77 Agreement

Mark's POV

Arriving at the tall apartment complex, I slowed down the speed of my car and leisurely drove in closer to the tollbooth. At the sight of the matted black car, the security guard who was assigned to the small guard post next to the tollbooth dropped his lunch on the white platter and came scampering out of the booth, almost stumbling over his own two feet as he made haste to where I was.

I rolled down my window half way to peer down at the guard with an apathetic expression. The old man, bending his back, took off his cap and fumbled around with it in his hand nervously. Sheen of sweat formed on his forehead out of anxiety as he cast a wobbly smile at me.

"Y-You've returned Mr. Moore." The guard stammered.

I raised my brow. "You make it sound as if it is weird for me to return to my house."

At my remark the old man's eyes widen thinking that he made a grave mistake and hastily spoke in a panic voice to paraphrase his previous mistake, "Of course not, sir! This is your building you can come back any time you want-"

I raised my hand to cut his rambling off. The guard clamped his mouth shut and swallowed a lump in his throat as his fearful look remained unchanged. With a calm and collected expression I watched how the man digged his finger further in the cap as to keep his legs from flattering, feeling the air becoming dense.

"I'm not interested in your bootlicking. How was my wife today?" Coldness entered my eyes, narrowing them at the old man and I watched how he flinched, straightening his back before parting his mouth to let the words flow out of his mouth to not let me wait any longer.

"Mrs. Moore didn't step out of the building today sir and instead became acquittance with the ladies living in the building." The guard reported without stumbling over his words.

I hummed thoughtfully and asked, "So nobody bothered her today?" I kept my eyes leveled on his face, gauging his expression for anything that may say that he's withholding something from me.

Frantically he shook his head, "No, sir. Nobody had or attempted to harm Mrs. Moore."

"Good," I nodded my head. "Make sure to report any suspicious movement around my wife to me."

The guard saluted me, conviction waning in his tired old eyes. "I will not disappoint you, sir!"

"Yes, you won't. Unless you want to end up on the street together with your family." With eyes that didn't share the same emotion as my curved up lips, I reminded him of what would happen if he even dares to cut around the corners.

The man paled at my words before bowing his head to me and set to go back in his booth to open the tollbooth for me.

Parking the car in the garage, I took the elevator to the last floor of the building while holding the groceries in my arm. Stepping out of the elevator, I was met with the only door of the private floor that would lead to the penthouse. Searching around in my back pocket, brought out my keys and used them to open the door.

"I'm home!" I bellowed as I stepped inside the vast entrance of the penthouse. The white walls rebounded my voice, carrying it throughout the entire house, but I received no response, causing me to arch my brows as I normally expect my kitten to welcome me.

"Kitten?" I called out again, keeping a watchful eye for any sudden movement as I removed my shoes and hung my coat on the hat stand.

"I'm in the kitchen!" April finally responded, but the loud grunt that was present in her voice brought an uneasy feeling in my body, causing me to press my lips into a thin line as I carried my feet promptly to the kitchen.

What is this girl doing now? I thought in exasperation as I entered the kitchen, only to have my jaw turn slack at the horrifying sight that unfolded in front of me, rendering me speechless.

Reaching for something that was placed high in the cabinet, April stood on a small stool on her pointy toes to stretch herself out. As she stood closely on the edge of the stool, her weight caused it to sway to the front, the hind legs of it levitating in the air.

I felt my heart drop instantly to the pit of my stomach, watching how my kitten was standing unstable on the stool in her yoga fit, her small body trembling as it tried its best to maintain its balance.

"April, sweetheart, get off the stool immediately! What do you think you are doing?" I said through grounded teeth as I placed to groceries on the counter before walking to where April was.

"Oh hush, I almost got it, so don't worry." Her tongue peeked through the corner of her lips as she focused on the object of her desire. Her delicate hand finally could wrap its fingers around it before she swiftly pulled it back. With a wide spread grin, which was adorable, she turned her gaze at me.

"I got it! See? There's nothing for you to be worried about-AH!" She wasn't able to finish her sentence as the stool started to seesaw uncontrollably from the sudden shift in her weight. Her arms flailed around as she lost control over her balance and toppled back. Brazing herself for the impact, she closed her eyes tightly, but having already foresaw something like this to happen, I swiftly closed the distance between us and caught her in my arms.

I closed my eyes and breathed out a heavy sigh, trying to still my hammering heart that was about to burst through my ribcage. April hesitantly opened one of her eyes to peek at the situation. Seeing the skin between my brows fold, she grin sheepishly.

"I really hope that giving me a heart attack isn't turning into your hobby. You remember what the doctor told you, right? You aren't allowed to do any strenuous activities." I reminded her as I gave her a pointed look.

She glared disgruntled at me. "Since when is getting something for myself from the cabinet considered as strenuous activity?"

"Since you decided to mimic acrobats." I remarked to her earlier stunt.

She narrowed her beautiful emerald eyes at me petulantly before inflating her rosy cheeks. "I didn't have to do that if you didn't place the pot so high up or did you perhaps forget that I also live in this house?"

Her sulking behavior was so endearing to me that I couldn't stop myself from capturing her supple lips with mine, sucking on them before letting them go to hear her delicious sigh filled with desire escaping past her lips, deflating her cheeks. "I'm sorry kitten, we rarely eat," I paused, my eyes shifting to the pot that was held against her chest in her hands before gazing back in her eyes and continue with my words. "pickles, so that's why they were placed high up, but I'll keep in mind to place them lower from now on. A new craving?" I questioned amused, to see her blush abashed.

"I just suddenly felt like eating them." She grumbled lowly, averting her eyes from me.

I chuckled lightly, pressing my lips against her forehead. "No need to feel ashamed about it, sweetheart. Though your taste buds had been morphing particularly these past few weeks, I enjoy every single bit about it. It's a sign that this small bud is growing fine after all." Saying that, I dipped my head to plant a soft kiss on my kitten's bare belly.

Ever since knowing that April was carrying my child in her belly, I was over the moon and my prominent cheekbones have been raised permanently, refusing to settle down. I was so elated that I even gave my targets sedatives before detaching their limbs with a saw.

But together with bliss, my worry had also elevated, hearing from the doctor that the first trimester was a critical one. April has a long record of getting herself in troublesome mess and she's certainly not the stagnant type, only triggering my protective side as I don't want any harm to befall on my lovely kitten and kitty.

Though my overbearing and constant presence suffocated her from time to time, her eyes that would turn tender whenever I showed how attentive I was towards our little bun betrayed her scowling expression.

Cradling her closer to my chest, I waltzed over to the couch in the living room to sit on it, placing her on my lap.

"What about the groceries?" She asked.

"I'll do that later. I first want to hear about how your day was." Using the back of my right hand, I brush the stray red locks that I adore away from her face. "How's your morning sickness?" I then asked, watching her face intently, noting the bags under her eyes that looked less prominent compared to previews days.

With one of her hands on the cap of the pot where the pickles were secured, she used an ample of strength the open it before hearing a popping sound and taking one pickle to put it in her mouth. "It gets better." She answered between her (cute) nibbles.

"I got to know a few of the residents living in the complex. They were such friendly people. Some of them were mothers themselves and gave me some tips about being pregnant." She smiled.

Propping my elbow on the back of the couch to rest the side of my head on my head, I gazed lovingly at kitten. Though I didn't pay attention to what she said about the women as they were of no importance to me, the corner of my lips turned up an inch seeing her happy.

After learning that she was pregnant, I had asked her to take a leave from work. At first she wasn't happy and was adamantly against it, but she finally relented after I compromised with her that if she took a leave from work that we would move to the city.

I knew my kitten hunkered for human interaction and to live closer to her loved ones, so it was no surprise that she would finally agree. I only 'forgot' to mention that I am the owner of the apartment complex and that I had hired the guard to keep a close eye on her. And I don't think that I will ever mention that.

Between our talks and her bites, I noticed how her eyelids started to droop as they became too heavy for her sleepy mind. She kept nodding off while holding a pickle in her hand. The sun only just now went down, dying the clouds in pink and the sky in navy blue.

I chuckled lightly. "Let's get you to bed."

To my words, she whined in protest. "I don't want to. There's still a show that I want to watch…" Her sweet voice freighted with drowsiness drawled before it came to a halt. Her eyes shut completely and her head lulled to rest against my shoulder.

Carefully, I took the pickle and the pot from her hand and placed it on the rectangular table before scooping her up in my arms and carrying her off to our bedroom.

I placed her under the covers, tucking her in securely before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, not wanting to wake her up, and left the room for the kitchen.

Placing the groceries away, I could hear kitten's phone going off in the living room. It took a while before I got there and when I did, the ringing had stopped. Curious to who had called her decided to unlock her phone, only to have my brows furrow together as I peered displeased down at the name on the missing phone call list.

It was her annoying friend. The phone went off again in my hand, but I paid no heed to it, letting it ring incessantly. This woman had been calling April a lot lately, especially at night, the reason my little kitten wasn't able to keep her eyes open during the day. Also the reason why my personal time with my sweetheart has been cut in fucking half! The grip around the phone tightened as I clenched my jaw, narrowing my eyes, annoyed at the person whose name was still flashing on the screen.

After a while, the phone finally quiet down. I was about to throw the phone on the couch to resume my work in the kitchen, but a loud DING sound coming from the phone grabbed my attention.

She had left a voice mail. Wonderment filled me, as I was curious about what the message said and played it.

The first thing that I could hear was heavy breathing followed by crunching sounds of quick footsteps stepping on twigs and branches. "April! Please pick up the phone!" Her friend's voice sounded distraught, her breathing quickening as she sobbed. "It's Brandon! He… he… I was so wrong about him. Please help me-!"

I could hear a loud thud on the other line before the voice got cut off.

"Please press one if you want to repeat the message. Press two if you want to save it and three if you want to delete it." Came the voice of the robotic lady.

My mind wandered back to the time April's friend got married. I was at the buffet table grabbing wine for both me and my kitten. As I was about to turn around, I made eye contact with that fucking player who stood on the other side of the room.

His lips curved up, showing a portentous smile before he casually made his was to me. I grumbled incoherently under my breath as he finally stood three steps away from me.

"I'm glad that you could make it to Cher's and I wedding, Mr. Moore." He said politely, with a smile that irked me to no end. His voice was void of any emotion and his eyes were looking through me, receiving a sigh from me as I had no time for the facade when my kitten was waiting for me.

"Drop the act and just tell me what you want." I said calmly, with a stoic expression.

The grin that always had fooled my kitten and her friend faltered like a discarded cloak. He stared silently at me before the corner of his lips pulled into a lopsided grin.

"Who knew that the person who set up all those cameras in my house was not only April's stalker but also her boss." Closing his eyes, he chuckled low, his shoulders quacking from the vibration. "You've got me worried there for a moment, buddy. I thought you were going after my woman."

I hummed, taking a sip from my wine, unbothered by the sudden change in his personality as I had already an inkling ever since he took a girl to his warehouse only to leave there without her and a face with smudged with blood that he was one of us.

"You know what I am curious about?" He queried with a smile as he stepped closer to me. "How did April come to accept you, a killer, in her life?"

I raised my brow at him, to which he snorted, "I know April longer than you, my friend. She obliviously know what your identity is, seeing how she keeps claiming that she is fine. But she genuinely seems to like you." Curiosity filled the bastard's voice as he eyed me up and down. The corner of my lips went up a fraction, feeling pleased that April's affection for me was noticeable to the surrounding people.

"So?" He pressed for an answer.

Masking my expression, I responded before taking a sip of my wine, "We just came to an agreement."

At my words he let out a laughter that rippled through his body, "Right, right, an 'agreement'." He then placed his hand on my shoulder. The laughter in a flash was gone from his body and the surrounding air turned stale as he wore a grave expression. He leaned in closer to whisper in my ear. "Let me give you a warning. I may like April as a sister, but if she gets too noisy and threatens to come between me and Cher, then I won't be responsible for what's going to happen next."

My gaze turned icy, and I wanted nothing more but to have this motherfucker's blood on my knife. Feeling the bloodlust radiating from my body, he patted my shoulder before giving it a tight squeeze. "Don't give such a scary look." He said with a menacing smile. "April may think that's something's wrong."

My gaze then briefly flitted to my curious cat, who was hiding behind one of the tables as she gazed in our way in wonderment.

The fucking bastard then winked at me and walked away to where April's friend was standing. It took all of my willpower to not shatter the wine glasses in my hands.

Leveling my eyes back down at the phone, I brought my thumb up and pressed down on the number three before shutting the phone off.

"It's sounds like you fucked up, you haughty bastard. Let's see how you will come to an 'agreement'."

End