LIA
"You." He spit, shoving back with an unexpected force and the back of my leg hit the edge of the coffee table. Pain course through me, but it was swallowed up by the sudden burst of anger from Karl."How dare you?" He roars, "You went around telling people that I cheated on you."The pain in my body throbs as my heart beats frantically. I raise my head to meet his darkened glare. "Isn't that the truth? You cheated."He scoffs, "This is your revenge, isn't it? To ruin me? My father is threatening to cut me off because of you. Don't you understand what this means for the Jones family? For me?" The venom in his voice sends shivers down my spine but this time I don't back out like a coward.A flicker of satisfaction sparks in him. I should have done this sooner. Though what he did to me didn't come close to simply telling the truth, I feel a tad better knowing he may potentially lose the company he so no cherishes."Good. Maybe it's the karma for what you did to me." My voice was laced with ice.A look of disbelief flashes on his face. "You claim to love me, yet you're trying to destroy me. Do you have no shame?"A bitter laugh devoid of remorse escapes my lips easily. "Love? My love for you died the moment I realized what you truly are." I meet his gaze head-on. "And no, I don't have shame. You should be the one drowning in it, not me. You are the one who did something shameful, not the other way around."His jaw clenches, and he leans in as he says menacingly "I'll give you one chance to redeem yourself. Retract your statement."I stared him down with an unwavering voice. "No.""Fine," Karl says, his voice dripping with menace. "If this is how you want it." He stalks towards me, each step calculated, predatory. I mirror his retraction with mine until the back of my legs presses against the edge of the bed and I'm trapped.. His hand shoots out like a wind, grabbing my shirt and yanking me forward.I land hard on the bed, air swooshing out my lungs.Just as he approaches me with a predatory gleam, a blur of motion materializes behind him and a powerful kick sends him sprawling. He scrambles to his feet with a yell only to be met by rapid repeating kicks from the man clad in a black t-shirt that hugs his wide, muscular chest and cargo pants also black.Blows and groans of pain echo in the room with each blow the handsome stranger delivers to him.When I can't bear the violence anymore, I climb out of bed with shaking legs and I step between the stranger and Karl. "Please, stop. You are going to kill him.""He laid his hands on you." The handsome stranger says simply in a low rumble and gravelly voice."He hasn't laid his hand on me yet." I sigh, exhaustion weighing heavy on my tired shoulder."Don't cover for him." The stranger's gaze flickers to me and I swear to God I almost shrink by how intense it was."No." I wrap my arms around myself so my body doesn't give in. "I don't want things to get messier, I just want him out."He hesitates but grumbles in acknowledgment before grabbing Karl by the collar and hoisting up to his feet with one hand. "Touch her or any woman again and that is the last mistake you will ever make."Karl only reply with a weak nod before scurrying out of the room. I haven't seen Karl cower like a coward like this before so it feels satisfying to see him crumble in front of me.After Karl disappears, the stranger turns to me. "Are you okay?" His voice holds no warmth, it sounds purely functional."Yes, thank you." I nod my head.Good," he replies curtly. "I'm here to take you home. Your father has been in a car accident." He doesn't miss a beat as he delivers this shocking news to me.My breath catches in my throat and my head spirals, "what?"LIA "Pack what you can. We are leaving now." "Excuse me?" I furrow my eyebrows, confused at who this mysterious handsome man is and the nonsense he is spitting. "I really appreciate your intervention but you can't just barge in and tell me my father." Whom I haven't spoken to in three years. "—was involved in an accident and order me to follow you to god knows where." Yes, with the tone of his voice, he is borderline authoritative. "We don't have time for this." He growls, his voice inches from my face. My nose catches a whiff of mint in his breath. My hands cross over my chest. "And I'm supposed to just take your word for it?" I say, slightly intimidated by how he is towering over me like a mountain. To be frank, he is a mountain. His black t-shirt struggles to contain his bulging biceps and sculpted chest, while his cargo pants cling to his trim waist like nobody's business. He shoves a phone into my face. I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth in shock. It is a scene of an acciden
Nikolai's POV. I got an anonymous job to bring Leo Rodriquez's daughter home safely shortly after the news of his accident exploded across the internet. The Rodriquez family is one of the wealthiest conglomerates so it is a given that Leo Rodriquez has dominated the headlines after the news of his accident. Everything reeks of foul play from the news I gathered but I wasn't paid to play detective. My job is to bring Lia Rodriquez safely to New York. I'm just a broker who deals with transporting contrabands across countries but the money offered to bring Lia Rodriquez safely to New York is too much to ignore. Not to mention the fact that I am far behind my sister's hospital bill and they threatened to cease her treatment. So yeah, I don't have much of a choice. Lia has bombarded me with tons of questions right from the time I told her about her father's condition up to this moment and I have given her only vague answers. I couldn't tell her about her father's critical state with he
NIKOLAI I didn't think this job through before I accepted it. The payment was so tempting that I didn't give it a second thought. My sister was behind with her treatment due to her hospital bills so when this job presented itself to me, I was overjoyed and thought it could have only been the messiah who brought it my way knowing fully well that I was in dire need of money. But right now, with how gloomy and grim everything is, I'm starting to think it's from the devil. This is not my first job having to bring someone illegally into the city, but I don't understand why this particular job set me on edge. This is why I hate dealing with human beings. With contraband, it is always perfect. No distraction. No talking. No questions asked. No deep blue eyes. No beautiful note of a voice. I grit my teeth and shove my thoughts down. The floorboards creak under my foot as I tiptoe towards the stairs. It is already night and below, moonlight streamed through the dusty living room windows o
LIA The tremors running through the floorboards send every thud that filters up from the floor below through me. My heart hammers like a wild horse against my ribs. Each gunshot fired causes my breath to hitch and I jump everything. At some point, I used my hands to cover my ears when I can't take the loud, jarring sound anymore but it doesn't stop the chaos erupting to drum loudly in my ears. I don't understand what is going on nor why this is happening. I have no idea why these men are after me. Or what I have done wrong to deserve a target on my back? Nothing makes sense anymore. And that fills me with fear to the brim. I have never been this scared for my life. Now, I see what a privilege it is to wake up everyday because right now, I'm not sure I will make it past this night. The sudden news of my father's accident juxtaposed with what's happening causes a large blumerage of terror inside of me. A choked, muffled cry escapes from my lips, and tears blurs the empty room aroun
LIAI puff, though I know shooting the man is purely out of luck not because I'm an expert or something. My gaze moves back to him as he checks the man's pulse. My breath hitches in my throat. "Is he...?""No. You missed the vital points." His voice is gruff and the chills it sends through me is crazy. I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding in. Oh, thank God. The last thing I want is the blood of another man on my hand. I don't want to be haunted by ghosts for the rest of my life. The relief I feel is short-lived because Grumpy draws his gun. A bloodcurdling scream jumps from my throat when he fires another shot at the man. This time, aimed at his head. "We need to leave before they find us." Grump extends a hand to me as if he hasn't done anything. His face doesn't waver one bit as if he hasn't just taken a life. "You—." I tremble, shuffling back from him. "No time, Heiress. We need
LIATurning my gaze towards Grumpy, I tilt my head slightly, my eyes narrowing. "What was that for?" "You had your phone on all this while?" A low growl rumbles his chest, making the hair on my neck stand. I blink, confused. What does having my phone with me have to do with anything? "Yes?" I say but it comes out as a question. He gives me an incredulous look as if I am supposed to understand his confusing question. The ache in my head intensifies. I open my mouth to defend myself then shut it back. He sighs—hovering between disappointment and frustration. My inside twists, I hate letting him down, or anyone for that matter. "The reason the men were able to find us was because of your phone is on." He explains to me with a strained voice. Understanding dawn slowly. I blink once and then twice, feeling very stupid. Well, how am I supposed to know that? I'm not some tech-savvy girl. I don't look at him as I say. "I..." I trail off. "I had no idea. I'm sorry." I promptly switch o
LIADisoriented, I blink awake to an empty bed. My hand shoots out, finding for the familiar warmth beside me. Panic gnashes me as it meets empty cool sheets. Then the sound of the shower from behind the bathroom door drifts my way and I calm down a bit. I'm surprised because Karl never showers this early. He is a notorious alarm clock sleeper. I have an ongoing theory that he is most capable of sleeping through an alarm clock. I yawn and stretch, the sleep fog still hovering over my head. As if on autopilot, my legs follow the sound of the running water, slipping past the door of the bathroom. I head straight to the vanity to get ready for my morning routine where I catch a glimpse of exposed pipes where an upper vanity should be. For some reason, my brain doesn't acknowledge this. Turning the faucet on, I greet Karl with a cheerful, "Morning" as I splash water on my face. "What's up, today?" I ask. "Why are you awake earlier than usual?" My lips curve into a smile. When he doesn
LIABefore my panic can fully consume me, he adds. "I will be back soon." Only then do I come down from the mountain height of fear. I thought he meant he was leaving me here all by myself. I nod my head. "If I ask you where you are going, will you tell me?" He replies curtly. "You don't need to know," and I repress a sigh. What was I expecting? A loud, jarring sound that has me clutching my chest infuses itself into the air. My eyes move towards the origin of the sound before Grumpy sweeps a flip phone on the wooden table just by the door. No wonder the ringing tone is so loud. He barks a single, "Yeah." A bit of silence then a curt. "On my way." Then he snaps the phone shut.Without a glance in my direction, he tosses a sentence over his shoulder. "There is a gun in the table's drawer. You know the rules, Heiress. Don't open the door until you confirm it's me." Then he is gone leaving me in a deafening silence. "Be safe." I let out in a whisper but he is already out of the ro