Chapter 3
ADELINA
Not every day was filled with mayhem. On rare occasions, I liked to go out and eat at the food carts around the city. The different smells and flavors gave me something else to focus on. I was ready to forget about the past few days and stuff my face.
Sometimes I liked to be alone, even though I was never really alone. Partially because of Dorin’s worry. Had to stay alive in order to complete my mission. No point in dying while trying to eat a corn dog.
My subordinates knew how to keep their distance—close enough to protect me, far enough that no one would suspect they were mine. Always ready to give their lives.
To die for someone.
I caught a glimpse of a very handsome man, large in every way. Not bodybuilder big, just big. Dressed nicely but casually. He was too far away for me to make out exactly what his face looked like. He had blonde hair that caught the sunlight and made him impossible to miss.
Just focus on the corn dog…
With a few decisive strides, the stranger materialized beside me on the bench, leaving enough of a space between us for another. Why this bench out of all the other ones here?
“These are the best damn corn dogs,” he declared, a faint smile playing on his lips, yet he refused to meet my gaze.
“Yes, they are good.” I wasn’t much of a talker. I shifted my body a little, and that was when he looked at me. Fuck, there was no way I wouldn’t have recognized him. It would be weird if I didn’t know all I could about them.
I was speechless, my thoughts tripping over themselves. What the hell was he doing here? Was there a mole?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Panic clawed at my composure as he surveyed the surroundings, fully aware I wasn’t alone. His approach hinted at a deadly intent, yet he spoke with an unsettling ease. Why reveal yourself like this if you weren’t ready to take a life?
“I see that I do not have much time.” He watched me.
I had my hand on the gun that was close to my side.
“I only came to say hi.” His tone was almost playful, as if he was trying to put me at ease.
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t have hope that we would have ended up in the same position as a few days ago, with you on top. ” The not-so-stranger smirked.
Me on top…?
I hadn’t even been paying attention, but he devoured his corn dog, and once he was done, proclaiming a ridiculous statement like that, he shot up and ran. With my other fucking corn dog.
It was him.
Dorin came into view seconds later, breath rough, eyes locked onto me. “Fuck, Lina, why the hell was he here, of all places, and why the fuck did he sit right next to you? The men are searching the grounds for him and whoever he brought with him.”
“Don’t bother…” I sat there with my hands on my lap, mourning my lost corn dog. “He stole my fucking corn dog, Dorin.”
“Um… I can get you another one…?”
He should know how much I loved my food.
“Lina, we need to figure out what is going—”
“Dorin, do you remember the stranger who snatched the little girl from Vasile?”
“How could I forget?” He sat next to me with a perplexed look on his face.
“Well, my dear friend, that stranger was none other than Cezar Torrim, the youngest heir to the Crimson Rose Syndicate.”