# Chapter 2: Kira Rojas
I wake up drenched in sweat, disoriented and struggling to gather my thoughts. Something's different, wrong! The air smells a little perfumy, and my body is a little sticky. I look beside me, and upon seeing the man there, I know exactly what happened. It all comes flooding back to me even more when I notice I'm completely without clothes, and so is he. Blushing slightly, I slip back into my clothes, cursing myself for letting my guard down. I'm not supposed to get involved with anybody. Emotions make me vulnerable, something I can’t afford in my line of work. Attachment—physical or emotional—is a luxury I can't afford. Oh, it's still night, I think after take my phone from my pocket and realize that it's just 3 a.m. Good news since it means I can get away unnoticed without having anything else to do with him. I chastise myself for letting things go so far with someone whose name I don’t even know. I clean myself up without touching him at all, making sure he doesn't notice anything before I walk up to the door. I'm about to leave when I notice it's locked. Fuck. Well, I have a thousand ways to escape a locked room, but the window is my favorite. Either way, I don't want anyone seeing me walk through the passageway of whatever hotel he had booked, and I don't want to go through the stress of sneaking away either. It's much easier to slither down the walls of the hotel building. I improvise to find ropes, then attach them to the window and descend the wall, muscles tensed for any sound that might give me away. It's not long before I finally touch ground and then fall into the shadows I'm familiar with, happy for the familiar cold that comes with it. I make my way back to the crypt, damp and cold, the air thick with the scent of decay and rust. "Wow, you're back already," someone says. I frown at him. The son of a bitch is the one who made me do this in the first place. "Xavier, knock it off," I snap, brushing past him. "What’s the rush?" he calls after me, his voice dripping with mischief. I quicken my pace, eager to escape his probing eyes. A couple more steps and I'll begin the climb up to my high-rise apartment amidst the rundown shambles of the criminal underground world. "You can't say you didn't enjoy yourself," he continues in a hopeful tone. Although I intend to just walk past, I find myself stopping momentarily and reconsidering. Despite the anger raging in me for letting myself feel something, I can’t shake the thought that maybe I didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe for once, I deserved it. But the guilt... it’s overwhelming. I don't respond however, as I resume my walk, maintaining the feisty pace. He doesn't call after me anymore, and I'm glad to finally be left in peace. I close my eyes on the usual couch and will myself to fall asleep. However, I find myself consumed by thoughts of the stranger I met just some hours ago. The following days are a blur of training and terse exchanges with Xavier. I throw myself into work, trying to forget the stranger and what he awakened in me. Then, Dante summons me, and I know it's time to get out. It's been two weeks now and I finally stand before Dante Icarus, leader of the Shadowfang. His eyes are cold, like they always were during training—sharp, calculating, and never merciful. He's called me here, and I assume it's for a good reason, most likely about to give me another mission, another person to be dead before sunrise. I take in a breath as I watch him go through a couple of files in a neatly arranged folder on his table. The room is rather dark and mysterious, and even though it's hard to see already—at least for normal people—he's wearing dark shades, probably just to add a hint of mystery to himself. I've long grown used to his strange quirks, so I'm not concerned, neither am I annoyed by his keeping me waiting. He's the one who trained me, and discipline was my utmost quality. I could wait here before him for hours before he gives me his mission and not complain. "I have a target for you," he says, his tone deliberate. I remain standing still like a pillar, watching and waiting. He need only say a name, give an accurate description, and the job is done. With my skills, I'll track him down in an hour and plan the next moves from there. "He’s from a family with power—wealth, influence," he warns. "His house is a fortress. Guards, security systems, the whole nine yards." I frown at his information, wondering what's the matter this time around, for him to be giving me such detailed intel. It seems like this isn't any ordinary mission. I feel like he's trying to warn me about it without telling me outright that it's going to be dangerous and that I need to be careful. Well, for me to ever hear him say I should be careful is a long shot. He's actually very confident in my abilities. But despite that, I'm pretty sure he doesn't care if I live or die. He looks up at me slowly. "His name is Luca Romano," he says. "He's just a person like all the others you've killed, so it shouldn't be too difficult if you are meticulous enough." I nod silently and wait for any further instruction. He considers for a moment before handing the file over to me entirely. I'm a little surprised at all the information in it—he rarely gives me anything more than a verbal description of my target, and I see it as a form of training on how to track the right person, recognize him, and take him down. This time, the instructions are precise; in other words, he's leaving no room for error, even though I'm not known for making one in the first place. "Even the location is here," I mutter to myself, without knowing the words came out. "Yes," he says, "just in case it's a little difficult for you to track." I look up at him, glaring—not my usual attitude towards my superior, but with his lack of trust in me, I feel offended. "Just carry out the mission successfully," he says. "I want him dead before tomorrow morning." He raises an eyebrow. "I believe that's enough time for you to prepare." "It is," I say with a nod, looking at the black and white picture before me. Whoever this man is, one thing's for sure: his fate is set in stone, his death is certain. Tonight, I prepare diligently, gathering intel from colleagues and plotting my infiltration strategy. I would rather spend my time plotting methods of entering whatever secure facility he's in and breaking myself out than finding blueprints of his building, though I'm capable of doing both. Three more hours and I'm ready. All my tools are with me, and I have my route mapped out. I memorize the guard shifts down to the minute and prepare my disguises. My first—an oblivious delivery worker—would get me past the outer gates. A stolen ID would cover the second checkpoint, while a janitor’s uniform would grant access to the inner quarters. Just a couple of precautionary measures in case something goes wrong—I'm not so capable that law enforcement wouldn't have anything to start an investigation on, even as I try not to leave traces behind. I need these measures against any uncertainty. Fully prepared, I start off at exactly 6 o'clock. I spend two entire hours before I get to the location and find out it's just like Dante said. It's huge, in fact an estate, and I'm pretty sure from some of my intel that there's some kind of military barrack inside and a lot of guards and dogs for security. I watch the guards and pick a target: a short man with an irresponsible appearance. I wait for him to exhibit lousiness, and surely enough, he steps into the shadows to light a cigarette. I approach him then. A playful smile distracts him just long enough for my blade to find its mark. I smile, happy I'm pretty enough to use it as another weapon in my arsenal. I don't disguise myself as him because they'll find me out soon enough. Instead, I proceed with extreme caution into the building directly, glad for his identity card to bypass any security check. The next 30 minutes go slowly as I walk and stop with thousands of intervals, sneaking slowly and carefully, building up. I find my way up to where I know he's supposed to be. He has his own room. The spies here have given me as much information. Before long, I find myself there. So far, it's a success. I've only had to kill three people, which is, in fact, a record. I press my back against the wall, gun raised, prepared for a clean shot. He's not here yet, but whenever he enters, he's done for. The door opens, finally, after about an entire hour of wait. I'm not bored, however, or tired. Patience is one of my key qualities so I'm not anxious either. I level my gun against his head and wait for him to turn around and see me. Yes, that's my fifth rule on Killer101. Always look your target in the eyes before taking them out. I need to sear his face into my memory, because if not I'll feel like a coward. If possible, he should even get a chance to fight me, but if he's not skilled enough, I won't give him the luxury and it won't last long. I start getting a little frustrated, seeing that he instead starts scrolling through his phone after plopping on his bed. His level of awareness is below zero. How can someone so careless survive in a world like this? With the more time I spend waiting I start to notice something familiar. 'Don't tell me' I think as a slow inexplicable feeling builds up in my gut. Even before the man turns, my stomach drops. It’s him—the stranger from that night.Chapter ThreeLuca RomanoThe stranger girl doesn't even give me her name. All I have is her beautiful smile, and somehow, it lingers in my mind for days. I don't know why I feel this pull towards her. It doesn't make sense. I mean, I'm an extrovert, but even I wouldn't just randomly connect with someone at a club like that. There is something different about her, something meaningful. Even now, more than two weeks after the encounter, I keep getting flashbacks. Her skin, soft and delicate, contrasting with her pretty eyes that have a certain She’s stunning, even more so in ways I can’t explain. I’d been with plenty of women. That’s what my life is supposed to be—freedom, indulgence, the perks of a wealthy family. But this... it’s different with her.I walk into the room from my office feeling drained. It's evening and 10 o'clock already. Not exactly the time I am supposed to be coming home from work, but it is what it is. I flop down and lounge on my bed, scrolling through my phone
Chapter 4Luca RomanoI don't know why she required my help to escape when she pretty much did it all on her own. I'd simply given her a rope to slither down the window of my room and the moment after, she'd disappeared. There was no single trace of her at all. Like it was a dream and she'd never been here. Even the guards were confused when they came.The chaos of last night won’t leave my mind. Even here, in my office, it clings like a stubborn shadow. How close I had come to meeting my maker. But for some reason, she'd spared me, leaving me with an unsettled. The feeling's like an invisible thread tethering us, pulling me in despite my better judgment. I look at the files in front of me, not surprised at how my eyes glaze when I try to read them. I can't string the words together anymore. And I know that forcing myself would only lead to me making crap decisions about the company I've worked so hard to build.I'm distracted. But I need an even bigger distraction if I'm going to fi
Chapter 5Vanessa HollowayWhen I got his text, my heart skipped a beat. How long had it been? A month? A year? I checked his last text and found, to my surprise, that it had been only a week. I sighed, realizing that I was still pining over him. He's the most amazing person, but it's frustrating that he only calls me when he needs me. His actions denote he doesn't want anything deeper than our erotic encounters, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to win him over with time.I had gotten ready in my usual professional journalist attire, but with something beneath in preparation for our encounter: a jacket to go with the otherwise revealing blouse and my pretty jean skirt. It didn't take me long to get to his company, but the minutes wound slowly when he didn't show immediately.I was, however, glad to be in his car, already turned on by his apology and the possibilities before us. Currently, I'm in a hotel room with him, unbuttoning my dress sensually. There's soft music in the backgrou
Chapter 6 Kira I make my way back home after deciding not to carry out the mission. I spend the next couple of days hooked up inside, not wanting to see anybody and not wanting to be disturbed. Luckily, no one comes to disturb me, and I am able to completely collect my thoughts. I have an idea of what is going next. If Dante finds out that I didn't carry out my mission, there will be trouble for me. Even now, sitting on a rooftop in the dead of the night, I find myself contemplating why I haven't done it. My life has been smooth sailing for a very long time now. And as long as I complete each mission, I'm able to continue living to the fullest, enjoying freedom and independence. But now, by not ending him, I have completely fouled things up. I keep uncomfortably feeling someone approaching me. I don't ask who he is, though, because I already know who it is. "How long are you going to keep hiding away?" he questions. I glare at him at the way he suddenly arrives and starts q
Chapter 7 - KiraI walk into the car, knowing exactly who is waiting inside and feeling my heart beating in trepidation at the prospect of what I'm about to do. He's sitting in the backseat and, once again, using his phone. I can't blame him - billionaires and rich people in general tend to be less aware of their surroundings and so cocksure that everything is going to continue going smoothly, even when people like me have their eyes on them.Once again, I wait for him to look up and realize that his life is about to end. I'm not about to kill him while he's unaware. Just like before, he raises his eyes. "Our friend driver, aren't we supposed to be on the way now?" he questions.I turn around quickly, pulling my gun and pointing it straight at his forehead. He freezes in shock. Well, that's the reaction I was expecting. I was supposed to pull the trigger the next instant, but I hold for a second when he raises his hands in the air in surrender."Oh, you again," he starts. I smile swee
Chapter 8 - Luca RomanoAnother close shave with death. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm not used to it yet. The moment she leaves, I find myself letting out a breath, and only then do I realize I had been holding it. Despite the air conditioning in the car, I find that I am sweating profusely - hell, my back is actually drenched. That girl would be the death of me, I know it already. Sure, I managed to escape this time around, but would I be able to the next time?I don't even know why she spared me, because clearly my tongue wasn't silver enough. I like to think I'm charismatic, but I know that with her professionalism, she wouldn't care about that at all. I think of her words as I try to gather myself and overcome the shock of finding a stranger right in my car, sent from hell to kill me."She doesn't have any personal problem with me," I repeat to myself in my head. Somehow that makes me feel relieved. I'm not quite sure why it means so much to me that she isn't the one who wants to ki
Chapter 9 - Luca Romano I don't do anything particular in my office. No, I simply spend the time thinking. But I don't beat myself up for it - what with my life hanging in the balance at the moment, I can't exactly blame myself for wanting to secure my survival first of all. That feeling, wanting, not minding if she tries to kill me again as long as it means we'll meet with each other once more, still nags at me, but I force it down. It's my life we are playing with at the moment, and it's a very expensive joke if anything. It's best I never see her again, but somehow just the prospect of that ties my stomach in knots. "Where did I get such a masochistic trait?" I question myself, rubbing my fingers on my temples and feeling like a fool. Even with my experiences with Vanessa, it has never come close to death before. But this with her - death is but a moment away, and I actually find myself excited by it. "This is getting really unhealthy," I tell myself, making up my mind to make
Chapter 10 - Vanessa HollowayThroughout the week we spend apart from each other, I feel like I'm tearing up into pieces. It pains me that he never calls, not until he needs something. It pains me that we never went on actual dates with each other, that things between us have to be so professional and simple when it could be a lot more. I don't push it, however. There's not a lot of time, and soon he'll start coming through - I know it. Maybe he doesn't like me that way yet, but with time, he's going to get really involved and finally see me as a perfectly eligible lady for marriage.I can't wait till we start dating. Something tells me to take the bull by the horns and be the one to initiate things between us, but still, I find myself waiting patiently. Maybe I'm just a bit too scared.I go back to the company, looking at the large building and the scale of it, and begin writing again. It's what I do, what I enjoy doing, so I don't think I'm nervous at all. Somehow, I also feel at ho
Chapter 81: Luca RomanoI look straight at my sister in disbelief. Challenging for my position, the one that's mine by right - that's simply going too far. I am not quite sure what has suddenly gotten into her for her to even try this, but I am very angry with her now."How can you even-" I start, standing up to my feet and stomping on the ground in anger, but my dad is looking at me, his eyes firm now."Sit down," he said. My eyes widened in shock as I look at him, wondering if this is really it. I take a moment to contemplate my choices before I sit down finally, somehow having the feeling that this is going to be more than a mistake for me.I'm not quite sure if I should continue going along with what I have chosen, but when I think about it, I can't suddenly start changing my idea and what I have stood for just because of the consequences that await me. What would that make me? I wouldn't even feel like a man any longer if I suddenly started conforming because of the threat of los
Chapter 80: Luca RomanoIt is one thing to be defiant and say everything I want to say to every other person who questions what I choose to do. It is one thing to be myself, act free, and not care about what others think of my decisions. But it is another thing entirely to speak the same words to my father. And that is my situation now as I stare straight ahead at the man who holds my future in his hands somewhat and looks like he has a lot to say to me right now."I heard something about you refusing the marriage," someone says. I snap out of my thoughts and look at him boldly, deciding that it is best to face him man to man and tell him what I want. He keeps frowning hard at me. This is pretty much a family meeting now because everyone is here. Maybe he arranged it this way for this particular reason.If he thinks that because of all the people present and all the officials of the Romano mafia empire here, I won’t continue presenting my argument, then he is mistaken. He is the one w
Chapter 79 Vanessa Holloway I can't help but feel like this is fated for the two of us to suddenly be sharing a meal with each other in a restaurant. Both of us, two parts of the same coin and facing the same situation of a forced marriage. I can't help but think that maybe we should just go along with it. After all, his eyes are very shocked when he notices that it is me, but that is the same for me. I don't know myself that he is the one that I am supposed to face. I have no idea whatsoever. And there is actually no way I could ever have known that it was. I am being prostituted. I know that just as much as he is right now. With a sum of a higher class, they say, I am forced to drop my appearance as a journalist, to open up my ears and start calling myself my real name for just a while. But I tell myself that the moment this is over, I will ensure that he will regret it if he decides to throw in his own blood with me and tries to be a thing with me. At his part, he seems pretty c
Chapter 78: Luca Romano My sister comes to meet me and seems to want to have a long conversation, from the looks of how long she is spending and how she doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" I get questioned, frowning at her. She smiles at me slowly before she continues, her voice taking on a lighter tone."There's something else. You need to listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you," she informs. I look at her in surprise. What on earth does she have to tell me that is actually so important?"Speak," I start, but she is already talking, and she doesn't need me to prompt her."What has happened is going to give us more resources and also give us backup against the various. I have more power over the family farm and can tilt the scales in our favor," she tells me. I can hardly believe my ears."What?" I ask. She doesn't seem to be joking at all."I know how it is to you. I know what you feel about it," she tells me. "She wants her m
Chapter 77Luca Romano I don't know what to say about her, how she reacts. It's surprising, simply put, and also incredibly interesting. "What is it you know about her?" I ask her. She raises an eyebrow."Don't worry yourself," she says. "I can't think," I respond coldly, wondering what has suddenly gotten into her and also wondering why she would decide to treat me like this, or her husband. "Are we now leaving each other in the dark about important things?" I ask her slowly, my voice having a dangerous edge to it as I question her actions and how she treats me right now.She seems to be a little uncomfortable. Finally, she responds, "I've done my research and I found out about him. I also know that he's not someone we can play around with. He's a very powerful figure in the criminal underworld. And also, there has never been anybody he came across that managed to survive." She told me, sounding rather fearful, "How did you survive?"She asked me all of a sudden. I blink, refusing t
Chapter 76 - Luca RomanoI stare at the man in front of me. I know that negotiation isn't going to get me anywhere. I don't even need anyone to tell me - I'm really well aware of the fact that he's here to take me alive, and that nothing I would say ever would change that. I'm feeling rather crazy inside as I look at him and try to plan.My phone is in my pocket. My hands are not really where he can see them. They are in my pocket, so I can pull off a trick or two on him, if I'm lucky enough. I wonder silently whether it's a good plan at all because personally, it seems like it's only going to be futile in the end. I really don't see how he's not going to be aware of my little trick if I actually decided to try it out, and I knew that it's already a daunting task in the first place for me, even more so when I decide that I'm going to try to talk to him and use my phone at the same time while maintaining that I am giving him my full attention.I am taking a deep breath as I try to calm
Chapter 75: Dante IcarusI don't really think my plan is feasible. It's not supposed to work at all because of how stupid it sounds, but somehow I have confidence that it's going to work either way. It simply borders on betting. Betting is only a bet that the relationship between Luka and Ikira is far further off than I would like it to be. However, I know that betting against myself is probably the best option I might have. I might have acute knowledge of it, but my analysis proves that for her to actually be protecting me, they might even be already having sex.Either way, I would find another way to get to him if he doesn't just come on his own. So even as I wait some distance away from where I called him to with her phone number, I didn't want her, but I think that it's too easy if he's actually going to come. I'm already making plans for what I would have something to work with when it actually doesn't work. But suddenly I see the car driving up quickly towards the space in the d
Chapter 74Dante IcarusLooking at the records in front of me, the files that are supposed to be easy to analyze, I find myself boiling in rage as the words blur in my vision. Twenty-two attempts at killing one man and he's not dead yet. I breathe, banging my fist on the desk, my eyes flashing in anger. This is absolutely impossible. This piece of information is something I can't fathom. Usually, one is all it takes, especially when I send my sharpest blade who goes by the name of Zora. But this time around, it takes a hell more than one, and even then there doesn't seem to be any results.I stopped sending her a while ago. It was pretty much clear to me that I wasn't going to get anything as a result from her, so it was best I send others that would be more obliged to comply with my will. Yes, I did everything - I followed all the rules, sending those I trust like her favorite colleague and companion, and also sending a couple of minors with some assistance from the tough guys, but t
Chapter 73 – Luca RomanoThe experience with her was bliss, and not just in words. I enjoyed it with every fiber of my being, and I was sure she did too. We started meeting with each other after that day, frequently in a way I wouldn’t have expected. Not in my house every time, of course, because then my dad or someone else might get wind of it, and I’d be in serious trouble if they started suspecting anything. But hotels were a good place for us to meet, to enjoy the pleasure of being in each other’s arms. I couldn’t help but feel like this was absolutely wonderful between us. I never wanted it to end. It was a deeper aspect of our relationship now that we were exploring further, now that we were finally having sex again after literally years of refraining. The only time we had done it before was that one-night stand that got us started with each other. Now, it seemed like something had finally ignited within us, and I never wanted it to end. I wanted the fire between us to continue