They were driven to a private hangar where a plane was already waiting for them. Due to the incident back in the port, local authorities were suddenly busy, making it easier for them to leave the place without complicated procedures.

Desiree wouldn't let go of the twins who seemed lost and confused. She had to tell them that Berkeley was coming until they boarded the private jet Richard rode to get where they were. The look Theo gave her when they finally settled and waited for the takeoff told her she better prepare the twins.

"It's going to be alright." She lied. She didn't really know what would happen to the two of them, but at least they'd be in the hands of people she knew. Reassuring herself, she thought of what the kids would go through if she had let them go with Berkeley. They'd be sold to people who would use them for the worse. But how sure was she that the CIA wouldn't do the same? She had heard stories of government agencies doing unspeakable things.

"They'll be fine," Theo whispered beside her. She didn't reply. She could hardly believe anything right now.

Richard came back with signed papers. He looked at Desiree, his eyes bare of any emotion including hatred, before saying, "We're good to go."

He went to the back of the plane and strapped himself down.

In a matter of minutes, they the plane was flying them back home. For some reason, Desiree pictured Theo's home by the cliff.

*****

"Just point and shoot," Marco said near Khaye's ear. His one hand was holding both of hers forward while he stood behind her. She was holding the gun with shaking hands. "You have to be very calm, Khaye."

"I'm trying to be calm, okay? Just shut up."

"You asked for this."

"Well, I'm trying!" The gun went off, making them both jump in surprise.

Marco quickly grabbed the gun away from her hands, locked it and stared at her. "We've been practicing for hours. You should be tired. Let's continue tomorrow."

Khaye squared her shoulders and met his gaze. "No. We don't have much time. I want to learn this fast."

He actually wanted to shake some sense into her. Though he liked this Khaye better, he wanted her safe. Being stubborn could only get her killed. "You cannot master this in just one afternoon. Don't be too impatient. We'll start again tomorrow morning."

She pursed her lips and whirled around to storm back to his car.

"Women," Marco grumbled as he followed her.

*****

"How did you manage the fire alarm?" Richard asked when they were finally on air. The twins had fallen asleep and so did Desiree.

"I told Desiree to deliver a note to that crewman you saw earlier. His name is Jed, by the way. She then gave the twins another mission game to deliver the note which gave him directions on what to do that day."

"That was a risky move. The twins could have been caught."

"They took their mission games seriously. It was better than Berkeley or the Chinese catching one of us approach Jed."

"And you trusted the bitch to give you the pills."

"We didn't know what pills Berkeley gave her so we swapped them with sleeping pills Jed took from one of the guests. I had to take it or we'd be found out."

Richard threw Desiree's sleeping form a disdainful look. "You shouldn't trust her like this, Theo. She'll be the death of you."

"You trusted Jamaica, didn't you?"

Richard's jaw tightened. "Don't ever mention her name again if you want your woman alive."

"You still believe she killed her own friend?"

"Who else could it have been?"

"We have a lot of enemies, Richard. It could have been any one of them."

"Or it could have been me, right?" his brother asked bitterly. "Has this bitch poisoned your mind now? You really think I killed Jamaica?"

Theo shook his head. "I don't want to believe that you did, but I am inclined to think that way. Your desperation to get rid of the alleged witness to the murder doesn't make sense."

Richard impatiently scoffed. "If that woman witnessed who killed Jamaica, she also witnessed what transpired before that. She would have heard my argument with Petroff."

"Speaking of which, tell me why you were having an argument in the first place."

"He was with my woman."

Theo looked at his brother for a long time. "Tell me what really happened that night, Richard. I want to know where you were that night. You disappeared for quite a while and the next thing I know Jamaica was found dead."

His brother averted his gaze. "I don't have to explain anything. I didn't kill Jamaica."

"What were you planning that night?"

"What makes you think I was planning anything other than doing our job?" his brother asked with disbelief.

"You wouldn't be this desperate to kill the witness if she didn't hear anything other than your jealous fight with Petroff."

Richard turned away from him. "I wasn't planning anything."

Theo let it go for now. He'd have to be cautious around his brother. Richard was up to something and it might jeopardize his own plans.

*****

Desiree woke up without the twins.

At first she didn't realize where she was when she opened her eyes. Her body felt very tired all of a sudden. It took her a few seconds to remember what had transpired before she fell asleep.

"Good. You're awake. We're nearly home." Theo's voice was low beside her.

She almost jumped out of her seat. Looking out the window, she realized that they were inside a hangar. Her eyes scanned the plane. "Where are the twins?"

Theo gave off a sigh as he checked his watch. "They've been taken not five minutes ago."

Her reaction was that of dread. She had the urge to smack Theo's calm face with her fist. The only thing that kept her from doing so was the intense rage she felt inside—and the thought that she should have seen it coming.

This was the plan from the very beginning.

Her hands balled into a fist and Theo saw it. "You know this is going to happen."

It took all her control to lean back against the seat and breath. "I know. But you should have at least allowed me to say goodbye."

"I didn't see any point in that." He stood up and started for the door.

"They must have been very afraid and lost and confused."

He stopped but did not turn his head. "But at least they're safe now."

"You mean at least you were able to do your job and got loads of money for it."

Instead of striking back, he said, "We have to go."

She took at least five more minutes before she stood up and followed after him. When she climbed inside the car, he was patiently waiting.

She slammed the car door shut and crossed her arms over her chest, looking straight head.

"You're having a tantrum," Theo noted as the driver started the car.

"You don't know how much I want to hurt you right now. Physically. Literally."

The sound of his low chuckle surprised her. She snapped her head at him and glared.

"And you have the nerve to laugh. Do you know how much trouble I went through just to make sure that those kids stay safe? You should have the decency to wake me up and tell me to fucking say goodbye!"

"Richard was in a hurry. He took them to our clients and he didn't give a fuck about the state of your consciousness."

No words were further exchanged between them after that. Desiree succumbed to the dreadful thoughts about the twins. She could very well imagine what they must be feeling right now and the sudden changes of the world around them. Somehow, in their amazing yet innocent minds, they had come to trust Berkeley. They were expecting to be reunited with their mother. They had trusted HER to take care of them and she failed them. She betrayed them from the very start and it was eating her inside.

*****

Theo could only imagine what was running inside her mind. If there was anyone who could understand the fate of those twins, it was Desiree.

She knew what it was to be swept off into a completely different world in a moment. He understood her anger and the guilt she must be feeling. But it was not enough for him to ignore his job. She had to get used to these things if she wanted to survive. Her world had completely changed now and she should embrace it.

There was no turning back for her.

The car delivered them to his house in less than an hour. Desiree climbed out of the car in haste. Theo followed but took his time to leisurely walk to the front door where she was impatiently waiting.

"Sulking like this will not do you any good," he said under his breath as he turned the key.

"Don't talk to me right now, Theo." She lifted her hand, showing him half an inch of space between her forefinger and thumb. "I am this close to regretting not betraying you."

Amused, he stared at her as he swung the door open. She dropped her hand and walked inside. Closing the door behind him, he found her standing in the middle of his living room.

"What?" He walked past her.

"Where should I sleep?"

Her question took him by surprise. And then he frowned at her confused expression. "Where else?"

"I'm not sleeping with you."

"Your box is still inside my room," he offered with amusement.

He saw her swallow. Her chin lifted high. She squared her shoulders and walked to the direction of his room. "Of course. I almost forgot."

He noted the sarcasm but chose to ignore it. He checked his watch when his bedroom door slammed shut. He'd give her time to deal with her tantrums, he thought, walking to his office.

He had plans to put into action. One of them was to deal with Milo Vernier.

And tomorrow, Desiree had to start rehearsing for her role.

*****

Khaye was thrown on the ground on her back. Not the first time that night. She tried to cover the groan that escaped her lips as she tried to roll back and get up.

Marco was standing at her feet, looking down at her without a trace of sweat. He had easily thrown her in one swift move.

Gritting her teeth, Khaye stormed toward him, intending to throw him off his feet with her head against his stomach. Before she could even make contact, he had effortlessly whirled her around and trapping her in his strong arms. She tried to wriggle free but he was immovable.

"Don't try to fight an opponent stronger than you," he calmly said near her ear. "You should know that in most cases, you will have to run away."

"That will not do me any good," she said, stomping her heel into his foot.

His hold almost loosened by her sudden attack. "That was good, but not good enough."

"Let me go," she ordered through gritted teeth.

"If I am someone who intends to kill you, you cannot just say that and expect me to follow. By this time, you're as good as dead."

"Okay, okay, I get it. Now, let me go and let's start again." She was already panting and wanted to catch her breath.

They had been practicing some moves for two hours now. She had not gotten over her frustration from her shooting practice that afternoon and now he was beating her to a pulp without even breaking a sweat.

When his hold did not loosen, Khaye felt some kind of feeling stirring inside her. The adrenaline from her fall was gone and her body was reacting in a weird way now. As her breathing returned to normal, she began to feel something different.

And then suddenly she was aware of Marco's heavy and restrained breathing behind her.

She gulped in anticipation.

His arms suddenly loosened around her but she did not step away. Neither did he.

"You better step away now, Khaye."

Khaye blinked. "What if I don't?" Another gulp of anticipation.

"We might end up doing something else if you don't."

Before her senses could take better of her, she turned around and faced him, their faces just an inch apart. "I'm open for that too," she managed to say. "Because you and I both know that this weird tension between us should—" Her words were left unsaid because Marco suddenly crushed his mouth against hers.

As she gave in to the moment, Khaye thought that something might have turned out right after all.

rG3