Ride or Die

Maya realized just how attractive he was when she saw him through the lens of her gun... He had an extremely strong jawline and was far too tall. He was far away but the sniper zoomed in on him. The rain had soaked his black, messy hair, and each drop had fallen down his neck and into his soaked shirt. He was captivating; She had never seen such a handsome man before. With Icy blue eyes, he could make any lady do anything with just one command. He was the Don. And suddenly with precision, Maya's gun shot sound filled the forest.

But let's get back to the 24 hours earlier-

Every city had a dark underbelly, and Maya lived in it. She was known as 'Shadow.' She was a trained assassin and hacker. She hated killing people, but she had been raised to do so. And that was all there was to her life. But this group deserved what was coming to them because they tormented innocent women for their own amusement. She was delighted to put an end to whatever craziness was going on in their thoughts.

As she approached them, three of them turned towards her—two men and a woman. The alley was a dim, filthy path, and the air was thick with tension. Her heart was racing, fueled by a combination of rage and determination. She strode into the open with jaw clenched, letting go of any hesitation. They faced her, their smirks fading as they grasped their fate. In the silence, her fists tightened, her knuckles cracking. There were no words spoken, only the conviction that justice was about to be served.

She surged at the first man, gaining the upper hand thanks to a rush of adrenaline. She followed a swift jab to his gut with a sharp hook to his jaw. He stumbled backward, collapsing into a crate pile. The woman was scared of what had occurred to the first man, so she launched blows that never even hit even Maya. The second man reacted faster, but Maya was ready. A hard punch to his face pulled his head back and forced him to kneel. Blood streamed through the air, a harsh reminder of the struggle that was taking place.

They fought back, their desperation giving them strength, but Maya was motivated by a strong determination. She deflected the punch with a vicious elbow to the ribs. Her knuckles burned as she landed another punch, and her heart pounded as she finished with the strikes. Among the grunts and bangs, she felt the sting of a punch to the side. The agony served as a reminder that this was not a one-sided battle. But that simply strengthened her determination. She threw a final strike with a burst of force that knocked the second man to the ground.

Maya stood over them, victorious but tired, breathing heavily. Their arrogance was crushed as they lay there in the dirt, defeated. Except for the heavy pants that filled the air, the alley was silent. And that's when the woman tried to flee, but Maya caught her by the hair; you'd think as a woman she'd have empathy for other women, but that wasn't the case. She was the face of this charade. Maya told this woman to face her so she could feel every bit of pain she had caused those innocent people. She took up her revolver and leveled it at her; the woman froze in fright, and a part of her didn't want to squeeze the trigger... She may be a villain, but she still didn't want innocent people to get hurt, and with that in mind, she pulled the trigger.

Maya knew she'd made her point as she turned away, her hands bruised and wounded. They would think twice about causing harm again now that justice had been accomplished. She walked away from the scene, leaving two devastated men, a dead woman, and a warning that actions had repercussions, which they had just witnessed personally.

She decided to walk home because she enjoyed seeing people on the streets. It was full of everyday individuals. She liked watching families laugh together, couples out, and children with their mothers. She never had that, and she had no idea how it felt. She was only 25, but her life was way more complicated than anyone else on that street. Don't misinterpret it; she had people who cared for her. But she was still Shadow, and danger was always a part of her life. Her heart sank as she considered how she would never be able to go through the normal stages of life, and she looked down at her blood-splattered clothes. It was dark, and she was dressed entirely in black, so no one could see how drenched she was in blood. But people tried to avoid walking close to her. She was used to this, even though it stung every time.

The house was empty when she got back. But the moment she entered her room, she was greeted by her best friend Lari, who was sitting on her bed, nervous. She became terrified when she saw Maya covered in blood and bruises. Despite the fact that this was a common occurrence, she was constantly concerned for everyone in the family. Lari was the closest thing Maya had to a sister. They met under difficult circumstances, and they understood that life was not simple for the two of them. 'Why are you covered in blood?' screamed Lari as she glanced at her. 'You know I went for a hit,' Maya stated flatly. 'I'll help you clean up,' Lari said as she stood up to get the first aid kit. Maya didn't argue; she normally would have, but she didn't have the energy. She felt drained, not physically; she was exhausted mentally. Maya didn't even flinch as Lari painstakingly cleaned each wound. She had a very high pain tolerance, and minor bruises and cuts didn't bother her at all. Lari took care of Maya's wounds when she said, 'If it bothers you so much, why don't you stop?' Maya was dragged out of her thoughts and replied, 'You know Rodney is counting on me.' Rodney was Maya's only father figure; he treated Lari and Maya as if they were his own daughters, along with his son, Lazarus. Rodney overheard this exchange by chance and immediately said, 'Princess, I have always told you that you don't have to do this.' Maya was taken aback, but she added, 'I know that, but I want to' She lied. Rodney was from the criminal underworld and had trained her along with his son since Maya demonstrated skills, although he never expected her to act on them. But she always felt she owed him, which is why she started this in the first place, and finally she created too many enemies to go back, and she couldn't live a normal life even if she wanted.

Next day, on the other side of town-

There was Nathan Ameto, aka Don, was the Mafia boss. He was also a lawyer; everyone in the Mafia had a day job, an alias to keep them out of prison. And he was quite excellent at it. He didn't talk much because life had not been kind to him, and being a Mafia leader was never a life goal for him. But as he stood in front of two of his men, Myles and Anthony, in his office, he realized he had to defend his family. Nathan's assistant and best buddy was Myles. If Nathan asked, these two guys, along with his entire Mafia family, they would give up their life for him. That terrified him. He wanted to protect rather than endanger others.

So today, as they discussed a situation in which one of their rivals was coming to raid their shipping docs, he said, 'I will be going alone with several guards today, all high level family members need to remain out of the way', 'Nate, I don't think that's a good idea'. Even though he was Nathan's best friend and only a few people were permitted to call him Nate, Myles replied with trembling voice, not wanting to anger him. 'From what I understand, Lorenzo has been planning this for quite some time.' Anthony continued. Nathan merely glared at them with rage in his eyes, knowing that this was a deadly assignment, which is why he didn't want any of them to accompany him. He couldn't let anything happen to his team.

Nate and Maya had no idea that their lives were about to completely change within the next few hours.