<p align="center">Chapter one</p>
<p align="center">As she sat in her lavish high-rise condo, staring out the window that made up the north wall of her spacious living room, Jasmine sipped her organic green tea and watched the free world come to life below.&nbsp; The sun was making itself known to the bustle of commuters rushing about their normal lives, whatever that was.&nbsp; A regular life was a concept that was foreign to Jasmine.&nbsp; At 22 years of age, she found herself on the inside looking out, a prisoner of her world, one that was not totally of her making, but hers nevertheless.&nbsp; Yes, she could walk out and join that throng, but her part would just be a façade.&nbsp; It was hard to believe she had been in hiding now for over two months</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The silence was broken with the familiar sound of her cell phone.&nbsp; Jasmine knew who it was even before she glanced at the call display.&nbsp; Her eyes lit up and a warm, fuzzy feeling consumed her.&nbsp; She couldn’t wait to hear his magnetic voice in her ear.&nbsp; Jasmine knew the feelings were mutual, because today Dan had told her he loved her.&nbsp; What a wonderful day this was turning out to be, and another small step towards that elusive normal world she so desired.&nbsp; <i></i></p>
<p>“I’ll be there on Friday,” a firm voice announced over the phone.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Dan’s words had a calming effect on her.&nbsp; She hadn’t seen him in three days and this news was music to her ears.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“Are you sure this is okay?” she asked.</p>
<p>A smile crept across her face when he informed her that on this occasion he was going to be on his own time.&nbsp; This was a welcome deviation from the regular visits during which he was always obligated to be accompanied by someone else.&nbsp; ‘<i>They’</i> said it was safer that way.&nbsp; Safer for whom?&nbsp; Him or her?&nbsp; She often wondered if they knew.&nbsp; There was one thing they did know though, and that was where she was; intelligence not even her closest family or friends were privy to.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She said goodbye to Dan, pausing to look at her phone.&nbsp; She wanted to tell him how she felt about him too.&nbsp; Immersed in pure bliss, she still couldn’t bring herself to say those three words.&nbsp; Not yet.&nbsp; But she was sure he knew she loved him too.</p>
<p>Jasmine brushed her fingers through her long brown hair as she pondered the events that brought her to this bizarre existence.&nbsp; She would never in a million years have predicted that she would fall in love with someone like Dan.&nbsp; He was from one world, and she from another.&nbsp; Yes, both their worlds were filled with lies, violence and death, but Jasmine’s had been on the wrong side of the law; Dan’s world was the law.&nbsp; It should never ever have spawned, but despite all that made it wrong, it felt so right.&nbsp; This kind police officer had saved her life.&nbsp; That was the catalyst that set into motion their clandestine relationship.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She threw her cell phone into the huge mouth of her Chanel purse.&nbsp; Jasmine knew she would be shuffling to find it later amongst all the other stuff.&nbsp; She often wondered why she carried half of it around with her.&nbsp; She pulled herself away from the comfort of the white, leather sofa.&nbsp; In the classic routine she had been through for the last couple of months, she grabbed her key card off the dinette table and bounced out the electronically locked door, still glowing excitedly over her phone call.&nbsp; The excitement of hearing Dan’s voice again gave her incentive to keep going on in the face of everything she had gone through.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The gym was so close to her condo that she walked there sometimes twice a day.&nbsp; It was all she could do to pass the time.&nbsp; That and her seven-kilometer walk to the psychologist ‘<i>they’</i> wanted her to visit once a week.&nbsp; Jasmine didn’t mind talking to her about everything, but it was talking to Dan that had opened her eyes to the horrific reality that she was living.&nbsp; A life she had gradually accepted as normal.&nbsp; By any definition, normal was the furthest thing from the truth.&nbsp;</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>Ever since her boyfriend Kyle LeBrosse’s violent death, her life has been a whirlwind of change, and it wasn’t over yet.&nbsp; His murder had hit her hard.&nbsp; Kyle and Jasmine had been planning on getting married and having kids one day.&nbsp; He would have been such a great father.&nbsp; When she lost their baby a year ago, she had always believed it was for a reason.&nbsp; Now she knew it was best, but she never dreamed things would take such a turn for the worse.&nbsp;</p>
<p>For weeks leading up to Kyle’s murder Jasmine had been feeling unsettled.&nbsp; She desperately felt like something bad was about to happen.&nbsp; Something was telling her to put some distance between them.&nbsp; She remembered the look on his face when she told him how she felt.</p>
<p>“No one’s out to get me.”&nbsp; Kyle insisted when she told him she wanted to separate for a while.</p>
<p>“How do you know that?”&nbsp; Jasmine demanded.&nbsp; The stress was beginning to show on her naturally beautiful young face.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;They had just returned to their new house in Abbotsford, after a delicious dinner at their favorite sushi place.&nbsp; Their 52 inch plasma TV in the family room was turned to the local news channel.&nbsp; It wasn’t uncommon to hear them broadcast yet another shooting somewhere in the lower mainland.&nbsp; Tonight was no different.&nbsp; The media was all over the gang war that was prevailing in the Vancouver area.&nbsp; Gang members were dropping like flies, but no one was ever arrested.&nbsp; Hardly a day went by that the Black Brothers weren’t in the paper or on the television news for some reason or another.&nbsp; After all, they were the notorious leaders of the infamous gang, the Red Serpents.&nbsp; With James Black as their leader and Kyle LeBrosse as his right hand man, Jasmine had every reason to be concerned.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“It’s James they want, not me.”&nbsp; He explained, referring to their rival gang.&nbsp; “No one even really knows me.”&nbsp; His words sounded sure but his confidence wasn’t reassuring.</p>
<p>“Ya but Kyle, even the cops are telling us not to associate with them!” She reminded him.&nbsp; “We shouldn’t even be going over there anymore.”</p>
<p>“And we haven’t been there in weeks!”&nbsp; He equally reminded her.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Jasmine and Kyle were all too close of friends with James Black and his girlfriend Sherry for them to go unnoticed.&nbsp; They hung out often at the Black’s house.&nbsp; It was the only thing to do as a group ever since James was under house arrest for charges of carrying dangerous arms.&nbsp; Even if he wasn’t in alternative custody, James was much safer in the confines of his abode than out on the streets where his life was at risk at any moment.&nbsp; Their rival gang wanted James Black dead, and they had expressed that on several occasions in the past.&nbsp; However, in Jasmine’s mind, there was nothing to say that if they couldn’t get to James, why they wouldn’t get to his equal partner in crime instead.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>“I don’t know Kyle; I just don’t feel right about this whole thing.”&nbsp; Tears began forming in her eyes.</p>
<p>Kyle took her face in his hands.&nbsp; “I’ll be okay.&nbsp; You know me, I’m extra cautious.&nbsp; Besides, I’m well protected.”&nbsp; He kissed her on the cheek and wrapped his muscular arms around her and pulled her close.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Not protected enough, she thought.&nbsp;</p>
<p>That February day was just like any other day.&nbsp; This year was colder than last she remembered, but at least the sun was shining.&nbsp; This was a welcome blessing during the cold rainy months the west coast was accustomed to.&nbsp;</p><p>She had spent the night on her mothers futon sofa.&nbsp; A much needed familiar feeling in light of the big change that was about to take place.&nbsp; She could always count on her mother to be her sounding board.&nbsp; <br></p><p>Jasmine sat on the big floral loveseat gazing out the sliding patio doors wondering what Kyle was doing.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;With the phone already in her hand as if to entice her to dial the numer she so wanted to dial, she mutter quietly to herself, "Screw it!"</p><p>It was exactly a half hour before their lives would drastically change forever.<br></p>
<p>“Hey babe, I just wanted to make sure you aren’t mad at me for this whole separation thing.”&nbsp; She felt the desire to know.</p>
<p>“No, not at all. I think it’s the right thing to do."&nbsp; There was an awkward pause.&nbsp; "I - I will always love you no matter what.”&nbsp; His words were choked out by the hard lump in his throat.&nbsp; Kyle only wanted for her to be safe and secure, even it it meant being apart. <br></p>
<p>Jasmines bright blue eyes began to mist over again.&nbsp; She wiped away the droplet that was finding it's way down her soft young cheek.&nbsp; '<i>Why did this have to be so hard</i>?'&nbsp; Kyle was too understanding.&nbsp; The feeling of peril crept into her heart again. <br></p>
<p>“Where are you right now?”&nbsp; Jasmine asked, trying hard not sound concerned.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As she looked out the window at her car, she had to resisit the urge to jump in it and drive to where ever he was.&nbsp; <br></p>
<p>“I’m meeting a buddy for lunch in Langley.” He told her.&nbsp; "I'm out running a few errands."&nbsp; </p><p>She knew all to well what 'errands' meant.&nbsp; It was all part of their coded language they had become habituated to.&nbsp; It was even more elaborate than that.&nbsp; If she was to ever try to explain it to anyone, they might think she was crazy.&nbsp; <br></p>
<p>“That’s cool.” She said, trying to hide her true feelings.&nbsp; Kyle would have welcomed her heavenly sight unquestionably.&nbsp; But like Jasmine, he needed time to absorb their sudden separation.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“I’ll see you back at the house tonight?”&nbsp; Kyle part asked.</p>
<p>“Ya, I’ll be there for sure.”&nbsp; Her heart danced.&nbsp; She was glad they could still live together while she looked for a new place.&nbsp; The words ‘I love you’ were lingering on her lips, but she refused to make the situation more difficult than it already was.&nbsp; Little did she know that would be the last time she heard his voice.</p>
<p>Even the armored truck and bullet proof vest he occasionally wore wouldn’t have stop the single pellet that penetrated his head that fateful day.&nbsp; One sole slug had found its way through a barrage of bullets from 40 rounds of gunfire, to lodge itself in a fatal position in the back of his head. </p><p><br></p><p>Jasmine stared blankly at the television on the wall above the gym equipment. &nbsp;With headphones pressing her ears, she barely remembered what she had been listening to.&nbsp; The sweat dripping off her brow she barely noticed.&nbsp; Her thoughts of the past and Kyle had been consuming her.&nbsp; However, the news flash across the screen on the television reminded her of where she was.&nbsp; Another murder – this time it was a female.&nbsp; She didn’t know this one, but it reinforced the danger she herself was in.&nbsp; They weren’t stopping at wiping out just the men involved in the gangs.&nbsp; She suddenly knew she was in the right place.</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>Jasmine glanced at the time on the treadmill and could hardly believe she had been strolling on it for over an hour.&nbsp; Time was something she had plenty of these days.&nbsp; Working wasn’t an option since she had been thrown into this covert lifestyle. &nbsp;&nbsp;It wouldn’t allow for her to maintain a steady job for an income.&nbsp; They paid for everything.&nbsp; Besides, she couldn’t risk using her name even if she wanted a temporary job.&nbsp; Everywhere she stayed they had registered her under an assumed identity, never using the same name.&nbsp; It became so she didn’t know who she was going to be from one day to the next.&nbsp; She had even joked about it with one of the constables.&nbsp; “So who am I today?&nbsp; Sarah?&nbsp; Mary perhaps?” she teased when they were checking into a new hotel.&nbsp;</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>Satisfied with her cardio workout, Jasmine decided to head back to her hotel condo.&nbsp; She felt her hunger sneaking up on her, so she stopped along the way and picked up a protein bar at the convenience store just around the corner from her current place.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Hotels were her home now, from Vancouver to Nova Scotia.&nbsp; What a crazy ride it had turned out to be.&nbsp; All the while she made sure- no- demanded they give her nothing less than the best.&nbsp; After all, she had agreed to help them out after the Blacks gave her little choice.&nbsp; So when the RCMP had pulled the rug from under her in June, only to save her from meeting the same fate as Kyle, she had no qualms about uprooting.&nbsp; Although she went with them unquestioned, she didn’t have to provide the information she did.&nbsp; This would be her argument that would carry her through the times when they tried to question her high demands.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>The last thing she ever thought she would do was to turn against the people who had basically brought her through her teenage years.&nbsp; They were like family to her at one time.&nbsp; James had taken her under his wing at the tender age of 16. &nbsp;If it wasn’t for him she didn’t know where she would have turned</p>
<p>Jasmine smiled at the hotel concierge as she walked past the reception desk in the hotel lobby.&nbsp; She had become a familiar face there now.&nbsp; This was the longest she had stayed in one place in the last 4 months.&nbsp; Sadly, it wouldn’t be long before they moved her again though.&nbsp; One final move.&nbsp; A place she would be able to call home for a time.&nbsp; She was pretty confident that one day she would be able to roam free among the West Coast.&nbsp; But for now, until James and his brothers were brought to their knees, that wasn’t possible.&nbsp;</p>
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<p align="center">END OF CHAPTER ONE</p>
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