03

Stefano's heart was beating faster than usual. This type of situation happens often, so his high heart rate was not caused by this.

Instead, it was because of Calla. Stefano felt unsafe leaving her in his office with nothing, but a gun.

A bunch of scenarios appeared in his mind while he was looking for intruders on the top floor.

What if he goes into the office to find Calla harmed, covered in blood, and dead? That thought made him shiver.

As he was scouting out the place, he had noticed a figure.

"I would suggest you come out from wherever you are hiding. No matter how many people you have backing you up, you won't make it out of here alive."

Aiming his gun to where he last saw the figure, a head became visible. It was a boy that looked no younger than 13.

Stefano was the type to kill anyone, no matter the age, but he didn't in this case.

This boy was harmless, his hands were shaking as he held the gun.

"Look, I don't want to harm you. What's your name?" Stefano said as he walked closer to him.

"Troy. My name's Tr-"

Before Troy could finish his sentence, a man came out of the corner and shot him in the head instantly killing him.

At the same time, Stefano shot the man, but not quick enough to save a young boy's life.

Pulling out his phone, he dialled Kai's number. Kai was usually the tech guy but occasionally went on runs.

"What's up?"

"I need you to find a boy named Troy, brown curly hair. African-American. Roughly 13 years-old. I need you to find if he has any family, and if he doesn't, we'll give him a proper burial. His body is in hallway B."

"Alright. Be safe."

Stefano was in the hallway when he heard more gunshots coming from his office. He hoped that it was Calla firing those shots.

Running to his office, he kicked the door open expecting the worst.

Instead, he was greeted with a man groaning in pain who seemed to be losing blood quite quickly and Calla sitting on the floor with a gun in her hand.

"Calla..."

"I shot him. I shot someone," Calla laughed as she started to cry, "Can you believe that?"

Without thinking, Stefano rushed over to Calla engulfing her with a hug.

Stefano knew exactly how it felt to be in this position.

It didn't matter how ruthless and heartless you were, the first time you ever shoot someone will always leave you with guilt.

It's just that over time, you learn to put it aside.

Calla was in shock and Stefano understood.

"I-I don't even know why I'm crying. It was him or me right?"

"Exactly. Him or you. And thank god it was him."

Stefano replied back while caressing her back, whispering the last part not wanting Calla to hear it.

As they sat together in each other's arms, Stefano had noticed she smelled like roses and a tiny hint of strawberry.

A smell that he quickly learnt to appreciate in a small amount of time.

A couple of footsteps were coming towards the office door and at a quick pace as well.

With Stefano's natural extinction, he took out his gun, preparing it to shoot at anyone who entered the door with one hand and while the other was holding Calla.

"Don! All intruders have been eliminated."

Putting his gun away, he replied, "Bring this body into a jail cell," pointing to the body on the ground, "and get Ms. Cadence to look at his wounds. I also want a room in my penthouse to be prepared for a guest. Fill the bathroom with lady products like tampons, pads. You know stuff like that."

"Yes sir."

A few seconds after, he noticed Calla had fallen asleep in his arms.

Carrying her in a bridal style, he started walking to his car.

While walking, he looked down at her.

She looked so peaceful in her sleep as if she didn't just shoot someone multiple times and the longer he looked at her, the more of the little details he noticed.

She had a little scar on her jawline, a scar on her left eyebrow, and a rose tattoo peeking out behind her ear.

He had wondered if she had any more tattoos.

Arriving at his home, he carried Calla to his bed and tucked her in.

And before leaving, he gave her a kiss on her forehead.

In all honesty, Stefano didn't know why he did that.

Why did he give her a gun in the first place, then carrying her into his own home?

A girl he had just met less than twenty-four hours ago had found a way into his head.

Something in Calla intrigued him, maybe it was the fact that she paid off a debt of someone she didn't know or the fact that her beautiful brown eyes were full of life.

Whatever it was, Stefano was not prepared to let her go, and if that ever happened, hell would break loose.