Chapter 4. Petardo

~Antonio~

“Somehow,  asking about your motives will be a waste of my time.” Antonio said, breathing in another drag of smoke.

Kenji let out a low chuckle. “You know there's a bounty on your head right?” 

Antonio didn't reply, his face remained emotionless. Everyone wanted him dead, and he knows. The bounty was no news to him. 

“One billion dollars, I'm very aware.” Antonio said gruffly while squatting down to meet his eye level. “Too bad you're going to hell this way.” He slowly breathed the smoke from his cigar onto the beaten up face of Sato.

The room of the underground cell flickered a low yellow light, a big contrast to the luxurious living room upstairs. It smelled of mold, old blood and smoke.

The air was thick with suffering and torture, silent pleas of mercy leaked from the neighbouring cells, but Antonio stood unfazed. This was the kind of life Antonio was brought up in. The kind of life he couldn't escape, so he came to accept it. This is who he is — who he believes he really is.

“Pull his finger nails out one by one and take care of him however you want.” The don instructed a diligent associate of his named José. “Sayonara Sato.”

“Karera wa Anata o neratte iru, Don Antonio (They're coming for you, Don Antonio).” Kenji sneered in his foreign dialect before letting out a gruesome painful scream as the torture began.

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“Run a background check on that girl and bring her to me.” Antonio ordered his right hand man, Bruno.

“The badass who shot Sato?” Antonio didn't respond to his theatrical question.

“As you wish.” Bruno playfully saluted the boss and strutted out to carry out his instructions. 

The girl was odd. How could an ordinary maid move like that, with such… precision. She was sharp and fearless. Not even hesitating for a fraction to save his life.

She's definitely not ordinary, but something about her intrigued the Don to his wits. He wanted to know more about the short haired maid with the enticing voice.

Enraptured in his thoughts, the creak of the door followed by shuffling feet alerted Antonio. He looked up to meet the maid from earlier. Her form was less brave and appeared to be cowering back in discomfort or maybe fear?

“Look up.” Antonio's gruff voice only made her flinch and look more pitiful, but Alina slowly raised her head.

“Why did you do it?” He asked, his gaze fixed intently on her.

Alina's brows furrowed in confusion. Was he asking about why she shot the Japanese man, hit the glass of sake down or what?

“Why did you save me?” He asked again. Clearly this time around.

Antonio watched as Alina unconsciously fumbled with her fingers, he noticed how frightened the young girl looked. He wasn't going to kill her… at least not yet, not until he's gotten reasonable answers from her. 

“I-I don't know, but it was instinct.” She stammered before gaining her voice back.

“Instinct? What kind of maid instinctively knows how to handle a glock?” he asked suspiciously. His eyes raked her body from top to bottom.

Alina was undeniably beautiful. Even with her hair cut into a bobbed hairstyle, it matched her sharp features more. Her lips, cheeks and nose had this permanent flush that made her look innocent — completely hiding the fact that she's a bred assassin. 

The short black and white gown that hugged her slim body created a familiar heat inside Antonio. 

The Don tightly shut his eyes to get rid of the flaming lust inside of him that was beginning to build up.

Another body passed through the door with a file in his hand. “What you asked for Don.” The guard spoke, handing over the brown enveloped file containing Alina's background information to his boss.

There was a minute silence before Antonio's voice rattled “you see,” he began, raising the papers up. “I just ran a background check on you.”

He paused to analyze her expression. Will she give anything away with the slightest shift in her eyes or even a bead of sweat breaking free? Nothing. Alina remained composed and his eyes skidded back to the papers in his hands.

She was clean. No criminal records, no sketchy details. An ordinary background for an ordinary maid.

“Alina Diaz,” Antonio muttered her name as if he could physically taste it. Beautiful name, he thought. Orphaned at 18 years old, moved back to Mexico at twenty. No records or connections and worked in small time service jobs.

Hobbies include; painting, gardening and… taekwondo?

So she has combat skills… I see… Antonio thought.

“I learnt how to shoot at a range.” Alina suddenly voiced out, snapping the don's attention back to her.

“My father used to take me there before passing away. He said I needed to have skills to protect myself.” 

“Interesting.” He tapped his table. 

“You could have been shot today, you know that right? Your life could have ended today because of your rash attitude.”

Alina didn't respond to him. The grey floor looked more interesting to her at that moment.

“Answer me, girl.” Antonio's voice raised a little in a demanding way to get her to speak.

“Like I said, it was out of instinct. My brain told me to save you without thinking about my own life instead. I choose to save you out of pure impulse, sir.” Alina gritted out in between her teeth, she was beginning to look annoyed now by his persistent questioning. 

Antonio smirked, then grinned, and that morphed into a cunning laugh. “You're something else petardo(firecracker in spanish).”

“From now on you'll work under me, petardo,” Antonio said seriously.

“What?” Alina's mouth hung open.

“You heard me,” he responded. “your fearlessness excites me! I want you close by Alina.” Antonio breathed out her name like a spell in her ear.

He felt the way her body reacted, shuddering in response to his closeness and hot breath on her ear. She gulped a lump mixed with unease and…. Something else.

“From today,  you will be my new personal bodyguard.” a dangerous glint crossed his eyes as if daring Alina to object.