The Devil's 5'5

Chapter 45 - Broken Together

April 4th, 4:27 PM - Unknown Location - Chicago, IL Azura's POV

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Note: Continuation from last scene - so no change in location or date/time. 

"I knew you would come around. So tell me who do you work for? The FBI? CSIS?" Dano stood in front of her arrogantly, assuming he had broken through her tough exterior. 

But it immediately deflated as soon as the words left her mouth. "I work for none of them."

Well. I'm not exactly lying.

She waited with baited breathe as he stared at her, not convinced in the slightest.

"I thought I made it clear by now that I don't want to play games. Lie and she won't just get another punch."

As Enzo took another swing, she desperately called out to stop it. "Wait! I'm not lying, I swear just hear me out!"

The fist stopped inches away from Rosa's already bruised face but it was too close for comfort.

The lie she had ready depended on how well she sold the next few details.

"I was hired by some third party organization. They gave me absolutely no information, I just did it for the cash. They wanted me to get close to Rosa. They told me what questions to ask and all I had to do was tell them a date and place. I had no idea what that information meant."

The man's force contorted into a sneer. "Bullshit. Why the fuck would they come and ask you? A so-called normal university student?"

Azura's heart raced as she prepared to deliver the hook for the story. She was an experienced liar, it was almost like second nature to her. Yet her heart hammered against her chest as a face flashed across her face.

Preston.

"Because I knew Rosa from before."

Dano's eyebrows scrunched together as he questioned the validity behind her statement. "When?"

"20 years ago, at a homeless shelter after you abandoned her when she lost her child."

"20 years ago? Abandoned?" He whispered back softly. Dano's body slackened as though her words had shocked him.

It was a shot in the dark, a fluke in Azura's mind. But in reality, it was a solid hit, right on the bullseyes.

He just stood there for a couple of minutes unmoving until slowly he turned to Rosa.

"I abandoned? Me?! You think I abandoned her?!" But his focus was entirely on Rosa, as his voice rose with each statement.

Grabbing her chin roughly he forced the broken woman to stare into his eyes as he glowered. "How can you say I abandoned you when I gave my life for you all those years ago! And for a child, I never met!" Azura was taken aback, not at all expecting the sinister and coy man from before to lose his cool from a simple statement she had made on a whim. The tone of his voice was different from before. It was almost like, another man, a vulnerable one had taken over.

"I-I'm sorry, sorry Dano," Rosa hiccuped as tears continued to fall.

"I..." his voice almost cracked, and Azura caught a glimpse of the boy that Rosa probably had fallen in love with. "I wanted to see my baby. I wanted to hold them, play with them, hug them. I wanted to be the parents we never had! Those thoughts were enough for me to endure all the shit I went through so that I could make enough for us to live comfortably."