All I’ve been thinking about is what happened this morning. Bra Cobra’s words keep ringing in my head. I know I have no choice but to do what he’s asked of me. I can’t believe I’m going to be one of his henchmen. And, I have an unsettling feeling that he has something else planned – apart from forcing me to join his crime business.

I guess the up side to all of this is that he didn’t shoot me on the spot. Plus, once I do this I get to be with Reneilwe without having to look over my shoulder the whole time. Really that’s all that matters to me at this point: being with the woman I love.

So I’m not going to worry about anything until tomorrow night. Right now, I’m going to settle in with a nice cold beer and relax after a long day at work.

What the hell? Who is trying to break down my door, knocking like a madman? It must be Zweli; he forgets his key sometimes, then I have to let him in. He must have had one too many drinks the way he keeps banging on the door.

“Okay Bafo, relax, I’ll open the door just now …” I say.

But it’s not Bafo. “Reneilwe?! What are you doing here? What’s going on?” I ask in shock.

She walks in without a word and starts pacing nervously. I shut the door and offer her a chair, but she won’t sit down. Her silence is making me very uneasy. I figure I should wait for her to make the first move.

She stops pacing and looks me dead in the eye, seemingly deciding she is ready to face me. “You spoke to Tshepiso today. He wants you to do a job for him and you agreed.”

She says this with a dazed look in her eyes. At first I’m not sure who she is talking about because she’s never used her brother’s real name when she talks about him.

“Yes, I agreed to do a job for him,” I say, a little nervous about how she will react.

“No Muzi! I was really hoping this wasn’t true,” she says, then walks over to the tiny cupboard in our small, makeshift kitchen, places both her hands on it and leans on it. She looks so out of place in this small room. Our shabby furniture stands out more in her presence; everything seems so bland and cheap.

She takes a steadying, deep breath, then turns around and looks at me. “You can’t do it Muzi. I won’t let you,” she says firmly.

“I don’t exactly have a choice, Reneilwe. If I don’t do what your brother says I’m certain he’ll kill me. Look at it this way, my love: once I do this we can be together without worrying anymore.”

I walk over to her and pull her into my arms. I feel some of the tension leave her body as she leans into my embrace. Then she pulls away suddenly and I see tears trickling down her face.

“Muzi, if you do this you will definitely die,” she says.

“What do you mean? What do you know? What did your brother say to you?” I ask, panicking. What is going on here? I thought this was foolproof and I wouldn’t have to worry about being gunned down in the middle of the street by her merciless, lunatic brother.

She is looking at me with so much fear in her eyes, my heart sinks. What is happening?

“Reneilwe, tell me what’s going on, please,” I say, as gently as I can manage.

She looks terrified now, which scares me even more. Her brother must have said something to her; why else would she act this way?

“Reneilwe, please tell me what’s wrong,” I plead.

“I … oh Muzi, we shouldn’t have started this whole thing. Look at what I got you into,” she says and covers her face with her hands and starts sobbing.

I slowly remove her hands and look into her frightened eyes and say: “Whatever it is, my love, you know you can tell me. Just tell me what’s going on. We’re in this together, you know that, so don’t blame yourself for any of it.”

She takes a deep breath, like she is preparing to tell me the world is about to end. The look on her face alone makes my stomach churn.

“Today I overheard my brother talking to the men that work for him. He plans on having you murdered tomorrow night,” she says in a barely audible whisper.

“What do you mean?” I ask confused.

“The whole money delivery thing is a trap, Muzi. Tshepiso plans to have you drop off the money, then send his men to ambush you and kill you, making it look like a robbery,” she says.

“Why would he do that? Why not just murder me?” I ask.

“He knows that I would never forgive him if he just killed you in cold blood. By making it look like he tried to accept our relationship, and your death is an accident, he gets rid of you and keeps me by his side. Basically, only he wins,” she says.

What? This cannot be happening! Bra Cobra is unbelievable! How could I have been so stupid? I’m dealing with a hardened criminal. He is ruthless and has no conscience.