TWO

"Seth, what the hell are you doing here?" I shove from him as I took two steps back surprised by his sudden appearance right before me.

I look around then grab his hand and take him to my room.

"Okay," I shut the door and locked it. "Let me ask again. Seth, what the hell are you doing here?"

He just smiles, that goofy smile of his. "I was in the neighborhood and -"

"Bullshit."

"Alright fine," Seth sighed but kept his smile on just so I can not get angry at him. Hopefully, I can let him off but not this time.

Nope, that cute smile of his I will not let off easily.

"I went on the cruise just to find you," he claims.

"Okay, and why?" crossing my arms as I asked.

"Because...you didn't say goodbye this time," his smile then faded to a frown. "You didn't say goodbye to Effie, to your friends, to me!" Seth brushes his dark hair back and lets out a breath to strain his anger.

I didn't know my leaving would affect him. Surely he knows not only is my job as an assistant to Odin but also to do missions for him. Especially personal missions such as I am on right now because this is not a joke.

"You don't have anything to say?"

I blink at him and look at the ocean through the window.

" I got nothing to say but once we arrive at Barcelona I want you to go back to California," I say with a stern face. I mean it literally.

Seth scoffs almost trying to contain his anger. "Terry, aren't we friends. I know your profession is to do dangerous risks and every time you leave my heart just...I'm always worried about you."

My heart jumps once he said that.

He's worried about me.

I know Effie and the others also worried about me but this feeling of worry from Seth is different.

"Don't be concerned about me, about my safety," I tell him in a harsh tone. It's better to have him hate me than worry about me. "I've done this since I was fourteen. I've killed people. The first person I killed was a pedophile. I know what I am doing and don't need anyone, especially you to worry about me."

Seth went silent.

I know he has nothing to say because what I said was for his own good. Telling him I have killed lots of people.

But is he really not going to say anything?

I thought he will keep arguing with me but nothing.

"If you got nothing to say, can you please leave so I can change?"

Seth didn't open his mouth so he complies and left my room without saying a word. I saw a glimpse of his sad face. Like a dog who got scolded by its owner and walked away with his ears and tail down. The door closed and I let out a sigh. Curious to see that he left my room door. I rush to look through the peephole and gasp.

"What the f-" I see Seth standing in front of a door getting in the room right across from me.

How the hell did he get a room? Especially a room across from me.

This is no coincidence.

Suddenly my phone rang and the name on the screen says 'Boss' I slide the screen and put it in my ear.

"Well, my dear, are you in Barcelona already?" Odin says with a cheerful sound.

"Odin, why?" I sat on the bed and rub my race getting straight to the point.

"Why what?"

I groan. "Don't play innocent here. I know what you did."

"Ah! You mean booking Seth a ticket at the last minute."

"Not only that but also have his room right across mine. Odin are you fucking insane!" To think Odin, my boss, and also my savior to who I owe my life.

Odin not only saved my life but gave me a purpose. I stop trusting people since the day my parents gave up on me. The day we had lost everything and money is needed, they gave me to a relative who would beat me every day. By the time I was ten I ran away from her and ended up in foster care. At thirteen, that is how I befriended Effie. I saved her from other kids who were bullying her and she reminded me of her. We became fast friends, I protected her like she's my little sister. She's the first person who I trusted. Then when a couple with a social worker claims they wanted to adopt me I didn't want to leave Effie, but the couple didn't want Effie but I told me I was the perfect age to take me into their family. I was heartbroken to leave Effie but at the same time relieved that a family wants to adopt me.

But I was wrong.

Dead wrong.

Hugo and that damn woman ruined my life.

Not only that they made me...

"Terry, dear? Are you still there?"

I snap my unforgettable thoughts with those people. "Yeah, I'm here. What were you saying?"

"You were in your thoughts about that day again."

I couldn't hide the fact that I was thinking about my horrible childhood in that house. No, in that prison. Odin knows me and is always worried about me especially concerning my dark past.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be too emotional thinking about that day." I can feel my eyes already watering the just thought of my little girl's face. "I need to stay focused."

"Don't work yourself up because of the past. I know you can't forget everything that has happened to you." Odin says. "I too have a dark past and I couldn't overcome it until the day I lost my wife. I thought my profession can give her a good life but Lorraine wasn't like most girls I knew. She wasn't materialistic. She didn't care for expensive jewelry, designer bags, anything exquisite. Lorraine is the type of woman who wants to spend time with the one she loves, read her novels, and attend to her garden. She didn't want a life of luxury, she just wants just a life. And I'm the blame to take that beautiful life of hers."

I can hear the sadness of his voice mentioning his wife. Odin told me everything about her from the day they met to the day she died. Especially, the broken relationship between him and is son as Odin was the blame for Lorraine's death. I remember he told me to look for his son but I had no clues until I met the children of Jacob Reid. Then when he heard that Jacob also has passed away along with his wife.

Odin has lost the two most important people in his life but that doesn't make him live in the dark forever. Now his priority is his grandchildren. He will do anything to make up all the things he has done and that is to take care of the Reid siblings.

They say a demon will always be a demon but when comes to family he will do anything to protect them.

"I know you are eager to find this woman and I won't stop you in your revenge for what she did but let me ask you this, Terry. Is revenge everything that you hope for? What will accomplish once you eliminate her?"

I never thought of that.

I knew right once that woman and her 'husband' took me into their home. I expect one big happy family. But once I stepped into that house the whole environment changed. They put me in the basement with the other children, locked up and in chains. Boys and Girls were separated. The couple collects children to do their dirty work. The younger boys were used to delivering their special products, while the older ones use their bodies to make money off the streets. As for the girls, they were used for breeding. No matter the age of the girls as long they can carry a child they will be taken care of. Newborn babies are then sold to the black market to be paid for by perverts.

I was thirteen when I was pregnant.

Baby girls get paid more than boys, so when my daughter was born I did what any mother would do to keep their child from living the same nightmare.

I...

"Terry!"

I was panting. I didn't realize that I was sweating and trembling. I hug myself for comfort. "I'm sorry, Odin. I was lost in thoughts again."

"You need to control yourself, child," I can hear the concern in Odin's voice over the phone. "Your anxiety will get worst if you keep recurring those memories."

I wipe the sweat over my head and took a deep breath. I glance at the pill bottle sitting on the table. "Don't worry. I can handle it."

"Terry," he sighs. "You are like my own child. I will never make you feel that way. I remember when I first rescued you. Your eyes were soulless as if your life left your body. You have been through so much living in that house and being used. I raided the base of child trafficking to find my son but I never would have expected to take you in."

I stay silent listening to him.

"I'm not saying I didn't want you. I'm saying for a fourteen-year-old child who looked like a doll with no life I felt empathy towards you and makes me want to take you home with me. Honestly, just to replace the loss of my son but you are not a replacement but a new beginning of a purpose to move forward. I love you like my own and I will do everything in my power to get your life back to the way it suppose to be."

I smile and realize tears were already rolling down my cheeks. "Thank you, Odin."

"Okay, I will leave you to your mission but remember what I asked you and think about the answer."

"I will, goodnight."

"Goodnight, my dear."

The call ended and I fall back on the bed then curled my body. A lot of things happened all at once today. Hugo and Sully transport children to Barcelona for an auction. Seth is here on the same cruise ship, I mean why did he follow me? Was it because I didn't say goodbye to him?

Well, it has been quiet since I told him to leave me alone. And now, my anxiety keeps reoccurring each time I think about my past and the face of my daughter.

"No!" I close my eyes shut and cover my ears as did when I was a child. Those horrible memories of a thirteen-year-old girl can never forget those things that have hurt me. Closing myself away from this past will never go away unless I face them.