GAMES

A few minutes later, Eros was seated in his office, facing the woman Javier had introduced as Miss Peterson. They stared at each other without saying a word for a while and Eros had to clear his throat. Was she expecting him to say something first? Why was she staring at him like that? Was she not the therapist? She should start by asking questions.

She inhaled and smiled at him. "Mr. Castillo, how do you feel now?" she asked.

Eros wanted to get grumpy and ask her to get on with the therapy already, but he figured it might be part of the session. "I always feel better."

"So, can you tell me about yourself?"

Was she kidding right now? Was she not supposed to know who he was already? Javier should have filled her in on it, he didn't have time for all this. But when he was about to snap, he heard Javier in his head.

'Talk to her, it's the procedures...'

"I run the Castillo Empire, it was an enterprise left to me by my father, Dominico Castillo before he died..."

"Er...Mr. Castillo, I want to know you, not what you do," she interrupted with a warm smile.

Eros glared at her for a while. His engagement with women these days was becoming more appalling. He let them talk back at him and interrupt him now. It was never so before.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" he retorted in a gruff voice.

She smiled and shook her head. "I am Joan Peterson, warm, passionate, and understanding, I am a psychiatrist by profession, and I love to see the good in my client. So, Mr. Castillo, who are you?"

Does she want him to spell out to her that he was a mafia? People knew they were in the mafia, quite alright, but no one could bring proof and Eros won't go about telling people who he was in public. He was a businessman in public, in the media, and to investors, the mafia was an underground work he covered with business. Now, this pretty face is asking him to tell her who he is.

"Miss Peterson, I think that's a very difficult question you asked there, besides, I have something going on with me, something that keeps messing up with my brain, that is what I paid you for, not to come and know me or what I do." The smile didn't leave Joan's face and it was pissing him off already. Does she think it is all a joke or something?

"I know, Mr. Castillo, but to be able to know what is wrong with you, I need to know you more. Tell me a little about your parents." She looked down at the pad and started to write something.

Eros cringed. His parents were the last topics he wanted to speak about. He told Javier to bring someone that will decipher what was going wrong with his head, not some nosey, probing therapist who wants to dig up his past. This was why he had avoided them at all costs. "What?"

She looked up at him. "Your parents."

"They are dead."

"Any siblings?"

"What?"

"Brothers or sister?"

"None."

"Alright." She wrote down something Eros couldn't see on her pad.

Eros' heart was hammering against his chest now and he didn't know why. He felt himself sweating already and wondered why her question made him more uncomfortable. It wasn't the question he had expected. He was going to kill Javier once he leaves here.

"How old were you when your parents died?"

Eros felt heat engulfing him as a memory flashed in his eyes, he was losing his breath and gasping for air without knowing. His head reeled, he heard screams, screeches, he saw blood, sharp blade...

"Mr. Castillo? Mr. Castillo?"

The images stopped all of a sudden and he was jerked back to reality, panting and sweating. Miss Peterson was standing beside him now, her hand on his shoulder. She looked at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly.

He removed her hand from his shoulder. "Who told you to ask me those questions? Get out."

Miss Peterson didn't object, she went over and picked up her things. "This session is over; we will talk more in the next session."

"There won't be a next session," he growled.

The woman didn't say anything, she walked to the door. When she closed it, Eros flinched. He sat there for a while to regain his bearings. Javier was sure going to die in his hands today. He shot up from his seat, his hands tightened into fists, and his jaw clenched, he walked out of the room in search of Javier.

~~~

Cassandra was even more bored playing Eros' girlfriend than being a slaved locked up somewhere in the dark. She has no one to talk to. It would have been fine with Apollo, but they can't be seen together without raising suspicion. Lucia was her other option, but she was always busy with chores. She decided to go meet Lucia at the boy's quarters since Lucia only comes to the mansion when she had things to do. On her way there, she sighted Dimitra coming out of Lucia's room and hid so that Dimitra won't see her. Why was Dimitra leaving Lucia's room? Had she gone there to warn or harm her?

Once Dimitra left, Cassandra ran to Lucia's room quickly and was relieved when she saw Lucia seated on a chair. Lucia looked up at her and smiled.

"Oh, my God, Lucia, I have thought of the worst. What was Dimitra doing here?"

Lucia chuckled and hiked her shoulders. "She came to make amends. She isn't angry with me, she was f*cking Carlos because she was frustrated by Eros' unavailability. She wishes me good luck with him and blah, blah, blah."

"Do you trust her?" Cassandra asked, sitting opposite her.

Lucia scoffed. "Do I need to? I just want my freedom from here. If hooking Carlos was going to do that for me, then I will do it. Dimitra got nothing on me, she won't want Eros to find out about her little sexual escapades."

"I feel they both deserve each other anyway. He sleeps with other women too; she hasn't hanged him for that." Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"Well, he is not the one obsessed. Enough about me. How is it going with you and Papa? He must be really into you since we have not heard any news about women, he slept with winding up dead in their apartment, that means you are the only b*tch he is drilling for now."

Cassandra was confused. "What does that even mean?"

Lucia stood up. I have to go carry out my tasks. Cassandra followed her as she started to leave the room. "There is a psycho out there, killing most of the women Eros had sexual contact with."

"What? Why?"

"Who knows? You think Dimitra is obsessed? You can only be lucky because you live in this mansion, and she can't come in here and murder you."

"First, Eros and I are not having sex, and don't you think Dimitra should be a major suspect?"

"Well, that was what we all thought until she was attacked herself. She almost lost her life, but the killer didn't get to stab her vital organs."

"Jesus, this is scary."

"So don't get too comfortable around his dick, there is someone out there who is crazier and would do anything to get him."

"That person must be pathetic. Why not confront Eros? Why does she have to kill innocent women?"

"They are not so innocent though. The mafia is filled with guilty people and judgment comes in different ways. Most of those women are whores, working for the mafia. You don't know what they are guilty of."

Cassandra cringed as they kept walking. They heard the voices of men as they walked towards the front yard, men were bellowing with laughter and chattering loudly. Soon, they met the scenario. Those men were playing their drinking games again. Cassandra has always been fascinated with their games but seeing Apollo among them made her want to join so that she could be close to him, besides, Lucia was going to be busy, so she can have all the fun she wanted.

"Hey, guys!" she screamed, and everyone went silent, staring at her like she just spoke some foreign language. "Please, don't give me those looks, I want to play."

There was murmuring among the guys. Lucia walked up behind her. "What are you doing?"

"I want to play games."

"We can't let you play with us, it's risky and you are a woman..." one of them started to say.

"Oh, really? You think so? Have you asked Panda here, how I used to wipe his ass when we played alone?" The men stared amongst themselves in confusion, wondering who Panda is.

"Who is Panda?" one of them asked.

"Oh, my bad. Bully." The men roared with laughter, Bully glared at them, walked up to Cassandra, and grunted. Cassandra gave him a cute smile. "Sorry, you have to take the fall. I am your younger sister, remember."

"No...no not the..."

"Let's see whose ass she will wipe next!" one of them bellowed and the others started to echo the same thing.

Bully gave up and raised his hands in surrender. "This is not on me if Eros comes here."

"I will take the blame, I am so bored that it's making me cry," she pleaded.

Bully hiked his shoulders and took a few steps backward. "Game!" The other men cheered as Bully went over to the other side. Cassandra met Apollo's gaze, he was glaring at her, but she flashed him a smile and ignored him.

They grouped themselves in two. Cassandra got to stay in Apollo's group, and she was thrilled. Being close to him was okay for her, even though she knew he was mad at her for being there. His anger will dissipate in the process of the game. They started the game with her group casting the darts first. The first few men all hit the point, while two of Bully's men failed. The last person to throw the dart in her group was her and she was happy that the men were already making up the mark because she was certain she was going to fail.

When the game finally reached her, she looked at Bully, he had a wicked grin on his face; he was mocking her because he knew she wasn't skilled. Everywhere went silent as they all watched her. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and recalled the memory of Bully casting the dart in her room, she opened her eyes and threw her dart, closing it again because she knew she had failed.

The outburst from the men, made her flinch and opened her eyes. Apollo has already swept her in his arms as the other men cheered her. Was this playing? She actually hit the target. Apollo spun with her in his arms. It was heaven for her, this was all she wanted, for the man she loved to hold her in his arms.

"I am so proud of you," he said to her as he spun.

Once she opened her mouth to speak, a gunshot rang out throughout the whole mansion, and everyone froze. They all turned to see Eros standing there with a gun in his hand, his eyes fixed on Apollo and her.