Chapter 142 142 Part

Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Part

"Of course you don't," her jaw stretched as she sighed; "Listen man, the Howard family isn't stupid. They know their biggest threat is my step mother right now. So, now that their starboy's been killed, everything point's towards I and my family? You dig?"

"But what if you actually didn't have anything to do with his death?"

"Who said I did?" her eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Oh come on, be serious Monica."

"Okay, okay," she laughed; "Don't get your panties in a bunch I was just joshing." The corners of her eyes hardened, and her face took on a more serious note;

"First thing you need to know of is that everything is a game of convenience. A war has started between both families. Even if a hailstorm were to suddenly fall on the Howard family, all fingers would point at the Russell family. . ."

"Hmm," Nexus pondered; "So basically, what you're saying is, anything goes?"

She nodded- triggering a rich heaving bounce of her red curls. They still shone under the rays of the morning sun, glistening with an auburn shine;

"The rules of engagement are pretty much non existent in battle between two great houses."

Beside her, trotting on the big black stallion, he nodded silently;

"But I still don't get what this is all about in the first place."

"Honestly, I need to get home to find out myself. But if I'm to take a wild guess, these things aren't usually far from egos, social standing, wealth, colonies, lands. . ."

Her face darkened for a slight moment as the last word slipped out of her mouth. In her sockets, her flaming eyes darted back and forth- calculating and stringing information together;

Nexus caught the expression immediately;

"What's wrong? Did you realize something?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she answered coolly; "But I remember something vaguely about the Howard family holding on to lands that belong to my family. . .could it be. . ."

Nexus watched as she sank into her thought trail. Her face was aflame with intelligence, and her body posture was slouched in deep thought.

For the first time, he realized that he had been just too naive.

Here was a different continent- literally worlds apart from his own world, with a different set of cultures, and an entirely different set of people which he didn't know jack shit about. And yet, he was trying to meddle in waters that appeared way deeper than it looked.

He glanced again at Monica- watching her furtively through his peripheral vision.

Her shoulders were slouched, her head was slightly bent forward, and her lips moved erratically in deep thought.

Truly, he had met some pretty phenomenal women in this word. But he just had to give Monica her flowers. She was strong. She was smart. And she carried herself with a sense of regal honor despite the decline of her family's status.

He averted his gaze before she could snap out of her mental coffin, and settled his eyes on the line up of trees on the horizon.

Still, he couldn't get her profile out of his mind.

Her condescension might have been a little off putting at first. But now that he had gotten up close and personal with her, he saw that it was just an outward shield. She was still pretty young. But, she had carried a burden on her shoulders from her early youth.

Even at this moment, from the corner of his eye, he could still see her thinking how she could possibly be of help to her family- despite nearly being raped to death by a gang of shameless horny men, despite having neither the love nor warmth of a father, mother, or blood sibling.

The fiery red headed girl did not even have a cat. She was truly alone.

Nexus found himself gritting his teeth. Unconsciously, his grip tightened on the poor ropes, and his face blackened- reflecting his anger and resolve.

'You no longer have to do this alone Monica,' he thought; 'Not while I'm here. . .not while I can help it. I'm going to protect you from the shadows. . .I'm going to be your guardian angel. . .you're no longer alone. . .'

Of course, there was the problem of his disguise.

Monica clearly didn't play well with strangers. Ni Yang had proven himself to her. But Nexus was just a freeloader who had drifted into her home, and was actively munching off the goodwill of her stepmother and half sister.

'Shit,' he pondered as the horse trotted underneath him; 'This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.'

The clouds overhead broke away, gifting them the full glare of the morning summer sun.

'Shit. . .'

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Nexus and Monica camped again for the night. But both were too exhausted to keep watch. So they both sank into a doze in her tent. Again, due to mutual exhaustion, they were both too tired to think of anything other than sleep.

They sank into the feathered sleeping bag, and didn't rise till the first rays of dawn streaked through the tent's fabric.

Within a quarter of an hour, they had packed up. And within a quarter of a day, all three horses strutted into the city's center- carrying two live persons, and one dead body.

"Well, well," Monica announced; "It looks like we're back at the same spot, just like last time. . ."

Nexus looked around. His brows quirked on his forehead. She was right. It was the very same intersection they had parted only a few days ago.

"Would you look at that. . ." he grinned; "Are we starting to become partners Monica? Because it sure feels like it."

The red head smiled. Her flaming hair and cheeks were hidden behind the hood that was pulled up over her head. She had a brown colored cloak wrapped around her- trying to keep herself incognito from any Fitch spies.

"I guess I'll see you around then. . ."

Nexus opened his mouth to say something clever. But was outdone by Monica's next words;

"So, are you waiting for me to ask you to give me your address? Or do you think I already know it because I'm a stalker or something?"

Nexus' stiffened. But just for a moment. But then relaxed when he realized it was just a joke.

"Monica!" he exclaimed exaggeratedly; "Are you falling in love with me or something?"

Her mischievous grin morphed into a condescending scowl;

"Don't get ahead of yourself Ni Yang," she answered softly- too softly; "I was just asking just in case I have some more missions we can do together. . .we make a pretty good team. . .don't we?"

At the junction, around the shrill bubbling hub that was Castra city's center of commerce, and with the steady hum of the horses trotting, and pedestrians walking briskly, Monica hid her fidgeting under the cloak wrapped around her.

Her eyes dimmed slightly under the shadow of her hood, as she tugged gently at the reins.

She was hiding it pretty well- but the red head was nervous.

Despite growing up pretty, this was practically the first time she was asking a boy for his address. Her whole body suddenly felt sweaty, and her heart raced within her as she waited for Ni Yang's reply.