The morning sun filtered through the half-open curtains, drenching the queen-sized bed in a soft golden light. Light washed over my face, stirring me from my sleep. My eyes opened to an unfamiliar bedroom. I seemed to be laying on someone else's bed, in someone else's clothes, in a house that was definitely not my own.

I sat up and looked around the elegant bedroom with a dumbfounded expression on my face, "what the-, "

The moment I caught my reflection in the mirror above the dresser. The second I noticed the bandage plastered on my forehead, the memories from the night before swamped my mind. I was on my way to a job interview, witnessed a murder, almost died, was saved, almost died again, got a job, and now I'm in said murderer's house. What the hell is my life? This is the kind of stuff that only happens in books or movies!

A loud thud followed by muffled footsteps sounded outside the bedroom door, they seemed to pause out front of the door for a moment before fading away once again. I let out a long sigh and slowly collapsed back onto the bed to stare at the white ceiling. The soft ticks from the clock hanging on the wall marched on as my mind slowly started accepting the new reality I seemed to have been thrust into.

Everything happened so fast, all I could think about was how I didn't want to die. I glanced over to the source of the ticking irritation prickling along my skin. That ticking will drive me insane if I stay in here any longer.

The bed groaned slightly as I finally got up and made my way out of the bedroom and followed the smell of cooking bacon down the hallway.

Surprise jolted through me, at the sight of the elegant apartment. I was too exhausted last night to really look at the place. It was the perfect balance between homely and modern, even the gym equipment set up in the far right of the living room looked like it belonged there. What surprised me was the small garden sitting on the balcony that wrapped around the giant sliding glass door.

"Good morning," Dion's voice snapped me out of my dumbfounded stupor.

"Oh! Good morning," I replied walking over to sit down at the kitchen island, "I was just checking out the little garden on your balcony."

His back was turned to me, but I could've sworn that his ears turned red when I said that.

"Yeah, it gives me something to do between jobs," he mutters over the sizzling bacon in front of him, "and homegrown produce tastes better than store-bought."

"What are you growing out there now?"

Dion turns off the stove and fills two plates with bacon, eggs and sliced cherry tomatoes. He hands me a plate and slides into the empty barstool beside me before answering.

"Right now, there's peppers, tomatoes, strawberries and grapes," he responds before digging into his plate of food.

I say a quick 'thank you' before digging in as well. I haven't known him very long, but it was still strange to see him in sweatpants and a t-shirt with his bangs covering the scar on his forehead. I think some strange part of me just assumed he slept in his suit with his hair in that half-up half-down style that made him look a lot more intimidating than he actually is.

"We should probably get ready," Dion states, grabbing his plate and setting it in the sink, "the shop opens in an hour."

I finish off my breakfast and head over to the sink where Dion set his dishes, "I'll wash the dishes, it's the least I could do."

Dion's eyes widen slightly and he looks as if he was about to protest so I gave him a little nudge with my shoulder, "I insist," I state with a toothy grin.

He nods slowly and grabs a sponge and towel from the drawer beside the sink, "the dispenser with the green soap is for dishes," he points at the smaller of the two glass soap dispensers sitting on the marble counter.

Before I could say anything he turned and made his way back to his bedroom to get ready. My eyes followed him as he disappeared around the corner and down the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

With the wet dishes drying on the towel, I made my way back to the room I was staying in and pulled on the clothes I was wearing last night. My first day and I have to wear yesterday's clothes. I sigh inwardly and use the mirror to finger-brush my light-brown curls before brushing my teeth and meeting Dion at the front door.

It took all of one second for him to notice my lack of clean clothes and dishevelled mop of hair. He gave me another slow once over pointedly stopping his gaze on my wrinkled shirt, dishevelled hair, and the bandage that was barely visible under my bangs. For a moment it looked as if his eyes became colder at the sight.

His expressionless eyes met my own and he opened his mouth to say something.

"Yes, I'm aware I look like I had a one-night stand, but I don't have anything else to wear," I defended myself, frowning slightly.

"We can stop at your old place on the way back today," Dion straightened his back and looked at me wearing a grin that didn't seem to reach his eyes.

It didn't help that he looked immaculate in his nice suit with his bangs pulled back into a surprisingly intimidating ponytail. I wish I could say it was a cute style, but the shaved undercut made the style go from cute to wicked. With a huff, I pulled on my shoes and followed Dion out of the apartment to his car.

***

When we strolled into the cafe it wasn't much of a surprise that it was pretty quiet, even though it was 9:30 in the morning, right in the middle of the morning work rush. The cafe was tucked into a small side street that could only be accessed by pedestrians and cyclists. There were about five customers in the store enjoying their morning chatting or reading today's newspaper.

"There you are, boys!" I turn to look at Ronny.

His casual stance as he dried off the glass in his hand made him seem far less dangerous than the man he was last night. There was a relaxed and welcoming aura about him that was almost as jarring as seeing Dion's other self.

"You got any jobs for me?" Dion asked as he sat down on one of the stools set up at the bar.

"I've always got jobs, but first," he held out an apron to me, "the man reading the paper over there is waiting for his coffee."

Wordlessly, I nodded and pulled on the apron before getting to work making his coffee.

"Once you're done making the coffee, I've got some names for you," Ronny's voice grew quieter, "Dion, everything you need for today is here."

I watched as Ronny pulled a USB out of his apron pocket and set it on the counter in front of Dion. My eyebrow raised as I watched Dion take the device and place it in his suit pocket.

"I didn't think you knew what a USB was Ronny, you've surprised me," I smirk, making sure to keep my voice low.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Dion's face as we both glanced at the vein that began to pulse on Ronny's forehead.

"I'm not that old ya brat," Ronny muttered, "I even know how to use a USB."

"Impressive," I comment, finishing the coffee I was working on.

Before Ronny could reply, I grabbed the cup and made my way over to the man reading the newspaper. The man was truly unremarkable in all aspects yet, the stillness around him and the way he held himself made me feel on edge.

"Here's you're coffee, sorry for the wait," I could feel nervousness settle into me, as I set the cup down on the table and backed away.

"You're new here."

"Y-yeah today is my first day," I forced a smile to my face as I took another step back, "if you need anything else, let me know."

"Mhm," the man never once looked up from his newspaper.

I took his non-reply as a dismissal and quickly returned to the bar where a woman had appeared beside Dion.

"Oh! I get to tag along today! Isn't that exciting Dion!" the woman's face split into a bright grin.

Realization hit me as I got a closer look at the woman's face. Even though she wore such a bright smile, her grey eyes remained colder than ice. There was no hint of emotion in them at all, just like Dion's smiles. I suppressed the shiver that tried to crawl up my spine. My instincts kicked in, stronger than when I first met Dion, to run as far as possible.

Making myself as small as possible, I breezed past her and to the safety of the bar. Luckily, all her focus seemed to be directed toward Dion, she never spared me a glance. I let out a relieved sigh, the tension easing out of my shoulders.

"You are not tagging along," venom oozed from each word Dion spoke, "I refuse to work with you again."

My curiosity peaked, again? So they've worked together before. To give them some semblance of privacy, I turned my back to dry some clean glasses on the dish rack under the counter.

"Oh, Dion, I know you don't like my methods, but you'll need me for this job," in a second her voice went from exciting to enticing, "I thought we had plenty of fun together on our last job!"

From one side glance, I could tell that Dion was barely holding it together. Her hand traced idle circles on his chest and her grin had somehow widened even further, narrowly smearing her dark red lipstick on her teeth. My stomach dropped at the crazed glint that settled in her cold grey eyes. Genuine excitement, that glint was excitement, even though her gaze was elsewhere the sinister aura that rolled off her was otherworldly.

I set the glass down and grab the counter to keep my knees from buckling. A quick glance around the store told me that Ronny must have slipped into the back while I wasn't looking because he was nowhere to be seen.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced over and met Dion's unflinching gaze. Whatever he saw in my eyes had his stiff shoulders loosening up ever so slightly. Our gaze was brief but it did not go unnoticed.

"Dion, who is that? I don't recognize him," the curiosity in her voice sounded almost innocent, "I mean it's hard to recognize someone just going by the back of their head, turn around new boy! Let me see your face!"

Unavoidable, there was no reason to refuse, she would see my face eventually. I forcibly evened out my breathing before turning to look at the woman. Her abhorrent grin was quickly replaced with an assessing smile and roving eyes as she looked me over. I glanced at Dion whose eyes flicked between the woman and myself.

A boost of confidence shot through me and I straightened my back, crossing my arms over my chest. I used this moment to assess the woman sitting just on the opposite side of the bar.

Her long dark brown curls fell just below her collarbone, framing her flawless face. Her light brown skin accentuated her grey eyes, giving them an ethereal beauty. Her skin-tight grey dress hugged her well-built body. It wasn't genetics but intense training that created her frame. While she wasn't bulky, with every movement you could see her muscles tightening and moving under her skin.

She was gorgeous, but the way she spoke and acted betrayed a festering ugliness that lived within her.

"Awe man! You're pretty cute kid!" the woman remarked, leaning back in her chair, "What's your name? You can call me Elle."

I stood speechless for a moment, both my mind and heart were in sync. I can't tell her my real name. That would mean trouble. She would be able to tell if I lied about my name though.

"You can call me, Ty," I stated, glancing at Dion.

His nod was so faint I almost missed it. Elle sat in her chair and stared at the ceiling as if in deep thought.

"Ty, that's got to be a nickname, a pretty vague one at that," she let out a low hum, "I wonder what your real name is, I want to know, I want to know Dion's too!"

"Elle, it's rude to go digging into your coworker's lives, you'll get in trouble with the top," Dion remarked.

Before Elle could respond Ronny's voice echoed out of the back hallway, "when Elle gets here you'll be good to go," Ronny stopped short when his gaze fell on Elle, "you're here earlier than I expected."

"Ronny I missed you while I was overseas!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

Ronny observed the three of us before clearing his throat, "well I see you have met our newest recruit, terribly sorry I wasn't able to conduct a proper introduction."

"He's like a puppy, Ronny! Absolutely adorable!" Elle's grin widens, "I could just squeeze the life out of him!"

A tense silence falls over the bar as she grins obliviously. My heart drops into the pit of my stomach, I think she was being completely literal when she said that.

Ronny clears his throat once more breaking up the tension, "well everything is set up for the two of you," Dion looks at Ronny not bothering to hide his scowl.

Ronny seemed to look apologetically at Dion, who after reading whatever was in Ronny's gaze stood up quickly. Before making to leave, Dion tossed a paper bill on the counter and winked at me?! My once racing heart began to race once again, but this time not out of fear as Dion walked out of the store with Elle in tow. 

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Super long chapter today! Please enjoy!

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With love and thanks to all of you readers!

~ Tiger Lily  ❤