It's a dress. A magnificent dress.

I could never have afforded such a dress. I am still locked in this room and until a few seconds ago I didn't dare look inside the bag, but finally, curiosity won. And out came this beautiful midnight blue dress with irresistible stones on the sleeves and even the little train was full of glitter. I looked at it in amazement. The stones look like beautiful sapphires. At the waist, the dress is made of a gauzy net. 

But the question is, what am I going to do with this dress? Where am I going that I need to wear something like this? 

"You need to take a shower and change, Miss. An order from the boss," I remember the man words telling me, who gave me this dress. Briefly, I pause. 

His fucking boss isn't my boss though. 

"I don't have to do anything that this asshole wants me to do," I hiss, ignoring the fact that I'm talking to myself. I also ignore the fact that I would love to wear this dress. I've never worn anything so beautiful... It even seems to be exactly my size.

Well... I can try it on for a moment and then just take it off again and go to sleep. Yes, that's what I'll do! Then I can at least see how I look in it. It would really be too bad not to have seen it at least once! So I quickly undress and grab the dress. It's really heavy, but I slip inside. And I freeze. It's not beautiful, it's gorgeous! The dress fits like a glove and indeed, for the first time, I recognize curves and roundness on me and not just a straight line. 

As if it was made just for me... 

I turn slightly in a circle as a slight smile forms on my lips. 

"Very good, you're already done," I suddenly hear a deep voice say and I jerk around. I almost choke on my spit. The same security as before is standing in front of the door and immediately starts to leave again, but I stop him. 

"No," I shout. 

"No?" 

"No," I repeat. 

"Really?" 

"Really," I confirm. 

"Good, then I'll go get the boss now," he says, narrowing his eyes to slits and making a move to go back out when another security joins us. 

"What's wrong?" He asks in broken English.

"She said no," the other man replies. The new guy looks at me blankly.

"Why you say no?" He asks.

"Leave it be, Alexei," the first man snorts again.

"No, Gregor, this not work," this Alexei replies. 

"Boss has to say that," he says, whereupon I panic a little bit.

The last thing I did was beat Leroy. I'm not ready to talk to him yet. What if he hits me back? I certainly won't be able to keep up with him. How stupid am I to just hit him? Where did this courage come from? Because right now I can feel my hands starting to shake when Alexei said they were going to get the boss now.

As soon as they make another move to leave, I stop them by shouting "No" again. 

"No?" Asks Gregor, as he did earlier. 

"No," I repeat again. I would have laughed, so funny do I find the situation, if the guy in front of me wasn't wearing a gun on his waistband.

"What now?" Asks Alexei. He has a strong accent and I think he's either Russian or Polish. 

"Don't call the boss," I reply meekly. 

"Then get yourself ready!" Grumbles Gregor. God, this guy is rude! Doesn't he have any manners at all? 

"I don't want to come, so tell your boss I'm still asleep," I say. 

"I boss not lie," Alexei shouts immediately. I look at him bitterly, but firmly he turns away and nods at Gregor. They finally left my room. Is Leroy coming here now? I

quickly look around for a place to hide, but only find the huge wardrobe. I can't lock the door either.

☼ ❅

Just as I am about to hide in the wardrobe, the door opens. I get goosebumps when I feel his aura. As if danger were a perfume of his, that's how he sprays it out. I don't dare to turn around, but I can already feel him coming closer to me. Slowly I turn to face him and once again my breath stops.

Leroy is standing behind me and is dressed completely in black. His suit looks tailored and accentuates his broad shoulders as well as his muscular arms. Once again, I realize that he can take me down in no time. I swallow empty. 

"In case you still don't get it, you're not here for pleasure and you do what you are told to do." His voice is so rough that it makes me think he's been smoking consistently for the last few hours, and his words as damn sharp as the Afena sword cause me to shudder.

He looks at me as sternly as only a military man about to go to war can look. Tense and with exaggerated tautness. I silently avert my gaze and turn my back on him. I'd rather look out the window than continue to look him in his eyes. 

"I'm not going anywhere." 

Instead of my voice sounding as sharp as his, it's more tenderly quiet. And shaky. Angrily, I bite my lower lip. I should be defying him! But instead, sweat breaks out of me and runs down the back of my neck. Leroy behind me snorts.

Then I feel him move closer to me until I can feel his steel-hard chest against my back. I hold my breath. His index finger touches my cheek as he brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. 

"When I get right back here, you're done, you hear me?" He whispers in my ear. His voice is low, but that's what makes his harmless sentence sound so dangerous. Then I notice how he pulls back and can exhale again. His words frighten me. He scares me. But my history teacher once said that fear can be a very helpful emotion. 

Only those who feel fear can be brave... 

So I tighten my shoulders, raise my head and turn around to face him. 

"And what happens if I don't? If you're right back here and I'm just not ready because I refuse to follow you blindly?", I ask him. Pure provocation resonates in my voice, but what else have I got to lose? "Are you going to hit me then? Are you actually beating me with your hand or with a stick? Oh no, let me guess, you don't even get your hands dirty. Your lackeys handle that mess, don't they? Or do you kill me directly?" 

Leroy's hand pauses on the door handle that he was about to push down to leave the room. His head is down and I notice him shaking it slightly. I'm sure he is furious now. But instead of him actually turning around and killing me now, he just turns his head back and looks at me. A crooked grin graces his lips. 

"Why don't you try it and see what happens?" With those words, he turns his head again, opens the door, and disappears. I slump my shoulders. Surely this can't be true. 

I'm not that brave to try it now! 

"Shit!"

☼ ❅

About an hour later, I am sitting in a flour-white limousine - the undesirable person called Leroy right across from me. Although I tell myself that I am brave and can stand up to him, I don't dare to actually take that step and provoke him really strongly. My eyes fall on his shiny silver watch wrapping his wrist, on the bracelets, and then on his tattooed hand that is currently holding his phone. I wonder what it would really feel like to be smacked by that hand. 

God, turn those thoughts off, Rina!

I shake my head and look away. I have to admit, as much as I've been reluctant to go along, I'm now excited to see where we're going in the first place. We are dressed so fancily that we are one hundred percent attending an event.

Well, if it is indeed a normal, quiet event, then I could care less. But the oppressive feeling still doesn't go away, because something tells me that this evening could be quite dangerous for me. My eyes glance at Leroy as he exhales heavily. I tense involuntarily as I realize that he is looking at me. 

"We're going to an event, or rather a small party, if you hadn't already guessed. There are no farting unicorns but mafia members, hitmen, and even enemies of mine at this one. You are my escort and stay by my side at all times, got it? Otherwise, I'll have to throw your body in the lake tonight. Shut up and follow me sounds much more pleasant, doesn't it?", Leroy snaps me out of my thoughts. I shudder at his words.

And he's taking me to a party like this? Why? 

"If someone asks you a question, you will answer politely. I'm warning you, chica. I need some of them and I don't want to kill them because you arouse their anger. And don't look anyone in the eyes for too long." Leroy leans slightly over to me. His eyes gain hardness. 

"Or they will accept the challenge," he adds after the small pause in art and I nod, swallowing. 

Why the hell is he taking me there is rather the question! Why couldn't I just stay in New York with Yang? About that... 

"Where are we exactly? It's so warm here, it's like we're in...", I begin, not even looking him in the eye, but out of the window when he immediately interrupts me. 

"In Spain." 

My jaw drops open as the limousine pulls up just in front of a magnificent building. We're in Europe?! How long must I have been asleep on the plane? The whole flight. What had that bastard given me? Unbelievable! Now I'm being pumped with drugs, too. 

"Disembark, miss," the chauffeur's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I offer him my hand and get out with his help. Sighing, I fix my dress and lift my eyes, only to freeze immediately. 

Wow... 

It is a total work of art with its park, magnificent gardens, water features, and statues. Simply wonderful! I actually have something like that...

A whistle snaps me out of my thoughts and my gaze meets Leroy, who has already walked a few steps ahead and seems to be waiting impatiently for me. How long have I been staring at the building? I take a deep breath and walk towards him, while he is already holding his arm out for me. I sigh silently, hook onto him and raise my head. 

I can do this!

As we walk up the long stairs and enter the hall, I feel queasy. All the men have an escort with them and - hard to believe - they all radiate pure danger. An ethereal scent is in the air and I breathe it in unobtrusively. The men are dressed in black and the women in midnight blue dresses - like me. I gulp as I watch the couples dance.

They move gracefully and with unbelievable elegance, they hover over the dance floor and let their hips swing. They dance the tango so passionately as if they were born for it. Leroy drags me further and stops in front of a couple. 

I reluctantly avert my gaze and look at the people we are now facing.

This time I actually choke on my spit, because standing in front of me is none other than Charles Richards.

☼ ❅

Charles dude, what's up?

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