The Agent
I am going to gouge his eyes out with my bare hands. Tear his face apart with my nails. Smear his blood all over that stupid mouth of his.
He had no right locking me in here like an animal. He doesn’t get to have a say about if I stay or go. He’s not my boyfriend. I wouldn’t even go as far as to call him a friend.
He was nothing but a chance at survival at a time when I couldn’t turn to anyone else. Now that I’m out of that ditch, and my wounds have fully healed, I don’t need him anymore.
I can take care of myself.
I stopped trying to break the door down after my throat went hoarse and my hands became sore. If he hadn’t opened the door after a half hour of screaming like a banshee, then he probably wasn’t going to open it at all.
I paced back and forth across the cold wooden floor, examining the room he’d thrown me into. What use did they have for one with barred windows, a firm cot, and barely any light? To hold captives?
I wasn’t a prisoner. Not his. Not anyone’s.
I was going to prove that the second he opened this goddamn door.
The soft clicks of locks coming undone on the other side of the door came later than I would’ve liked.
I grabbed the tiny lamp sitting beside the cot and pressed my back against the wall beside the doorway. I held the weapon high above my head as the doorknob turned and brought it down when the door creaked open.
A hand caught my wrist before the lamp could connect with their head. Rather than Mateo’s almond shaped eyes, I was met with doe-shaped ones.
Blinking, I registered the petite figure standing in the doorway, remembering it belonged to Mateo’s partner, Maria.
Her brow rose as we locked eyes.
“Sorry,” I said, yanking my wrist out of her hand. “I thought you were Mateo.”
With a roll of her eyes, she held out the piece of paper in her other hand.
“What’s this?” I asked as I looked down at the words.
I recognized her neat cursive from other messages she’d written for me.
Since I wasn’t fluent in sign language, she resorted to text-to-speech or handwritten notes to communicate with me.
Which didn’t happen often. Usually, she didn’t have much to say to me.
And I get it.
I used to be their target. Now, I’m extra baggage they’re lugging behind them.
Mateo left, she’d written. Run at your own risk. Just know he’s not going to be happy when he catches you.
By the time I finished reading, she’d turned on her heel and headed back down the hall to the living room.
Brows pinching, I grabbed my bag and followed her, unsure if she was serious.
Maria didn’t spare me a glance as she plopped back on the couch and pulled her laptop into her lap. Her fingers danced around the keys, filling the silence with soft clicks.
I glanced at the front door. Nothing stood in the way of opening it. But where would I go once I stepped out? I wasn’t getting far without a car, I couldn’t cash out my accounts without getting flagged, and I needed more than a gun if I wanted to stand a chance against Logan.
Maybe Mateo was right… I was going to get myself killed if I went out on my own.
Sighing, I took a few steps towards the couch. “May I?” I asked, pointing to the empty spot beside Maria.
A shrug accompanied the wave of her hand.
The bag rolled off my shoulders as I took a seat on the couch. “Thank you,” I told her. “For letting me out.”
“Of course,” an automated voice from the computer replied after a few clicks. “He was being an asshole.”
I almost laughed. “Have you worked with him for a long time?”
“About ten years.”
“Oh,” I said, taken aback by the number. No wonder they worked like a well-oiled machine; they’d been together for a while. “How did that happen?”
“He found me after some assholes did this.” Her fingers briefly left the keys to point at the scar on her neck. “He stopped me from bleeding out and took me to a nearby hospital.”
Her story reminded me of the actions he took when he saved my life from the cruel men with the knockoff biker jackets.
Maybe his heart wasn’t as black as he liked to pretend it was.
Maybe he did have some compassion and respect for human life - even if was only for innocent women caught in some douchebag’s crosshairs.
“I’ve been by his side ever since,” the automated voice finished.
“May I ask why? I mean, were you attracted to him or…?” I trailed off at the sight of the scrunch on her face, the clear disgust comical. “What? You never found him attractive?”
“He’s far from my type.”
I laughed. “Okay, then why’d you stick with him?”
Her fingers hesitated over the keys. A frown tugged at her lips as she contemplated her answer.
“Because he showed more compassion for me than anyone in my old life ever did - and he didn’t even know me.
He stayed with me during my stay in the hospital even though he didn’t have to.
Took me in knowing the consequences he’d face for bringing in an outsider.
Befriended me when I had no else to turn to.
He’s been nothing but good to me. Loyalty is cheap compared to how much I really owe him. ”
I nodded, taking in her words. She spoke so highly of him - of the things he did for her. It made me wonder if he wasn’t as apathetic as he pretended to be.
“Give him time,” Maria continued. “I promise he’s not all bad.”
I smiled. “Thanks,” I told her. “For chatting.”
“Anytime,” the automated voice spoke one last time. She clicked out of the text-to-speech website she’d been using and went back to the tab she’d been on previously, returning to her task.
I sat there for a moment, debating whether I really wanted to go back to our room or not.
I’d spent way too much time in that bed already.
I really wasn’t trying to go back. Besides, there was a comfort in Maria’s presence I wasn’t expecting.
I didn’t think she’d mind if I stayed in it for a little while longer.
I unzipped my bag and dug through it for the novel I was reading before everything went down. I could use an actual break from reality.
Her fingers slowed against the keyboard as she watched me lean back against the cushions from the corner of her eye.
I cracked the book open where my bookmark lay and dove back into the story.
From my own peripheral, I saw the ghost of a smile hover on Maria’s lips before her fingers picked up speed again.