Shielding You ("The Shadows" Series: Book II)

10.

Her head laid to the side and she couldn't see much...but what she could feel was the warmth on the cheek that was touching the floor alongwith the metallic scent that was filling her nostrils.

She could also feel the pain on every inch of her body as she struggled a little to get away from the hardness of the wood that she was lying on...but failed miserably.

'WHERE IS THAT BITCH?' the yelling hurt her ears more as she visibly flinched from the noise...or so she thought.

'There you are.' It belonged to a man. A man who looked down at the girl lying in her own blood. He kicked her with his boot to see if she was still breathing. The body didn't respond but in her mind, she was weeping, begging the man to help her...to call her mother to the rescue...

Her eyes opened like they did every morning...blank, now numb to the recurring nightmare. Slowly she turned on her back and faced the ceiling. The designs on the roof kept her busy as she paid attention to them like everyday. When she was done observing them, she sat up and did some exercise for getting her eyes to focus properly. After a few of those routines, she got ready for the day.

When she got down the first floor, she could see her desk being a heap of mess. So she decided to get that arranged first.

But before that...she needed to feed her growling stomach. So she turned towards the kitchen that looked as pristine as ever. She rarely ate at home. But today was one of the days where she would have to cook breakfast for herself. She had to keep a low profile after last night.

She had been spotted by those three assassins. She knew who they were...and how dangerous they were. It was her bad day when she had met them at that gas station months ago. But last night at the club was an unlucky coincidence which shouldn't have happened. She tried to never cross paths with a person twice. This was the only rule she followed in her life like her life depended on it.

And it did.

Being what she was but doing what she did...it was a necessity for her survival.

And she had somehow failed in following her only rule.

It wasn't her fault...a bad coincidence...the reason why...now...she had to lay low for a few more days than she had planned and to keep herself active by making healthy breakfast while she would go through her plans one more time.

She would delay but she will not cancel.

That was for sure.

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'That's it. I'm going to get myself another pill.'

'You've had two already. You take more...You die.' Angelo replied to Matteo who was holding his head in a tight grip.

'Why did you even drink that much when you knew we were supposed to be working today?' Angelo asked as he passed him some more water.

'Eduardo made me. That man needs to die as soon as possible. After everything he's done...he's moving around freely and last night I couldn't stay sane in front of him...I had nightmares for days after the footages of how he tortured some people.'

'And that is why you are never taken on missions. Rather than surviving, you'll be busy throwing up all over the place because of his tactics.' Angelo scoffed at Matteo while pointing at Lorenzo. Matteo shivered visibly before gulping down more water.

Although he was working with Lorenzo and Angelo and knew how to fight, his methods were more towards wounding rather than killing the enemy, which is why, after a few trials and errors, one where he almost lost his life because he hadn't shot the man to death, he was appointed in the area he was actually better at...Technology.

And God was he a Genius with a capital G.

Lorenzo observed the two bickering before looking back at the photos they had pinned up on the board. These were the photos that had been delivered in the pen drive by their team. It was a bit blurry but not wholly incomprehensible.

A shadow of a figure showed in the photo a few miles away from the building. They had also seen the videos that their team had somehow found. It showed the figure limping a bit before the footage was cut. Their team had deduced one thing. The person had stayed at the motel between the two cameras' footage...which they had already deduced months ago.

But what they couldn't find was the footage of the motel. It didn't have any cameras to start with.

Suddenly Lorenzo clicked at his laptop to see the footage again as something clicked in his brain.

'Matteo call our team right now.' He cut off their bickering. Seeing his seriousness, the two ran towards him from their seats. Matteo dialled the number of his man and put Lorenzo on the line. Lorenzo clicked the speaker button and started instructing the man on the other line.

'I need you to send me the CCTV clips of a gas station and a convenience store. Matteo will text you the address.' Lorenzo didn't have to say anything further. Angelo's eyes widened while Matteo started typing the address of the gas station furiously on his phone, knowing what Lorenzo was saying. After telling his man that he had to do this job quickly, Matteo cut the call and looked at the board.

'Why did I not think of that before?' Angelo took a seat in front of the table where Lorenzo was sitting with his fingers tied together in a grip.

The theory was bizarre but it was the only one that was fitting the situation.

The only person they had seen around that area was the girl who was beaten severely. All the clues of a fight were on her face but they had thought she was fleeing someone else.

Never in their wildest imagination would they have considered her to be the one to have destroyed that hideout. She looked too weak to cause such chaos. But maybe they had seen her at her worst and not thought much more about her because of her appearance.

Matteo's phone rang. The man had sent them another file, one they had asked for. It contained a video and a few photos...close up shots of the inside of the convenience store and the wide view of the gas station.

'Blur her figure. Just like this.' Lorenzo ordered Matteo and the latter instantly started working on it. Not even ten seconds later, Matteo projected the photo on the projector that showed it on the wall. Angelo shut off the lights since the curtains were already closed. Matteo put the photos side by side and gasped.

'No Fucking Way...'

'What The Fuck...'

Matteo and Angelo's voice sounded in Lorenzo's ears making him rub his forehead in agitation.

'That figure is a girl's But That is of a guy!!! Come On Lorenzo how could you even-' Lorenzo tuned out Matteo while looking at the photos. He couldn't help but feel like he was missing something.

But looking at the two photos...she was definitely not the one they were searching for...still...she stayed in his mind, even after the two left him to his thoughts while discussing how to find the guy.

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Hello Lovelies!!! How have you been??

I had a fun day yesterday. I was supposed to publish a bit sooner but I decided to call two of my friends and catch up with them...and an hour and a half became a six hour video call...my battery (both social and mobile) had died and needed a lot to be revived again...

Oofff...

Anywayssssss...

How was this chapter? Click the star button if you liked it and share your thoughts if you liked it...

All The Love💜 and Treat People With Kindness✌️

Alla Prossima Volta!!!🤗

-R

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