Catherine's Emeralds (Ruby Rose/Ares fanfic)

TWENTY- FOUR (Odessa POV)

Eight months later.

"Lucky, come on... I'm hungry..." I complain getting up and brushing the sand off my legs while my girl gets closer running and lets the board drop on the ground. "What? No, no, don't hug me! Babe, you're wet!" I try to push her away with my hands but it's difficult because I'm laughing at the same time she kisses me and her arms enclose my waist holding me tight against her body, her wet suit is drenched in cold water and now my bikini and beach tunic are soaked too. "Stop it, Lucky!"

"I'm sorry, cielo *heaven in Spanish... I know it's getting late... Forgive me, please?" The assassin looks at me pouting charmingly and I can't help rolling my eyes hard before nodding, my girl turns around so I can unzip her suit ignoring people's surprised and curious looks around us, lying on the sunbeds, when they notice her colourful tattoos and her green hair contrasting with my purple one. Even in a country so multicultural and multi-ethnic like Australia, we must look pretty exotic... or maybe this is because it's uncommon to see girls like us staying at the fanciest resort in Byron Bay. Only wealthy business men with their families and papa's boys know this exclusive place.

"You really like surfing..." I whisper giving her a towel and she nods smiling and gathering her stuff.

"Honestly, yes, it helps me to blow off steam and keeps me in shape. I'm grateful to your father because he insisted that I should learn... Come on, let's go... You must be starved..."

I take my bag and follow Lucky through the white sand beach, the gorgeous gardens of the hotel and the pool terrace heading to our suite. The assassin walks carefree carrying her board, the towel in her hand and the backpack hanging from her shoulder, she looks calmed and happy, but I know her well and she remains alert. Maybe only a member of the Company, a well-trained one, would notice how her eyes monitor the surroundings, how she checks quickly every guest we come across trying to find out if they're a threat and how she watches the hotel windows looking for the flash of the sun on the barrel of a rifle. I know she also carries a gun in the backpack and a knife hidden somewhere. This is only the second time we leave my father's island, the first one was weeks ago for her to undergo plastic surgery, and we've picked out Australia because it's a safe country with low crime rate and little presence of the Russian or the Italian mob. We're here to have fun and relax but also to check if Lucky can fool people, making them believe that she's an outgoing girl who doesn't care about how much attention she draws... In fact, the more happy and carefree she looks, the better because no one would link her to Ares.

Everything's fine so far. We passed the airport border control without problem, Lucky spoke English with a hint of a Spanish accent and the officer who stamped her passport believed her immediately, no one has followed us or spied on us, we haven't run into someone we know and the guests and the hotel staff don't suspect anything. My girl has got in the role perfectly even if it must be difficult for her since she's spent half of her life pretending that was mute and remaining discreet in the background, and suddenly she has to make small talk in the elevator with strangers wearing a colourful Hawaiian shirt. But she's doing well and looks genuinely happy since she's got rid of her former life.

"I'm going to have a quick shower, get dressed and later, we'll have lunch on the restaurant terrace, okay?"

"Sure, I'm craving pasta..." I whisper letting my bag drop on the blue couch and getting closer to the wardrobe to change my beach tunic too.

"What if we share a squid salad first?" I hear her yelling from the bathroom.

"Sounds good to me..."

Another thing we agreed on, we never fight over the menu since we both like the same kind of food, it's amazing how many things we have in common... All these past months living on the island together, talking all night long while looking at the stars, watching TV with my father, playing video games with Val, debating how she should invest her new fortune, shopping on the net... We grew closer, falling in love in a relaxed environment without pressure or criminals chasing us. Lucrezia is a new woman, totally different from the Italian mob assassin, and not only because the surgery has changed her facial features slightly, but because she's developing the personality of a funny and lovely girl, the girl she'd be if her life wouldn't have led her to juvenile delinquency and D'Antonio family.