The cops burst inside the busy lobby of the Leamington Hotel taking the staff and guests at their gun points, ordering everyone to throw their hands in the air and freeze at their spots. Wasting no time, the officers divided into several teams, and took control over different parts of the hotel. The entrance was blocked and the exits were shut down, allowing no one to step in or out of the building.

The team comprising the highest number of officers was led by their new lieutenant. Following his orders, they divided into two. Half of them sprinted towards the elevators while the other half rushed to the stairs, making their way to secure the seventh floor.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, they hurried out and took their positions around the area, aiming their guns at the man, holding the revolver, and the girl scurrying away from him. The patroller's eyes went wide in shock and the cops took the opportunity to storm towards him and tackle him to the ground.

The lieutenant gave orders to his officers to scatter around the area and locate other patrollers around the floor. Within the next few moments, two other patrol guards were brought to the front. Their guns were taken away and their hands were cuffed at their back.

After a quick trip around the floor and making sure, everything was under their control, the lieutenant came to stand beside Dylan.

"Mr VanAssche," he said in acknowledgement. There was no reply.

The cops were opening every door and inspecting every single corner of the floor. The boxes filled with arms and drugs were carried out and towards the bank of elevators. The lieutenant raised his brows in amazement as one after the other, huge crates containing highly sophisticated guns were being carried out of the residential hotel rooms and stacked on the ground.

Dylan, on the other hand, appeared to be totally unbothered by the scene play out before him. His eyes were fixed on the officer ahead, who had his gun pointed at Nadia as a precautionary measure. When the lieutenant came to stand next to him, Dylan didn't acknowledge him. It was only after he spoke the next sentence that he managed to grab Dylan's attention.

"I've heard and read quite a lot about you Mr VanAssche. There have been rumours all around about you always being present at the places you're not supposed to" he said, following Dylan's gaze but doing nothing about his officer, "Now seeing you here, at the suspicious floor, I'm guessing it's not merely a rumour after all".

Dylan tilted his head to look at the new lieutenant standing beside him. The man's eyes were focused on Dylan's face trying and failing, to read him.

"Nothing you heard or will hear about me is going to be a mere rumour, lieutenant, be very sure of that. My job requires me to be at places I'm least expected and being a police officer of the most decorated precinct in California, I believe, that's your duty. It's good to know at least one of us is working diligently to retain peace in the state, which is quite ironic to say to a man who is worshipped as a hero in his hometown. Don't you think so, Lt. Callum Debrowski?" Dylan saw the look of surprise pass across the man's face before it was hidden behind a pseudo smile.

An ideal police officer with a perfect track record, recipient of the Medal of Valor as a Sergent before being promoted and transferred to the best precinct of California, Lt. Callum Debrowski was, no doubt, an impressive man. His career history was a clean as it could be and Dylan was determined to uncover more.

He had never been a fan of police officers. They were meddlesome folks who always tried to challenge the status quo, wanting to create problems for him and his firm. In time, however, Dylan had mastered the art of using them for his own good but the records about the new lieutenant told him, it was going to be a bit harder this time. Though, he will find some dirt on the officer eventually.

After all, everyone has some skeletons hidden away somewhere. It was just that some had their's locked inside a closet whereas others had their's buried deep under the ground of their forbidden backyards.

"I see you've already done your research on me," Callum said. Dylan mimicked the lieutenant's expressions and pasted a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"That's good because I did mine on you too. And now that you've confirmed the things I heard are not just rumours I really look forward to digging more about you. You're going to have fun working with me, Mr VanAssche" Callum said, putting his gun back in the holster and forwarding his hand for a shake.

"I won't say the same about working with me though" Dylan shook his hand and Callum gave him a sharp nod before turning around and departing towards the stack of crates to help his officers.

With him gone, Dylan's expressions softened as he looked at the woman held at gunpoint. She had her hands in the air and her crystal blue eyes moved from the officer's face to the muzzle of the gun from time to time.

"The guy you arrested just now is the one to blame. I don't even know what's going on here. Do I look like a criminal? That guy pointed that gun at me, I'm the victim here, officer. I'm a nice person" Nadia tried to reason with the cop, who apparently was highly skilled at ignoring and glaring at innocent people.

When Nadia had decided to come to Leamington to help her friend, never in her most horrifying nightmares would she had imagined being bestowed the opportunity of getting to experience a gun pointed at her face and yet, there she was.

Her first instinct, when the officer shouted at her to throw her hands in the air, was to turn around and run away. But knowing that there was a higher chance of her dying by getting shot than being able to find a place to hide, Nadia decided to stay put.

"You see this, Hayden? This is exactly why you should always follow my orders" Dylan said, coming to stand next to her, "and even threats".

Nadia peeked at him from the corner of her eye, afraid to even move her head. She wished to knock some sense into the man, standing next to him, and tell him to act serious when they were surrounded by people holding dangerous weapons but, the gun right in front of her face forbade her to do so.

"Do you know her, Mr VanAssche?" The cop, who had been pretending to not hear her since the beginning of time, asked Dylan.

Instead of answering him, Dylan directed his question at Nadia, "Do I know you, Hayden?"

Not knowing exactly what that little piece of information could do but, discerning how the man had recognised Dylan, Nadia nodded her head, "I think so?" She said, in a confused tone.

The next second, the officer lowered his gun, after receiving a simple nod from Dylan, and left to help his teammates.

With death no longer hovering above her head, Nadia took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart.

Once she got her heartbeat and mind under control, she turned to face Dylan. He was staring at her. The ring of gold inside his hazel eyes were glistening with amusement.

"What is going on?" Nadia had intended to sound demanding with that question but it came out more like a request.

"The hotel owner was supplying illegal stuff to some bad people," Dylan told her, omitting the details, "I found out, and now he'll be staying in prison".

The simple way he said it, made the incident look like it wasn't a big deal but, the image of the gun to her head and the crates being stacked one after the other made her believe otherwise. Even though the firearm wasn't near her anymore, Nadia couldn't wait to scoot out of the place. All she needed to do now was find Derek and drag him along with her.

"You were asked to fix the software in here?" Dylan questioned and Nadia shook her head in agreement.

Without saying anything more, he started walking towards the tech area. Being the only person not carrying a weapon and the only one willing to help her, Nadia didn't need to be told to follow and stick close to him this time.

The duo entered the tech area, which was filled with police officers and their technicians, trying to figure out a way to crack the software. Nadia looked around, searching for her friend.

Derek was standing in a corner, his eyes were fixed on one of the computer screens. An officer stood next to him, holding a revolver to his head. When their eyes met, Nadia could relate to the fear and worry that was present on her friend's face.

"I told you to not tell anyone" Derek complained that made everyone in the room turn their head to look at her. Nadia gave him the eye for accusing her of calling the cops.

"I didn't call them, you idiot" Nadia defended herself.

"Then why are you allowed to walk freely, you traitor?" Derek countered, only to be ordered by the officer to keep his mouth shut.

"Because I'm a nice person and I can never do any wrong," Nadia said to which Dylan raised his brows at her.

Derek, whose hands were up in the air, joined his fingers to form a heart then pulled them apart with a jerk, mimicking the heartbreak action, all with a betrayed look on his face. The officer chided him again to stay still, Derek obeyed it but kept on staring at Nadia, who shushed him and followed Dylan when he started to walk towards one of the computers.

The guy Nadia claimed to be her friend was a complete fool, Dylan concluded. There was no way, the guy was going to help the cops crack it. The software was one of the better ones he had ever seen and the tech guys didn't appear to be competent enough. Dylan's team was at standby on the ground floor, waiting for his orders, and if the cops failed to do it, which they certainly were, he would have to take over and get it done.

Dylan moved towards one of the screens where the technician flipped through the pages of the file, trying to find a way to go through the software. He stopped at a particular page and his head moved to and fro from the computer screen to the file and back.

"I think I found it!" He declared. The others in the room stopped for a brief second to look at him. A few left their chairs to stand behind him while the others went back to their work.

The technician typed excitedly, confident about the code he had figured out, looking at the file once in a while to make sure there weren't any errors. Dylan read the lines of codes as they appeared on the monitor and sighed. It wasn't going to work.

"This isn't going to work" he heard Nadia murmur. Her eyes were focused on the computer, her lips pursed in concentration as she shook her head disapprovingly. Dylan watched as her honey blonde hair danced around her face with the movement of her head. There was a slight frown on her forehead which deepened as she watched the guy put in so much effort for nothing. Dylan couldn't help but be mesmerized by the beauty she was. His eyes were glued to her face, observing even the minutest details and actions. He couldn't force himself to look away. He didn't want to.

"Damn it!" The technician exclaimed when the program didn't work. The others standing around him sighed in defeat and went back.

Nadia wanted to point out the errors and help them with the software but, seeing Derek still held at gunpoint and not wanting to experience the same once again, she decided to remain quiet. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she looked up at Dylan who was staring back at her with a strange look. His face that always held either a cold, firm look or a mocking smile, had a pleasant expression at the moment. His eyes were softer and the muscles on his face were relaxed. Strangely, the Dylan VanAssche people were scared to even talk, looked friendly and approachable.

And then, it was all gone.

Dylan cleared his throat and looked away. When his eyes met hers again, there was a teasing glint in them as he spoke, "You think you can crack it, Hayden?"

"I can try but, I don't think they're going to allow m-"

"You. Get off" Dylan told the technician even before Nadia could complete her sentence. He got up from his seat, turned around, and looked alternatively at both their faces.

"I don't think we can trust her, Mr VanAssche" one of the officers standing behind them objected.

"She is with me" was all Dylan had to say for them to back off. The technician walked away, leaving his chair vacant for Nadia.

Dylan pulled the chair for her and the gesture surprised Nadia until she looked up at him. His lips were curved up in a mocking smile and there was certain mischief in his eyes, "Let's see if you're as good as you claimed to be, Hayden".

It was then Nadia realized that it wasn't about cracking the software at Leamington. He was ridiculing her once again for the conversation, or rather the argument, they had had at Harper's cafe two years back. He was testing her.

Nadia pressed her lips together in determination and took the seat offered to her. While it did hurt her neck to twist it and glare at his tall frame while sitting in the chair, Nadia didn't back down. The challenge in her eyes simply widened Dylan's smile.

She closed the file with a snap and put it away. Dylan raised his brows at the action and let out a soft chuckle when Nadia glanced back at him with a mocking grin before she turned around, crackled her knuckles just for show, and started to type.

Precisely 12 minutes later, when Nadia's fingers were still moving around the keyboard, did realization dawned on Dylan. The girl hadn't stopped for even a fraction of a second since she started working on it. The file lay untouched on the table and the lines of codes she wrote were highly complex and yet perfect for the program.

Dylan exhaled and went forward to lean at the table next to Nadia, no longer interested in the coding process. "You seem to know a lot about it, Hayden. You've worked on it before?" he asked, already predicting the reply in his head.

Nadia glanced at him briefly with a proud smile on her lips and ran the program, that granted them access to the software.

"Worked? I designed it" she declared, getting up from the chair and handing over the cracked software to the police authority.