Kat was frustrated with herself. How could she let him control her feelings so? He was just another mafia boss. But still, her mind was consumed with thoughts of Valentin; The one who had sent her on this mission. In all fairness, Kat was the one who volunteered herself. But how could she not throw herself at his feet? A small smile threatened to take over her stoic expression as Kat hurried down the busy street. Valentin didn’t understand the power he held in those blue eyes. Kat observed them every time she saw him. Those eyes were full of secrets and stories, hopes and dreams. Yet, Katarine would never know unless Val opened up to her. Which he would not be doing in the near future, or ever. A car passed by and Kat moved expertly away from the edge of the sidewalk, avoiding the muddy water the car threw her way. What is it that that man wants me to do again? Kat asked herself as she smiled at a couple of men who catcalled in her direction. Oh yes, Kat turned a corner, find the supposed mole that infiltrated his mafia. In Katarine’s opinion Val was being paranoid. For decades, maybe even years before that, the Schmidt family had ruled the criminal underworld with an iron grip. Many people respected the Schmidt family whether they knew their occupation or not, they just had that air about them. But something was different about Val. Katarine noticed from day one that Valentin wasn’t swayed by her beauty. Most men would have fallen at her feet and given her anything she wanted. But not Valentin Schmidt. He was a difficult man to understand. As far as Katarine knew, Val had never had an affair with any woman, be it noble or commoner. But then again, how much did she really know about this enigma of a man.

“Kathleen!” A voice greeted cheerfully. Katarine looked up and smiled at the approaching figure. The man was tall and the tightness of his suit was a testament to the muscles that rippled beneath.

“Jonah, what a pleasure meeting you here” Kat’s voice was as smooth and convincing as a snake charmers flute. This was the man that she was supposed the meet, but until he said what he was supposed to say, Kat would assume that he wasn’t.

“Is your brother well?” The man asked, his eyes raking over her body quickly.

“He hasn’t been the same, but he’s getting better” The two came to a stop in front of each other, and Kat gave him a nod of approval, the man wasn’t bad looking at all. In fact, close up he was quite a looker.

“I’m sorry to hear that” The man said, his basso voice reverberating through Kat’s chest, “But as they say, Aller Anfang ist schwer.” There it is, Kat thought, her heart racing, All beginnings are hard. It was meant to signal that her joining the mafia wouldn’t be easy.

“Naturlich” Kat gave a little bow and the man offered his arm.

“Come, let us get something to eat and talk about it” Katarine linked her arm through his and forced herself not to cry out. Why did have to squeeze her arm so? Perhaps it wasn’t common to have a woman join the group. ‘Jonah’ kept a smile plastered on his face and Kat knew that the moment they were out of sight of any prying eyes, the smile would vanish. They walked for a little and came to a small cafe at the edge of town, Kat and ‘Jonah’ sat and had coffee, talking to each other as if they had been friends for a while. Kat forced herself to calm down and act natural. This was unlike anything she had ever done before. It was way beyond pick pocketing or smuggling precious metals, it was hard, yet it required you to act natural. Katarine had plenty of practice of acting natural, she even had friends in the local police station and in the military. She was untouchable, and many of the criminals admired her for that.Well, all except Valentin. A frown threatened to darken her pleasant demeanor, and Kat focused on Jonah’s useless rambling. After spending a considerable amount of time in the shop, Kat and Jonah got into a taxi and sped away from town. Immediately Kat could see that the driver was on their side, and she applauded Val silently for his resourcefulness. Jonah took the passenger seat and left Kat to think as he spoke in a hushed tone to the driver.

“The Don getting sloppy I see” The driver said in an unfriendly tone, he shot Kat a smoldering look in the rear view mirror. Jonah chuckled but said nothing. “And what will your job be fräulein?” The driver said with a laugh as he looked away from her and focused his attention on the road, “You will be our charmer?” Katarine stared at the man with an look of complete calm on her face.

“Be careful” Her voice was smooth and calculating, “That’s traitorous talk” That shut him up quickly, and Jonah shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The rest of the ride was quiet and the most talking Jonah did was to give directions. After driving for twenty five minutes, they were parked outside of a modern house.

“Wilkomin” Jonah said dryly, “To what used to be our den” He opened the door and slammed it shut, not even trying to open Kat’s door.

“If you lollygag I might just take you home” The driver said with a glint in his eye. Kat clicked her tongue in disapproval, got out of the car and hurried to catch up with Jonah. The house loomed above them and though it was daytime, it had a dark presence. All windows were shuttered and the door was painted a deathly black. Kat and Jonah climbed up the front stairs, Jonah was about to knock, but then changed his mind and turned to Kat.

“I can’t promise you protection when we get in there” his voice was flat.

“And I can’t promise you’ll keep your job” She gave him a smug smile. Jonah stared at her for a moment longer, trying to determine how much power she had over his boss. Kat assumed he thought she had plenty, because he muttered something about ‘doing what he could’ as he knocked on the door. Kat was startled to hear someone knock on the other side of the door, copying Jonah’s exact pattern. Jonah knocked again, this time switching up the pattern. The person behind the door didn’t copy it exactly, but gave a variation of it. Jonah and the person behind the door seemed satisfied and the door swung open. Jonah was pulled inside and several men pounced on him, ruffling his hair and giving him friendly shoves. Kat smoothed out her skirt and stepped into the foyer, closing the door in the taxi drivers face. The group of men stopped their buffoonery and stared at Katarine in shock. Then they slowly straightened and turned to look at Jonah, who raised his hands in surrender.

“Schmidt’s orders. Take her. Train her. Make her one of us” There was no sound as the men turned their eyes to Katarine once more. Kat wasn’t swayed when they looked her over, their eyes lingering on parts of her body that would never be available to them. Like a lamb in a lion’s den, Kat thought absentmindedly as they considered what to do with her.

“Who is in charge here?” Kat’s voice was strong and she ignored the taxi driver as he came in and glared at her. A huge man stepped forward and crossed his arms, the scars and cuts that dotted his body spoke volumes about his fighting skills.

“I am” he said.

“Super” Kat said and smiled at him, “Kathleen, you are?”

“None of your business” He growled.

Kat shrugged, “Where will I stay?”

“Not in this house” The man walked to her slowly, trying to intimidate her. Katarine stood firm and looked up at him as he came to a stop in front of her.

“Val’s orders” She said, making sure to say Valentin’s name as sweetly as possible. She grinned wider when she saw the gears turning in his mind. Let them think what they wanted about her and Val, all she knew was that it was going to work.

“You think you’re special, sweetheart? The Don has had plenty of women come and go. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.” the silly man smirked, thinking he had won.

Katarine stopped smiling, “I’d hate to see you lose your job over a little misunderstanding.” She said seriously, when she smiled was one thing, but her frown was a completely different matter.

The taxi driver growled and stepped closer, “You’re playing a dangerous game, woman”

A smile lit up Kat’s face once more, " I’m not the one who should be worried here. Just remember, I always have a way of getting what I want. And what I want is to stay. " The man standing before her hesitated before instructing Jonah to take her to her quarters.