It was all a full-proof plan or that was what they thought and were assured of by their seniors and like some idiots they believed it blindly, she along with some other officers in disguise who were going to enter the party to gather pieces of evidence; it was a very important party and a dangerous one to say the least. Some of the most notorious mafia families were attending this meeting both for celebratory purposes and to crack one of the biggest deals in history and the law enforcement needed to know about this deal. This was the only privileged information that the informants were able to offer to the enforcement, no one knew about the dealings and the events of the meeting. All they were aware of was that they had to somehow bust this party. So a team of officers was infiltrating this party as bartenders, servers, hostesses, dancers, and whatnot. It had taken a great amount of planning and every single day was filled with unsaid tension every day was filled with a great amount of anxiety and fear of the unknown. The police officers and informers had opted for the Omertà code. If one was to get caught he/she would take their identity to the grave. She along with a small team of 7 members was elected for this dangerous mission. They would be recording everything that was happening at that party.

She remembered that it was this party that started her misfortunes; she met him accidentally and somehow ended up in a trap.

The party was in the full swing when she along with the other dancers entered the room the dress made her feel as if she was standing naked in front of the crowd of vultures, their eyes were watching her with hungry lustful eyes and somehow she felt conscious at her place, the dress was barely covering anything, it had left nothing to the imagination. On top of that, it was one size smaller and uncomfortable. She had to remind herself to stay confident and face the crowd while performing those provocative dance moves; she had to play her role of a dancer even if she felt like she would die out of shame. The past few days had been hard for her and she felt as if she would drown in shame. All the dances she had to learn just to fit into her role. From the corner of her eye, she could see one of the officers offering a glass of expensive wine to a heavily drunken man who she instantly recognized as a drug dealer. That drunken guy was busted twice on her watch yet due to no pieces of evidence and his connections the police were forced to let him go an instant feeling of panic gripped her. What if he or someone among the crowd recognized her or any of her officers? But that didn't seem to be the case, since her golden wig and those lenses along with few major alterations had made her unrecognizable to herself, so no one could recognize her, or at least that what she thought. Most of the people in the crowd were heavily drunk so she saw this as a great opportunity to slip away from the group of dancers the moment she saw everyone on the dance floor losing it. Cautiously she looked around to see that no one looking at her or would have noticed her if she slipped away, people were either busy dancing, some were drunk off their heads and some already passed out from all the drugs and drinking. The party was wild that was certain.

Slowly she detached herself from the group of dancers. No one seems to notice since all of the dancers were lost in their entertainment. She recalled the plan in her mind- it was as if someone was playing a cassette tape in her head- she started heading towards the familiar place where she had seen some suspicious men - they were dressed formally unlike the other people at the party and somehow she knew that they were here to attend the meeting. She was as careful as she possibly could, she had drenched the top of her shirt with wine to make it out as if she was looking for a restroom, and in case she was to interrogate she would make an excuse. She was on a constant lookout and highly alert- one wrong move could get her killed and so do the rest of her team. Her heart was pumping so fast that she felt nauseous. Her legs felt so heavy as if she was dragging shackles along. She tried to make herself as calm as possible. After snooping around and chatting with people one thing was clear no one at the party knew that this was an illegal party hosted for illegal purposes and by dangerous people. Everyone at the party was a stranger to one another and the reason for this was that in case something went wrong no one would look for them at the party since it was a highly secretive party, the party was merely a façade and a front to cover the illegal mafia activities and even smelling the drinks she could tell they were spiked as precautionary measures, not just the drinks offered to people but even the food and non-alcoholic drinks being offered to the party comers were drugged so no one would remember anything. It all drew on her, no wonder why almost everyone was already drugged so they wouldn't remember much about the party the next morning. They were strictly warned by their higher-ups not to drink or eat anything at the party and her team had made sure to stay sober.

As to remain on the safer side she acted like a heavily drunk person making sure that her speech was slurred and she was stumbling walking. Then she bumped into someone, the impact made her lose her to stumble back and before she could hit the ground a pair of arms snaked around her waist and pulled her forwards, her arms were on his chest. She looked up to face him, a pair of blue eyes were peering at her face, for a moment emotions crossed his face that was difficult to read, and the next moment he was letting her go, ignoring her presence altogether and walking away. She thought he will leave but he stopped walking away and it was as if he had thrown those words at her. ''If you are pretending to be a drunk out of her mind at least to make it look believable because love your breath doesn't smell of liquor. ''Her mind was whirling; he had fished her lie out in just an instance and this made her tongue-tied. She thought he was going to drag her somewhere and kill her but he just ignored her presence and kept his making his way towards his designated destination – closely followed by men dressed in perfectly immaculate and expensive formal. She kept her gaze fixed on his back until he vanished from her sight.

Yuri POV

''Airhead!'' That insult crossed his mind when he thought about her- if she was going to snoop at least she should have made it less obvious. She was surrounded by powerful and dangerous mobsters who would make her disappear in the blink of an eye. He knew that face like the back of his hand, that girl thought she could sneak in and bust the likes of him but it was all her lack of imagination and she was certainly underestimating the dangers otherwise she would have never stepped in this party and so did her police buddies. He could spot every single officer by just one look- they were sticking out like sore thumbs even if they deluded themselves that their covers were perfectly safe and unrecognizable. The meeting has gone just as he planned and he had managed to secure a huge deal with one of the politicians.

What face will she make when she will see politicians involved with the mafia? What would be her reaction? These thoughts piqued his curiosity but he reminded himself that it was none of his business in the first place. Whatever was to happen to her was none of his concern. The party was in full swing he had to jostle through crowd in trying to get out of the place and looking over his shoulder he couldn't help but smile when his men were trying to pry drunken people off them. The sight was amusing for him. He found himself in a relatively quiet place smoking.' 'What a stupid bitch.'' He spoke in a bitter voice the moment her face crossed his mind. Throwing the cigarette stick on the ground he crushed it with the heel of his dress shoe. He made his way to the party and then when his right hand was rushing to him, the expressions on his face were visibly that of anger and joy and he knew the others knew the party was infiltrated by the enemy her face crossed his mind and he was striding towards the meeting. His steps were purposeful and his mind was in a fury.

''Stupid-'' that was the only thing he could mutter under his breath, this wasn't the first time she had swayed his alliance with the mafias. If only she knew how she still controlled the stings to his heart and mind he was willing to go to any lengths just to protect her

''Don't worry Boss – they found the other rats but we somehow managed to hide her in one of the rooms ''Cameron was speaking to him in a hushed and urgent tone as if to pacify a child.

''What if someone told the truth? 'He was voicing his suspicions. To which Cameron nodded his head as a signal that every thought of his was taken care of.

''What the hell?'' She was shouting on his face the moment he entered the room they had locked her and very patiently he closed the door behind him gently and was striding towards her. She would herself backing towards the wall now he was standing face to face and so close that she could touch him if she was to reach out with her arm. She had a strong urge to slap his smug face. His men were quick to pounce on her and drag her to this room and lock the door behind her so she couldn't escape and help her friends. She tried to go past him but he was quick to reach out and pin her to her spot, she struggled against his grip that was pinning her to her place. ''Let go.'' She spat that warning at him but he was like a disobedient child who shook his head in denial. She was quick to slap him across his face, for a moment he is stunned but quick to cover his expressions with a deadpan face.

Then they heard voices outside. Both of their heads whipped to the entrance of the room. They exchanged worried looks and then to her surprise he was pushing her against the wall, with one hand he was taking off his tuxedo, messing his hair, and pulling on his tie. He was pulling her arms around his neck and she just stood too stunned to do anything. 'When I tell you just kiss me as if you mean it-''

Then they heard the door opening behind them and from the corner of her eyes, she saw guys with guns pulled at them entering the room. Her heart was beating so fast and for a moment she felt as if she was going to puke.

''Now.'' He whispered in her ear and then she found herself pressing her lips to his, she surprised herself by wrapping her legs around his waist. Was she making out with him out of all the other guys Anastasia was astonished at herself?

His body was covering her from their sight. They signaled for him with their guns and he signaled for one of his men who were quick to come to her side. He left with them and closed the door behind them. The door was left ajar all she could hear was them whispering but that wasn't audible because of all the music and the noise coming from the party-goers. She could only see his back facing her and wondered how he could remain calm during such a dangerous situation. She tried to not fiddle with the hem of her shirt's sleeve. The situation was uncontrollable and dangerous she was certain they were looking for her. She was agitated and her hand was itching to reach for the small weapon she managed to sneak in somehow. She wasn't aware how their covers was blown but she had seen her friends being dragged to a room and this meant either all of them were dead or being interrogated now. Should she ask Yuri-an about her friends? She had to ask him when he returns but until then she had to stay in this room with these men.

He returned closely followed by only his men. 'Come.'' he beckoned to her they were out of the room and heading to a destination only he was aware of. She had tried to strike conversation but one look of warning and she had to shut her mouth. Everyone was alert around her so she knew they have messed up. He was walking them towards his car- opening the door behind her he signaled for her to get in. ''I will be going on my own from here. Thank you.'' She was quick to reject his offer. She was supposed to be there helping her friends and somehow she had ended up following him out of the party. Who knows what his true intentions are but out of all the people she knew she could trust him. 'What about my friends?'' She asked him. He just ignored her question and nudged her towards the front passenger seat.

'I am not getting in until you tell me what is happening. Please I need to know.'' By now she was looking so defeated; her voice came out as defeated and tired.

''Dead.'' He told her the truth after contemplating. He pushed her towards the seat and she allowed him to. It wasn't like she wasn't expecting that response because this wasn't the first time she lost people at one of their mission but it made her body feel numb and then she felt as if she was going to throw up. All she vaguely recalled was him pulling the car to the side and she bent over by the side of the road throwing up everything in her system. The more she threw up the more she felt as if she was suffocating. She felt as if someone was squeezing at her heart, tears were streaming down her face, and for a moment or two she felt paralyzed and cold, she felt as if someone had drained her of every ounce of her energy. She lost friends because of her stupidity, maybe she wasn't careful enough. Maybe they should have never let themselves get elected for such a dangerous mission, she felt so disconnected from everything around her. She wanted to be somewhere far away, somewhere no one could find her. She didn't want to face the families who lost their loved ones. She didn't want to face herself in the mirror because she knew if she did she would never forget anything. Yet that night was itched in her mind like a lesson.

The next day at work all she knew she was made to face the families of her friends and yet she couldn't utter anything. She wasn't in that state of mind to face anyone. She felt like a criminal brought in for interrogation yet she knew nothing. She knew nothing about that meeting or how the mafia found her friends she knew nothing about where her friend's bodies were and she would have suspected that Yuri lied to her just to put her in a difficult position if her friends mutilated and beheaded bodies didn't turn up. It was as if hell breaks loose and yet all she wanted to do was to run away or hide somewhere.

Then his uninvited visit and her having to stay at a hotel to avoid interacting with him again made her feel as if that day was following her like a curse. She was on the verge of losing everything her superiors were quick to pin the blame on her and she didn't know what the future had in store for her. All she knew was that they saw her as the senior who was negligent and had put her friends to their death. Some would look at her as a traitor since she was the only one to come out unharmed during her interrogation she had made sure to keep quiet about everything with Yuri since this only meant raising suspicions, some would also see this as her being a part of the mafia since a member of the mafia had helped her.

She didn't understand Yuri. Surely he didn't help her because he had soft spot for her. She was sure he had ulterior motives otherwise, he would be the first one to put a bullet through her head. Her suspicions turned into confirmation the moment he turned up at her place uninvited. She made up her mind that same night that she was going to come clean to Eric and leave it up to his decision to tell the superiors about every secret she had hidden all along, she was going to tell him about the past, about the party, and Yuri.

Yet she didn't know the storm that was coming closer until it would engulf her very existence.

-XOX-