Guarding Her Heart

Prologue

“Dad, I have a lot of things to do. Where are you bringing us?” Otis Flynn, my brother, asked.

We are on our way to the place where I don't know. Honestly, we don't have any idea where the hell Dad is taking us. He just picked us up from our condominiums, telling us that he has to bring us with him.

“You're too impatient, Otis.” My father beside me commented.

I remained silent beside him and chose to stare outside the window. My brother's trait of being impatient was passed by my mother. She hates waiting the most.

“Is this a new mission? You could have just given me the details,” he looked at him from the passenger seat.

“And what? One of you will mess it up because you trust yourselves so much? Heck, no.” He let out a sarcastic chuckle, shaking his head.

“I never failed a mission, you know that well, Dad.”

I knew that he was mocking me. It was me who once failed a mission that my father gave me. Otis smirked arrogantly, shaking his head. Even without glancing at me, I knew that he was already thinking that I am nothing compared to him.

Otis and I grew up in a competition. We grew up proving ourselves to Dad. The worst is we grew up in a world that ordinary people don't know, the Mafia world.

The world for heartless, brutal, and merciless people.

At the age of 7, Otis and I killed someone. We were taught how to fight and how to hold all kinds of things to defend ourselves. As for Otis, he mastered the dagger, while me, I am a good shooter.

One shot, one kill. Bull's eye.

In the Mafia world, they call me “The King of Guns” and they call Otis “The King of Daggers”. We are known for that. Those are the titles that we created in this bloody world.

“Why don't you ask Oliver?” His eyes shifted at me and he gave me that annoying smile.

I clenched my hand, but I had to suppress my rage towards him. We are brothers, but we never treated each other as one. Otis treated me as his biggest enemy, and I treated him the same.

“That's enough. We're here,” I breathed heavily to ease myself. I wouldn't want to lose my temper because Otis will surely die if I do.

“Funeral?” Otis asked, complaining from his tone of voice already.

“Complaining is really your forte, don't you, Otis?” Now, I'm the one who wore that arrogant smile before I came out of the car, leaving him furious inside.

Another fact about Otis, he gets mad easily.

In loving memory of Alora Sanchez.

I tilted my head as I stared at the woman in the big tarpaulin outside.

“Sanchez, aren't they one of the weakest clans? Don't tell me we're here to collaborate with them? They won't benefit us, Dad.” I shook my head out of pity.

Soon enough, they will be erased in this world. No Sanchez will be left in this clan anymore. Poor clan.

“Watch, Oliver.” He tapped my arm before he led the way inside.

“You don't know about them?” Otis muttered while we were walking behind our father.

“They might be weak, but I heard their daughter is still lifting their clan,” he added.

“A weak clan cannot survive the biggest clans who will soon attack them,” that's what always happens. If I were them, I would just give up. Whoever their daughter is, she's just wasting time. She would be dead soon. These huge clans will eat them alive.

Otis whistled. “We'll see about that,” he said before he left me behind.

I threw my cold gaze at his back. What am I even expecting from this bastard?

I roamed my eyes inside as we sat at the back. I saw familiar faces who probably came from big and powerful clans like us. Are they here to sympathize with them or to plot their plan to kill all of them?

Tsk. Assassins and gangsters. They are all greedy for power.

“My mother taught me to be resilient. When I cry, she doesn't show any pity to me, only to make me strong and brave.”

A woman standing in front of the altar, wearing a black sleeveless dress, showing off his porcelain skin, caught my attention entirely. From the back, I could see how beautiful she was. Her brown hair was straight and long, reaching under her chest. Her eyes were almond shaped, and they were captivating. I found those eyes dangerous to stare with, I feel like one stare at me and she would make me weak.

She has a droopy nose and pink downward turned lips, which would surely seduce every man effortlessly. She's tall like a model, and her body is curvy.

I found myself wearing a small smirk. Her beauty is enticing.

“Now that she's gone, I hope that I made he—”

My lips parted when a gunshot filled the entire place. Everything happened so fast, but I witnessed how the woman in front simply raised the microphone where the bullet ended. I saw an evil smirk beside her lips. None of us reacted, as if all of us were expecting that.

That moment, I realized one thing. They are not here to sympathize with them, they are here to observe the woman in front.

“Really? At the funeral of my mother?” She asked bitterly in the microphone.

“Who did that?” Otis asked my father.

“Just watch,” my Dad replied.

I simply looked around to find the one behind it, but I didn't see anyone who could do it.

I stared back at the woman and I caught her scanning each of us inside until her eyes landed in the middle, on the other side of us. There was a man, holding a gun with his shaking hand.

“Dumbass, he doesn't know how to shoot.” I heard Otis comment.

I watched everything keenly and waited for what the woman would do.

“I’m sure my mother is proud of me, especially today…” in one snap, I witnessed how the man who tried to kill her fell on the ground with a dagger pierced right on the middle of his forehead.

Bull's eye.

My jaw dropped in amusement and surprise before I went back eyeing the woman.

“Let's get out,” my father quickly stood up. I didn't want to leave, but I knew why my father asked us to leave already.

“ADIRA!” I heard a man called the woman as he threw a gun to her before the entire place was showered with bullets and daggers around.

The battle began.

“Who was that? Why did you bring us here?” Otis immediately asked as soon as we came back inside the car and left. I couldn't even take my eyes off the woman earlier.

“That woman is Adira Dawn Sanchez, the heiress of Sanchez’ clan. She's the only one who's trying to lift their clan,” Dad explained.

Adira. Even her name is beautiful and strong.

“She's tough,” I commented.

“Exactly. Why do you think their clan is not yet vanishing in our world?” He drew an amused smirk beside his lips.

“Because that woman is something, she's different. Adira doesn't step back, she's too brave and fierce and she doesn't fear anyone. A lot of clans tried to erase the Sanchez, but Adira was always blocking their way. Before they could even succeed, Adira always finds out their plan and it turns out that she was only playing with them before she killed everyone they sent,”

I wouldn't deny the fact that Adira captured my interest. I feel like I want to get to know her more.

“Why are you introducing her to us? Don't tell me you want one of us to marry her?” Otis chuckled. “She's beautiful, I like her. But I'm not into marriage yet, Da—”

“You're gonna kill her,”

I glanced at my father swiftly when he said that.

“I want the both of you to kill her and erase their clan. If there is a clan who must make them vanish, that must be us, the Oliveros.”

“But Dad,” he crossed my gaze at him.

“Erase them in the Mafia world and I shall pass everything to one of you,” I clenched my jaw when he brought that up.

“Prove me that you deserve to lead the Oliveros clan, that's your next mission.”

I am going to kill the woman that captivated me.

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