THIRTY
A res and I were situated outside of the abandoned building. We were currently waiting for backup, and both had ear pieces in so we could easily communicate with Braun and Kayden.
"I think we should move in," Ares said, trying to go forward. But I held my arm out, effectively stopping him from moving any further.
"You're too impulsive and it's going to get you killed. We can't move in. It's just the two of us. We're extremely outnumbered. Do you have a death wish?"
He glared at me, looking at my tattooed arm that was pressed firmly against his chest. "If we don't move in right now, they'll get away."
"You think I don't know that?" I spat. "For once in your life, Valiente, just try exercising some patience. Backup should be here in the next twenty minutes."
"We don't have twenty minutes." He pushed my arm away. "If we don't stop this operation right now, they're going to complete their exchange. And by the time our backup arrives, this place will be empty."
I held my Glock 40 calibre semi-automatic pistol in my right hand, pointing it towards the concrete ground. "Then what are you going to do, Valiente?" I scoffed. "Are you going to walk in there without a plan?"
"I don't know," he said frustratedly. "I don't fucking know. How are you not demanding that backup try to get here faster? You're the one who's been wanting to arrest Antonio for the past three weeks."
"Yes, but I'm not running into the arms of death," I said sternly. "Your impulsivity will be your downfall one day, Ares. Remain fucking calm."
He shook his head, smiling, but I knew it was due to his growing frustration. "Kayden," he said aloud. "Kayden, do you copy?"
"Copy." We heard Kayden’s voice through our ear pieces. "You two still doing good there? The rest of the team are ten minutes out."
"Yeah we're good," I answered gruffly.
"Doesn't sound like it," Kayden said. "You sound pissed, Nicolas."
I only sighed as Ares and I glared at each other. "That's what happens when your partner wants to walk into a fucking drug deal, all guns blazing, without backup," I muttered. "Do we have any units in the surrounding area?"
"I'll check. Give me one minute." There was silence in our ear pieces as we waited for him to answer. Unfortunately, Ares completely disregarded our orders and disappeared from my line of vision, stealthily approaching the two guards that were stationed outside of the warehouse.
I couldn't call him to come back, because that would've gotten us spotted. "Fuck," I said to myself. "Braun, Kayden. Come in."
"Calisto," I heard Asher's voice. "Everything still going as planned?"
"No." I kept an eye on Ares, who luckily still hadn't been seen by the two men. "Ares just went fucking rogue. He's approaching the warehouse as we speak. Should I move in? "
"Shit," Asher mumbled. "Yes, cover him. The rest of the team will be there shortly."
"Yes, sir."
"One more thing," Asher said before I could take a step forward. "Please don't get yourself killed. I'll deal with Valiente later."
"Don't do anything demented. You might be on a sabbatical, but you're still an agent." I looked over at Ares, placing my hands behind my head and propped my feet up on the table.
"Something demented? Like what?" I asked, feigning innocence.
"Like kill someone." I eyed Ares as though he were psychotic, but in actuality, I was the real psycho here. "Don't give me that look, Nico. I know you better than you know yourself. I see that deranged look in your eye if another man so much as breathes in your girl’s direction."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, and I don't have a girl." I was still being in denial about my relationship. A relationship I was yet to make official. Gabriella was the kind of woman who wanted me to ask her to be mine.
Little did she know, she's been tied to me since the day we first met.
"Yeah?" He laughed. "So the guy you asked me to take care of the other night didn't have anything to do with Gabriella?" he asked in a mocking tone of voice.
I gave him a bored look, shrugging my shoulders. "No."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I set her up with my brother, would you?" I raised an eyebrow at that .
"Fuck you, Ares," I said bitterly. "If you love your brother as much as you claim you do, you'll get rid of that thought."
He tossed his head back, laughing loudly. "Yet you still have the audacity to tell me you don't have a girl. All I'm saying is, just try to be on your best behaviour. There are better ways to solve your issues other than making use of violence."
"You know, I haven't been violent since we joined the FBI." That was clearly a lie. "Also, you sound exactly like her." I laughed softly, the memory bringing a smile to my face.
Ares smiled. "Whipped." He laughed. "I know your restraint is hanging by a thread, and setting someone's car on fire counts as an act of violence," he stated matter of factly.
"Okay, buddy, seeing that we're having a genuine heart to heart, are you ready to admit that you have feelings for Amala?" If he was going to press me, then I'd have to do the same. Hitting him below the belt where it hurt the most.
"Please, hell will freeze over before that happens," he grimaced. "The only feelings I have for her is fucking hatred, she's insufferable." He crossed his arms.
"Really?" I couldn't help but chuckle. "That explains why you're always looking at her when you think nobody's watching. I also know you better than you know yourself, Valiente."
"I don't know how this conversation suddenly drifted in my direction, but I still stick by my statement. Don't do anything reckless, Calisto. Besides, if you kill a man because of jealousy, I'll have to clean up that mess."
"You don't have to do a damn thing, I can take care of myself," I scoffed.
"Shut the fuck up," he said calmly. "When you were in a coma and on the verge of death, I was the one who came to check up on you every day, so don't give me that bullshit. "
I sighed loudly, not wanting to be reminded of those dreadful memories. "Do we have to discuss this right now?"
"Yes," he said sternly. "I don't think you understand how it felt for me to watch my partner bleed out on the fucking floor. The doctors thought you weren't going to make it. That damn bullet to the chest just missed your heart."
The memory was still fresh and I shuddered at the thought, blinking slowly.
"Nicolas." I heard Ares' voice in the distance, but I could still feel his touch on my chest and arm. If he sounded far away from me, then how was it possible that I still felt his hand? "Stay with me, man, fuck!"
I was losing consciousness and I could feel my body becoming colder. My limbs felt numb and my eyes were so heavy that I couldn't keep them open anymore.
"Nicolas." Why did he sound so far away? Why was it so cold? "Don't close your eyes." There was some shuffling, a static sound and then I heard his voice again. "Braun, we've got a man down. It's Nicolas. He's been shot and he's losing a lot of blood."
Sirens blared in the background, but I couldn't stay awake any longer. "Ares." I tried talking, but my voice was hoarse.
"I'm here."
"I feel tired." My fingers twitched and that's when I finally closed my eyes.
"Nicolas." Everything went black, everything went silent apart from Ares' voice that was slowly beginning to fade. "Nicolas, wake up. Please. For fuck’s sake where's the medic?"
"You okay?" His voice brought me back to reality and I flicked my eyes back to his face that was etched with concern. "You zoned out for a minute."
"It's those flashbacks again," I sighed, placing both hands on my head in frustration. "They've been plaguing me day and night. I'm so fucking sick of it. The only time my mind experiences an ounce of peace is when I'm with her."
Ares didn't say anything for a few minutes, but he nodded his head in acknowledgment. "What about your anxiety?" he questioned. "Has therapy been helping with that?"
"I suppose it does," I answered truthfully. "I'm just a complete dick towards Natasha because she forces me to relive those fucking moments."
"How else will you overcome it?"
"I don't know," I said. "Not only did I just barely escape death, but I also failed. I couldn't complete the task assigned to me." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I was this close to arresting Antonio. This fucking close ."
"Calisto," he said sternly. "You didn't fail. You did your job as best you could. We didn't know he was armed, we weren't prepared for that."
"I appreciate you," I said gruffly. We weren't the kind of men who spoke about our emotions. "You know that."
"I know you do," he answered. "You're one of the best agents I've ever worked with. I don't mean that from a biased perspective, just in case your train of thought goes in that direction."
"You know me so well." I laughed.
"Now, back to what I was saying. I hope you'll at least try to listen to me. If you feel like you can't handle your— feelings just call me, okay?" I nodded.
"I've got your number on speed dial," I repeated Gabriella's words, laughing to myself. Of course, he didn't understand the inside joke. Even when we were apart, all I could think about was her.
"You fucking better." Slowly but surely, I was learning to accept help from other people, because I was always the one who took care of everyone around me .
I was also coming to terms with these newfound feelings and trying my best to navigate through it. Even though I'd never admit it aloud, I really was appreciative of the men I considered friends.
They were like brothers to me.
"Tattoos and a piercing?" Kehlani asked me as we walked towards the tattoo parlour. I looked at her, shrugging. "You're awfully daring today."
"I've always wanted both." I smiled widely. "After the year I've had, I deserve it."
"Sounds like you're getting more than one." My best friend eyed me. "I approve, I just don't want you to regret this because you can be quite impulsive at times."
"I'm not impulsive," I gasped. "Okay, maybe there are times where I can act on impulse, but I can assure you I'm certain about this."
"If you're one hundred percent sure about this decision, then you know I fully support you." Her long, cherry coloured hair looked extra shiny under the sunlight. "What kind are you getting?"
"I want the tattoos and the piercing to be a surprise, so you'll see it once it's done." She laughed softly, shaking her head.
"Very well, then. If you can get through both without taking any breaks, I'll buy you whatever you like."
I smiled mischievously. "So I take it the price of whatever I like shouldn't be an issue?"
Kehlani clutched her stomach, unable to hold back her laughter. "Gosh, what did I get myself into? To answer your question, though, the price definitely isn't an issue."
When we arrived at the parlour, the doorbell chimed upon entering. I could hear the buzzing of the machines, RnB music playing in the background, and soft chatter.
A young woman with short blonde hair approached us. "Good morning, ladies." She smiled. "Do you have an appointment or would you like to make one?"
"Good morning," Kehlani and I greeted her in unison. "I've got an appointment for 11:30 p.m. It's for Gabriella," I said politely.
"Yes, of course, right this way. Blake will be with you shortly. In the meantime, you can look at the range of designs we have, as well as the prices. Let me know if you need assistance with anything else." The woman handed me a booklet and I excitedly took a hold of it.
"Thank you so much."
The entire process was a breeze and wasn't as painful as I expected it to be. Which meant Kehlani had to hold up her end of the bargain, because I didn't take any breaks and I didn't display any signs of discomfort, either.
The minimalist designs I chose worked in my favour and my pain threshold has always been fairly high. I got three different designs. The first was situated on my left hip, just one simple word in Italic capital letters. TRAPSOUL . The second was a little butterfly on the inside of my wrist with a purple outlining. And the last one was actually the most painful. It said live in the moment , in Mandarin Chinese and the placement was on my sternum, vertically.
And for the last part of the process, I chose a smiley piercing. Now I'd have two things to showcase every time I smiled. Dimples and the little gold piece of jewellery.
"I love it," Kehlani exclaimed. "Have you showed Nicolas yet?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "Wait, does he even know?"
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't hide my obvious smile. "He's under the impression that I'm getting one tattoo. He doesn't know about the rest." I gathered my hair into a ponytail before tying it with my black hair tie. "He also had an appointment last week for another addition to his ink filled body."
"Really?" she hummed. "Now both of you have new designs. That's so adorable." She pouted. "Which brings me to my next question. Are the two of you in a relationship now or is it just something casual?"
"That man doesn't do casual." I laughed. "He hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend yet, so I'd say we're just getting to know each other for now."
"Right, because the way he looks at you definitely means he's trying to get to know you ."
"What are you talking about?" We entered the mall and I hooked my arm into hers. "How does he look at me?"
"Like you're the only woman on planet Earth."