Luka leaned back on his chair in the cafe and looked at Xavier.
"If you're here then why bother to call me here as well" he whined like always.
And just like every time, Xavier didn't bother to respond and continued sipping on his coffee.
He was not happy to be here either. He had to drop Ailee home this morning after their cozy four days vacay in his home. She didn't want him to go and only he knows how hard it was to not cave in for those glossy eyes and a cute little pout. She even stood guard in front of his car but he just picked her up and put her aside.
Oh what drama it was so early in the morning.
Enzo kept reporting the status of their mission every few minutes and by the looks of it everything was going as per their plan. Today was the most awaited day. The day when the person who's been meddling in his business will be revealed, B. R.
"Go now, Luka," he said.
"Urghh I just wanted a good breakfast" he mumbled but left his waffles there on the table and walked out. He knows when he needs to be serious and being tardy on missions is something he doesn't tolerate. He isn't the best at his job for nothing.
Xavier sighed deeply and looked at his watch.
He left the money on the table and walked out with a few people after him. He'd rather do work than waste his precious time at some cafe.
___
"Sir, Green Street is the right address, it's confirmed" Enzo's voice came through the earpiece.
Xavier stopped scrolling through his computer and leaned back on his chair. He looked at the ceiling and sighed.
" Fucking finally" he muttered, standing up, and typing something on his phone.
He walked out of his office and was joined by a group of fifteen guards, all armed and ready to protect their employer from harm's way.
Outside the building, cars were lined up for him and his men to take them to their destination. He sat in the third one with two armed guards and the rest followed.
He made a call to Luka and Enzo on the way and hummed at their status response.
The place they were going to wasn't too far, it was a less populated area of the city.
The cars in front of him stopped first and took their position when he got out and met up with Enzo who was incharge of this operation.
"Sir, I have another piece of information," he said without blinking. He was always like that, quiet and closed off. The only time he speaks to a person more than a sentence is when he is reporting to Xavier.
"What is it?" He asked, giving him his full attention.
"The anonymous person who made a deal with Mr Enzo to score the coast side land from you four months ago, is the same person we are expecting today."
A look of surprise crossed his face at this new intel but it was gone in a blink.
"Hmm, so it is indeed someone with a personal motive to fuck me up" he said.
"Seems like it, yes," Enzo replied and finished his fruit juice before sliding the cup aside.
"I have a spot prepared for you, you'll be able to have a clear view of the entrance. The cameras are already installed, everyone's set in their undercover roles, all the blind spots are covered too. Everything is as per the plan, sir"
" Hmm it won't satisfy me until it's over- successfully over" he replied.
" Sure, sir," Enzo said, before getting up and leaving the cafe.
Two guards came and guided him to the top of a four floor building and laid down binoculars, two guns, a transceiver, an iPad and a cup of hot coffee on a concrete bench.
Xavier took off his shades and observed the unfamiliar location. There were a few restaurants in line, a small dental clinic stuck like a sore thumb in the middle of two corporate buildings, a grand hotel where he is expecting a guest right now and three well decorated flower shops which he knew his little darling would love.
He would've said it's a nice place but the memories he'd carry out of here might not be pleasant enough to return here willingly.
He picked up the cup and brought it to his lips.
Down below, cars and cars entered the area and stopped in front of the entrance.
Guards spilled out from the cars and stood attentively by the door. Then, a tattooed man got out and stretched out his limbs before laughing and looking around. He was probably talking to someone.
Michael Ru.
When the first three cars drove away another one stopped and a woman stepped out with an obnoxiously big red hat covering her entire face. Xavier picked up the iPad to check the cameras but unfortunately under that hat was a black net covering her face.
He clenched his jaw in annoyance and waited for the person who was their leader.
But that was it.
She came out and the car left. The cars behind it had a bunch of more guards.
He knew in an instant what that could mean.
B. R. wasn't a man. It was a woman.
And it was confirmed when she was being closely guarded by a heavily armed security team and everyone around her was extra cautious.
He spoke through the transceiver to focus on the woman as she's their main target.
He opened the screen connected to the hidden cameras in the outfits of his undercover men who were inside the hotel stationed at different places. It was especially easy for him to get them there because he is an influential person who also owns chains of hotels across the nation.
The woman doesn't even stop by the lobby and was immediately escorted to a private room.
His men were really efficient in their jobs, they wasted no time in switching their places as per the situation and captured every moment till the doors closed.
Xavier sat down on the bench with his coffee and leaned back on the wall.
Who was that woman?
Why was she after him?
How is she connected to him?
How much she knows?
Numerous questions started filling up his mind. He is not the type to get intimidated by foes because he is usually the one doing that but this one doesn't feel right.
And as much as he is against hurting women because he has never been much troubled by them, he won't hesitate taking precautions against this woman as it is something he adapted himself to, and not because he was taught things like respecting others. So it won't entirely bother him.
He saw his man enter the room to serve them drinks and he almost saw the woman but his tray was taken away from him by one of their men and he was asked to leave but before he could, he heard them talking about fifty million dollars.
He received a call from Alex and frowned looking at the screen.
He picked it up and put the phone on his ear,
"Hmm"
"Umm... Romano?"
"I believe you have this number saved in your phone" Xavier sighed at his silly response.
"Ah yeah, sorry" he said, hesitantly.
" What is it?" He asked, since they are his family now, he gotta take care of them.
" So what happened was Dad was deleting the CCTV footage of- of Lily b- with that bastard but-"
" She saw it" Xavier completed his sentence.
" Yes" he replied with worry lingering in his voice.
Xavier closed his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It took a lot of effort and time to get her to smile and talk like before and not sink in those memories.
"Where is she right now?"
" She has locked herself in her room and won't open the door. She keeps saying that she just needs a bit of alone time but you know how it ended up last time when she said that, right?"
"Hmm-" he was about to say something when Alex interrupted him again.
"Dad has been sitting outside the door ever since and is refusing to eat or drink. He is blaming himself. What do I do? Mom and all my sisters are no help, one word and they will start bawling their eyes out" he rambled.
Alex felt helpless seeing the tense situation in his house. He was always fooling around and when the time came for him to stand strong and support his family, he lacked the know-how. He doesn't have anyone to turn to but Xavier, and he's a pretty good option to him. Xavier knew everything about them and is much more mature than he is and believes he will take care of this the best not only because he knows how to handle his baby sister but also because his way of speaking is so convincing that can make one believe that it's day time even if it is night.
" I'll be there soon, take care of them till then" he said and was about to hang up when he heard him shouting, asking to wait.
"What do you mean by 'take care of them' won't you tell me HOW? Like how shall I do that and stuff. You know you should say something like forcing my father to move away from the door or making my sisters sneak in from the window etcetera."
"Alex, you can help them by staying sane. I won't take long" he said and hung up to call Luka.
"The number you have-"
"Fucking listen" he snapped at Luka.
"Why? What happened now? Can't do one mission without me?" He whined like a five year old.
" Come here"
" Wha- No! Absolutely not!" He yelled through the phone.
"Already sent you the address. I have somewhere important to be at" he hung up without hearing anymore of his tantrums.
He informed Enzo and asked him to make sure everything goes smoothly along with a special last minute instruction for him. He nodded and made arrangements to implement his command while waiting for Luka to arrive. He can't leave the teams alone without the supervision of Xavier or Luka or himself.
Quickly sitting in the car, Xavier's driver took him to Mr Laurent's mansion.
He was immediately hit by the gloominess of the room when he entered.
"Romano" Juliana said with a pained expression.
Everyone was lingering around her corridor waiting for her to open the door.
They all looked at him one by one and then looked down.
They shouldn't be feeling like this, but still they felt embarrassed to have to take help from someone who has barely spent a year with their sister even though they're the ones who have known her all their lives.
He nodded at their mother and knocked on the door gently.
"Coco, open the door," he said.
Everyone stopped breathing, the anticipation was too high to let them breathe.
But inside was just as much quiet.
He furrowed his eyebrows and knocked more firmly but the response remained the same- none.
With a little fear starting to form in the core of his heart he hurried to their lawn and to the tree that leads to her window.
He would have broken the door easily but if she was sleeping or anything then she'd get scared and panic.
He threw off his loafers hastily and removed his coat, dropping it on the grass as well before climbing up the tree.
Her family, who mindlessly followed him out, looked with wide eyes and open mouths.
It was obvious he had done it before.
They just didn't know when and how many times but that wasn't important at the moment.
He effortlessly jumped over the boundary of her balcony and went inside when he noticed the door was open.
Everything was neat and in its place but he was shocked to see that... ... ...
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Everything was neat and in its place but he was shocked to see that Ailee was nowhere around.
He ran to the closet but failed to find her there too. Then he knocked on the bathroom and when he got no response he entered but it was empty as well.
He stood there for a second, dumbfounded.
There were knocks on her door again.
"Romano? Ailee? Can we come in too?" Mr Laurent asked from the outside.
He walked over to the door and opened it, everyone rushed past him but frowned soon when they realized her absence.
"She must be in the bathroom" Alex murmured.
"She is not," Xavier said and faced him with his regular stoic face.
Everyone gasped and looked at each other in horror.
"Are you sure she never left the room?" He asked Alex.
" What do you-" he said and searched for her around the room himself.
He halted in his steps near the bed and slowly shook his head.
Juliana gasped, putting a hand over her mouth and fell on the chair behind her. The girls immediately rushed to their mother for support.
"Where- where's my baby, Calvin?" She sobbed.
" She must be in so much pain, my poor little girl. Why does she have to go through so much pain when she never hurt anyone" she cried in the arms of Mila who was trying her best to calm her down.
"Alex, show me the footage of the house" Xavier said, snapping out of his thoughts.
He nodded and led him out.
He played multiple angles and locations all together and found her at once, doing something unexpected.
She climbed down through the window and was crying. She even had a nasty fall.
Both of their hearts pained looking at her miserable condition. It was shocking to know she did something so reckless like that. What if she got seriously hurt?
They switched the cameras as per her direction and they came to know that she was still in the estate.
They stood up together,
"You go to her, I'll tell mom. She is worried sick" he said and ran up.
Xavier sighed and walked to the pool house that was a little far from the house.
He was thinking what he could do to cheer her up. If it were up to him, he'd take all her pain away.
The grass was wet with the fog, winds were blowing in the opposite direction of where he was going and the clouds were dark gray. It looked like it was going to rain heavily very soon.
He gently opened the door and slowly walked inside, half expecting her to be curled up on the floor and crying. He had seen her doing that once before and he'd hate to see her again in the same condition. Once was enough of a torture for him.
But she was not in the lounge area so he checked the first door he saw on the right side of the main door.
She was nowhere to be seen there as well so he turned around, about to leave when he saw a rabbit slipper peeking from behind the bed.
Confused, he took a step towards it and stopped.
Ailee was indeed curled up in a ball on the floor with a pillow between her arms and legs and was wrapped in a blanket.
He moved closer and crouched down near her petite form. Her face was stained with dried tears, her hair looked like she was in a fight, her mouth was open like a fish and she was slightly shivering.
The weather was cold and she wasn't wearing anything warm except a thin blanket on the cold floor. Obviously she'd shiver.
He picked her up and laid her down on the bed before covering her with three layers of blankets. Then he sat down near her and held her hands with one of his while his other hand pushed back her hair so that he can have a clearer view of what is his to stare at.
"Don't do this to yourself, baby" He kissed her knuckles softly.
"Scared the fuck out of me" he whispered.
He heard the front door being open and a minute later her family was rushing in. Before they could enter the room, Xavier was out, closing the door to the room behind him.
" She's sleeping," he said, putting a finger on his lips.
The commotion died down immediately and they all quietly entered the room when Xavier opened the door for them.
He stayed out and sat on the couch.
Alex came and put down a pair of socks and sliders, sweats and his phone in front of him.
"I'm guessing you'll stay? Also you look like a mess" he shrugged and plopped down next to him.
Xavier looked down at his clothes and saw his white shirt, not so white anymore and he was still in just his socks which were hella dirty and wet.
"Appreciate it" He sighed.
"Your coat and shoes are in Lily's room by the way"
He nodded and silence enveloped them once again.
"After a lot of thinking," Alex started and Xavier raised a brow, curiously.
"That I somewhat approve of your relationship with my sister" he said- more like mumbled.
An amused smile broke onto his lips and he looked at him,
" Yeah? And who said I needed your approval?"
His mouth opened up in disbelief.
" Of course you need my approval, I'm her only brother and a very important member of this family" he exaggerated.
"Mhmm sure" he said, dryly.
" Woah woah woah, wait up prince charming, let me tell-" He began but was cut off by Xavier.
" Where's the bathroom?" he said and got up.
"Second door on the left and I was saying-"
He picked up the clothes and left, not waiting to hear any more of his ramblings.
"Wow this guy gets on my nerves like no one" he shook his disbelievingly.
Alex stood up and went to Ailee's room where his family was.
Everyone seemed much more relaxed now that she was right in front of their eyes and fine.
"Where's Romano?" Juliana asked.
"He's taking a shower" he said and sat beside Ailee.
"I feel bad to call him here like this. We all know how busy he is and he even said in the morning that he had an important schedule today" she said but everyone stayed quiet.
"Well according to me, it would've been worse if we'd have not let him know," Iris said from the corner of the room, gaining everyone's attention.
"I mean he's really protective of her so it's natural for him to give her priority and we didn't call him here we just informed him and he came running like that leaving behind whatever he was doing. So I don't think you should worry about that" she explained further and it calmed her mother a bit.
"May God bless him" she said and smiled looking at Ailee's sleeping form.
The girls talked among them hushedly while Alex was on his phone and their parents sat together on the sofa quietly.
Xavier walks in, rubbing his head with the towel and stops by the door frame when all heads turn towards him.
"Oh, you're here," Juliana said, sitting straight.
"I'll get hot and healthy food prepared for you, son," she said with a smile.
He nodded and looked at Ailee still sleeping soundly, unaware of all the people gathered around her.
" You can rest now, we'll send the food here" Mr Laurent said and walked out, followed by everyone else.
Xavier slumped down on the sofa but stood up straight again when he remembered today's mission.
He looked for his phone and recalled Alex putting it on the table outside so he quietly left the room, closing the door behind.
He picked up his phone and saw a lot of missed calls from Luka and then Enzo.
'What happened?' He thought.
He quickly dialed Luka's number and he picked up on the first ring.
"How'd it go?" He asked.
"You really are something, aren't you? You left us here alone and dared to not even pick up your phone? I swear if it goes South then I'm not taking the blame"
"Shut the fuck up and tell me" he gritted out. Now was not the time to fuck with him.
"It's the same as before. I don't know what the fuck they're doing in there. No one has stepped inside and no one is coming outside." he said, frustratingly.
" Then why call me a thousand fucking times when nothing happened"
"I wanted to know where'd you go to relax while I'm working my ass off here" Luka said in his usual whiny way.
"Your burrito and fries are here, Sir. Is there anything else you'd like to order?" Someone in his background said.
" Yeah, working my ass. I didn't send you there to slack off, fucker"
"I just came here to grab a bite, I literally haven't had even a single sip of water all day."
" Luka, you fucking stuffed your face with waffles in front of me, this morning. God, I fucking hate your stupid ass" he hung up the call immediately and sat down on the couch behind.
He checked the cameras in the hotel through his phone and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He called Enzo next and asked,
" Is it done?"
" Yes, Sir," he replied.
" Hmm, what is the status of the mission now"
" Nothing to worry about so far, Sir. We'll- they're coming out, sir" He said hurriedly, alerting Xavier.
Xavier opened the app and checked the cameras while Enzo spoke to him through the phone call.
"They are taking the back exit, I see them."
His men switched their positions and busied themselves in work around the back exit so that Xavier could monitor the movement of the woman through the cameras hidden in their accessories.
The woman walked out but unfortunately her face was hidden again.
She was very cautious of her surroundings which gave away that she wasn't immature.
After her walked out a very pissed looking Michael who stormed out through the main entrance with his goons tailing him.
"Sir, we'd pull back in fifteen minutes"
"Hmm alright, meeting tomorrow at four" he said, dismissing him.
Leaning back, he closed his eyes and draped his arm over them.
"Are... you okay?"
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