~

"Tickle my heart with your pen. Write me for all to read. Bind our love inside a book. Make me, your poetry."

- N'Zuri Za Austin

~

Days passed in a beautiful agony. Filled with heated eye-locks, knee weakening kisses, heartwarming gestures and romantic dates Max endowed Sofia with. Every moment passed with him was precious for her and she desperately memorized each detail like it were her last.

He took her on a walk one evening when they both came home earlier. They held hands walking side by side, both enjoying the nature around them as they strolled in the park in silence.

"I want to touch you, all the time," he had commented out of nowhere with a very thoughtful expression. And to put emphasis on his declaration, he squeezed her hand. "This feels as important to me as breathing," he added smiling down at her before looking away.

It was a rule in their personal book of revelations that Max always won in expressing emotions first, and even acting on them – be it positive or negative. No wonder, Sofia felt like a tube-light sometimes.

"I understand," she responded after a while and squeezed his hand back. "I feel the same."

Their eyes locked then for a long moment.

Making her shriek, suddenly then, Max pulled her behind a tree next to them and kissed her senseless, he kissed her until they got caught by an elderly couple in their late sixties. Sofia hid her face in Max's shirt as he stifled a laughter seeing the old pair giving them stink eyes and scurrying off vocalizing their disappointment on today's young generation.

They had burst out in laughter the moment they were alone, both feeling like giddy teenagers.

At night, Sofia made dinner in a hurry while out at the dining table Max worked in his laptop. Afterwards, with a secretive, cheshire smile sporting on his God damn handsome face he took her to the terrace.

Sofia had wanted explore this part of the house often but always found the doors of the hall leading here locked. Despite making mental notes several times to ask Max to give her the keys she had forgotten every time. So it was obvious that she was excited to stepping foot on the terrace for the first time.

Max had her close her eyes while guiding her forward.

When she opened her eyes next, a gasp of astonishment left her lips seeing a swing for two before her. Tiny fairy lights were laced around its holding bars at both sides and above. Located at the far side of the house – the rather empty hall waiting to be decorated someday in the future and the broad terrace were modishly separated by a transparent glass wall where reflections of the fairy lights were smeared like stars.

Love had begun for Sofia as a barely there tickle in her heart, but with passing time; his efforts and the many moments they shared, that love had been made into a moving sea, ceaseless and all consuming.

And she sighed as Max began to push the swing leisurely standing behind while she sat on it. A smile of contentment settled on her lips permanently for the night. They talked about all the trivial things and more. They stared at the stars and the moon at one another.

"Right here, right at this moment," Sofia tipped her head back to look up at him while he pushed the swing gently. "I wish I could freeze time."

"But then how will you experience the many more I'm going to give you?" he indulged.

Sofia could not answer.

He often left her speechless.

Making her squeal he then gave the swing a hard push, her hair flew recklessly around her beaming face and the entire house filled with their laughter.

The next evening he took her to a lavish restaurant, it was in that same building they'd watched blood moon on the rooftop.

Food was ordered after they'd playfully bickered over the menu.

Sofia jumped when he began playing footsie under the table when food was being served. She played back with equal gusto. If other people from the tables around realized what they were doing under the short table cloth, their double takes or hushed awe-s and ahh-s completely went unnoticed by the couple.

Sofia did not know if it was good or bad – being so lost in each other all the time. However, she cared about nothing else but how jubilant she felt with Max.

Mary's Diner was doing more than awesome. But it was getting quite hectic managing it all alone. All the extra work was putting a toll on her.

Sofia was beginning to feel the need of a manager. Simmy was an incredible head chef but that was where her excellence ended. And with the festive season looming closer she needed to be prepared to handle the gigantic workload.

She was just thinking all this sitting behind her desk this morning, head buried inside paper-works. The rush hour of lunch time had passed, so she and her staff were finally being able to sit down for a bit now.

A smile crept up on her lips as her thoughts swiveled to another direction all of the sudden, and for the hundredth time in a day, on her determinedly romantic husband.

"Ah hell, Sofia! Day dreaming about the intimate moments with your hubby again?" came Simmy's sing song voice.

"None of your business!" Sofia snapped, trying to have her voice sound firm but the hint of smile pathetically still remained. Like a stubborn glue it was always there – the splendid aura of love and ecstasy.

Truly, love ruins people.

Truly, she was whipped.

Seeing her entire staff giving her knowing, teasing looks, she narrowed her eyes at them which everyone blissfully chose to ignore. It was, after all, a first they were getting to witness their very serious lady boss so very much head over heels in love.

Signaling the arrival of a message, her phone beeped – the new one Max had given her. And suddenly, completely forgetting about her irritating employees her hands shot forward for the phone.

Must be Max! She thought with excitement. 

After all, he was always sending her these little texts throughout the day – just inquiring about how her day was going or if she was facing any trouble, or simply to just say - he was craving to have the evening arrive already so that he could go home and finally be with her. These texts never failed to bring a smile on her face.

Who knew Max could be so romantic!

Sometimes she just felt like he was the Romeo reincarnation. Now that was slightly overboard she knew, but the thought couldn't be helped. He even climbed up her window! Just one ladder was missing from the scene.

However, Sofia found that the message she just received right now was from Genevieve Mevil. And with that her thoughts about Max and his romantic antics drifted off to the back of her mind.

~ The devil's on his way out the city. Now, Sofia! ~

It's time.

Sofia's fingers tightened around the phone.

As she dashed up to her feet, grabbed her bag and proceeded to make a phone call to Vagga, a queasy feeling sprouted in her stomach. It was not that she was feeling any less brave. On the contrary, it felt like some kind of an intuition that perhaps... perhaps she was beginning something quite menacing. The very next moment, however, she pushed the feeling off as just mere nerves.

There was no time to have second thoughts.

She had a mission in hand. Genevieve and her brother needed to be rescued, by all costs.

--

The plan was simple. Sofia and Genevieve was going to wait in Sofia's white car some twenty feet away from the front gates of the secluded mansion Mevil had kept Genevieve's brother in. Vagga and his men would very stealthily cut out the electricity of the mansion thus impeding any alarm system or CCTV cameras and then they would trespass, eliminating every guard coming to stop them through thorough beating and chloroform sprays. The chloroform spray thing was a last minute idea of Sofia's, just to stay on the absolute winning and at the same time safe side. From there Sofia had hoped it would be a matter of time to locate Genevieve's brother and bring him out to where her car awaited.

Yes, the plan was that simple and well designed. But damned were the people whom Sofia hired to execute it.

A sweltering, nerve wrecking twenty five minutes later when the sun had slowly dipped below the horizon...

Vagga's van was just behind her car, looking imposing compared to her innocent four wheeler. And guess what it smelled like – meat and blood and death, of course.

"Sofia—" Genevieve literally panted with stress and adrenaline from the passenger seat. "I think I should go in there, it's been a while they went in."

And Genevieve had almost leaped out the car but Sofia immediately caught hold of her elbow. "Please stay put, Genevieve. I think we should wait a little more—"

Sofia's phone rang and she bit her lip in worry. She checked her phone, and yes, it was Max.

Thirty-three missed calls!

She held herself back from answering the call, again.

She didn't want to lie to him, because it's one thing hiding the truth and another straight away lying. She had already chosen the former but refrained herself from having to choose the later too.

However, it turned out that not answering her phone just made it even worse from her husband's side, for he kept sending her text messages every time a call got unanswered.

And these texts perfectly portrayed his growing anxiety...

~ You were not answering my calls, so I called Simmy. She said you left in a hurry? Where are you, darling? ~

~Sof, please answer my call. Where are you? ~

~ Sof, answer the call. Is there anything wrong? ~

~ Pick it up!!! ~

~ God damn it! Answer my f*cking calls! ~

And it went worse as minutes passed by.

"Sofia," Genevieve kept a hand on her shoulder. "You should probably talk to him. The guy will have a heart attack at this rate."

But Genevieve didn't know, Max was going to get a heart attack either way.

Releasing a shaky sigh, Sofia finally pressed answer and held the phone against her ear.

"Sofia! Do you know how worried sick I'm here?" Making her flinch Max's screaming voice came from the other side instantly. "Where the freaking hell are you? Why were you not answering your phone damn it! I was just about to call every freaking person we know."

Sofia hurriedly cut in, "Max, I'm alright. Please relax—"

"How can you just tell me to relax after scaring me like this! Just tell me where you are."

"It's just—" Sofia stammered. "I am—"

But then, noises of running footsteps and harsh breaths had both Sofia and Genevieve snap their faces towards the entrance of the mansion. A blur of running men came up to stop beside the car, Genevieve flew out like a bat and went to embrace her brother who was looking wide eyed at everyone while fiddling with the candy Vagga had given in his hand as planned.

"Harry! Oh, dear God..." Genevieve was murmuring, crying as she held her brother securely in her arms.

Two things happened at once.

A proud Vagga announced very loudly, "The kidnapping is successful!"

And Sofia's eyes finally noticed a handsome looking man's unconscious body carried by two of Vagga's men.

Sofia didn't know what was worse at that moment – Max bellowing from the phone "Kidnapping! What the hell's going on?!", or the fact that the bloody butcher had rescued two people instead of just one.

--

"I clearly told you to just find Genevieve's brother Harry only, who has Down syndrome, not to bring a free package along!" Sofia hissed at her phone that was put on loudspeaker as she sped down the road.

Through the mirror she took a glance at Genevieve dropping a kiss on her brother's head who was looking very shy now slurping on the candy, Sofia's expression softened at the sight.

"We got confused, Sofia. This man swore he was mental too and jumped off the balcony to prove his point. Why do you think it took us so long to come back?" Vagga desperately explained from his van filled with all his men and the unconscious; unknown one among them. They were following Sofia's car.

Sofia sighed, shaking her head.

Who was this man Vagga brought along, an extra prisoner of Mevil in his dungeon of a mansion? Or... what if it was one of Mevil's men playing a trick on them here?

The possibilities were many and Sofia did not know what to make of this situation.

On the other hand, on the very wary other hand..., she had ended her phone call with Max right after his freaked out yell, briefly saying that she was coming home and will tell him everything then.

It was quite dark by the time Sofia reached her safe haven.

Her face fell and she swallowed nervously as the familiar sight of iron gates came to her view, they were already opened wide with Bean standing like an emotionless scarecrow at one side.

Sofia drove in with Vagga's van on tow.

She could see Max standing there on the driveway, hands planted on his hips he looked thunderous.

No sooner had she stepped out of the car he was on her face, making her shiver with his heavy breaths of stress and anger puffing on her skin.

It was visible that he was barely restraining himself.

Max snapped his face to the side watching Vagga and his men jumping out of the van, their feet touching the gravel path with rowdy thuds. Two of the men went to carry out the still unconscious guy.

"Where do we keep it?" One of them asked as if what they were holding was a sack of potato instead of a man.

Sofia briefly turned to throw them a dangerous glare.

"Who the freaking hell are you?!" Max bellowed pointing at them.

"Vagga," Vagga saluted nonchalantly. "An honorable businessman by day and the leader of my gang at night, I offer special and exceptional services to loyal customers by the way."

Sofia could almost hear Max grinding his teeth inside his mouth.

Oh, no! He was way more pissed off than she had thought.

But Sofia hoped, with her fingers crossed behind her back, that he would be proud after hearing her.

"Errr...," she cleared her throat putting on a daring face, with raised chin and all. With a mincing step back and reaching behind her she yanked opened her car door, revealing Genevieve cradling a now sleeping body of Harry. "I brought you Mevil's wife and her brother, freshly rescued," she then waved at Vagga's men holding the other guy. "He's an unexpected bonus by the way."

"What the...!" With a look of utter shock and horror, Max stumbled back a few steps. "Sofia? What the freaking hell!!"

Sofia realized that he took her full name mostly when he was mad. And oh hell! Mad he was.

From the corner of her eyes she saw Debbie. Sofia nodded at her briefly and gestured towards Vagga's men. Debbie nodded back in understanding, and in a second the girl was guiding the men who carried the nameless one inside the house quietly. Only Vagga stayed behind, leaning comfortably against his van.

Concentrating back on Max, Sofia tried to reason, "You see, Genevieve ah... to get away from Mevil she needed to have her brother—"

"I know about Mevil's wife and her brother!" Max cut in with a booming yell. "When I told you I was working on gathering proofs on Mevil, did you for once think that I would be aware of his personal life?" he was almost shaking in rage at this point. "He's the sole scoundrel that bloody hell needs to be a million kilometers away from you. I specifically told you to stay out of it, Sofia! And what did you do instead?!" he sneered. "And that too gathering this bunch of weird looking goons? Do you even have any freaking idea how dangerous it is to deal with such people involved in illegal shit? Oh my God, what if they'd hurt you instead! I heard that word kidnap on the phone and for a second I thought you're getting kidnapped, Sof...," Max had went from seething mad to falling apart in panic, his hands shoved into his already disheveled hair.

"Max—" Sofia began, her heart breaking at the sight, but was cut in by Vagga, from the sidelines who was looking quite offended at that point.

"Excuse me, sir," Vagga said in a serious tone, pushing his body away from the van. "We might be goons but we've something that no other in our business has."

Vagga's men had marched back out of the house by then, minus the unconscious stranger.

Bean had scurried closer intrigued by all the commotion, he couldn't help but ask, "And what is that?"

Vagga raised his head in defiance and pride. "Honor."

"We don't double cross our clients and especially we wouldn't even think of harming our Sofia," Vagga announced, glancing behind at his men for confirmation each of whom nodded vigorously in agreement.

Not even looking up Max raised a finger at the gates, one of his hands covering his eyes in exasperation. "Get out!" his booming voice was quiet and threatening.

Everything was going out of hand.

Her fingers clenched the sides of her dress, feeling miserable beyond limits she stared down at the ground biting the inside of her left cheek.

How would she calm him down now?

It was like there was an ocean of distance between them suddenly and the worst was the realization she accepted whole-heartedly that she herself was the only one to be blamed for this.

Genevieve came up beside them, looking extremely mortified at the turn of events. "Mr. Wilder, it's all my fault. Sofia did want to let you know of what we were doing, trust me. Can we... please, take this inside? Let me explain. Please."

After what felt like an hour but was actually a few seconds, Max nodded.

--

"No, Mevil would comb through all your relatives' the first thing," Max commented rubbing his face. He looked as though he had aged a few years in the span of this one eventful day. "Stay at my house for the night. It would be safer. I will even hire a few more additional guards right away."

Max was dialing the security company immediately.

"But I've already been too much of a burden for you both—" Genevieve began to protest.

"Please don't be like that." Sofia was sitting beside Genevieve on the sofa, she held her hands reassuringly. "Never call yourself a burden just because you need help. This is how we all must stand for each other to slay monsters like Mevil."

The look Genevieve gave Sofia was of absolute gratitude and admiration.

Sofia felt eyes on the side of her face. The familiar heat burnt through her and without even seeing she knew who it was.

She glanced up to see Max busy with his phone making countless calls one after another.

Sofia sighed at the waves of anger and worry radiating off of him.

She guided Genevieve to her room that she was going to share with Harry.

The unconscious self-proclaimed insane man was placed in the room right to Genevieve's. A loyal doctor Max knew