"But why ? Why would he do that ?" Noah asked, leaning on the desk behind him.

It had been a few hours since we had arrived to the warehouse. Since then I had spoken to about five people and all of them seemed nice.

After we arrived here, Dante and I unpacked our clothes and put them in the closet. Yes, we were in the same room.

Since this wasn't an actual house for anyone to live in, there was only one room made for Dante. So, we're living here.

I spent most of my time in the shooting range and the computers. Dante has so many new updates that I never had on my laptop.

By using the algorithms I have already created along with the speed of the devices, I could hack into the CIA's database and they wouldn't even know.

I'm not exaggerating....

Now, all of us; that is Dante, Noah and a guy I met a few hours ago, Dominic are having a discussion on why Dmitri had broke into Dante's house.

He hasn't stolen anything nor had he destroy the place. So, why ?

"He did say one thing to me...." Dante said, scratching his head. "He said, and I quote, 'When I am done with you, you will burn and die. You will become a black rose, just like your mother.' unquote."

What does that line mean ?

That's when I realized something. A month back; on the day I was attacked, the guy in the ski mask had a black rose tattooed onto the side of his neck.

"The guy who attacked me in the alley a month back, had a black rose tattoed to his neck." I explained to all of them. "This could be what Dmitri was taking about, right ?" I asked.

"Yeah. It could." Dominic said.

"Dmitri killed my parents." Dante sighed. "They died in a not so accidental fire. My mother's name was Rose." He said, tilting his head upwards a little, probably trying to stop the tears.

I could tell that this was making him uncomfortable and didn't want him to go through those memories again.

For some reason, I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to be there for him.

So what did I do ? I held his hand. Yes, I did. I thought that maybe he would retract his hand back, but he didn't. Instead, he held onto my hand tighter.

"Wait. You got attacked last month, right ?" Noah asked me.

"Yeah." I replied.

"And when did the security breach happen ?" Noah asked Dante.

"About a month ago..." Dante's voice trailed off.

"Okay. So, I have a theory. What if the American mafia is not working alone ? What if Dmitri is not working alone ?"

"Where are you going with this ?" I asked, confused.

"The American mafia is after Azalea and the Russian mafia is after Dante. What if they're working with each other ?" He continued.

"Both of you started receiving threats almost the same time by two different people. That can't be a coincidence." Dominic spoke up.

"The American mafia's symbol is a black rose. A black rose symbolizes death." Dante said, connecting the dots.

Wait...so what we're assuming is that Dmitri is working with Elijah, the Don of the American mafia. And that they're after Dante and I.

Also, Dmitri had said something about becoming a black rose. Dante's mother's name was Rose, who died in a fire.

What if......no....

What if Rose was a black rose, as in, what if she worked for the American mafia ?

By everyone's expressions, I could tell that they thought of it too.

"Boss, what if your mother wa-" Noah was interrupted by Dante's glare.

"No. Don't even think about it. There had to be something else we're not seeing. It can't be." Dante denied.

"But - " Noah tried to talk.

"No. Think of something else. Not this." Dante said, leaving the room.

He stormed out of the room, leaving Noah, Dominic and I in his office.

"I'll talk to him." I told them, to which they nodded in response.

There weren't many places that day could go. He was either going to be in the lounge room or his room.

Deciding to go to his room first, I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Dante ?" I called out.

"Please go, Azalea." He said, his voice shaky.

"I'm coming in." I said, opening the door.

When I went inside, I saw Dante sitting on the couch. His head was resting behind with his hands his hair.

The room wasn't to big, it was just enough. There was enough space for a bed, one big couch, two cupboards and a bathroom. Nothing more.

I sat next to him, but didn't say anything. A few minutes later, he spoke up.

"They could be right. I just don't want to accept it." He sighed.

"I know. Don't worry, we'll find out the truth. No matter what happens, I'll be there for you." I said, patting his shoulder.

"Alright. Let's go find out." He smiled.

Both of us walked downstairs. Dante told Noah and Dominic to find out more about his mother and Elijah.We needed to know who we were up against.

After that, Dante and I went to the shooting range.

"Let's get your skills tested, shall we ?" He asked, putting on the earbuds that reduced the sound of the shooting.

Doing the same, I said, "Oh it's on...."

Gripping the gun in my hands, I took the position that my mom taught me. Aiming at the cardboard cutout target, I took a shot.

Aaannd.....I missed....again...like I have been all day long....

"Well, your stance is perfect...but your aim isn't. I'll help you." He comments.

Dante came closer to me and stopped when he was right behind me. His arm reached towards my hand, which was holding the gun. He wrapped his hand around mine.

"You have to hold it like this." Dante said, moving my fingers. "Your arm isn't steady enough, Azalea."

His breath was on my neck now. Every time he spoke, I felt a tingling sensation down my spine.

"Okaaay....." I try to keep my arm steady and shoot again. "How was that ?"

"A little better. Keep trying." Dante encouraged, moving away from me to give me space.

I shot at the target for a few more shots until the bullets got over.

"See, you're much better now. Keep practicing, you'll get there." He said, taking the gun away from me.

"We could practice fighting tomorrow. You might need it because, you know...." His voice trailed off.

"Alright. Thanks. See ya tomorrow !" I said waking out of the room.

-------------------