Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
AMALIA (PRESENT)
Kai and Valentina stood side by side, already waiting for us outside of the building as we all emerged.
Kai wore dark olive pants paired with a black T-shirt that snuggly hugged his upper body like a second skin while Valentina donned a black high-neck, long-sleeved unitard jumpsuit with dust streaks covering it.
Her sniper casually slung over her left shoulder, a large duffel bag on the ground next to her feet as she typed God knows what on the large black tablet in her hands.
“Is he…?” Kai’s question trailed off as he watched us trail out of the building one by one, his gaze focusing on Jamal.
“Yeah, Barrera’s dead,” Jamal confirmed as Noah and I came to stand beside him.
Nassim flanked his other side, while Gabriel lingered a few feet behind us, his hands tucked in the pockets of his worn-out jeans.
With the words officially uttered out loud, it felt as if the tension that had cloaked the compound for decades finally eased following Barerra’s demise. As if the nozzle his existence had around everyone’s neck loosened and we could all finally breathe easier.
“Thank fucking God,” Kai exhaled with relief, and by the amused look on Jamal’s face, it was clear Kai wasn’t one to regularly curse. “That bastard took ten years of my life with all the stress he put me through.”
Jamal huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “Yeah, I think that applies to all of us,” he said, glancing over at Noah.
I laced my fingers with Noah’s hand, which dangled over my shoulder, and did the same, trying to read him after what had just transpired.
He hadn’t seemed fazed after pulling the trigger, but Noah always buried his emotions deep down, afraid to let anyone see them. Barerra’s death was all of our end goal, but he’d still been his father.
I hated my parents, but I had no idea what losing them permanently would do to me. Would I feel relief that they were finally gone for good or would I grieve their loss?
Noah met Jamal’s gaze, a calmness gracing his features. “Yeah, we can finally move on,” Noah added, a hint of relief in his voice. His body relaxed under my fingertips, and solace washed over me at that.
Nassim had a faint smile playing on his lips as his gaze drifted to me. “It’s been a long time coming.”
I gave him a curt nod of agreement. We’d been working toward this for almost two years and it was finally over.
As the reality sank in, a mix of emotions swirled within me. Relief and uncertainty both battled each other. On one hand, I was relieved that our operation had ended with the outcome we’d worked for, but on the other, I felt a little lost.
For the last five years, I’d morphed myself into Ines Bensaid, a ruthless and unwavering hitmen who had reigned terror across the majority of Morocco’s regions.
But now that my assignment had concluded, I was faced with the daunting task of leaving this life behind and returning to a moral and structured routine at the Bureau.
I knew they’d offer me time off to adjust after being embedded in this world for so long, but I questioned whether I could rid myself of who I’d become.
Could I simply relentlessly work to erase it, or should I just accept it because, in some way, a part of Ines had become ingrained in me?
On top of that, another question nagged and lingered in the back of my mind even if it had no valid foundation because I knew Noah wouldn’t care. Still, I couldn’t shake this uncertain feeling about whether or not he’d love this new version of me.
While I’d find a way to move forward if he decided he couldn’t, I didn’t want to do life without him.
I wanted to do it with him.
“We should get going,” Valentina interjected as she finished typing whatever she had been, breaking the silence that had ensued and pulling me out of my thoughts.
She crouched down and slid her tablet into the bag. She then grabbed the duffel at her feet, only for Kai to step forward and take it from her. She pulled it back, silently indicating that she had it covered but he persisted, taking it from her regardless of her protests.
She groaned and rolled her eyes, before securing her sniper across her body, the gun on her back.
“We really should,” I began, shifting my attention to Nassim. “Do you need any help before we leave?”
He shook his head. “We should be able to manage, but I’ll be in touch.”
I gave Nassim a curt nod and glanced up at Noah, only to find him already watching me.
There was something special about the way he always looked at me and it made me feel…
Complete.
“I’ll be right back,” Noah said to me before planting a swift kiss on my forehead and moving his arm from over my shoulder.
It was only as he walked over to Jamal that I remembered Gabriel was still standing behind us. “Shit, I forgot,” I cursed, spinning around to face him.
But when I did, I found him frozen in place, his arms hanging limply at his sides, his eyes wide in disbelief as if he’d just seen a ghost.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, hurrying over to him, but he remained unresponsive, his gaze still fixed ahead. I grasped his bicep firmly, shaking him gently. “Gabriel, what’s wrong?” I urged, my heart racing with worry.
Still no response from him.
Concerned, I followed where Gabriel’s gaze was directed, only to find Valentina standing there with the same stunned expression mirrored on her features.
My brows furrowed in confusion. What the hell is going on?
Valentina wasn’t known to be expressive, her features typically either locked in a state of boredom or annoyance, especially when Kai was involved.
But the current look on her face left me perplexed.
She blinked a few times, seemingly on the verge of saying something, but when she opened her mouth to do so, she closed it without uttering a word.
Tears welled up in her eyes and that only sent my confusion further whirling because seeing her this emotion was jarring. She opened it again and her next words were spoken in Tagalog. “ Gabi, ikaw ba ‘yan ? 1 ? ”
I couldn’t understand what she’d just said to him, but by the way Gabriel took a tentative step toward her, my hand falling from his arm from the movement, it dawned on me that they knew each other.
“ Ate ? 2 ? ” he asked, his expression faltering into realization.
I watched as they slowly approached each other, only a few steps away now separating them. I looked over at where Noah and Jamal had halted their conversation, watching with the same intrigue as I was.
Valentina gave Gabriel an almost imperceptible nod in response to his previous question as she reached out to touch his face like she was confirming he was real, whoever he was to her.
Gabriel briefly leaned into her touch before pulling her into a tight hug. They held each other like they hadn’t seen each other in years.
Nassim, Noah, and Jamal had all moved over to where Kai stood, the bag he had been holding long forgotten as he stared at the scene unfolding before us.
“Does anyone know what’s going on?” I asked in a hushed tone as I joined them. They all shrugged, each not knowing the answer.
Except Kai.
We briefly turned our attention to him, waiting for a potential explanation. Without sparing us a glance, Kai whispered, “That’s her brother.”
I didn’t know how he knew that, but his revelation weighed heavily on my chest because it reminded me of my own siblings whom I hadn’t seen in years.
Our circumstances were different, but seeing Valentina and Gabriel’s reunion stirred a longing for a similar end result when I’d try to make amends with my own family.
Eventually, they pulled from each other and Gabriel draped an arm over Valentina’s shoulders, tenderly wiping the streaks of tears from her cheeks as they approached us.
Kai was the first to speak. “Is this… is this him?” he asked, his tone a mix of hesitation and hope.
Valentina looked at him with another expression I’d never seen on her face before. She didn’t speak, simply nodding in response.
The gesture instantly made Kai’s body relax, an evident wave of relief washing over him. I didn’t know the story between Kai and Valentina or how he knew about her brother since Jamal had seemed just as clueless as us, but the news seemed to bring him solace as much as it did to Valentina.
Gabriel glanced curiously between the two as they stared at each other. “Is this your man?” he asked, snapping them out of whatever unspoken conversation they were having.
Kai blushed and shifted uncomfortably, which was unlike the charismatic men I’d seen over the last couple of days.
Valentina shot her brother a glare, smacking him over his chest—or at least she’d tried since he was at least a good foot taller than she was.
“ Tumigil ka na ? 3 ,” she scolded, a frown forming between her brows.
Ignoring her, Gabriel extended his hand toward Kai. “I’m Gabriel, her little brother, although I’m not that little anymore,” he said in a playful manner, but his tone carried a heavy weight beneath it.
Kai cleared his throat before grasping it in his. “Yeah, she’s told me about you. I’m Kai,” he replied, offering him a small smile.
Gabriel firmly shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Kai,” he said, returning his smile. “I’ll quiz you later when she’s not around,” he added with a nod toward Valentina.
Valentina pushed Gabriel off with a roll of her eyes, but I could see in her face that she didn’t mind her brother’s behavior.
“All right, enough. We have to go,” she said, her stoic expression back in place as if the last few minutes hadn’t happened.
I stifled a laugh at her sudden shift in demeanor and glanced over at Noah, who was doing the same.
“So I guess this means you won’t be coming with me?” Nassim inquired, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Gabriel.
“Yeah,” Gabriel replied, nodding. “Finding her was the only thing I would have asked your help for, but I guess this saves you the work.”
Nassim shook his head, huffing a laugh. “I’m glad it worked out,” he said, with a nod of his head. “All right,” he began, addressing everyone. “Not that it wasn’t a pleasure, but unfortunately, I have some work to do. I also need to call my wife to give her an update before she shows up here, guns blazing, thinking I’m injured.”
He quickly said goodbye to each of us, promising me that he’d call in a few days after things settled before he walked toward the front of the house where his men were.
After the rest also said their goodbyes, only Noah and I were left behind, both of us standing in the middle of the courtyard.
Noah draped his arm again over my shoulders, tugging me closer to his side and pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Let’s go home, pretty girl,” he mumbled against my hair.
I wrapped my arms around him as he led us to the car we’d parked at the back.
I’d never really had a place to call home, but I knew as we walked to the car that home wasn’t a place. It was the person you were building it with.
No matter what happened, I knew Noah would always be that for me.
Home.
1 ? Gabi, is that you?
2 ? Word used as a form of respect to describe to an older female relative or respected friend (especially one's own sister), and means "Sister”.
3 ? Okay, enough already.