Chapter 6 I'm Shadow

Around noon, Maya woke up but realized she was in excruciating pain. She looked around. This was not her room; she was in an unfamiliar environment, so she decided to power through and get up. She was wearing a hideous hospital gown, so she decided to look around in the closet. She quickly took out whatever she could, only to realize it was a huge jersey. Suddenly, she got dizzy and had to sit down, but her anger kept brewing. What was she doing here? But the question that bothered her the most was, 'Where is that little dude and if he was okay'? She heard a knock on the door.

And she immediately sprang into action like she always did and pulled her gun out. She felt a sharp pain in her chest and almost fell down, but she knew she had to stand her ground.

"I really want to know where you hid that gun," Nathan said with a smirk on his face. He was truly impressed by this woman. "Why am I here?" She growled at him. He loved her feisty nature; she was his lioness. "And where is that little kid I met last night?" she demanded. "I'm glad you liked my little brother," Nathan said with a little pride in his tone. Maya was shocked. That child was 8; she didn't expect him to be Nathan's brother, but the resemblance was uncanny; they had very similar features. "Is he okay?" Maya asked in a hushed tone, and her expression softened. "Physically, yes, but he has been up all night worrying about you." Nathan informed her; he studied her face for a minute and realized she was in pain; that's why she had nothing to say. "Lioness, you shouldn't be standing," Nathan said, concerned about her. "I'm fine. Could I meet him?" she asked. "Only if you sit down." Nathan was getting more and more worried, so she rolled her eyes at him, which made him let out a chuckle.

"Fine." She said that once she realized she had no choice, she turned around and slowly sat down. "Oh, and before I leave," he said, "You look really sexy in my high school jersey." He flashed a million-dollar smile like he had won the jackpot. Maya couldn't stop herself from giggling at his reaction. There was a boyish charm in his eyes every time he flirted. This is the first time he heard her beautiful laugh, and it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, almost like a child laughing, honest and pure. "And will you please tell me your name?" he asked all over again. "It's Maya," she finally told him. "It's beautiful," he said without thinking. "I'll go get Nick, and I asked someone to get you some clothes; it's set up in the washroom. Come for breakfast whenever you want to." And with that, he left the room.

Nathan stepped outside the bedroom and saw Nick sweetly waiting. "May I please go see the lady?" he asked. Nathan leaned down to his height and said, "Her name is Maya." "That's so pretty," Nick smiled. "It definitely is, buddy," Nathan told him, and he continued, "You can go see her now." In the room, Maya took a deep breath; it was painful. But she saw this adorable kid run towards her and ask, "Maya, are you okay?" Nick was the most adorable person Maya had ever met. "Yes, I am a little dude; I heard you didn't sleep last night." She was concerned; he was a child after all. "I was worried about you," he said. Maya tried not to laugh; this sweet little boy was worried about the deadly assassin, Shadow. "Don't be. I'm a big girl." She reassured him. "Okay, I will let you get changed and see you for breakfast!" Nick said it excitedly and ran away.

Maya slowly got up and realized it was time to leave. This was it; it was time for her to change and leave. A part of her refused to leave; this was the first time I've felt such strong feelings for people who weren't her friends. She was an assassin, and she did all 'bad*ss' things, but she was not very good at talking to new people. She got changed and was ready to get back home.

As she walked out, she saw almost 10 people outside having breakfast. They all started talking softly the moment they saw her. "How are you feeling, Maya?" Alice asked with a bright smile. She was this natural beauty whose brown hair was flowing down her shoulder. "I'm fine. Thank you so much for everything. I will get going." Maya said and started to walk out, "What? No! You need to rest!" Nathan interjected, "First, meet my chosen family." He said he wanted to introduce his team. Maya knew Mafia families had a lot of people. That's why she was glad she had never been a part of them. As Nathan introduced all of them, they greeted her with smiles, but they were wondering why there was a random woman in the Mafia house. Nathan mentioned them with their legal professions, so Maya interrupted, "Nathan, I know all of you are a part of the Mafia." The moment those words left her mouth, they all pulled out their guns and pointed them at her. "Who broke the Code of Silence here?" Celeste asked aggressively. Maya didn't even flinch when startled Nathan said, "Never point a gun at this woman. Ever. She saved my life, and last night she took a bullet for Nick." He said that, and everyone slowly took their guns down, feeling guilty. Nathan was furious at them, but Maya didn't care one bit.

Nathan did have some questions. "So how do you know about us?" he asked. "No one broke the code of silence. I'm a hacker," she explained. "I thought you were an assassin." Nathan was confused now. "I am," she explained. "Did you take out information for our rivals?" Nathan asked, worried that she could be a part of the rivals after all. No matter what, he would still keep his promise because he owed her. "No, I just know everything." She said.

"What is your hacker name?" Charles, their hacker, asked. "I will only tell you if you all give me your word that it doesn't get out of this room," she said, to which they all nodded in agreement. "I'm shadow"