Bad Roses (2)

Ramona covered her sexy body with a white fur coat of faux fur. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a silver lighter. She put the cigarette to her lips and started to light the lighter.

"Oh, come on," Ramona grumbled when her lighter didn't light up despite repeated swipes.

With a grunt of annoyance, Ramona removed the cigarette from her mouth. She intended to put the cigarette back in its packet, but before she could do so, someone lit the lighter and thrust it at Ramona.

The girl looked up slightly to see who had lit the fire for her. A smile spread across Ramona's face when she saw that Arthur had lit the lighter for her. Ramona put the cigarette back in her mouth and brought it closer to Arthur's lighter. A second later, she had exhaled the smoke into the air, and Arthur immediately extinguished the lighter.

Arthur put both hands in the pockets of his brown coat and turned his attention to the city view of the bar's roof. "It's a pretty good view."

Ramona took a smoke on her cigarette, then exhaled the smoke with a soft chuckle. "But not as good as the view you see every day. I know who you are."

"I know who you are, too," Arthur said.

"Of course, I'm the star of this place," Ramona replied.

Arthur turned to Ramona and looked at her. "I don't know you as a striptease dancer."

Ramona's brow furrowed, and she turned back to Arthur. She then laughed softly. "I don't think I've ever met you, Mr. Kingsley."

Arthur walked over to Ramona and sat down next to her. He let out a long sigh as he gazed at the lights of the skyscrapers in Nova City. While Arthur looked at the city at night, Ramona looked at him with astonishment.

"If I may know, when did we meet?" Ramona asked.

Without taking his eyes off the cityscape in front of him, Arthur answered Ramona's question. "Today at Bad Roses. Your performance was outstanding."

Ramona chuckled. She then took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled the smoke in Arthur's face. "You're starting to piss me off, sir. My boss asked me to get your attention, but I don't seem too interested in a man who talks so much nonsense like you."

Arthur laughed at Ramona's words. He then turned around and looked at Ramona with a sharp gaze. "Do you know how the smoke I smelled two years ago in Onyx Square? Maybe your parents smelled the same as me back then."

Slap!

"What exactly do you want? I don't like people calling out my parents," Ramona said sharply, her breathing rising and falling as she slapped Arthur's cheek.

Laughing softly, Arthur held his cheek, which was red from Ramona's slap. He then continued his words to Ramona. "What would you do if I told you that all the misfortune that happened to your family was intentional?"

Ramona immediately responded without thinking. "Of course, I would look for the mastermind."

"That's what I'm doing."

Arthur's words immediately silenced Ramona. She and Arthur looked at each other. After a while, Ramona spoke to Arthur again. "Can you clarify?"

"I'm investigating all the possibilities about the explosion that happened at Onyx Square two years ago," Arthur replied.

"Isn't the culprit currently in prison?" asked Ramona in astonishment.

"I'm not sure the man in prison is the real culprit. I believe the mastermind is still out there, and he is using someone as a scapegoat to cover up his actions," Arthur said.

Ramona responded quickly. "Then who is the real culprit?"

"If I had known, that person would not be in this world," Arthur replied sharply. His hands clenched into fists, and his jaw hardened every time he remembered that he still hadn't found the brains behind the bomb attack at Onyx Square.

Ramona let out a long sigh. She dropped her cigarette and stomped on it. "I thought you knew who it was."

"I can't do it alone," Arthur said.

"Ahhh...so you came here to recruit me to help you find the mastermind behind the explosion? Is that right?" said Ramona

Arthur smiled in response to Ramona's question. At first glance, Arthur's smile made Ramona's cheeks flush. Arthur's stern face looked more relaxed when the man was smiling. But Ramona hurriedly pushed aside her view of Arthur's attractive appearance.

"So how is it? Do you want to join me?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know what kind of help you need from a woman like me. I mean, look at me now. I'm just a striptease dancer. I have no skills other than showing off my body," Ramona replied.

"Any little help would be greatly appreciated. I just need people who share my vision," Arthur said.

Ramona let out a long sigh, turning her attention to the sky. "Honestly, I don't want to make my situation worse. I've enjoyed my current life enough, even though I have a huge bill in the bank. I also don't have time to think about the real culprit. But if your words are proven, I'd love to put a grenade in that person's mouth."

"I accidentally saw you when you came to the inauguration of the memorial monument with your brother, Rayden. You look displeased when you look at Kai," Arthur said.

Ramona laughed when she heard Arthur call the mayor of Nova City like someone would call a friend. Arthur let her laugh until she turned back to him.

"If there's anyone I'd really like to get rid of, it's Kai. That jerk didn't help us at all, even though my family contributed quite a bit to his campaign," Ramona said while controlling her laughter.

"Well, it's not that hard to get close to Kai," Arthur said. He turned his head and looked back at Ramona with a smile.

"I'm telling you, Kai really likes pretty girls. I can arrange for you to meet Kai in person," Arthur continued.

Arthur's words piqued Ramona's curiosity. "You can do that?"

"I'm even allowed to meet special prisoners. With a little of my influence, I can get you to meet Kai. After that, you can do anything to him. Either you want to fuck him, or you want to stab him. My advice is to take the first option," Arthur explained.

Ramona's brow furrowed. "Why would I sleep with a guy like that?"

"If you just stab him, where's the fun in that?"

Arthur asked Ramona back.

Ramona's brow furrowed even more profoundly. After a while, she understood the meaning of Arthur's words. "I understand now."

Ramona's smile grew, and she nodded while looking at the chestnut brown-haired man.

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "So?"

"Set up my meeting with Kai. After that, I'll come with you," Ramona replied.

A smile returned to Arthur's face. "Do we need to shake hands?"

Ramona glanced at Arthur with a smile. Then she extended her hand. Arthur immediately shook Ramona's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kingsley," Ramona said happily.

Arthur responded to Ramona's words with a smile. He nodded slowly. "Me too, Ms. Hernandez."

Both smiled and then released their handshakes. Arthur then stood up from his seat and said goodbye to Ramona. He promised her that he would arrange a meeting between Ramona and Kai soon. After Arthur left her alone on the rooftop of the Bad Roses bar, Ramona closed her eyes as she enjoyed the wind blowing against her face. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

Ramona's eyes opened again when she felt a tap on her shoulder. As soon as she turned her head, Rayden was standing behind her. Ramona's brow furrowed when she saw Rayden's wrinkled face. "What happened?"