Chapter 49 Hmm... weird
Vincent
Gabriel's call came in around 5:15 pm, exactly two hours after I left the office and I knew almost immediately, even before I picked up the call, that things had worked out.
“Yes.” I grunted on the line after picking up the call.
“The audit firm called. They'll be coming in to talk to the executives on Wednesday before the main examination begins.” I slid down to the floor of the gym room, a small towel wrapped around my neck as I tried to catch my breath.
“Did they have any problems with the documents we sent?”
“No sir. It passed the initial scrutiny.” Great.
"Well, inform the rest of the executives, then, and the board, and prepare whatever we may need for the internal control testing. Remember, everything has to be perfect.”
“Yes sir. On it.”
“That'll be all. Keep me updated.”
“Yes sir.” The line rang shut after he cut the call and I picked up the bottle of water on the bench beside me to drink.
Fuck. All that training has left me drained even though I never should be. His voice popped into my head against my will.
“Men like us don't get to be tired. Take a breather when you're dead!”
I shook the phrase out of my head and stood up to head out into my living room, where I placed the now-empty bottle of water on the counter of the open-floor kitchen.
I headed straight into my room afterwards to take a shower and was meditating under the running water with my eyes closed when my phone buzzed loudly in the room.
I whipped my head around sharply.
That must be Ariel.
It was indeed her. I confirmed a minute later as I grabbed the burner phone from my bedside table. Her debrief read thus:
"MC. I didn't get much information but Gen. Yuri was talking about some guy to a man we met at the party yesterday. The celebrant himself and today as I was leaving, I saw a man get dragged out of the house, bloodied and battered. He might be useful to the project."
I pursed my lips after reading all that. She still had a lot to learn about sending concise messages, but this would do for now and a man getting dragged out…
I tapped on the keyboard to type out a message. “Did you get a name?”
“S-Stefan. I'm not quite sure. Sorry.”
I paused again before typing back. “Is the dress still intact?"
“Yes.”
“Bring it to the cabin with you tomorrow. 5am.”
“And remember, be discreet.”
I shut the phone off and walked into the closet to grab a shirt and pants.
10:28 pm
My eyes popped open at the light tap sound. Small and quiet across the smooth tiled floors but loud enough for me to know they were footsteps. I slipped out from underneath my covers immediately and grabbed the pistol under the pillow with me.
I crept slowly towards the door.
The nerve of this man. Yes, I know I'd made a threat to his relative but sending an assassin after the stunt he pulled first, by the way… that was pushing it.
“Ah!” I heard a female voice yelp as I pulled the door open and grabbed their neck the minute they got to the door. I didn't hesitate to place the gun against her head even though her hands were raised innocently in the dark.
“Vincent…” I raised an eyebrow. “Alex?”
She grunted in response.
“The fuck!” I let her go. “What the fuck is wrong with you? I've told you to stop doing this.”
“I wasn't doing anything. I was just coming to see if you were awake.”
I moved back into the bedroom with a sigh and turned the lights on. Her face squeezed into a wince as the light shone on her face. I froze at the large bruise on her cheek. “What happened?”
She swiped my hand away as I closed the distance between us instantly to grab her face. “Nothing. I was just messing around and took a hit to the face.”
“Who?”
“No one. Some guy at a club. But don't worry, I made sure he got a fair share of my fist too.” I raised an eyebrow yet again as she stepped away and headed back to the living room.
“Why are you here then?” I asked, following after her. Might as well grab another bottle of water from the kitchen or drink since she chased the sliver of sleep I'd hoped to get just minutes ago.
“Just thought I'd crash here. Your place was closest than mine, so…”
I watched her head to the kitchen ahead of me and grab a bottle of wine from the bottom drawer of the cabinet.
Hmm… I cocked my head. Weird. Not her crashing at my place, no. She's been doing that for the longest time. I'm talking about the bottle of wine being in the bottom drawer of the cabinet. I don't remember putting it there—she probably did—oh, and the bloody bruise on her knuckles.
She popped open the bottle and gulped down almost half of its content right there and then. I moved past her after to grab my bottle of water from the fridge. “Are you okay?” She wiped her mouth and burped loudly.
“Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"
I ignored the lopsided smile she sent my way and headed back to my room. “Don't leave your clothes around in my living room.”
Ah… I for sure wasn't getting any sleep tonight.
By 3 am, I stood up from behind my desk in the study to start getting ready for my drive to the cabin. I'd managed to get about an hour of sleep and then decided to work from then until now.
Getting ready took me only about twenty minutes. As I grabbed my keys to head out, I made a U-turn at the last minute to check on Alex. She was sleeping peacefully or so I thought. Until I was driving out and glanced at the rearview mirror to see the lights in the guestroom turn on. A figure peeked above the window frame, watching me.
What? What was she doing?
By the time I glanced back, right before the gates closed behind me, she wasn't there again.
Hmm… weird.