"Where do you aim for a quick death?" Holding my breath, the way he'd taught me, I aimed at the dummy's head, the bullet leaving the barrel of my gun and going straight through my target. A proud smile pulled at my lips as I loaded the Colt again.
"The head." I whispered, a couple short pants leaving my lungs in quick succession. Who would've thought that firing a gun would give you such a rush? "Or the heart." My voice was barely audible the moment my finger pulled the trigger again, my stomach doing a back flip as I watched my second bullet hit its target.
"Good." One of his strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back into him, his lips touching my neck, his huge smile filling me with pride. Three weeks had passed since the first time my murderer had put a gun into my hands, my evolution undeniable. "Now, what about a slow one -a painful one?" My back arched slightly, my bums meeting his rock hard arousal before I breathed in deeply, trying to gather my thoughts.
"I go for the lungs." The third bullet left a smoking hole just bellow the place where the dummy's left lung would've been. A cocky smile pulled at my lips as I turned into my murderer's embrace.
"Say he tries to make a run for it. What then?" His voice was low and husky, his scent intoxicating my senses. We were too damn close to turn the training session into another fucking session -since that appeared to happen a lot lately- and perhaps that was why my next bullet dug into the ground between his feet. My murderer didn't even flinch. "So you're a quick learner. I think I'll make you my next hitman, dea." I couldn't help but smile at that. I might not have been a judge any longer, but something told me that I wasn't going to take him up on that offer either. Shooting a dummy was one thing. Shooting a living person... Well, that wasn't going to happen, unless absolutely necessary.
"Do you still need me?" Trying to pull away from him, I found myself even more entangled in his arms.
"As it happens, I always need you." His hips performed that damned rotation of theirs, his erection swiftly grinding against my lower stomach. "Now, how's the party planning going?" A pained grimace took over my lips at the thought of the party that was supposed to take place in no more than twelve hours.
"I think we finally agreed on how the cake will look like, even though I have absolutely no idea what it will taste like. Angie said she'll take care of that though, and she's done a great job so far with the band, the caterers and the decorations. I wouldn't worry about it. Your mother will love it." The gentle smile pulling at his lips made my heart melt a little more, but then, that happened each time he flashed those perfect teeth at me, really.
"I love you!" A huge grin split my face in two. No matter how often he said it to me -which happened to be very often- those words still had a way of touching my very soul.
"I..." My breath hitched, words failing me the moment his phone started ringing in his pants pocket, the vibration also travelling up my thigh. Taking a reluctant step backward, my murderer muttered a silent curse before finally answering the call.
"I'll be right there." Hanging up his phone, Gabriel gave it one last tired look before his hazels met my blues, tension forming in the pit of my stomach. Something was wrong. "That was Mathew." His words travelled in the air between us, my mind trying to come up with a reason for Mathew's call. "My men have been monitoring Marco 's movements for the last couple of weeks. He has been spotted in the city earlier today. My father's men might have a hint as to where he's staying." My heart picked up speed, my breathing accelerating ever so slightly. I almost missed the time when Gabriel was hiding these sort of information from me.
"So what now?" My voice was clipped and shaky, something deep inside me praying for him not to tell me what the plan was. I was appearently one of those persons who didn't really want to hear the truth, even if they requested it.
"Now, I'm gonna take Mathew and some of my father's guys and go find him. I need this over with, dea." I needed it over with too, and yet some twisted part of me couldn't help but regret Marco's impending doom. I should've been the one to kill him. I wanted to be the one to do it. "Tom will stay here with you. So will James. You're safe here, Julia." A laugh almost escaped me the moment I understood that my murderer was mistaking my frustration for fear.
"I think I can very well take care of myself, Gabriel. You made sure of that." My fingers fumbled with the safety of my gun before pointing it at the man I loved with all my heart. A cocky smirk pulled at his lips as one of his hands covered mine, his fingers pushing the one I had over the trigger. By the time his lips descended to my ear I was completely at his mercy, the heavy Colt in my hand seemingly weighing a ton.
And then the fucking idiot fired the gun, realisation hitting home. I was out of bullets.
"Never point the gun at someone unless you're going to shoot that person down." His lips playfully caressed the shell of my ear, my already tired heart almost bursting out of my chest. "Never go gentle, dea!"
$$$
Angie was nowhere in sight and it took me a moment to realise that actually, the house seemed pretty empty alltogether. But then, most of the people usually walking around the house -if you don't count the maids and proteges- were both Gabriel and Mr Shaffer's employees who were now on a mission to kill the man who had once tried to kill me.
The thought of Marco dying by anybody else's hands but mine still bothered me, so instead of dwelling on that thought, I headed for the living room, the expensive bottles of bourbon and vodka sat on the shelves of Mr Shaffer's bar calling to me. And as much as I hated to admit it, the moment the strong vodka filled my mouth, the thought that Marco was getting closer and closer to us -to me- unwelcomely came to my mind, making a cold chill run down my spine.
"Well, look who's here." My eyes closed in pure frustration, Mei's shoes making a soft clincking sound as she walked towards me. "I'll have one of that." Pouring herself a glass of the same bottle of vodka I'd opened, the woman leisurely walked to one of the armchairs facing the window and lowered herself onto it. Her red Jimmy Choos caught my attention as the bitch elegantly crossed her legs, her mean eyes freely staring at my face. "It must be nice for you to stay here, enjoying a drink while twenty men are out there somewhere risking their lives for you."I wanted to tell her that I didn't ask for that -that I was more than capable of protecting myself- but then I realised that that was exactly what she was expecting me to say.
You are a smart, beautiful young woman who's going to be very strong one day, my dear, but for that to happen you must know your strength and your weaknesses. You must accept them as part of you and you must own them. You wanna be respected, Julia, then you must demand respect. My father's words from when I was still so young and naive came back to me, the thought of the woman I'd grown to be thanks to them making me smile. I was strong. I owned both my strength and weaknesses. I wanted respect and I was going to demand it. And then, other words came back to mind. Never go gentle! Oh, but I wasn't planning to.
"You're really quite pathetic, you know?" I asked as another sip of my drink gave me the courage to confrount the woman who I realised wanted nothing more than to be me. Mei wanted my looks -which had taken Gabriel from her- she wanted the power I had over him... She wanted him -my murderer- and I'll be damned if I was going to let her have him. "You're standing there, acting like you've had me all figured out while trying to make me feel guilty for Gabriel's decision to risk twenty men's lives for me. But you know what? It won't work. You can't win this." A sarcastic laugh came from her the moment I turned around making me suddenly wish that my gun was loaded.
"You should've walked away the moment I warned you about him." Standing up, the mean Chinese woman headed towards the bar, placing her empty glass down before giving me a spiteful look. "You honestly think I'm playing to win, judge?" Mei spitted out the last word, as if it was toxic, her brow furrowing. "I know I can't have him. We all know that. But, mark my words, you won't have him either." That's when I lost it. That's when my entire self control went up in flames.
"Is that a threat, Mei?" The smile pulling at her lips made my skin crawl and my stomach churn. There was a visible edge of insanity in that smile and that moment I started to worry.
"That's a promise, Julia. The war is not over yet." Swallowing hard, I did my best not to smash her head into one of the bottles behind her.
"The war may not be over yet, Mei, but I have already won. Now, you need to understand that as long as Gabriel loves me and I love him, you owe me some respect." I knew she was not going to grant me any respect. Insubordination was written all over her face.
"You may have gotten rid of Stephanie, Julia, but honestly, she's been asking for it. I promise you I won't go down as easily. Because, no matter what you are to him, little girl, we are his proteges. We know him. We accept his past. He has a duty to us. And he can't give up on us, no matter if you like it or not." Her face had morphed into a mask of fury, her eyes throwing knives at me. "Just remember that, as long as we're around, the war will never be over -Gabriel will never fully be yours." My chest tightened, tears threatening to fall. Because, fucked up as she was, Mei was right. As long as his proteges stayed, I was always going to have to fight for my murderer's love.
"Julia?" Angie's voice made us both look towards the door where both the French woman and Gabriel's mother were currently staying and staring at us. The Chinese woman forced a smile the moment she stepped towards the door, her eyes finding me once more before she stepped out of the room. "Is everything alright?" Conjuring a smile of my own, I nodded my head once, fighting the anger and pain bubbling up to the surface.
"Sure. Any news from Gabriel?" The two women shook their heads in unison, something about Mrs Shaffer's expression making me internally cringe.
"Doctor Lombardi called, dear. He said he's been trying to get a hold of you for the last week or so. He wouldn't tell me what the results of your tests were, but he insists you call him as soon as possible." And just like that, fear crippled me again. God only knew what the good doctor had found wrong with my blood tests. As about him trying to get a hold of me... Gabriel still had my cell, which I had to get back at some point, and I doubted he really bothered answering it.
"I'll call him tonight." I said, perfectly aware of the fact that I had to wait for my murderer's return first.
"It's good we found you here, actually." Angie was already on her way to the couch, her hands fumbling with that damned blue folder she carried around everywhere. "You need to take a look at these menus." So putting everything aside for the time being -doing my best to forget about Mei and the other proteges- I took a seat next to Angie and focused on the ravioli filled with mozzarela, the baked sea bass and the other four courses that were going to be served to Mrs Shaffer's guests at the party that was going to take place in no longer than twelve hours.
$$$
I was still thinking about Mei and the proteges the moment Gabriel slammed the door to his bedroom, carelessly dropping his two guns onto the chest of drawers in the far corner of the room. I didn't need to ask to know that Marco had slipped through their fingers. My murderer's mood told me everything I needed to know.
"Fuck!" The bang that resonated throughout the room as he smashed one of his feet into the bathroom door made me jump slightly and reminded him of my presence. Kneeling next to the bed, Gabriel took one of his hands to my face. "What's wrong, dea?" Looking up into his eyes, all my walls crumbled to the ground. The love of my life was there, offering me his support. Of course I was going to tell him what bothered me.
"We need to talk about your proteges." Placing a soothing hand in my lap, my murderer smiled.
"I was wondering when you were going to bring it up." And he was obviously prepared to talk about it.