Dogs Among Withered Roses - Chapter 4

Berenice Rosa Valentiera.

The face of the target he valued even more than Ricardo, the boss himself, the result of fifteen years of vigilance without a single moment of carelessness.

His new assignment, guarding Berenice, was a position he had earned through sheer determination for revenge, while keeping the truth—that he was the sole surviving member of the family murdered fifteen years ago—hidden from both the Federal Bureau of Security and the Valentiera Family.

Holding in his hands the official pretext and authority to approach Berenice as much as he pleased without arousing suspicion, Erkin recalled once again the look on her face earlier when Ricardo had ordered him to become her bodyguard.

The ever-graceful and beautiful lady of the Valentiera Family.

From Chef Francesco and the servants of the Valentiera mansion, to any mafia member who had even the slightest acquaintance with Berenice, everyone said the same thing.

He couldn’t deny her beautiful appearance or radiant smile, but kind and gentle? That, he wasn’t so sure about. Whether he simply hadn’t seen that side of her yet or would never see it at all, he didn’t know.

Every time he remembered her cold gaze, so far removed from any warmth, and the low, slightly husky voice that had bluntly expressed how much he irritated her….

Hopeless. Erkin rubbed his brow.

No, it wasn’t that he’d meant to irritate her by smiling. He hadn’t even realized he was smiling, so there was no way it carried any intention. Though what happened during lunch wasn’t entirely his fault either, he couldn’t deny he’d had no excuse.

Anyway, judging by how things went today, the lady seemed set on tormenting her new bodyguard with all sorts of unreasonable whims until he quit on his own.

Tough luck. She could dream on.

Flicking away the short cigarette like tossing it into a trash bin, Erkin raised his hand to flag down a taxi approaching from a distance. Although Berenice had ordered him to walk to the office to familiarize himself with the surroundings, he’d never intended to do that in the first place.

Erkin cast his gaze down the road where Berenice had disappeared. Almost unconsciously, the name that had occupied his thoughts slipped from his lips like unspoken smoke.

“Berenice Rosa Valentiera….”

Erkin repeated her name a few more times, like reaching out toward his new target with a yearning hand. The name that had once felt bitter now seemed strangely sweet, perhaps because it promised him the blood-soaked revenge he’d been craving.

That name rolled smoothly on his tongue, softly bursting like a spark, something he wanted to savor for a long, long time.

***

When Berenice finished dinner with Brian and stepped out of the restaurant, the short day had already given way to the dim light of evening.

Brian wrapped a soft cashmere scarf around her neck and asked, “Are you going home?”

His question carried a subtle implication, but Berenice feigned an apologetic expression and shook her head. There was no need to feel guilty about turning down a man fishing for more when she’d already taken everything worth taking from him.

Having already gotten everything she wanted from Brian, she figured it was about time to start planning a graceful exit. Thinking that spending any more time with him would be a waste, Berenice deliberately smiled, bright and lovely, her cheeks lifting just so.

Sometimes, a single well-crafted smile was far more effective than any amount of words when it came to shutting a man up.

“No, I’m heading back to the office. I still have work to do.”

“Again?”

“Again? I took time off to see you, remember?”

Her tone made it sound like she was just as reluctant to end the date. Rising slightly on her toes, Berenice brushed a gentle kiss against his cheek.

“Sorry. Work just never seems to end….”

As she pressed her lips to his once, then twice, watching his expression melt like ice cream left in the sun, Berenice suddenly trailed off mid-sentence. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a tall man stepping out from the back seat of a car that should have been empty.

Oh, for heaven’s sake. How did he follow me all the way here? Persistent bastard.

“Berenice, what’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. You get home safely too. I’ll call you.”

Berenice wiped the faint lipstick mark from the man’s cheek and turned away.

Even though their eyes met, Erkin didn’t bother to greet her as he followed her into the car.

He asked quietly, “Should I get out and walk?”

“How would you even know where I’m going?”

“I heard you’re heading home.”

“Oh, really?”

Berenice stared blankly at Michele, who looked as though he’d take off the moment she gave the word, and at the back of Andre’s head beside him. The only people who could have exposed her plans to Erkin were the two sitting right in front of her.

Michele and Andre, like guilty dogs who knew exactly what they’d done wrong, desperately avoided her eyes. Though she’d told Brian she was going to the office, Berenice had, as Erkin said, planned to go straight home. Too annoyed to bother explaining herself, she shut her eyes.

“Michele, drive.”

“Should I get out then? Or switch seats with Andre—”

“Don’t push it.”

At Erkin’s stubborn persistence, Berenice snapped her eyes open, glaring sharply as if she might kill him where he sat. She’d already let one petty act slide earlier, but he just kept pushing. The unpleasant feeling of being caught in the act made her voice turn cold.

“You followed me all the way here and still have the nerve to ask that? What do you want me to say? You want to hear me tell you, ‘Don’t get out, just ride along’? Would that make you feel like you won something?”

“….”

“No, right? Then shut up and sit.”

The voice echoing through the hastily departed car was low, its threatening tone menacing. The silence born from that threatening command lasted all the way until they reached Berenice’s penthouse.

Even though it was late at night, the car crossed through the bustling center of Belloc and reached its destination. Stopping in front of a high-rise apartment completed late last autumn, Michele turned halfway in his seat and asked,

“What time should I come tomorrow? Are you leaving early?”

“Be here by eight. I’m stopping by the office in the morning before heading to the site.”

Before Erkin could even offer to escort her, Berenice opened the opposite door and stepped out, heading into the building with Andre. Only after she made sure Erkin had followed them inside did the elevator begin to rise smoothly.

“Erkin will join me in inspecting your house tonight.”

A familiar silence filled the sleek, modern elevator for a moment before Andre spoke slowly. Berenice flicked her eyes toward him.

“Is that necessary?”

“Yes, it is. If he’s assigned to guard you, he needs to learn.”

“…Fine, whatever.”

Regardless of the annoyance, paying attention to safety couldn’t hurt. As if declining further argument, Berenice gave a half-hearted nod, signaling he could do as he pleased.

Andre exited the elevator first and checked the hallway, followed by Erkin. Together, they inspected every corner of the penthouse.

Leaning against the door, Berenice watched them as though she were studying a pair of art pieces she had no real interest in, while they combed through the spacious living room, three bedrooms, study, bathroom, and kitchen.

Pressing her temple, eager to rest, she suddenly caught Erkin’s gaze as he straightened after checking under the dining table. Meeting her eyes as if he’d been waiting for that exact moment, Berenice straightened from the door.

Holding that steady, unflinching gaze, Berenice tilted her head slightly and turned toward Andre, who was approaching after finishing the inspection.

“Good work, Andre. You can go. Erkin, you stay.”

Erkin froze where he stood, halfway toward the exit. Andre also turned back, uncertain whether it was wise to leave Erkin alone with her.

“I’m just finishing an unfinished conversation. Don’t worry.”

She could understand Andre’s anxious reaction, but she wouldn’t tolerate him meddling any further. Waving her hand dismissively, Berenice gestured for him to leave, telling him not to be a nuisance like Michele.

What, did he think she’d suddenly lunge at the man, grab him by the collar, and start shaking him or throw a punch?

***

Andre’s presence, still tinged with concern, slowly faded away. Only then did Berenice take off her coat and hang it on the rack, before pulling out a half-empty bottle of whiskey from the cabinet.

“Drink?”

“I don’t drink while I’m on duty.”

“I was just saying it.”

Smiling faintly as if to say she hadn’t planned to offer any anyway, Berenice sat casually on the edge of the dining table. As she filled her glass with whiskey and emptied it as if it were water, neither she nor Erkin spoke a word.

“…If I may, young lady. If there’s anything that displeases you, please tell me, and I’ll correct it immediately.”

Standing straight with his hands behind his back, Erkin finally opened his mouth the moment Berenice refilled her glass.

“Correct it? You?”

Easy to say.

Berenice let out a sharp snort, amused by how absurd his words sounded. His polite tone, saying he would ‘correct it,’ only irritated her further, and her grip on the glass tightened as she set it down.

“Of all people, you’re the last one who should be saying that after smiling at me twice.”

“That—”

“Shut your mouth. Do you think I called you here to listen to your excuses?”

Thinking about it, it had been that way from the beginning.

It had bothered her from the very start.

And by ‘the beginning,’ Berenice didn’t mean when their eyes first met during lunch or the moment he became her bodyguard.