RED
"She was right all along" Lee said, letting out a sigh.
"She was" I agreed.
"I can't believe she did what she did" He said, watching Lia as she dressed Vanessa's burns. "She can be daring most of the time. You should know that" I shrugged.
"D'you think she's starting to feel something for Axel?"
I smirked.
"Maybe? Who knows? After all, I was once in love with her. She's not so bad, Lee. She just has so many problems. She's angry with herself... angry at everyone else. She's not happy.... She's depressed" I said.
Lee frowned, biting his lower lip.
"I guess everyone deserves a second chance" he said.
Lia walked up to me, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
"How's Axel?" I asked.
"Oh, he's fine. He's exhausted and his neck is sore from being choked by some huge creature. That's what he told me anyway"
"Huge creature? Huhn?" Lee said, shaking his head, amused.
"Axel has a thing for exaggeration" Lia shrugged, brushing my hair out of my eyes.
"I do not have a thing for exaggeration" Axel said taking a seat on the couch. We all laughed and he scoffed. After the first incident, we left the burnt ruins. We were lodged in the hotel waiting for our inside man from Scorpion's eye. He was supposed to take us to a different hideout.
There was a knock on the door and I opened it. Sliver Stone a.k.a Trevor Darlington, my other friend who had remained in the organization for my sake, stood right there with a grin on his face.
"Well for someone who has been on the run, you certainly look well" he said after we embraced.
I rolled my eyes and moved aside to let him in.
"Stone, nice to meet you again" Lee said, giving him a handshake.
Tori and Lia looked curious but confused.
"He's from the organization?" Lia asked.
"Yeah. This is Stone. Ignore the nickname, he's as soft as a jelly" I said and he laughed.
"I'm Trevor, actually. It's nice to meet you. You must be Dahlia Malone" he said as she accepted his handshake.
"Yeah"
"I see why Red couldn't hurt you. You look so beautiful and innocent"
She blushed, looking embarrassed.
Lee patted Trevor's shoulder. "Be careful, man"
"Oh, is she your girlfriend? I'm so-"
"No, she's not" Lee said, amused.
Trevor turned to look at me, realization crossing his features.
"Oh, shit" he mumbled
We all laughed.
"Gosh, you should've seen your face. It was priceless" Lia laughed.
***
Few minutes later, we were all seated in the room having a very serious conversation.
"Skull is fed up with the hide and seek game. He's coming after you. He's no longer interested in sending anyone to carry out his mission. He wants to go for the kill"
"Great" Tori muttered.
"I'm sick of hiding anyway" I said. "Of course, I know you. I can imagine that the whole running and hiding thing is tiring. He plans to kidnap Dahlia and use her as bait"
Lia stiffened.
"Well, he's not coming anywhere close to her" I said
"I like the sound of that but you should consider this. If he finds you Red, he'll be very prepared and he won't hesitate to kill you. If you show up at the organization when he least expected it, you'll have bigger advantage"
I stared at him, tensed.
"So, what do you suggest?" I asked. He blew out a breath and said, "He'll need a distraction, Red. That's where Dahlia and Tori comes in"
"No way, definitely not. Nope. Not happening" I said, shaking my head.
"Red, we'll do anything to help bring Skull down" Lia said and I stared at her, horrified.
"Go on, Trevor. What do we have to do?" Tori said.
"I would take Lia into the organization pretending like I actually kidnapped her for Skull's sake. Then, I'll introduce Tori to him as a new recruit. The only thing that distracts him is females. You get the hint, Tori?"
Tori smirked.
"Of course, I get it"
"Tori, he means you'll have to seduce Skull. There's no way I'm letting you do that" Lee said, frowning.
"It's not that bad. I can drug him?" Tori said.
"You don't know him. He might drug you first"
Tori shook her head.
"I'm going to be careful"
"Where exactly are you going with this plan?" I said.
"Don't you want the revenge? We'll find a way to get you into the organization without alarming the others.
By the time Skull wakes up, he'll find himself bound to a chair with you brandishing a knife like a villain"
I rolled my eyes.
"And if the plan goes wrong?" Vanessa asked.
"Then, we'll have to attack head on. Just so you know there are some other assassins that admire the way you defied Skull. You're their inspiration and they've promised to fight along with us if the need arises"
"Wow, I'm honored" I said.
"Drop the sarcasm in your tone, Red"Trevor said, grinning.
"I'm good with the plan. It's not that bad. When exactly are we striking?" Axel said.
"In four days. It's enough time to prepare. Vanessa, I need to know if you're going to fight with us. I do hope you're on our side" Trevor said. "I'm on your side, obviously. Why would I be here if I wasn't?" She replied.
"You might be a spy?" Trevor shrugged.
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm not and I can't wait to bring Skull down"
"Honestly, I can't wait for it all to be over" Tori said, running a hand through her hair.
****
We drove to our new temporary hideout an hour later. "I never thought I would miss the mansion so much" Lee groaned, plopping down on the couch.
"When everything is settled, perhaps you can go back to being your annoying self"
"Gosh, I really miss singing aloud in the kitchen, Picking up every excuse to mention the cars we own, Annoying you until you punch me in the face, the bad guys' night out..."
I threw a pillow at him and he laughed.
"Wow, you guys actually lived like kings" Tori said.
Lee shrugged.
"You could say that"
"Perhaps, I'll give you girls a tour around the house when this is over" Lee said.
"Well, I can't wait" Lia said, chuckling.
She was sitting beside me, her head resting on my chest. She looked exhausted and there were slight shadows under her eyes.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and she let out a contented sigh.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm just exhausted" she said as I stroked her hair.
"But, being right here in your arms is so... relaxing" she said, closing her eyes.
I smiled, closing my eyes.
If the plan works, things would go back to normal.
'What's normal for you?' the small voice in my head whispered.
I frowned, opening my eyes.
Lia had fallen asleep in my arms. Before I met Lia, I actually didn't live a normal life. A life of an assassin was definitely not normal. I watched Lia as she slept. She looked so calm and relaxed.
What would spending the rest of my life with her, be like? She's amazing. I realized at that point that I really want to make her mine..... I want her to be the mother of my kids.
Shit, did I just think about having kids? I think I just did. I caressed Dahlia's hair, gently. 'Lia, what're you doing to me?' I groaned inwardly.
***
"Look at us, we're drunk" Lia said to me as she let out a breathy laugh.
I chuckled, stroking her cheek with my thumb.
"Of course we are" I agreed.
We had all settled down to have a couple of drinks since it's been a while we had fun. The others were passed out in the sitting room but somehow, Lia and I made it to the room.
"You look very handsome, my love" she cooed, her fingers tracing my lips.
"And, you are stunning" I whispered.
She smiled and brought her lips to mine. I let out a contented sigh as her fingers made contact with my skin. She moaned as my hands slid beneath her shirt, caressing her velvety skin.
"I want you, Red" she whispered, her eyes hooded with desire.
I grinned, capturing her lips with mine.
****
DAHLIA
"The plan is fantastic, Lia. I get to seduce the bastard" Tori said to me. We were both sitting on the bed, eating chips.
"You sure you can handle it?" I asked.
She chuckled.
"Do not underestimate me, my good friend. I can showcase the inner Belle in me anytime I want to. Lee can testify of that" she said.
I laughed, shaking my head.
"You're hilarious" I said.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in" Tori said and Vanessa stepped in.
"I-uh- came to apologise" she said, avoiding our eyes.
"For?" Tori asked, raising a brow. "For everything I've possibly done wrong"
Tori and I exchanged glances.
"We're not mad at you. Not anymore, anyway" Tori said.
"You guys have been avoiding me" Vanessa muttered.
"No, we just thought that you needed some space" I said. "Well- I don't"
"Fine. You can stop standing by the door like a stranger. You can sit" Tori said, giving her a small smile.
Vanessa hesitated and sat down on the bed.
"How did you do that?" Tori asked. "Do what?" Vanessa said, looking very clueless.
"I mean, the way you jumped into the fire to save Axel. Tell us, do you like him?" Tori said, wriggling her brows. Vanessa chuckled, her cheeks turning pink. "What gave you the idea that I like him?" She asked. "Well, it's very obvious. You blush at the sight of him and I've seen you two looking at each other with a look of longing in your eyes" Tori shrugged.
"Tori, you're probably exaggerating" I said, smiling.
"No, I'm not"
"I might like him a little too much" Vanessa said.
"Aha! I knew it!" Tori said, laughing.
"You know what this means, Lia?" Tori said.
"What?"
"It means we are Cupid and we have a love interest to blossom"
"You have got to be kidding me" Vanessa muttered looking amused.
***
I moved downstairs to the gym room where Red was somewhat training Axel. They were both shirtless, their bodies moving gracefully. Red's hair was in a neat man bun, I couldn't help but be intrigued by his beauty.
"Not bad" Red said to Axel who shrugged.
"I'm not as good as you though" he said.
"If you had the chance, you would be as good as me. You only started learning few weeks ago" Red said to his twin brother with a smile on his face.
I pushed open the glass door and walked in. They both looked up, a slight sheen of sweat on their skin.
"Her highness has finally decided to grace us with her presence" Axel said, smirking. Red took my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
"Red, I want to learn how to combat"
A look of surprise crossed his features.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes" I replied, firmly.
"She means business, Arch. She'll be able to beat you up if you mess things up" Axel said. "Oh, I'll be counting on that" Red said to Axel who laughed.
"When d'you wish to begin?" He asked me.
Pulling my hair back into a bun, I met his gaze.
"Right now"
He smirked.
"Alright then"
"I'll leave you guys to it. But make sure, it's strictly training. No making out, got it?" Axel said, grabbing his shirt.
"Aye, aye captain" I said.
"It's not as if I can stop you, anyway" Axel said and left the gym.
Red began to teach me the basis of combats. At first, he was rather too easy on me but I assured him that I could take it all. That's when the real training began.
We trained for hours, then we took a break.
"That's tough" I said, heaving a sigh. He smiled.
"Skull was much harder on me when he trained me. Each day, I would end up with bruises or a broken bone" he said and I stared at him, incredulously.
"You're lying" I breathed.
"Nope"
"How many broken bones have you had?"
"I don't know... maybe seven... It's usually my ribs that suffer it mostly. Other times, It's either my arm or my finger gets broken. Trust me, it was hell"
I sighed, resting my head on his chest.
"Thank God, it's actually my boyfriend who's training me" I muttered and he laughed. I leaned closer and kissed him. We jerked apart when we heard the door open. "No PDA is allowed in the gym for goodness sake" Trevor said, faking exasperation.
"You're one to talk, Stone" Lee said, chuckling.
"I obey simple rules. No PDA in the gym is a very simple rule, mind you" Trevor said.
"Remember that one time I caught you and Jenny making out in the base gym?" Lee said to Trevor, whose face turned red due to embarrassment. We all burst into laughter.
Vanessa, Tori and Axel walked in.
"All right, it's time for combat training" Lee said, taking off his shirt.
Tori smirked, her eyes roving over his upper body. Clearly, she looked pleased.
"I'll take the punching bag" Tori said. Lee handed her a pair of gloves.
"Be careful, do not hurt yourself, babe" he said to Tori who kissed him on the cheek. "I've got this, love" she whispered.
I guess we don't want to take any chances after all.