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"Alright, you two." Mike turned to the young ones that glared at him. "You wait outside." He held up one finger then the second. "No innocent killing." He mostly directed that to Cataleya but the two didn't seem fazed.

Marcus banged in the door of his colleague who didn't want to respond to it.

"Open the damn door!" Marcus' voice cracked in frustration as he kept banging on it.

Mike approached his side. "We can feel you right there boy."

"Open the door." Marcus tried again.

The door opened a bit as Dorn peeped out of it, pretending a joyful voice. "Hey!"

Marcus kicked the door open, making the blonde man stumble back. "Open up, Muscle Milk." Marcus said as the two walked in.

The door slammed shut forgetting to lock it as Cataleya slightly groaned.

Armando leaned back against the hood of the car, his eyes fixed on Cataleya as she stared out at the lake. The soft glow of the sunrise painted her features, but the tension in her jaw was unmistakable. He knew the pain in her arm wasn't the only thing bothering her.

"You should let me check your arm again." He said, his voice calm but firm.

Cataleya didn't look at him. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Armando replied, his tone unchanging. "You're just good at pretending."

She turned to him then, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. "And what do you care? You've been acting like nothing gets to you since day one."

Armando shrugged, crossing his arms. "Maybe I'm just better at hiding it. Or maybe I'm just trying to keep us alive."

She scoffed, looking back at the water. "You think I'm not? I didn't ask to be dragged into this mess."

"No one did," Armando said, his voice softening. "But here we are. So maybe you let me help you instead of trying to carry all of it on your own."

Cataleya hesitated, her fingers brushing the makeshift bandage on her arm. It had held up, but she knew it wasn't enough. Finally, she sighed and turned to him, holding out her arm reluctantly. "Fine. Make it quick."

Armando stepped closer, gently unwrapping the cloth. His hands were steady, careful, and for a moment, the tension between them seemed to fade. "This needs to be cleaned properly," he said after inspecting it. "You're lucky it didn't hit anything vital."

"I've heard that one before." Cataleya muttered, but there was a faint trace of a smirk on her lips.

He trailed his eyes up to hers as Cataleya couldn't meet her eyes with his but when she did look, the air grew thick. It lasted for a few seconds only when Cataleya slightly pulled away, leaving Armando watching her.

Baring the wait; they both knew that they somehow couldn't wait out there & miss out on whatever the other two goofys were gonna plan inside with their detective partners.

Mike did want them to wait outside since they were the most criminal activist to exist in all of Miami & also for their crimes, but there was no way they could give a damn about whatever they were commanded to do.

Armando sighed, disregarding his father's warning as he casually pushed the door open and stepped inside. Cataleya followed close behind, leaning her shoulder against the frame in her usual nonchalant stance.

Almost instantly, a young woman in a blue robe sprang her movement. She grabbed a gun from a barrel nearby the couch and aimed it directly at Armando. Her hand was steady, but her voice was anything but nice.

"What the fuck?!" She barked, her eyes darting at Armando.

Armando, unfazed, glanced down at the gun and then back at her, his expression unreadable.

"Whoa, whoa!" Mike stepped forward quickly, his hands raised in an attempt to defuse the situation. He moved to stand between his son and the barrel of the gun. "Kelly, relax! Hey, Kelly. Kelly."

Mike glanced over his shoulder, glaring at the two young ones who had ignored his orders. "I asked you to wait outside for a second."

Cataleya shrugged, her lips curving into a faint smirk. "Wouldn't exactly call it asking."

Mike shot her a warning look before turning his attention back to Kelly. "Alright. Kelly, listen. They're with us."

Kelly's glare didn't waver. She tilted her head toward Cataleya, who stood coolly in the doorway & scowled. "Who the hell is she?"

Mike sighed, already sensing where this was going. "Kelly—"

"No! No way!" Kelly interrupted, her voice rising. She took a step closer, her gun still firmly pointed. "You bring two people into this crib that I would never have near me? Are you out of your goddamn mind? They can't be here."

Mike held up a hand, trying to keep his patience intact. "Kelly, this is my son. Armando. Cataleya is—"

"I know who they are." Kelly snapped, her eyes narrowing at Armando. "That's exactly why they can't be here. Sure, I know about him being locked up. But what about her?" She gestured sharply toward Cataleya, who raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Maybe we should start with her."

Before Mike could respond, Armando finally spoke up, his voice calm and unwavering. "She stays with me."

Kelly's head jerked back slightly, her expression twisting with disbelief. "Mike, I trust you with my life. But I sure as shit don't trust them."

"I trust them." Mike said firmly, earning a flicker of amusement from Cataleya.

"Then take them to your house." Kelly shot back without missing a beat.

A throat cleared from somewhere deeper inside the house, breaking the tension. "Hey, Mike. Uh, can I have a second with her, please?"

It was Dorn, the blonde man whose door they had nearly kicked in earlier. He stood awkwardly there, trying not to let the conflict escalate further.

"Yeah, yeah. Please." Mike muttered, eager for the tension to subside.

Dorn gently lowered Kelly's gun. "Hey, sweetie." He said softly to her, nearing her to talk privately.

Kelly begrudgingly backed off but didn't lower her guard entirely.

"Relax. Relax." Mike said under his breath, directing the word more toward Armando, who merely smirked in amusement as he stepped aside, pointing his arm at Kelly as he rented to Mike.

Meanwhile, Marcus had already made himself at home. He plopped down on the couch, grabbed a bag of chips from there, and ate it. He leaned back, completely unfazed by the chaos unraveling around him but somehow couldn't stand it just like the stressed out girl by the doorway.

As Dorn and Kelly stepped aside to have their own hushed argument, Mike pulled Armando to the side for a quiet conversation. Armando's irritation was apparent, though he stayed characteristically composed. Kelly's earlier hostility had clearly gotten under his skin.

"This is some dysfunctional shit." He remarked casually. Marcus popped a chip into his mouth, crunching loudly as he watched the drama unfold.

Cataleya, leaning back against the doorway with her arms crossed, could only nod in agreement.

Mike finally approached Dorn, who seemed to have reached some sort of agreement with Kelly. Dorn nodded toward Kelly, who still hadn't moved from her spot. "She's fine." Dorn assured Mike.

"She don't look fine." Marcus interjected from the couch, earning a glare from Mike.

"I'm fine." Kelly snapped, turning her attention back to Cataleya. Her sharp gaze swept over the other woman, scrutinizing her. "She's not, though."

Everyone turned toward Cataleya, who tensed slightly under the sudden attention. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Armando leaning over to grab the handle of the fridge while looking over at Cataleya.

"I'm fine." Cataleya muttered firmly, her voice clipped.

Marcus snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, you are." Armando said suddenly, his voice carrying just enough weight to draw everyone's attention as he opened the fridge, staring at her—his face clearly showing how much he was trying to play around.

Was he even?

The room fell silent. Even Marcus stopped, blinking in disbelief.

Cataleya's head turned slowly, her dark eyes narrowing at Armando, who was still casually sipping from his drink. "Fuck did you just say?" She asked, her voice low and incredulous.

"Alright, alright." Mike cut in quickly, stepping forward to diffuse the tension before it escalated further while the Spanish bloke shrugged in surrender.

Cataleya clenched her fists, clearly fighting the urge to throw a punch, while Armando casually twisted the cap off his bottle. He didn't say another word, his faint grin the only response.

"It's the language barrier." Marcus chimed in from the couch, attempting to lighten the mood.

Cataleya shot him a hard look. "It was English."

"It was definitely English." Mike agreed, glaring at Marcus.

The sound of the bottle cap clattering onto the floor drew their attention back to Armando, who was now draining the rest of his drink. Unfazed, as always.

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