Chapter 27: I liked him
Pure instinct drove Dino to move away from Meera while his brain told him to act in complete contrast to that. He should get back at Bruce Calbe for what he did to Randal, Dino wanted that. But in order to achieve, it meant using Meera as bait. He just could not do that.

Dino cursed himself silently. Since when did he ever considered another person's feelings, whether he hurt them or not. So then why the hell did he care for Meera? The answer was obviously clear enough for him to see it but Dino was not going to allow himself to even think it. He did not care about Meera, he told himself, she was no one. Her innocence had made him back down-that was it.

Meera looked stunned and confused at his sudden withdrawal. Dino wondered if she taught that there was something wrong with her because she was the type of girl to almost never want to kiss a guy like him, that too in public.

But she was smarter than that because she narrowed her eyes at him, thinking. Then, like he always said, as if reading his mind, she tossed quick glances around them. It didn't need a genius to locate the source of his behavior.

Dino cleared his throats, jammed his fists into his pockets. "You should probably get back to your guests Meera." And he should focus on the mission. This was not the reason he was here. He was here to make sure that she was with him at midnight, not to get distracted by her unexplained beauty and innocence.

"Where are you going?" Meera asked, when he turned to leave. "Don't worry about me love." She seemed unconvinced with his reply. This time, it was Meera who pulled him back. "Relax princess, it's still my job to protect you remember?"

She rolled her eyes. "And it's my job to make sure you stay out of trouble, remember?" Using his own tone back on him, Meera forced Dino to turn back towards her. "What do you want me to do Meera?"

She didn't answer the same time, weighing options in her head. When she finally spoke, a smile was plastered on her face. Dino wasn't sure where this was heading. "You know what, these people are adults. They can take care of themselves." What?

"How about you, me, Zie and Caleb hang out for a bit until things quiten down around here. We can have our own party...you in?"

He didn't even need to answer that. The four of them together would be perfect. The mission wouldn't even be called a mission.

"Great, so gimme five minutes. I'll meet you in Zie's room?" "I'll be waiting princess."

They parted for the moment, Dino headed for the stairs and Meera towards the kitchen. He risked a glance at Bruce Calbe who eyes were still glued on him. But this time, Dino didn't look away. He was not afraid of the man and Bruce knew that. If he did his homework like the same way he did on Randal, Bruce would know that Dino was not the guy he wanted to start a war with. Meera might be his daughter, but he meant nothing to Dino.

And judging from the look on his face, Bruce hated Dino more than he hated Caleb. All chilled. Because Dino hated the man too. Even if his reasons for taking revenge go against Randal's terms, Dino would risk it.

No one had an open invitation to mess with his family. He would make sure Bruce Calbe got what was coming to him.

Meera

What just made her say that, Meera had no idea. She could not-could not!-trust a guy like Dino. He was too dangerous for her to believe one word that comes out from his mouth. He probably played the charming card on every single girl that he pursued. What made her think that he wanted anything more from her?

She headed upstairs, stopped at her room first to change her shoes. Her feet were killing her already. She'd hurried straight for the stairs after checking on the...