"Congratulations, Mr. James, " she told him gently after she had finally finished the interview," You're all set for the team. "
Theodore let out an unmistakable squeal, making Shayna stare in surprise.
"Oh no, sorry...sorry ma'am ", Theodore muttered, flustered as hell.
Cute.
"Oh no, Mr James. I completely understand. If you want, you can go out to eat ice cream at this small gelato place near the corner ", Shayna smiled. "But be back in fifteen minutes. "
Theodore brightened up like a light bulb.
"Thank you, thank you so much, ma'am ", he said, his voice still high-pitched.
He quickly got up, shook hands with her, and then practically ran out of the lobby.
Shayna smirked at the retreating figure before checking her phone and saw fifteen notifications from Rebel.
Was everything alright?
" Miss Mairi ran away ?! ", the first message read," We're all out to locate her, but we have no clue. "
"It's like she disappeared into thin air or something."
"I even got Cameron and Kenji in on it, but they have no clue. "
Yeah, that was a bit alarming.
Kenji and Cameron were among the best spies that the underworld had. They could whip up any information about anyone so fast that you'd believe that they were in on it.
"If we don't find her, they're gonna take me out. I was the one in charge of her security. "
Oh hell no.
Shayna immediately picked up her work bag from the table and walked out of her building, her phone already dialing Lucas on the way out.
She was outside their main headquarters. The main hall looked presentable enough, with people rushing in and out, just like a normal workplace.
But the backrooms held the real horrors. Torture rooms, holding cells practically reeking of blood and gasoline, scary enough to give a normal person PTSD for a lifetime.
How much Shayna hated the place was beyond comparison. She would, in fact, rather work at a slaughterhouse than set foot in the place again.
A familiar figure approached Shayna from the shadows.
Cobra.
That was what the entire underworld referred to him as. Had one of the worst murder records in the history of the underworld, second only to Lynx, who had probably committed enough murders till now to populate a small country.
Rumour had it that he had once taken out half the Russian mafia completely in revenge for his sister.
While being drunk.
Shayna had no idea whether it was true, but the scars lining every inch of his body certainly supported the fact.
She, herself, was not very afraid of him. Cobra respected competence, regardless of where it came from and gave credit where it was due.
"How're you doing, Cobra? "Shayna asked, her mood lightening a little.
" You know you're the one who dares to talk to me like that here", he said, pretending to be serious, " Besides Rebel. "
"You want me to start calling you Sir Cobra the third?"
"There were two other Cobras before me? "
"No, just messing with you", Shayna smiled. "So how's everything ?"
"Oh, you know the usual", he said, rolling down his sleeve," Apart from Mairi running away ."
"You helped her run ?" Shayna smiled, her eyes twinkling.
"No, but I'm kind of mad that she did not ask me for help ", Cobra said, faking annoyance again, " But apparently I taught her well. "
Yeah, you did.
"You go to Lucas. I'll bring Rebel there ", he said, his eyes comforting, "And don't worry about her. Rebel's too smart to get killed. "
"I know. "
Cobra placed a gentle arm on Shayna's shoulders, squeezing it lightly, before walking away.
"I'll gift him some of that beef jerky ", Shayna made a note in her head before heading towards Lucas's office.
"Oh, look, another whore ", a voice rang out as Shana entered the main hall.
Shayna's teeth clenched. It was probably one of those misogynistic motherfuckers who thought that every woman in the underworld belonged to the prostitution industry.
He would have probably shot himself before talking to her if he knew who she actually was.
Vixen had a scary reputation in the underworld, even as a woman. Even the men who looked down on women usually knew better than to mock her.
There were also plenty of rumours about her being involved with people dangerous enough.
But unfortunately for her ( and fortunately ), not many people knew Vixen's actual face, as she was a more prominent background hacker.
She could have had him castrated for his insolence.
But instead, she continued walking.
"Damn, that ass ! ", another one yelled out, as a crowd of people cheered.
She ignored him.
"You bitch ! ", one of them yelled, annoyed at Shayna not giving him any reaction" You dare ignore me ?"
He was a 6'4 well-muscled Scottish man with scars all over his hands and a serpent tattoo on his neck.
She quickened her pace, but it was too late. One of his peers had caught her hand from the rear while another grabbed her waist.
So much for walking away.
She grabbed a man's shoulder and kicked the other one so hard in the crotch that the others approaching stopped still in their tracks.
Her elbow slammed into one man's throat while the second one doubled over as her knee found its target.
The hallway felt silent for a moment.
" You handled it well ", a voice came from the other end of the room.
Lucas.
He was devastatingly handsome in a rough, untamed way. Brown hair fell over a forehead marked by a prominent scar, while tanned skin and strong,g chiselled features made even goddesses swoon over him. His golden brown eyes, which usually appeared warm, stared pointedly at the man on the floor.
Ifonly he wasn't batshit crazy.
A few men followed him from behind, including his underdog Zephan, who immediately took note of the situation.
"Take all of them to the torture room ", Lucas had an icy tone," And nobody will touch them until I get there. "
The faces paled out, as if all their blood had drained out of them, as the guards swept in front of them.
"Don't think about them, darling. They'll be taken care of", Lucas said, glancing over at Shayna," Let's discuss what you called me about. "
"You know that Mairi will be forcefully engaged if she comes back, right ?" Lucas smirked in his devilish way," I thought you liked her. "
Shit, I did not think of that.
"I just wanted Rebel safe ", Shayna admitted.
"So you're more loyal to a homeless drug addict than you're to your princess? That's not a very good thing. "
"Besides, she's my only cousin", Lucas added, a mischievous glint in his eyes, " A rather badly behaved one, but still family. "
" Did you call me here to fuck with me ?" Shayna asked, her anger rising. "Cuz I'm about to chop your dick off. "
"Of course not, but there isn't much for me to do anymore. "
"What do you mean ? "
"Dmitri already found her ten minutes ago. Apparently, she had chosen some cheap, sketchy inn in the countryside to hide. Such a shame ", he replied, more amused than disappointed.
This motherfucker.
"And I'd rather have my dick intact ", Lucas smiled. " How else am I gonna please you in bed after our marriage?"