TWELVE.

Tori was in her world for days. She wouldn't talk to anyone even when she came down for her meals.

She always had her headphone on to prevent them from talking to her.

Tori sat in the balcony staring into space one cool evening with her headphone on as usual.

The moment she saw Jake's car crawling into the compound, she stood up from her position, then ran inside.

She headed straight to her room, but she was not fast enough because before she could shut the door, Jake was already inside her room.

"Get out" she yelled at him

"Tori, please hear me out" he tried to hold her hand, but this earned him a stingy slap on his cheek.

His eyes were wide in shock while he grabbed his steamy cheek. Still basking in anger, she began to vent her spleen.

"… Don't your conscience ever prick you after killing all these innocent people".

"I've told you several times, no one is innocent" he yelled back.

"Then what did he do? I don't need to ask you because I know your reply. Owing you right. There you go again, money, money, money. You keep chasing money, forgetting you're wasting innocent souls. Don't forget, they have families too. They are husbands, fathers, uncles, brothers. Come think of it…" She kept ranting.

"Oh, please shut up" he yelled, making her shiver with fear.

"You talk about chasing money and family. I got family too, and I got to cater for them cause no one else will, and it's my sole responsibility as the head of the home" he yelled again. His eyes were burning with tears, which were threatening to pour anytime soon.

Tori covered her mouth with her palm, then began to cry. He chose to ignore her, so he walked out of the room.

Minutes later on his return, he wasn't surprised seeing Tori still crying.

"Come on, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you" he mumbled, crouching beside her.

"Did you just apologize?" She muttered under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Don't touch me" she scoffed.

"Believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you" he cooed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

His cologne was inviting, so she pulled herself towards him, so she could feel his body warmth and his inhale his cologne at the same time.

"Thank you" he sniffed. Tori lips broke into a smile as he patted her back.

With Alfred out of the way now, Jake decided to deal with Brock. He needed to strategize with his family.

Letting Brock go scot-free was like stabbing a brother, and he wasn't going to do that.

All members of the RATTLESNAKES were present at the gang house for their bi-weekly meeting. They didn't have to wait for long before Jake walked in.

He was in his signature black clothes. His face was devoid of any emotion, but his actions showed he was in a haste.

"Let's get straight to business" Jake said, motioning Hardin to set up the projector which he did without delay.

The moment his laptop came to life, he displayed a house plan, which reflected in the projector.

"This is Brock's new home. He now lives in his official house at the estate" he started. Seeing he got their attention, he zoomed the image.

"Just for the protection which he seeks" Jenny snickered. Tyler's death still had a huge toil on her.

"We can still break in and do whatever we want despite the heavy security" Hardin assured

"You're right, but we need proper planning"

They kept planning for the next few hours. When they were about to round off, the door creaked opened.

Whoever was at the end of the door waited for over five minutes before he stepped in.

His aide quickly hurried to get a chair for him, which he was grateful for.

"Jake Hendrix IV" Power smirked. The freckles on his face made him look older than his actual age.

Jace looked at Jake, then back to Power. He knew about the scores they had, but Jake told him they were good, which he believed.

That was a year ago, but here was Power seated in the gang house.

"Just want to let you know, you're next in line" he said before laughing loudly like he usually did.

He had a stare down with Jake which he lost woefully before he walked out the same way he came.

Immediately the door slammed shut, Jace rushed towards Jake then held him up by his collar.

"What's wrong with you?" Nicole yelled. She tried to separate them, but the death glare Jace gave her was enough to keep her off.

"It's just another row, believe me" Jake said trying to shake him off, but his grip was tight on him.

"And you expect me to believe you?"

Jake pursed his lips. A lie from him was enough to shatter his teeth. You don't mess with an angry Jace if you love your life.

"We're still at logger heads. Trust me bro, I did all I could to settle our differences but…" he shrugged.

Jace pushed him away then punched the hard wall, sending out dust in the process.

"That's it Man, you never tell us whatever is going on until the dying minute, thereby placing your life at stake. What do you think you're, huh? A superhero or an immortal being, huh?" He yelled. The veins on his hands and neck were visible now, just because he was annoyed.

"Why do I need to tell you? I can handle myself" Jake yelled back.

A back and forth argument broke out between the two. The noise they were emitting was like the sound of roaring lions. When Nicole couldn't take it again, she grabbed Jake's gun.

"Shut the fuck up" she yelled at both of them. The once noisy house became quiet at once. All eyes were now fixed on her.

"Nic…" Jace called.

"Shut up" she snapped. The room was silent for the next twenty minutes or there about.

Hardin spoke up, breaking the silence. "Jace's right. What are family for if we don't know what's going on with you. If we have a hint of whatever is happening to you, we will sort out possible means to resolve the problem"

The easiest way to annoy Jake was to rub his errors in his face. That was exactly what happened.

Without a word to anyone, he stormed out of the hall, not after snatching his gun from Nicole's grip.