My Worst Enemy

@Ana Maria: Thank you so much for the nice review. Don't worry, I can read Spanish better than can I write or speak :) But yes, if anything, I will try google translate. I really do love to read your reviews.

I hope you all will like this chapter. I am sorry I haven't updated for two days but this one is extra long to make up for my late update :) Enjoy!!

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Chapter 4.-

The alarm clock made a strident noise, making her ears ring. She growled and threw her hand in the air hitting the annoying machine who was disturbing her well-deserved sleep. She sighed happily when silence came back in the room and opened one eye to look for her husband. But she turned over, pulling the pillow over her head, when she saw the empty place next to her. She got herself more comfortable between the sheets and sighed again. It felt really great to have those five minutes ahead to just lie quietly in the bed before having to rush out.

And why did she have to get up again? It's not like she was in a hurry to go to work, especially on a Sunday morning. Lately, the job she'd been loving so much and dreamed of doing ever since she was a little girl, had weighted heavily on her shoulders. And even though she thought about quitting too many times to count, she knew she would never be able to. She loved her job too damn much. She was six when she had first witnessed her father manhandling and putting the cuffs on a thud who had tried to rob their house, and since that day, she had been mesmerized and obsessed by the beauty of it. She watched the whole scene with her mouth wide open with a shining and excited gaze.

It was that day that she had falling in love with her job. The thrill, the passion, the dominance; She wanted to live it all to the fullest. She was breathing and living for that fulfilling moment when she would nail a man's head to floor with her foot and tell him that he was under arrest. It almost had an aphrodisiac effect on her. It made her head turn with the adrenaline flowing in her veins and her heart racing, exploding in her chest. She was born to be a police officer and she had dedicated her whole life to being the best. So good, that after her father had taken his retirement four years ago, she had immediately put herself forward to replace him as chief of the police department.

She knew that behind her back, everybody was saying that she only got the job because she was the boss' daughter but she knew that she had worked twice as hard as anybody else and that she deserved it more than half of the other people who postulated. And the twinkle of pure pride she saw in her father's eyes, when she was sworn in, was the most rewarding prize she could ever receive. And everything had gone very smoothly. Her father had spent months, filling her in all the big deals that were going on, the big mafia bosses to keep an open eye on and she knew very single dark corner of the city.

A lot of the citizens were still trying to bring her down, still offended that a woman was now in charge of their security and was blaming her for every little robbery that happened in the less privileged neighborhoods. But the complaints never bothered her. They were in contrary pushing her to do more, to be the absolute best. No, what bothered her and made her job a living hell was her twin sister.

Physically speaking, they looked exactly the same but couldn't be any more different. Well… not totally but they never had the same point of views. They had the same passion for the adrenaline kicking somebody's balls provided but they were using it for very different reasons. They were like the two sides of the same medallion. One good and the other, evil. And right now, the evil seemed to want to take over and control her as well. And she couldn't allow herself to dirty up her job's ethics anymore than she had already done to protect her sister. But could she arrest her own sister? And with all the powerful hands she had behind her, she'd be out within the next minute anyway. So, what was the point? The only choice she had was to quit. But her job was all of her life, all she got.

Just as to remind her of that fact, the alarm buzzed again and this time, she jumped out of the bed, ready to attack the new day. She headed to the bathroom but stopped as she smelled the sweet aroma of the coffee spreading throughout the whole house. She turned around and ran down the stairs to the kitchen, a huge grin on her face. But she stopped again in front of the openned door and smiled even wider, her heart jumping in her chest.

Three years that they were married but she still loved him just like the first day they had met in high school. She looked languorously at the pure coffee-colored, buffed man standing in front of the coffee maker and bit her lip of desire. He wasn't wearing any shirt and his muscles were bulging under every move he made. He normally wore his hair braided but this time, he had let them up into a big fro and his swirly curls were still shinning with the drops of water from his shower. She walked silently behind him and put two fingers behind his back, talking with a very sultry voice, her mouth near his ear.

"Drop everything and put your hands in the air right now mister."

He released the cup he was holding and put his hands up.

"I'm innocent madam officer." He replied with false scare in his voice.

"Oh no, you're not." she murmured back, this time pressing her body against him and caressing his chiseled stomach with her hand thrown around him. "You're guilty of being too damn sexy. I will need to frisk you…" her hands slid down to his pants and she pressed on his member. "… to make sure you're not wearing any hard weapon on you."

He laughed and turned around, hugging her against him. "Oh keep your hands to yourself madam officer. I am a married man. My wife would be really pissed."

She pulled up on her toes to kiss his lips very softly and, pressing her body even more against him, murmured languorously as she undeniably felt her desire wakening up. "I'm sure I could arrange something with her. It's a shame to keep all that hotness for only one person."

He lowered his hands and held her ass very tightly bringing her hips against his.

"You're a naughty woman Mrs. Elisabeth Pierre." He whispered, kissing her neck.

But she backed out of his embrace and put her hands against his muscled chest.

"That's madam chief of police for you Mr. Max Pierre."

He lifted her up, carried her effortlessly to the kitchen island and stepped between her opened legs. She closed her eyes as his hands were slowly caressing her back and his lips kissing her neck again, slowly running on her skin. She couldn't refrain to shiver at the warmth against her skin and her legs enclosed around her, bringing him even closer to her own warmth heating in her groin.

"Am I going to jail… madam chief of police?"

Elisabeth was breathless, feeling the butterflies in her stomach grow bigger and multiplying. God did she love that man!

"Maybe I can forgive you." She answered in a voice husked by her desire. "If you be my slave and do as I say to please me."

She moaned when he slid his hand underneath her satin nightgown and caressed her inner thigh. She was nothing but a trembling leaf in his hands and he knew exactly how to drive her crazy.

"And exactly what would you have me do madam?"

She ran her fingers in his black curly mane and pulled his head back, kissing him with hunger and passion. She felt his fingers pinching her nipples and she let go of anything that was still holding her sanity in place and let him take her far away.

A while later, sweating and panting, she let herself fall on the kitchen tiles, her body still quivering under the aftershocks of her orgasm. She turned to look at her husband who was laying next to her, lovingly smiling to her.

"Have I pleased my mistress?" Max asked with a slow voice.

She giggled and ran a finger on his strong jaw. "More than she would want to admit."

He smirked and kissed her lips before standing up then helped her up, holding her by the hands.

"Come on. You're going to be late for work."

Elisabeth growled, her lips coming up to a little pout like a little child who had just been reminded that she had to go to school but followed her husband up the stairs with a slow step.

"Yeah! Work." She whispered acerbically, not even trying to hide the sour tone in her voice. "I'm the chief, I shouldn't be working on Sundays."

Max chuckled lightly. "Great power comes with great responsibilities. And besides, what would they do without you? You're the best there is."

"Right." Elisabeth snorted, following him in the bedroom. "Speaking of… what are your plans for today?"

Max shrugged and walked into the bathroom to turn on the sink faucet.

"I have three new singles to mix-up and a recording, scheduled at three. So I will practically be in the studio all day long." He walked back into the bedroom and watched his wife getting undressed. "Why?" he added, getting a shirt out of the closet then put it on, his dark pupils stuck on his wife.

Elisabeth looked at her husband fixedly before shaking her head. "Oh, I don't know." She finally answered, standing completely naked in the room. "I was thinking that maybe we could have lunch or something."

Max gave her a sad smile and walked up to her, framing her head in his hands. "I'm sorry dolly but I will be very busy all day long. How about I take you to dinner tonight? Then we can go dancing. I heard T-Vice is playing at Kay Atizan."

"Al right. I guess we can do that." Elisabeth shrugged and smiled when he pecked her nose.

"I have to run but I'll call you as soon as I can okay?" Max kissed her one more time before heading downstairs.

Long after the front door was shut after him, Elisabeth was still standing in the middle of the room, feeling tears in her eyes. It pained her so much when her husband was lying to her like that but of course, she could never tell him that she knew that he wouldn't be spending the day in his recording studio. He had no idea that she knew exactly where he would be and what he would be doing. Her phone rang at the same moment and Elisabeth repressed her tears, forcing herself to pick it up. She shook her head, her heart aching when she recognized the number. But she answered anyway, knowing her sister would not give up until she did.

"Yes, Shelly."

"You're crying. Why?"

Elisabeth swallowed the ball clogging her throat and threw her hand in the air. "Nothing. What is it?"

"Well you tell me. Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Shelly." She answered with a pained voice. "Everything is oaky... and ready."

"Good and keep your husband out of our way."

Her sister hung up and Elisabeth felt the tears slowly flowing down her cheeks for good this time. All the reasons why she had became a cop in the first place were all gone. Now, she was just a dirty cop living to obey her sister's orders and make sure that the love of her life didn't get too close to the truth. If he only knew, he would probably leave her and she couldn't let that happen. He meant everything to her. She exhaled and forced herself to the bathroom where she hoped to wash away all the dirty things she's done over the last few years.

Two hours later, she was sitting behind her desk, studying a report on a bust to a drugs dealer's house that the night team had made the night before, when her sister called her again. She frowned, feeling worried. Did they finally kill her husband?

"Hello." She answered anxiously, her heart beating fast.

"Hey, I don't know what the fuck happened but Andryse didn't kill him in the plane. We're gonna have to move in. I need you to clean after us, all right?"

Elisabeth closed her eyes, breathing in with more difficulty. "Is my husband with him?"

"Yeah. They're heading to the church."

"Make sure he leaves before you start shooting."

"Hey, won't be my fault if he gets caught in the cross fire a'ight? You gotta learn to keep him on a leash. He's you freaking husband after all, not mine."

Elisabeth slowly put the phone down and stared blankly at the wall, waiting for the emergency call that will send her flying across town, to clean up after her sister's murder. A few minutes later, her assistant knocked on the door and hurried inside.

"There's a shooting on Rue Magny, in front of the church. We have to go."

She nodded to him before he went back outside and she stood up slowly, putting her gun back into the holster around her waist. "Here we go again." She whispered to herself.

When she arrived on the scene, she was expecting to see an foreigner's dead body but was surprised to see two other guys on the floor, both shot in the head. Although she was happy her husband's body wasn't there as well, she scratched her head trying to understand where the other body she was told would be there, was. Her cop instincts came back and she studied the scene carefully. She stood in front of the window and noticed the parcels of glass laying down in the street and the bullets lodged in the car that must have been used a shield. She immediately concluded that the dead men were probably shooting at the American who must have jumped out the window, hid behind the car and somehow got away alive.

The fact that he survived the jump was pretty remarkable in itself but to manage escaping from Patron's ruthless men was just amazing. She ordered her team to swipe for fingerprints although she doubted finding any and went back downstairs to interview a few witnesses. As she was walking to the church in a quiet pace, something attracted her stare and she saw her husband distinctive fro, hidden behind a small bush. If it wasn't for the tall hair, he could have easily been unnoticed.

"What are you still doing here baby?" she whispered to herself while she continued walking. "Go home or anywhere else but get out of here." She added as she stepped on the sidewalk, smiling to an old woman whose body was obviously shaking, holding on strongly to her bible and a white rosary. "Hello mam." she said amicably in french. "My name is Elisabeth Pierre and I will be doing the investigation on the…"

"I don't know anything." The lady quickly interrupted, her head down. Elisabeth frowned and watched her fingers running on the rosary as if she was reciting a prayer. She sighed inwardly.

"Well maybe you've seen the faces…" Elisabeth continued quietly not so surprised that the woman didn't want to say anything.

It was really rare that anybody ever wanted to make a confession after one of those shootings for most of the ones who did, ended up dead the next morning. But it was routine and she had to do it, at least to show that she was doing some kind of a job. But the lady shook her head again and spoke with an even shakier voice.

"I'm just an old woman. I haven't seen anything I tell you. Now leave me alone."

Elisabeth nodded and watched her leave with the help of a young lady accompanying her, who had been told to shut it by the old woman. She sighed and checked one more time if her husband was still there and cussed silently when she could still see his hair through the branches. What was he still doing here?

There were a few other people standing in front of the church, talking to the other police officers and Elisabeth noticed a young man giving details to her assistant. She walked up to them and introduced herself. The young man nodded and continued in his tale.

"He ran down this way." He pointed to the direction down the street. "Maybe you can still catch him." He added looking at Elisabeth, an exciting glaze in his eyes.

"Great, thank you." Elisabeth nodded, suddenly feeling excited. She turned to one of the officers placing the perimeters. "Jean-Baptiste, the suspect ran down this way, get your car and go get him. And don't get back without him."

The young officer nodded enthusiastically before running to his car and Elisabeth watched him go with his sirens blazing. With a little chance, maybe she could deliver the American to Patron herself. She turned around and continued with the questioning, with more than half of the people there who had suddenly become blind and deaf. After a good half hour, she decided to go get her report from the forensics team and as she thought, they all came out negative. All the guns had disappeared and all the bullets weren't traceable. She asked them however to take everything to the lab, knowing that it was just a waste of time anyway. But again, that was her job.

She walked up to the car that had served as a shield and examined the bullets holes. By the size of them, she could easily say that they were using huge artillery and once again, frowned thinking that the American was either very good or was the luckiest bastard on the planet. But then again, Andryse didn't kill him in the plane so maybe he was just really lucky. Or there was something going on that she just didn't know about. Elisabeth stood up and shook her head. No, luck had nothing to do with it. She knew Andryse. If the American was still alive, it was because she wanted him to be. But why?

She picked up her phone but quickly put it back in her belt as her assistant was walking up to her. Peterson Mackenson was a short 27 year old light-skinned guy whose dream was to become the chief of police one day but had a profound respect for his superior. He was learning so much from Elisabeth whom he had a huge crush on and sometimes, really felt intimidated by her. Elisabeth knew of his feelings for her but tried never to take advantage of them. She knew what loving someone meant and was as gently as possible with him, always making sure that their relationship stayed on the professional level. He closed the notebook he was writing the witnesses scarce confessions in and bobbed his head to her.

"So what do you think boss? Patron or just a random shooting?"

"Nothing is random in this country Peter." Elisabeth answered, her eyes furtively turning to her husband still watching them, hidden behind the bush. "But I can't say for sure that it was Patron either."

"I think it was him." Peter ventured. "People not wanting to cooperate with us is a big sign that he had something to do with the all thing."

"Let's wait for the lab reports before making any assumptions." Elisabeth looked at him straight in the eyes and he lowered his head, blushing. "Is Jean-Baptiste back yet?"

Just as she asked the question, the officer's car pulled up and a very apologetic man got out.

"I thought I told you not to come back without him?" Elisabeth yelled, walking up to him with a very fast pace.

The police officer held on to his duty belt nervously. "Maybe that was a false information mam." He answered shaking his head from left to right. "I drove on the street up and down and I didn't see him."

Elisabeth was now in front of him, looking at him fierce fully. "What do you mean you didn't see him? He was on foot, running. Nobody runs that fast."

"I think that maybe he got inside one of the houses, mam." The officer shrugged. He was feeling mortified. Everybody knew how stupid it was to get on the chief's bad side. One bad move and he could spend the next years, sitting behind a desk, just doing paperwork and never get a chance to come on the scene anymore.

Elisabeth came even closer to him, her eyes shooting fire. Delivering the American herself would have been given her bonus points, one step closer to paying her debt to Andryse and one foot farther of the prison her twin sister had put her in.

"You think?" she asked furiously. "You're not here to think Jean-Baptiste but to arrest criminals. Why didn't you get him?"

"I… I… I.." the man stammered but felt relieved when he heard her phone ring. He swallowed nervously before letting out the breath he was holding when Elisabeth finally stepped back after sending him one last infuriating look.

Elisabeth looked at her phone and felt her heart beat fast as she recognized the number. It was the boss herself. Shit.

"Hello."

"Hello girlfriend, what's up?"

Elisabeth frowned and got her defensive mode on. Andryse was in a pretty good mood for someone who had just missed killing a target. But she decided to talk prudently not to upset her.

"Hello Andryse."

"So, came up with anything yet? Did you find him?"

Elisabeth scratched her throat and walked to a tree, far from curious ears.

"No he ran away. I'm sorry. I don't know how…"

"Don't be sorry. Stuff like that happens. No big deal." Andryse cut her off and Elisabeth's heart skipped a beat. She immediately looked at her husband direction, worried. Something was really strange. Andryse is telling her not to worry for missing to deliver one of her targets? And why was her husband still standing there? He usually fled the scene way before she got there. She didn't know why but all of this didn't look good to her at all. What the hell was going on? She turned her eyes away as Elisabeth was talking again.

"Just do me a favor though. If you find anything that could lead to him, you bring them to me, not my father. Understood?"

"No." Elisabeth wanted to answer. She didn't understand anything anymore but she quietly said yes. But she jumped when her eyes caught glimpse a white man hiding behind an electric pole. She started strolling down to him.

"He's back Andryse. I found him." She said hurriedly but stopped in her tracks as he saw the man walking in her husband direction. There was silence on the line and Elisabeth knew that Andryse was waiting for her. She turned around and pulled on her hair, feeling her stomach hurt. "Um, sorry. False alert." She said with a nervous chuckle.

"He's with your husband isn't he?" Andryse asked with a very calm but clear voice. Elisabeth leaned on a wall, feeling like crying, powerless. "That's okay." Andryse chuckled after a few seconds of silence.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Relax." Andryse continued sweetly. "We can't afford for your husband to know you know about his activities. You can't blow your cover yet. Let them leave. I'm sure Max will help him get to my father and therefore to me."

Elisabeth still hadn't said anything, her head throbbing. Shit. She just wanted to tear that police uniform away from her body, hating herself for dirtying the job she loved and her father's pride. Andryse was long gone but her hand was still holding the phone up. She raised her stare and her eyes followed her husband getting away through the back roads, the American walking at a safe distance behind him.

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Max Pierre looked at the truck getting away, JOe lying in the back. A big sigh pumped his chest and he ran an uncertain hand in his untamed hair.

"Think he will kill him?"

He turned to look at the young man standing next to him and shrugged.

"I don't know." He answered, his eyes still stuck on the road where the truck had disappeared. "He did manage to get out of the plane and the shooting alive so… maybe he's the one."

"Yeah! What was that about? How come he made it?"

Max shook his head and took his keys from his pockets. "I have no idea." He turned to his friend and shook his hand. "I have to jet. Thanks again man."

"Yeah." The other guy answered headed to the warehouse.

Max engaged in the busy street and drove slowly. He had no idea why, but something was bothering him. He could have sworn that his wife saw him and was from now and then, looking at him. But it was impossible. Elisabeth had no idea of his mission, thinking that he would spend the day at his records company. But at some point, he could not only feel her stare on him but it looked like she knew all about him. Max stopped the car under a red light and let his mind wander watching the people walking in the nearby.

He was born and raised here. He knew this island more than he knew his own house. His family belonged to the middle class but they managed to raise him in a high society where he got himself in big circles that allowed him to open his horizons. And he had gotten pretty smart.

He had a beautiful and powerful wife by his side, a record company that brought him enough money to live large and had dedicated his life to cleaning up his country from the vermin. In a way, he was doing the same job his wife was doing, only, him, wasn't wearing an uniform and didn't have his hands tied by the law. And all of his efforts were directed to killing the biggest one of all. He startled when he heard a lot of noise behind him and he realized that the light had turned green. He moved the car forward, his mind still lost in the memories.

He was eight when Raymond Montez aka Patron, killed his parents. His father was an agent at the Port-au-Prince maritime customs, in charge of inspecting everything that came to the port. Patron had almost everybody in the customs on his payroll, closing their eyes on his illegal business. The guy who was supposed to work that night was sick so his father replaced him to fall right in the middle of the smuggling.

He had stopped it and had the police arresting everyone who were involved in the delivery that night. His name was everywhere in the news and he had became Max's personal hero. His father was superman, invincible, indestructible, fighting for the right, outing the wrongs and putting the villains behind bars. But unlike superman, his father was no alien, indestructible nor immortal.

Max was quietly sleeping when he felt two strong arms lifting him up from the bed and carry him away. He kicked and fought as furiously as he could, but the arms were too strong and they quickly immobilized him, putting a hand on his mouth to shut his screams. He was brought to his parents' bedroom and he got so scared when he looked around him, that he thought that he was going to faint.

His father and mother were both tied up, on their knees in the middle of the room. They both were crying, yelling, begging to let their son go, swearing to do anything for him to live. He felt tears running down his face as his screams got tangled in his throat, incapable of piercing his closed mouth.

"Are you willing to give your life for your son?"

Max heard the voice coming from the right side of the room and turned his head to see a middle aged man with a black suit, nonchalantly sitting at a corner slowly blowing smoke from a cigar. He didn't know the man but his face got imprinted in his mind forever.

"Yes, whatever you want, Patron." His father cried, followed by his mother's strangled supplication. "Kill us please, but let him live."

Max watched the man stan up, put his cigar at the corner of the side table near the bed and walked up to him. The hand on his mouth moved and he felt the man's hand holding his chin, pulling his face up.

"Did you hear that? Your parents would rather die to keep you alive. What would you do to keep them alive?"

Max looked at him with big eyes, his heart hitting hard against his chest. He heard the words but their meaning was lost in his mind. His blurry eyes went from his parents to the man in the black suit and his lips trembled, wanting to speak, to beg like his parents. But no words were coming out. The man smirked disgustingly and let go of his face.

"Not much of a man. He can't even speak to beg for your lives or his own." The man walked back to his parents and smirked. "Are you sure he deserves you to die for him?"

His parents both cried together in a loud incomprehensible babble that went for a few minutes before the man raised his hands, talking loudly to cover his parents' voice.

"Shut up. Shut up. All right. You will die, he will live." He put one knee down in front of them and sent them a perverse look. "But he will watch you die for him. He will see everything and bear witness to your death so he can always remember your sacrifice for him."

He stood up, nodded his head to his men and walked out of the room, ignoring the loud yells of his parents. Max felt himself lifted from the ground and brought to the chair where the man was sitting down before and he cried loudly while they were tidying his hands before they covered his mouth with a piece of cloth. Two hands held his head straight while one of the guys brought his mother on the bed and raped her in front of him and his crying dad.

He wanted to turn his stare away but his head was held in place so he closed his eyes, tears running down his cheeks, all the screams and yells of both his parents getting in his head, driving him crazy. He fought once again, wanting to run away but his small childish body wasn't strong enough, so he had to stay and suffer everything. Soon, the muffled sounds came out of his throat not able to keep them inside anymore, tears completely flooding his face.

"Open his eyes." The man who was raping her mother said then he felt the fingers on his face, forcing his eyes to open.

He shook his head from side to side and he shook his head violently, trying to get the fingers from opening his eyes but he had no choice and his muffled sounds doubled when he saw a gun pointed to his father's head. The subtle noise filled his ears and he watched his father's lifeless body as he crumpled to the floor. Then the man walked to the bed and shot her mother as well. Only then did they release him and he fell on the floor, unconscious.

Max's hands clinched on the wheel and unconsciously accelerated the car, burning a red light. Patron was right. He had never forgotten and even in his sleep, he could clearly remember every single details of that night. He had made the promise on his parents' tomb to avenge them and now his only objective in life was to kill the man who murdered his parents.

As the same moment, his phone rang, taking him away from his constant nightmare. He breathed in deeply and tried to put some joy in his voice before answering. "Hey baby."

"I know you said that you were going to be busy all day long but I needed to hear your voice."

He sighed quietly not to let his wife hear his annoyance and when he spoke, his voice was filled with a love and tenderness he didn't have in his heart. "It feels good to hear your voice too baby."

He could hear a smile in her voice and rolled his eyes, turning the wheel to enter in a parking lot.

"How are you doing? You okay?" Elisabeth asked almost timidly.

"I'm just getting tired of sitting here all day long when I'd rather be with you." His voice was so sweet that he almost believed in his own words. "How was your day?"

"Oh busy." She exhaled. "There was a shooting today, which means more hours for me in the office, trying to figure out why, how and who."

Max switched the phone to his other hand to be able to put the shift gear to park and continued quietly.

"Oh no. Were there any dead? Did you catch the shooter?"

"I wish." She answered with a strange tone in her voice. "And yes, two guys. I don't who they are yet. I have to wait for forensics."

"Poor baby." He said unaffected, looking at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair. "I'll make you forget all about it tonight."

"I don't think I'll be able to leave here for our date baby. Forgive me. I'll probably have to stay here pretty late."

He opened his door and stepped out of the car. "I'm sorry. Want me to stop by when I'm done here?"

"No. I'll be too busy. I'll see you at home."

"Okay honey. I love you." He said but quickly stopped her from hanging up. "Hey dolly, have you heard from Andryse lately?"

"Not in awhile, why?"

He stopped walking and listened attentively. "Just wondering what she'd been up to?"

"You know Andryse." Elisabeth chuckled. "With her constant traveling through the country to help the kids, she can't even keep in touch with her own family let alone her friends. The only person who could tell me about her is my sister and you know we haven't been talking to each other for a while."

Max heard the same sadness she always had in her voice when talking about her sister. He tilted his head and answered with an even sweeter voice. "It's just sad that we're losing contact with them you know."

"Yeah but we're all grown-ups now and we all different businesses to take care of." His wife answered slowly. "I'm just glad you're sticking with me."

"I'll always stick with you honey. I love you."

"I love you too. Later."

Max put the phone in his back pocket and walked into the gym. He went straight to his locker and after getting undressed, he checked to see if his private steam room was ready and sat down, already feeling sweat covering his naked body. He looked at his watch and noticed that he was two minutes early, so he relaxed, replaying the conversation he just had in his mind. Elisabeth had said that Andryse was in one of her trips so maybe that was the reason why she was on the plane with the killer. It was just a coincidence then, just like he thought at first. He felt somewhat relieved and closed his eyes.

It was really strange how much he cared for the daughter when he was working so hard at trying to kill the father. He had found out where Patron's daughters were going to school and weaseled himself in their circle. At that time, all he wanted was to get in her head to be able to get to her father. But although she was always nice with him, she never let him too close so he had to settle to the next best thing, the best friend who had a crush on him. He quickly discovered that Andryse was nothing like her father, sweet, adorable, charming, loving. She was everything anybody would love about another person.

When he married Elisabeth, he never thought that his wife would distance herself from her. And although, he could divorce her the next day, he had stayed in because he knew that being married to the chief of police had its perks and advantages. He wasn't in love with his wife but cared about her and would probably think twice before killing her. He knew how much she loved him and was playing that card a lot when it came to his safety.

He opened his eyes when he heard the door open and watched his appointment walk in and sit in front of him.

"How did it go?"

"I gave him everything he needed." Max answered quietly, his eyes stuck on the man's back. "The rest is up to him now."

"And keep on. As long as he wants to try, give him everything he needs, car, money, pay for his hotel's room. Did you hear me? He wants toilet paper, you give it to him. He wants a whore, you get him one." Max didn't answer back so the man continued with the same husky voice. "Does he know that he had been hired locally and not by the American government?"

"I don't think so." Max answered, shaking his head.

"Good, let's keep it that way because the sources had been pretty clear. If he finds out we were the ones hiring him and the real reason why, he could turn on us. We don't want him after us."

"What's the delay?"

The man shrugged. "As long as he is alive and wants to try, let him. I've been told he's pretty persistent in accomplishing his job."

They stayed in silence for a few minutes then Max whispered.

"He knows Andryse." The man startled and Max continued. "They apparently met in the plane."

"Do you think she's the reason why he got out of the plane alive? You think he would not kill Patron because of her?"

"He didn't say anything about what happened in the plane. I think that they just met and that's it. I don't think they have such a relationship as for him not to do his job because of her."

"I hope you're right because the days are dangerously approaching Pierre. We can't let this bastard succeed on his plans to becoming the city's mayor."

"I wonder who will replace him in the business if he ever succeeded in his goals." Max asked abruptly.

"He's the brains and the muscles." The man answered sourly. "He dies and the whole organization crumbles after him." He stopped for a second then continued with a cynical voice. "And if you see the American messing up too close with his daughter, causing him to jeopardize his mission, kill him. And she gets in the way, kill them both."