Dogs Among Withered Roses - Chapter 9

“Ricardo, should I go get a priest? Or should we go to church, confess our sins, and pray, ‘It’s my fault, it’s my fault’? Want to go into the confessional together?”

“Why the hell would I do that with you?”

“Then why are you interrogating me like this? I’ve said it over and over, it wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t approached me first. It’s not like I went around begging for attention, dripping with honey, asking them to come. They came to me because they wanted to. Look at bees and butterflies, they find flowers even without being called. They work hard, and when the work’s done, they die cleanly. It’s the same thing. Russo’s just unlucky that his time came a bit early.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Bees and butterflies?”

Ricardo rubbed his face wearily, saying he’d already lost count of how many times he’d been speechless, and it wasn’t even past Monday lunchtime.

“If you’d just been stupid enough to get played, I would’ve scolded you for that instead.”

“When have you ever not scolded me, Ricardo? You act like I’m the problem here.”

“That’s because you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong.”

“I haven’t.”

“I’m going to lose my mind….”

“Have you not read the news lately? It’s not illegal to set the stage for someone clearly intending to commit a crime and then wait for them to actually do it. It’s not entrapment. The Bureau guys pull that kind of stunt all the time, so why can’t I?”

“I should’ve raised you as an investigator instead.”

“Me? Don’t even joke about that.”

Even Erkin was quietly appalled by Berenice’s absurd nonsense. From his place on the sidelines, he could only sigh to himself. If just hearing it was this exhausting, he couldn’t imagine how Ricardo felt. All talk and no purpose, really….

Looking over the redevelopment article and photos of Russo Gucci with slightly less interest and a bit more fatigue than before, Ricardo picked one of the nearly identical shots and took it with him, returning the rest to Berenice.

“Looks like Russo still had enough sense not to take any more tribute money.”

Mentioning the latest report from Emilio Ramaro, the underboss, Ricardo subtly hinted that it was at least some small relief. But Berenice, frowning, asked back sharply.

“Are you sure about that?”

“What do you mean?”

“If he’d had an ounce of sense, he wouldn’t have pulled something like this in the first place. His so-called instincts clearly died halfway through evolution.”

Ricardo couldn’t even argue; she was right.

Then, out of nowhere, he asked, “What about that Bridgent guy?”

“Brian? Compared to Russo? Well—”

“Choose your words carefully, Berenice.”

“….”

“Think before you speak.”

Ricardo’s tone carried a heavy warning. Berenice, who had been about to reply flippantly as usual, suddenly froze.

The look on Ricardo’s face as he asked about Brian’s real identity and motives, whom she’d met even before breaking things off with Russo, was cold enough to strip the air bare. Until now, he’d tolerated her vague excuses, but that patience was clearly gone.

It was the kind of expression that said he’d put up with his little sister’s antics long enough, and that the next wrong word might make him grab a shotgun and storm out.

Berenice swallowed dryly, feeling the tension crawl up her spine. Behind her, Erkin instinctively moved as if to shield her, but Berenice, regaining her composure, offered her explanation just a moment faster.

“Brian’s not like that. I swear. And I don’t mean that because you look like you’re about to blow his head off, but because it’s true. Russo planned to use me and squeeze me dry, but Brian was different. At least with him, it was mutual. We both got something out of it. So relax your face.”

“Mutual? In what way?”

Ricardo’s expression darkened dangerously, and Berenice, realizing her slip, turned toward Erkin for help.

Given the situation, she clearly thought he was her only possible ally, but unfortunately, in front of Ricardo, Erkin wasn’t much different from her. The only advantage she had was that she was his sister. Erkin wasn’t even blood.

“So, Lockwood tried to use you too.”

“Well… it’s complicated. Technically, he did make the first move, but I’m the one who got the better end of it. The redevelopment information came from Brian.”

“He told you that willingly?”

“Well, not exactly. I just happened to find out. By chance.”

“By chance?”

“By chance. While talking.”

Let’s be honest. The only people involved in that conversation were the Lockwood brothers. Ricardo’s sharp question followed immediately, but Berenice didn’t answer. She had no problem bragging about wiretapping in front of Erkin, yet she couldn’t bring herself to say the same in front of Ricardo.

Noticing her lips pressed tightly shut, Erkin decided to confess on her behalf. The right to remain silent only worked in front of investigators, and staying quiet here wasn’t going to solve anything.

“The young lady eavesdropped on the Lockwood brothers’ conversation.”

“Hey, you—!”

Startled, Berenice shot up from her seat, completely thrown off by Erkin’s confession. Her body swayed dangerously, and just as her stiletto heels—shoes she rarely wore—failed to bear her weight and she lost balance, Erkin caught her by the arm and waist, pulling her up effortlessly.

It was a close call.

The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye, and though the surprise lasted only a moment, Erkin froze again, startled by Berenice’s face filling his entire vision.

She was a woman he’d only ever seen half-hidden, her downcast eyes revealing little more than fragments of her expression.

He was used to standing somewhere her gaze couldn’t reach, quietly observing the crown of her head or the faint corner of her eyes from afar. And when their eyes did meet by chance, he’d always looked away first, pretending he hadn’t noticed, wary of what might happen if he did.

There were even times when she’d smiled at him—brightly, casually—and he’d turned his back as if burned, ignoring her.

He’d been the same since they met again. Even yesterday, at the luncheon in the mansion, or later in the penthouse when she called him over. He’d exchanged glances with her countless times since officially becoming her bodyguard, yet never once had he truly looked at her.

He’d told himself it was an instinctive reflex, the natural avoidance of a man carrying too many secrets. It was easier to believe that than to question why.

Still….

Finding himself suddenly face-to-face with her, unable to look away, left him strangely stunned. It had been a long time since anything had surprised him like this.

Anyway. Relieved that Berenice’s ankle hadn’t twisted, Erkin’s breathing slowly quieted to a hush. He didn’t want to be conscious of it, but it was the first time they’d ever faced each other so abruptly, and they were far too close.

Too close.

Erkin stared mesmerized at Berenice’s eyes, now so close he could see every detail, from the dilated pupils to the flutter of her thick eyelashes.

He’d always known her eyes were a deep shade of green, but up close, calling them merely green felt inadequate. Just seeing them wasn’t enough. Searching for the right description, his eyes narrowed slightly.

It was like the color of ripened grass at its peak.

Or the drenched greenery after a night of heavy rain.

The shade reminded him of fading roses and the lushness of summer’s beginning, all blending together to hold his gaze captive. The faint, sweet scent brushing against his nose stirred something restless inside him, and when his throat moved with a dry swallow, Berenice flinched. She slapped a hand over her mouth and hiccupped.

A small, almost silly hiccup escaped her lips, and as she squirmed slightly in his arms, Erkin finally realized she was still clinging to him. He gently set her down, as if nothing had happened.

Once her heels touched the floor, he made sure she was steady before slowly letting go of her waist. But before he could even take a step back, a dry, unimpressed voice cut in from beside them.

“You two look pretty close. Should I give you some space?”

Ricardo, chin propped on his hand, was watching them with an expression that said, ‘What the hell are you two doing?’ Straightening her clothes in a fluster, Berenice immediately snapped back.

“Close, my ass. Are you insane?”

“Watch your mouth. Who told you to wear such high heels? I knew they’d be trouble the moment you walked in. Now sit down and stop making a scene.”

Trying to hide her embarrassment, Berenice pressed her lips together and sat back down, facing Ricardo.

“So, you’re saying you eavesdropped?”

On the Lockwood brothers’ conversation, no less? Ricardo’s piercing glare asked what the hell she was thinking, why she’d gone so far as to mess with not just a lawyer but a re-elected senator. Under that chilling stare, Berenice lowered her gaze.

“It wasn’t on purpose. I honestly didn’t think I’d catch something like that. I just wanted to find out why Brian had approached me in the first place.”

“So? What did he get out of it?”

“…Who knows. Honestly, even I’m not sure. He said his brother told him to meet me, but he found me more interesting than he expected.”

Berenice scratched her chin, summarizing the conversation she’d overheard as concisely as she could, though even she didn’t fully understand it. Ricardo’s brows furrowed slightly, mirroring his sister’s expression.

“He said you’re interesting? How the hell?”

“Exactly. Is just looking at my face supposed to be interesting?”

“….”

Ricardo let out a deep sigh from somewhere in his chest, the kind that burned like smoke. Then he glanced sideways at Erkin with a look that said, ‘Can you make sense of this?’

Before Ricardo’s gaze could land, Erkin quickly looked down, pretending to be preoccupied with something else. Why did the boss always have to look at him at times like this, making things awkward?

Berenice, stroking her so-called ‘interesting face,’ finally voiced the question that had been bothering her.

“I’m curious too, but how could I possibly know? Sure, he asked me out with some kind of motive, but I still don’t get what it was. I thought maybe he wanted a seat at the table with Senator Lockwood and the Family executives, but that doesn’t seem to be it either.”

“Probably not.”