Chapter 4

FOUR

Being gone for about two months now, Katherine now felt safe enough and did not have that alarmed look in her eyes anymore.

She was constantly searching the faces of the men on the train she usually took back to the ghetto where she was now squatting in with a girl around her age who had offered to house her as long as she brought back food daily from the cafe where she now worked.

Even though the manager of the cafe had initially refused to hire her due to her frail stature, Katherine pleaded to be given two weeks trial after which she was hired due to good reviews from the customers.

She had dyed her blonde hair jet black and had even cut it to her nape length to avoid being easily recognized.

But as the days went by, her strength seemed to slip.

She was constantly losing her grip on objects like trays and glasses and her eyes swirled without warning every now and then, yet she forced herself to work extra hours to provide for her basic needs.

She strongly believed that if Lucifer had not found her by now, then she had done a pretty good job in changing her looks because she had become even leaner and she looked more boyish with her short hair. Perhaps, he has even given up searching for me, she thought.

But what she didn't know was that though two months had passed, there was a bounty of fifty thousand dollars promised to anyone who found her and so she did not suspect that the woman who sat at one of the tables in the cafe that fateful morning was taking pictures of her after she noticed a striking resemblance in the magazine ad.

"Two cups of coffee for table five please," Katherine said weakly as she placed the tray on the counter.

"Coming right up!" The girl behind the counter replied and placed two cups of coffee on the tray. She then looked up at Katherine's pale face with concern.

"Are you alright, Kate?" She asked.

"Me? Yes, sure. Just a little under the weather that's all," Katherine lied and smiled weakly.

She slid the tray off the counter and moved towards table five, almost staggering in the process.

"Your coffee, sir," she said to the man wearing a well pressed white shirt and tie over a pair of slacks, reading a newspaper.

"Hmm," the man muttered and continued reading.

Katherine's eyes were half closed with tiredness as she picked up one of the cups. Her frail hands betrayed her again and before she could register what had happened, the customer had bolted out of his chair, his perfect white shirt stained with an ugly brown liquid.

"What the hell!" He yelled and reflexively slapped her across her face.

"Is that how you treat customers here? We're you not properly trained?" The man yelled, attracting the attention of the people around.

The manager was out of his office in minutes, and seeing that Katherine was the cause of the early morning disturbance, he sighed heavily.

"Just look at that! She ruined my shirt! Is that how your workers are trained?" The man asked the manager.

"I apologize for her carelessness and your ruined shirt, sir, but be rest assured, you will get your coffee and a free hamburger for the damages done," the manager said and turned to Katherine who still stood at the same spot, holding the cheek where she had been slapped.

"And you," he shook his index finger at her. "Bear in mind that you wouldn't get your payment for the week because of this!"

"No, no, no. Please sir," Katherine pleaded and clasped her hand together. She had already taken some groceries on credit and had promised to pay up with the wages she got for the week. 

"Clean this mess up, and don't beg me!" He said sternly but Katherine only fell to his feet, desperately holding his leg and apologizing.

"Let go of me! You're making a scene," the manager said through gritted teeth, trying to shake her off but she didn't budge.

As he raised her hand to shove her away, he was stopped mid air and he received a loud smack to the back of his head.

Before Katherine could raise her face up, she saw her manager being flung to the nearby table which he crashed into with a loud wail.

The aggrieved customer also came tumbling to the floor beside him. 

The whole cafe was thrown into chaos at the turn out of events and when Katherine finally lifted her face, the first thing she saw was a pair of dark droopy eyes that made her heart skip a million miles.

The manager then stood to his feet, about to question who the man thought he was to throw him around in his own cafe when he locked eyes with the mighty Lucifer Cain.

The manager immediately went down on his knees and began to plead for mercy even though he had no idea what he had done wrong.

If Lucifer Cain said he was wrong, then he was wrong, and nothing in the world could change that.

"Where's the money you have to pay her?" Lucifer asked the man, finally taking his eyes off Katherine.

"Here, sir…it's here," the manager quickly produced a ten dollar bill and passed it to Lucifer.

"Ten dollars? You watch a woman cry at your feet just because of ten fucking dollars?" Lucifer asked, enraged.

Lucifer flung out his right leg and sent a kick to the manager's side. The quiet cracking sound of his bone gave him the satisfaction he wanted.

He finally looked up to give the money to Katherine but she was nowhere in the cafe. His eyes darted across the place occupied with scared looking customers but Katherine was not among them.

Through the glass wall, he saw her running out into the drizzle and was suddenly alarmed. Why the hell was she running into the rain?

He quickly took out a checkbook from his breast pocket and scribbled a sum of money on it.

"Fix the table, and your ribs," he said to the manager with his eyes still on Katherine's petite figure and flung the check to him before quickly dashing out of the cafe.

Katherine ran as fast as her wobbly legs could carry her. She had no idea where she was running to but she refused to stop.

She couldn't return to him, she couldn't live the life he wanted for her, and even though the last two months had been the worst months of her life, she would rather live like that than pole dance to the satisfaction of rich perverts!

She knew that her legs would give way any second yet she was determined to run as far away as she could. But when she heard the heavy footfalls behind her, she knew that running had become useless.

Hot tears now mixed freely with the cold drops of rain that splashed on her face and her clothes were now extremely wet and glued to her skin, making her shiver.

Lucifer finally caught up with her and stopped in front of her.

She couldn't tell if it was concern on his face or anger; if he was trying to save her or claim her back. They just stood there, staring at each other with rain drenching their clothes.

Lucifer took in her changed look. Her full plump lips and sapphire blue eyes were just like Giovanni's and he wondered how in the world he didn't notice the semblance when he first saw her.

“Nice disguise, Katherine. Little wonder we haven't been able to trace you for two whole months. Immediately I received that photo from that make-up artist this morning, I was certain it was you.” There was an edge to his voice.

Katherine couldn't bring herself to say anything, and the hot tears still streamed down her face.

Lucifer took off his suit jacket and placed it over her shoulder to warm her up before hooking his arm beneath her knee and carrying her, bridal style, to the spot he had parked his car. 

He had been at a gym when he received the picture and did not have the time to organize the men that would come along with him.

Luckily, Katherine didn't struggle against him and he was glad, because her struggles would have changed nothing.

He had finally found the key to getting the perfect revenge against Giovanni Ivanovo. Katherine, Giovanni's daughter was the piece he needed to finally checkmate his rival, her father, and he was determined to give the man the surprise of his life, but first, she had to be punished for running away from him.