THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS

As a top, Rolph had never gone after a twink before. They come to him. Try to seduce him, Beg him to take them even if it was just for a night.

Not because he was excessively handsome, but because he was a symbol of sex appeal-masculinity.

6ft +, Chiseled face with sharp jawlines, Eyes the color of the sea, so deep and sharp it makes your heartbeat go from zero to hundred the moment they are focused on you.

If he was angry with you at that moment, the aura he emits cripples your brain. You find out you can't think anymore, you almost can't breathe, you want to move but your legs are gone. Then a sensation that makes all the hair on your body stand erect starts sipping into your veins, starting from under your feet. And at the same time, a chilling sensation starts from your brain and passes from your neck into your spine. From there, it travels into every bone and marrow in your body.

As if drawn to each other, these two sensations meet, mix and become one in your body. Then you start shivering.

If he decided not to let you go, the shivering will soon turn to shaking and if you have no inner strength to boast of, your teeth may soon start clanking at the same time, your skin starts sweating profusely.

Rolph's gaze mercilessly places his enemies in a fear cage, mentally disabling them.

Now imagine if Rolph lands those eyes on you because he loves you or cares about you? The feeling of being secured and safe, the feeling of belonging and being owned, these feelings multiply in multiple folds.

And when he wants you. When he looks at you like he wants to eat you. When he focuses on you like you're the only one that exists in this big world. It's like a vampire hypnotizing its prey. There is no escaping it. you are willing to let him do whatever he wants. Even if he is hurting you, you don't want him to stop. Not because you like getting hurt, but somehow, you believe he loves and owns you and has the right to do whatever he wants to you. If getting hurt means having him around for longer, then so be it.

And Rolph knew this!

Rolph knew the effect he had on his enemies but never gave a thought to how he made his family feel. Especially his only sister who was the only one he had ever truly loved. As for falling in love? That was alien to him while sex was a past-time activity that never left him satiated no matter how long it took.

Rolph had always loved colors and fashion. From a younger age, he had played dressup with his sister and ran around in his mother's clothes. Worn her lipsticks and eye shadows. Bath in her soft, sweet smelling perfumes and deodorants.

Those were the good days.

His father was never around. His mother was all they had and she was always lonely. So the highlight of their lives was made whenever his father came home. He loved their mother but family business stood in the way.

Those were the good days.

The days they went fishing by the lake in the middle of the forest behind their 'out of the way-standing alone-in the middle of nowhere-big house' located in the backwoods of a quaint village.

For the first five years of his life, he was home schooled along with his sister. Then his mother became sick. Well she had always been sick but never this bad. She was taken away in an ambulance on a stretcher and was brought back in an ambulance but with a coffin.

His father and a lot of people he didn't know then, took the coffin to the little lake, set up a very high pile of logs and sticks, placed the coffin on it and set it ablaze.

When the coffin was done burning, they gathered the ashes, placed him and his sister in a canoe and accompanied by their Dad, they spread the ashes over the lake. Rolph didn't understand.

Then before nightfall, their Dad took them away from their home in his car. The next day, they took a flight from Denver to Texas and got introduced to a very old man on a very big ranch that stretched on and on, surrounded by golden sand and hills in distant places.

With time, Rolph got to know that his grandfather never approved of his mum. That was why their Dad hid them away in that house in the backwoods of Denver and when his mum died, the demonic grandfather declared that no heir of his would be a sissy, took away all his cute things and enrolled him in training; Fighting, Shooting, Car racing, Drug cooking, Cattle rearing, Forgery and Business administration.

By age 18, he had gone for his first smuggling trip and had mastered the production of every drug type on their catalog. He even had his own signature drugs and mixes. By then he had also discovered that grandpa doesn't care who he slept with as long as he gets married to a wife of his family choosing and birth an heir.

The only reason his grandfather allowed his father to keep his mother by his side though out of sight, was because her first child was a male.

And the reason he ordered that they be handed over to him after their mum's death was because out of the two sons grandfather had, his father was the only one that birthed a male son. His father's legal wife, chosen and accepted by the family, gave birth to 4 girls and his father's brother gave birth to 6.

Thinking that if he tried it with another woman, he may be able to birth a male child, Rolph's uncle; Uncle Marek started spreading his oats all over Texas but still no male child surfaced.

Seeing that his bastard grandson was his clone, Rolph's demonic grandfather who was agile, strong, cold hearted and deadly, decided to mold the young boy of 8 after himself and prepare him to become his heir. A bastard was better than nothing.

This came with a truck load of benefits as long as Rolph complied with rules.

The number one Rule was to give 100 percent compliance to his grandfather. Every other rule came under it and this was easy for Rolph because he was groomed to obey no other person than his grandfather. Not even his very own father.

Therefore he always had boys and girls throw themselves at him. He was so used to getting what he wanted, he felt entitled to everything.

That was until he saw a stranger emerge from the depth of the sea at a secluded part of Rockport beach that Texas' summer evening.

The sun was gradually becoming golden in the horizon and Rolph was getting bored out of his skull as the stakeout duty he was on was quite uneventful.

That was when he saw him.

The first thing he noticed was the silver hair as it broke the surface of the water. It was short and stuck to a very white scalp. What struck him was the skin. Rolph had lived in Texas since he was 6 after his mother's death and he had never seen such skin color. Everyone he knew were either tan, red or white but not this pale!

The body turned his way and he saw the most beautiful face he had ever seen. First, he thought it was a girl but as more of the body came out of the water and he saw the body structure, he discovered that it was a boy. The most pretty thing he had ever seen from afar. What if he got closer? How beautiful will he be? The boy was so pretty even the sun paid him homage by shining its last ray of the day on his back before calling it quit.

Seeing how the sun claimed the boy's skin by bathing him in sparkling, golden rays, Rolph felt an intense jealousy and the desire to also lay claim and own him.

On a normal day, when Rolph sights such a face, he marks the twink and sends his boys after such. Soon the twink either end up as one of their male prostitutes in his Texas city club or gets shipped off to shores unknown. After he might have had his fill.

Not just twinks, girls too. As his family black market business was mainly drugs and human trafficking.

His family was one of the 5 major families that controlled Texas' black market while also having their hands in every sweet legal jar in the state and beyond.

But unlike before, Rolph decided to hunt down this twink himself. Something about this one felt different. He had never felt like owning a person before. He always wanted to suppress, torture and break people's will. But to own someone for himself? No!

Completely forgetting his reason for hanging out on the beach, Rolph left his hiding place and approached the boy who was almost out of the water. But by the time he got to the boy, some girl walked over, dragged the boy by the ear saying...." Grandpa said I should drag you back by your ears. So let's go!"

How dare she lay her filthy hands on my boy!

Rolph had already decided to skin the girl alive for hurting a stranger he had not even met but Just as he decided to hurry over and give the girl a good thrashing for laying hands on his twink, his best friend and second in command, Derrick, called out to him.

Suddenly, he remembered his mission which was to identify and trail the crew of a small ship or yacht that had been bringing in drugs better than the one his grandfather was selling, who had also been taking over their territories without permission. Such guts!

The small white boat, Not a ship- had just arrived at the hidden narrow water way which was its hiding place and things were about to get interesting.

Not as interesting as the white twink he just saw but no matter how strong he felt about the twink, the wrath of his grandfather was the beginning of wisdom. Though the old man favored him most, he never spoiled him. In fact, he punishes him more than others and accepts no failure.

Not wanting to piss the Demon off, Rolph hurried back to his mission with a plan to find the boy no matter what.

Not knowing that she just escaped possible kidnapping, getting sold or death, Becca, a 16 years old teenager took her time to drag Ray her best friend of the same age back to her truck and drove him to his hotel where she helped him pack his small bag so they could go back to Bandera where Ray's grandpa was waiting to cuss him out for running away from house chores while blaming his mum for how he turned out. It was a 3 hrs drive give and take.

Becca was pissed.

Rolph was quietly living his boring life in the heart of Texas city when he was called back to Marfa, a desert village popular for its Military history and base.

Even though this was where grandfather lived, his labs and operational bases were far away making it hard for anyone to connect him to them. And even if you do, what will you do with such information?

Even though grandfather hardly left his horse ranch after suffering a severe stroke that had him locked down for two years, he had eyes and ears everywhere and got updates by the minute.

So when Rolph's slice of Texas city started getting ripped off, grandfather was the first to hear about it even though Rolph was living in Texas city which was roughly 9 hours away from Marfa.

Grandfather intentionally kept Rolph out of the picture while his own boys conducted investigations on what was going on.

Rolph's boys caught wind of it two weeks later and started trying to put a stop to it by engaging in fights and gang shooting which led to the death of at least 5 people including a pregnant woman and her 4 years old son who was caught in the crossfire.

Due to this, the city paid attention to the gang shootings and Grandfather immediately called Rolph back to Marfa. After providing him with the information already gathered, he instructed him to lead the investigations himself. By doing this, he got Rolph out of Texas which means, out of the sight and clutches of the police until he gets the case shut down.

This investigation was what led Rolph and his boys to Rockport beach.

Rolph and Derrick had been on the stake out at the Rockport beach for 2 weeks but nothing happened. If not that grandfather had insisted that the information they had was 100% accurate, he would have left already. The suspected ship or yacht they were hoping to spot and trail was 6 days late and Rolph was sex starved. Even though his straight, second in command and best friend; Derrick always gave him space to masturbate, it was never his thing so he soon gave up on it and managed his hormones, hoping to finish up on time.

Unfortunately, the same day he spotted the first male to actually prick his gland was the same day the ship that turned out to be a small boat arrived.

To avoid further punishment from his grandfather who had already promised him hell, he had to choose the mission at hand over the gratification of his libido.

When Rolph got to where Derrick was waiting for him, he met Derrick looking through his binoculars.

Dressed in brown khaki pants with multiple pockets of different sizes, sleeveless body hug of the same color with gun holsters belted around their waists, the two friends looked like soldiers on a mission to kill. But this mission wasn't to kill, it was a reconnaissance mission. They were to gather pictorial evidence against whoever was underestimating and underrating them by blatantly selling on their slice of Texas city. The evidence was needed in case the person or organization was home-bred and among the ' who-knows-who' of the underworld.

In that case, a committee will handle the issue but if it was just some small fry, then Rolph was going to have more fun. It's been a long time since he was in an actual gun fight and he missed it so much.

"What do you see?"

"Just a boat.'

Rolph collected the binoculars and looked through it. Just then, the boat made a sharp turn and disappeared.

" It's gone!" Rolph sounded surprised.

"What?!" Derrick asked as he snatched the binoculars from Rolph.

"It made a sharp turn like it was going to that bank but then just disappeared. What do we do derrick?"

"Let's wait and see if any other boat will appear. If nothing happens in the next 10 mins, then we move in."

"Okay." Rolph replied.

The two men relaxed but it was Rolph's turn to watch, so he took back the binoculars and took position..

"What was that about?" Derrick asked

"What was what about?"

"The boy at the beach. Do you want us to take him?"

"No!"

Rolph's snappy response puzzled Derrick but he shrugged it off. He hardly asks questions. He simply takes orders.

Even though they were best friends, Derrick viewed Rolph as a master more than a best friend and that was because any disrespect towards Rolph is punished by death. The rule is irrevocably absolute and Rolph himself didn't have the power to change it. Because of this, Derrick always behaved like a bodyguard and an errand boy more than a best friend.

Rolph had told him several times to always relax and be closer when they were not at home but Derrick felt that it was better to stick to one personality to avoid mistakes.

"Did you get a good look at his car?" Rolph asked Derrick after a long pause.

"Yes I did."

"Good. Run it. I want to know where it has been, who owns it and where it spends its night. "

"Okay boss." And Derrick got on his phone immediately.

After what seemed like 15 mins, the disappeared boat reappeared and went back the way it came. Rolph had signaled to Derrick and he had focused a second binocular on the sea.

"Let's go!"

Not far from where they were was a wooden boat covered with a brown drape similar to the color they were wearing. Rolph flung the drape away revealing the boat and two backpack bags containing God knows what. He then went to the head of the boat and started pushing.

'No. Wait!"

"Why?...it's getting away!"

"I know. But since we are not here to get seen. I say we leave the boat alone and find where it is coming out from."

"Let's split then. You go find where it disappeared to and I will find where it came from. My gut says, a ship is dilly dally somewhere and once that boat gets to it, it will leave."

" Okay boss. Let's follow the boat."

"I say we will split."

"Rolph please. You know I have my orders."

Anger rushed into Rolph's eyes.

"Nobody is here to report you if you leave my side."

"Don't be too sure, boss."

"We will discuss this later..." Rolph snorted. " Now push this damn thing!" He snapped.

They pushed the boat into the water, got into it and Rolph started the small engine.

The boat came to life and they sped in the direction the suspicious boat went.

When they got to the spot where the boat had disappeared the first time, their suspicion was confirmed. There was indeed an inlet, well hidden behind a cliff.

"This wasn't here before " Derrick muttered suspiciously.

"How would you know?"

"This is the second time I will be doing this recon. shiii."

"Oh really?!..."

Rolph was surprised. "So why are we here again if this had already been done before and when were you planning to tell me I was being sent on a fool's errand?!"

"The first time we came, the cliff had no in-let. This is man made and recent..."

To confirm his words, he used his hand to dig the areas around the cliff till he came in contact with hard concrete.

"See.... this is not a fool's errand. It's the real deal. I confirmed it before leaving the ranch....I say we follow the boat and come check this out later."

"Sure." Rolph replied with a cold voice and maneuvered the speeding boat into the water. After a bit, Derrick signaled him to stop.

"Here we are."

Rolph killed the engine and they both positioned their binoculars.

As predicted, a big ship was lounging out at sea on one of the small islands further away from Rockport beach and completely out of public sight.

From their binoculars, they could see the small boat latched onto the ship and being hauled into it.

Derrick brought out a very small, special rectangular camera, attached it to the binocular and started snapping away.

" No ordinary person can own a ship that big." Rolph observed. " I say we circle the island and come out on the other side. I want to see the inside of that ship." He continued.

"There are too many guards and they look armed to the teeth boss. Let's go back and find where the inlet leads to."

"Okay." Rolph replied with irritation.

Even though Rolph was Derrick's master, he hardly felt like one. What he really wanted was for Derrick to be his true friend and brother but it has always been clear that Derrick's obligation of guiding and guarding him leaves no room for blind loyalty. It could cost him his life.

Derrick was 11 years old when Rolph arrived at the ranch at the age of 6. He was the son of one of grandfather's trusted aides who had died on duty some years back. In his will, Derrick's father had left a letter and a badge pin which he had instructed his wife to present to grandfather.

Following her husband's last wish, Derrick's mother had gone to Marfa with her son and the pin.

The moment she presented it, they were accepted into the ranch and given their own personal quarters to stay. Derrick was put to work and training immediately while his mum was given a job in one of their factories because she had no education.

When Derrick and Rolph met, they were both half-orphans and their existing parents were hardly around to play with them. So Derrick suddenly became like a brother to Rolph and his little sister; Hannah.

They had the same training, slept in each other's quarters and depended on each other. but Derrick, being a smart boy, had always known who the master was though he didn't start calling Rolph 'master", until Rolph clocked 16 and grandfather gave him a quarter of Texas city to control.

Grandfather had called them and directly appointed Derrick as Rolph's personal bodyguard and second in command. Both of them were to take instructions from grandfather. Therefore, though Rolph was Derrick's master, he had no control over him.

Rolph turned the boat around and they made their way back to the said cliff. Rolph stopped the boat at the mouth of the inlet.

They each opened their backpack and brought out swimming gear.

"We can't leave the boat here in the open. Let's leave it over there." Derrick pointed to a corner of the cliff not far from them. Rolph nodded in response and restarted the boat. He then directed it to the corner and killed the engine.

After wearing their swimming gear, they activated the safety of their guns and tucked them into their sides before helping each other to zip up the suits. Rolph brought out a belt of knives and strapped it on.

"It will slow you down." Derrick pointed out but Rolph ignored him. He was still pissed.

They silently dropped into the water after anchoring the boat to a cliff and covering it with the brown drape. They made their way under water communicating by signals.

After some time, they spotted what looked like a very large set of iron rings layered atop each other and dropped into the sea. Using their binoculars, they saw that the rings had cameras and security lights on them so they could not be approached from underwater.

Derrick signaled for Rolph to wait and he swam to the surface then came back and signaled for Rolph to follow him. They swam in the opposite direction for some time and

when they broke the surface of the water, they found themselves in what looked like an enclosed cave tunnel that went on and on with white bulbs overhead. This cave tunnel looked like an underground train tunnel and can take three trucks driving side by side at once.

It looked like it was built with the same materials the ring well that went deep down into the sea was made of.

Looking around and seeing nobody, they swam to the wall to inspect it. Derrick removed one of his fins and touched the wall. It was not cast iron. It was solid concrete. Someone had carved a cave out of the cliff and casted it in reinforced concrete.

"What do we do now? We can't approach from underwater."

Derrick looked around. "Well there is no camera here. Let's swim just below the surface and see how far we can go."

"Okay."

They disappeared and soon they started hearing voices muffled by the water. Rolph motioned for Derrick to stop. From where they were, they could make out a deck and legs of people working on it. But they couldn't come up to look because a set of very big security halogen lights with wide spectrums were criss-crossing each other on the water while a third one was stationed permanently in the middle, not moving. Its beam was directly focused on the water. If a fingerling should swim close to that light, in this dark tunnel, it would be seen.

While Derrick was taking pictures from their awkward position, Rolph went down and soon saw what he was looking for. The ring well was just ahead of him and he made for it but soon collided with a net. Scared that he was caught, Rolph panicked and started trashing but sensing that the net was not wrapped around his body, he relaxed and unhooked a knife. He was about to cut into the net when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Derrick behind him. Derrick signaled to him not to cut the net then pointed at the distance.

Focusing his binoculars, Rolph spotted two white sharks swimming around not far away but on the other side of the net. He had never been this close to a white shark. And what was a white shark doing this close to the shore? And he was going to cut the net?!

Rolph was shocked. Even though he was underwater, he felt himself sweating. He gulped and instantly swam away from the net with his knife firmly in his hands. He looked around to make sure he was in the clear then headed for the way back not waiting for Derrick who was taking pictures.

The partners made their way back the way they came from and when they returned to their canoe, it was dark. Silently, they made their way back to the beach, cautiously returned to their hideout, hid their boat and changed into casual clothes. Then they entered their ford jeep and sped off with Derrick behind the wheels. Still not talking.

"From the look of things, it's a bigger operation and we should report it immediately. This is bigger than we can handle on our own." Derrick broke the silence.

They had been traveling for hours in silence. When Rolph is that silent, it's either of two things. He was scheming or he was sleeping. And that his eyes were closed doesn't mean he was sleeping. The only way to confirm was to talk to him.

If Rolph was scheming, Derrick needed to stop him. From what he had seen in that tunnel, something big was going on and without grandfather's help, they wouldn't be able to get to the bottom of it.

"There should be another way into the tunnel. We need to find it." Rolph replied with his eyes still closed.

'I knew it. He was scheming,' Derrick thought to himself.

"Yes. There might be an entrance that comes out from the island."

"Sure. But that will be underwater. What I am looking for is an entrance from dry ground. Get some metal detecting machine once we get back to base. We are not reporting until I find that entrance." There was finality in his tone.

"Yes boss."

They fell into another silence and this time around, Rolph really did sleep off.