Chapter 3

The driver stopped the car in front of the gym partially owned by Kennedy Strauss. He was a five-hundred-years old vampire who owned many other illegal businesses such as sex trafficking, drugs, arms dealing, and others—to name a few. Celeste had already worked for him for nearly four years. Leto started a year before her, which made him her senior. It didn't matter, though, because both of them had equal responsibility. The majority of the time, their responsibility was protecting Kennedy from his enemies. It was apparent he made quite a long list of enemies. Whenever there was a business, there was a competition. Kennedy didn't care much about what he did as long as he got the money.

This gym was one of the few places where he hired his bodyguards. Leto and Celeste were different stories because Kennedy didn't recruit them from the gym. Every month, Kennedy would recruit one person from the illegal fights as long as the man agreed to the job. Then, the rest would come along nicely. From what Celeste had heard, Kennedy had found one man for this month.

Now, here she was. The man who was going to be recruited was standing about five meters from her position. Although Celeste could barely make out the outlines of his body, she knew he was indeed muscular and tall. With only a white towel secured around his waist, Celeste couldn't resist but to look at the Greek God before her. The water droplets dripped from his hair, and they rolled down to his chest. Celeste's eyes could make out the trace of the water droplets as they made their way to the direction of his strong V-line. It was crazy to think about how her eyes refused to look away just because he was half-naked in front of her.

Kennedy couldn't pick the right time to barge in when the man, whose name was Dante, was having a shower. Sometimes, Celeste thought her boss didn't know the term 'privacy' at all. This wasn't the first time he barged in when someone had a shower in the changing room. Celeste witnessed the same thing with the previous guy the month before.

But Dante didn't answer right away. It seemed he wanted to weigh his decisions and the possible outcomes before agreeing to something. And Kennedy didn't seem too pushy either. This was the first time someone didn't accept his offer on the spot.

"Why did I feel like I just got rejected?" Kennedy sighed.

"Give him time. Maybe he's new in the town," Celeste said. "What do you want to do now, boss?"

"Keep an eye on him," he instructed her. "Did you get the money?"

Celeste passed the briefcase to him. "We got his money."

"I'd take that he didn't survive the night."

Celeste shrugged. "Leto got carried away as usual. And yes, the old man is dead. I don't think anyone could survive such torture."

Kennedy chuckled, "As expected with Leto. Always the artist."

"Heading back to the villa?"

"Yes, it has been a long night."

"Boss, you don't even sleep."

"Vampires don't sleep, but we do rest our eyes once in a while."

"Got it."

Kennedy hopped to the back passenger of the Hummer while Celeste watched the vehicle leave the venue as she stood there. Celeste spotted Dante had left the building and was heading in the direction of a black truck. They had brief eye contact before he got into his truck. At the same time, her phone rang, and it was no other than Leto himself.

"Yo, where are you? Party's started." He already slurred his words.

It wasn't even an hour since she left him. Leto could never handle the alcohol well, which was why he often planted his face to the ground before he could even get his erection sorted out.

"I'm not coming. You go and have fun," Celeste responded as her eyes trained on Dante.

He drove past her. Keeping an eye on someone wasn't a problem for her. That was the most straightforward job she had ever done since she worked for Kennedy. The most challenging job was listening to Leto's victims scream in agony as he skinned them alive.

"Aw, you no fun, Les."

She could imagine him pouting at her response. How he even pouted a small thing like this was always a wonder. He could be the kindest man alive when he wanted to. But, when his sadist side came out, that was when things were about to go down drastically.

"Good night, Leto. By the way, you have the apartment to yourself tonight."

They also shared an apartment which was unlikely because all Kennedy's bodyguards lived in the living quarters around his estate.

Celeste ended the call and walked to the back alley. Within seconds, she shifted into a white harpy eagle. She was a shapeshifter who could take the form of any animal. Having powers such as diamond skin was something she didn't know could happen to a shapeshifter. All she knew was that a shapeshifter didn't own such power or any power. They possessed inhuman abilities but not powers. So, she didn't know how she had those powers and what she was.

She flew into the sky, looking for the same black truck that belonged to Dante. Once she found his truck, Celeste followed the direction he was driving. He drove to a neighborhood for about one hour and stopped his car after the tenth house. She landed one of the tree branches beside the house and watched. As much as she wanted to sleep right now, she needed to make this first overwatch. She wanted to learn about him and what he did in his routine.

Dante walked to the second floor and entered a room. He switched on the light, and she could see his silhouette at the white curtain. There was another person in the house that she didn't see. From the second silhouette, she could tell it was a woman.

An unsettling feeling washed over her for no reason. Celeste didn't understand this feeling and why she felt it out of the blue. What could that mean? She wasn't good at interpreting emotions.

The moment the woman's silhouette knelt in front of Dante, Celeste's talons dug on the tree branch. Why was she acting this way? Dante could be with any woman he wanted. So why did she feel a sudden rush of jealousy for someone she didn't even know?

Something was wrong with her after a few sleepless nights. She flew off and headed to her apartment. She didn't care if Leto's one-night stand quaked the entire place with her screams. All Celeste needed right now was long hours of good sleep.