Chapter 7

Caterina could feel her heartbeat accelerate with each passing second. Not only was she right about being watched, but she realized now that her decision to leave her job and effectively her house had probably saved her from whatever these men had in store for her.

The sound of two loud successive thuds brought her frozen mind back to earth and she couldn't believe what just played out in front of her. Sebastian had knocked out the two buff-looking men and they were now lying unconscious on the floor. She eyes him with a shocked, questioning, and admiring look, and he gives her a pointed look as if urging her to get her things.

Minutes later, they are back on the road and speeding through the highways.

"Are you okay?" Caterina finally asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sebastian throws her a quick glance

"Exactly! How are you okay? Those men had guns, not toy guns from the looks of it,"

"Of what use is a weapon if you don't know how to use it?" Sebastian knows he is going to have to cook up a wonderful lie for Caterina, or else she just might figure him out right here.

"They looked nothing like armatures, and you know that." Caterina was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid.

"Looks can be deceiving, Catty." Sebastian knows he would have to avoid using a lot of words, or else Caterina would easily realize that he's waffling.

"Sebastian, let's assume those men have no idea how to pull a trigger when the gun was already placed perfectly against your head, let's also assume they are some amateurs who only got lucky in stalking you all the way to the front door without you realizing it. Are those buff men also weak pussies who can be knocked out by a random guy with a mysterious job?"

"Catty..."

"What are you keeping from me, Sebastian Riccardo?" She only uses his full name when she's pissed to the max.

"Whoa! Calm down, tiger!"

"Sebastian!"

"Caterina Russo, the both of us almost lost our lives less than twenty minutes ago and this is what you want to talk about right now? Seriously?"

"Well, we can talk about how you just killed two men in front of me if you don't want to talk about your secret job."

"I didn't kill them, okay?"

"Oh, so not only are you skilled enough to take out two men, you are skilled enough to take them out effectively without taking their lives. Classic! I feel better knowing that!"

"Caterina, I really need you to trust me."

"No, this isn't about me not trusting you. I have trusted you since we were kids, yet you don't trust me with whatever this is! We practically grew up together!"

"Caterina..."

"Just forget it," She knows by now that she isn't going to get anything useful out of him.

The car is filled with silence and neither one of them speaks to the other till they reach their destination.

Sebastian finally pulls up in front of a really big mansion seated in the heart of a massive and beautiful estate. Caterina can't help but feel intimidated by her environment. They climb out of the car without uttering a word to each other and Caterina retrieves her bag from the back seat and shoves it at Sebastian who chuckles as he knows it's a sign that she's no longer mad at him.

As soon as they get to the giant door of the mansion, Sebastian's countenance changes to a cold, dark, and expressionless one and this doesn't go under Caterina's radar. Without ringing the doorbell bell, the door is pulled open from the inside revealing the magnificent interior designs and furniture that cost more than Caterina had ever spent in her entire life

In the heart of what looks like the living room, two men are seated with a look that mirrors Sebastian's own and there's a woman seated with her back facing the front door. Sebastian ushers her in and the closer she gets to the three people who are seemingly waiting for her, the sweatier her palms get.

Soon, she's standing right in their middle. She turns her head to see the lady and words cannot describe the disbelief that coursed through her.

'Why does she look exactly like me?'