song:
Romantic Homicide by d4vd

THE inner turmoil of sudden liking over my captor does nothing good in this tactic situation. Whatever happened between us is now turning my heart having a crush on none other than her. Can I just die out of embarrassment? 'Cause I won't ever admit that to her.

She doesn't calls for attention, attention itself seeks for her. She strolls in the hall back to her egoistic mannerism. She smiles sultry but her violet eyes are in an alarmed state of pure fury. Whatever Maxim and she had in the past is a story worth noting in history, all I need to find it out with tiresome work.

But I don't want to be a fool again to fall into her trap. Instead of feeling angry at her, I am admiring her cunning nature. Creating an exact visual of her gaol is kind of interesting. I am more curious about her real estate but knowing that I am only allowed to visit my mother and nowhere gives zero fucks to my escapade.

Remembering my mother, it's been five days since I last contacted her and during this chaotic journey, I somehow forgot to call her. I sigh, lightly scratching my forehead while walking beside her. Alessia, the female guard stands close to Caterina and bows slightly. She soon follows her capo's lead and says, "I've already contacted the stationary guards to not allow any Russian dignitaries to escape from this room."

Caterina nods her head. "Good. Did Xavier say anything about their direction?"

"No."

"Is this Maxim the real villain?" I ask Caterina who looks at me over her shoulder.

She scoffs. "Everyone is a villain here, Leone. All you need are eyes and nose to filtrate them." I intake a few short breaths. Being an officer, the sudden thrive to find out soon flows in my veins. The adventurous destination of the segment to set down with an amazing result is what I always looked for and now doing the same task but in a different mechanism somewhat creates a scene distinct from my earlier tasks.

Xavier runs in our direction and speaks to Caterina. "They are talking to Mr. Romano and soon will be visiting his cubicle. We can wait there for them."

Caterina waves her hand horizontally. "Pave the way, mister."

We reach the cubicle as Xavier opens the door and allows Caterina inside. The queen everyone respects yet no one wants to have.

The room is neatly kept like a scene getting hidden from the real crime world.

Files are stacked on shelves with their respective colors and sizes. The paperweight on the papers is positioned on the right side of the desk and a laptop is stationed in the middle along with a notepad and a pen stand. Two couches are at the right corner just opposite the shelves but what made me feel weird is the red carpet on the floor.

"Whatever he is trying to prove will pave us to the point near to his death," Xavier grumbles as he gives minimum weight while leaning against the desk and attempting to remove any invisible dust particles from his shiny handgun.

"Don't I get one too?" I ask him causing his eyes to drift at his capo.

One object flies in the air and I intend to catch it swiftly. I find out it's a sub-compact pistol. Taurus G3C is not that bad as it's much more compatible and light-weighted but due to the presence of bullets inside it makes it feel a little heavy. I chuckle lifting my eyes to look at them and point them at Caterina's back. "Don't you think offering one to me will give me the probability of killing you?"

Xavier quickly points at me following Alessia.

She smirks and turns to look at me. "Then do it. Nobody's stopping you."

"Capo."

"Boss."

Both Xavier and Alessia gasp in horror but Caterina's eyes are filled with amusement. My grip tightens as I aim at my target. "By the way, the red dot at your mother's forehead and your best friend, what's her name?" She taunts as she appears to act like remembering the name knowing that she not only knows but stands like the vile creature with keys to my locks.

"Aurora." I grit causing her to grin.

"Right." She draws the word. "They seem too important for that matter to die just because of one. Don't you think it will create an injustice, hm?"

"You vex me." Her grin widens.

"And you bow to me. It's a win-win situation don't you think?" I glare at her and in a different direction shoot her which passes by her forearm making her hiss in pain. Just when Xavier aims at me, Caterina speaks. "Before this bloodbath, we need to focus on the man we came here for." She looks down at her scratch and then at me. "And you will pay for this stunt, Leone."

I scoff. "We will see that. T-" The door opens and they arrive, finally. Six to seven guards cover the border and point at us.

"Is this a suicide squad?" I mumble. Christian and Monica too arrive pointing their gun at a particular person. Is he Maxim?

"No, he isn't." Caterina sneers answering my unasked question. Her composure is stiff as she observes them with firmness set in her orbs. "So, I guess we have to have a tea party with Maxim's affordable dog." The sound of clicks by guards' riffles echoes in the room but Caterina being Caterina laughs at them. "Oh, Umbria. This is going to be so much fun."

The guy who is being a shield to make the entry of Caterina calmly walks into the room and sits in the boss's chair. "With what do we owe the pleasure of meeting you, Ms. Berlusconi?" He seems to be near his late forties by his slightly raspy voice and calm dilemma which means he nearly spent his life acknowledging such situations.

"Anton, where is Maxim?" Alessia asks.

Anton shrugs lifting his legs and resting them on the desk one above another and through the gap of his shoes he watches us, analyzing each one of us with the minute watch but when his gaze falls on mine Caterina covers me. The heel she is wearing nearly makes her stand to the level my six feet height.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Anton." He snaps his gaze at her and lowly chuckles.

"So, this is the new pet everyone was asking about." Caterina stiffens but as I stand behind her, I can't depict her facial expressions but one thing is for sure she is pissed.

"Don't interfere in my personal life here. You have already done the deed and killed my best friend brutally that she haunts my dreams and now if you hit again, I'll fucking bring a tsunami and watch you all dying and enjoying the blissful site of Russia's new building with my set of faculty."

Anton laughs shaking his head. "You sure had a bad daddy to teach you how to speak to your elders."

She smirks. "Currently it looks like I am your daddy now."

"Oh, you are?" He mocks. "Whatever." He waves his hand in the air, "Do know that Maxim is coming and he will take back your kingdom and I will be spitting on your face and watch you getting ripped off by hyenas and maybe get a piece of yours. You look edible." He chuckles as he lustfully watches her.

My fingers twitch to snap his head and break it in half and deliver it to his leader. I hug Caterina from behind, a sudden gesture even though I'm surprised. "You're a queen and queens are never allowed to let such pathetic creatures live. Show him the other side of yours, show him what he is missing, give him a taste of yours in such a way he memorizes you in his nightmare. Create your film in his brain that he never forgets." With that I release her.

She looks at me over her shoulder and that set of sudden vulnerability strikes my heart ripping it into pieces. What happened in her past? I want to know, I want to tear apart that side of hers too. I want her to feel vulnerable, feel like a human.

She quickly swirls her head and rounds his desk, her nails scraping the edges. She picks up a pointed pen and weaves it between her fingers like a butterfly knife and with a sudden attack she punctures a hole in his lap creating a mouthful of screams.

The armed men quickly fire as we shoot them. Bullet shots appear like firecrackers bursting the small room filled with silence and the peace it once resigns.

"You'll pay for it." He screams. When no armed ones are left out we take our earlier position and stand.

Caterina bends a little and with that pen's lid draws a blue line while traveling to his face. "I want Maxim." She glances down at the phone and picks it up throwing it at Xavier who nods as he kneels opening the phone's back and inserting a chip inside it. Meanwhile, Anton's wide eyes look at the tip of the pen nearing his eyes. The fear strike him so much that he became numb to the movement occurring except Caterina's.

"Take it as a warning, Anton, and I shall free you. I need Maxim and he must be punished for the sins he has committed. He not only killed my best friend but he wants something that I'll never offer to him." With that she stabs but I turn back not intending to watch the awful glance of misery.

The scream is a witness to his suffering yet no one helps him. Why? Because it's a sin and in the Underworld, sin means death and death has no freedom until it succumbs to the one it's been paid for.

"Give that to Maxim when you go back and tell him it's the start of the war he is willing to pay by his blood spilling on my best friend's tombstone. It'll be a tribute to her sacrifice." With that, she walks away from him and us. The blood that is staining on her face makes her look divine like the Goddess of Athena.

Alexander, the guy whose art gallery is arrives with a smile on his face. "Did you get him?" He offers his handkerchief to her as she wipes off the blood mumbling a small thank you. The act somehow makes my chest burn, that's absurd.

"No, instead of him his guard dog came. But guess what?" She giggles like a schoolgirl. "I'll be now waging a war that I've no destination with. Fucking fantastic."

He grins at her. "If I have any other ways of helping you, I will."

She looks at him skeptically. "Why are you helping me?"

He shrugs. "Maybe we both have the same disgust and attraction. However, the scene you caused earlier is now notoriously watched by everyone."

"Even you?" Her orbs brighten as she looks at him which she never did with me. Maybe, Alexander has stubble and sharp jaws with brilliant grey eyes, pointed nose, and thin lips but that doesn't mean I am any less, and why the fuck am I even comparing myself with the man I barely know?

He nods his head. "Good then. I am not available for a brief period." More than three months.

My fingers clench and as I'm about to retort, Caterina asks, "And who made that painting?"

All eyes welcomed the infamous painting where the girl holds a candle the darkness illuminating the background. Her wide eyes beg for help and her fragile fingers grip the candle stand tightly but what feels eerie here is the smile that puts off. Why is she smiling when her entire body language is asking for help?

"I did."

We all turn to find a young guy who is barely six feet standing two feet away from us. "Hello. I am Tommaso Cantu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The warmth radiating from Caterina's body soon evaporates but when I am about to ask for her sudden coldness a thin figure escape from the corner of my eyes. I quickly scan the room only to find my fiance standing on the other side of the hall. What the fuck is she doing here? I look by my side and cough lightly letting Christian turn back with stiff brows raised high. I murmur, "I'm going to the washroom. Be back."

He gives me a skeptical look but nods nonetheless. I quickly escape from the heavy breathing zone but don't miss checking out the guy who stands in front of us with a smile poking out from his mustache. I stride in her direction and take a couple of mouthfuls of air and slowly whisper her name as if once if I utter her name she will disappear into thin air. "Aurora."

She turns swiftly, her eyes widening as she briefly takes a look in my direction. Her hands fly to her her wide mouth as she tries to differentiate my appearance as real or fake. "Aristide, is that you?"

I wince hearing my name coming out of her mouth as if the name never existed, only Leone. I weakly nod my head with a tight smile. "Yes, it's me." Just when she is about to pounce over me, I hastily take a step back looking in the direction from where I came from. I catch her wrist and drag her to the farthest corner.

"Where are you taking me, Aristide? And tell me why didn't you answer my calls? Your team is worried sick and after the dispose of thirty dead police and twenty injured ones we couldn't find you out. Where were you these days? It's been nearly close to four months. Ar-" I stop her rambling by kissing her.

The kiss I longed for since I want to come back and hug her witnessing my success but indeed I am kissing her after sabotaging my entire power to the feet of the cruel monster now I'm close to her death and my keys to freedom. Over the past few weeks, I have been sending letters to the office about the spare warehouse and the current affairs by closely listening to guards and other social workers and indeed five of the buildings are now sealed.

My invisible friend helped me enough to perform such tasks and I am glad to get him with me but now kissing Aurora seems to be alive those certain parts that were long cut off after I spent ten weeks with the mob boss. I pull back smiling widely, "I'm really fine and you don't need to worry about me. I am talking to the Chief privately in letter writing mannerism filled with an encrypted format like we used to do when we were in two years earlier zone and currently, I'm here for further investigation and all of it is done quietly without a known sniff to the exterior world."

She pulls her hand from my hold roughly, tucking her hair back. Her eyes form heavy tears. "Do you know how many times I have to wake up in the middle of the night and scream from those dreams where you lay dead with your blood pouring out from your mouth and red blotches painting your white t-shirt? Do you know how I had to just fucking calm myself down?" She whisper yells at me and maybe this time a really wide stretch of my lips appeared after a prolonged time. When she glances at my smile she swats my elbows. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because it's the first one I did after ten weeks max."

Her playful glare turns into a sad look. "Are you okay?"

I snort taking a glass of wine from the waiter who was passing by me and galloping it at once. "I feel trapped, Aurora, and it's fucking worst than anything I have done earlier."

She smiles at me sadly. "At least you're still mine." Am I? I don't think so not after having sex with my captor.

I sigh. "I'm sorry, Aurora but this time it's me who is saying that we need to break up."

Her eyes widen. "Are you serious?"

"A hundred and one percent. I'm not sure whether I will survive this game or not and allowing you to hand with a string that neither clarifies my life nor death is bad, too bad to even keep you standing and waiting like you did the last time. If I survive-". "You will." She states firmly making me smile softly at her. I nod. "If I survive then I will rush to court and have our marriage but I will not ever try to make you wait for me. My life has zero insurance and I won't make a mistake by allowing you to wait forever not even enjoying a slight proportion of your life. It'll be injustice served and I don't want that."

She muffles her sobs by keeping her hand on her mouth. "How could you say this to me?" She shakes her head. "I'll not break up with you. I know you will come like you always do."

"Do doctors always survive the patients?" When silence was my answer I continue. "That's what I thought. When the best one has no right to control over his always-winning capability of a successful operation, how can I say this won't be my last one? All I want is for you to have a happy life."

"I'm having a happy life with you." She states firmly.

"Without me. Correct the sentence, Aurora. You are going to do that so cause I have a gut feeling even if I survive I might never be that guy you met before."

"Was that kiss our last one?"

"Maybe." I shrug. "But why are you here?"

She looks down. "I wanted to distract myself so I bought the tickets and came here myself but who knew the tickets were the path to my break-up session?" She laughs without any humor.

I thread my fingers sliding my hair back. "I'm sorry."

She shakes her head. "It's of no use, Aristide. Not when even after trying, you won't deter from your decision. Is this our final goodbye?"

I sigh. "Yes, it is."

"Why are you here?" She asks me.

"Same as you," I murmur. I look down at my pointed boots.

"Can you kiss me one last time?" She says lowly.

I nod. We both mash our mouths together. One trying to find the home she left and the other the peace he left. Our tongues mold and bind flicking the last few strikes of two different states of wire without any spark. We pull back and say to each other. "Goodbye," I tell her to keep my location a secret as she numbly nods her head.

Just when I am about to go back someone stands in front of me. "May I talk to you?"

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this chapter just broke me down. at first, i thought of letting aristide meddle up with his fiance till the end but that will an injustice served to both so i made this turn of chapter but we, i mean you readers and i only know this conversation not caterina, so guess what's next?

aurora is such a sweet woman and maybe you will like her more than caterina but as we all know good ends with bad and bad ends with worst. so let's pray to my brain i don't make aurora the bad girl.

also i am already having a very very bad idea of stretching this book upto sixty chapters, so is this bad?