60.

“Do you still have men in the house?”




X looks at his PC and nods, “Yeah, everything is good. They are still in the living room.”




I was out with X and Damien, trying to figure out if the rumour of Aiden’s escape was true. We were waiting for Damien to return from prison with some information. We were at X’s house, in his basement. His family was out for the day, so we could work without his family disrupting us too much.




“Do you think he could be out there?”




I sigh, “Yeah, I do. He’s a sneaky bastard, that man.”




X shakes his head, “We’ll find him, and deal with him accordingly. The rest of the squad doesn’t have to know.”




“You’ve done stuff like this before?”




“You mean assassinate, murder, make people disappear? It’s part of the job description, man. I’m hired by all sorts of people,” X replies but it’s a side of my business most people don’t know about.




I nod, “Of course.”




“People like Aiden have gotten away with so much in their lives that they have run out of their extra lives but still find a way to beat the system,” X says. “The moment Nikki started messing around with that fool, I knew he was going to cause her trouble, but she didn’t listen.”




“Her dad told me to keep an eye out for him and I discovered so much about him, but every time I brought it to her attention, she would ignore it.”

“She was blinded by love,”




“Even worse, she had been mentally and emotionally manipulated and abused by him,”




My chest tightens when I hear those words. X knew a lot about him, but there was nothing he could do. Nikki didn’t know any better. She was just like me, blinded by a truth that’s been fabricated by the ones we love and look up to.




“I’m glad you came, Xander, from the bottom of my heart. You revealed everything to her, and she finally saw him for who he was,” X says, “And for that, I’ll always have your back.”




“I did what I never thought I’d do. Stand up for what’s right. For the first time in my life X, I grew a spine, and a heart, and I had empathy. I couldn’t bring myself to let her get hurt. She was innocent,”




“All my life, I was told to look at life through a lens. Women were the sin that God was talking about, but when I met her, something told me that women were the blessing, and I was the curse. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be the world’s most hated man,”




“Nobody hated you. Charles didn’t hate you, I didn’t. We become the labels that people assign to us and you were a victim of that label and many other things,” X replies.




He puts his hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye, “You are loved, appreciated, and valued, my brother, by the people around you and me. I am proud to have you as a brother-in-law and friend,”




I nod, fighting back my tears. Just to hear him say that meant everything to me. We don’t know each other that well but it feels like I’ve known him forever. He has supported Nikki and me through a lot, and not once did he treat me badly because of who I was. He respected me, and I did the same with him.




There is a misconception about men and not being able to talk about their feelings to each other and other people. I’m glad that now, I have a circle of friends and family that I can trust with my feelings, and they won’t make me feel like less of a man. Instead, they encourage and support me.




“Thank you, X,”




He nods and turns back to his PC. Looks like Jessica is leaving your place, and someone has come to pick her up. I get from my seat and stand behind X. he zooms into the video of a car parked outside the gate and there is a man inside.




“Facial recognition?”




X types on his keyboard and we hear a buzz.




“Negative, he has glasses on,”




I sigh, “Maybe it’s her boyfriend or something.”




X shrugs, “That’s a possibility.”




We hear the basement door open, and X says it’s Damien.




I look at him and he lets out a sigh.




“I know where he is,”




A wave of relief washed over me. All we have to do now is catch him.




“Where is he?”




Damien looks at me and sighs, “You’re not gonna like this, but one of the prison guards told me that there was a woman who’s been visiting him in prison. They gave me a name and I immediately sent it to one of my FBI contacts and he said there is none like that in SA or the US.”




“Dammit,”




“Here is where it gets fascinating. One of the guards allegedly overheard them talking about property that was just outside Mafikeng in the North West province. That piece of property is owned by your mother.”




“My mother?”




Damien nods, “Yep, she bought that property after she divorced your father and she stayed there for a few years before moving into the city to work.”




“You found all of this out in less than three hours?” X asks.




“No, in the last few months we’ve been here.”




I shake my head, “Why?”




“Nikki’s mother asked me to. She’s very suspicious of your mother. So, it’s only recently, and by that I mean a few weeks, there was activity on that property. Someone was spotted moving in,”




“Aiden?”




Damien shakes his head, “Your sister.”




‘Do you have the address?” X asks.




Damien pulls out his phone types and puts it back in his pocket.




X opens his phone and starts typing on his PC.




What does my sister have to do with this?




“Found something,” Damien and I stand behind X and he points at a big plot of land on a map.




“I’m running a background check on your sister, should be done in a few seconds,”




The PC rings and X looks at the computer screen on his left.




He chuckles, “Jumanji.”