IceyHot (Season 1)

Chapter 5

Kai

I opened the curtains of my room to the warm morning sun of Adana. I was standing by the window just smoking and trying to keep my head clear. My wounds haven't healed yet and I haven't gotten a chance to call the chief yet. Not when Isabelle was checking in every five god damn minutes.
   Anyway, by now I have fully recovered and my mounds were almost done healing. That didn't exactly erase the fact that last night was an epic failure.
   I warned the chief of Mariano's plans and still not even the task force he sent our way was enough to stop Mariano's son, Mario, from getting broken free.
   I didn't even know he had a son in prison, something the chief should've told me. I still wanted to know what that was all about, but for now maybe I could become friends with Mario.
   The police should've been here to arrest him, since they did know Mariano was behind his escape, but for some reason they haven't came here yet. Was it the fact that Mariano's forces were so large that even the police were afraid of attacking his so-called fortress?
   The chief said the only way to take him down was from the inside and arresting him wasn't an option. He had an entire jury association in the palm of his hands. The best way to hit him where it hurts, was from the inside. His empire was his weakness and we were going to tear it all down till he had nothing left.
   Then, I will avenge my father and brother.
   'Good morning,' Isabelle entered the room.
   I left the curtains open and turned around seeing her walking in. 'Ever heard of knocking?'
   'Have your wounds healed yet?' She asked me, ignoring my question.
   That was the third time she came in to ask me that. I folded my arms, deciding that I was going to ignore her the same way she ignored my last question.
   She didn't even bother waiting for answer as she came to me and straight up moved my arms out of the way so she could lift my shirt and look under the bandages.
   'Looks like they're almost all healed up. I haven't met someone who could heal as fast as you could before, aside from my brother,' she said taking the bandages off.
   'What makes my healing so special?'
   'You tell me?'
   'Perhaps you're a descendant of a pure blood or perhaps you secretly feed on humans?'
   I scoffed. 'Wouldn't that make your father like me, if I did!'
   'Meaning?'
   'It all makes sense now. Why Richard sent me with all that deadweight to break Mario free. Was I really just going to be collateral damage? Is this how he treats all his new recruits?'
   'Mario is a valuable asset. Losing him to the police was never supposed to happen,' she said tugging down the hem of my shirt and rolling up the bandages before tossing them into the bin. 'He's not only Mario's son, but among three of our strongest. The others being Richard and my brother.'
   'Isn't Mario your brother?'
   'Mario?' She scoffed. 'Mario and my father don't have that close father and son relationship. He sees himself as nothing more than the true heir to the throne and his father sees him as nothing more than an asset and weapon. They've had this relationship for so long that me, Richard and my brother don't even consider him as one of us...in a family sense.'
   Hold up, this was new information—important information. There was not just two of them, but four of them. Mario had four children!
   I was itching to call the chief and tell him, but I couldn't do that with Isabelle here. I also heard someone down the hallway talking about a mole. If they suspected it was me, I would be dead, so they didn't know it was me. However, something told me that Richard guy didn't trust me so he was going to bet on it being me. Best I could do was act normal and make sure that I could be trusted. They had to believe that I was a corrupted criminal who betrayed the police forces.
   'Speaking of which, I actually came here to tell you this: My father would like you to join us tonight for dinner.'
   'Huh?' I frowned.
   'His way of showing gratitude for helping free Mario.'
   'You mean his way of saying sorry?' I corrected her. 'I mean since all that mattered was to break the shackles since Mario could do the rest all by himself. It makes me wonder if he even needed us to free him. He could've done it himself!'
   Isabelle smiled, amused. 'Wow, Andrews. That is quite the mouth you have there. One day it will get you killed.'
   'No it won't.'
   'And how can you be so sure?'
   I smirked and walked to the bathroom so I could have a quick shower. 'Because, I'm your client and you'll be there to make sure that I stay alive.'

It was evening and I was in my room getting dressed for dinner. I picked something classy and yet casual. Just a black button down shirt and black jeans, with the tail tucked in under my pants. Lately black was starting to become my favourite colour.
I left my room to go to the dining hall. Isabelle gave me the directions to the dining hall, but I already found myself lost on my way there. I did wander off finding other rooms though, one of them was standing at the far end of one hallway. It was pitch black in colour, so were the walls around it. There was something about this room...I felt drawn to it for some reason.
Just as I was about to put my hand on the doorknob, a voice was behind me.
'Excuse me, can I help you?'
I turned around and saw a woman, petite in shape, dressed in maid uniform looking my way. She just came out of one of the other rooms, holding a basket with cleaning supplies inside it.
'Uh, I'm looking for the dining room,' I said.
'The dining room's this way,' she said gesturing with her hand and waiting for me to follow.
I glanced at the room one more time, before I followed her. I took a mental note to have a look around the place. The chief didn't think I would find anything valuable lying around the house, like one of Mariano's most dirtiest secrets, but it was worth a shot.
'The dining room is right over there, first door to your right,' the maid said once we made it downstairs to the ground floor.
'Thanks,' I said before walking to the first room on my right. This was quite the fancy house he had here and I was even privileged to be staying in it.
'Kai! Welcome!' Mariano said as I entered the room. He was giving me an ear-to-ear smile, standing with a glass of champagne in his hand and his arm tucked around a woman's waist.
I didn't know the woman. She looked like a hooker he picked up around the corner. He was probably also going to pay her for sitting around the table with us.
'Hope I didn't keep everyone waiting,' I said, seeing Richard there and Isabelle. Mario was already sitting by the table.
'Not at all! You are after all our honorary guest!' Mario responded.
Honorary guest, huh. Well, I guess I will just play along then.