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Author's Chapter Notes:
I'm sorry the start might be a bit slow, but I promise that there is a lot to come...thank you so much ladies, for keeping up with Ja...I mean Alex. (I have to get used to that) lol!

I woke up to the strong smell of food in the air. Have I not told that woman, that she can only use the spare key for emergencies only? Yes, I have, but she never listens. I rolled my eyes, and noticed that I didn’t have much on. I cursed myself, trying to remember last night, and my mind went over the nights events. There was a party…drinking…memories…more drinking…Yelina…sex…yes, lots of sex. Damn it! I also told her not to let me hit on her when I’m drunk, but if you could see her, you wouldn’t be able to resist.

Ignoring the Spanish music blasting from the living room, I tried to sneak my way to the shower. Then I came to an abrupt halt, when I caught glimpse of Yelina’s perfect figure, swaying from side to side. I found myself, standing there like a dumb fuck. Damn that woman is hot!

Just so you know, she’s not my girlfriend or anything of that sort. She’s a good friend, yes, I said friend. I actually have friends now, people know me and I know them. I met her outside of club Mojito, she was having some argument with a guy, and he was trying to beat up on her. Well, me being the stupid, changed man that I am, stepped into the struggle. Sure, I ended up saving the girl, but not without a fat lip and busted nose. So much for being a damn hero. I’ve known her for almost four months, and I can admit, that she’s someone special in my life, but not THAT someone.

After my drooling moment and reminiscing, I took my shower, changed into the usual attire of jeans, boots, and a white wife beater and took a couple of deep breaths before, exiting the bathroom. I always have to prepare myself, with her, she’s quite the character. As soon as she saw me, she was talking a mile a minute “I thought you were never gonna get up…chico it’s really late. You stay up all night, that‘s why your always late, because your tired and LAZY to get up!!”

I blinked for a couple of minutes, trying to understand everything she had said. See, you don’t understand, Yelina’s Cuban, therefore she talks a mile a minute and on top of that shit, she has a heavy accent. Usually, she throws a couple of Spanish words in her sentences. I always assume, she’s bitching at me, about something. Whatever the case, it’s fucking sexy!

“Yelina, didn’t I tell you, that you can’t just show up in my house? The spare is for emergencies only.” I informed her, grabbing a cup of coffee and letting out a heavy sigh.

She rolled her eyes at me, “Oh please, don‘t you remember, we were together last night? Did you forget that already? How about the four times you fell…? No, that‘s what I thought…just eat, you having breakfast after a very busy night…” she wiggled her eyebrows at me “...is very important. Is everything alright, you were pretty drunk and you kept calling me…”

“Please…don’t say it” I put my hand up, to keep her from saying the name. It wasn’t the first time, and since she knew the whole drama, it gave me the impression that it didn't bother her.

“Ay, Aaaalex…you have to do something about this! Like going to look for her or you need to, just forget it?” she leaned against the counter next to me, giving me a nudge “I hate to see you like that.”

I always have to snicker, when she talks. “I know, but let's drop the subject, alright, because I ain't gonna be forgetting any fucking time soon and you damn well know it." I took another swig, of my coffee, just as my cell started buzzing. Peaking at the ID, I knew exactly who it was. "McLean." I answered quickly. It's still weird going by my real name, but yet it's nice at the same time.

"Alex...Jenkins, here. We're down here at 5th and Moss, at the Skylight Condominiums. We just got here, but I know I'm going to need you on this one. Can you come down?"

Standing up, I listened closely, to the Lieutenant. "On my way." I snapped the phone shut and grabbed my keys. "Alright, I gotta get to work and you gotta go. Come on." I waved at her and she rolled her eyes, but grabbed her things. We walked out the door and toward our cars. With a nod, I hopped into my new baby ‘Beauty’...which is much nicer than Sheeba was. Although, I have to admit I miss that damn car, I’m not even sure, what happened to it. I watched her pull out and then followed suit.

It was weird to have a job, that gave me a real paycheck, but yet I was doing something constructive, with myself. Going by my real name, I made fast connections with the police department that my dad was in. I had just gone in, trying to get information about my family, not knowing my life was about to drastically change. Turned out, Daryl Jenkins, who is the chief of police now, was another good friend of my dad’s and Richardson’s. He had been in the big bust, where Don’s brother had been killed. He was one of the shooters, to be more specific.

I’m never intimidated by people, but this guy, made me think twice about entering his office, when I met him. He‘s this big tall black dude, about two times my height and my weight, he has salt and pepper hair, and has a really evil eye. Of course I was really wrong, the man is a damn saint, and fucking good at his job. He‘s got a great family, who has treated me with nothing, but kindness and respect. His wife is a pediatrician and he has two daughters around my age, who are somewhere in school.

Speaking of school, its so damn hard not to remember Crystal, it seems that everything I see or talk about, reminds me of her. As I drove the events of that dreadful day played back in my head. We went from Kevin giving me an important key, that held some answers to my life to everyone turning against me. I guess they had motive enough, I was a killer, and they were my targets. After that everything was a blur, and it happened so fucking fast. I remember struggling with Don, him shooting me twice, then the kid shooting him right in the head. What a fucking shot. I’m glad the bastard is dead, although I wish that I would have been the one to shoot him.

I swore I was dying, everything was a haze and I could only see her face, I wanted to tell her, what she longed to hear, but, not only did I not have the courage, I didn’t have the strength. So, according to her, Jack died that day, and she's right, he did. I snuck out of the ambulance, as the commotion went on outside, and vowed to myself, to start with a clean slate, if I lived. It was for the best, there was nothing good I could have offered her and she had her life all planned out. I hope she is doing ok, and that she has forgotten about me…although, I haven’t forgotten about her.

I pulled up to the address and saw, a good, 7 squad cars. Stepping out, of my ‘beauty‘, I received a few stares. Walking up in baggy jeans and wife beater, covered in tattoos, to a crime scene, isn’t exactly normal. Although, most of these fuckers, already know me, I’ve been working with them for almost two months, they tend to stare, like idiots. Then again, I don’t look like a person who should be pulling up, but rather the person being put in the backseat of a squad car. Whatever!

Just as I got to the front door, Jenkins came out. "I'm glad you're here, Alex. This guy is Osorio Perez, one of the top notch mafia guys in Palm Beach, he’s been trafficking for years. We were never able to crack his ass down, and look here he is…fucking dead. This one looks professional. My guys are a bit baffled...it's a doosey." He started explaining, as we climbed the stairs.

"I‘ve heard that name before, guys like that, don‘t just get killed. Their targeted." I informed as he led me into the large condo. One of the detectives handed me a pair of gloves, that I immediately pulled on. There were two bodies...Osorio’s and a female, “I‘m guessing not the wife…” I smirked, noticing that the woman was really young. I knelt next to her body as Jenkins kept talking, a mile a minute.

"No one heard anything, but the place is ransacked.  It doesn’t look like anything was taken though...their valuables and wallets are all still intact." Slightly turning the woman's head, I saw the slit in her throat, and the memories of my past came crashing down on me. This is probably what it looked like, after I was done with my targets. A couple of faces flashed through my mind, I shook my head trying to block the images. "Everything alright Alex?" Jenkin's voice startled me.

"Uh...yeah...I'm good. I was just thinking!" I went back to inspecting, the young woman. The whole scene was a bit baffling, as if slitting her throat hadn’t been enough, there was a bullet hole in her forehead, nice and clean. “Anybody got a sheet or something?” I hollered, I had more respect for the dead, now a days. Catching a sheet, that was tossed at me, I placed it over the woman’s body. She was dead, but still deserved some respect. Moving to the male, Jenkins followed me. "Where's the point, of entry?" I pursed my lips, trying to find out anything they already knew. I stood up, facing Jenkins, as he spoke back up.

"Front door, we guess, but there was no force." He gave me that classic look, that I was now used to seeing. They were stumped. The bodies weren't even removed yet, and they were fucking stumped. I shook my head and began moving around the place.

"It was definitely a professional, there has to be a bullet hole somewhere…they haven’t invented invisible, bullets.” I stood up, where it looked like Osorio had been standing, I took a couple of steps to my left and my eyes scanned the walls and windows in that direction. BINGO! There it was, just the little hole I was looking for, in the right corner of the window. “There it is…” I pointed to the hole, and everyone scurried to take a look. “It looks like everything is clean, even though they sniped them, they had to make sure that they were dead. That‘s not the only reason, they came into the house, though. I believe they were looking for something, either they took it, or he didn’t have it.”

My job was pretty much done, but I was curios and I did have an advantage that Jenkins always gave me permission, to check things out. I started looking at the sliding glass door, for any signs of entry. "The crazy thing about this, is that they were off’d by the same bullet. That only happens in a small amount of incidents and in movies.” I shrugged.

Jenkins looked at me strangely, like he was wondering where the hell I know all this from. I guess my old occupation, really comes in handy, I just see things from my perspective, like if I was the hired gun, how and what would I do. Usually my evaluations are more than accurate, I haven’t gotten one case wrong, yet. My job here was done “Well call me if anything else comes up.” I gave him a shoulder squeeze and headed out.

Shielding my eyes, I hopped back into my ‘beauty’. Damn...only 45 minutes, and I had already earned my pay, for the day! It was nothing like I was used to, but it was worth the change. I revved her engine, making heads turn again and skidded the hell out of there.