23 Starting Over

Time seemed to stop the moment they discovered Ley and Sera's presence as the four of them just stared at each other in bewilderment.

Ley, herself, didn't expect that she'd see Landon again after that revelation with Silas a week ago. She was still incensed over what happened and seeing Landon who ordered Silas to make her confess, certainly didn't help.

The impasse between them didn't last long. Landon moved suddenly and in the blink of an eye, Ley found her back trapped against the wall with Landon in front of her, uncaringly invading her personal space. Her left wrist was shackled by his hand beside her head while his face was inches away from hers.

"I've been looking for you," Landon murmured softly as if speaking loud would scare her away. She was pinned by his gaze that showed an intensity that she hadn't seen before with those golden pools of his that sought to mesmerize her whenever she stared at them.

Ley shook her head to scatter her rebellious thoughts and hissed in an icy voice, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I would have done this sooner if I knew that this is where I would find you," Landon continued, unperturbed by her reaction.

"Find me? After, what you ordered Silas to do?" Ley scoffed at his unbelievable words.

"Believe it or not, I never allowed Silas to do that. He was acting alone," he denied. His sincerity reminding her of that night he told her that he's a shifter. She was angered for some reason instead.

Ley grabbed his collar with her free hand forcefully and flipped their places. In a split second, Landon was now against the wall with a loud thump upon contact. He was still holding her wrist while she's still gripping his collar in anger.

She moved closer unconsciously and snarled, "Drop the act. I'm not your secretary anymore. Save your lines for the real Roma."

"I don't think you get what I'm saying but this isn't the right time to talk. . ." he trailed off while his lips curved up into that diabolical smirk and glanced at the side pointedly.

She turned around mechanically to glance at her back and saw Sebastian and Sera looking dumbfounded at what they saw.

Ley felt her face heat up at being caught in a suggestive situation. She immediately withdrew her hand and yanked her wrist back from Landon.

"It's not what you're thinking," Ley immediately clarified to Sera's direction.

"You're making it worse," Landon chuckled while fixing his collar, looking highly entertained with the situation.

She shot him a glare and was about to talk again when he spoke.

"Can you give us a bit of time so we can talk?" Landon suggested to the two.

Sera, her friend for years, immediately agreed with her eyes twinkling at Landon's words. Ley can already guess what she's planning. Traitor.

"Sure! We'll go outside now. Take your time," she replied eagerly while dragging the confused Sebastian.

Why did she even agreed to let her come?

While Ley was still staring speechlessly at her shameless friend, Landon caught her attention and did a 'shall we' gesture to the direction of the living room.

She frowned and followed him uncomfortably since she always have to be on guard against him. His every action bothered her in the weirdest ways. He made her feel unconscious of herself every time. All these feelings were new and foreign to her life that she can't seem to react well against them.

That situation earlier was something she never ever did. Forgetting the other people unconsciously and just focusing on one person was a whole new territory she dare not venture on especially when the other person was an extremely attractive shifter.

She sighed internally and sat down on the sofa in front of him. Looking at his confident posture made her feel like he owned the place. She might be highly flustered by his presence but she'll never show it in her face. Ley faced him with her usual 'no nonsense' expression, with one eyebrow raised to indicate that she's waiting for him to start talking.

"Let's start clearing things out between us, shall we?" Landon initiated.

"I don't think we should. It's not like we'll see each other again," she muttered, acting a tad difficult for him because she's still being petty for that Silas fiasco.

"You owe me some answers at least," he remarked patiently.

She tucked a bit of her small-mindedness back inside since it doesn't look like he's bothered by it anyway.

Let's just get this over with.

"Go ahead," she replied seriously this time.

"Alright. Why did you imitate Roma?" he asked, going straight to the point.

One of the reasons why Ley didn't want to meet Landon again was to avoid answering this kind of question. Seeing him in surprise like this didn't even gave her time to organize her excuses.

"I work as a freelance mercenary and I'm tracing a magick related to your case," Ley vaguely told him, hoping that he won't ask more about it.

"Is it related to those engraved objects used on shifters?" Landon clarified with a frown, marring his amiable expression.

She nodded in agreement but she was astonished mentally. She wanted to know the details over what Landon said since it sounded alarming but she had to stick to her word. She'll just have to check it out later.

"When did you first start imitating Roma?" he proceeded with the next question to her relief.

"That day you suddenly asked me how long have I been working for you was the first day," Ley answered without much thought but she noticed a strange glint in his eyes when she said the words.

"Let's start over? I'm Landon Ferreira," he stood up and extended his hand to her.

She was relieved that he's done questioning so she immediately shook his hand and introduced herself, "I'm Ley."

He cocked his head as if waiting for her to continue speaking.

"Just Ley," she repeated, emphasizing the only information he's going to get.

Landon flashed a crooked smile and he lifted her hand towards his face. He turned it inside up and bit the fleshy part of her hand below his thumb lightly while casting her a searing look. It was as if lightning sensation traveled from her hand to the rest of her body.

She yanked her hand back in surprise and felt her face warmed up again. She was in a fluster which cause her to stutter, "W-what are you doing?"

Landon looked at her in confusion as if he's expecting a different response from her which turned to a knowing smile instead within seconds.

Ley felt like she just missed something huge and that would haunt her in the future.

Landon was about to speak when raucous noises rang out from one of the rooms. They stared at each other in realization and ran quickly to where the sound came from.

He opened the door quickly and cackling laughter from a barely recognizable half-transformed shifter by the window irritated their ears. It throw a huge elongated bag at the bed on the center of the room then jumped off the window the moment they appeared. The irritating actions were designed to goad the two of them.

Ley stepped forward and unzipped it, nausea choked her up after she saw what's inside.

The dead body of Roma.