"DID MR. KAZIMIR TEXT BACK?!"
Jumping up and down next to Nia, Khristina-Bella watches as the woman disappointingly shakes her head.
"Khristina, Mr. Kazimir is probably out helping others who weren't as fortunate as you and I to make it through the tornado." Laurenté says, rubbing his younger cousin's arm.
"But he always texts back when I'm in the conversation!" Khristina says, putting her hands on her hips.
"Khristina, the man has a job to tend to as well. Now go upstairs and brush your teeth; it's past your bedtime."
Making a "hmmmph!" noise, the little girl runs upstairs, slamming the bathroom door behind her.
"I deeply apologize for Khristina's behavior." Laurenté says, sighing.
Nia shakes her head and gives the older male a warm smile.
"It's fine. Her brother was recently injured so maybe that's what's bothering her."
"Yes, but for her to just ask for Kazimir Cizetto in place of her other brothers is a little strange."
"Maybe Kazimir provides some sort of comfort that Dréy and Alexei do not." the young woman says, hoping to reassure Laurenté. "Well, I should get going now; hopefully the tornado hasn't done too much damage to my house."
Opening the door, Laurenté waves goodbye to Nia, before hearing a sharp scream come from upstairs.
"Khristina?!"
Running into the bathroom, the part-time hitman looks over at Khristina, who currently pointed down at the toilet.
"MR. KAZIMIR GAVE ME THAT PLUSHIE AND NOW IT'S RUINED!"
"It's alright, I'll just get you a new one from-
"I don't want a new one! I want the one Mr. Kazimir gave me!"
"I'm sure Mr. Kazimir will get you a new one." Laurenté says, placing Khristina on the bathroom stool. "Listen, the quicker you brush your teeth, the quicker you can go to bed. The quicker you go to bed, the quicker you'll fall asleep and maybe you'll even dream about Mr. Kazimir gifting you with a dozen new plushies."
"And what if I don't?!"
"Then that just means you wasted time talking to me instead of getting prepared to have fun dreams." Laurenté replies giving the young girl a hug.
After brushing her teeth, Khristina heads to the guest room and quickly crawls under the covers.
"Lanté?"
"Yes, Khrissy?"
With a tear streaming down her face, she sits up and nudges herself into Laurenté's torso.
"I want mama and papa back. I want them to fix Dréy and Alexei since they're always mad and being mean to each other. I don't think they care about me. That's why I wish I could be around Mr. Kazimir forever 'cause he always listens to me."
Hugging the little girl, Laurenté sighs.
"I understand what you're saying, but this is a hard time for them too, Khristina. They don't have the proper knowledge of a full grown adult yet, so they're going to make mistakes."
"But you don't get it! They never listen to me! Alexei always says I'm too young to understand, but I'm not!"
"Maybe because he's also too young to understand that life is precious and has too many priceless moments to not be taken seriously."
"What does that mean?" Khristina asks, gently swinging her feet.
"It means I'm going to have a talk with your brothers."
——-—-
Humming along to the song on the radio, Nia calmly drives down the dark, secluded road towards her house.
"Hopefully there isn't too much damage. Huh? What's this?"
Softly braking, the woman sighs at the road block signs and starts to back up before abruptly braking once more.
Putting her car in park, Nia quickly steps out of the car and runs to the rear end.
"Oh my goodness! Caio, what're you doing here?! Are you okay?! Did I hit you?!"
"No, no. Everything's fine. I was actually reprogramming my GPS when I saw your car pass by and decided to warn you about the road block."
The young woman chuckles and shakes her head.
"Well, I do think you may be a bit late."
Walking over to the signs, Caio puts his hands in his pockets, staring into the darkness.
"Caio? I apologize if I took the joke to far."
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?" Nia asks, looking up at the older man. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Yes, actually. You can tell me why you slept with Dayne."
"Slept with-
"Don't act like you didn't, Nia. He sent me a video and all."
The older male looks down at her and she mentally frowns at the hurt in his eyes.
"I really thought I had a chance with you, but I guess I don't. I wish I would've saw that from the beginning; how you rejected my advances, friendzoned me, etcetera."
"You honestly have no room to talk, Caio." Nia replies, placing her hands behind her back. "Don't act like you didn't go to Florida for a "mission" and sleep with two women."
"I didn't even-
"Just shut it. I too have a video for proof and I can send you it in case you ever start feeling lonely because you missed them."
"So then why'd you sleep with my brother behind my back?"
Nia laughs and looks up at the man.
"To see how you like being hurt! I really thought you'd wait for me to come around."
"Huh?"
"I told you that I wasn't ready to just jump in another relationship at the time. Not that I would ever. Clearly, you're just like every other male I've met; only wanting to use me because you find me attractive and want sex. I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that that's all I'll ever be seen for."
Balling his fists in anger, Caio watches as Nia walks back over to her car.
"Am I talking to the same Nia Ellison who claimed she didn't want anything sexual, but then went behind MY back and fucked MY brother?!"
"At least it was someone I knew and not just some cheap hookup!"
"Cheap hook- Nia, they came onto me first!"
"That's not what Dayne said."
"Of course that's what someone would say when he's only trying to have sex with you!"
All of a sudden, a pair of bright headlights interrupt the two and an unknown man steps out the car, followed by two other men armed with machine guns.
"Hands up."
Watching as the man walks over to them with a pistol, Nia turns to Caio.
"I SAID UP!"
"DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING YELL AT HER!"
"Caio! Just please put your hands up! You're putting your life at risk!"
"You best listen to ya bitch, boy." One of the armed men says, as he grabs Caio's wrist. "She's pretty, too."
Leading the two to the back of the car, one of the armed men shove them inside, placing himself in the middle.
"What do you want with us?" Nia shakily asks, looking up at the rearview mirror. "We really don't have anything to offer you guys!"
The armed male in the passenger seat turns around and sleazily smiles.
"Now, I wouldn't say all that. What's your name, beautiful?"
*PUNCH!*
Snatching the machine gun out of the unconscious man's hands, Caio points it toward the two men up front.
"Pull over right now."
Stopping in the middle of the road, Nia follows behind Caio as he leads the two men out of the car, pointing his gun toward them both.
*CLANK! CLANK!*
Watching as the two males fall over, Caio points the gun at them both.
"DON'T"
*BANG!*
"YOU!"
*BANG!*
"EVER!"
*BANG!*
"SCARE HER!"
*BANG!*
"AGAIN!"
*BANG!*
Looking at the freshly blood-stained road, Nia turns to Caio.
"Caio-
Walking right past the younger woman, Caio picks up a lighter from the passenger seat, immediately setting the inside on fire.
"Nia, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a bastard, yelling at you, and trying to make you feel inferior of something that I did as well. I understand if you don't want anything to do with me."
Nia watches as he drops the gun and walks off, before running after him.
"Caio! Wait a minute!"
Forcing herself into the man's arms, Nia gives him a hug which knocked them both to the ground.
"I want to thank you for saving my life. Our lives, I should say."
Looking down at the ground, Caio sighs and takes out a revolver from his pocket.
"You know, I can't stand the fact that I'm only here on this mission temporarily."
Putting the gun up to his temple, he cocks it and smiles.
"There's one bullet in this thing. Obviously if it hits me, I won't be going back. However, if it hits you…"
Turning it to Nia, the older spy gently smiles as he cocks it back.
"I'm preserving your body and taking you back home with me."
The woman's eyes widen and she quickly knocks the weapon onto the ground.
"What in the world is wrong with you?!"
"I'm too in love with you to see you go. Why don't you love me, too?"
"I do love you, Caio. But how can I feel safe around you knowing that you might turn into my previous husband? Anyone who has a stable mindset won't try to kill their love interest just because the two are going on separate paths. What about your other relationships?"
"That's the thing, Nia. No other girl actually saw me as someone to start a relationship. They all just wanted sex. Then I met you and noticed you weren't trying to force yourself onto me. That's all I ever wanted was to genuinely love someone."
Resting his head in the crook of the woman's neck, Caio wraps his long arms around her waist.
"So that's why I get jealous in seeing another man talk to you. And I know it's not healthy, but trust and believe, I really do try my hardest not to go after every guy who looks back at you."
Stroking the back of his hair, Nia gently smiles as she carefully reaches for the revolver.
"I have to admit, Caio; it isn't fun seeing a potential love interest talk to other girls as well."
Using the revolver, the young woman slowly lifts the man's head up to look at her.
"I really would like to get to know you more, Caio. On the other hand, I want you to know that I'm not going to be pushed around by the threat of being killed. The second I feel threatened, I won't hesitate to use this."
Smiling the older man stands up and begins to carry Nia back to their cars.
"That's my girl."