The ride was smooth, nothing happened, except that Hans’s coupe was driving faster than Jas had expected.
Even Charlotte noticed it.
Her little hands gripped the seat firmly as Jas took the turns like an F1 driver, pressing on the gas and enjoying the horsepower of the car,.
The first thing he noticed before Charlotte was the cars following him, the two blacked-out SUVs tailing behind.
"I said one…" He sighed as he stopped at a red light and glanced at Charlotte, who was already bracing herself for the next round of his driving.
Fuck, for a mont I totally forgot she’s next to … this car is crazy…
"Sorry, darling. Are you okay?" Jas asked, patting her head.
Charlotte looked at him, her blue eyes wide.
"Maybe a little slower…"
"I will be." He laughed, and when the light turned green, he continued driving, this ti, more carefully.
After a while, they finally reached the park, where the city’s best ice cream shop was.
Jas parked near the entrance of the park, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.
The two SUVs that had been tailing him slowed down and pulled into a parking spot a short distance away.
Good. They’re keeping close.
He stepped out, walking around to open Charlotte’s door. The little girl unbuckled herself and hopped down.
"Co on, let’s get so ice cream."
Charlotte’s mood instantly lifted, and she grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the ice cream shop near the park entrance.
Jas glanced back, noticing a few n in suits stepping out of the car. His bodyguards. They kept their distance but stayed within sight, watchful, discreet.
Charlotte, however, was completely focused on the ice cream display. She pressed her hands against the glass, eyes wide as she examined all the flavors.
"One strawberry, please!" She said excitedly.
Jas scanned the options before nodding at the worker. "And one salted caral for ."
Charlotte turned to him, tilting her head. "You don’t want strawberry?"
"Nah, I like sothing with a little bite to it." He replied with a smirk.
She shrugged, accepting his weird choice, and happily took her ice cream cone when it was handed to her.
As they walked toward a nearby bench, his sharp eyes flickered back to the bodyguards who got closer, but pretended to be just another group of n enjoying the day.
Jas sat down, taking a bite of his ice cream. It was rich, sweet, with just the right amount of saltiness. Charlotte was already halfway through hers, her cheeks puffed out as she tried to eat fast before it lted.
He chuckled. "Slow down, you’ll get a brain freeze."
She ignored him, determined to finish before the sun did its job.
Jas let out a small sigh, leaning back on the bench.
For now, things were calm.
The bodyguards were in place, the park was peaceful, and Charlotte was happily eating her ice cream.
He ate his ice cream slowly, but his attention wasn’t on the taste.
He was srized by the park itself, the beauty of it. Flowers in full bloom, dogs running happily across the grass, children laughing as they played.
But what truly caught his attention was the group of high schoolers sitting on a bench nearby, joking and pushing each other around, lost in their own world.
A life he never truly had.
He had never known that kind of fun, never had friends to ss around with like that.
"Are you sad?" Charlotte’s small voice pulled him from his thoughts. She was munching on her ice cream, her gaze fixed on him.
Jas hesitated, then smiled slightly. "Yeah, kinda. But when you look at with those blue eyes, all the sadness goes away." He was hoping to shift the topic, but Charlotte didn’t care for sweet words.
"You can’t be sad when you’re with … so tell why." Charlotte locked eyes with Jas again, her expression serious.
Jas hesitated, debating whether to tell her or not. But if he was really going to be a father figure to her, he needed to be honest. Maybe there was sothing she could learn from it.
He let out a small sigh, staring down at his ice cream. "I only had one friend in my entire school life. And that was when I went to college."
Charlotte’s chewing slowed as she stared at him. "Only one?"
"My high school life was boring. I was always alone. Like a loser." He scoffed at himself. "No girlfriend, no social life… no first kiss."
Charlotte’s eyes widened in horror. "You never had friends?"
"Not really."
She gasped, dramatically clutching her chest. "That’s so sad!"
Jas smirked at her reaction. "Yeah, thanks for that."
"But wait…" Charlotte’s face suddenly turned serious, her little hands gripping the edge of the bench. "What happened to that one friend?"
Jas felt his chest tighten.
She leaned in, her blue eyes filled with concern. "Did they… die?" she whispered, as if saying it too loud would make it true.
Jas forced a chuckle. "No, no one died."
Charlotte let out a relieved sigh, slumping back against the bench. "Oh, good. I thought this was going to be so super sad story."
Jas stared at his ice cream.
Liar.
But she didn’t need to know.
She didn’t need to know about Marcello. She didn’t need to know about the guilt that still clawed at his chest after all these years.
So he smiled, forcing the weight of it all down. "We just drifted apart. Life happened. He had his own things going on, and I had mine. We stopped talking. That’s all."
She stopped munching on the ice cream and looked into Jas eyes again, deeply.
"As I said you can’t be sad when you’re with ."
Jas raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Charlotte tilted her head slightly, as if the answer was obvious.
"Because I won’t let you."
Jas blinked at her answer, caught off guard.
"You won’t let ?" He repeated with a small chuckle.
Charlotte nodded firmly, taking another bite of her ice cream. "Yep. When you’re sad, I’ll just remind you that you have . And I’m fun!"
Jas smirked, shaking his head. "Oh? What makes you so fun?"
Charlotte puffed out her chest proudly. "I can eat three ice creams in one day without getting sick."
He laughed. "That’s not fun, that’s just a sugar addiction."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "No, it’s a talent!"
Jas let out a deep chuckle, sothing real and unforced. Charlotte, despite being a kid, had this strange way of making his world feel lighter, and he was also relieved, this side of Charlotte the childish one, was comforting.
They sat in comfortable silence for a mont, watching the park around them. The high schoolers had started a ga of tag, their laughter filling the air.
The bodyguards still lingered nearby, pretending not to be paying attention.
Charlotte finished her ice cream first and licked the last bit from her fingers before turning to Jas with an expectant look.
"What?" He asked.
She grinned. "Let’s go on the swings."
Jas stared at her, then at the small playground ahead. "You serious?"
"Yes!" she grabbed his wrist. "Co on! You can’t be sad if you’re swinging."
He sighed but didn’t resist as she pulled him up. His bodyguards tensed slightly, their eyes following his movent, but Jas ignored them.
They made their way to the playground, where a few other kids were running around. Charlotte ran ahead, hopping onto one of the swings.
Jas sat down next to her, feeling ridiculous.
"You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually done this before." He admitted.
Charlotte’s eyes widened. "You’ve never been on a swing?"
"Not really."
She gasped as if he had just confessed to so horrible cri.
"Okay, this is important. First, you kick your legs like this," she demonstrated, swinging her legs forward and back. "Then you just go higher and higher! Try it!"
Jas sighed but followed her lead, feeling slightly awkward at first. But soon, the swing started moving, and to his surprise, it felt… nice. The wind against his face, the lightness of it, it was stupidly simple, but in that mont, it was freeing.
Charlotte giggled, already swinging higher. "See? You can’t be sad now!"
Jas shook his head with a smirk. "You might be onto sothing, kid."
For a little while, he let himself forget everything else. No bodyguards. No threats. No past. Just him, a seven-year-old, and two swings.
And for the first ti in a long ti, Jas felt like a kid, too.
A minute later, both of them got tired of the swings. Charlotte let out an exaggerated sigh, dragging her feet as she hopped off.
"I think I’m too old for this…" She declared.
Jas raised an eyebrow. "You’re seven."
"Exactly. A very mature seven." She said with a dramatic nod.
Jas chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Alright, ’mature seven-year-old,’ let’s grab so ice cream to take ho."
Charlotte perked up instantly. "Really?"
"Yeah, but don’t get too excited. I’m not letting you eat three in one day."
She gasped. "But I told you, it’s a talent!"
Jas shook his head with a smirk and led her back to the ice cream shop. He bought a few tubs, strawberry for Charlotte, salted caral and chocolate for himself, and a few other flavors just in case.
Charlotte hugged the ice cream bag like it was treasure. "This is the best day ever."
Jas rolled his eyes. "You’re easy to please."
"Yep." She said proudly.
As they headed back to the car, Jas glanced at her, her little arms wrapped around the bag like it was the most precious thing in the world.
As they walked toward the car, Charlotte suddenly tugged at Jas’ sleeve.
"Look." She whispered, pointing toward the street.
Jas followed her gaze and imdiately noticed a whole line of police cars sped through the main road, cutting through traffic.
But what caught his attention even more was the police car parked just two vehicles away from theirs.
It wasn’t just sitting there.
Two officers stood outside, one speaking into his radio, the other looking at them.
Jas’ instincts flared. Sothing was off.
"Why are there so many cops?" Charlotte asked, her voice hushed but curious.
"Good question." Jas said, keeping his tone casual, but his mind was already working.
Were they just passing through? So big case happening in the city? Or was this sothing else?
He glanced at the cars parked near his car, so of the bodyguards were still inside, but he knew they had already noticed the police activity too.
"Jas…" Charlotte whispered again.He glanced down at her, seeing the concern in her big blue eyes. "Are we in trouble?"
Jas forced a small smirk and ruffled her hair. "No, kid. But let’s get in the car and go ho, alright?"
Charlotte nodded, but she kept looking at the police car as Jas led her forward.
This was the last mont before Jas shattered and beca sobody that would kill without hesitation without a second thought.
The true Angel of Death.
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