Somehow Vernier had thought about the wrong things he had done the last time he took her to his house. And somehow he managed to come up with a different, calmer way to approach the situation.

It was with awe that Desiree could read his mind—his sick, repulsive mind. She could take that to her advantage now that she understood how his mind worked and what he was planning to do to her. The element of surprise was gone and her mind worked better that way. Every fiber in her being wanted to stay away from Vernier, but she had to fight the urge. She needed to stay alert and stick to the simple plan she, Theo and Richard came up with.

The first thing to do was make sure that the door was unlocked. And it was. Vernier, in his haste to get her alone, didn't bother to lock it, too confident with the thought that he had guards around the place. The very same guards Richard had been watching and spying on for an entire week.

"Your phone is in my office," Vernier said under his breath as he turned to look at her, brandy in hand.

Desiree cocked an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side. "Theo got me another one," she said, lifting the small clutch bag in her hand. He understood what she meant. She wasn't here for her phone. And he smiled—a very satisfied smile.

"I can't believe that you are the same woman who walked in her the last time—"

She moved to walk up to him, her dress dancing along her knees. "I was just merely surprised," she interrupted. "Who would have thought I would be subjected to such a horrible act?" She watched the fire in his eyes and sighed, lifting her shoulders. "But the more I thought about what you could have done to me, the pain you could have perfectly inflicted, the more I got restless. It took...days, perhaps, for me to finally admit it to myself." She lifted her chin and let her words sink in before she continued, "I would love the pain. Theo gives it to me from time to time, but it's not enough. It is never enough. I want more." She blinked and forced herself to show the desire in her eyes. "I want my tattoo on that wall."

Vernier opened his mouth but she stopped him with one finger against his lips.

"But I want to be alive to see it hanging on the wall."

His eyebrows rose. "That can be arranged."

Desiree decided to push it a little bit more. "And I want an entire wall just for myself." She feigned disgust. "I can't bear the thought of it being hanged among the others. I want an entire wall for myself," she repeated the last statement with indignation.

Vernier grasped her wrist and started laughing. "My God, you are crazier than I expected." She let out a gasp when he suddenly grabbed her by the arm and pushed her hard against him. "And I like it. Oh, I very much like it, Desiree." She had feared he would kiss her and her act would be over because God knew how much she would find that repulsive. But she knew he wouldn't do it. He was not that kind of man. His lust was for something else. "Your request will be granted. But first," he said, stepping away from her, "let's drink."

She gulped. "Drink?"

He nodded, looking at her lips. "To ease your nerves. And it will help with the pain."

Once again, her heart began to race faster until she could feel it in her throat. "I don't think I'd want to delay this thing further," she uttered, meeting his gaze. "Theo might wonder where I am and I don't want to complicate things between you and him. You can't imagine how much I want this."

For a second she saw something flash before his eyes before he smiled. "Very well, then, I hope you can make yourself comfortable while I ready my room," he finally said. He watched her from head to foot before he turned away.

Desiree blinked. Something must be wrong, she thought. Why would he leave her alone? Did he trust her that much? Had she convinced him well enough? She suddenly felt lost when she finally found herself alone in the middle of the dimly lit living room. Vernier's footsteps against the hardwood floor were getting fainter.

Something's wrong, she said to herself, gulping in anticipation. She must have said something wrong. It was that flash in his eyes that told her so.

Very slowly, Desiree started walking.

And then she heard it. It was just a small click but it echoed around the house like a gunshot.

She knew she had made a terrible mistake somewhere along her act even before she heard Vernier speak from the door he just locked. "You almost fooled me right there, my dear," his cold voice said, loud enough for her to hear from where she was standing.

*****

If there was one thing that felt right about the whole thing, it was taking Richard along for the ride. For many reasons than he would admit, his brother was better at doing the physical work. Considering it was the first time for the two of them to personally do this kind of work, Richard was proving that he had at least more experience on the field than he did.

Richard had watched the guards day and night for a week, studying their routine until he could recite them in his sleep. And the moment they had mastered how the guards rotated and exchanged shift, it was only a matter of time to formulate a plan on how to go around it.

And of course, Richard's way was always the most convenient.

They had to use stealth and a little bit of force to do so, the two things Theo had never really mastered in his years underground. So, little brother that he was, he followed Richard on foot to take their plan into action.

It took around three things to make their plan work: One, memorize how the guards worked—done so without sweat; Two, acquire a tranquilizer gun—done so without question; Three, shoot the guards with the said tranquilizer gun—done so by Richard in just under one minute.

Once all three men were down, they ran to the front entrance of the house. Now, it was time for them to be careful—and fast. The guards would not stay down longer than they would hope. And Desiree might not live that long. Richard's tattooed hand went to the knob and he frowned.

"What is it?" Theo whispered beside him.

"It's locked."

Theo cursed under his breath.

*****

Desiree ran to out of the living room and into the hallway.

"Do you think I am that stupid as to believe you this time, Desiree?" Vernier's unbelievably calm voice rang behind her. But she ran anyway. Theo and Richard would be here any minute. They had to be.

She pushed against the first door to the right and turned the knob. It was locked.

"Don't make this difficult, Desiree. I want to ask you a few things and I don't want to do that stalking you around my house." Vernier's voice was getting louder. She could hear her heartbeat against her ears. She ran to the next door and with shaking hands, found it open. She pushed herself inside and slammed the door behind her. And locked it.

She leaned against it and tried to catch her breath. She considered sending Theo the danger signal but that was too late. He and Richard would have taken the guards down by now and found the doors locked. They would now be on their way to take Plan B. She didn't like Plan B.

She threw her clutch away to keep herself from calling Theo. That would give him and Richard away and she didn't want that to happen because there was no Plan C. Plan B had to work.

Plan A would have been better. What had she done wrong? What had she said wrong? It should have worked!

A rap on the door caused her to jump to her feet.

"If you plan to stay inside my office for quite some time, you better open the door for me." Vernier's voice was still calm and cold from behind the door.

Desiree's eyes widened as she looked around. She was inside his office. If it was under normal circumstances, she would have laughed at the fortunate incident. She was in the very room Theo and Richard wanted to invade.

"You know, I really want to know why you would want to be here. Makes me wonder...did Theo ask you? Hmm...maybe he did. But why?"

Desiree did not answer. She was desperate to get out of the room and stay at the same time.

And then the door suddenly flew open and Vernier was slowly walking toward her, his steps purposeful, his eyes filled with fury. She backed away to the center of the room. "I have a key," he said, lifting his hand to show her his keys. But he was also holding something else and he pointed it at her.

Desiree's knees wobbled as Vernier pointed his gun at her.

*****

Theo didn't know how stupidly simple it was to open the doors.

Richard went straight to the guard slumped in the middle of the driveway and patted the guy. In just a few seconds, he got the keys.

Theo watched with open mouth as his brother snickered, working the key into the lock.

"Trust me, it's stupid we forgot they might have the keys," his brother muttered under his breath. And before he opened the door, he looked at Theo and added, "But then, we've always managed to get people to do this thing for us so our little slip can be forgiven. Charge it to experience."

"I don't intend to have the same experience again. I rather like sitting behind a desk and wait for men to do it for me," he answered before Richard opened the door a crack and peer inside. The house was too eerily silent that Theo feared for the worse.

*****

"I want to find out who killed Jamaica," Desiree said in desperation the only thought that came to her mind.

That stopped Vernier, but it didn't make him lower the gun. He cocked his head to the right and asked, "What would make you think I have the answer."

"Theo told me you work very closely with Mr. Hong than he does. For me, that means you know almost everything." Her voice shook as she spoke. When would Richard and Theo arrive? Had they succeeded with the guards?

Vernier's laughter brought her back to the present. And at the present, he was still aiming the gun at her. "Jamaica De la Vega should have known what was coming for her."

"You had her killed." It was not a question.

Vernier shook his head, clucking his tongue. "I am not in any authority to kill anyone involved underground. I was actually just waiting for Hong to give me the go but alas, someone was more impatient and did it themselves."

"Someone from the underground?" she asked.

"If there is one thing you should know about your friend, Desiree, it is that she was not the person you—or any of us—had thought."

"But she was my friend and someone killed her—"

Vernier was shaking her head even before she finished her sentence. "It was wrong of you to come here." Still pointing the gun at her, he started to walk forward. She took more steps back until she hit the wall and she was trapped. With his free hand, Vernier grabbed her by the hair and threw her across the room with so much force that she crashed against the chair standing before his desk. She thought he had shot her because the pain was too intense as she dropped to the floor. But he didn't do it.

"At least Jamaica was way cleverer than you," Vernier sneered above her, the gun still pointing at her. "She knew what she was doing and she managed to fool us all for years until we caught up. You, on the other hand, are too impatient and too lousy with your lies to last you an hour." She was crouched on the floor and he kicked her hard so she was on her back and facing him. The groan in her throat barely escaped because of the pain. "Do you know how I knew?"

She didn't answer. She was focused on her breathing and staying alive.

"You refused my drink. You were impatient. You kept looking at the door as if you were looking for the best exit. It was the flicker of desperation in your eyes when you looked at me. It was that one-second of panic that gave you away." He chuckled above her with a shake of his head. "You almost had me there, you know, when you talked about the pain and an entire wall for yourself. I almost believed you, you bitch!" He emphasized his last word by kicking her on her stomach one more time. He pointed the gun at her. "If you really wanted to know who killed your friend, you should not have come to me."

The look on her eyes told her that he was going to kill her. He was too furious as he took one step back, ready to pull the trigger.

"I guess I'll just have to skin you after I shoot you—"

Vernier wasn't able to complete his statement. Desiree's eyes widened and a scream escaped her throat when she saw the black spot between his eyes. And his eyes were frozen, dead as blood eased out of the spot. The gun landed with a thud on the floor beside her. Vernier swayed forward and backward twice before he finally fell facedown on the floor. He would have landed right on top of Desiree if Theo hadn't grabbed her away just in time.

Her mouth was hanging open, frozen in shock as she tried to digest what had just happened. Richard was at the door, holding a gun.

Everything was a blur after that. She knew Richard and Theo almost ransacked Vernier's office but she didn't know how long they stayed there. The next thing she knew, Theo had driven her back to his home.

It was then that everything sank in.

*****

The moment Desiree walked inside in haste until she reached the middle of his living room. And then she stopped. Her shoulders started to shake, her head bent down.

He wasn't sure how to react. He didn't expect her to break down like this and cry. After everything she'd been put through, never—not once—did she show any weakness like this one. But now, apparently, she had reached her limit.

He took a few careful steps toward her, still figuring out how to deal with this woman's tears. He'd had a long line of lovers who cried buckets and he learned how to deal with each and every one of them—but not with Desiree. With her, he always found himself clueless and if he did something it was something that surprised him.

"Don't touch me." Her voice was raw and shaking. He heard the anger and the pain and for a brief moment he wanted to pull her in his arms and force her to just let him give her comfort until her tears died down. "You killed him."

"Desiree, it had to happen," he said in a voice he hoped was calm and soothing.

A whimper escaped from her and that undid him. He didn't care what she'd do. He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to turn around and face him. Her eyes were full of anger when they met his. She may be crying but she wasn't hiding it either. Weak and brave at the same time. "It was either you or that man. We had to do it," he explained, digging his fingers into her skin in hope that she would understand.

"You killed him," she whispered again, her voice strong and shaking. But he could feel the anger ebbing away.

"Would you rather I would have let him kill you?" he demanded, shaking her shoulders. "He would have killed you without a second thought one way or the other. We did what we could to save you."

More tears rolled down her eyes as she closed them.

"Stop crying, dammit!" He crushed her against him, cradling her head with one hand against his chest. "It's over. You're safe. You're with me now." He pulled her head gently away from him and cupped her face with his hands. He searched her eyes. "Did you hear me?" he asked. "Did you hear me?" He heard the desperation in his own voice. He wanted her to know that he meant it. He kissed her tear-stained lips and leaned back once more to look into her dark eyes. "You're with me now. You're safe." He brought her head back against his chest and planted his lips on the top of her head. "You're with me now."

*****

She lay sideways on the bed dressed in nothing but the large shirt he threw out his closet earlier. She had cleaned up and he had dressed the scratches she got from the incident.

Theo lay on the bed beside her, fully clothed. He said they needed to talk. In her opinion and experience, the bed was not the best conference table. They did not even get to the part where they had to discuss the agenda when his mouth came crushing against hers in a passionate kiss.

Moments later, they contented themselves with caressing each other's arms as they fed the growing sexual tension. They waited patiently until it caught fire. Slowly, ever so slowly.

"You're not afraid, are you?" he asked in a whisper. His gaze was intense and foreboding at the same time.

"Why would I be?" she retorted, unbuttoning the top of his shirt. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Despite everything that happened tonight, she had somehow survived. "I'm with you now." Another button undone. She felt him let go of his breath and smiled inwardly. "You're not afraid, are you?"

His hand was on her hips, giving it a gentle caress. "Only when you tend to disappear, I am."

Desiree managed a weak smile. "Please, Theo, you and I both know..." Her hands continued with their work despite her inability to finish her sentence.

"You and I both know what?" he asked, sliding his hand down her leg and under the hem of her shirt.

"That I am going—"

He stopped her words by trapping her mouth with his. They were both breathless when he leaned away an inch, her shirt already up her waist and his hand between her thighs. "You talk too much," he said with a lopsided grin. He leaned down to nip her ear, her neck down to her shoulder. She arched against his hand in response. She knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to take her mind away from what happened and what would happen. "You also move too much," he whispered against her skin. Desiree felt the knot in her midriff tighten even more when he pushed her fully on her back and moved over her in a swift motion. His hand stayed where it was as his other brushed the stray of hair off her face, lingering lightly on her cheek after. He buried his face at the crook of her neck, trailing kisses all the way down. She felt sore from Vernier's attacks earlier, but then it didn't matter right now. Slowly, Theo had managed to erase the horrible image of Vernier's lifeless body on the floor. And he managed to brush off the thoughts of leaving after tonight.

Her hands shook as she tried to blindly finish unbuttoning his shirt but gave up halfway. She heard his soft chuckle against her throat as her hands changed direction and came to mess with his hair and neck. She heard more than just the amusement in that sound. In his chuckle she heard the relief that they managed to end up alive. "I don't care who moves too much as long as there's motion," she rasped in his ear as she pressed her hip against his hand. A hand came to rest on one breast over her shirt, making her even more restless.

"I guess I have to agree on that," he answered, bending down to pay more attention on her parted mouth.

We'll talk later, she silently said as she let go of all thoughts.