To live and to love

05| 𝕽𝖎𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓 𝖆 𝕲𝖊𝖙𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝕮𝖆𝖗

"Why don't you stop playing games and just tell me what I want to know?"

"You want to know where the necklace is," I said.

He nodded, his eyes drilling into me. "That's right, little bird."

"I just told you. It's in your vault," A flush of anger ran across his face and I flinched back—this was a man who did not like being opposed. "It's true," I insisted.

"The tracker in the necklace led me to..." His eyes flashed with understanding. "You took out the tracker?"

"Disabled it, scrambled its frequency, pretty basic stuff."

"Why?"

"Didn't want to steal from you, wanted my money, wanted clearance from the FIA, tricked them to gain my freedom, etc," He evaluated me the same way he probably evaluated the furniture for this house. With no attachment or emotion—just a consideration of whether or not I would fit his purposes. Clinical. Precise.

"Check if she's telling the truth," One of the burly guards nodded and exited swiftly, his phone held to his ear. Akbar turned to me. "You always manage to surprise me, little bird. It's always something new with you isn't it?"

"I'm not fond of being predictable," He let out a loud ugly laugh, one that bounced around the dungeon walls and scratched at your soul.

"Most assuredly not."

"When sunglasses comes back with the news that the necklace is still in fact, in your vault, will I be able to leave?"

"I've learned something from my time in the States. Americans appreciate egalitarianism," His voice was almost amused. Almost. "You're good at your job. You managed to evade everyone, trick me and the FIA, not an easy task. I'm extending the same offer to you that I did when you decided to leave my care. Come work for me. I'm always in need of good help."

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Men were always offering to hire me. As if I was just wandering around, pining for a good healthcare plan and a 401K. Usually, it annoyed me, but at that moment, the only part of that paragraph I could seem to focus on was "You managed to evade everyone," He truly had no clue.

"And I'll give you the same reply as before, I prefer working alone. Plus, didn't you have fun when you gave me the Somoro job? You knew that the guy was going to rat me out.."

His eyes twinkled. "And you managed splendidly. As I knew you would."

"Why?"

"Why did I let them take you? I thought some time in jail would help clear you of your entrepreneurial ambitions," I raised an eyebrow. "Oh don't look at me like that, a month in jail wouldn't have killed you," He was right. "But you managed to bargain your way out, you clever girl."

"Boss, they found the necklace, untouched and in the vault."

Akbar stared at me, silently, watching my face, the tension stretching between us like a rubber band, longer and longer waiting for one of us to break."Seems like you were telling the truth."

"I always do."

"Guess there's no need to keep you here now, you are, after all, my prodigy, my greatest pride."

"You flatter me. I wonder if you thought that before you threw me in this dirty stinky cell and ruined my dress," I snapped, my hands gesturing towards the said dress.

"The money I've deposited in your account will more than make up for it," Seeing my hands and the expression on my face, he guessed at once what I was about to do. "Karl, escort our guest to - where would you go little bird?"