The chaos we are

Patience has never been one of Ava's traits.

Even back then, when she was just a little kid, finding her way from one orphanage to another, she had those huge green eyes and a creepy smile that, alongside her happy jumps, made every couple run away.

Ahh! None of them deserved her glitter-coated heart.

Time couldn't change her, but it at least taught her one or two things. Acting was one of them, for example. Now, she was able to sit behind this table, play with the roses, and act as if she was not being stood up.

Just a rich, innocent girl, enjoying one of her ordinary evenings among these fancy people.

“He's not coming. It's almost been half an hour,” Remy’s voice filled her ears. “Just leave, you crazy girl.”

It had already been ten suffering minutes of his teammate encouraging her to leave the place.

Ava rolled her eyes, hating every moment of this evening.

Another reason why she wasn't made for these kinds of missions. The ones forcing you to appear in public and bear a little voice in your earpiece. She preferred her usual simple duties.

Find the target and shoot.

Well...she had added another step which she called 'playtime'. It was fun. Probably not for the targets, as they all screamed.

Bringing the glass of water next to her mouth, she whispered. “I'm enjoying my time, thanks.”

“It's possible that the mission leaked.” He nagged. “Oh god, they shouldn't've replaced Megan.”

Yeah, she could agree with that. Megan would've been a better fit and she had been working on this case until the very last moment, when they called her for another mission.

‘They needed her talent somewhere else’ As the boss said.

“Don’t be angry. I'll bring you roses.” Ava said sweetly.

That made Remy shut up.

Let's just say people didn't like it when Ava gave them roses. It was usually the last thing they saw.

Rubbing her scarlet-painted lips together, she looked at her image in the compact mirror while mentally noting everything and everyone in the lavish restaurant.

It wasn't a very big place, but cozy enough for couples to choose here for their dates.

Her table was in a hidden section on the second floor, giving her a great look at people below through the glass floor.

Most of the tables were occupied by lovers holding hands, whispering sweet shit to each other, and giggling.

The waiter had already asked her three times if she wanted to order. The only reason they hadn't kicked her out was her date's name.

Christian Astor.

A powerful name that was enough to make people bow, although he never appeared in public events or allowed pictures. People just knew that he was a private person, unaware of the dirty trades he did behind the scenes.

Just another loved criminal. Nothing new.

A happy melody started playing, and the next thing that got Ava's attention was the way everyone, including the waiters, started clapping while looking toward a specific point.

It wasn't hard to find the center of attention. With a little bending over the wooden railing and stretching her neck, she was able to spot a kneeling man with blond knots like a viking. From the excited shriek that escaped the brunette girl’s lips beside him, it was clear what was going on.

A proposal with lots of advance planning and enough tips for the staff to stay there and act as if they gave a shit.

‘So boring,’ Ava thought. ‘Where was the excitement? No shotguns. No screams. No bloody surprises.’

Ava would feel ashamed to tell her future grandchildren about this night if she were in the bride's shoes.

'Run, girl. This man will bore you to death in the future.'

For a solid moment, she really considered yelling those words, but when the girl started hysterically shouting yes, Ava bit her tongue.

“People really need to change their idea of a romantic proposal.”

The bored voice was so close that Ava almost jumped in her seat. Glancing at the chair in front of her, she raised an eyebrow.

For how long had he been there?

No, no. She wasn't distracted. Her full attention had been on her surroundings, and yet she didn't hear even the slightest sound warning her of this new presence.

Not cool at all!

The man, who probably wasn't older than thirty, was turning the pages of the menu like there were no worries in this fucking world.

His light blond hair was neat, yet somehow different from the polished version of all the rich assholes there.

“Is he there?” Remy sounded confused. “ None of our cameras caught him entering the restaurant.”

A puzzle! She liked that.

Ava aimed her emerald eyes at the guy and gave him an amused smile. “And what's your idea of a romantic date?”

The man smirked while skimming through the menu. “Midnight walks in haunted houses, illegal car races, trying unlicensed theme parks.” He shrugged. “I'm not very picky, honestly.”

Ava's smile stretched and a wave of surprise rushed over her body. Not the kind of answer she expected from people who ate here. Especially not Christian.

Something was not right and…Ava was devouring the sudden rush of adrenaline.

Pushing the short black strands of hair behind her ear, she said. “Christian, right?”

He finally looked up, and gave her a wink. “Were you waiting for someone else?”

He wasn't Christian, and something deep down told Ava that the man in front of her was more than just a simple intruder. Yet she didn't know that one of the most wanted serial killers of all time was sitting right beside her.

“Hey, Ava!” Remy’s shaky voice rose in her ear. “Something is wrong. I got Christian's mobile signal, and it's somewhere far from your place. Leave there. Right now! Can you hear me?”

Ava was aware of the risk, but she simply shut Remy's annoying voice off while touching the earpiece nonchalantly.

They were going to punish her for this later. Well, they should've expected this outcome before forcing the most chaotic killer of the team on this case.

Across the table, the blue eyes of the so-called Christian lingered on those red lips, not fooled for even a second that the girl had believed his act.

Thank god he wasn't dealing with one of those stupid ones.

Christian had a good taste.

Shame on him for being such a loser that he couldn't even raise his hand after Soren's first attack. He was tall and broad but weak inside. ‘Was’ being the keyword here.

Soren's plan had been simple: hack his phone, steal the information he needed, and then just give him a painful death. Nothing else.

But things got complicated when he started reading Christian’s chats with a mysterious woman.

She was cold, careful, and a rule follower. Answering all the man's questions in a pleasing way.

Even back then, everything had still been according to plan. Then, two days ago, on the same day Chrisatian spoke his last words to the death angel, something changed.

New messages appeared from the woman. But this time, they were more blunt, risk-driven and spiked with a bit of craziness.

The only combination he couldn't ignore.

So, he did the very logical thing and answered the messages, hardly restraining himself from adding his own taste of madness.

That fucker used to be boring and predictable, so Soren had no choice but to follow his methods. It was too soon for him to get caught.

Hard times.

It was true that some people stayed among living people even after death. Too bad it had to be him, a human trafficker who had caused lots of suffering.

Maybe Soren was not exactly in the right position to judge someone like him, but hey, he had his own morals, and hurting kids and innocent people crossed the line.

Ok, yeah, he would enjoy popping the kids’ balloons in the park, but his harm toward them would end there.

“I thought I'm being stood up.” The girl whose name had been saved as Clara said while playing with her glass. Her pale skin contrasted sharply with her shoulder-length night-black hair. Soren was tempted to ask if she was somehow related to Snow White.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had to help a friend move into his new place.” Soren smiled at Ava. One that people often mistook for purity. She did know that because she'd been giving the same smile to others for years.

“Is it a nice place?” Ava asked lazily.

“You could say that. A little bit cold and dark...” Soren scratched his chin. “..but a quiet neighborhood. Fine by me.”

They had been playing a dangerous game from the moment their eyes landed on each other, and neither of them was ready to back off.

Soren wasn't sure what the woman truly thought about his story. But one thing was for sure.

She wasn't scared at all.

Only if he knew Ava was experiencing one of the most enjoyable moments of her life.

The man sitting across from her had done something terrible to the real Christian, but it wasn't the bloody images in her mind that made her curious about the fake Christian.

She was invested in this conversation because this guy, whatever monster he was, hadn't told her a single lie. All her questions were answered smartly without revealing too much, but also without sounding fake.

The answer was clear.

He killed that fucking billionaire, and for some reason he didn't care if they figured it out. Either he was stupid or terrifyingly confident in himself.

The waiter arrived with a kind smile, asking for their orders, unaware of the deadly dance happening in front of him.

“Can I know what the chef's choice is?” Ava asked with a little frown, showing pure concern for the meal.

“Duck breast cooked in butter and garlic with orange sauce, madam.”

Before she could respond, Soren spoke. “I thought you were the type who would go for the roasted enemy meat with garlic sauce.”

A moment of awkward silence passed between the three of them just before Ava burst into laughter.

Remembering the serious expression on his face while saying the words was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

This new Christian was so quirky and obviously terrible at making jokes.

Christian no-way-in-hell-Astor was looking at her with raised eyebrows while resting his head against one hand.

He didn't expect Clara to understand his sense of humor. Most people couldn't. They would look at him like he was crazy, which he was by the way, and run in the opposite direction.

The same thing the miserable waiter was trying very hard not to do.

Soren was impressed at how he still managed to stay there and give them a horrified smile. Usually people were not that generous.

After Ava finally cleaned the last drop of tear from the corner of her eyes, she said. “I would've wanted their screams for the background music.”

This time it was Soren's time to let out a surprised laugh.

God, they were both truly dysfunctional.

The waiter, of course, was not capable of hiding his discomfort as he paled and took a step backward.

Finally, to make their weirdness slightly less obvious, they ordered two dishes of duck meat and two glasses of red wine.

“I've been wanting to ask you something, Clara.” The way Soren's tongue pressed a little harder than necessary against the fake name didn't escape Ava's notice. “What made you answer my texts on that dating app? ”

By reading all the chats, Soren had realized they first started talking through some fancy dating app for rich people.

Yet, he couldn't imagine how much planning Ava's teammates had put into creating a profile capable of catching Christian's attention.

The waiter returned with their drinks, and Ava used that moment to prepare her answer.

“I've seen my fair share of men, and now I'm an expert at distinguishing liars from kind-hearted men.” She took a sip from the wine. “They attract me.”

Ava's answers could sound sincere and normal. A girl in hope for the knight of her life to arrive.

But, Soren could hear the real meaning hidden beneath the pretty words about Christian.

'I know you are a liar, and the fact that you think you can play me, makes me want to accept the challenge.'

“What about you?” Ava asked. “ Why did you choose me?”

Soren tapped something in his Apple Watch while giving her the most villainous smile she had ever seen. “Sorry. You will never get your answer.”

‘Because you killed him,’ she thought.

Ava's eyes widened for the briefest second before she masked it with another smile. “Then let's drink to this surprise-filled night.” She raised her glass.

Soren didn't touch his own. Instead, he lifted his gaze from the wine and looked directly into her eyes with an unreadable expression.

He could admit that she was professional. No one would've even imagined the beautiful, innocent girl in front of him had slipped something into his drink.

She moved her fingers a lot. So after a while, you naturally stopped paying attention to them, and that would become your last mistake.

She had done it so quickly that even Soren was not entirely sure he had seen it correctly.

“Maybe next time.” He said softly. “ Now it's time to watch the stars.”

Ava frowned, but as she opened her mouth, a deafening ringing sound exploded through the restaurant, followed by scattered screams.

The smell of smoke filled her nose and the conclusion came immediately.

Fire!

Staff members rushed around while guiding customers toward the exits.

Somehow, Ava and Soren managed to follow the crowd and get out of the building.

During that time, the only thing running through Ava's mind was Soren's sentence and how he had known they would end up beneath the night sky.

That could mean only one thing.

Suddenly, her ankle twisted, and she started falling… only for Soren to catch her. “Got you, Petal.” He whispered in her ear.

Her hands lingered against his chest, surprised by the nickname, before she slowly stepped back and looked at the scene in front of them.

Even in the darkness, smoke could be seen rising from the left side of the building and disappearing into the starry night.

Beautiful!

“You were right. The sky is mesmerizing tonight...” She turned her head only to find the empty space beside her.

Looking around at the wandering customers, there was no sight of Fake Christian.

He had slipped into the darkness the way he came out of it like a nightmare.

Glancing one last time at the damaged building, she pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing at this fucking night.

One night together and fire was the outcome. She wondered what would happen if they met again. She would surely ask for his real name this time.

Then, she touched her earpiece again, allowing Remy’s angry voice back in as she started walking toward her one and only home.

From the shadows across the street, Soren watched the girl disappear into the distance, already knowing he would never forget this night.

He shoved both hands into his pockets and started walking in the opposite direction, only to stop midway.

Taking his right hand out, a real smile appeared on his face.

Oh, this girl.

He looked down at the rose petal resting in his palm. Then, he carefully slipped it back into the pocket before leaving his latest crime scene.