By His Side

Chapter 5

Five hours after Alexander's call, I found myself barging into Alexander's penthouse with Todd in tow who is panicking about being in his boss's home with his wife who he was supposed to be silently tailing. 

What I didn't expect from the moment that I walked into his penthouse was the wide array of weaponry pointed at me from the numerous men dressed in casual wear sitting around the living room area and open bar kitchen.

For a moment, I think of raising my arms in a show of surrender but unknowingly my body had already done so. Crab...this is just embarrassing...if Shino saw me raising my hands in surrender...god, I don't even want to think...

And think isn't what I did because before I can even finish the thought of what my mentor would do to me if he saw me in this position, the man materialised in front of me and if the sharp sting on my right cheek is any indication, Ootori Shino just slapped me.

With shoulders squared backwards emitting a sense of dominance that has my knees weak in fear, his angry dark almost black coloured eyes seemed to be delving into my brown ones, seeing past the walls of protection I had built for myself to the softest, weakest part of my soul. Ootoi Shino's taller than your typical Asian height makes me shrink under his towering figure and I find myself tilting my head down in instant submission as though I were my four-year-old self again.

"We never surrender even when surrounded Alastora," the man's croaky, cigarette voice states roughly, making me flinch a little at the reminder. "You of all your comrades should know it better."

Comrades? Curiously, I raise my head slightly to get a better look at the plain-clothed people sitting around Alexander and I's home and a great shock overcomes me as I  realise after some memory searching that I recognise more than a few of them. 

"I'm sorry," I mumble, my eyes slightly wet with tears which confuses me since I've rarely ever cried in his presence even as a child but for some reason apologising to him for surrendering has me a blubbering mess. 

My mentor looks taken aback with the tears brimming in my eyes as he looks utterly conflicted at what he's supposed to do in response. Needless to say, Ootori Shino didn't have to do anything as a warm chest meets my back and a pair of strong arms wrap around my shoulders.

Alexander!

"You're here," He mumbles against my neck, planting a searing kiss on it as he rests his head on my shoulder, his nose breathing in my scent. "You're here."

Leaning into his hand swept brown hair, I nuzzle my cheek into his messy head, kissing his temple as I sheepishly respond, "I'm home."

The collective gasps of the people surrounding us are not lost on me but it doesn't seem to bother Alexander as much as it does me to have such a crowd witness our display of affection. However, the awkwardness is dissipated by a hearty laugh that comes from Ootori Shino.

"Why are you laughing?" I ask him curiously as Alexander lifts his head from my shoulder though he keeps his arms around me, he rests his head on top of mine instead as he looks at his laughing guest inquisitively.

"You're in love," He chuckles, looking at me with playful disapproval in his eyes as he raises his hand to cup my cheek which he slapped. "You've been weakened yet strengthened in the best way possible, Alastora."

Nodding in understanding, I remember the reasoning behind his words. It's dangerous to love in this business. Ootori Shino's bride was almost killed in front of him on their wedding night and afterwards, she was a constant target. Last I saw her, she was crying about me leaving the yakuza because up until the end of my training, I had been her guard and she hadn't had a hair touched on her head since I began my job.