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Alek POV

I walk in and quickly survey the scene. Clothes knocked down, cash register busted up, Chloe holding some guy in a headlock, Lana on the floor- wait. What?

I dash over to Chloe.

"I'll ask you one more time," she says, teeth gritted, grip tightening. "Who are you?"

The man gasps for air and lifts a hand to his neck. He pulls some kind of vial off and bites off the cork. We both realize what he's doing only after it's too late. Chloe takes a step back and the dead man slumps to the floor.

"...God." she says, burying her head in her hands. "I'm a murderer."

I step over the body and pull her into a hug.

"He killed himself, Chloe."

"But only because I forced him to," she says, voice muffled against my shirt.

I'll be honest with you. I'm not a man of many words and my comforting skills are close to none. I gently rub her back, remembering how Valentina used to do that for Jasmine when she was upset, but that's the extent of it. After a few minutes Chloe takes a shuddering breathe and a step back, out of my arms. She walks shakily over to the body and kneels down next to it. She then reaches out her hand and strokes the man's cheek. A single tear falls out of her eye and I can't hold the question back any longer.

"Chloe, I don't know if you realize, but it kind of looked like he was trying to kill you."

"He was." She states, sniffling.

I bend down beside her and run my fingers through my hair. "Then why are you- er... why are you-"

"Crying?" she finishes for me, sensing how uncomfortable I am with the word. I briefly nod, waiting for the answer. "I'm crying because a life was just lost, Alek. Lives are incredibly precious. This man is irreplaceable. I just wish he had known that before he stole himself away."

She's intense, this girl. Her compassion is limitless. How is it that she can look at this man and see something of value, when all I see is a pathetic creep? I suppose that's why she's the Uniter here.

Bzzzzzt

Dear Bastet, no. Not now. I leave the phone in my pocket, desperate to not look at it while she's here. Chloe's head snaps up at the vibrating sound and her eyes narrow. Wait, weren't we just having a moment? Why is she angry?

Chloe POV

The sound of that stupid cell phone snaps me back to reality. I never did have the chance to swipe it so I still have no idea who it is. Alek's face is growing whiter by the second, and my mind begins to imagine all the things he might have done. I can't shake the fact that the most likely is cheating. It just doesn't make sense though. Still...it's hard to think logically or judge favorably when the guy acts so incredibly guilty.

"Aren't you going to check that?" I ask mildly, but I suspect that poison is managing to sneak its way into my words.

He clears his throat and blinks. "Uh, no. That's rude."

"Rude?" I question, never knowing Alek to be anything but.

"Yeah. You're obviously having a hard time right now, so it's important that you have my full attention." He looks at me with a small smile, and I can tell he's proud of himself for thinking so fast on his feet.

"What if it's Jasmine? It could be important. I wouldn't want my emotions to cause some sort of a disaster." I say forcefully.

Alek looks down and licks his lips. Finally he sighs. "Alright then," he says, pulling out his phone. "If it's okay with you its okay with-" His faces pales even more than before as the seconds tick by. After a little while he stands up, eyes scanning the room. I push off my legs to stand next to him.

"What's the matter Alek? Is there some kind of danger?" He isn't listening to me. He pockets his phone and walks over to the door.

"I'll see you later, Chloe." he says, not even looking at me.

"Yeah. See you later," I say softly, feeling rejected and ignored. Once he leaves I sigh heavily looking at the mess around me. Lana's passed out on the floor and that's only the beginning of it. I walk over to the phone and dial 911, the story already waiting on my lips.

Alek POV

I call Jasmine and tell her I need several guards watching Chloe now. I then make my way over 7th avenue, looking around for what I'm supposedly waiting for.

After a couple of minutes I take out my phone to reread the text and make sure I understood correctly.

His name was Bradley. He had a wife and three children; one teenage boy and two girls under the age of nine. Do you understand? We've hypnotized him to the point where he was willing to die to kill her. And there are more. So many more. How are you planning to fight an enemy that wants to die? Give me your leader and this will end. Get into the taxi on 7th and 28th in seven minutes. Number 666. I'll be waiting.

God, Alek. What are you getting yourself into?

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