Made for crime

Trouble in the City

"Come on, Nina, we'll be back before they even notice," Rosetta whispered with a grin, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she tugged me down the hallway. 

She moved with the confidence of someone who was always just one step ahead, always managing to get her way.

I hesitated, glancing back over my shoulder. The mansion was silent, eerily so, but I could feel the weight of its invisible eyes everywhere. 

Kai was probably busy with Bratva business—meaning he'd notice immediately if I vanished, even if I left just for a little while. But I couldn't deny the temptation of escaping, of getting out of this gilded prison. And Rosetta had a point: I needed this.

"We can't tell them," I whispered, my voice low but serious. "You know they'd never let us go without bodyguards."

Rosetta rolled her eyes dramatically. "Exactly! That's why we're sneaking out. No bodyguards, no Carter breathing down my neck, no Kai giving you his brooding look every five minutes."

I smirked at that, though guilt twisted in my chest. Kai would be furious. And the thought of going anywhere without the constant layer of security made me nervous. But that was the point, wasn't it? To escape the overbearing world we were suffocating in.

Rosetta nudged me gently. "Come on, just one day. We deserve it."

With a deep breath, I nodded. "Alright, let's go."

We slipped out of the mansion through a side entrance, moving like shadows as we passed the perimeter guards, our footsteps quiet on the gravel path. The sun was just starting to rise, casting the city in a golden glow, and for the first time in weeks, I felt like I could actually breathe. There was no one trailing behind us, no suffocating protection detail watching our every move. It was just Rosetta and me, like two normal women heading out for a day of shopping and coffee.

The city felt alive in a way the mansion never could. We wandered through boutiques, laughing as we tried on outfits we'd never buy, gossiping about the latest drama between the Bratva families, and eating pastries at a small café we found tucked into a quiet corner of the street. For a few hours, everything felt *normal*.

"See?" Rosetta said, flashing me a triumphant smile as she sipped her cappuccino. "Isn't this better than being cooped up in that house?"

I nodded, feeling a bit of the tension I'd been carrying melt away. "Yeah, this is... nice. I didn't realize how much I missed doing things like this."

Rosetta winked at me. "Well, we'll make it a regular thing. No more guards, no more rules. Just us."

I smiled back, but something in the back of my mind nagged at me. I couldn't quite shake the feeling that someone was watching us. It started as a prickling on the back of my neck, a growing awareness that we weren't as alone as we thought. I glanced around, but the streets were bustling with people going about their day—nothing seemed out of place.

"You okay?" Rosetta asked, noticing my sudden shift in mood.

"I think we should head back soon," I said, trying to keep my voice light. "Just in case."

She waved a hand dismissively. "We've got time. Relax."

But the uneasy feeling only grew as we left the café and made our way down a quieter street lined with boutique stores. That's when I saw him—a man in a dark jacket, walking a few steps behind us. He wasn't doing anything overtly threatening, but he had been there, lingering around the café earlier, and now here he was, shadowing us again.

"Rosetta..." I whispered, my voice tight.

She frowned, following my gaze, and her expression darkened. "He's been following us, hasn't he?"

I nodded, my heart rate spiking. "We need to get out of here."

We quickened our pace, slipping into a crowded street market, hoping to lose him in the sea of people. For a moment, it felt like we had succeeded, but when I glanced over my shoulder, he was still there, his dark eyes fixed on us.

Panic bloomed in my chest as the reality of our situation set in. We had no guards, no weapons, nothing to protect ourselves with. I cursed under my breath for being so reckless. Kai would kill me if anything happened—not because I disobeyed him, but because he always made it clear that the world we lived in was dangerous, and I had walked right into it unprepared.

"Nina, this way," Rosetta urged, grabbing my arm and pulling me down an alleyway. But the moment we turned the corner, I realized our mistake. The alley was a dead end, lined with trash bins and the back entrances to the stores. And the man was still behind us, his pace quickening.

"Shit," Rosetta hissed, backing up against the wall. Her usual bravado had slipped, fear flashing across her face. "What the hell do we do now?"

I scanned the alley, my pulse hammering in my ears. There was no way out. No phone, no one to call for help. We were trapped.

The man stepped closer, his gaze cold and calculating. "Didn't think I'd find you both so easily," he sneered, his voice low and dangerous.

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. This wasn't a random follower. He knew who we were—knew who we belonged to. And that made everything worse.

"We don't have anything," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "Just leave us alone."

He chuckled darkly, pulling out a knife from his jacket. "Oh, I'm not interested in what you have. I'm interested in what your men will pay to get you back."The sight of the blade sent a wave of cold fear through me. I glanced at Rosetta, her face pale but defiant, and I knew we had to do something. But before I could move, a shadow fell over the alley.

"Put the knife down," a voice growled from behind the man, deep and lethal.

I didn't need to see him to know who it was. My entire body sagged in relief.

Kai.

The man froze, his knife still raised, but before he could react, Kai was on him. It happened so fast, a blur of movement as Kai disarmed him with brutal efficiency, his fist slamming into the man's jaw with a sickening crunch. The guy hit the ground hard, the knife clattering to the side, but Kai wasn't done. His knee pressed into the man's chest, and his hand wrapped around his throat with a quiet, controlled fury.

"You made a big mistake," Kai growled, his voice ice-cold. "Coming after them."

Carter appeared beside us then, his eyes blazing with rage as he checked Rosetta over, making sure she was unharmed. He didn't say a word, but the tension in his body said everything. He was furious. Beyond furious.

Kai didn't take his eyes off the man beneath him, his hand tightening on his throat. "You even think about following them again, and I'll make sure you disappear. Do you understand?"

The man choked out a strangled nod, his eyes wide with terror.

Kai released him, standing up slowly, his gaze flicking toward me. I expected anger, a lecture, something, but instead, his expression was unreadable. Dark, controlled, but underneath that, I could see the worry—the fear he rarely let surface.

I swallowed hard, guilt gnawing at me. "Kai, I—"

"Not now," he cut me off, his voice tight. "Let's get out of here."

Without another word, he pulled me close, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist as we hurried back toward the car. I felt the tension in him, the unspoken fury simmering just beneath the surface, and I knew this wasn't over.

We had broken his trust. And that was going to cost us.