CHAPTER SIX
AVA'S POV
___________________________________________________________________________
Well, I guess it had to happen at sometime. Still, it didn't stop us from sharing a worried look, as our eyes communicated one thing and one thing only, "Let's freaking do this".
The men remained planted by the door side, breeding an air of discomfort amongst the Innocents. People who didn't have a clue about what was about to happen.
The bartender even seemed to have the worst of it as his steps immediately quickened, pacing about while he dawdled between mixing his tumbler and the muffled words he kept whispering to Cristobal.
"Whatever this is. Get. It. Done. This was not part of our deal, and you know it."
"Calm down, Alfredo. This will only take a minute. He chugged the last portion of his cocktail left before he plucked off his seat, standing now while his face tilted, head facing the bar, bobbing repeatedly as if there was a wall it kept poking at.
It took a while, but the men caught the signal and started towards us in an arrow formation. Two of the guys trailed behind, their posture almost complying with the lead guy heading their path.
It was a formation that just made sense. And it wasn't just because his head and shoulders hung high over both, but his face. His stark exterior was nothing short of a facade, clenched with professional danger. Only moving whenever his glance shifted side to side like a predator marking out his territory.
But it was his eyes that did it for me. Oooooooohhh...Dark and brooding (Sorry, I have a type).
The latter two both seemed like twins with the way everything about them screamed "relative". Same stocky build, a comparable average height, and of course, that familiar subservient aura they exuded from the moment they let the taller man step forward.
Upright and ready to serve. Like I was to Hugh.
By the time they stopped in front of us, it felt like the air had condensed, and become too heavy to breathe.
It didn't help that the main man's gaze had suddenly centred, and caught me gawking. So, I ripped my eyes off him. Then mentally scolded myself for allowing him such power over me.
"So, you're the hitman everyone has been raving about." He finally broke the silence, his voice surprising me with a texture so silky, it almost suggested a foreign accent.
However, Cristobal still maintained his cool demeanour, spreading his arms wide to suggest sharing a rather misfitting hug with any of them. When that was predictably unreciprocated. He moved on to extend his arm now, grinning from ear to ear as he held his wrist out for the main man. A gesture that was only answered by a question probing about my involvement in this matter.
"And she is...".
"...", my throat suddenly froze, held as a breathless exhale. I couldn't even put any of the alphabet to single use. The words were there...Of course, they were there. For one, I had wanted to say that I was the basket to his weapons. The reference to his service. Konstantin to his Villanelle.
But they never came out. Instead, the only answer that managed to escape the klutz in my mind was a clumsy attempt at sounding confused.
"I am..... Uhhh...uhmmm... I am Uhhh---"
"A powerful ally---Yes, she's the brains to all my operations, now... Why don't we start with a gentlemanly shake? You know, clear the air before pleasantries start getting shared".
Of course, leave it to Cristobal to be my shining armour, saving me from further embarrassment.
However, it wasn't a complete save because the men just stood mute. Like they were preparing something malicious or worse — deadly.
They continued like this as I silently pleaded for any response. Anything... something to get the conversation going again; But when it came, the effect caused a violent distortion that rippled across the entire area.
The taller man suddenly snapped both of his arms right out to Cristobal's collar, yanking him viciously towards him, while the rest of his crew flanked our sides.
Alfredo even dashed out, his legs unfortunately slipping right out from under him, sending his sliding body straight into a stack of crated liquor.
Seeing this finally raised something only a divine spring from heaven could quench. I didn't even know it was my words reverberating until I sprang up, my lips level with his ear while it moved with spite.
"Listen and listen clearly. We are on a time limit, so you better unhand my client before I show you why they call me the gunslinger. As you can see... ".
I hesitated, letting the rest of my sentence flow into an invisible command only my boys could understand, and when they did, the bar was nearly cramped by the swarm—our swarm, rising in waves to their feet.
Cristobal even managed to work in a warning after, his voice ragged, yet squirming with playful mischief despite the powerful wrists that grabbed a sizeable chunk of his shirt.
"You better listen to her. I once heard she once cleaved a man in half for far less than this".
"Idiot" ... I would have laughed, but the silence that resonated after reminded me of the urgency behind it.
This time, the air around was even more volatile. Most people around now were running off to escape any fallout. Those who remained either ducked their heads underneath their tables or sat still, glued to their seats, probably because of the drama playing out in the bar.
But I still stood my ground, glaring at the towering man, hoping he would just try me.
At that point, I had lost it, and just when I thought I was about to get my pound of flesh, he let go of Cristobal, mumbling incoherently before he jerked his head towards the front door, signaling to the rest of his men that it was time to go.
"You know what to do." His parting words, simple but effective. When they eventually left, I noticed that my heart had been racing all the while, drumming against my ribs like a beating drum.
"Now that.... That. Was. Hot." The idiot panted out; his back straightened now as he patted the crumpled parts of his shirt.
I wanted to tell him to shut up. But all that came out of my mouth was the question I had been meaning to ask since they left the place.
"What did they mean by assignment?"
He didn't answer right away; instead, he folded out a piece of paper, most likely passed to him during his scuffle with Mr. Danger earlier on.
"I don't know, but one thing is for sure. We are about to find out"