章 13: Chapter 12
~• • •~
[Cassian]
Glass broke in the premises cloaked in darkness, consequently skittering bits of its splinters towards Cassian's bare feet on the smooth marble floor.
He winced at the sharp sound, at the same time he wasn't sure if he should be bothered by the mess of the broken pitcher or his bloodied feet as he stepped on them.
The person on the other side of the room sneered at him through hooded eyes. The atmosphere was already tense as it is, the shattered pitcher may have been intentionally thrown down to relieve some of the strain.
"Uh-oh. I didn't see that," the unnamed man who literally looked as worse as a man who'd just gotten out of a car crash and barely made it out alive, finally spoke, his raspy voice piercing the silence. "Or was it getting in my way?"
Cassian bent to remove the small pieces of splinters lodged in the soles of his feet, drawing tiny drops of blood. "You've made a mess again, Casper."
The man rolled his eyes, while struggling to get up from the bed. "I'm sorry, when will I get out of here?"
"We're still deciding. In the meantime, you can make do with this room until you get better."
Casper huffed. "Christ." He went on to grumble about unpaid debts and stupid decisions.
"You're lucky you didn't have it bad, you know."
"We're lucky we came out alive." The armored car was a heaven-sent innovation, otherwise they wouldn't have withstood the attack of those armed goons in Brazil.
A year ago, prior to their arrival in this place. Cassian and his high-powered friends made some pretty nasty enemies with well-known men belonging to the Cartel in Sau Paulo.
Hours after they ended a deal, when the club closed and they were finally heading home at daybreak, they were met with two armed vans that had been previously dispatched in pursuit of them in the main highway- roughly ensuring them that escape was impossible.
Unfortunately, for the enemy who seemed to have underestimated them, they'd managed to survive the onslaught.
The rest from that point on can be considered history.
Ironically, Cassian thought he and Casper were very much the same. They dislike not having anything to do, even for such a short span of time in which they've been staying in this villa.
He backed away slightly, just to get closer to the window. His long fingers held aside the heavy sanguine curtain and peered outside, the room had a perfect view of the indoor courtyard as well as the way to the west wing.
A movement from the left corner caught his eye, before he saw the all-too familiar white face, gazing around aimlessly, her long black hair catching the breeze. Even from up there, he could see the traces of indecision in her expression, as well as in the cant of her angular shoulder.
Besides her, the courtyard appears empty.
What is she up to now?
"What are you looking at?" Curious, Casper inquired.
The curtain was put in place before his friend could come any closer and see what has caught his attention.
"Nothing." He ran a hand through his unkempt thick black hair, and shrugged.
He began to survey the other man's slightly limping gait.
"You look fine to me. Why don't you get down. I'll get Pablo to clean that mess for you."
Casper nodded, though he didn't remove his eyes from the window nor commented on Cassian's body now angling towards the door.
Cassian ignored the unspoken question in there.
He left the room, closing the door behind him with a small thud. His bare feet made it's way through the similarly bare marble floor of the hallway, his pace was normal, if a bit sluggish. But he had long strides and he ambled down the smooth stairs, reaching the courtyard in record time.
As expected, she wasn't there in the middle of the courtyard where he'd seen her. There were too many hallways littering the premises.
That was fast.
He canted his head to the side, surveying the multiple hallways before he finally saw her moving figure in one of the passageways. His eyes continued to follow Lyari while she marched away in the general direction of the west wing.
His placid expression morphing into one of pure curiosity. Now, she has his attention.
• • •
[Lyari]
It was starting to amaze her how impossible searching for Chase in the endless halls is turning out.
The estate may be huge, but she wasn't about to risk running into any of the armed men residing in there.
Lyari was wary of wandering too far, afraid of what she might stumble into.
With a sigh, she pulled out her phone from her pocket.
Ultimately, it all came down to her texting Chase, asking where his office might be.
If it weren't for her co-worker's apparent aversion to the clients, she wouldn't be forced to be their representative in these past few days, but it's just as well. She was supposed to be the one handling the paper matters anyway.
Lyari was debating whether to cross the courtyard again to the east wing when her phone pinged, the screen flashing Chase's reply in bold letters.
The message was clear enough, though she had no idea what the hell the fourth passage and the left door straight down that hall even means. There were simply too many hallways. Is it the one on the left side of the courtyard?
She was simply going to find out for herself.
Glancing around in resignation, briefly she wondered where Pablo was in her moment of uncertainty.
It occurred to her that the keeper doesn't roam the house much but he always seemed to appear wherever his presence was needed and necessary.
Right now, he was clearly oblivious to her silent pleas for assistance.
Heavy drops of rain from the open sky above were beginning to splatter one after another on the stone tiles, creating a soft pitter-patter sound. Any minute and it would turn into a deluge, the waters would soon be flushed out by the drains circulating the entirety of the square.
Her shoes skidded to a halt. She'd almost didn't notice the figure appearing in her line of sight. But it was too late.
He was already moving towards her space from the other side of the courtyard.
"Hey, Sage. Where are you going?" He drawled, the weight of his voice echoing in the lofty enclosure.
Lyari exhaled a breathe, figuring Cassian's presence was utterly unavoidable as long as they're staying under the same roof.
"Hi, didn't see you there," she replied with a slight frown.
His jaded eyes swept over her, finding nothing of interest before he disregarded her appearance.
He wore a standard plain gray t-shirt which hugged his broad shoulders and hollow stomach well, while his long legs were clad in dark blue jeans.
Lyari's eyebrows almost shot to her hairline when she noticed his bare feet which were firmly planted on the stone tiles.
Now his apathy was becoming glaringly obvious.
"You look a little lost," he noted, one eyebrow quirked, "couldn't find where you're headed?"
Although he was right, she wasn't about to admit it yet. Not to this guy.
His unfathomable eyes looked like it could read all the lines on her face, but Lyari found it hard to guess what he might be thinking. If his lips weren't quirked in a mischievous grin, his face was always this jaded mask otherwise.
She simpered, averting her face from his keen gaze, staring at his feet instead.
Those are really good, slender toes.
"Can you give this to Chase, this is a mail that just came up, from our firm," she began, extending the slightly wrinkled envelope she'd been clutching in her hand.
He looked at it, but made no move to take it from her.
"For what it's worth, I didn't really think you're the type to get lost here easily," he muttered in retort. "Come. Why don't I just show you to his quarters."
It wasn't a bad idea.
They stepped through the threshold of the east wing, with Cassian leading the way as usual.
True to his words, Chase's office was therefore located at a particular left side of the east wing hall. It was quite an eclectic room, just like the rest of the house. The two-story lab office which they were currently constructing on the west wing was a far cry from this.
The man in question was reclined in a leather office chair, facing a big heavy mahogany table. He looked up just as the two of them appeared at the doors.
"Hello, Lyari," Chase uttered, casting a pointed look at Cassian. "Cass."
With a cant of his head, gesturing for Lyari to get on with it, Cassian then abandoned her in favor of positioning himself by the low cabinet containing a tray of liquors.
Like a child caught with a new interest, he welcomed the short distraction.
"What do you have there?"
The mail she held in her hand was laid down on the table moments later.
Chase gave her a questioning look.
"It's another memo," she answered, by way of explanation.
Chase tore the envelope open and proceeded to read through the contents while she waited by patiently.
"Hm, surprisingly it concerns you."
"Your ice has melted, Chase," came Cassian's complaint on the other side of the room, he dipped his two wet fingers on the bucket again, as if to make a point. "Are you sure this hasn't been in here for days?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," Chase replied, almost apologetically. But he was too focused on the paper in front of him to heed his friend's unspoken request.
"So, what does it say?" Lyari prompted him expectantly when he finally put the paper down.
"Your boss expects us to let go of you temporarily, it seems, for your uh...report."
"That's not really unexpected," she mused, "would've been easier if he just emailed me about it."
"You're wondering why it's addressed to us? Maybe it's because he means to get our approval."
Lyari hesitated at the edge of the table.
"Yes," she acceded, "they're kind of big on ceremonies."
"You seem to know better about this memo. When are they exactly expecting you at the firm?"
"It's the day after tomorrow," she noted, turning towards the door. It's been two weeks since she'd arrived at this place, and frankly she was too caught up dealing with so many piece of works to notice how much time had passed already.
"I should probably go start packing my tools, take care of stuff before I leave."
Cassian's ear twitched at the words 'leave', having the sense to listen in to their conversation. His eyes sought Lyari in curiosity.
"You- you're leaving? Why so soon?"
"I'm afraid my time's up, for now at least," she stated, not entirely surprised that he didn't pick up on the gist of their conversation.
"Ah, yes. There's one more thing, Lyari..." Chase said, cutting off her premeditated escape.
Dread soon reared its ugly head.
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