ROB POVThe message from earlier still burned brightly in my head. The mistake the sender made was using a traceable number. It was none other than that pathetic bastard, Jason. Of course he used a traceable number. He wanted me to know it was him behind the message.Fucking idiot.I sat on the balcony with my laptop open beside a half-empty glass. I had lost count of how many drinks I had, and I was too far gone to care. The only thing that mattered was the video playing in front of me. I kept replaying it like it held the answers to every question burning in my head.That kiss. I had been checking through the CCTV footage every night since our attack and I came across it. The video of our garden kiss. I deleted it of course, no one else is allowed to see that. But I transferred it to my laptop first.I watched it again. And again. And again.There was no adrenaline this time, no fight or flight. No alcohol. No chaos. It had been quiet. Calm. Real. And she kissed me.Bianca Marcello
I heaved a sigh of relief as I entered the bedroom and shut the door behind me. What the actual fuck? This time, I had no excuses for actually going through with it. I kissed Rob. Not by accident. Not in a haze. I let it happen. My phone screen lit up and I checked it. Jason again. He had been calling for a while now, blowing up my phone while I was busy letting my body betray everything I swore I wouldn’t feel. While I was busy kissing Rob of all people. I called him back. “Hey boss. I missed your call,” I said, keeping my voice light even though I felt anything but. “I heard you went out of town. Your vacation leave,” he said. “Yeah. Just wanted to take a break.” “You should have told me. I could have gone with you,” he added. I scoffed, unable to help myself. “Really? Aren’t you at the hospital?” “I am. You didn’t check in on your poor boss.” I couldn’t tell if he was actually sad or just acting. Rob had said Jason had direct communication with the Broker or someone close
I woke up the next morning to find the bed empty and cold. I had no idea why it made feel the way I did, but it did. I freshened up quickly, slipped in my lenses, and wore a simple floral dress with a single strap before heading downstairs for breakfast.Instead of breakfast, I saw Rob and his uncle talking with some papers on the table with his back to the stairs. “Ah, here comes the princess,” Victor said. Rob turned to look at me, and my heart jumped. I almost missed a step but caught myself just in time. How could be go back to normal when we almost kissed. Not just that, I almost kissed him. Me! I almost kissed Rob.The explosion, him finally opening up coupled with everything, it was too much.“Hey,” he said, standing and reaching for my hand as I stepped off the last stair.I nodded back, unable to speak with my heart thundering so loud I felt he could hear it. He was staring at me like he was trying to figure something out. “I’ll have them bring down breakfast”, Victor sa
BIANCA I didn’t know what to say. The air between us had shifted. It wasn’t sharp or charged like it had been before, but it was heavy in a quieter way. I watched the side of his face, noticed the twitch in his jaw as he looked away from me like the memory had scorched something behind his eyes that still hadn’t healed. He had given me something I wasn’t sure he had ever given anyone else. And I hated that it made me feel anything. My instinct stirred immediately. Run. Pull back. Don’t stay in this too long or it will root itself inside you. But I didn’t move. I didn’t speak either. I just sat there with my hands folded in my lap and tried to ground myself in the silence. I didn’t want to be here in this moment, but I was. The quiet thickened, brittle at the edges. I reached over slowly, hesitant but deliberate, and wrapped my arms around him. It wasn’t tight and it wasn’t meant to claim anything. It was just enough. His body went still. He didn’t say a word, didn’t
The blast slammed into my chest and the floor shook hard beneath us. I stumbled back, barely holding onto Rob as the ceiling cracked and bits of plaster fell. Smoke filled the air and the dust burned my throat. Every breath felt like fire. He pulled me up and we stepped into the hallway. The room behind us was already in flames, swallowing everything. The elevator wasn’t working so we ran for the stairs. Rob’s grip tightened around my wrist. It was the only steady thing in the chaos. People screamed and cried. Some crawled or carried others who couldn’t move. A man collapsed near my feet, eyes empty, but there was no time. I swallowed hard and kept going. We reached the stairwell. It was dark, slick with dust, and littered with debris. The emergency lights flickered and the smoke followed us down like it was alive. I coughed and forced myself to keep going. We weren’t alone. Others stumbled alongside us, some bleeding, some dragging each other. A woman clutched her child as she
He looked pale and lost in thought. Against better judgment, I reached out to him.“It’s okay. I’m okay,” he said, downing the rest of his drink and pouring another.“If it’s any consolation, we’re both in pretty shitty places right now. I have to figure this out or I’ll get framed. It’s like The Broker is playing some sick, twisted mind game with me,” I said, taking the glass from his hand before it reached his lips.He stared at my mouth as I took a sip.I let myself become his distraction for some messed-up reason, and I could only blame it on the disguise I was wearing and the goddamn atmosphere of this place.“I know. I’m sorry,” he said.“What’s the connection? Why did The Broker go after your uncle, your family, and Mrs. Bayern?” I asked.“If I knew, we wouldn’t be here. I can only assume he’s a hired hand with a network of hitmen like Vega. Someone must have hired him the same way he hired Vega,” he said.Whoever it was, screw them. I just wanted a big-girl job to get a big-gi