The Agent
I’ve never fucked up this badly before.
Mateo wouldn’t even look at me as we jogged through the woods. His anger radiated off his body like fire, burning me whenever I came too close. He had every right to be upset with me. I broke one of their most important rules: no witnesses.
There was no doubt he was going to rip me apart over the outcome of this mission. Not only did I miss the whole setup being a trap, but I also disobeyed him - twice. There was no amount of apologies that was going to fix this. All I could do was take the blows and pray he’d give me another chance.
Maria opened the back doors of the van for us when we reached it. What the fuck was that? She signed, glancing between both of us.
“Just drive,” Mateo told her, his voice harder than stone. Walking towards the monitors, he tugged off his mask and ran his hands over his face. He gripped the back of the chair there, glaring at the keyboards.
Maria stared at him for a moment, measuring the heat coming off of him. Her eyes went to me, and her lips tugged downward.
For a second, I thought she was going to yell at me too. But, instead she came close and gave my shoulder a squeeze.
She headed up to the driver’s seat and started the van. Before she pulled off, she put earbuds in her ear, trying to give us as much privacy as possible.
I stood near the double doors for a moment, taking a moment to take off my mask and fiddle with it.
I knew there was nothing I could say to ease his mind, but I wished he could speak, so we could get this over with.
It’s been a while since Mateo and I have been in a tense space like this.
After all the growth we’ve had in our relationship, I didn’t like being back in square one.
“I’m sorry,” I finally spoke after wading in his silence for a few minutes. “I know that’s not going to mean anything, but I am.”
He looked up at the sound of my voice, and I almost flinched from the cold expression he gave me. “That’s it?” He asked. “You’re sorry?”
“What else am I supposed to say?”
“That you’ll take care of it. You know the rules.”
“Sure, and I know honesty is one of them. I can’t kill Gabriel.”
“Why not? You had no problem picking the rest of your so-called friends and mentors off.”
I recoiled back as if he’d hit me. “They were involved with my father’s death.”
“And you’re sure Gabriel doesn’t know?”
“He’s my best friend. If he knew, he would’ve-”
“And Logan was your father’s best friend.” He tapped his index finger against his head. “Use your brain, Simone! He’ll probably give you up the same way Logan did to your father.”
“You don’t know that!”
His brows rose. “Oh really? So what do you think he’s gonna say when backup arrives, hm? He recognized your fucking voice! You don’t think he’s going to tell them you’re still alive?”
“He doesn’t know that for sure, though. He didn’t see my-”
“He didn’t have to!” He snapped. “You said his name and you stopped me from killing him. I’m sure that’s all the evidence he needs to support his theory.”
I averted my eyes, unsure how to counter that.
“What happens when he tells Logan and that motherfucker realizes you’re still alive?” Mateo continued, stepping closer. “What story is he gonna tell Gabriel? How much do you wanna bet he’s gonna believe it?”
I shook my head. “Gabriel would never hurt me.”
“If he thought you were the enemy, he would.”
“But I’m not.”
“In their eyes, you are!” He grabbed my face and forced me to look up at him.
“I warned you when we started there would be no coming back from this. Simone Nichols is dead. And so are the relationships tethered to her. Gabriel is no longer your partner nor is he your friend. When the dust from this settles, you are going to put a bullet in his head. Do you understand?”
I bore the intensity of his gaze, too stubborn to back down from it. “No, because it’s not that simple. If roles were reversed, would you kill Maria?”
A muscle jumped in his jaw as the thought crossed his mind. The heat burning off of him went down a few degrees, and his grip on my face loosened.
“Yeah,” I murmured, shaking out of his grasp. “That’s what I thought.” I walked around him, making a beeline for the passenger seat upfront. It was probably best I gave him some space for the rest of the ride.
“Simone,” he called.
I stopped, but didn’t bother to look over my shoulder.
“If you don’t kill him, I will.”
The darkness in his voice let me know it wasn’t a threat; it was a promise. And I needed to figure something out before he made good on it.