Tanya's POV I didn't think that there was any way I could help him. Just because I had proved that I was smart enough by helping us get out of the last sticky situation didn't mean that I was skilled enough. There were a lot of things I didn't know about, so when he said that he needed my help, I was shocked. "Of course, I'm willing to help," I said, "but what can I do?" "Listen," he said, taking several steps to cover the distance between us. "What you did then, two days ago, means a lot. When I thought about it, I figured out that I would have died if you didn't do what you did. "I should have said this sooner. The moment I found out that you went through so much torture just so that you could keep my secret information secret, I should have known that I could trust you with everything I have and you won't let me down." The words were heartwarming to the extent that I felt like kissing him. I was a bit too flabbergasted, however, so all I could do was manage a slight sou
Rodrigo's POV A couple of days had passed since we had decided that she would help me. Honestly, it was one of the best decisions I could have ever made because it took a lot of work out of my hands. She was efficient and fast and did her assigned work wholeheartedly. It wasn't easy to find such a diligent person. However, with her efficiency came my inefficiency. It was a terrible idea to put her in the same place I was because I found myself unable to focus for anything more than 10 minutes. She wasn't helping matters either, and sometimes, I got the feeling that she was intentionally trying to seduce me. Not that I didn’t want to take her at that exact moment, but I was saving it. Our first time together would be with me having my total energy like I had today. "I think I've completely recovered," I said out loud, entering her room. I saw her seated with her laptop, typing away at supersonic speed. "What are you doing?" I asked her with a frown on my face. I wouldn’t say
Rodrigo's POV They looked at me anxiously, waiting for me to tell them what I had wanted to do for a long time. "It's good news," I said, especially considering that you think things have been boring lately. "Great, I would love to hear it," Jake responded, visibly excited. "I've been doing a lot of work to gather information on many bad people to gain more power," I said. "We'll be going on expeditions and such, generally to let them know that we have something on them." Ezekiel looked at me with a frown on his face. "Isn't that going to bring unnecessary attention to us?" "That is exactly the point," I said, a little surprised that he didn't catch the main goal immediately. "Once we spread the word about what we have, many people will naturally look for trouble, trying to determine whether our claim is true. It will put all of us in a bit of danger, of course, but it will also increase our power massively." "Okay," Ezekiel responded, looking at me with an impressed e
Tanya's POV It was clear from how he spoke on the phone that he intended to come home soon. I couldn't wait to meet him. I was tired of many things—tired of the work, which made me glad that we were about to complete it; tired of the entire game he seemed so interested in playing. It was dangerous, and for some reason, he seemed very interested in hazardous things. It was probably his nature. Finally, I was tired of all the stalling. I knew what he wanted—for me to beg him, and I did not want to. But seriously, I was about to give in. We were together, finally, and everything was safe for the moment. Something told me that this was one of the few opportunities we would have to enjoy ourselves, to enjoy each other for the first time after confessing our feelings. And since he wasn't ready, I would take the first step. I got ready with everything, wanting to be perfect, when he eventually came. Then, the wait started and did not end anytime soon. I thought it was customary in
Tanya's POV The wait was much longer than I wanted it to be. Every day that passed left me with disturbing thoughts about what was happening to him, with me able to do nothing to help. It was frustrating to be in such a powerless position. It was not long before I lost my appetite entirely. The thoughts that kept reentering my mind made me not want to do anything at all, leaving me a lot less productive. But with Dante staying with me, I didn't have much choice. He made me eat every day and also forced me to do some work at intervals to keep my mind off the situation at hand. I knew he was trying to help, but honestly, I wanted him to stop. I probably told him that once or twice, maybe even shouted at him to leave me alone, but naturally, he didn't. He told me he was staying, and he did. Finally, I got the message on my phone: *If you want to see your dear Rodrigo again, come to the Lopez fishing pier and come alone, without any weapons. Tell anybody about this, and you can
Rodrigo's POV I opened my eyes, feeling a splitting headache. When I didn't see the familiar environment of my home, I suddenly got a hunch that something was wrong. I tried to move, but I couldn't; my hands seemed to be tied up behind me or something like that. With a frown on my face, I struggled for a while before everything came back to me. "Damn it, not again," I roared in annoyance as I remembered that I had been kidnapped once again. It was as if I was some kind of easy target for anybody to use as a hostage randomly. I was the leader of an entire mafia group; how was it even possible for me to be targeted and picked up so easily? I struggled with my bonds for some time. It wasn't that tight; the people who did it were unskilled. I might have gotten loose by myself, but suddenly, I heard footsteps. I couldn't exactly blame him for arriving at such a time. I was the one who had given myself away, after all, when I shouted previously. He gave me a wide grin upon seei
Tanya's POV Ultimately, all we could come up with were flimsy excuses and demands to ensure they handed him over to us. I had thought we could do better, but as it happened, we couldn't. We didn't seem to be able to feel that deeply into it. "I'm worried," I told Dante. "I want to get him out of that situation as fast as possible." Two days had passed since we received the message from the kidnappers, and we still hadn't done anything to respond. I was worried sick, but Diego kept advising me to wait and not rush into anything; this could be a trap for all we knew. "I can't wait any longer. I'm going today," I told him, seeing he didn't answer my previous statement. He looked at me and probably saw the determination on my face because he didn't try to stop me anymore. "Alright then, you can go today, but you have to remember the plan." "Like I can forget it," I responded, rolling my eyes. It was the one plan that was life and death; there was no way I would forget what t
Tanya's POV When he suddenly stopped talking, I knew that I had got him. I waited for him to tell me everything he knew about what I had just said, most likely to redirect me to the leader now instead of acting challenging like he has been acting since. "Come with me," he said in a softer voice. Naturally, I liked this version of him much more than the previous one, as he led me straight under the ship. I looked at the many rooms, wondering which one he was hidden in. It was not as complicated as it was in the factory previously, so something told me that there was a slight chance that I could personally get him out of there without going through so much trouble. I contemplated it for a long moment, but I didn't have the time to decide because, at that moment, a tall, burly man came up to me. "You want to meet the leader now, don't you?" he asked me. "Come this way." He led me back up to the deck, annoying me. Why wouldn't they make up their minds about where they wanted