Alek

Chapter 3: Mae Kazimi

Chapter 3: Mae Kazimi

I'm going to be really honest and say Alek Russo has changed.

Like....a lot.

One minute I was sitting at the booth all alone, and the next second Alek Russo was sliding into the chair beside me and then his hood was off.

And damn that sexy nose!

His nose was just a perfect shape and fit so amazingly on his face. I've never felt so jealous in my entire life. I tried so hard not to gawk but like....you would too if you saw it.

He'd grown older and looked mature. The last time I saw him was three years ago, when he was only eighteen years old. It's surprising how much three years can change a person.

I can still remember the flush on my skin when he asked about my parents, his black eyes boring into mine as he spoke. I can still remember the smirk he shot me after I asked what use he was to his father. I still recall the way his soft black hair shone under the sparkling lights of the bar.

And all of this just made me want to strangle him ten times more.

Now, as I fight my way through the roaring crowd after him as the fire rages on behind us, I know we're being followed. All the training from Hale and experience from being Shadow suddenly kicks in, and I am no longer Mae Kazimi.

I'm Shadow.

I watch the man in black making his way towards the back door, the same way Alek went five seconds ago. I shove a sobbing man who clutches an injured arm out of my way, hands going straight to the set of knives I've hidden away in my clothes.

Alright, go on. Say what you want. It may sound stupid to bring knives to a gunfight but you won't be saying that when I throw one at your throat.

"Alek, you freaking idiot," I mutter under my breath as I finally reach Alek who stands frozen at the back door.

Before I can yell at him to get out, my eyes fall onto the man in black and his hands that are slowly slipping into his back pocket.

Shit.

Just as something sharp and deadly whisks past my face, I open the back door and shove Alek out into the night. The small knife wedges into the wooden walls of the bar with a loud thud, making my heart slowly crawl into my throat.

A knife.

I run after Alek, shutting the back door behind me, the sound of sirens wailing in the distance. Alek stands before me, his dark hair a mess on his head, and his dark eyes blinking at a bleeding wound on his left arm.

"Why were you just standing there?" I breathe, clutching my stomach as the recent events replay in my brain. "What kind of mafia heir are you? Did your training just....poof!...disappear?"

Alek slowly turns his angry eyes to meet my wild ones and says nothing. I'm still breathing hard, and anger is slowly making its way through my veins. How dare he ignore me?

"Russo!" I bark, shoving him hard in the chest. "Are you deaf as well as dumb?"

This time, he turns to me, eyes flashing in anger I've never seen before.

"Vaffanculo! (fuck off!)" he snarls. "Vattene! (Get out!)"

"I don't speak Italian, mr. mobster," I hiss in reply. "I just saved your life! A thank you will do just fine!"

"Thank you," a voice equally as breathless as mine speaks from behind. "Thank you, Ms.Kazmi, our father will greatly appreciate this gesture."

I whirl around at the sound and come face to face with a tall man, his hair almost identical to Alek's and his eyes a light brown under the lamplight.