ROBERT I shouldn't have left her like that. The second the door slammed behind Mia and me, the house felt thicker, as if her crying had soaked into the walls. I heard it even after we passed the midpoint on the block. Hell, I could even feel it. But I walked on anyway. That's just the sort of thing I always used to do with my messes: walk away, especially from ones that didn't involve bloodshed where they landed on the floor. Mia glared at me from the passenger seat, biting her split lip, looking at me that funny way of hers, like a cat holding herself in check waiting for the right moment to spring. She never said anything. She didn't need to. She'd won. Again. And I? I wasn't quite sure whether I'd lost or if I'd just cemented Louisa's suspicions. Eight years ago, I took her out of a rehab center, half dead, skin hanging off bone, eyes dead, no glint. I didn't question her why. I recognized that broken. I'd worn it myself more times than I was willing to admit. Rescuing
MIA Please.....please, don't kill me, I'd do better ma'am, the next shot will be accurate, there'd be no traces Shadow, give me one last chance. Fool. I take an indifferent look over the tied, shivery fool my men brought back. "Tsk....you have sentenced yourself to death the moment you called me Shadow. To the world I am just Mia, dumb, blonde Bimbo and that's how it will remain so you cannot walk out of here alive, you're a loose end." I take a knife and slash his throat ignoring his struggle as blood spills everywhere. I move to the bathroom of the ensuite we're presently at then wash my hands thoroughly. I take a phone call " It's done Don. They don't know who I am, not Robert, not Daniel, not Jacque or even Rebel that you fear so much. The man who can identify me has been killed hence you can relax, there is no threat". I cut the call They all consider me useless, incapable, just a sex toy yet I am one of the most fearful assassins alive. I took down Michael and until t
REBEL The loud, chaotic streets of Cali were loud and chaotic, but I had mastered tuning out the noise. Sharp as a razor, I could cut through a crowded marketplace with precision. My small, dirt-streaked hands moved in and out of pockets and bags with the specificity of someone far older, plucking wallets and coins without the faintest ripple of suspicion. I was a ghost, unseen and unnoticed, at six years old, and the movements developed my instincts for survival. As I walked, I could feel eyes on me, but when I turned back, there was no one watching, so I plough on. MICHAEL Michael leaned against a lamppost on the edge of the market, his piercing gaze following the little girl's every move. He'd been watching her for three days now, curiosity growing with each passing hour. Most kids her age had families, or at least a group to cling to in the streets. Not her. She was utterly alone, moving with a silent efficiency that spoke of both talent and desperation. Today, though, it
DANIELThe fatigue descended upon me like a blurred mist. I was exhausted from hours of exhausting meetings and desperately wanted to go home and have some much-needed alone time. Before Klaus, my best friend and business partner ruined the dream, my mind had already begun to imagine a peaceful evening—scotch, stillness, perhaps a book. His voice had pierced my brain's static with its forceful tone."You must attend the gala, Daniel. This is your gala. Are you aware of the consequences of your absence? He was aware that it was one of those debates I couldn't win. I was stranded in a glittering ballroom that felt more like a cage, all decked out, with incessant small talk andKlaus was a perfectionist; he nipped at me like a father at his son's ear. "Smile," he complained, nudging me. "You look like you're at a funeral." "Come on. It's one night. Show the donors you're human, not some stoic, untouchable CEO. At least try to look approachable." I forced my lips into what I hoped was a s
REBEL The dance floor was flooded with soft, golden light. The air was filled with the elegant melodies of a string quartet. The dancers moved in unison as if they were performing a single, intricately planned performance. I pretend that I don't see him staring as I dance with this stranger, but even as I smile and engage in manly small talk with this uninteresting person, I can feel his eyes boring into me. I didn't realise that this entire event had been held in his honour, and I didn't recognise him for the billionaire he is. Abruptly, he approaches us and interrupts. My heart was racing for the life of me when he started dancing with me again. My heart was racing for the life of me when he started dancing with me again. He murmured into my ears, "What is your name?". As though the offer was more of a game than a gesture, my lips formed a slightly confused smile. "What?" I mumble back into his ear as I sexily wrap myself around him. "Your men can't find anything about me, Daniel?
DANIELThere was an air of riches, extravagance, and deceit about the huge ballroom. Once more, my parents had organised one of their notorious high-society gatherings, bringing together the world's most influential individuals. But none of that matters to me at all. For the past two years, finding one woman—Rebel—had dominated my thoughts, my life, and my very being. Every time I believed I had her, she slipped through my fingers like an ethereal ghost, haunting me. She eluded my guys, the world's top trackers, who searched every nook and cranny on the planet. A phantom, a ghost, an assassin. She was more than her profession, though, in my opinion. I had her. My patience ran out tonight. I rejected all of the eligible women my mother had practically paraded in front of me. The piercing, burning energy of Rebel was unmatched by any of them. I stood at the bar and allowed the phoney laughing and shallow chatter to wash over me as the night wore on, drowning my annoyance in wine. Then I
REBELI darted through the dark hallways of the abandoned building, feeling the chill of the night bite into my skin. My movements were methodical, my breaths were shallow, and each one was measured. The knife grazed my side, causing a throb of pain. The hunters behind me could follow the small thread of blood that flowed to the ground. I was forced to continue moving. I was suddenly surrounded by people emerging from the shadows and in a corner. Instinctively, I reached for my belt, curling my fingers around my knife's hilt. I tense for their move, braced for battle. However, rather than attacking, a man moved forward and sliced through the crowd like a King among pawns. His features were calculating and crisp, and his clothing was immaculate. "Rebel," he whispered, his voice as calm and low as a storm's eye. "It has been a while." "Daniel," I spat, my voice full of poison. My vision faded before I could throw myself at him. The world tilted to one side as I was overcome with pain an
DANIELThere was tension so thick in the air, it was as if one could cut it with a knife. Rebel had been a whirlwind for three months since she arrived in my life, sneaking out, evading guards, and testing every limit I set. But I did think that finally she'd begun to understand that she wasn't a prisoner; her safety was simply not up for negotiation. Her previous organization had been brutal, and the coded signals we had intercepted had guaranteed us that her latest mission was to kill me. The irony was that she did not even realize it, or at least did not show it. Her movements of the past couple of days had been unusual. Silent. Too silent. It was not like her, and I did not think so. My second-in-command, Klaus, had discovered a lead: a man named Michael had been desperately trying to reach her. Only the name had made her pull further inside herself, blank-eyed into space. Michael was her adopted father, Klaus's investigation revealed. But I could sense that it wasn't the entire s
MIA Please.....please, don't kill me, I'd do better ma'am, the next shot will be accurate, there'd be no traces Shadow, give me one last chance. Fool. I take an indifferent look over the tied, shivery fool my men brought back. "Tsk....you have sentenced yourself to death the moment you called me Shadow. To the world I am just Mia, dumb, blonde Bimbo and that's how it will remain so you cannot walk out of here alive, you're a loose end." I take a knife and slash his throat ignoring his struggle as blood spills everywhere. I move to the bathroom of the ensuite we're presently at then wash my hands thoroughly. I take a phone call " It's done Don. They don't know who I am, not Robert, not Daniel, not Jacque or even Rebel that you fear so much. The man who can identify me has been killed hence you can relax, there is no threat". I cut the call They all consider me useless, incapable, just a sex toy yet I am one of the most fearful assassins alive. I took down Michael and until t
ROBERT I shouldn't have left her like that. The second the door slammed behind Mia and me, the house felt thicker, as if her crying had soaked into the walls. I heard it even after we passed the midpoint on the block. Hell, I could even feel it. But I walked on anyway. That's just the sort of thing I always used to do with my messes: walk away, especially from ones that didn't involve bloodshed where they landed on the floor. Mia glared at me from the passenger seat, biting her split lip, looking at me that funny way of hers, like a cat holding herself in check waiting for the right moment to spring. She never said anything. She didn't need to. She'd won. Again. And I? I wasn't quite sure whether I'd lost or if I'd just cemented Louisa's suspicions. Eight years ago, I took her out of a rehab center, half dead, skin hanging off bone, eyes dead, no glint. I didn't question her why. I recognized that broken. I'd worn it myself more times than I was willing to admit. Rescuing
LOUISA The night was quieter than usual. I sat cross-legged on the arm of the posh leather couch that Robert had christened his throne, listening to the dark TV as the jumping light danced over the walls of the living room. He was across the room, bent double over some papers, his desk lamp casting the prominent planes of his face into relief. A face I once thought was that of my savior. A face that I couldn't help but hate and love recently. "You know, I never asked you why," I breathed, but it was sufficient to make him tense in his chair. His pen hung in mid-air. He didn't turn around, not yet. "Why what, Lou?" "Why me?" I swallowed a lump. "Why did you save me eight years ago?" The words burst out before I could take them back. Silence. The air grew heavier, more oppressive with each passing second he didn't react. I hated that. I hated him for rescuing me. For granting me this half-life. For pretending the past was a locked box we both gagged on. When he finally turned, the
REBEL After leaving Mex and Michael back home with Klaus, there was no conversation about the ordeal that didn't catch my attention The rain started before the lie did. Daniel had been calling incessantly but I just didn't pick up. I stood in the shade of the awning on the old café where I was to meet my mother and see the downpour cut the street into halves. The air had a strong smell of asphalt and forgotten memories. My phone tingled in my hand for the fifth time in two minutes or less. Unknown Number. I did not answer. I didn't need to because I know who the caller is. But then a shadow fell over me, dark and high enough to strike a hard pang twisting into my chest. Daniel. Suit crisp, tie loose, and eyes softer than I was expecting. "You weren't going to call me," he said, not a question. I shrugged. "I didn't think I had to." He stood there, jaw working, rain dripping off his hair. "You do now." A black SUV skidded to a stop across the street. Doors slammed o
ROBERT The air in the evening smelled of gasoline and rain, the kind of smell that had you believe something was going to happen. My phone buzzed once against the old wooden desk, and I already knew. News like that didn't take till morning. "Rebel's back," the message read. Two words, enough to make my fingers lock on the glass of whiskey I'd been drinking. I stood up, working the kink out of my back, and walked across the apartment to where Louisa was curled on the worn leather couch. She glanced up from her book, her eyes sharp despite the softness of her face. Rehab hadn't killed the edge in her, just muted it long enough for me to haul her out. "You okay?" she'd ask, each time something twisted behind my eyes. "Rebel's back," I said, and the name itself made her stand up straight. She knew better than to think the rest, even if she didn't know the story. A knock preceded her finishing the sentence. Even. Measured. I opened the door to find Viktor standing in the doorwa
KLAUS It was a still night, but still had never been quiet for me. Not anymore. Not since the day Rebel went missing from his life, not since the day her scent went missing from every corner of his universe. And now, seven years later, silence fell heavy with ghosts. My ghosts. Our ghosts. I stayed at the balcony, clutching a glass of whiskey that I did not drink. I no longer drank it—the bitter liquor had ceased to sear the day she died. But the glass was still in my hand, out of habit. As with the stump-like ache of a lost limb so many years before, I kept holding things I could not let go of. When I next heard her name, I thought my brain was pulling its most vicious trick yet. But Daniel had sworn to it. Rebel was alive. Rebel had been alive all this while. And she had sons. Michael and Mex. Twins. I wasn't their father, but the way those boys stood in front of me, guarding and snapping, gave me all I needed to know. They belonged to them. She'd raised them into miniatu
REBEL The sunlight slants through the tall glass windows, brushing gold over my bare skin. My head is pounding like a war drum, and my mouth tastes like regret. My body aches in places I’ve ignored for years—emotions I’d locked up, now clawing at the surface with wicked fingers. Daniel's sleeping beside me, arm thrown across my waist like he has a right to hold me there. I look up at the ceiling, not trusting myself to inhale too heavily. Because the second I breathe in too much, it all comes crashing back. The fight. The kiss. The bed. His teeth against my skin like I belonged to him. And the worst part? I let him. I swing my legs over the bed and stand up, slowly. Carefully. As if perhaps I might avoid the reality of last night if I just moved slowly enough. I find my dress rumpled on the floor and smooth it back on over shuddering fingers. I need air. Slipping out of the room, I don't even pause. I don't leave a note. Don't glance back. I just run. — I
DANIEL She resists for while but I'm too far gone to listen. She whispers "Stop" but I don't stop. My fingers finds their way to her clit, stroking her till she climaxes before slamming into her continously, leaving her no room for rejection, like a starved beast raging into her with no breaks, going at it for hours continously, orgasm after orgasm, like life would end if I wasn't in her because truly for me life ended without her. The silence in the suite isn't peaceful—it's tempestuous, the kind that's waiting for it to burst all over again. She won't speak. Not even look at me. Her back is facing me now, the elegant shape of her spine stiffening in defiance. I can still feel her lips on mine, the memory of her heat pressed against my face. And she's already elsewhere. Rebel. It was like existing in a world of grayscale without Rebel. The days blurred together—meetings, deals, conversations faceless—but each instant felt empty. I had power, riches, control. but it was all me
REBEL Daniel gets mad but has no reason to; he was in the wrong, he will have to get used to seeing the reality and aftermath of what he did. "I've got nothing to say to you, Daniel." He dismisses me. Rather, he gets down to Michael's level, speaking softly. "Mike, your mom and I will go out to eat to talk. Klaus will take you home. Say goodbye to your grandparents. There are others relocating Mex as we speak—medical staff are already at home waiting for him." Michael nods. "Okay, Daddy." That title—Daddy—catches me off guard like a wall of bricks. My lips part but nothing emerges. I'm shocked into silence. My mother tries to speak, her lips trembling with words she must not say, but I headshake. It's not time now. Daniel doesn't look back as he takes my elbow in his and leads me off like some prisoner in his court. He doesn't even request permission, doesn't ask—it's the same sort of dominance I once found thrilling and now find… perilous. He opens the car door, waits