Maybe

Chapter 30 Right behind me

The door creaked open again, and this time, the sound of a gun being reloaded was impossible to ignore.

"If you don't come out, I'll introduce you to my bullet," a familiar voice threatened. The man covering her mouth removed his hand and stepped out, recognizing the voice.

"I'd be so damn lucky to meet your bullet," he muttered sarcastically.

"Ethan? What on earth are you doing here?" the man asked.

"I was just browsing through some files, Mr. Rogers," Ethan replied casually. No wonder the voice was familiar—it was Nina's father.

"Nah, Mr. Rogers doesn't sound right. We're not at work. Call me Uncle Michael Jackson, you know," he laughed.

Ethan joined in his laughter.

She looked down, hearing her father's voice after such a long time. She observed how close the two were, feeling even more isolated. "Okay then, I'm leaving. Remember to lock up on time," her father said before heading out.

"Why the heck are you here? And how did you even get the key?" Ethan asked after her father left.

"Why did you even cover for me?" she shot back. As she started to walk out, he grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

She looked at him, struggling to maintain her composure. The person she had a hard time moving on from suddenly reappeared in her life after eight years.

It's for my safety. I'm so tired of hiding for my safety all the time. I was seventeen then, now I'm twenty-five. Am I old enough yet? she thought, her frustration bubbling up.

"It's because you were snooping into my brother's background," he accused.

"Even after all that's happened, he's still your brother?" Oh, crap, did I just say that out loud? She mentally facepalmed herself.

"He's my brother by blood relation only," he clarified.

"So? There's so much I don't know anyway. I deserve to know too," she insisted. He didn't react, just stood there with the same expression until he suddenly led her to a quieter place.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, a bit annoyed.

"You see that building? That's your father's property. And the one beside it? That's my father's property. And he's after us, especially you, for these properties and money. Maybe you don't know how dangerous he is, but we need extra safety," he explained.

"Oh, great. So I'm like the prize in a twisted real estate war?" she quipped.

"Then stop running and face him! He thinks it's a game!" she exclaimed.

"We're not running. We're playing a game," he replied, his voice deep and unsettling, like a professional psychopath.

"What game?" she asked, skeptically.

"We're making him think he's really powerful and can do anything, but last time it got out of hand, so we had to move again," he explained with a smirk.

"What's the purpose?" she asked, trying to understand the strategy.

"Do you know where he is right now? He's right behind me," he said, turning to reveal an empty space.

She stared, then raised an eyebrow, "You mean... He's invisible now?"

"look outside the window."

She peeked and noticed a dark blue car, its color reminiscent of a bad paint job. "That car... I've seen it before," she said, squinting.

"He's watching from there," he confirmed.

"How do you know?" she asked, skeptical.

"I've put a tracker on him whenever we fell victim to his schemes. That foolish drug addict doesn't know it's there," he replied with a smirk.

"Wow, so he's not just a villain, he's also oblivious? Impressive," she quipped.

Flashback

_Ethan_

"Listen to me. Let me handle this. Then I'm sending her home. You can meet her later," he said firmly.

You've really fucked up this time, brother.

I reached our old house, the one that burned down years ago, killing my father. He's really trying to dredge up memories, huh?

I checked the whole road; it was clear. I took out a device that could detect cameras and weapons. There were a few cameras outside, which I hacked and turned off. Smooth as butter. I got in successfully. Two more cameras to deal with before I reached the basement, moving stealthily.

"Yeah, I'm getting Nina tomorrow. I don't have much time. They won't leave the city again. Running away won't work if they try again. They're just fools. And Ethan? He's just a baby. I doubt he'll be able to do anything. He'll just watch me kill his whole family and take all their money. Damn, hahaha," I heard Aiden talking to someone.

I went to the side where many weapons were neatly organized.

I took out a tracker and placed it among the weapons. The tracker was so small, it was practically invisible. I slipped out of the house and made my way back. I noticed several cars and repeated the process with the trackers. Despite their high-level weapons and numerous men, these idiots still couldn't catch me.

They had no idea how many trackers I had planted, and Aiden still thought he was the best.

"Yeah, right," I thought, "for someone who thinks he's a mastermind, he sure has a lot to learn about basic security."

End of POV

Present

No wonder he was always so smart, she thought. "What are you gonna do?" she asked.

"It was fun to mess with him all these years, and he couldn't do a thing. Now I'm waiting for his lover to come to Paris."

"Lover? He has a lover too??" she asked, incredulous.

"Yes... the one and only addiction: drugs. Time to make him suffer as well."

"His crime record was quite dangerous though, yet satisfying at the same time," she said.

He chuckled at her words, making her confused. "The suffering he will get will be satisfying as well, Ms. Psycho Lover."

She rolled her eyes at him. Even though many things had changed, he still felt the same.

Great, she thought, some things never change, especially the weird ones.