"This morning, I, with a few other men went to your apartment, as you requested, and there was nobody there." Antonio started. "The wordings on the wall were still there and the place was even messed up than I had imagined. Jeez, did you see how the-"

He stopped himself from talking any further due to the death stare that Ric was giving him. If I was in Antonio's place, I'm pretty sure that I would have been dead my now.

"Oops, my bad." Antonio mumbled but just as he was about to continue, another man entered the office.

He wore a navy blue polo shirt along with black skinny jeans that really showed off his built physique. His sandy blonde hair was neatly done, making his green eyes look.

He held his hand in front me. "I'm Callum."

"Hey!" I beamed, giving him a handshake. "I'm Xia. It's nice to meet you."

"Um..." He paused, looking confused. "I hope you know CPR, because you take my breath away."

I pursed my lips at his pick up line to stop myself from bursting out in laughter. It's so bad but I can't help myself.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Antonio smack his forehead with the palm of his hand and Ricardo pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know CPR, Callum but I know kung fu and I could rip your lungs out." I retorted, giving him a fake smile.

"Oh, well. It was worth a try." He shrugged.

"Well, um. This is Callum, He is our tech guy." Ricardo introduced the man with really bad pickup lines.

"And the best tracker and the best hacker who you've ever worked with." Callum completed Ric's sentence.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"That's kinda cool." I complemented.

"Oh no. Don't boost this tonto's ego." Antonio butted in.

"Hey! I'm not a mor-" Callum started but Ricardo interrupted him.

"Can you both please stop?"

"But he started it." Callum whined, while Antonio tried to hide his smirk.

"Just tell us what you found out." Ricardo sighed, while Callum took a seat on one of the chairs.

"Alright, well, when we went to your apartment, we checked for bugs all over the place and good news, there weren't any.

Although, someone did plant a camera just opposite the entrance of the apartment so they know that you saw their...um...work on the wall."

WHAT! This person has gotta start watching their back. Once I find out who they are, they're going to pay. I'll make sure of it.

"Since we didn't want to take any risks, we didn't bring any of your belongings except for the essential ones like your charger and all."

"Now, about the men in black. You had given us access to the camera footage of your bakery so I scanned the faces of those men and ran it through the database that we have but I didn't get their identities."

"What the hell?" Antonio exclaimed, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, being the intelligent person that I am, I tracked their movement from out of the bakery to a black car that was parked in an alley nearby." He explained.

"Great, so now we can trace the number plate and we'll be on our merry way to where they live and slit their throats." Antonio said as though he was talking about the weather and not murder.

"Oh, yeah. Have I forgotten to mention?" Ricardo spoke up. "Antonio is the one who likes going for the kill. Always."

Don't ever anger Antonio for no reason. I made a mental note to myself.

"The car didn't even have a number plate to begin with so it's difficult to track their whereabouts."

Now that is some real shady stuff. Who roams around in a car without a number plate?

"Now, now. I said difficult, not impossible. I scanned the model and color of the car, making an algorithm to find the same exact car where it is using traffic cameras.

The only problem is that there is so much footage in that it will take at least a day.

"A whole day?" Ricardo boomed. "We don't have that kind of time in our hands."

"Well, this is all that I can do." He sighed.

"Oh, yeah. I have something on that Devon dude." Callum said, running a hand through his hair, which made it just a little messier.

As soon as he said Devon's name, Ricardo and Antonio turned red.

Okay, maybe not literally, but they trembled with rage. The both of them had such similar reactions; the clenching fists, the sharp breathing.

"What about him?" Ricardo's fury sprang to life.

"Um..." Callum gulped. "That guy had always been around the bakery for the last few months. Whether he was at the boutique opposite the street or at the restaurant nearby, he has always been around her."

Hold up-

He has been stalking me? What a goddamn creep!

"He used to work with a gang called The Reapers. He was the under boss at the time and later got kicked out when he faked his death." He informed.

"Anything else?" Antonio asked, and I sensed a flicker of irritation in his tone.

"Nope. If I do get anything else, I'll let both of you know." Callum said, standing up from his seat. "I'll leave now."

We bid goodbye to him and soon, Antonio left the office too leaving Ricardo and I.

"Well, that was....something." I stated.

"Mmhmm..." He hummed.

I've been wanting to tell Ricardo this the whole day but I waited for the right time because it always felt like was busy doing something or the other.

"I'm going to stay at a hotel from now onward." I blurted out.

He raised one of his eyebrows, "Why?"

"I did my research and apparently there is a hotel nearby where I can stay. It isn't too expensive so I'll be able to live there for at least a month without any trouble." I answered.

"Is there a reason that you want to leave?" He questioned.

"I feel like I'm intruding so I wanted to stay somewhere else and I don't want to risk anyone's life in this house." I told him.

"Firstly, you're not intruding so please don't feel like you are. Secondly, you being here is a risk, I'm not going to lie, but it's risk that I'm willing to take for your comfort. I don't want you to live somewhere you're not comfortable." He explained.

To say that I was shocked by his words was an understatement. I didn't think that he actually cared where I lived, I thought he was just being nice.

"Okay." I smiled. "I'll stay here for only a while more. After that I'll live somewhere else."

"Alright, and what about the bakery?" He asked, leaning on his elbows on the desk.

"Um, I haven't though about that..." My voice trailed off.

"Look, if you still want to work there, I don't mind assigning a few of my men to be with you as bodyguards but only if you're alright with it, that is."

"But, I don't...." I sighed.

I am feeling so overwhelmed with just...everything. I can't even make a proper decision with a cloudy mind.

"It would be better if you don't, but I can't tell you what to do with your life so it's your call." He shrugged.

"Alright. I think I'll take a break from all the baking. Maybe this is a sign." I concluded telling myself more than to him.

"I'm alright with it, as long as you don't annoy me." Ric teased.

"No promises." I smirked and left the room, leaving an astonished Ricardo behind.

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