Chapter 55

The smell of nicotine wafted into one of the rooms in that corner of the city.

A woman with blonde ponytailed hair sat on a wooden chair, raising her long legs onto the table directly in front of her.

The room was only 5 x 5 meters, with fairly poor ventilation and air exchange as well. There was only one medium-sized door left half-open, which was the only source of light for the box room.

"You didn't get it?"

A man's voice echoed through the air, spoken loudly and firmly but with a hint of disappointment.

The man stood right at the edge of the table, facing straight at Jovanka Scholer who still seemed unconcerned.

The woman took another deep drag on her cigarette, savoring the way the poison spread through her veins.

Deliberately puffing the smoke high, Jovanka sneered.

"He's not an easy man," she said. "Do you think taking over the warehouse is a walk in the park, huh?!"

David Senegal swore in annoyance. His hands were clenched tightly as he pounded on the wooden table where Jovanka's feet were perched, instantly filling the room with a thudding sound.

"Don't play with me, Jovanka!" snarled David Senegal impatiently. "I pulled you from hell, and now you're working incompetently for me. Do you think I can't take your life right now?!"

David Senegal was, of course, just bullying her. David wouldn't be foolish enough to take Jovanka's life, at least not before he got what he wanted.

Because from the reports he had received from his men, Jovanka had done quite well so far.

She had escaped from Slovakia by creating a new identity, confidently waltzed out of her house of detention and managed to trick the guards around.

She managed to breathe free air, after several years of misery and confinement in a hellish home. David Senegal was of course behind it all. He was the one who pulled Jovanka back, because there was something in her that David needed to achieve what he wanted.

But as if ignoring David Senegal's threats, Jovanka still leaned back in the chair and continued to puff smoke.

"You can't let me go just because you want to kill me, David," Jovanka said flatly. "I know my death isn't worth what you've spent."

David Senegal sighed softly. The man's hands were clasped around his waist, as he now grunted with mounting annoyance.

"Now put it this way," David said. "Tell me who owns that warehouse, and how many troops they have."

Jovanka winked lazily, though she tried to ignore David Senegal's hurried demeanor.

"I will direct my men to attack," David continued. "If they don't outnumber us, then I'm sure we'll be able to take the warehouse. Don't you think so?"

Jovanka exhaled in exasperation, just as the woman threw the back of her cigarette on the floor. There was still a third left to smoke, but Jovanka was already sick of being there and responding to how David Senegal kept interfering with her work.

Lowering her legs in a quick motion, Jovanka stomped on the cigarette butt with the toe of her boot.

"Listen, David." The woman's voice dominated. David Senegal turned his head, returning Jovanka's straight gaze.

"You've left this to me," Jovanka said again. "I just asked you to be patient, but you're too deceitful and always in a hurry."

David Senegal held back the flare of anger that was beginning to undermine him, but he really didn't want to be rash in his decision.

The man knew how valuable the armory was, and he had to play it pretty clean if he wanted it to be his later. That was why he pulled Jovanka back, that was why Jovanka was there to be the outer shield for their clan.

"I heard you shot someone," David said this time. "Did you kill that person?"

David Senegal still had no clue about who exactly owned the armory. Jovanka had also chosen to keep Lexton's identity a secret, not telling David anything about it yet.

She didn't want him to play dirty behind her back, because she knew he could put Lexton in danger.

"He's not dead," Jovanka replied lightly.

David Senegal chuckled. Checking the expression on Jovanka's face, but again the man could not read what Jovanka was thinking right now.

"You just need to shut up, David," Jovanka spoke up again. "Leave everything to me, and I'll complete this mission for you."

She heard David Senegal exhale softly, shrugging his shoulders later when he made up his mind to leave.

"You know I'm impatient, Jovanka," David warned. Worried that Jovanka had forgotten the trait she had been born with, especially since the man was used to getting everything he wanted.

"I don't want you to waste my time," David said again. "Finish this mission and take over the warehouse for me. You know what you'll become if you fail, right?"

Jovanka hissed softly. David Senegal always put her on an emotional high, but there was nothing she could do but nod her head this time.

"Go on. I know what I have to do."

Jovanka's voice filled the small, cramped room, echoing through every corner.

David Senegal no longer made a sound, just stared intently at Jovanka who did not seem intimidated at all. David had to admit that the woman had a pretty strong defense, even bluffing didn't work on Jovanka Scholer.

Turning around, David Senegal was already swinging to get out of the hot room.

Leaving Jovanka still sitting in her wooden chair, now resting in silence and lost in her own world.

The rattle of the door opening is the last sound David makes, until the man continues to move away and is completely gone.

Clenching her hands tightly, Jovanka lowered her gaze until her eyeballs met the tips of her boots on the floor.

She savored how claustrophobic it was in that small space, cursing herself silently.

'You shouldn't have missed that shot, Joe,' she thought to herself.

Feeling the thunderous upheaval in her chest, Jovanka didn't know why she had suddenly weakened that night when her eyes caught sight of Lexton not far from her position.

How that man had grown up and continued to live without her was hurting Jovanka's innermost being, awakening the pain that had once been scratched in both of their hearts.

'If you knew I was the one who put that bullet in you, would you have raised your gun to my forehead Lex?' Jovanka wondered.

The deeper she went into her thoughts, the deeper the wound she had buried came back.

Jovanka had thought she would be fine, even if she had to face the man again.

But it turned out that what she felt was 180 degrees different, because her heart began to doubt as she watched the man more closely.

It was as if there were still pieces of the past left, pulling her to keep looking at Lexton.

'If I hadn't betrayed you back then, would I still be in your arms Lex?'

The more questions that popped up and flew through Jovanka's mind, the deeper her guilt for him became.

Jovanka Scholer should not have been weakened, for she had come back for revenge. But looking back at how her bullets had missed, Jovanka was faced with a reality that made her unable to think clearly.

The fact that Lexton was still on her list of things that made her weak, the fact that she still couldn't hurt him.

"I was too ambitious back then, Lex," Jovanka murmured this time, in a very low tone of voice.

Her hands were interlocked now, sparking guilt and pain in her solar plexus.

"But you should know that I once truly loved you, even though I ended up on my own."