Fair Trade

Close to dawn.

Upon visiting the house, Chloe was at first startled by the tattered front door and second by the sight of a man coming out of Sei’s room.

When Sei told Justin she had a boyfriend, she didn’t believe it at all. Because Sei was always busy and had a sick mother and a father, who was in prison.

She was beautiful by all accounts, but she always denied any type of courtship. In short, she was not a woman who would waste her golden era on love. But now she could believe what Justin said. A man like that and Sei both in the same room… Same room!

Chloe, who was still feeling delusional, blushed at the sight of the man holding back his laughter.

“S-Sorry, but who…”

“My name is Yuri. We apologize if you were surprised by us. The door… I’ll fix it. Sometimes Sei can be too aggressive.”

Yuri smiled, raising only one corner of his mouth. Chloe waved her hand at him, checked the time, and pointed her finger to the kitchen.

“I’m going to make some quiche for breakfast, but if you don’t mind, please stay for breakfast. Sei’s room is completely on the other side, so I can’t hear anything… You’ll definitely have some privacy.”

Yuri looked at Chloe’s freckled face and thought she was the same girl as in the pictures. His eyes then turned toward Sei’s backpack behind the sofa. It was lying there naturally as if it had been there all along.

She was smarter and more detailed than necessary…

“Yes, I came out to drink some water. Then I’ll see you again in the morning.”

Yuri, who said so, went to the kitchen and drank some water, then greeted Chloe as she took out the flour and bowl before heading back to Sei’s room.

Sei was sleeping soundly on the bed. He still had no idea what was going through this woman’s mind. How long had it been since he’d given instructions to not kill someone?

The woman knew he wouldn’t be able to kill her, so she even took advantage of it. But aside from all the circumstances and consequences, he was relieved that she was safe. Yuri, who had been gently touching her with a smile, pulled out his mobile phone, which was ringing in his pocket.

“Yes, Kirill.”

“What are you doing, Yuri? We just lost a golden opportunity.”

Kirill had left quite a few missed calls, so his voice was full of annoyance.

“I know.”

“What do you think those bloody mafia will do? Of course, he’ll try to retaliate. And what Sei has is enough to use as a justification. You’ve got more work to do, Yuri.”

“Kirill, it seems that your work has increased because you’re too worried about nothing. Furthermore, the harder it is to keep her, the more determined it makes me. It’s all worth it for Sei.”

“Yuri… Camille is going to take action. I’m just trying to protect you. And that woman still has something she’s hiding from you. She couldn’t check it since Gavin approached her. So you must quickly…”

For a moment there, Yuri’s eyes sharpened.

“Stop. I’ll take care of that on my own, so hang up. Sei is about to wake up.”

After spitting out a harsh curse, Kirill hung up the phone. It was something he had already expected. As soon as he introduced her to Camille, he made a justification and ordered a person to have Sei followed. What he didn’t expect was Giulio. He never thought that he would really try to kill Sei.

Did I make a mistake by thinking he was in love with her? Or are the feelings he has for her a different form of love?

The FBI was keeping an eye on Giulio Parenti and David. The more he stood out here, the more dangerous it was to Camille. As Kirill said, even if he was more persistent, he should step back and act in moderation.

Yuri kissed the sleeping Sei on the forehead. When he turned his head, he saw that it had started to rain outside the window.

It was a clear spring rain.

* * *

“What are… the two of you doing?”

Sei, who got up and brushed her messy hair, looked at Yuri and Chloe, who were seated across from each other.

Chloe, seeing that Sei had worked up, asked with a bewildered face, “Are you up? Come quickly and sit down. Yuri and I baked some quiche in the morning. It turned out to be amazing. It’s so delicious!”

“Yes, Sei. Hurry up and try it. It was my first time cooking, but Chloe is a good instructor.”

Yuri smiled at Chloe, making her blush at him. Chloe bent over like an adolescent girl in love and got up to make coffee. Only then did Sei take a seat next to Yuri.  Her stomach grumbled when she saw the quiche loaded with cream and mushrooms.

“I’m going back to Las Vegas today. I have to meet up with Camille.”

Sei nodded her head hugging her knees together. He kissed her on the earlobe and went on to say, “I will come to pick you up soon. Your father will be granted parole within ten days, so you should meet him just this once.”

“What if he really refuses to be released…?”

“We’ll have to track him down again. Sei, I want something. That way we can be safe. The gun with the sapphire. If you find it… Give it back to me.”

She turned her head and stared directly at Yuri in the eye. Somehow she had the feeling that he knew everything.

Sei touched Yuri’s cheek.

“It would have been nice if you were not a mafia member. I wish… one didn’t have to grieve death or feel remorseful.”

He was silent.

Afterward, Chloe, who brought down the coffee, looked at them, puzzled by the strange air between the two. Yuri got up from his seat after finishing his meal roughly. He had Stephan guard the front of the house all night just in case there was a thief.

No matter what, how could he make his men guard the front door all night?