[Uhaku]

Volkster - LOL @ u wanting to kill Young! So he's the established bad guy of the story, eh. I'll look into that, see if I could do something more with this character.

Showmelove - I hope Roland isn't that evil, but u know i'm evilleeeeee!

Dare - Looool. I liked that part, too. I'm just hoping u won't hate me by the time i make Lena knows what she was doing.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>

CHAPTER 20


In the tiny motel room Lena had made home for the past three weeks, Lena folded her fresh,
new clothes and put them at the end of the bed. She had been clearing up the room and
prepared for leaving tomorrow morning. She had regained enough strength and didn’t wish to
stay longer for Holden to catch her. Her wound began to heal, but she still took anesthetic almost daily.

She poured herself a glass of warm water and sat down at the desk. Grabbing a pen and a
crumpled piece of paper from the drawer, she started to write something. There were
already four previous entries on the paper. Drawn by the calmness of the night, she wrote
down whatever that came to her mind, smiling in amazement as she remembered bits and
pieces of details that meant nothing in her daily lives; the creamy stain left at the bottom of
the milk bottles she left in front of her room yesterday morning. The little, blonde girl in a
white coat wished on a dandelion in the street. The homeless man sat along the railway,
praying aloud to the skies for more snow and hotdogs. Yulia’s small, bare feet rested on her laps.

Resting her chin on her palm, Lena ticked the tip of the pen against the desk, staring out at
nothing in particular. A knock came upon the door, and she slowly turned. She opened the
door without grabbing the gun, knowing who it was.

In a creamy nightgown, Yulia quietly entered. She brought her own belongings with her
because they would be leaving early tomorrow morning. She put her stuff at the end of the
bed next to Lena’s, and climbed onto the bed.

Lena returned to the desk and jotted down one last thought that came to her mind. The
sweetest smile she had ever seen unexpectedly happened to be Yulia’s.

After Lena turned the light off, she followed Yulia into the warmth of the soft blanket. She
carefully lied down and rested her head on Yulia’s shoulder. Yulia gently put her free hand
over Lena’s slightly heaving chest. Lying still, Lena could feel the stare from the blue eyes in
the darkness at the corner of her eyes. The stare was getting closer as the air lighter and
lighter, and Lena finally fell into a peaceful slumber.


>>>


The skies were dark gray at six o’clock in the morning. Lena was already standing at the
platform, waiting to catch the train to New York City. She needed to stay out of Chicago
scene for a while. She planned to ring Roland afterwards. Knowing that Holden Young was
acquainted with a few high rank cops, he might try to press murder charge against her. Until
then, she could always catch an ocean liner and fled to Europe. With all the money she had
made the past three years, she could easily settle down somewhere in London and started a
new life. Berlin also sounded enticing with its notorious reputation of social openness.

Lena stuffed her several fake passports and I.D. the landlord got for her into the pocket inside
her new coat. The landlord made sure that nobody suspected him and came near their hiding
place. Holden must have his men watching at this very train station, but Lena was careful
enough to wear a hat and a wool scarf, concealing her trademark auburn hair. In black
clothes, she blended in with the crowd just fine.

Volkova was in a gray hat, a thick gray coat and black stockings. She was here to send Lena
off, before heading back home, as Lena demanded.

“Have a safe trip,” Yulia said, looking away.

Lena studied Yulia a bit. Those blue eyes so cold she thought she heard Yulia wishing the
train would derail. For the past three weeks, the blonde stayed in the room opposite to hers.
But when the night fell, Yulia would come and snug in with her. Lena never chased her away,
nor openly welcomed her. Surprisingly, the persistent stare from the blue eyes became
addictive somehow. She was getting used to the uncomfortable silence before falling asleep.
Without a word, they would just lay asleep in each other’s arms. Lena now started to think of
things to do to make her fall asleep as she was already missing Volkova’s warm breaths on her
neck when the nights got colder.

After New Year’s Eve, Lena did nothing to continue the kiss that started their year. She had
more important and urgent things to do to have Yulia in her mind. She was on the run and
didn’t know how long it would take for this case to quiet down. Her father had sworn after
Mason that he would take no part in her life again, and she would not blame him if he kept his
words. He helped her once, and it was over between them.

“I believe you’ve forgotten something,” Yulia said, taking a folded paper out of her pocket.

Lena froze; what in Yulia’s hand was the page of temporary journal she wrote before going to bed.

“Your handwriting is pretty bad. I’m surprised you know how to write.”

Lena snatched the paper from Yulia and balled it in her gloved fist.

“Oh, I didn’t read it, sweetheart.” Yulia rolled her eyes.

“I know. I won a handwriting contest. First prize.”

Yulia giggled, and Lena rudely drew the scarf off her face, wanting to catch the last smile.
Locked in Lena’s intent gaze, Yulia stood still, glancing down at her feet.

“Umm—err—you write everywhere you go?”

“Sometimes,” Lena replied sternly.

“Sometimes,” Yulia said, nodding lightly, “You must have a huge stack of papers crammed together.”

Lena took one look at the blonde and then put the crumpled paper back into Yulia’s
hand. “Thank you.” She turned around and boarded the train.

Keeping her gaze down, Yulia just nodded. She stared at the paper and then carefully flattened it out.

January 1st 1936:

A beautiful night to start a new year. I hope it stays this way… She surprised me by showing
up tonight. Thanked God she was on my side, or I’d be dead by now. How short life could
be… A strange thing happened. We kissed. Briefly. The more I think about it, the more I
agree that she tasted sweeter than the pink champagne. I just wished it’d lasted longer in my mouth…

Someone is knocking on my door. I hope it is Holden, so we could have a quick talk once and
for all. On the other thought, he wouldn’t be so polite knocking on my door, would he?

“Pink champagne—pink… Oh, no…!”

Yulia’s head shot up. She rushed towards the train that was leaving the platform. If she were
not wearing a skirt, she could have jumped on board in time. People turned and stared at
her. Some were yelling for her not to get too close to the train.

Panting, she watched the train slowly disappear from her sight. It was too late now, and she
didn’t even say goodbye. In the watchful eye of the passersby, she walked away from the
platform in defeat.

When Yulia exited the revolving door to the curbside, she paused at a newsstand. The
headline caught her eyes. VOLKOV ARRESTED. She stopped dead when she saw her father’s
picture just below the headline.

“Taxi!” She instantly sped to cut the line to catch a cab home.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>


CHAPTER 21


“Mother…!” Yulia burst through the front door to find the mansion dead quiet. There were
no guards at the main gates. The front door was left open, letting the cold wind in and
cooling the whole hall. The maids had all disappeared and the place seemed to be left in a
hurry. In the middle of the main hall, a Hellenistic-style figure her father collected was thrust
to the floor, breaking its head. Pieces of broken glasses were scattered by the kitchen
entrance. Some of the curtains were half hanging down.

“Alex! Is anyone here!?” Yulia called out, tears in her eyes. She stumbled to the bottom of
the spiral stairs, but her leg froze, not daring to move up. She felt as though she was in a
nightmare. Her world had turned upside down in just three weeks.

“They’re all gone, madam.”

Yulia spun around.


>>>


“She must have been so shocked to see her home like that. I did feel bad for her. A little.
Holden played it rather harsh.”

Inside a room on the train, Lena sat absolutely still in her seat, lightly pressing her hand against
the wound. The tremor from the train was more than she expected.

“Are you all right?”

Lena didn’t answer right away. She looked out at the darkness outside through the window,
and then returned her attention to the dark-haired woman opposite to her. Angela left the
ranch and joined Lena at the fifth stop. Angela proved to be a fast driver, and a cunning spy
sent to infiltrate the Volkov by a Chicago-base detective.

Lena had been in contact with Angela ever since they met at the dinner party at the ranch.
Angela never came back from the store after Mrs. Volkova sent her to get some beer. Lena
knew just the reason of it. She remembered Angela from one of the police files, and with just
one look at each other, Angela knew she had been caught.

After Lena and Roland left the ranch, they stopped by the store, and Lena let Roland go
home first. She found Angela there, catching the spy by surprise. Lena knew just how to
convince her to remain with the Volkov for any possible use in the future.

“I’m fine,” Lena replied, taking a gulp of water. She had learned of Dimitri’s arrest from the
newspaper she read on the train this morning. She wondered if she would get on the train if
she knew it beforehand. But she wasn’t much of any help at the moment. She needed to
take care of Holden Young before jumping in to give young Volkova a hand.

“You look pale and tired. You should have waited a little longer. I could have kept Holden’s
men away for another week or so.”

Angela moved to sit beside Lena and wiped the sweat beads from her face.

“I couldn’t wait to get out of that motel. It made me sick.” Lena sipped some more water.
She couldn’t afford to have Volkova staying with her any longer. It was too dangerous.

Smiling, Angela leaned back and watched Lena for a while. “I still can’t believe you did it. You
put him down, and here you are…”

“I made it only because you helped me.”

Angela laughed throatily, her charming voice a tune lower than Lena’s. “Will the Irish take up
another partner now?” she asked, reaching for Lena’s hand.

“You already are. Mine.” The Irish leaned in and kissed Angela.

Angela swung her arms around Lena’s neck, holding onto her and gripping her collar. “You
have no idea how worried I was to see you coming into Volkova’s room, injured like that. You
could have died right then.”

“I could have died many times. But it didn’t happen, so there’s no reason to worry now,”
Lena stated as a matter of fact. As much as it hurt, she pulled Angela close, holding her in her arms.

“But—Hmm, I’m rather glad that you decided to leave sooner. I couldn’t stand another day of
you spending with that vamp. I know just how she is,” Angela said, smirking.

“How?” Lena muttered, kissing the base of Angela’s smooth, beautiful neck.

“She’s a player. She’s manipulative. She’s stunning. I hate her.”

Lena just chortled, gazing at Angela’s full lips. She realized how her stare affect the people
around her. Although she disagreed with what Angela had said, she didn’t care to object
aloud. Volkova couldn’t play her. She couldn’t manipulate her, and she hadn’t charmed her.
No? No. No?

“Why are you shaking your head?” Angela asked.

“I can’t see you hate someone. You don’t have it in you,” Lena recovered with ease, smiling lightly.

“I assume that you do? Why did you kill Mason? It couldn’t have been for money.” Angela
playfully curled Lena’s hair around her fingers.

Lena drew along the midsection of Angela’s chest, unbuttoning the first button with a flick of
her finger. She gradually took Angela’s nipple in her mouth, causing Angela to gasp. She
stopped and looked up at the dark-haired one.

“Hate. It brings out the worst in you.”

Head heavy with desire, Angela raised her hands up, cupping Lena’s face. “It brought you to
me,” she whispered.


>>>


Yulia had withdrawn the remaining two thousands dollars out of the only bank account she
had available at the moment. The police were investigating all of the accounts under her
father’s name. She wondered how long she could go on with this amount of money.

In Tonya’s bedroom, she paced around, frowning and cursing. Ever since her father was
arrested, everyone panicked and left to find another job. Angela was the last to leave. The
maid told her that the mansion was left without master since Mrs. Volkova and her son had
fled almost two weeks prior to this. No one knew of their whereabouts.

“Oh, Yulia, you needn’t worry because you can stay with me for as long as you like!” Tonya
put up a smile for her friend.

Yulia sighed, sinking down on the bed. Tonya knelt down before her.

“They left without me.” Yulia swallowed her tears. She never would have expected this to
happen. Holden Young was certainly behind this arrest of her father. She buried her face in
her palms. “It’s my fault. They thought my father helped Lena because of me…”

“Oh, please don’t break down now! My father’s friend works at the immigration office. I’ll ask
them to see if they had any idea where your mother and Alex were heading!” Tonya tightly
held her friend’s hands. “Your father will be so happy just to see you back safely!”

“What’s the point? I’m back to see him behind the bars!”

Frowning, Tonya became reluctant. “What happened that night, Yulia? Why did you just
disappear?”

“I… If I didn’t help her, she’d die.”

“For the love of God, let her! Why did you risk your life, your family, for some girl you have
just got to know!?”

Yulia looked down instantly. “I didn’t think it’d come to this… I didn’t know…” She had always
thought that her father was untouchable. Nothing could bring him down or hurt him. But
even at this moment, she wasn’t sure if she would ever leave Lena to die up in her bedroom.
Lena didn’t seem like a bad person after all. What was done was done. And, for some reason,
she still believed that there would be a way to help her father out of this.

“I will speak to Holden.”

Tonya’s eyes widened as if she was having a panic attack. “NO! That’s not going to happen!
He has just put your father in jail, and if you bother him, he will kill you for sure! You will not
do it! You will not do anything for a while, and that’s final!”

Yulia’s head shot up. “I know! Let’s go to Mr. Myer! He might be able to help!”

“All right. That sounds a little better.” Tonya stared at her friend for a second. “He came to
visit me so often, asking me if I had any lead of you. He was really worried.”

“Poor, Mr. Myer. He should be since his friend is still missing.”

Shaking her head, Tonya sighed in disbelief. “What is that? You seem to want to shove Mr.
Myer right back into the Irish’s arms! What is going on here? I thought you wanted him for yourself!”

“Of course, I do!” Yulia looked bewildered as she said it.

“But?”

“But…” Yulia shook her head, looking away again. “But Lena is still weak. She might be in
trouble now for all I know—”

“She could be in trouble for all I care. For heaven’s sake, Yulia, dear, please do not— I repeat,
do not fall in love with her. She’s just so—so wrong for you!” Tonya detected the grim
look in Yulia’s eyes. She sat down and took Yulia’s hand.

“How do you know she’s wrong for me?” Yulia grumbled like a child.

“I just sense it, and I was never wrong.”

“But she kissed me back.”

Tonya’s jaws dropped before she spoke again. “She kissed you back! She kissed you back
because you kissed her first—because you were so easy to read! She doesn’t like you, Yulia!”

Yulia shot up from the bed and paced around. She regretted having let it out to Tonya. “You
wouldn’t understand. She… You wouldn’t understand—”

“What happened? Please tell me what happened.” Tonya looked horrified.

“Nothing happened. We just had one kiss. That was all.”

“Was not! One kiss in three weeks? One kiss when you two were all alone, having only
each other in sight?”

“She was sick, all right? Why should I lie to you? You even said it yourself that she wasn’t into
humans.” Yulia grunted as if it were such a failure not having scored the Irish.

“I have never seen you like this with someone who had just one kiss with you. Oh, Yulia,
please, you should know that she’s wrong for you now that your father is in jail because of
her. Am I right?”

“But it’s not her fault. She had no choice.”

“Right, that’s enough! You’re protecting her because of just one kiss! I can’t imagine what
you’d do if—if—never mind me, please!” Tonya barked, veins visibly popping up along her neck.

Sighing, Yulia retreated to the French doors to the balcony. “I would have said the same
thing even if we didn’t kiss. She had to do what she needed to.”

“And you had to do what you had to,” Tonya said, watching her friend in defeat.