The Lesson
Car doors opened. Heavy boots on concrete.
Leena couldn't see them, but she could hear them. Ten men, maybe more. The sound of metal dragging—bats, pipes.
"What the fuck—" someone on the other side of the wall started.
Then footsteps. Slow. Deliberate.
High heels clicking against concrete.
"Hello, boys."
Hela's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
Leena's breath caught. Hela?
"What the fuck, Hela?" Rider's voice. Shocked. Angry. "You brought your fucking cousin?"
"I did." Hela's tone was conversational. Pleasant, even. "Surprised?"
"You crazy bitch—"
The sound of impact. A grunt. Rider being grabbed, restrained.
"Now, now," Hela said. "Let's not be rude."
Then chaos.
The men charged.
Shouts. The crack of wood on bone. Bodies hitting the floor. Someone screaming. The wet sound of impact. Again. Again.
"My arm—fuck, my arm—"
"Get the fuck off me—"
More impacts. More screams.
Leena hung there, trembling. She could hear the rich men scrambling, trying to run. Some still had their pants around their ankles. Some were naked.
It didn't matter.
The men with bats found them anyway.
The sounds were brief. Brutal. Efficient.
Then footsteps. Running. The rich men fleeing, limping, bleeding.
Car doors slamming. Engines starting. Tires screeching.
Silence again.
Except for Rider's breathing. Heavy. Panicked.
"Let me go," he said. His voice was tight. "Hela, tell them to let me go."
"No." Hela's heels clicked closer. "I don't think I will."
"What the fuck is this?"
"This?" Hela's voice was cold now. Sharp. "This is a lesson, Rider."
"A lesson?"
"You thought you could build your little empire without me." She paused. "You thought you could exclude me. Push me aside. Make me irrelevant."
"Hela—"
"I'm not finished." Her voice dropped lower. Dangerous. "You forgot something important. I have connections too. I have people. And when you step too far out of line, I remind you of that."
Rider was quiet. Leena could hear his breathing—fast, shallow.
"This was a demonstration," Hela continued. "A reminder that you don't get to do whatever you want. Not without consequences."
"You're insane."
"Maybe." Hela's tone shifted. Almost amused. "But I'm also the only reason you're not in prison right now. I'm the only reason half your business partners haven't turned on you. So maybe you should think about that before you exclude me again."
Silence.
Then Rider's voice, quieter now. "What do you want?"
"I want you to choose." Hela's heels clicked again. Closer. "Her or me."
"What?"
"Leena." Hela's voice was flat. Final. "I don't want her at our house anymore. If I find her there, I will release every file and every piece of information I have on you from the past decade. Every transaction. Every deal. Every dirty little secret."
Leena's chest tightened.
"You're bluffing," Rider said.
"Am I?" Hela laughed. Soft. Cold. "Try me."
Another pause.
"Fine," Rider said finally. His voice was strained. "Fine. She's gone."
"Good." Hela's heels clicked away. "I'm glad we understand each other."
She stopped. Turned back.
"Oh, and cousin?" Her voice was lighter now. Almost cheerful. "Have your fill of the women in the glory holes. Consider it a gift."
Footsteps. Multiple sets. The men leaving.
Car doors. Engines starting.
Then silence.
Leena hung there, her body trembling. Her mind blank.
She's gone.
Rider's voice came from the other side of the wall. Quiet. Shaking with rage.
"Fuck."
The car smelled like leather and Leena's perfume.
Rider's hands gripped the steering wheel tight enough to make his knuckles white. His jaw was clenched. His breathing controlled.
Leena sat in the passenger seat, wrapped in his jacket. Her body ached. Everything hurt—her thighs, her back, between her legs. She could still feel them. All of them.
She stared out the window at the passing streetlights.
"Are you going to abandon me?" Her voice was small. Uncertain.
Rider didn't look at her. "No."
"But Hela said—"
"I know what she said." His voice was sharp. "You need to lay low for a while. I have an apartment downtown. You'll stay there until this blows over."
"How long?"
"I don't know." He turned onto the highway. "Until I fix this."
Leena was quiet. She pulled the jacket tighter around herself.
Rider's phone buzzed in the cupholder.
He picked it up. Dialed.
The first investor didn't answer.
He tried the second. Straight to voicemail.
The third. Nothing.
"Fuck." Rider threw the phone into the cupholder. It buzzed immediately.
A text.
He picked it up. Read it.
Withdrawing our investment. Don't contact us again.
Another buzz.
We're out. Good luck with your business.
Another.
Can't be associated with this. Sorry.
"Fucking cowards." Rider's voice was low. Venomous. "All of them."
He dialed again. This time someone answered.
"It's Rider."
A pause.
"I need a favor."
Leena watched him. His face was hard. Cold.
"Hela has files on me. Digital, hard copies, everything. I need you to get into her suite and destroy them."
Another pause.
"I know it's risky. That's why I'm calling you." Rider's voice was calm now. Controlled. "You owe me. Remember?"
Silence.
"Good. Tonight if you can. She won't be there—she's probably celebrating with her cousin right now."
He listened.
"After this, we're even. No more favors."
Rider hung up.
He dialed again immediately.
"Detective. It's Rider."
Leena could hear a voice on the other end. Cautious.
"I need you to arrest someone for me."
A pause.
"Hela's cousin. The one who runs the gang on the east side. Him and his crew."
The voice on the other end rose slightly. Hesitant.
"I'll pay you fifty thousand." Rider's tone was flat. Transactional. "Cash. Untraceable."
Another pause.
"Not enough?" Rider's jaw tightened. "Fine. Fifty thousand plus 10 free sessions with one of my girls. Your choice. Whoever you want."
Silence.
Then a response.
"Good. I want them picked up tonight. Assault, weapons charges, whatever sticks. Just get them off the street."
He hung up.
Leena stared at him. "You're going to have them arrested?"
"Yes."
"But Hela—"
"Hela made her choice." Rider's voice was ice. "Now she gets to live with it."
He turned onto a side street. The buildings here were older, less maintained.
"She's been a problem for months," he said quietly. More to himself than to Leena. "Always questioning me. Always trying to control things."
"She helped you build your business."
"She gave me money." Rider's hands tightened on the wheel. "That's all. Her connections got me started, but I'm the one who built it. I'm the one who made the deals, brought in the clients, expanded the operation."
He pulled into an underground parking garage.
"She thinks she owns me because she invested early. But she's wrong." His voice was cold. Final. "She's a liability now. A nag. Someone who needs to be reminded of her place."
The car stopped.
Rider turned to look at Leena for the first time since they'd left the building.
"You stay here. Don't leave. Don't call anyone. Don't answer the door unless it's me."
"How long?"
"Until I tell you it's safe." He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a key. "Apartment 4B. There's food in the fridge, clothes in the closet. Everything you need."
Leena took the key. Her hand was shaking.
"Rider—"
"What?"
"What if Hela releases the files anyway?"
Rider's smile was thin. Cruel.
"She won't have the chance."
He got out of the car.
Leena sat there for a moment, clutching the key. Then she opened the door and followed him to the elevator.
They rode up in silence.
When the doors opened on the fourth floor, Rider walked her to the apartment. Unlocked the door. Pushed it open.
"Stay here," he said again. "I'll contact you when it's over."
"When what's over?"
But Rider was already walking away.
The elevator doors closed.
Leena stood in the doorway of the empty apartment, her body aching, her mind numb.
She stepped inside.
Closed the door.
Locked it.
And then she sank to the floor, her back against the wall, and tried not to think about what just happened.