Their Time.

Chapter 13 - Leak

Take a deep breathe, and slow down darling.

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"Hi I'm Sayer," he said with a gentle smile. "We had already met informally, but not formally."

I gave him an appreciative smile and replied, "We did, and it's great to finally meet you. I'm Vera, I have a question, do you know where Holden is? I can't seem to find him in this massive place."

"You just missed him, V. He said he'd text you, though. I'm not sure if you've already said it. Were you in need of something? I'm more than willing to help in any way I can."

As I'm given a nickname, my face becomes a pale shade of pink. "Could you please show me how to get to the kitchen? I wanted to cook a meal for everyone. If that's okay?" I asked.

"Sure, but don't feel like you have to cook just because your living here now." He leads the way to the kitchen, giving me a nod, and tells me where everything I might need is. Because the stove, oven, and microwave are all so different from what I'm used to, I had to learn how to use them.

He quickly left, claiming that he needed to make a phone call. I nodded and thanked him for his help before getting to work.

I intended to prepare one of my favorite dinners, which my father had taught me. A Greek salad with a splash of olive oil, a dash of red wine vinegar, and lemon juice as an appetizer.

Once the ingredients are in the bowl, I add a splash of salt and dried oregano. Tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, olives, strawberries, and bell peppers, as well as creamy feta cheese, are chopped up.

I served Greek lamb souvlaki skewers as the main course. Olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, Italian spice, cumin, salt, and pepper are used to marinate the lamb.

The lamb is then threaded onto skewers and grilled until cooked.

Within two hours, I was finished. I laid out the food and arranged the table. Holden arrived home about 35 minutes ago, but I ordered him not to enter the kitchen until I was finished.

I grab my phone and send a text to the boys to come into the dining room. I correct anything that isn't to my liking and put a bright smile on my face when I hear loud footsteps and deep conversations.

When they go in and see what's on the table, their expressions change to pure amazement and awe. They smiled at me when they had recovered from their amazement. Even Lynx smiled at me.

"When you mentioned you wanted to prepare dinner, I assumed you meant pizza or spaghetti, not a gore-made feast," Sayer says first.

That makes me laugh, but Eden interrupts me before I can say anything. "What the hell is all this? I've never seen a gourmet salad before, bro."

"My father was born in Greece and enjoyed cooking traditional Greek dishes. Many of these he taught me. However, this is one of my personal favorites. It's a Greek salad with skewers of Greek lamb souvlaki." With pride, I say.

They all take a seat and take anything they want from the buffet. I turned to Holden after feeling a warm touch on my leg. He wore a grateful expression on his face.

However, I can see how exhausted he is because of that. We ate our meals as well, with me giving him my best smile and a kiss on the cheek.

Sayer and Eden butted heads the entire time we ate. Lynx and Holden grew irritated, but we still had a good time.

I received many comments on my food and requests to cook more because the only other person who can cook is Holden, who is usually too busy to do so.

I know I will, since it has always brought me joy and happiness, but I couldn't find it when my father died. My mother never bought groceries, leaving me very little to cook with.

I nodded and turned my head, tears welling up in my eyes as I remembered my father. I miss him so much that I often wonder what my life would be like if he hadn't been murdered.

However, it is not unnoticed by anyone. Eden, Lynx, and Sayer leave to clean up the kitchen. Holden and I were left in the dining room.

I felt his powerful hands gently grasp my chin and turn my face to face him. "What's the matter, baby? And don't even pretend to be fine. I saw how you shut down and tried not to cry right there and then."

I broke down despite my best efforts to keep nothing from falling. He lifts me into his lap and wraps his arms around me. He tried to calm my cries by running his hands through my hair.

He carries me to his room as I needed the space. I'm still enveloped in his arms as he sits on the bed with his back against the headboard.

Tonight I needed to get some work done at the warehouses. So I texted Vera to let her know. After a few hours, Lynx and I had finished extracting information from an Italian jerk.

Who was it that was caught attempting to break into the estate? Stupid fucker didn't even get through the checkpoints.

He did, however, have some useful information.

⚠️Gore Starts.

He was instructed to enter the estate and seize Vera. I lost control after he said that and chopped his head off from ear to ear, completely severing his head.

⚠️Gore Ends.

(I am not one with any knowledge or insight on violence and didn't wanna get into extreme detail about it.)

I stormed out of the cells, telling Lynx to send it to the Italians, and changed before returning home. My mind drifts on the way home, wondering how they knew about Vera.