Dark Side (NOW RECONSTRUCTING)

Chapter 16

"Worry about yourself."

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted us.  Alavar Navar was standing in front of us with a massive smile on his face. He only kept staring at me before he extended his hand out. "May I have this dance?"

Niall tightens his grip around my waist, but I already reached towards Alavar's hand. My lips curled up to a smile, and I nodded. Not giving a chance to say anything to Niall, Alavar already pulled me away and started to dance.

"I see that you're a good dancer," Alavar complimented me. "Also, you might be the prettiest woman in this room."

"Oh, no. If you're saying that, I might think it's true," I replied. If he weren't a bad guy, I probably would've fallen in love with him. Maybe I can see why Leah warned me about my taste of bad men. As Alavar and I continued to dance, I noticed that we were slowly drifting from the other dancers. "Shall we go somewhere private?"

"Hmm, I like the sound of that."

Alavar then leads me to a room on the upper floor with his arm around my shoulder. Reaching the place, the older man tries to pull my mask away and raises an eyebrow when I stopped him. A smile appeared on my face, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. My voice naturally going a bit lower.

"A little mystery wouldn't hurt, right?" I whispered. Shit, I hope I'm seductive enough. I only had one boyfriend in my entire life while I'm still a virgin. Alavar didn't seem to noticed and pulled me closer. His lips touched my cheek and then slowly traveled down my neck.

"You're right," he chuckled. As he continued to touch my skin, I kept glancing around the room and stopped when I saw an extraordinary painting.

"What's that?" I pulled away from him and pointed towards the painting. It was a young woman who was posed entirely nude as she was hugging a man who completely was clothed. He even wore a mask. A knife was pressed against her throat, but she still looked at him with much affection. I'm not much of an art person, but this painting was a bit questionable. This woman seemed utterly familiar.

"That? A friend is auctioning that painting," Alavar explains. "He had an obsession with that woman in the painting before he killed her."

"What?"

I observed closely at the woman's side profile and almost gasped when I realized who exactly was the woman in question. How could I miss this? This person was my mother. But what exactly is the story behind this painting?

"Were they lovers?"

I was prepared for the answer.

"I wouldn't know," Alavar answered. "Maybe it was one-sided or not."

I had noticed at the signature at the bottom. It was signed with a vast 'X.'

"Honey," Alavar whispered into my ear. His hands touched my bare shoulder before he traveled down to my hip. "Let's not think about some boring painting."

"Alavar, I didn't think you'll be here playing around," a voice then interrupted us. Eric Blade walked inside the room with two men in suits behind him. Maybe tonight's job won't be as hard since our targets are inside the room together. Alavar sighs and crosses his arms.

"I like to keep my women around instead of shipping them away," Alavar retorted. Eric let out a dry chuckled while he moved closer to the room. He stops in front of me and eyes me down. Alavar shakes his head. "Don't even think about it."

"Relax. I won't do anything."

"Shouldn't you be in hiding?"

"I just wanted a little fun, too," Eric replies. His eyes travel to the painting in the room, and he cringes. "He is selling that?"

"I think he found something more interesting than that painting now," Alavar sighs. "It's none of my business."

"It should be. Those bastards from earlier are probably going to look for him next."

"And?"

"We'll be screwed." Eric glares at Alavar and then towards at me. "Anyway, I don't think this girl should be listening to us."

"I'm sorry. It probably was rude of me to overstay my welcome," I replied. Even so, I can't leave the room. Alavar makes it easier for me to stay as he places his arm around my waist again. A smile spread across his face.

"Don't worry about her," Alavar commented.

"Whatever."

Suddenly there was a loud bang outside the room, and high pitch screams echoed through the building. Eric and Alavar quickly were alarmed and turned towards each other.

"Shit. Did they find us?" Eric yelled.

"It's impossible. I made sure that this was completely top secret."

Are you sure? Louis found out about this whole thing under 20 minutes. I held in my smug smile until the door slams open, and Chases enters the room with a gun in hand. Eric then pulls me away from Alavar and places me in front of him. A gun pressed against my forehead too.

Hmm, I should've seen this coming.