Assigned to You (Completed)

Chapter Thirteen: Evangeline

I lay awake in Everett’s arms. I glanced at the clock on his nightstand; the bright red numbers stated that it was 4:07 AM in the morning. We had dinner at midnight and then ended back in each other’s arm after we finished washing the dishes. I couldn’t help but think that I had allowed myself to follow through Nimri’s instructions of sleeping with Everett.

Everything happened so fast. I had allowed myself to succumb to my desire for him and now I was in his arms and we were official.

Boy was I in this way too deep and I’ve merely scratched the surface of what Everett’s part was in their family business. But there’s this tiny bubble of hope inside of me that didn’t want him to have any part of it. I hoped the trial run would be enough for him and he would put his foot down and refuse his grandfather.

That is if his grandfather is still alive for him to refuse.

I shut my eyes tight, pressing my body closer to him even when there wasn’t any space between us. I could already imagine the heartbreak he would feel when he finds out that his grandfather was dead and what more if he ever finds out that his grandfather’s blood was in my hands. My heart clenched and I suddenly couldn’t breathe.

The thought of breaking Everett’s heart suddenly broke my own.

I inhaled his scent deeply, the masculine, musky scent that he had. He smelled of Old Spice and the ocean and I guess being born and raised in Florida made the smell of the ocean stick to your skin. I suddenly remembered the feel of him inside of me and I blushed which was weird because it’s not like I’m innocent in this department.

I had built the tension between us since the day we met and when we met again and then with just the right words from him and the kiss that made the passion I had for him burn brightly and as much as I knew that I was satisfying Nimri, I wanted to satisfy both Everett and me too because I’ve been wanting him more and more each moment I spent with him and I knew that he felt the same. I felt it in his kiss, his touch, and the way he held me close.

Everett shifted beside me and I lay still, hoping not to stir him awake. He shifted so his body was facing me and his face was in clear view. I took it as a chance to stare at him. His chiseled jaw, the slight stubble on his face, his long lashes and the way he looked relaxed as he slept. I thought back to the boy I met at the pier, of the one drinking beer to grieve the loss of a mother he never had the chance of meeting.

I didn’t want him to be my target. The irrational, unprofessional, selfish part of me didn’t want to lose him. Henry told me to never attach myself to a target or feel anything towards them.

I just crossed the line.

I sneakily got out of Everett’s embrace, grabbed his shirt and tiptoed out of his room. I wanted usually woke up at this hour and then would start working out but I think the workout I had with Everett was enough. My limbs were still sore and I reeked of sweat and s*x. I headed back to my unit and showered and started cooking breakfast for the both of us.

At around seven, Everett stepped into my unit, looking sleepy-eyed and bleary and still in his birthday suit.

I stared at him in disbelief. “You didn’t just cross the hallway naked, did you?”

He shrugged and sank on the couch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I woke up without you beside me and thought I imagined the whole thing but I was naked so I wondered how far I went in my dream. I came in to ask you if it was real.”

“Naked?” I asked, washing my hands and heading to the bathroom to grab him a towel. I didn’t mind seeing him in his birthday suit but I didn’t want someone walking in on him naked or spotting him naked in the hallway.

I might kill who sees. It’s me I don’t trust.

I tossed him the towel as I headed back to the kitchen and finished our breakfast. I managed to finish the French toast I was making without being distracted by Everett who stood in my kitchen in only a towel. I knew that the surveillance team could see- if they were already awake- but I honestly didn’t care. I didn’t have any background on the do’s and dont’s of an undercover agent and if I was crossing a line because I slept with my target and if I had to face a consequence, all I needed was to show Nimri’s text.

Technically, I was ordered by the boss.

“So I wasn’t hallucinating or dreaming?” Everett asked, taking out plates from my cabinet. He kissed me on the cheek and wrapped his arms around me and I could feel him poking me from behind.

I laughed and spun around, planting a kiss on his still swollen lips. “Yes. But you better get a cold shower for that one because I’m not doing the works for you. I have deadlines to meet.”

He pouted but conceded. “Fine. I’ll take a quick shower and have breakfast with you. It’s a good thing I woke up early because I have to be at Papa’s at eight and it’s a long drive.”

The mention of his grandfather made me pause. I thought of everything that I had thought of when I was lying in bed next to him and I suddenly imagined the pain that he would go through when the deed was done. I stopped myself from spilling everything to him because that would mean that what happened between us affected me more.

I was tethering at the edge of the cliff and if I didn’t balance myself, I would fall and land in heaps of trouble.

I finished cooking our breakfast and hopped in the shower quickly. Everett always took too long getting ready or maybe I just learned how to do things quickly. By the time I was out of the shower though, he already took his position at the dining table and was waiting for me.

His eyes darkened at the sight of me in just a towel with my hair dripping wet. “If you don’t get out of my line of sight now, I’m pretty sure I’m in for another cold shower and I can’t afford to be late.”

I burst out laughing and dashed to my room, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a worn-out of T-shirt that I loved wearing. I wasn’t lying to Everett when I said I had deadlines to meet. When I returned to the kitchen, Everett was playing on his phone as he waited for me. I sat in my spot and we began eating our breakfast.

“So what are you going to do with your grandfather?”

Everett shrugged. “Meetings, I guess. There’s a whole network of associates he has for the other business.”

“Oh, you guys are still doing that?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant as I took a sip of my water.

Everett ran a hand through his still wet hair and nodded. “Yea. I’m still on trial run.”

“So what do you think about that business? You think you’d want to jump on the wagon with them totally?” I tried to make it sound like I wasn’t too interested even if I was. This was more than just the insider information that the FBI needed, this was the information that could get Everett off the hook and free him from my sniper’s range.

Everett was quiet for a second and the silence made my heart beat ten times faster, the anxiety coursing through my veins like a river stream. Finally, he let out a very long exhale. “No. I don’t like it but my grandfather’s not giving me a choice.”

“What if you just tell him that you want out?”

“I did,” Everett said quietly, “I tried. But he told me that I wasn’t even done on the trial run yet and that I might change my mind. There’s no winning with Papa, you see, what he wants, he really has to get. That’s how it’s always been.”

“So you don’t have a choice?” I asked, leaning closer to her and playing with the bugged bracelet.

Everett looked at me with his pale blue eyes and sighed. “I don’t like it, Evangeline, and I might not have a choice to get out of it but I’ll think of something. I’d rather have my game rejected a dozen times than be a part of the business that my grandfather runs.”

“How bad is it?” I asked, not able to help myself.

Everett was quiet again, focusing on his food. We continued eating quietly because I didn’t want to press him further to answer my question. It was up to him if he would or not. Finally, he spoke, “It’s not the kind of business that you would expect.”

“Is it legal?” I asked, my voice soft and almost a whisper.

Everett could only stare at me. “As far I know, those kinds of business aren’t but Papa keeps assuring me that they’re not doing anything that would compromise our name but I feel like if the word gets out then we’ll be in big trouble.”

You already are, I wanted to say but restrained myself. Everett finished his breakfast and helped me load the dishwasher with the dishes we’ve used and then I walked him to the elevator. He pulled me in for a hug. “I need that to reassure myself that there’s always something good I’ll come home too.”

This boy’s sweetness would be the death of me, I swear. I smiled and kissed his nose and then hugged him again tightly, inhaling the musky, masculine scent I’ve grown to love. I could feel him kiss the top of my head and we stayed in that position for a few more minutes until I had to purposely pull away from him.

“We’re too sweet it’s sickening,” Everett mused and then cupped my face with a palm and planted a wet kiss on my lips, “I’ll see you later, love.”

“Laters, baby,” I said and watched as the elevator doors closed and Everett disappeared from my sight. I could feel my heart clench, I was getting too attached to him because I immediately missed his presence.

I decided to focus all of my energy into writing and into meeting all the deadlines I had for the day. When I was done with work, I tried to squeeze a little workout and halfway through, a knock sounded on my door. My eyebrows furrowed and I turned my music down. I didn’t know anyone in the city aside from the FBI and Everett and his family.

I looked at the peephole and was met by a red cap. I swung open the door. “Yes?”

The delivery guy paused and stared at me and my right eyebrow rose; he was shamelessly checking me out. I wonder what he would do if he finds a gun pointed at his head for being so rude. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Evangeline Sterell?”

“That’s me,” I said and eyed the package he was holding, “I didn’t order anything.”

“It’s from Curtis Saunders,” he said, reading a piece of paper. My eyebrows furrowed, why the heck would Everett’s uncle send me a package? “Well, this big one. You have another smaller package.”

I eyed the smaller package and wondered if it was a bomb or something dangerous. I signed the paper and carried the packages inside my unit and dumped them on the coffee table. I grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and hacked at the package that Curtis gave me, wondering if I should tell Everett that his uncle sent me a message.

Inside the box were a card and a red dress. I looked at the card and read it, and like the delivery guy said, the package was from Curtis since he signed his name under the letter.

I know this would look good on you, Evangeline. I hope you wear it the next time you have dinner with us. Or maybe dinner with just me? I think you might enjoy my presence, more than you ever would of my nephew’s. Trust me, he might be good looking but I’m the better deal. Hoping to have that dinner with you, Evangeline.

Curtis Saunders

Was he seriously hitting on me?

I threw the card in the trash and stuffed the box with the dress in it in the farthest corner of the closet I had. I didn’t even bother to see what kind of dress he got me or if I looked good on it. I didn’t know what kind of game Curtis was playing but I was supposed to be his nephew’s girl. I guess this was why Everett seemed tensed whenever he was around me because he knew what his uncle was capable of doing and how much of a snake he could be.

I opened the other smaller box and was surprised to see it filled with trash. There was a neatly folded letter beneath all the trash and suddenly, I understood who sent this letter. I hid the letter inside my shirt and then casually walked into the bathroom where I knew no camera was installed- I checked out the place when I got here for the hidden cameras- and then proceeded to read the letter I knew my uncle just sent me. He did say he was going to keep in touch again.

Evangeline,

I didn’t send this letter to Calhoun because I realized that having him come by your place from time to time would be suspicious and I don’t want it to compromise your mission. I know about your target, Everett Saunders. I’ve done research about him and his family and asked around, asked the right people.

I figured that they’ve been doing an illegal business. Brothel business and that they have associates who would gladly want the Saunders share and would do anything to get it.

They’ve been operating for years and have never been caught and I don’t believe that the FBI had known about this for years. They’ve been tipped and I’m pretty sure the one who gave the tip is an insider and I’m pretty sure that person has a whole other agenda.

Keep your eyes open, Evangeline. You’re in a pit of venomous snakes. One wrong move and you’re dead. No matter what training.

For now, do what that shady Nimri says. If he orders you to kill, you can’t stall because that would make him suspicious.

Burn this.

I didn’t question how Henry knew all of this. He knows a lot of people and he has a lot of connections. He could figure this all out of his own but I knew the danger that it posed to him. I burned the letter quickly and as inconspicuously as I could. But the information that Henry gave me answered the questions I had the first time this mission had been presented to me.

If the Saunders had been in this business for so long, how come it took the FBI this long to infiltrate and to take action? These kinds of business, everyone involved would zip their mouths about it because it gave them the pleasure they were looking for. Someone was a weasel and I needed to figure out who.

My phone’s ringtone tore through the silence that had filled the room and I saw that it was Nimri. Another thing that was suspicious. Nimri doesn’t involve himself that much in my missions or any missions so why did he feel the need to check up on me from time to time?

“Sterell, speaking.”

“I thought you’d be burned out,” Nimri’s amusement laced in his voice and I narrowed my eyes, knowing that he knew what I did with Everett. How? I’m pretty sure he managed to bug Everett’s place too. I might get away from the surveillance team’s sight but not Nimri’s which was also suspicious. Why was he spending so much energy and time to this crime?

“What do you want Nimri.”

“I got a tip that the Saunders will be invited into one of their associate’s party in New York. I’m sure Everett will be there and there’s a possibility that he will invite you as his plus one,” Nimri stated and I listened intently to what he telling me, “Don’t come with, Evangeline. Take it as the opportunity to kill Victor.”

There it was, the order to kill Victor Saunders.

Suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

“Is he that much of a bad guy to be assassinated?” I asked, unable to stop myself.

“Have you grown attached to Papa Saunders enough to disobey orders?” Nimri countered and I could hear it in his tone, he was expecting this from me, “Or have your feelings for Everett become stronger that you don’t want him to grieve?”

“Why do you want me to kill him?”

“Because he’s the head of this operation, Sterell. If we kill the king then we could get to the rest much easier. It’ll all be a mess for them and a clean-up for us,” Nimri said and I could imagine him leaning back on his swivel chair with his legs crossed on his table.

My eyes closed and an image of Everett came to mind, of how he spoke about his grandfather. He was bitter, yes, but there was still a glint of gratefulness in his eyes because he wouldn’t be where he was had his grandparents not taken care of him.

But I was an assassin and I had a mission.

And now I had an order to kill.