The gangster next door

Chapter 5

“Oh, slang, of course.” Alfred said with a confused expression while nodding his head after I explained to him that I didn’t actually sh*t into my pants when he scared me earlier. “I will show you everything. Also, we need to turn the alarm off at the back before we open the door. Please follow me, lady Angie.” He said and turned on his heels to show me where the back door was, so I could go swimming.

“Alright, lead the way, Alfi.” I said and followed him.

“This screen is controlling the whole house so be careful with it. Here are the instructions on how to use it and this is the PIN code to unlock it. There is one at the front door as well.” He explained while he pointed at a huge tablet on the wall and I nodded my head in awe.

“Cool.”

“This is how you turn the alarm off at the back. Just let me know when you are done, and I will turn it back on after you come in.” He said, and he showed me what to press.

“No need, Alfred. I can do that. Just go to sleep. Don’t stay up because of me.” I told him with a smile.

“Very well, lady Angie. If you need anything, just let me know by pressing this button.” He said and pointed at a bell icon on the control screen.

“Alright Alfred. Thanks for the help.” I told him and headed out to the pool. It looked even better from close as the blue lights lighted everything up.

I put my phone and towel on one of the sun beds before I jumped head first into the pool. It wasn’t that warm outside anymore, but the water wasn’t cold, it was just good.

I swam for a while before I decided to get out of the pool, but at that moment a gunshot sounded from somewhere. It wasn’t that loud, but I knew that it was a gunshot.

One of Colton’s friends owned a gun, and he used to let Colton borrow it, so we used to practice in the forest sometimes. I was quite good at shooting already, so since I was familiar with guns, I knew that it sounded just like that, and it seemed like the noise came from the neighbor.

A tall fence was between the two territories, so I couldn’t see anything. I decided to go closer and take a look. I went on my knees at the fence and peaked over to the neighbor’s garden under it.

Next to the huge mansion there was a side building and its door was slightly ajar.

“Sh*t, you left the door open, you id*ot.” A guy walked out of the door, dressed in all black, followed by another one who had black clothes on as well. They didn’t look more than 23–25 years old.

“I wasn’t the last one who went down to the basement, Brody. It was Russell.” The other guy said quietly in his defense.

“You are an id*ot, Leo. I told YOU to lock the door and not to Russell.” The guy named Brody said to the other guy, whose name was Leo.

It was so exciting to watch them. They seemed like some kind of bad guys from a TV show and here I thought I would be bored here.

“The old couple in the neighbor didn’t hear anything, I bet,” Leo said nonchalantly. “Even if they did, they wouldn’t think that someone had been shot dead next door.” He added in an amused tone and my eyes widened. 'Did they really kill someone?' I wondered.

“Shut the f*ck up, Leo. I swear you have sh*t for brains.” Brody said while he looked around to see if anyone had heard them. Luckily, they couldn’t see me under the fence in the dark.

“Okay-okay. Jeez… calm down.” Leo said, and they walked towards the mansion, but then suddenly my phone started ringing, alerting them.

“Sh*t, Sh*t, sh*t.” I cursed to myself quietly as I saw them stopping in their tracks and looking in my direction while Lay Low from Tiesto was bursting from my phone.

I stood up quickly and sprinted to pick up my stuff from the sunbed and then ran towards the door as quietly as possible before they could reach the fence and peak over.

“Sh*t, Colton. The best f*cking timing.” I answered the phone as soon as I was inside and locked the door behind me. I put the alarm on and hid behind the wall. My heart was beating extremely fast from the excitement and nervousness. I really hoped they didn’t see me.

“What’s up? Is it not a good time? What are you doing?” He asked.

“You won’t believe what just happened, Colt. I am in a f*cking palace right now, and I think people from a mafia gang live next door.” I told him as I made my way upstairs quietly and quickly.

“What? Are you high?” He asked with a chuckle and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

“No, I am not, stupid. I am telling the truth. My grandparents live in a f*cking mansion. I have a personalized room, just to my liking. It’s bigger than your whole apartment back at home.” I told him as I walked into my room.

“Cool, but what about the neighbor?” He asked, and I walked to the window and peaked out without turning the lights on.

“Sh*t.” I cursed again and hid behind the curtain when I found myself face to face with a guy who was looking straight at my window from the balcony. It was another guy who I hadn’t seen before, but I couldn’t see him quite well. The balconies were not that close after, and it was dark too.

“What’s happening there, Taylor?” Colt asked impatiently. His voice turned slightly worried.

“I heard a gunshot from the neighbor, and then I overheard them talking. They f*cking killed someone in there, and they almost spotted me when my phone started ringing. Now a guy is looking at my window, but I don’t think he saw me.” I told him quickly.

“What the hell, Angie? You aren’t there for a day, and you have already got into trouble with the f*cking mafia?” Colton asked in disbelief. “Should I come for you?” He asked worriedly.

“No, I don’t think they saw me. I don’t think they know that I heard them talking either.” I said, but I wasn’t sure myself. I was actually a bit afraid. “Maybe I just won't show myself for a while. Maybe if they realize that nobody called the police on them, then nobody heard anything either.” I told him and peaked through the curtains again. The guy was still standing there and looking towards me, so I backed away from the window and decided to go to bed, so I went to the bathroom and changed into my pajamas without turning the lights on.

“I don’t know, Taylor. This situation doesn’t sound good,” Colton said.

“Don’t worry about me, Colt. I won’t call the police and I just act dumb if they come and ask me anything. Easy as that.” I told him as I made myself comfortable on my bed.

“I hope you know what you are doing. Don’t show yourself much for a while now,” he advised.

“Alright. I will go to sleep now. We will talk tomorrow.” I told him.

“Alright. Sweet dreams, Taylor.” He said in a lighter tone.

“Good night, Colt.” I replied and hung up the phone before I let out a deep sigh.

‘What did I get myself into?’ I asked myself before I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

*

***

*

The next day when I woke up, I decided to forget about the incident from the previous night like it didn’t even happen. I didn’t see or hear anything strange, so I could just go on with my day.

I did my morning routine in my stunning bathroom before I dressed up in casual clothes that I used to wear at home in my amazing walk-in closet and headed downstairs to the huge dining hall with my old, beat up phone in my hand.

“Good morning.” I greeted everyone cheerfully.

Grandma was sitting at the table while Alfred was pouring orange juice for her and two maids were setting the table.

“Good morning, Angie. How did you sleep?” Grandma asked.

“I slept like a baby. That bed is so comfortable, Granny. I felt like I was lying in the clouds.” I told her happily and she chuckled.

“The young generation has a way with words, huh?” She asked in amusement.

“I guess we do.” I told her with a smile. “Where is grandpa?” I asked her.

“Oh, he just went outside for a moment to get the post.” She replied and I decided to help the maids. I didn’t like to sit around and watch when someone was doing something for me.

“Let me help.” I said and stood up to take the plates out of the hand of one of the maids.

“Uhh… you don’t need to, lady Angie.” The maid said shyly and I waved her off.

“I want to help. I don’t really like to be served.” I told her honestly, and she looked at my grandma helplessly. Granny nodded her head in approval and smiled at me warmly before she drank her juice, so I continued to help to set the table.

“Celeste, look at who agreed to join us for breakfast.” I heard grandpa’s cheerful voice, but I didn’t turn to him because I was busy placing the cutlery on the table.

“Oh, good morning, Jax. Thank you for your help with the car the other day.” Granny said.

“Good morning. No problem at all, Mrs. Campbell. I told you to let me know if I can help with anything.” A deep baritone voice said, and I couldn’t help but look at the person who talked while I was busy with the napkins.

My eyes widened because it was the same guy who I saw on the balcony in the evening, the guy from the neighbor, and even though I didn't see him well in the dark, I knew that it was him.

“Jax, let me introduce you to my granddaughter, Angie.” Grandpa said, and I tried to act normal, like nothing happened yesterday and I had just seen the guy for the first time.

“Good morning.” I greeted him with a friendly smile, and he clearly had a surprised expression on his face.

“Oh, good morning. I didn’t know you had such a beautiful granddaughter like her.” He said with a smile and I felt my cheeks turning warm. I wasn’t the blushing type, but the guy was f*cking hot and I couldn’t help myself. My body totally betrayed me.

‘Be cool, Angie.’ I scolded myself.

“Yes, she is pretty, isn’t she?” Granny asked him proudly, and I waved my hand.

“Granny, don’t flatter me, mom always said that I look like you when you were young.” I told her and placed one more set of plates and cutlery on the table for our guest, while I felt his eyes on me the whole time, which made me hot and bothered. I didn't understand how he could have such an effect on me, but he totally made me nervous on different levels.