Elijah’s movements were taut and precise as he headed to the door. Looking through the peephole, he discovered that nobody was there, however, he hadn’t mistaken the bell that rang moments ago. So his finger curled around the trigger, not really pulling, but there, just in case.
And then, in one swift motion, he unlocked the door, kicking it far open and waiting for his opponent to strike first, but all he saw was someone standing up immediately and his gun was already aimed at his, no, her... head?
“Adele?” His eyes expressed shock and then, he lowered his weapon, exhaling loudly through his nose. He had been seconds away from blasting her head off.
“Geez, that was scary,” Adele pointed out his unexpected “welcome”. She stared at him suspiciously, wondering why he was all tensed up and Elijah upon sensing that, offered an explanation immediately.
“You never told me you were coming, so when I looked and didn’t see anybody, I thought that it was, you know...” He hinted at their common enemy, Elijah aka him. This game was no longer funny, it was beginning to get real and he has no idea how it would end anymore.
“Oh,” Adele understood. It didn’t cross her mind that he was struggling because of that incident. He must be traumatized and it was all because of her.
However, she pushed the guilty thoughts to the back of her mind instantly. Aziz worked for them now and must know that incidents like this one would be a normal occurrence.
Moreover, she had high expectations of him and he shouldn’t ruin that by showing weakness. Adele went back to being the strong woman she was; there was no place for unnecessary emotion.
“I’m sorry for frightening you unintentionally. You must have not seen me through the peephole earlier because I bent to retrieve one of my stuff that fell,” She offered him an explanation and that was when Elijah looked down to discover both shopping bags on her sides.
.....
He lifted his head, looking at her questioningly,” What is this? ”
“I presumed that you haven’t been able to do much with your injured arm but I see that you’re much better than I thought.”
“Yeah, I heal quite quickly,” Elijah said, hoping that she took that as a cue to leave. Although it was disrespectful, right now, he had Jason probably hiding somewhere in the house, not to mention that he needed to rescue Arianna. He couldn’t afford to waste more time than he didn’t have. He needed to think, plan and of course, suit up for action. And all of them needed time.
“I see,” Adele nodded, “But that doesn’t mean I won’t return the favor,” She said, already stepping into the house before he could stop her.
Elijah groaned inwardly, this was going to be much more difficult than he thought. Hence, he only looked left and right and when he came up with nothing, he shut his door and went after her. After all, who knows where Jason was hiding.
“Nice house you have here,” Adele said, placing the bag on that table before taking off the gloves she had been wearing. She said, “As payment for saving my life, I decided to do something I have never done before,”
“Which is?” Elijah asked, having a bad feeling about this. He stood in the room awkwardly while trying to sense where Jason was. He said there were Luciano people outside, so he couldn’t risk leaving through the window.
“I decided to be domestic,” Adele winked at him.
And that, my dear, is a nightmare, Elijah knew he was going to regret this and it happened as he feared.
“However,” Adele went on, “It seems you are quite a clean freak,” She said, observing the surroundings before her gaze flickered to him.
Adele looked at Elijah as if seeing him in a new light and that unsettled the mercenary who thought otherwise. Has he given her another reason to suspect that he was Elijah?
“I like tidy men,” Adele said without putting much meaning into it and Elijah was able to release a sigh of relief. He was safe. But then, Adele was being strange. Yes, he could feel it. Was she feeling that indebted to him?
“However, I doubt that your fridge would be stocked. I know men, you are all so lazy,” Adele said, pulling up both bags and going in search of the fridge.
“Seriously, you don’t need to...” Every one of Elijah’s protests fell on deaf ears as she searched fervently and finally located it in the kitchen with him trailing behind her.
“Found it!” Adele giggled as if she had stumbled on gold. She put the bags down and opened the fridge only to have the smile slip off her face. Because she was staring at a well-stocked fridge to the point that there wasn’t even space for the things she had bought.
Disappointment washed over Adele immediately. She had lived around men all of her life and knew their careless manner when it came to anything concerning the kitchen, especially the ones from their gang.
This was the first time she was experiencing one like Aziz and it made her cheeks heat up with shame.
She had gone out of her comfort zone to do something he would really appreciate but it seems she was wrong. No, all of her efforts were in vain.
Elijah saw the disappointment on her face and was unsure of what to do. It was obvious that she had put much thought into coming here today. He had to help her.
But then, what about Arianna? He was conflicted. However, Jason said this was a suicide mission, and he might have to listen to him this time. Moreover, he had to gain Adele’s trust, and these little things matter.
So he waved his hand in her face and she looked up at him with her sullen expression. Elijah smiled at her, “I haven’t eaten though,” He gave her a chance to be domestic.
Adele gave him a small smile in return, “Breakfast then,”