lying though. Robin Hood robbed the rich and gave to the poor. I pocketed the majority of that shit and gave whatever was left to the hood so they wouldn't get jealous and snitch me out to the cops or worse.

"I'm good."

I start walking away. This Nina girl was trouble with a capital T. Not only for my relationship but also her sway over Tyrone. He did whatever she said.

"100,000 dollars in cash is in the house," she states.

I am almost to the steps when I stop in my track. 100,000. Damn. Usually we'd have to pawn everything we got to get a score a small fraction of that. I am studying the rug at that moment. Who keeps 100k in their house?

"Cash?"

"Cash."

"How'd you find about this target?" I ask.

100k? 100! That wasn't the same as stealing TVs from the suburbs. This was a score that would be worth a lifetime. This was everything.

Nina sighs, "A friend of a friend."

She has my attention whether I wanted her to or not. Nina was trouble. The fact that she isn't giving much detail to how she found out about this target was odd. A friend of a friend? Really? Was that what we were going with? It sounded like bullshit. That part at least. Regardless however, money is money. I wasn't going to turn it down no way.

Malaysia would kill me if she found me listening to this girl for a second but around where I'm from you don't come across 100k like that.

"What's the address?"

That's all I need to know.

Nina shakes her head, "There's a catch. The family is rich. Real rich. Their oldest son is still at home. The thing is he's a party boy. He's always on the scene and he has a weakness for a pretty face."

Tyrone shakes his head, "If we can get someone in the house, specifically with him, then they can disarm the system."

A decoy. We've done it before. Malaysia was usually the decoy. Nina maybe once or twice. What I didn't understand is if they had this all planned out then why did they need me?

"Well you got Nina. Why bring me in on this?" I ask.

Nina could make any man fall for her and let his guard down.

The two of them look at one another. It's very clear that something odd is going on by the way they are looking at one another. I can just see it written all over their faces. It's something they aren't telling me. It's something they are nervous to tell me. I want to believe Tyrone is bringing me in on this because he's my best friend and he wants me to succeed right along with him but I don't know. Right now it seems like they thought this out. They planned it out. If they were bringing me in this late in the game then something must have went wrong. Something must have went really wrong.

Nina sighs a little bit, "I tried to decoy him."

"And what?"

Tyrone sighs a little bit, "The target doesn't like girls."

I have to admit I laugh at that moment. It's a rare thing to get me to laugh. Everyone says I'm way too serious. Way too calm. Nothing really gets underneath my skin. Cold, calculated Diego Darling. But when I hear the idea that pretty Nina couldn't use her pretty face to get what she wanted I was just shocked to say the least.

"Well Tyrone," I state, "I guess you're going to be batting for another team then huh?"

"Do I look like the type of person a gay guy would be attracted to?" Tyrone asks.

Tyrone had a point. He was rough around the edges. He was a real thug. I didn't really know much about gay people. I had a gay cousin that I never really talked to. He was one of the real flamboyant types who got with an new guy every day. I couldn't see even him getting with Tyrone.

"Well I mean, maybe, we can pay someone or..."

"Or maybe you can do it," Nina responds.

I look at Nina and Tyrone. They brought me into this scheme not because I knew how to pick a lock or disarm a system. They brought me in because they thought I could seduce a gay guy.

"You've got to be kidding me," I respond.

"You're attractive," Tyrone responds, "Look at you. Chestnut skin, dark brown eyes, big lips, well-spoken, straight white teeth and look at that butt. Go ahead. Tell me a gay guy wouldn't go nuts looking at that wagon you're carrying behind you."

"Stop looking at my butt!"

He sounded like the gay one at that moment.

Nina smiles checking me out from the back, "He has a point. Besides. Once you're in, who better to disarm the system and let us in to help rob the place?"

"I'm not gay," I state.

"Remember that one time in high school," Tyrone starts.

"Don't you dare..."

My face gets flushed. The fact that he is bringing this up especially around Nina is annoying to say the least. I remember the time though. I remember the dare. The boy's name was Lawrence Little. We did a spin the bottle. Usually it was boys on one side and girls on another to avoid this kind of thing but Lawrence had to use the bathroom and when he was walking back there was a small gap. The bottle pointed to him and me right in time. So I find myself being locked up in a bathroom with Lawrence. We make kissing noises as the others listen to pretend like we are kissing but honestly we are just standing there. We get into it trying to make the fake sounds convincing. That is until Lawrence gets tired of pretending. He leans in and he kisses me. He kisses me hard. I'll never forget his wet tongue exploring my mouth. I'll never forget that I walked out of that bathroom with a fucking hardon.

Clearly Tyrone will never forget that shit either.

Tyrone looks at me, "It doesn't make you gay Diego. No one's going to judge you. You're still a man's man. But for 100k...you need to find your inner queen..."

"Ty...I can't."

"We're family. You're the only one I have. I'm the only one you have. If we can't have each other's backs then what is there left."

I felt like this was trouble. I felt like this was real trouble but Tyrone had a point. He was my best friend. I couldn't leave him hanging when it came to this. I had to help him in anyway I can. I was a loyal to him and I knew any plan that he had would have a better chance of succeeding with me.

"Only because you're like my brother."

Ty grabs my hands, "Bros for life."

I nod.

I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach but I shake his hand regardless.

"Bros for life," I repeat.

~

I don't know how they talk me into going to a gay club. I don't know how they get me to wear what I'm wearing. I have on some tight jeans. Nina says gay guys love tight jeans. Then I have on a baseball jersey, the ones with buttons on the front. It's open showing off my abs. Nina made sure to get the coconut oil on my abs. I have to admit it makes them pop a little bit more.

The music is loud. Disco music. In the corner of my eye I can see Nina and Tyrone. They stick out like a sore thumb in a place like this.

I get a text from Nina: Lookin' sexy, girl!

I'm heavily annoyed. I'm annoyed some guy walks up behind me and tries to dance. All I feel is a crotch pressed up against me. I make a fist and jerk it back a little bit warning him that I'll deck him if he tries that shit with me. The guy walks away faster than a whore in church. I can see Nina and Tyrone laughing in the background. They are really enjoying this shit. They are enjoying this a little too much.

I sigh. I had to keep calm. That's my thing. I had to get into Diego mode. I had to make sure that I stayed focused.

I roll my eyes at their laughter and text back: Where the fuck is the target?

She responds: By the bar.

I shake my head: Please don't tell me the drag queen.

She pauses: No. The one with the Yankees cap on. He's the rich kid.

I look over at the bar and see him. He looks lowkey. Not at all what I'm expecting from a gay bar. The guy looks like he walked in here by mistake or something. It wasn't that he wasn't a pretty guy. No...he was definitely pretty to say the least. He is Middle Eastern or Spanish I think. He has olive skin, gray eyes and a trimmed but someone unkempt goatee. His facial structure is real chiseled. I am almost sure that he could be a model or something of that type. What really gets me is the dark eyebrows. They are so goddam dark. I can see the beginnings of his pitch black hair underneath his cap.

It isn't a stretch to say that I'm not horribly upset that this is the target. He was a good looking guy...even if I didn't like guys. Anyone could see that. He's the type of guy that you didn't notice at first because he was so lowkey but when you really got in his face you could tell he was a showstopper. He didn't really seem like the party guy that Nina mentioned though.

As I walk up to him he doesn't even notice me. I just stand there at the bar for a few awkward moments regretting that I agreed to this in the first place.

I try to open my mouth a few times but nothing comes out.

Maybe it isn't a good thing that he looks the way he does. It's a little intimidating. Maybe we should have hired some gay model or something to talk to this guy. That would be more his type.

"If you're going to say something just say it," he tells me.

He turns to me. His voice is deep and alluring like he's the voice that reads scary books on tapes or something. He turns to me and those gray eyes set on me. He doesn't remove his drink from his pink lips though. He sucks on it, slowly while his gray eyes ease up and down on me for a while.

"I was uh...I was..."

"You're shy," he responds, "I get it. You don't do this a lot. I get that too. I saw how you stumbled into the room. A lot of these guys are regulars. Is this your first time here?"

He's talking fast but he pronounces all of his words with intention. He looks exactly like Omar Borkan Al Gala. The only reason I knew who Omar Borkan Al Gala was is because my girlfriend was obsessed with him.

"Yeah."

"What's your name?" he asks me.

"Jeff."

I want to say more. I want to say more but I feel so fucking out of place. I was a straight man in a gay bar trying to seduce a gay man who looked like a damn god.

"Bashir," he responds, "Bashir Montreaux."

Silence. He's expecting me to say something. It's clear. He turns back to the bar. The awkwardness of it all is getting the most out of me. I look at my phone. I can see angry texts from Nina telling me to get out there. I can see she's really annoyed that I'm not taking advantage of this. It's hard to really. This guy was gorgeous and he was gay. There wasn't a lot that I took confidence in through this situation.

I struggle. I think about what I would say to a girl. What did I say to Malaysia when I was able to get her on my side?

"Let me buy you a drink," I state.

"No."

Damn. Hearing him shut me down like that takes a lot. I watch him throw down his own money paying for the drink.

"Oh, I'm sorry to bother you..." I respond.

"You can come home with me though," Bashir responds to me, "I'd like that..."

"Just like that?"

"I'm not the type to beat around the bushes," he responds.

~

Bashir drives a newer Rolls Royce Phantom. The grill on this car alone is imposing. I wonder if this is what gold diggers feel like. He doesn't talk as we drive. I'm glad. It's already awkward enough. He keeps looking at me though. The slight eyes come over to me every once in a while. He's looking me up and down. It's clear he attracted in a way. I almost feel bad for the poor sucker.

The interior of the mansion is more striking than it's external appearance. The main staircase has a uniqueness to it's form and structure. There is a circular dome, embracing a considerable part of the central roof supported by a series of columns. I've never targeted a place this big but I had to remain calm. I had to think about where they would keep their valuables.

I turn from the entrance to a diverging lofty gallery. There is an elliptic space opened from the base to the summit of the mansion. A flight of steps can be seen as I walk through the entryway. There is a passage that seems to be blocked off slightly from the rest of the apartments in the mansion.

Bashir pulls out a device. He keeps it in his pants pocket. I watch in the corner of my eye what he presses to disarm. 907480.

I make a mental note.

907480

907480.

907480.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I get distracted.

Just at that moment there are dogs running up to me. They are barking. Loudly. They are Dobermans. There are several of them.

"I'm so sorry. Rocky, Rain, Rubble. Get down."

The dogs are trained specifically. They are guard dogs. Two more seconds and I would have been torn to shreds. They listen to their owner as he gets them down.

"Holy shit they are big."

"Were you scared?" he asks.

He looks at me hard. I had dealt with many dogs. Sure these dogs were big and vicious but at the end of the day people with the best shit had dogs in their house. A real thief knew how to deal with them. But for now I had to let him feel like he had control.

I find myself faking a deep breath a little bit, "Yeah. I'm terrified of dogs."

That's when he offers me his hand, "I'll protect you."

I know I got him at that moment.

He's sweet in a way. I watch as he grabs my hand. I don't remember ever holding another man's hand before. It's awkward but not nearly as awkward as I think it would be. He guides me through the hallways on the first floor making sure to avoid the passageway that I noticed earlier. His hands are warm and mines are sweaty but I don't think he minds because he doesn't say anything.

I notice us passing a kitchen. It's a European style kitchen. Elegant and clean. They had a cleaning crew. That much was clear. It was 1:00am so I was sure the cleaning crew wouldn't be in until the morning. That would make this job much harder. We had to do this tonight.

"Your house is beautiful," I state making small talk.

It was an excuse to look around. I watch him slow down his pace because he thinks I'm impressed by house. Truthfully I'm looking at all the cameras and motion detectors in this place. I'm counting them. I'm also counting how many steps to each exit, how many exits, where they are located and where those dogs are resting when they aren't following Bashir.

Bashir seems interested in telling me everything, "My family collects art. They are in one of our 10 vacation homes right now. Celebrating my twin little brothers' birthdays."

"You didn't want to attend?"

"No."

There is a heaviness to his tone. One that I don't understand. There is pain there. I wonder if I can take anything from it for this job but I don't. I don't know why I care for a minute. I shake the feeling off. That was none of my business. I was here for a job. That's all. If his family did have 10 homes then they wouldn't miss money from one of them.

We make it to his bedroom.

"This place is beautiful," I state.

"Make yourself comfortable," he responds, "I'll be right back."

As soon as he leaves I text Nina and Tyrone letting them know I'm in. I need to find a way to disable Bashir. Somehow. I watch as he walks into this bathroom and I sit on the bed looking for something. Weapons. Anything.

I don't want to hurt him...not seriously at least. He seems like a nice guy. I look at a statue that he has near his bed.

That's when he comes out of the bathroom.

"You ready for this?"

I'm shocked.

Bashir is butt naked. He has a toned, fit body. He's not really muscular but definitely toned. He has sturdy shoulders, a big chest and a flat stomach. When he turns for a second I can see a tattoo on the back of his arm.  The word Montreaux is tatted on it.  His waist is small, really small but his ass is enormous. It's all muscle as though his job was to wake up in the morning and do squats. He has a deep v-section that falls right underneath his belly button that is defined and ripped. His abdomen is cut and ripped. My eyes fall down his crotch without even noticing the dick dangling between his legs. Is the color of the rest of the skin with a fat head, extraordinary throbbing veins and his ball sack is thick as hell.

He looks at me. I look at him.

"Damn..." I state.

I believe that's what a gay guy would say but honestly I have to admit that I'm impressed. The guy looks good naked. Let's be honest. His body looks like it was designed in a lab or something. He looks amazing.

"You ready to take this dick?" he asks me.

I struggle with the question. I never thought someone would ever say that to me.

"Wait what?"

I don't expect him to come rushing over as fast as he does. I don't expect Bashir to shove his tongue down my throat in the most aggressive way possible. I try to push him off a little bit and realize he is laughing a little.

"I love when they play hard to get," he tells me.

I'm not playing hard to get. I just didn't want to be gotten.

"Wait...no...I...I don't get fucked."

He stops, "You're a top?"

I don't know what the term even means. I just knew there were some gay guys who got fucked and some who did the fucking. Maybe if I put my mind to it I could fuck Bashir but I KNEW I couldn't get fucked by him.

"Yeah. Sure. That's it."

"Well I'm a top too," he explains, "I figured with an ass like yours that you had to be a bottom. Damn..."

"I know...sucks right."

"Well guess we can't do anything," he responds, "Should I call you an uber?"

I had heard gay men were really short when it came to hooking up. If you aren't compatible they don't make it work. I think about it. For 100k. I had to make it work.

"Wait! I mean, wait...maybe there are other things we can do?" I say.

"There's something you might like."

"Um...ok..."

"Turn over."

"I just said."

"Trust me."

I don't trust him. That's the thing. I do what he says though. I turn over and watch as he lowers my pants. I start panicking when it happens. My pants are at my ankles. Then I feel him touch my ass. I shiver a little bit. I'm instantly regretting coming here.

Then he separates my asscheeks.

"OH FUCK!"

His tongue is in my ass! Bashir's TONGUE is in my ass. Malaysia had played around with my ass a few times. She put her finger in my ass once and I had to admit I kind of liked it. I never got a tongue in my ass before. At first I'm feeling the wet, warm feeling and I don't know what to think about. It scares me. Then I watch as he vibrates his tongue licking up against my hole and then shoving his tongue into my asshole. The feeling is godly to say the least.

I have to admit I find myself completely distracted as Bashir's head is in my ass. It feels so fucking good. I forget why I'm here.

"You like that?" he asks me.

I'm moaning "Yeah. Yeah I do."

I'm only half pretending. That's the scary part. I'm only halfway acting like I'm kind of enjoying this. The truth is that I really enjoyed this. This shit really felt good. Bashir is going in! He's grabbing onto both of my asscheeks. He's shoving his mouth deep into them. He nibbles on my hole a little bit with his teeth until my asshole puckers up, then he shoves his long wet tongue deep into my asshole. He licks from my asshole to the smalls of my back and down again. The wet saliva dribbles down my leg as he moistens me with each lick.

It feels too good.

And maybe that's why I snap out of it.​

I grab the statue off the the bed and I hit Bashir in the head!

WHAM!

He falls to the ground immediately knocked out. I look down at him. I never attacked someone during a job before but this was different. This was 100k.

I text Nina and Tyrone.

Right after using the control Bashir left in the bathroom I deactivate the motion detectors. I'm dashing down the hallway and I see the dogs. They are at the end of the hallway. They are looking at me. They are looking for their owner. They are classically trained. That's when I run in the nearest kitchen. I am looking for something, anything that would put these dogs down for a while. I find some raw steaks. A great diversion.

I throw the steaks down towards the bedroom from the kitchen door. Within seconds the dogs are running after them hungrily.

I use that time to sneak past them as they eat and make my way to a control panel on the wall. I am working fast, rearranging the wires to open the gate for Nina and Tyrone. I disable the cameras. I unlock the front door.

"That was fast work," Nina states.

Nina and Tyrone are at the door in no time.

"How is he?" Tyrone asks.

"What?"

For a minute it scares me to death thinking that Tyrone knew what happened with Bashir. Was he asking me how Bashir was in bed or something.

"The target. Did you tie him up? Is he asleep?"

"Knocked out," I respond.

"Good. Have you located the safe?" Tyrone asks me.

"He was avoiding a passageway. I think it's down that way."

"You guys go do that. I'll keep a look out," Nina responds.

I usually don't bring a third, especially not someone who didn't do this all the time but I had to admit I was happy that Nina was here. This was a big house. We needed the backup.

We walk down the passageway. I am feeling bad for what I did to Bashir. I hope I didn't hit him too hard. I hope I didn't do anything permanently to him.

"You OK?" Tyrone asks, "You seem out of it."

"I'm fine. The safe is that way. I know it."

I am thinking about Bashir. His tongue felt so damn good. It's getting me hard just thinking about it. I never was really attracted to boys in that way. I never thought about it. It wasn't some deep horrible story. It just never occurred to me that I could try something and like it as much as I did. What did that make me if I liked it? Was I bisexual? Was I curious? Did I just like a guy eating out my ass? Or did I just like Bashir specifically eating out my ass. It makes me feel better for some reason thinking this was just something that Bashir did. Maybe he was a professional ass eater or something. He looked like he got a lot of ass. He looked like he could have any guy in the world.

Why did he choose me that night?

There wasn't anything special about me.

If he could eat an ass the way that he ate my ass then he could definitely have gotten a hotter guy in that club. Maybe even one of the gogo dancers. Hell maybe the owner of the club. He chose me though. Me.

Damn why am I thinking about Bashir?

I know I'm not supposed to think about that. I know I'm not supposed to be distracted walking down the hallway but I am.

Maybe that's why I don't notice the red lazer floating across the room.

There is a loud sound.

"What the fuck did you just trip?" Tyrone asks.

I'm not sure but then I hear this sound. The ceiling is cracking and it looks like there is some sort of contraption that unfolds from the ceiling. It's metal! I try to run but before I get anywhere the bars are locked down.

It's only locked on me though. Tyrone managed to avoid the prison bars that have formed around me entrapping me down this hallway.

"Ty...help me."

Tyrone looks at the bars. He grabs them attempting to break through them but they don't budge. An alarm is going off. The alarm is loud. It's loud as all fuck.

I get a text. It's from Nina.

"We need to leave now," Nina states in her text.

I look over at Tyrone. My brother. My friend. I can see the panic in his eyes. They fill up. I don't even recognize him at that moment.

"I can't go to jail man. I can't go to jail," Tyrone tells me.

"Tyrone. Please don't...bros for life, remember? Tyrone? Remember! TYRONE!"

Tyrone turns.

He turns and he runs.

Tyrone FUCKING abandons me there in that cage!

To read the next chapter in advance go to www.crushedcrown.com