There wasn't so much hassle when they reached Jack Blake mansion. Jake Blake ceremoniously welcomed them and ordered his maids to offer them refreshments.
After 10 minutes of exchanging pleasantries and introduction. Jake Blake and Yasmeen excused themselves to his office.
"Mr. Blake thank you for the invitation,I was planning to send one of my team members to make an appointment with you" Yasmeen voiced out as soon as she found her seat by office desk side.
A sad smile found it way to his lips as he replied.
"When I heard the news about Mr.Patterson's death,I already knew that I am next. Though I was not that surprised but it was too sudden" Yasmeen attentively noted his words before she asked
"What were you and Mr.Patterson looking for?".
"Inspector life is like a scale,good and bad weighing on each side and we're trying to make the good deeds to weigh more. But with some bad guys the bad side is weighing up at full speed".
"To make that bad side weigh down'
that's what Mr.Patterson and me trying to do" he paused and then continued
"We all know that we're risking our lives by doing so,but if we can achieve what we want then it worth it".
"But those people will stop at nothing for their facade to be intact,Inspector our government's high profiles are the majority of the mafia world members" he released the bombshell and Yasmeen's eyes dimmed a little
"Kidnapping,Human trafficking,prostitution,drug dealing and all other illegal activities are being supported by them because it brings more profits to them. Whenever you try to dig information about the Mafia world they eliminate you."
Jack Blake docked his head down to the desk drawer searching for something but his brows frowned when he didn't find what he was looking for.
"I have a drive that we stored some important information,but it's not here maybe I left it in my office. It will help you to gain more knowledge about the underworld and how they operate. And that will also help you to catch the assassin or maybe catch the government high ups which we couldn't do". Yasmeen nodded her head and then pulled a ring from her coat pocket.
"Mr.Blake this a ring and it has a tracking device on it and a bottom. When you press the bottom it will quickly send a message to me"
"Press the bottom whenever you're in danger.We need to monitor your movements because you're their next target."
Jack Blake gingerly picked the ring that Yasmeen placed on his desk and slipped it into his pinky finger.
" I am even surprised they haven't made a move till now,but anyway you need this and I will recruit more police officers to guard you". She stood up to her feet readying to walk out.
"Thank you for sharing that information with us and please I'll be expecting the drive".
The team left with two goals in mind
'Catching Phantom and Ending the Mafia world'.
||~
It was 7:00 p.m. when Yasmeen arrived back at home
'Finally"
she slowly muttered and undo her seat belt.
She parked in the garage and got out of the car. She walked to the car's back door and brought out her briefcase together with other investigative items. She walked over and entered the house.
"SalamuAlaikum" she salam kicking the door behind
Yasmeen's eyes roamed around the place silently observing every detail inside.
The house had totally changed from how she left it in the morning with minimal design to a decorative one now. And also the aroma of food couldn't be ignored.
'I know Maama and Papa used to have dinner around 6:00pm,so what's with this aroma and also this decoration'. And her dad's voice answered her inner thoughts
"Your Maama is working really hard since morning for this event" Yasmeen's Dad Azan Ameen walked into the hallway when he saw how stupefied she looked.
"What event?" She asked her eyes trailing to the decorative living room
"Your engagement,Jalilah already told me about you accepting the proposal,so the boy and his uncle are coming today" he checked his wristwatch and then added.
"They'll be here anytime"
Yasmeen couldn't believe this,she just came back from work tired and sleepy,but here she is getting engaged without her knowledge.
"Papa I really haven't..."she started but her mom's voice cut her off..
"Oh!!Yasmeen you're back, yallah go get shower and change into a colorful outfit,we wouldn't want your in laws to meet you in your detective mode, right honey?"
Jalilah directed her last words to her husband who shook his head vigorously agreeing with his wife.
Yasmeen didn't argue but dragged her tired body to her room and closed the door behind.
Yasmeen is the only daughter of Jalilah Abdallah Adam a caterer and Azan Ameen an engineer,so they madly love her and treated her like a princess. Even when she voiced her ambition to them wanting to become a detective. They didn't discourage her but emboldened her to pursue it.
Yasmeen is indebted to them so she wanted to repay them for the littlest things they did to her with something that would make them happy and the only way is by accepting the proposal.
Yasmeen heard voices when she got out from her room wearing a black abaya with an olive hijab. When she got to the living room she saw her parents and a man seated on the sofas. Yasmeen greeted the man and silently sat beside her mother.
"This is our daughter Yasmeen " Jalilah introduced politely to the guest and she sent a secret glare towards her daughter who sat beside Azan. 'I told you a colorful outfit' Jalilah mouthed to Yasmeen who gave her mother a faint grin and turned her head sideways .
"SalamuAlaikum Yasmeen nice to meet you My name is Yazeem Aleem I am Aryan's uncle and the minister of defense of this country".Yasmeen's eyes widen in realization
'Aha!,that's why he looked so familiar'.
She looked at the fairly old man that sat opposite her with a staff by his side.
"You're doing a great job as a detective,filtering out bad guys from our country. Aryan is so lucky to have you. Thank you for accepting our proposal"
Yasmeen gave him a lopsided smile then replied
"It's also great having you here,Mr.Yazeem"
"Just call me uncle we're family now,and yes Aryan will be here any moment he's busy with some work so we couldn't come together"
"Why don't we dig in on the food before he arrives,the aroma is filling my belly"Me.Yazeem grin widely and shamelessly invited himself to the dining table. Mr.Azan and Mrs.Azan got nothing to say but to follow him.
They silently ate their food till Mr.Yazeem decided to break the silence
"Mmm you're such a great cook Mrs.Azan. Thank you for the food".
Jalilah smiled and nodded her head in appreciation.
He then turned to at Yasmeen
"I heard you're dealing with a serious case". She looked up from her plate and answered with
"Yes"
"What is it about" he asked again
"Mr.Patterson's death" Keeping her spoon aside she answered
"Oh poor man,he was such a man of integrity. Indeed We've lost a great and prominent figure"Mr.Yazeem faked lamentably
"Have you find any lead?". He asked again
'Why is he suddenly interested in it?'. Yasmeen amber eyes calculatedly looked at him then decided to say
"No,no yet".
'Hmm'he hummed dabbing his lips with a napkin.
"Okay enough about that,I am sure your parents haven't told you enough details about the man you're going to marry,Am I right Mr.Azan?"
Yasmeen's dad cleared his throat to say
"The proposal was too sudden and we haven't had a proper talk with her as she's busy. But we accepted your proposal because we saw Aryan's good qualities and he can take care of our daughter" Jalilah nodded her head agreeing with what her husband said.
"Ohh..alright" Mr.Yazeem drawled "Aryan's parents died when he was seven so I took him under me and raised him as my son. He's currently the CEO of his company at the age of 29and one of the youngest billionaires in the country " Mr.Yazeem boasted his eyes gleaming proudly.
"He's..."he started but the doorbell interrupted him
"Ahh!talking about the devil,he must be the one" he cheerfully continued
"Yasmeen darling would you do the honor and open the door for him".
Yasmeen nodded her head and stood up from her seat ranting silently in her head.
'He seemed so comfortable like he knows us for decades,he doesn't even know about those shy remarks when someone is at his in law's house'.
Her hands reached the door handle and finally opened the door. But her eyes Amber eyes for no reason widen when she saw a medieval dressed man at the door.
'Huh?Did we perhaps traveled back to the Victorian era'
Her widen eyes slightly narrowed when she heard his salam.
"SalamuAlaikum I am Aryan"
But her mind was still on his cloth that she didn't answer his salam .
This family is surely full of weirdos!
That was her first thoughts when she saw his mode of dressing
'He came to visit his in laws but he's dressed in medieval clothes what an uncultured man humph'.
Yasmeen harrumphed her amber eyes trailing from Aryan's cranium to his black leather shoes.
'Anyway he looked good'
when she heard what her subconscious mind said,she internally scoffed as she couldn't believe she found him attractive.
That's so much unlike her,she never complimented a man before because she found many of them unworthy of her glance,but this man's physique was to drool for.
And his appearance screamed danger,his rolled up sleeves showed his veiny and strong like arms which were stuffed inside his pant's pockets.
She finally looked up from assessing his physique to find herself gazing into a pair of stale grey irises that jolted her upright.
Pairs of striking colors of orbs,Amber and Grey met,staring at each other,bore into each other and observing each other's features
She rapidly blinked her eyes unable to believe the sight she was looking at. Her mouth slightly parted in an O.
She thought that she always saw such eyes in movies, but to think she would actually see them in real life...They were simply mesmerizing as if she was drawn into the depths of steels
Yes. That was how his eye color was.
It wasn't completely as metallic as the steel. There was a hint titanium hue in that grey eyes as if it felt one was flying up in the dull rainy sky . It was too hard to ignore those pair of orbs.
Aryan tilted his head and was looking at her with the same curiosity as she was.
'So this is the clear view of my detective's cool beautiful face,hmm!! She's totally not bad'
"Thank you for the compliment," he said,his voice husky like he just woke from sleep
Yasmeen snapped out of her daze and frowned. "Excuse me?"
"I said thank you for the compliment," he repeated
The words buzzed in her ears because of his thick British accent that sounded different. It had a hint of a foreign tone in it. Then when her gaze skimmed up and down, she finally realized that he was actually a foreigner.
And a very handsome and attractive foreigner at that. His black hair looked so dark under the nighty sky and his silver metallic grey eyes just added to his charm. His chiseled jaw perfectly met his cheekbones that shaped the contours of his face. At a glance, it was clear that he was an European.A dangerous European as his appearance just screamed a bad boy vibe!!.
Yasmeen raised her brow.
Not completely a foreigner though, she thought. His Arabian features are clearly visible. Mix ethnicity... Interesting.
"I didn't give you any compliment." She finally found her voice after she finished assessing him.
He smiled. "At this point, words aren't needed because your eyes said everything. It's a common reaction I get from all, and that usually means that they really like my eyes."
"Narcissistic!"the word echoed in her head.
Yasmeen gave a forced smile in return and decided to play along
"Indeed. But it's not just your eyes. You have got one hell of a gene pool in you. You must be the source of envy for all the men out there."
He chuckled. "I cannot deny that."
"How many of them have cursed you to death?"
"I don't really remember. Too many to count now," he touched his chin.
Yasmeen then decided to cut the conversation short l,so she opened the door wide and let him in,she started to walk away and he followed behind her ,she immediately halted her steps before they could reach the dining hall. She then turned to look at him
Aryan squinted his eyes as he also halted his steps.
Yasmeen said "I forgot to clarify something. It seems you've a misunderstanding that I am interested in you because I stared at you "
Aryan blinked once
"Rest assured that's not the case,I won't look at you that way, You're not my type"...