His father's order was final.

He wanted to reason, to insist that an investigation be made, but he knew there was no talking the man out of it. And Theo knew better than to insist further because that would also mean he'd have to bring himself in.

Theo might have gotten used to witnessing the man order the death of many in the past, but to hear him order for the death of his own son as if Richard was as invaluable as the others—like their mother—made Theo's blood boil.

But as much as he wanted to strangle the man with his bare hands, an opportunity that had come to him countless times in the past, he couldn't very well do so without expecting the entire underground population to come out and do him the same honor.

He had to do this right. God help him he'd do this right—even if it meant losing Richard, his own fucking brother.

As he stormed out of the office, he sent Desiree a message to keep herself busy until that evening because he was stuck for a few hours. He would not dare tell her about the current situation. She was one to react before she thinks.

He stopped in the middle of an empty hallway, braced his hand against the wall, to compose himself.

I want you to kill your brother...

"Fuck," he cursed, his jaw tightening in controlled fury as he dialed Richard's number. "Where are you?" he asked his brother.

"At the bar, getting wasted as always."

"Meet me outside the east exit in five minutes."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

The next person he dialed was the least wanted to come into contact with at the moment. Against better judgment, he did it anyway.

It rang three times before the call was answered. "Kane," she answered.

*****

"Khaye, it's me, Desiree." Khaye almost dropped her phone on the floor.

"Desiree?" She immediately closed her mouth, her eyes wandering around her apartment. Marco was in the kitchen fixing dinner. "How did—where are you?" she whispered, walking, almost running to her bedroom. She was not ready to tell Marco. She didn't think she wanted to right now.

"I need to talk to you," Desiree uttered from the other end just as Khaye said, "I need to see you."

A long silence followed. Desiree's end seemed silent so she must be hiding somewhere too.

"Are you...are you safe? Where have you been?" Khaye hurriedly asked, checking if her door was still locked. She could still hear Marco working in the kitchen.

"I'm safe. But I don't think you are," came Desiree's reply.

Her brows furrowed into a frown. "What do you mean?"

"You may still be in danger. Please, Khaye, I can't tell you everything over the phone but I promise to tell you what you need to know. Let's meet. When is the soonest we can meet?"

"Are you working with them? Are you among the Liaisons?" Khaye hissed on the phone. She was not going to meet her without being sure.

"How did you—no, I am not. They—it's a complicated thing. Let's meet. Just tell me where." She ran to the bath and locked herself inside, turning on the shower to muffle her voice. "I promise you, Khaye, I can help you. You're in danger because you know something about them. They are not very happy right now. And I might also need your help," Desiree was saying.

She had to think fast. Marco might barge in any moment. And Desiree might not be available for long.

Think, Khaye. Think! Is this safe? Will you trust her to be alone?

"Promise me you'll come alone," she finally said.

"I will. If you come alone"

"I will. I can't tell you where over the phone. They might still be listening on my calls. But remember our first project together three years ago?"

"Yes, it was—"

"Don't say it. Remember where we had the shoot?"

"Yes."

"Meet me there at the same hour we did the shoot tomorrow. I'm sure you remember that day."

"Of course."

"I'll meet you there."

"Okay."

"Des," she said before hanging up, "be safe. And come alone."

"Okay. See you."

*****

Marco sensed it even before she disappeared into her bedroom.

There was something about the call that unnerved Khaye.

She locked herself in her bedroom and he kept up with his work, his mind silently working.

His phone rang inside his pocket. After wiping his hands with the kitchen towel, he took it out and stared at the caller.

His eyes went to Khaye's bedroom door.

He tapped the answer button and answered, "What is it, Gian?"

*****

"Where the fuck are we going?" Richard asked.

"The old man wants us to meet a client," Theo lied. He focused all of his attention on the road.

"Did you have a talk with Desiree?"

"No, why?"

"Nothing," Richard said, looking out the window. "You better put a leash on her soon because that lady might just be your undoing. We have a plan here, Theo. We can't do that if she keeps doing anything that pops in her head."

"She's being more careful," was all he said.

"Who is this client?" Richard asked again.

"The one who gave us the Palazio project." The Palazio project was one of their greatest projects of the year. Their client had paid hundreds of millions of dollars for just one transaction they managed to pull off with another contact in Syria.

Richard's voice rose as he whistled a tune. "No wonder you're meeting him in person."

"Yes."

"And why should I be there again?"

"Because you just need to be there. Old man's order," Theo said, barely opening his lips. "We're almost there." They had to be fast, he thought, because his brother was not stupid and he would eventually find out.

"Good. Because I need to go back to the bar. And you need to go to Desiree and make her talk."

Theo ignored his curiosity. He had a job to do and he needed to focus.

Twenty minutes later, he veered his car into a dark, abandoned parking lot. Cans of beers and bottles of other liquors were everywhere. And as expected, the teens and the homeless who frequented the area had been disposed of accordingly.

"You know what I hate about meetings like this?" Richard murmured under his breath as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "They are exactly like the fucking movies. Only that in the movies, you can't smell."

Theo did not answer but climbed out of the car instead. Richard was already outside, looking around with caution.

"Are you sure this is a safe place?"

"Yes," he said, leaning against the hood of his car.

"Hello, boys, good to see you," came a woman's voice from ten feet away.

"Kane?" Richard asked, his voice surprised. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Theo pushed himself away from his car and took a deep breath. He met his brother's questioning look and said, "She's here to kill you."

*****

Khaye paced around her room for almost ten minutes before she thought she had regained her composure. She went to the bathroom and quickly soaked her hair and wrapped it in a towel. She wiped her face and looked herself in the mirror, her hands shaking.

"I'm sorry, I just took a quick shower and—" she started to say when she finally walked out of her room, but Marco was already putting on his jacket. "Where are you going?"

"It's about the new case I told you about," he said, holstering his gun. "I'm needed at the office." He walked toward her and kissed her mouth. "Dinner is ready. Don't leave something for me. This might take the whole night."

"But—" He stopped her with another kiss. "Lock the doors. I'll call you tomorrow."

Khaye blinked and nodded her head. "Careful," she managed to say before he shut the door behind him.

That night, Khaye ate her dinner alone, thinking about tomorrow. She went to bed praying Desiree would be the answer to everything.

*****

Desiree was reading Theo's message when a voice spoke before her.

"Alone?" She looked up and saw Mr. Hong smiling down at her.

Her heart almost leaped out her chest but she smiled in return, now quite used to his presence but never to her body's reaction which was to run far away. "Yes, as you can see."

"You're behaving well for quite a few months now, Desiree, I am impressed."

"Well, I sort of adapt easily," she said with a shrug. There was no way she would offer him a seat. He could leave faster just standing there.

"Where's my son?"

"Richard? I don't know. Theo? He said he's off to deal with another business."

A satisfied smile appeared on the old man's face. "Good. I won't be bothering you any further. I myself have a lot to look into. Be safe," and added, "and behave."

She did not find a need to answer to she just smiled, imagining how Theo would bring him down and praying he'd bring the man down hard.

Her mind went back to the meeting with Khaye the following day. She remembered the first shoot she had with Khaye, down to the very last minute. Almost everyone in their agency remembered because it was one hell of a day. There was the photographer who got really mad he threatened to everyone he'd sell all the ugly photos. There had been a lot of laughter and cheers after the horrible shoot, after the horrible weather. They celebrated that night, all of them models, for a job well done. It was one of the few moments they all considered their favorite.

Fear started to creep in when she realized that Khaye might bring someone from the police. But she asked Desiree to be alone herself.

She groaned in frustration. She wanted to keep her promise to go alone, but she wanted to have another plan if things went awry and she found herself taken in by the authorities. She could arrive earlier and watch from somewhere afar to see if Khaye went alone. Or she could tell Theo and tell him to get ready to save her. He would be angry she planned this without telling him, but he'd do it anyway.

Whichever way, she had to go. Khaye would be the answer to everything.

*****

Kane lifted her gun and pointed it directly at Richard.

His brother stumbled backwards, throwing Theo an accusing look. "What the fuck is this about, Theo?"

"Just order from the old man," he said, stepping back to let Kane do the work. "Be sure to make it a clean shot, Kane. I don't want a lot of blood."

The red head smiled, her eyes focused on Richard. "I am a very good shot, Theo. Don't underestimate me, boy. Petroff trained me well."

"Is this about Petroff?" Richard demanded. "It is, isn't it? Because I don't fucking know where he is!"

"This is not just about Petroff," Theo said. "This is also about Vernier and the other things you carelessly did that caught the old man's attention. He's been watching out for you, Richard."

Richard's face contorted with rage and disbelief. "What the fuck are you talking about? You know—"

It was the moment Kane pulled the trigger and the shot rang out and echoed in the air. Richard slumped on the ground and Theo held himself until after he was sure that everything had been taped just the way he wanted it. He walked to his car and turned off the camera pointing through the windshield.

Kane was standing over Richard, her face painted with concern. Theo stood beside her and watched his brother gasp in pain, holding on to his bleeding leg and cursing Theo and Kane to hell.

"Is he going to be alright?"

Kane shrugged her shoulders and handed him her gun. "I've worked on worse. He'll do."