Chapter 6

It had been a week. A whole goddamn week.

Even after seven days of nonstop fights, weekend ambushes, and subtly made attempts at the office, neither of us has been able to deliver the decisive blow.  Isabella Moretti is still alive and continues to breathe.

It should’ve driven me insane. Hell, maybe it already has. Because she seemed to understand my mind and countered every blow I attempted. Never in my life had I met someone of equal strength and abilities. 

And what's even more crazy is I’m liking every bit of it. 

We continued pretending like nothing happened. Our officemates see us as nothing but a manager and a new hire. She gives orders, I follow. Whenever I go inside her office for a progress report, she’d only focus her eyes on the paper and hand it over after signing it. Despite failing my mission, I never had to revise my work here, even when the other employees warned me about how meticulous Isabella is.

Both of us cooperate at work like we aren’t mapping out fifty different ways to kill each other once the clock hits six.

But this night is different. I had to leave quickly because our meeting ended later than anticipated. The handler had organized a mafia meeting, one I couldn’t afford to miss. I even ditched the elevator for the stairs and cut through the dirtiest yet quickest alley I knew. 

Going there in my corporate attire wasn’t an option either. The bastards would undoubtedly laugh at me straight out of the room before I could even sit down, and I would not think twice about bringing them to the grim reaper, something the handler would detest.

I’m sure Isabella was still at her office tidying things up when I left. I already fixed my stuff before the meeting so that I could leave immediately. 

But of course, she was already waiting.

Isabella, also in her corporate outfit, leaned against the brick wall like she’d been there all night. Though the lights were dim, I could see her silhouette as she twirled her dagger like she spun her pen when thinking at the office.

“Can’t we call a time off today? I’m busy!” I hissed, loosening the tie on my neck with my one hand, while the other kept near my inner pocket. 

“You can’t postpone death, mafia.” She threw her daggers straight at me as she uttered those words. 

I twisted back and aimed my gun at her. I continuously fired the gun as she launched forward. She launched forward, using the wall to propel herself into the air, her dagger arcing straight for my face. I caught her between my arms, shoved her back in the opposite side with all my strength, and fired again.

She stumbled back a step but didn’t fall. Instead, she tried to kick me using her right leg, which I easily avoided. It was evident that she has no intention of stopping any minute now.

But I didn’t have time for this. Not tonight. I needed to get home, ditch this corporate suit, and show up at the meeting before the handler decides to split my pay with the other contractors. 

“Why the rush, mafia?” She taunted as she fixed her hair. “Got a date?”

“Something like that.” I raised my gun, smirking. “And you’re in my way.”

She lunged again, but I didn’t shoot. This time, I ducked low and shot forward, catching both her wrists in a brutal grip. Finally, her weapons finally crashed, clattering against the wet pavement.

However, the flash of silver came underneath her skirt. Another dagger. Always an extra dagger.

“How many of those do you carry?” I complained, half-teasing. My guns and nunchaku already weighed me down, and I can’t imagine how she keeps her dagger from blowing her cover. 

“Enough to end you.” Her smile widened.

She spun and then aimed for my neck, forcing me back. I blocked her dagger with the butt of my gun, the clang of metal ringing through the alley. Her attacks become faster and sharper. I reciprocated the same energy while I led her towards my home. 

She lunged again, and I shoved her off, buying just enough distance to see the outline of my building ahead. Almost there.

“Game over.” 

She slammed into me before I could raise my guard, tackling me onto the floor. I tightened my hold on my gun, aiming at her ribs, before her weight crashed into mine. 

For a moment, I felt ecstatic. My gun was wedged perfectly against her ribs, the barrel pressed so tight that I could imagine feeling the vibration of the recoil through her body. One pull of the trigger, and the game is all over.

But Isabella wasn’t losing either. Her dagger poised directly at my throat. The steel was so close, I felt the chill of the blade kiss my skin. She pinned my hip down using her knees, trapping me beneath her weight. Just one slash, and she’d open me clean.

And then, we locked eyes. She smiled with the moonlight beaming behind her, but her eyes remained sharp and cold. “Good bye, Keigh Russo.”

Then, right at the edge of blood and death, the night was split by a sound neither of us expected.

A baby’s cry.

And the only house near here… was mine.