Rage coursed through Detective Cross's veins as he glowered at Travis furiously.
He raised his fist without hesitation and was about to strike Travis when the woman that was supposed to keep an eye on Travis inserted herself between them, hoping to stop the situation from escalating.
"I offer you my sincerest apologies, Sir! My partner is a little peculiar, but he is not a bad person. And certainly, isn't a child molester," the woman quickly apologized and defended Travis.
This woman was Elizabeth Romano. She worked by Travis's side for nearly a decade and surprisingly remained sane. She was a strong, elegant woman in her mid-30's but the bags under her eyes made her appear older than she was.
When working with a man like Travis Taylor, puffy eyes were inevitable and so was sleep deprivation. If it weren't for the fact that 'watching' him was part of her job, she wouldn't care about him at all and left him to fix his problems for once.
Alas, her luck was the worst.
She looked at the source of her frustration with glaring eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop saying weird things like 'I want her'?! We just finished settling the Skyler case. Do you want the company to go bankrupt?!"
'Sigh! So, this wasn't the first time he did something like this,' Detective Cross thought, trying to hold back the urge to hit Travis.
Truth be told, this certainly wasn't the first time Travis has approached a young woman intending to make her his model. There was a filing cabinet filled with records of his previous 'cases' back at their headquarters.
In all those cases, his first approaches, which were recorded, were impeccably undistinguishable. It was of him outright taking pictures of those women without their permission.
Their first impression of him was a 'creepy pervert'. To make matters even worse, he would continue to pester these women unyieldingly by investigating them, calling them, and even stalking them just to 'insist' them on becoming a model so he could take pictures of them.
His intentions were pure, but the manner of executing was excessive and disturbing that it made people question whether he was in his right mind. However, with those case files as evidence, they concluded that he was just an eccentric man.
As for Travis at the moment, his head bowed deeper the more Elizabeth aggressively questioned him. He silently repented but he wasn't entirely regretful of his actions. Because the next second he spoke up, saying, "Look at her, Lizzy? How can I not want her!"
SMACK!
Elizabeth heavily slapped the back of his head and spoke through gritted teeth, feeling her left eye twitching, "Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"
Sob! What great sin did she commit in her past life to deserve this? Should she just kill him and be done with it? No, killing him was too easy.
Just when is her contract going to end? Her patience was wearing thin and there was a good chance she might end up going to jail for killing Venus's top photographer.
Still minding her manner, she directed an apologetic smile at Ares and noticed the two people shielding her look at her with pity. Being looked at with pity, Elizabeth felt her heart bleed.
Ares, who was watching from the side, found this scene comical. Her gaze lingered on Elizabeth's figure for a while. She had a good first impression of Elizabeth and it wasn't because she saw her [life]. It was because she could feel a gentle and yet strict aura around her. But no one seems to notice it except her.
Ares noticed Elizabeth looking at her with an apologetic look and nodded her head in her direction. She didn't take the incident to heart and even if she did it wouldn't show. She turned away, making her way to the changing room to change out of the dress and into her clothes. The dress was beautiful, but it was a tad bit revealing, making her feel uncomfortable.
When she came back, they were still at a stalemate, and to make matters worse, Travis continued to run his mouth off without reserve.
"How about this dress? I think this one suits you!" Travis said vehemently when he saw Ares coming back from the changing room.
In his hands, he held a red, deep plunging V-neckline jumpsuit with thin cami straps that crisscrossed at the back and a simple red stiletto to complete the look.
When Detective Cross saw the clothes Travis had 'picked out', red was all he could see. Should he just kill him?
The outfit was both simple and elegant. There was also some cleavage exposure that exuded a sexy vibe when worn. It was a fashionable choice of clothes. However, only a young woman can pull off this look.
Ares was just a child!
Even though Ares didn't have the appearance of one it didn't mean that she wasn't.
He would rather see his 16-year-old son, Elias, wear it than have Ares, who was not even 10 yet, wear it.
Even Maya and Elias frowned at the sight of the clothes. Detective Cross couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Travis by the collar and dragged him away after saying to his wife, "You can finish up here. I'll meet you and the kids in the car."
"Okay. Make sure you take care of that 'thing'," Maya said nonchalantly with a smile. The 'thing' she was referring to was, of course, Travis.
"No, please wait! My muse! Here's my card. Call me when you decide to become a model! Remember me. My name is Travis Taylor! I will wait for you!" Travis shouted dramatically, tossing all his business cards in the air while being dragged away.
Elizabeth didn't do anything to stop Detective Cross and instead followed them from behind with an embarrassed expression. She was somewhat glad that the situation didn't worsen. In the last lawsuit, Skyler's family wasn't so easygoing, and, in the end, they had to pay the remuneration of half a million US dollars.
This family, on the other hand, was very overprotective but was at least understanding. However, Elizabeth knew better than that. Detective Cross was almost at his wit's end, so she could only keep quiet and shot a warning glare at Travis every once in a while.
Like that they left, leaving Ares with Maya and Elias.
"I'll take everything, from here to here. Please wrap them up for me," Maya said to the saleswoman, picking out most of the clothes Ares tried on.
"Right away!" The saleswoman scurried off without delay.
Maya left to quickly foot the bill using her credit card. Although their family wasn't filthy rich, they lived comfortably and weren't worried about money. So, Maya didn't pay much attention to her total and left the department store blithely.
"Come again!" The saleswoman didn't forget to bid them farewell.
"I'm jealous! You sold a lot in just one transaction," another saleswoman chided in envy after witnessing everything from the side.
"Hehe! How about I take us out on our next payday, my treat?" The saleswoman that assisted Maya placated her coworker.
"Okay," she replied almost instantly.
Maya had no idea the impact she left after they left, and she will probably never know.
While at another clothing store right across from that one, a group of unscrupulous hoodlums in their mid-20's took notice of Ares, and an evil glint flashed in their eyes as they were overcome with lust.
"What do you think of her?" A man with a long scar at the tip of his brow asked another man beside him. His voice was filled with obvious respect for this man.
It was plain to see that the man was their leader.
The leader was the youngest among them, but his strength was an undeniable fact that put everyone in their place. His looks were average and had a muscular build that made him stand out from the rest of his underlings that had a standard physique.
His brows raised when he heard his subordinate question. Others might not have noticed it, but he did. The lewdness that was laced in his words was too obvious. However, it wasn't only one of his men. Everyone, collectively, stared in the same direction, mesmerized.
His curiosity peaked. How good-looking was the girl to make his men resemble a wild animal in heat?
But his curiosity got the better of him. Because the second he laid eyes on her he was captivated by her beauty. He was only able to see her from her side profile. She had a slim, tall figure, pearly white skin, and that lusciously silver hair fluttered at a slight breeze. All he could see was her.
His eyes turned sinister as he licked his lips in excitement.
"I haven't had an A-grade beauty in so long. How about we enjoy ourselves tonight brothers?"
Hearing their leader's suggestion, they couldn't hold back their excitement anymore. They all approached the girl at their boss's lead.
"Hey, little beauty! Why don't you keep us company? We promise to treat you gently," one of them said in a coarse speech.
"We'll make it worth your while. Eh…" another one winked.
They surrounded her, blocking off all of her exits.
"She's mine first!" An authoritative voice rang from behind the group causing the rest of the group to part like the Red Sea, revealing their boss.
He stopped right in front of the girl of his interest, staring at her with a lustful gaze. He started stripping her with his eyes, imagining how tantalizing she would be sprawled out naked on his bed. He was already sure that he would have her any other way.
However, the girl he wanted in his bed wasn't an easy target.
Ares was, unquestionably, not an easy target.
She came into eye contact with the boss and understood his thoughts very well. She understood them very well like they were her own and it disgusted her. Her gaze traveled to the other men and witnessed their [life]. As she saw each of their [life], her eyes became darker and darker. The temperature dropped by a few degrees while she stared at the group with cold eyes.
Nobody seemed to notice the shift in the air. Maya and Elias were also clueless. All they could think of was to protect Ares. Maya stood in front of Elias and Ares, protecting them.
Her expression was fierce on the surface but underneath felt helpless. She didn't know what to do, and the only thing that popped into her mind was how to get to her husband. And fast.
While millions of thoughts ran through her mind, she didn't notice a storm brewing in Ares.
Living through their [life], witnessing all the crimes they committed made Ares feel revulsion.
"Baby, why don't you come out from behind there? I don't bite," the boss stepped forward, not paying attention to Maya and Elias. His attention was all on Ares.
"Don't take another step! My husband is a detective and if you lay a hand on us you'll spend your days rotting in prison," Maya threatened.
She was deadly serious but the gangster only thought of it to be empty threats and just brushed it off.
"Mmm. Your husband is a detective?" The boss looked at Maya inquisitively.
"That's right. So you better get lost before he gets back!"
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
The gangsters busted out laughing and made jeering comments at Maya.
"I've never been with a detective's wife before. I wonder what she tastes like."
"Looks like we have two ladies to accompany us tonight, brothers!" The boss announced. Eagerness was written all over his face. He reached his hand out to grab Maya by her wrist.
SLAP!
A slim hand hit his hand away with a resounding slap and a towering figure appeared in front of Maya.
The gangsters stared at the figure, dumbfounded. They stared at that familiar face. They knew this face all too well because this face was the reason they were even standing where they are.
This face belonged to Ares.
They could tell how much of a beauty she was from afar. Except they never accounted that this face was not only beautiful but "deadly" beautiful.
They all froze in place, feeling fear creep into their heart.
Why can't they move?
Why did they suddenly become afraid?
Afraid of what? This girl?
Haha! They found the idea laughable. Why would they be afraid of a girl?
They quickly dismissed the idea. However, the second they all looked her in the eye, they felt the weight of the world crashing onto their shoulders.
A sharp, clear voice spat out only a word at them, "Trash!"