Mia's POV

I was still reflecting over how I had watched Kraven from the edge of the bar as he walked the hall with a cold charm.

From the distance I had observed him, he stood a few feet away, his tall, imposing figure cutting through the crowd like a predator. And I was in a deep thought that I got carried away.

"Maybe I like what I see," I heard a voice just right behind me, loud enough for me to hear over the ambient noise. Beyond a reasonable doubt, I could tell that was Kraven's voice. Just then, he moved right in front and made himself comfortable in the opposite bar seat that faced me. His gaze ran over me, slow and deliberate.

I didn't flinch even when the distance between us wasn't up to a stone's throw, as I could smell the faintest hint of leather and tobacco. There was something about him-about this whole situation-that made every cell in my body scream danger.

But I wasn't backing down.

He gave the sweetest smile with those cute lips I've ever seen and leaned over to steal a kiss.

Just immediately he parted his lips from mine, I could feel that I was already in on a long thing as I felt all the sexual cells in my body asking for more.

Let's say, I enjoyed it too or even more. Who knows!

I know that I wasn't supposed to be doing this with him, of course I know but I think this was indeed an advantage to me that things were happening so fast.

But then, for this assignment, I can be anything.

Just then, the sound of some haphazard footsteps around interrupted the tension. Kraven's gaze around 360 degrees in a twinkle of an eye before snapping back to me.

And just immediately, I heard the sound of gunfire echo through the hallway.

"Bang!! Bang!"

"Stay here," Kraven ordered at the top of his voice before turning sharply and walking toward the entrance close to the bar spot.

The door swung open instead, revealing one of his men, face pale, eyes wide with urgency.

"There's a problem. We've been compromised," the man said, his voice tight.

Kraven's expression shifted in an instant-cold, calculating. "What do you mean, compromised?"

"I think the Giovanni men are here, but we will try to get every one of them down."

The blood drained from my face as the realization hit. Though I haven't really heard of the 'Giovanni,' with the look of things, it seems like they're their opponents in the Mafia.

Kraven's gaze flickered back to me, dark and unreadable. "Get out of here. Now."

My heart pounded in my chest. I didn't move. I couldn't.

"Where do you want me to go now? Can't you see that it's not safe if I leave the premises now?" I pleaded, yet my voice was barely above a whisper.

Kraven's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you are not a part of this?"

I maintained this straight face like I didn't know what he was referring to, not minding if the game had changed against me or not.

How on earth would he even conceive such a thing in his mind? What on earth can I get involved with the dirty games of a Mafia, of all things to do in this life?

I swallowed hard but didn't let him see the way my heartbeat sped up at his words. I was a professional. I had a job to do.

And yet, every second I spent near him made that job feel harder.

"I just asked you a question; why are you all playing dumb?"

He asked again, this time in a higher-pitched tone than the former.

And before I could respond, the sound of gunfire echoed through the hallway all over again.

"Ratatatatata."

This time the sound was quite different and more like an automated fire, and I guess it came from Kraven's men, as the sound of the other was quite different.

Of course, I use arms if need be during operations, and so I can comfortably tell the difference.

*****

"If you are willing to work for me, then I must access you to be sure you are not sent from Giovanni," he continued, The weight of his words hung in the air like a warning. "You stick around, get close to me, and we'll see how deep you're willing to go. But remember this-everything in this world has a price." He added, still maintaining the thick voice.

'Could he be that possessive?'

I straightened, and this time I was ready to step away. "I don't buy into your world, Astor," I said, though the words felt like they were coming from someone else. Because, where could that morale from me be coming from?

He chuckled, the sound dark and teasing. "Not yet, you don't have a choice here."

His fingers brushed mine briefly-just a touch, but enough to send a shiver through me.

I didn't know how much more I could take. I couldn't let him know what was really going on. I couldn't let him see how much he rattled me.

I needed to stay focused.

Kraven took a step back, his eyes still burning with curiosity, though there was something more in them now. It was as if I'd sparked something in him he hadn't expected.

"Follow me," he said, with a commanding voice. "I need to show you something."

My mind raced with possibilities as I hesitated for a split second before I nodded, letting him lead me through the back door of the club.

We got to a room that seemed more like an office. The moment we stepped into the office, the door clicked shut behind us. A massive desk sat at the center of the room, papers scattered across it, and the walls were lined with bookshelves full of legal files, old family portraits, and what looked like ledgers of a very different nature.

Kraven gestured to the leather chair across from him. "Sit."

I ignored the chair and leaned against the desk instead, crossing my arms. "What's this about?"

"What do you want from me, Aria?" He nabbed with a fake smile that didn't reach his eyes instead of answering my question.

"What exactly do you think? It seems like you find it so difficult to believe me."

I understand how 'trust' is such a big deal in the Mafia world, but I never knew it was this bad.

"Let me know everything, starting with the truth. Besides, how would I believe a total stranger?" He took an unusual glance at me and continued regardless, "But then, if you insist you know nothing about what I am talking about, then it's fine. But one thing I will assure you is that if I smell anything fishy with you, I won't spare your life for anything in this world. Ask around; I am Lord Kraven for a reason, and I earned that."

Something about the way Kraven said the last statement made my pulse race, but I still maintained my ground of acting dumb, like I have no clue what he is saying.

The silence was thick, the weight of his words pressing down on me. I should've left right then and there, but something kept me rooted to the spot because I thought that could worsen the situation.

"Bang!!! Bang!! Bang!"

The gunfire came up again just when I thought we were done with that phase.

With the look on Kraven's face, I could tell without a doubt that we weren't safe here anymore.

"Let's leave here at once."

He said and dragged my wrist out of the office.

Mia's POV

I didn't have time to think. I didn't have time to process either.

The gunfire was a blaring alarm, and my instincts kicked in without hesitation.

"Move!" Kraven snapped as he made his way forward, shoving me toward the door. Still holding on to my wrist, pulling me through the narrow hallway at a pace that left me breathless. I stumbled, trying to keep up, but I wasn't a rookie. Not in my line of work.

"I thought you said we were safe here!" I spat, tugging my arm free from his grip as we reached the exit.

Kraven's jaw tightened. His eyes were as cold as ever, and he kept scanning the surroundings like a hawk on the hunt. "Safe? You're with the Astors now. Safe doesn't typically exist."

I hated the bitter truth in his words, but it didn't stop the gnawing feeling that twisted in my gut.

We reached the back alley, the sound of shouting and more gunfire echoing from the building behind us. I could hear the tension and the chaos growing louder. My heartbeat raced in my chest, and at the same time, my adrenaline kept pumping through my veins.

"Get in," Kraven growled, jerking his head toward the sleek black car waiting a few steps away.

I didn't hesitate, not even for a moment. There was no time for hesitation, and we needed to get out of there before things went further south.

I threw open the door and slid into the passenger's seat, and Kraven followed on the other side to the driver's seat with his body close enough that I could feel the heat of his presence. But then he had all his attention fixed on the road while his hands were steady on the wheel.

"I fully understand you didn't see all these coming, Aria, but there is a lot to me that you might get to know later," he said with his voice low but with an edge I couldn't ignore. But then, before I could say anything, my eyes caught a black spotted mark on his right temple.

This was exactly the same birthmark my son had and on the same spot.

I looked away and while I was carried away with a million and one thoughts going through my mind, his words snapped me out. "I hope you got what I said?"

After half a minute of silence, I turned to him with flashing eyes. "Let's see how it goes, Astor. I only hope it's something I can handle."

His lips curled into a smirk, though there was no humor in it. "I didn't say you couldn't handle it. I'm just saying it might cost you."

I shot him a look. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

He didn't answer immediately. His jaw tightened, and for a second, I saw something dark flicker behind his eyes.

"I need you to understand that once you're in this, there's no way out. Not for you, not for me."

I bristled, hating the feeling that crept into my chest: Must I continue with this in this manner? Anyway, I think I have signed up for this.

Kraven's gaze shifted to me with his eyes narrowing, as if he was trying to see through me. "I think you're playing a dangerous game. And you're not the only one with something to lose."

The silence between us grew thick. He was right about one thing-this is likely to be more tedious than I had envisaged. I only hope it's worth it at the end of the day.

In not long enough, the car jerked to a stop, the screech of tires against the pavement making me almost want to flinch.

"We're here," Kraven muttered with a kind of tender voice.

I glanced around. We were in the middle of nowhere, and the dim glow of streetlights barely illuminated the deserted road. It felt... wrong, you know. This wasn't safe to the best of my knowledge. But then again, nothing about this world was.

Before I could say anything, Kraven had already opened the door and stepped out of the car, pulling his gun from the holster under his jacket. He didn't look back at me.

"Stay low," he ordered, his tone firm. "We've got company."

I barely had time to process his words before a black SUV screeched to a halt in front of us, blocking the only way out.

Four men stepped out, each one dressed in dark suits and carrying weapons. I wasn't shocked that I couldn't recognize any of them.

"There you go again. Giovanni's men. I see."

I could hear Kraven mutter under his breath.

"Shit." I barely cursed under my breath.

Kraven whispered right to my ears with his body rigid with readiness. "Don't move unless I tell you to."

I didn't need to be told twice. My hand hovered near the other gun he kept tucked at the back of the car. But I wasn't foolish enough to think I could take on four armed men in a standoff like this without Kraven suspecting a thing, and so I was thinking of a way not to bring in more reasons for him to suspect me.

The one that seems to be the most fierce looking-a tall man with sharp features and an even sharper glare-stepped forward. "Kraven Astor. You've got a lot of nerve."

Kraven's voice was smooth, calm, and at the same time almost cold. "You came at the wrong time. This doesn't end the way you think it will."

The man scoffed, but there was a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. "We've got you surrounded. You may not escape this."

I watched the exchange from behind Kraven, and my heart pounded in my chest. This wasn't how I'd planned this. I wasn't supposed to be in the middle of a mafia war. But as I stood there, I realized something that sent a shiver down my spine.

"You don't get it, do you?" The tall guy said. "You think you can come into our territory and walk away untouched? You're more involved than you know."

That was enough to make me freeze as his words hit harder than a punch, but I didn't have to.

Kraven didn't flinch. His voice was low and dangerous. "You're playing with fire, you know. And by now, you should know that I don't lose."

Sharp cracks of gunfire rang out just the moment he dropped the last word, and I had my eyes focused to know where to channel my energy.

The tall man had his gun raised, and Kraven had already fired back.

Before I could take another breath, and pulled my own trigger right from behind where I was, everything happened at once. And when the gunfire sound had died down, I risked a careful glance around and noticed that Kraven ended up taking three down while I pulled at one of them. They all lay in the pool of their blood.

Just then, another car pulled up with a loud screeching sound against the coal-tiled pavement.

"Is this what the tall guy meant that they had us surrounded?"

Aria's POV

Just as another car pulled up with a loud screeching sound against the coal-tiled pavement, I felt my entire body tense. My hand gripped the gun tighter, and my heart was almost racing as my mind was already bracing for another wave of chaos.

'Still on the first day, is this what I will have to face every single day?' I thought to myself.

For a moment, I thought the Giovanni men were back because, honestly, I wasn't ready for round two-not without having had a perfect 30 minutes of peace of mind since I got in contact with Kraven. But then, I have to do the needful.

He turned to me and noticed the way I was still holding onto the gun like it was my last lifeline.

"That's my men over there," he said calmly the moment he observed the plate number of the car that had just pulled over. "They're late, yeah, but it's better late than never. By now, you should know that as long as you're with me, nothing will happen to you."

I nodded and relaxed my grip just a little. "It's fine. Thank you," I replied quietly. But inside, I was still guarded. Trust didn't come easy, not anymore.

Then, out of nowhere, he threw a question that made my stomach twist.

"That reminds me, how were you able to pull a trigger like that? Aren't you supposed to be an artist? Do artists pull triggers too?"

I swallowed hard, keeping my face as neutral as I could. "Let's just say... it just happened. Self-defense can make people do things they didn't think they could. That's all there is to it."

He let out a soft chuckle; he would have been more amused than anything. "And you expect me to believe that real quick?"

"You really need to believe it," I said, meeting his gaze. "Because it's the truth."

He stared at me longer than felt comfortable, as if trying to read something written between my words.

"Anyway," he said finally, "no matter how badly you don't want to admit it, I see something in you. And the best word to describe it is 'potential. Something I could use. But listen carefully-on this side of the world, I don't trust anyone. So I'll let it slide, but my eyes are on you."

Before I could respond, the car door opened, and three men stepped out. Tall, dressed in black, all looking alert. One of them approached Kraven. They took a little moment in the car; I wouldn't know what they might have discussed in there, but somehow I cared less about that.

"Hello, boss, sorry we couldn't get here early," one of them goes on to explain. "We had to make sure the coast was clear before arriving. Sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused you."

Kraven gave a slight nod. "It's fine. You know, at least you are here now. Besides, you could see we already have them gunned down."

I noticed the shocked expression they had on when they heard that-"We had them gunned down." But then, Kraven wasn't even interested in explaining to them that I shot one dead person while he took care of the other three.

Kraven walked over to the bodies on the ground, and I watched as he crouched slightly and studied them carefully. There was a shift in his expression-more like something calculating. Then he turned back to me.

"Aria, right?" he said.

"Yeah. That's my name."

"You claimed you only pulled the trigger in self-defense," he said, gesturing to the dead men I did shoot. "But the guy you shot got it straight in the forehead. That's not something just anyone pulls off. You know that, right? Only someone who's handled a gun-really handled one-could manage that."

I held my breath, but I tried so much that my face gave nothing away.

"Let's just say I was lucky... who knows, desperate as well," I replied. "That kind of combination can make people hit bullseyes."

He didn't look convinced. He stepped toward me with his eyes narrowed.

"I'll only believe you," he said, "if you can prove it at my will."

I didn't respond because at this point there was nothing I could say that would change his mind. Again, trying to defend something too much tends to look like lies, and I have always known that silence was safer than overexplaining.

"Let's go," he said and walked toward the car.

I followed him, sliding into the passenger seat beside him. The other men got into their own car and trailed behind us.

The drive lasted about thirty minutes, quiet except for the hum of the road and the occasional street lamp shining by. I didn't speak. Neither did he. But I kept checking the mirrors, watching for tails. That's an old habit of mine that has lasted for a lifetime.

Eventually, he pulled into a small parking space outside a corner restaurant. It looked modest-nothing too flashy.

"You can stay in the car or join me," he said. "I want to grab some pizza, and this is my best spot in town for that."

Before I could respond, he was already out and shutting the door behind him.

I let out a breath. My heart was still beating faster than I liked in a manner I couldn't help it. Just as I was about to open the door and follow, my phone rang. I pulled it out quickly and answered when I saw the name.

"Hello, sir," I said.

"Progress report." Mr. Thompson's voice was as dry and direct as always.

"From how it's going, I'll probably get time alone with him tonight, and that's definitely a headway."

"Good job," he said. "Now, a new objective is-make sure you go home with the target. At all costs."

I froze. You could imagine such guts he got.

That request made my skin crawl. For a second, I considered pushing back because that made me look like a low-budget prostitute. But I knew better. I was on duty. And duty came first, no matter how it made me feel.

"Copy that," I said.

The call ended and I dropped the phone on my lap and stared out the window.

Eating with the devil? Then I better get myself a longer spoon.

Just then another thought came-what if he had the car bugged? My eyes moved across the dashboard. Kraven didn't strike me as the trusting type. He could've planted a recorder in here easily. I made a mental note-next time, no calls in the car. A message would've been smarter to the best of my knowledge.

As I couldn't follow him up immediately, there was no need to do that now, and I had to stay back.

Minutes later, Kraven returned. He knocked on the window, holding a brown paper bag and two sodas.

"You didn't bother coming in with me. You know, you never cease to give me more reasons to see you as a suspect and I think I know what you are up to this time." He snapped the moment he got to the car.