It wasn't often that one could be found on a bridge at midnight with no intent of jumping. And yet, staring over the edge at the lapping water and wondering where it might lead if they so happened to fall. Maybe it was the way she had crossed her arms over and rested her chin atop, maybe her glass heels caught the light a certain way. Something about the woman drew him in, and he needed to know who she was. Taking hesitant steps closer to the mystery woman, he tried to approach as cautious as possible so not to scare her out of her thoughts.
When he reached her, she still appeared not to have heard him. With a small cough, he leaned on the bridge next to her with a confident smirk which wasn't even close to how he felt inside. Peeling her eyes away from the water she glanced upwards to him with a curious, if annoyed, expression. It was enough to inform him he had disturbed an important thought. From there, they fell into an awkward silence with him looking up towards the night sky while she patiently waited. For an explanation, maybe. Searching for true intentions, possibly. He could see her in his peripheral, but he didn't want to look because then he'd have to talk, and right now that wasn't on his agenda.
Despite all that, she still spoke. He had hoped she wouldn't even bother, but alas.
"What are you doing here?" It wasn't even a question he had expected to hear, he thought she'd ask why he bothered her, why he bothered her. His brows furrowed as he looked down at the raven-haired female, close to questioning why she'd choose that of all things, but he stopped. There was something about her eyes, how they burned in their sockets some unknown passion. There was something vastly different about her than anyone else. He... Wasn't sure he could lie out of this.
With a sigh, he looked away and allowed his head to bow as he kept a hand atop his hat and breathed a soft laugh. "I don't know where I'm going..." He admitted, looking back to those burning eyes. "But I don't think I'm coming home."
From that moment on the two worked in close succession of each other, always referring to the other to ensure they were taking the correct precautions. Whatever line of work she involved herself in that he deemed dangerous, he would be nearby keeping an eye on things. Making sure she was safe, an acting bodyguard of sorts. It wasn't like she ever needed his protection anyway, but it was nice to know that he would have her back no matter what.
It had been a surprise to discover that he was a crime lord and she was a criminal operator who controlled people with the utmost secrecy. She had known who he was the second he had moved close to her, but he didn't have half a clue who the mystery woman with the burning eyes was. And rightly so, nobody knew who she was. That's exactly how she wanted things to be, especially since many men wouldn't be happy to discover that they were taking orders from a woman.
But to him, she wasn't just any simple woman. She was Cinder Fall. And any man who had a problem taking orders from her would fall for her charm as soon as they met her, would think they were lucky to have seen her. Some thought they had a chance, and they learned quick when they lost the top of a finger or ended up with third-degree burns. Because of this, he knew not to bother her with his personal feelings towards her. He valued himself too much to fall for her charms, or he tried to believe that was the case.
Before long, she had employed him to work close to her own operation. She had big plans, but he wasn't allowed to know them any time soon. His information would only come when it suited her. It wasn't vital for him to know straight away and she kept it that way, even when he started to complain about being out of the loop. She decided the redhead thought he was the only one who didn't know, but he knew more than most. He was the face of everything so she could remain completely anonymous. He was taking a major risk taking it all on alone for her, but part of him knew what this meant. If it meant growing closer to that mystery girl on the bridge, he would take that chance.
It also meant that he had to take the brunt of everyone's distaste and misery towards the operation, had to deal with all the idiots of the day, but he'd do it. Anything to know who she was. He might have been suave with every other woman who clip-clopped their way into his life, but she didn't clip nor clop. She was different, she had a different feeling to her, and he craved it with every inch of his being.
And of course, like any criminal mastermind, she could read him like a book. She knew his feelings, read his intentions, but he never attempted to act hastily on them. That's why she appreciated his company and his help, because despite it all he kept working. It brought a knowing smile to her face when she was alone in her office sorting through paperwork and detailing plans to the second.
She knew she'd found someone whom she could rely on completely, no matter what. Whereas Roman would put his head on his pillow at the end of an evening and stare at his ceiling with one concious thought repeating itself over and over. "I'm in the details with the devil." He'd sometimes chance to say out loud just to remind himself it wasn't just a dream, but he usually kept it in his mind. If she heard, he was sure she wouldn't appreciate a comparison to the devil, despite how close her likeness ended up being.
As the days and weeks went on, it was clear that Roman would do anything for Cinder. He'd fight for her, he'd face any jumped up spoiled brat for her... She began to wonder if maybe she had trusted him with too much. There were only three who knew her by her face, knew where her intentions lay... She couldn't help feeling he had told him too much, even if it was only on a need to know basis. But she could see it in his eyes, that hope for something more than business. With his witty comments, or his off-the-cusp phrases of her sending the kids, maybe he was getting too comfortable with their assignment. It made her nervous, the thought of him thinking so much on his own that he'd end up acting his own reckless way and detriment the whole operation...
Perhaps she had to decide earlier what was to be his fate. His own home comforts around her brought nothing but a rising fear in the pit of her stomach and it made her very uncomfortable. Some nights she wondered if it was because she could reiterate his feelings. Maybe she was just reading too much into it all, but that didn't stop her mind from reeling. She had always held herself as a confident woman who knew her goals and exactly how to gain them, but now she feared they were at the wayside... As much as she didn't want to she knew that for her plan to work she had to get rid of Roman, even if it was only temporary. She had to save her name, continue her plan alone without his ever-keen presence, his dumb puppy eyes whenever she would insist on an idea... He had to go.
And so it came to be that the unfortunate day that Roman messed up because of four stupid girls who found their hiding place on a whim, Cinder knew it was time. As soon as the word was out that the train had left for Vale before she had given the order, though it was his first mistake, she knew it would be his last for now. She only hoped he'd understand.
With the order, she sent Emerald and Mercury with the pretence of helping the stupid children and she kept watch from afar. There was too much knowing in what would happen if she went with them. If she made it obvious that the person he'd take a bullet for was behind the trigger, he'd crumble and there was a known possibility he might be able to change her mind, and she couldn't risk it. Not after all her hard work to get to where she was.
When she saw Emerald hand him over, she felt deep down that she had perhaps made a bad choice, or that he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut for her operation. But she had to trust, and part of her did. But there was also a fear she couldn't explain. A fear that he may not come back, maybe, or that he would return sour and unkind to her for her own misleading.
Maybe sending Roman, the only lackey she ever came to grow even slightly fond of, was a bad choice for her after all.
