Chapter 66 Coincidence!
|| Author POV ||
Killian’s hand slid lower to her mini denim. His fingers curled on the chain. Just as he was about to pull the chain down, he halted.
“I–I’m sorry for the interruption, boss!”
Chris’s startled voice rang out from the doorway. Rosa’s eyes widened, immediately snapping to Killian’s face. Killian’s jaw clenched hearing Chris’s voice from behind.
Without hesitation, Killian settled her top back over her exposed chest. The fabric snapped into place as annoyance visibly clouded his expression.
He didn’t bother hiding his irritation or look back. Chris had barged in unannounced and whatever reason he had better be worth it.
Killian’s dark gaze fell on Rosa, silently ordering her to stay quiet without even looking back. Then, he wrapped an arm around the back of her waist and carefully lifted her.
Rosa instantly wrapped her legs around his torso, clinging to him like a child. Her face was still flushed and her body was trembling from the moment Chris had just ruined.
And yet, Killian kept her tiny body shielded.
His broad frame perfectly blocked Chris’s line of sight. His jaw clenched tighter with each second as if the mere thought of another man’s eyes grazing her bare legs wrapped around him was enough to provoke violence.
She was completely his to watch.
Killian didn’t even look back and strode up the stairs.
Rosa timidly peeked over his shoulder. Her lavender eyes locked briefly with the familiar man’s gaze. Chris. Her cheeks were already flushed a deep rose and she quickly buried her face into Killian’s arm and her heart pounded with pure embarrassment.
He must’ve seen what they were doing. What Killian was doing to her. How embarrassing.
Killian gently put Rosa down on the soft fluffy mattress in her room. His gaze burned with icy intensity as he descended the stairs. His furious gaze landed on Chris.
“You better have a damn good reason for showing up unannounced!”
Killian warned. His eyes drilled into him like piercing daggers. Chris swallowed hard, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Chris muttered, averting his gaze.
“This is about Hana.” Chris reported.
Silence.
Killian nodded, rolling his tongue under the flesh of his cheek and calmly walking toward the couch.
“Continue.” Killian ordered. Chris nodded, sitting across from him.
“Killian.” Chris continued, placing a thick file on the table. “We’ve gone through every document in the academy. There’s something you need to see. At that time, there was a security guard on duty. He resigned the very next day Hana was–”
Chris didn’t finish. He didn’t have to.
Killian’s cold eyes dropped to the file. He picked it up, flipping it open with one hand.
His gaze didn’t lift but the aura around him darkened. Chris exhaled. “We suspect he might’ve seen what really happened. He could be the key witness to the murder.”
Killian’s eyes sharpened into daggers, fixating on the old man’s photo with pure hatred.
“Find this motherfucker!”
Chris hesitated but kept his posture professional. “He left the city years ago without traces. Tracking him down will take time.”
Killian’s cold gaze bore into him, void of mercy. Chris exhaled sharply feeling the atmosphere tighten around them. He wouldn’t come without a fair reason.
“Eastern territory is in our control now. And there’s a shift in the southern route.” Chris began cautiously. “One of our suppliers went silent. And the Russians... they’re getting bold again.”
“Russians.” Killian repeated.
His sharp-eyes fixed at nothing with a dark hint inside those deep ocean eyes.
Chris continued “We need to move before they do. Delay it and we risk losing territory.”
“Lose, you say?”
Killian rasped like a challenge. His dead gaze didn’t flicker, didn’t blink. Just burned through flesh like acid.
Chris went silent for a moment. He knows how dangerous this man can be.
It’s been years. They were trained in blood, bred to kill without hesitation but Killian? His methods turned vulgar, brutal and cruel beyond measure. He became something worse, something untamed and monstrous.
Chris even flinched at the way Killian tortured and killed humans. His tortures them heartlessly until they begs to die.
One time, he’d peeled a man’s fingernails off one by one just to hear how long the bastard could scream before he choked on his own blood. Another, he’d lit someone on fire and stood there, lighting a cigarette with the same flame to smoke. He even blinded them with acid. Left him alive.
‘Burning skin smells quite nice.’ That’s what Killian had whispered.
And It was just a sneak peek of his cruelty.
Chris knew. He had stood beside him through it all. Through the ash, the bone and the horror. What terrified Chris was, despite all the sin Killian committed, he always looked calm. Deadly calm and walked around like a silent shadow.
Yet, his victims were all criminals.
Killian once shot a bodyguard in the middle of a meeting because he spoke without his permission but that wasn’t what it was! That man was a planted spy and Killian knew that. He simply pulled out his gun, aimed at the man’s temple and fired.
Everyone believed it was for disrespect. An impulsive punishment. But Chris knew better. Killian used that as an minor excuse because he liked seeing fear in others eyes for him.
He was cunning and merciless to the core. He never lost. He doesn’t lose.
“I know better.” Chris muttered with a crooked smirk, pride threading his words. Killian chuckled darkly with a humorless voice.
But what Chris had witnessed earlier... worried him deeply.
That little girl, fragile, wide-eyed, pure, didn’t belong anywhere near a man like Killian.
She is too young. And the cruel monster was touching someone as soft as her. Someone so innocent. She is even so small. She doesn’t even know what kind of monster wrapped his arms around her. There’s no way a girl like her could survive a man like him.
And Chris knew damn well, people like Killian don’t fall in love. They consume. They ruin.
He just hoped, whatever was blooming between them, hadn’t bloomed too far. Because if Killian snapped, she’d break in ways she wouldn’t even understand.
And the worst part?
Killian might not even feel it.
—Meanwhile, Rosa sat there lost in her soft thoughts. Killian’s earlier words looping in her mind like a haunting lullaby.
What did he mean by making her vow to him? She pouted quietly to herself. He was confusing. She couldn’t help but want to understand him.
The door creaked.
Her body jolted slightly before her eyes darted to the entrance. Killian walked in composedly like a shadow that owned the night. She swallowed, bracing herself.
“Shall we continue what we were doing?”
Killian rasped, tugging his tongue under his teeth. The corner of his lip curled as he climbed onto the bed. His presence was dark. Her cheeks burned. Her breath came shallow as killian hovered above her. She leaned back like an obedient bunny but her palm pressed against something unexpected.
Her movements paused.
“Oh no!” Rosa suddenly gasped, quickly sitting up.
Killian stilled, eyes narrowing as Rosa reached for the object beneath her hand.
A photo.
Thin, slightly crumpled. Killian’s gaze darkened as it landed on the picture now clutched between her delicate fingers.
Rosa innocently peeked up at him. Her fingers clutched the photo like it was something so precious.
“I kept it here last night. I’m dumb.” she mumbled more to herself than to him. Her cheeks puffed in a little pout.
Killian darkly gazed at her quietly. What was so important in that photograph?
He didn’t ask. Instead, he shifted silently letting his big frame plop close beside her. Her smaller form barely took up the space next to him.
And then, Rosa’s eyes lit up.
She turned, softly holding the photo out toward Killian. Her eyes were doe and round. Killian looked down at the photo.
A child. And a woman.
“See.. this is me.” Rosa whispered with a shy smile tugging at her lips. “And this is my Momma.”
She stared at the image fondly. Killian’s eyes stayed fixed on the photo. But his expression didn’t shift. It suddenly sharpened.
Rosa didn’t notice.
Because in her little world, she was just showing her favorite picture to someone she wanted to be part of.
“Everyone used to say I look like Momma, even our eyes.” Rosa beamed softly, her voice laced with excitement. Her finger pointed to the woman in the photo with pride glimmering in her gaze.
Killian’s stare followed her touch, finally landing on the woman’s face.
Something inside him tightened. His gaze sharpened. She was right. The resemblance was uncanny. Too uncanny. Her tiny self looked even more adorable in that picture. She was smiling brightly at her mother.
But why did her mother’s face feel–familiar?
“What happened to them?” Killian asked. The words came out quick.
Rosa’s smile faded. “They.. they left me.” she whispered in a sad tone.
“They passed away in a.. in a car accident when I was little.” Her gaze dropped, unable to meet his.
Her hand fisted beside her. “I h-heard that a man who was drunk caused the accident.” she added, her voice even smaller now. Just a hush against the air.
“Drunk man?”
Killian repeated, his voice suddenly cold. His hands balled into fists against his thighs but Rosa didn’t notice.
She nodded. “That man took my parents away. If he didn’t hit their car, they would still be here with me.” her voice trembled, fingers clutching the photo tighter. “I don’t know who he is but–but I hate him. I hate him so much. I’ll never forgive him.” Rosa whispered with quiet heartbreak.
Killian narrowed his pierced eyebrows. His jaw flexed.
“How old were you then?” he asked, voice calm, too calm.
Rosa blinked at the sudden question, her brows twitching as she tried to remember. “Um..maybe six? Or a little younger.” She paused. Her voice softened to a whisper.
“I remember snow. My hands were cold.” Her lips pouted down with sadness. “I didn’t even get to s-say goodbye.”
Killian’s gaze sharpened like a blade. Drunk man. A car crash. Winter. Those words rang in his ears like distant sirens.
‘Shit!’ he cursed inside.
Killian suddenly moved. Rosa blinked startledly. Her head turned as she watched him rise from the bed without a word. Her fingers reached out, catching his wrist. Her hand barely curled around the thickness of it.
“W-where are you going?” she whispered, voice delicate, afraid.
Killian closed his eyes, jaw clenched, frustration clawing at his chest at the tiny hold of her hand. “Nowhere.” he muttered sharply. “You should sleep.”
He peeled her hand off his wrist and walked out, leaving behind silence and the faint smell of his cologne.
Rosa sat frozen, staring at the empty doorway. Her heart twisted painfully. What happened to him suddenly? He was fine just a minute ago... then why did he leave like that?
Her eyes lowered, heavy with confusion and hurt. The warmth of the room suddenly felt too cold. Her fingers curled in her lap.
Killian’s footsteps echoed through the corridor as he left her room. Her words crashed over him like ice water. A weird recognition. That woman, she looks familiar.
His jaw clenched. A vein ticked along his temple. The hallway felt suffocating.
“That’s a fucking coincidence.” he spat bitterly “Yeah! Just a goddamn coincidence!”