6

SOFIA

As expected, some strange men take Hector to the elevator and he's bent on taking me with him. My mind forgets the kind of danger I am in as it is more thrilled by the sweet scent of his musky, masculine cologne. 

Being so close to him and inhaling his fragrance with every breath I take reminds me so much of the night.

“Focus…” I scream in my mind in an attempt to get myself in the moment. The two men with us in the elevator aren't the same escorting us before the shots went off in the lobby. 

I feel quite angry as I stand beside Hector and the two guards are in front. The fact that he had walked right into the trap I had warned him about made me wonder if the recording had all been for nothing. He'd better have some clever trick up his sleeves.

By the time I see the two guards reaching in their pockets, I feel my heart racing. I don't have a firearm with me to defend myself, and that puts my fate entirely at the mercy of what Hector would do. 

With a swift, quiet move in a split second, Hector takes out his gun. But he doesn't shoot. He strikes one of the men on a pressure point in the back of the neck. That flattens him at once, leaving his comrade in shock. 

“I would rather not have blood in my elevator, so I'd suggest you put your gun away.” Hector’s aura makes the man shake even before he points his gun at him. “I won't speak more than twice.”

The man is still hesitant, looking like he wants to try his luck with someone as dangerous as Hector was. I only fear there would be a random firing of bullets with me getting caught in the crossfire.

“On three…” Hector says coldly, holding his aim with just one hand. “Three…” his gun goes off before the second count, making my heart skip. “I said I won't repeat myself.” 

The man falls to the ground and my perspective of Hector changes right there. He really is dangerous and it makes sense why no one was willing to take up the mission.

“Don’t look at me like some savage.” He says to me, seeing how shaken I am. “I shot him in the shoulder. He passed out from the shock. Turns out you weren't lying after all.”

The elevator bell rings and the door slides open and I see Pamela standing right there. He believed the ability of the men to kill Hector Reyes that she stood right there to wait for to receive them.

“Pamela…? Seriously…?” Hector calls out sarcastically. “You thought I would be dead?” 

Before Pamela can run, some of Hector's men take hold of her and take her away while she cusses at him violently till she's too far to be audible.

“You will be my new secretary.” Hector says like nothing at all happened. “On second thought, I'm promoting you to be my personal assistant. You'll resume tomorrow in your new role. Congratulations.”

And just like that, he walks away, leaving me in the elevator. His men come and clear the whole mess. It was weird how easily everyone moved on from that, like it was a normal daily occurrence.  

Getting to my apartment from work, I notice none of it is shown on the news. I become afraid at how powerful this Mafia group is to be able to contain all that. 

I double check my temporary apartment each time, just to make sure that I'm not being followed by any of his men. 

It's hard falling asleep as I'm filled with anticipation over what the next day would hold for me. It would get even harder to maintain my cover being so close to him, but that was the mission. 

After what felt like eternity, morning finally comes. I'm up before six and I see a text that sounds a lot like Hector, though it is from an unknown number.

“Be ready by 6:30. A black Porsche will be at your door to pick you up and bring you to my place where you'll resume.”

“Great…” I nod after reading the text. It was about to get real. 

No matter how much I try to forget that hot night between us ever happened, I just couldn't. And I wasn't sure if I would be able to say no if he made the offer again.

I shake off those thoughts as I get up to freshen up and get ready. 

The quietness reminds me of everything I had been trying to move on from. So I put on some music and carry out my morning routine. By the time I'm staring at the mirror, fully dressed, I hear the sound of a horn honking. It’s exactly 6:30. Not even a second late. 

In no time, I'm in the car, headed for the Reyes mansion. It's all happening too fast for me. Hopefully, the mission will be over soon. 

I'm so caught up in my next move that I barely have time to take in my immediate surroundings besides the fact that there are two suited men in front with me all by myself in the back seat.

“Someone’s been following us.” The man in the passenger’s seat says to his comrade in the driver's seat. 

I feel my heart racing as I hear that. It looks like I'm about to be caught up in some Mafia feud. But then, I turn around to see the car through the tinted glass behind me. 

“Wait a minute…” I look again to see the familiar grey sedan and the number on it. “Justin…” I barely finish whispering his name when a call comes in. It's Justin.

I am frantically losing my cool as Justin is about to ruin my cover the moment he's able to make contact with Hector's men. 

At the same time, I'm afraid Hector's men would fire mercilessly at him, thinking he was some rival gang goon. Second day of the mission and I'm already at risk of being caught in the crossfire.