Blood Oath (Ruby Rose/Ares fan fic)

Twenty-six

Bonus Chapter: Ares P.O.V

I take a deep breath tilting my head back but I grimace in displeasure when the scent of the blood and gunpowder burn my nose. I open my eyes again slowly and stare at my enemy's body lying on the floor before me with a perfect round shot in the centre of his forehead, his brain is splashed all over the wall behind him due to the bullet that has blown out the back of his head but his face remains clean and intact, his eyes are wide open in a surprised expression. It's pretty obvious that he didn't expected me and it was a shock for him when he turned around and found my gun all of a sudden but even more shocking was when I called him by his real name: Josip Vedran, those two words where enough for him to understand why I was here and the reason why he was going to die. I didn't waste my time with any explanation, talking to him about my sister or forcing him to remember that specific episode... it was probably a fuzzy memory for him, one of the several atrocities and rapes he was involved in. No, I don't care if he's died without knowing Nika's name. I just shot him and sent him headfirst into hell which is the place where a demon like him must be... it's done, so what now?

I take a deep breath again trying to analyse my feelings while I take a look around this little living room that is tastefully furnished. Dragan's old friend, a woman probably, lives pretty well in this apartment surrounded by this luxurious ambience, it's been a lucky thing for her that she wasn't here when I arrived. I sigh exhausted. To be honest I don't know what to do right now, I don't know what to think or what to feel... my brain is numb. I've been waiting for this moment long years, picturing it in my head again and again, what I'd say, what I'd do, what I'd feel... I spent so many sleepless nights, tossing and turning, consumed by hate and memories and here I am now... slightly befuddled and paralyzed while I stare at the demon's lifeless body. I walk into the little guest bathroom at one side of the room and wash my hands after putting my gun back in my waistband holster again, I check if I have blood stains on my clothes, fix my tie and my hair. I get back into the living room and look at Dragan pursing my lips, trying to analyse again all the things that keep going through my mind.

"Come on, Andy, you can do it... calm down," my sister's voice echoes through my head and I smile in response. I thought she'd leave after killing her assassin but no, she's still here with me and I feel relieved. All right, that's one of the things I'm feeling: relief. It's finally over and I can begin to live my own life, I can begin to be myself: Andreja is back to stay. And I'm also happy, not because he's dead, but because I've managed to leave behind that part of my life: nightmares, hatred, anguish... I hope all those things are gone with him. I think I'm feeling also a bit of fear, I don't know what I'm going to do now that I've achieved my objective, what is going to encourage me to get out of the bed every morning. I know what I want to do: dissociating myself from the Company little by little and take less and less commissions but what am I going to do to fill in my days? And finally I feel the urgency of going back to the hotel and see Nira and that feeling is the strongest one. I don't trust Aidan Finn, not even in the sacrosanct grounds of the Continental, I know he'll take advantage of any opportunity to hurt my girl even in front of Winston's face.

Those thoughts make me move finally. I bend down and take the shell like I always do, without looking again at my enemy's face, and I text the cleaning boys so they can come quickly and fix this mess. There's not only Dragan's body in this little apartment in the centre of Rome but his two bodyguards are dead on the kitchen floor. I ordered Julius driver to go back to the hotel with the car the moment I arrived, thinking that I could use a little fresh air to clear my mind while walking back to the Continental since it's only half an hour away but now I regret it, I could have got there faster with the car to check if Nira's okay. I walk out of the building through the back door and take a deep breath of this cold and clean end-October air before fixing my jacket and tie, checking for the last time that no blood stains are visible and starting walking at a good pace, leaving the narrow alleys and heading towards the big avenues of the city, dodging people, cars and bikes that are zigzagging among them.

Nira... she's the key to my future, the way my life will be depends right now on whether I decide to keep her permanently or not. Nira suits me, she knows everything about me and my work, about my mood swings, my dominant attitude and my occasional fits of anger but despite all that she's willing to have a relationship with me. In fact, it's so obvious that she's hopelessly in love with me that it's almost cute when she tries not to show it. I can't help but chuckle every time I see her doing that... And what about me? Do I love her? Well, I like her and it's pretty clear that I'm getting really fond of her, sex is amazing and I have still plenty of things to show her and enjoy with her... and I still owe her a punishment for leaving my home alone without permission. It doesn't seem that I'll get bored of her anytime soon but... love? I don't know... I don't even know how a woman should feel when she's in love. Do I look at Nira with the same puppy dog eyes she has when she watches me thinking that I haven't noticed that she's looking at me? Do I blush the same way she does when she sees me undressing? Do I move on bed every night till I have my body pressed against her like I can't sleep without hugging her?

"Well, yes..." I think while I stare at the cars going up and down the avenue very fast. Rome's traffic is insane and it'd be easier for me to get killed by a car if I'm not paying attention than getting killed by Aidan Finn's minions. All right, I admit that I like being with Nira, I feel relaxed by her side, I enjoy talking to her, watching TV with her, cooking for her and playing with her cats. I like to touch her, to feel her close to me even if I'm not thinking of sex. Let's ask in a different way: would I allow anyone to take Nira away from me right now? My hand moves to take my gun as if it has developed a mind of its own and rage blinds me for a second... I guess I have my answer: I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt my girl or take her away from me. If someone dares to lay a finger on her without my permission the forensic surgeon will find one of my bullets in his brain. It was a good thing that she finally didn't meet Dragan face to face, if he'd touched her, if he'd grazed her flawless skin with his nasty hands I'm pretty sure I'd have lost my mind and would have killed him right there.

Nobody touches what is mine... and Nira is mine. I take a deep breath again, feeling much more relaxed right now that I've admitted it. My muscles get loose and it helps to ease a little the tension in my neck, a wide smile spreads across my face now that I have a new purpose in my life. I'll take good care of her, she needs it; she needs someone like me to bring order to her life and I can do that, I'll make sure she's happy. I've barely met her two weeks ago, although it seems to be much more time, but I've noticed that she's so lonely. Winston is very kind but he's her boss, her parents are so... I don't even know how to describe them but I know that their complete indifference to their daughter's feelings and well-being makes me so angry... The ones that offer Nira some love and fun are those cute and naughty cats but she doesn't have friends. At least I have Stefano and Nonna if I want to spend one evening surrounded by people who care about me and love me but she's alone... however she faces life every day with a big grin always looking at the bright side of things. Deep inside Nira's very strong and brave, even if she's not aware of it. I'm going to be her family from now on and we're going to live together in my loft, I'm not letting her go back to her ruined house. We can expand it if she wants, knock down the walls and get some new rooms, even an office for her computers and devices, we can add more surveillance cameras... We also need to talk about what we're going to do with that massive factory. All of a sudden a world of possibilities opens before me and all of them have Nira in common.

"Do I love her?" I ask myself while dodging some kids that are coming out of a bakery with some cones filled with whipped cream since the weather it's too cold for ice creams. At first she was an annoying girl that never stopped talking and I just wanted to gag her in order to shut up her mouth; then she turned into a passionate and funny lover, always willing to learn new things in my bed or outside it; then I just grew fond of her, I guess, while we walked through the city and we had ice cream and finally now that I've decided she's mine I've become possessive but love her... I don't know.

But what I do know is that I must go back to her now, suddenly I feel I could die if I don't check that she's fine. I walk faster for a few minutes so I can get to the Continental as soon as possible, I almost sprint the last few yards. I hope that stupid Irish don't try to hurt her or he'll pay for it.