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
I dig my thumbs into my eyes as Xan talks my ear off. Damn, he is one hell of a talkative. "...you are fucking reckless, Nickolai. Taking up an illegal broker's job isn't enough, you have to add a bodyguard to the mix." "I need money, you know that." I groan. "Besides, Hannah is behind on her bills and the hospital keeps sending threats to cut off her treatment," I tell Felix. "You should have asked me about it." He says. "We are family, Niko. Hannah is also my younger sister and I spend a reasonable amount of quality time with her than you." Yeah, true. He does spend time with Hannah more than him due to his job, he is mostly out of the country. I just scoff, unable to tell Xan that I will break my legs first before I ask for help from anyone. A habit caused by being alone since I can remember. Besides, the recession is hitting everyone hard. Xan barely has his head above the water just like me. I can't do that to him knowing he won't reject my request. "Okay. Okay." I surrender