There was a small knock on the door. She stood up almost immediately, smoothed her dress, and walked to the door. It was who she expected it to be… Orlando was leaning at the entrance of her room. The sleeves on his white shirt were rolled up, a few of the top buttons on his shirt were undone revealing his hard chest. His hair looked like he had run his fingers through it, his eyes looked tired.Surprisingly, she felt a pang in her chest, she was worried about him and his well-being. He peered inside, and that was when it occurred to her that he wanted to come in. “Hi, I am sorry…I…” She rambled and then paused.He walked inside like he owned the room, which he actually did, but it was more than that. It was the confidence in his strides, his overpowering presence, the masculine yet soft scent of his cologne as it wafted through the room. It was a large room, and she knew it did not matter if she was pressed up against the wall, she would still feel him, like he wa

Orlando zoned out of the conversation happening around him in the conference room. The room was spacious and well-lit, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of the city skyline. He had his back to the tall window, and although the room was soundproofed, he was lost in the scenery outside. It all seemed calm compared to the atmosphere in the room.A long table ran down the center of the room, surrounded by comfortable leather chairs. They were all seated around the table, with Romano at the head.“From all I could gather, Doc only entered Paris a few days ago, which tells me he was somewhere else before that…” Sebastian explained. “Now, I have been able to identify two more cities he visited before then, but that does not help us.” He twirled his chair around. “As a matter of fact, it makes our work even harder. With more cities on the timeline, it means more places to look.” He turned his attention to Orlando, who seemed distracted.Romano banged t

The doors burst open, and Elena jumped to her feet just as Orlando rushed in. He stood in front of her, shielding her from the door. “Now, I don’t know what he is going to ask you, but I need you to lie, a very convincing lie. They know nothing about you or your father. Everything they will know is whatever you tell them through the words you say and the words you don’t say out loud…”“Who…who do I…”Luca strolled in at that moment, on alert when he saw them detangle from each other. His green eyes glared at both of them. “Am I interrupting something?”“Yes, yes, you were…” Orlando answered.Luca was not expecting a reply in the first place, let alone that reply. He straightened up. “I need to talk with Elena… alone,” he drew out the last word for emphasis.Orlando turned to her, his gaze lingered longer than Luca was comfortable with, but he tried not to show it. He waited patiently until he heard the door click behind him. “You’re getting a

He rushed into the house, brandishing a gun in front of him, and pulled her behind him. He inputted the security code at the entrance. As the door opened up, he saw Merrill at the entrance. She rushed towards him, tears gushing out of her eyes. “They attacked the security men at the entrance, there was a lot of gunfire…”He pulled her into a hug. Merrill buried her head in his chest and began sobbing. They stayed that way for a while.Elena was terrified. She was with him when the call came in. The house had been shot up. The thought terrified her; those gunshots had been for her. They had come after her.One of the security guards walked in. He was a tall, burly man with bloodstains on his face and clothes.“What happened?”“They somehow managed to breach through the gates unnoticed,” the large man explained. “They came in a black van with no license plates. They took the men at the gates unaware…”“Any casualties?” Orlando cut in.“Three of our men were shot, Blake, Gunner, and Jack