Assigned to You (Completed)

Chapter Two: Evangeline

2017

I squinted at the sunlight as it directly hit me the moment I stepped out of the beach house I had rented. I inhaled the crisp freshness of the ocean breeze, loving the tranquility that it brought to my soul. For me, there’s nothing that the ocean couldn’t fix.

Well, other than the gnawing anxiety in the pit of my stomach about work.

With grim determination, I shove the worry at the back of my mind and did my usual stretches before sprinting into my morning run. Along the way, I waved to the people I had come to know as my neighbors for the past two months I lived in the beach house.

This has been the longest I’ve been in one place and I knew that the serenity I had basked in was coming to an end. I could feel the impending call that was about to come from the tip of my toes up to the strands of my hair.

I knew it because I could just feel it. I’ve felt this way before and my instincts didn’t fail me. I looked around the place I’ve grown used to call home and felt a pang in my heart, the goodbye was impending and inevitable- I knew the moment I arrived- but I didn’t realize I would grow this attached to the place.

For a girl who jumped around from place to place since she was eight, I never found a place to officially call ‘home’. After the last assignment I had that almost caused me my life, I retreated to a place I knew would calm my anxious heart.

I once told someone that the waters stilled me. But at that time, I often wondered if it really was the ocean that calmed or his presence. He had more worries that I did that morning and as much as I wanted to wash off the blood in my hands that day and reassure myself that I assassinated someone for the good of my country, it seemed like he needed more assurance that I did.

I never allowed myself to indulge in the presence of a man that long, let alone actually have a substantial conversation with him. I satisfied my needs with one-night-stands with strangers who I knew wanted the same thing I did. With Everett that night, I knew it wasn’t like most of my conquests.

Everett Saunders.

Even his name still gives me delicious chills, still lets me remember the feel of his sweet lips on mine.

Would this become more than just a one-time thing?

It was a question that had haunted me since that day. Since then, I had tried in vain to look for the gorgeous man with black hair and eyes that were the color of the palest shade of blue. But maybe the universe did mean it to be just a one-time thing. Because I never saw him again. Not even when I went back to that island.

The shrill ring of my phone ripped me away from my thoughts and back to the harsh reality I’ve come to know as life. I rounded a corner and stopped abruptly, fishing my phone out of the waistband of my shorts. I checked the caller and sighed. I knew they were bound to call again.

“Sterell, speaking.”

“Ah, I’ve missed hearing the clipped note in your voice.”

I rolled my eyes and looked around. A call was just the first step of an assignment. They presented it personally and I knew they were right around the corner. My eyes scanned my surroundings and eventually zeroed in on a tourist in beach shorts and a plain white shirt. His back was facing me as he seemed to stare at the ocean in front of him. He was on his phone and he nodded at everyone in greeting who passed by him.

I’ve been training to be an assassin since I was eight years old when my family died in a fire and I became an orphan. My father’s brother took me in, and he was the one who trained me. A part of his training was to spot the suspicious one in a crowd. And the damn tourist’s shoulders were too tensed that it gave him away.

I jogged to where he stood and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped back when he saw me. “God, didn’t I tell you to stop doing that?”

“And would it kill you to relax?” I countered and gave him a hug, “Good to see you, Agent Calhoun.”

His brown eyes narrowed playfully. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?”

I laughed and patted his shoulder. “Until you get through this thick head of mine.”

Justin Calhoun was only four years older than me but already works for the FBI. He was good at his job as an undercover agent and his age helps the team through cases that require someone to pretend to be a college student or simply someone young. With Justin’s baby face, it was easy to deceive the suspect and capture him.

He smirked. “Ah, it’s not just your head I want to get through.”

I pushed him away playfully and then, as easy as it was to be playful and flirty, I turned all business. “So what’s with the visit?”

Justin sighed. I knew he didn’t want to get right on with it. He liked our flirty banter. But Justin knew I was keen on knowing my mission. If I knew it soon, I could get it over with soon. “Actually, they’re asking me to take you to see Agent Nimri.”

I tilted my head to the side, trying to read onto his expression. I’ve only met Agent Nimri twice. First, when I joined the team, and second when he reprimanded me for an almost failed mission. I didn’t exactly like the boss and sometimes I felt like that feeling was mutual.

“Why?”

“I’m on strict orders not to tell you anything other than that,” Justine said, his tone brusque and then his eyes softened the moment his gaze met my eyes, “But if I did know something, you know I’d still tell you.”

My eyes narrowed to slits. Even Justin didn’t know and he was one of the most trusted guys in the team. “What if I don’t go with you?”

“I was asked to bring you by force if needed.”

I scoffed. “As if you could bring me down, Agent Calhoun.”

“That’s why I’m not alone.”

Immediately, I began my scan of the neighborhood. True enough, I could spot three more guys that were a part of Justin’s team. Justin shoved his hands in his pockets. We both knew that I could take them down but we also both knew that there must be others around, lurking.

“Let’s not make this difficult, Lin.”

I wanted to knock him out of consciousness but Justin played his part well. The neighbors didn’t know my hands were slathered with red blood. They didn’t know my real job was to kill. If they saw me knock Justin out with a smooth move, I would raise questions. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted them to remember me as their friendly neighbor who loved to randomly cook a feast and end up giving them house to house.

I wanted to leave a good impression for once.

“Fine,” I finally replied and Justin visibly relaxed. So he was tensed for a fight. I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought, “Besides, you wouldn’t even do well as a warm-up.”

Justin’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t respond. He knew my skills. He’s experienced it firsthand when he met me. The good old shiner I gave him then was enough as a memento of how well-versed I was at fighting. Without a word, he motioned for me to follow him to the Jeep that was idling at a corner block. It was sleek black, and it looked like it didn’t belong in the quiet town in North Carolina.

“So much for being inconspicuous,” I commented as I opened the door of the Jeep.

Justin rolled his eyes, settling on the driver’s seat. “When they give you the budget as an undercover agent to cover the expenses needed, you tend to get a little carried away.”

I bust out laughing. “Is that why you love your job so much?”

Justin grinned and replied, “You know me so well, Lin.”

I opened the window of the car and allowed the wind to tousle my hair. I removed the band that tied it in a ponytail and enjoyed the feel of the breeze kissing my face. I leaned on the window with my eyes closed, savoring the last moment of freedom I had before I went back into the cycle of plotting, targeting, and painting my hands red with blood. And then filling my mind with questions right after the job was done.

Sometimes I wondered what happened to the families of those I killed, of the children who lost a parent, of parents who lost their child.

All those lost, all those heartaches, all because of me.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly, exhaling the thoughts along with my breath. Justin remained silent beside me, driving to the location. The rest of the ride was quiet, neither of us up for our usual flirty banter. I silently thanked Justin for giving me the peace I needed before facing Agent Nimri and the new assignment he had in store for me.

Agent Nimri.

Dark skin and even darker eyes. Physically, you will fear him. I’m not the kind of girl that gets swayed easily by how someone looks. Uncle Henry had taught me never to fear anyone and never to show fear. But the moment I had stepped in the same room with Agent Nimri, that lesson had suddenly flown out of the window. Intimidating was an understatement when it came to him.

Justin escorted me into the facility. In the outside, it didn’t look like much. Like an abandoned store but I knew they were working underneath like they always did. And with a few stairs and doors, we were in the heart of the FBI in North Carolina.

“Agent Sterell,” The deep raspy voice made me cringe, the African accent still hard and evident, as if he hasn’t spent years in America to tone it down.

I straightened my back and faced him, giving him a mock salute. “Pleasure to see you, Agent Nimri.”

He sneered. “I can’t say that feeling is mutual.”

I pursed my lips in distaste at his response. In hindsight, I could take him down even when he clearly had 50 pounds over me. Still, I was swift and agile and young, I could take him down if I wanted to before a bullet could even touch me. But then again, I don’t think things will go in my favor if I beat up the head of the FBI.

“Why did you have me brought here?”

“For your mission,” Nimri answered without missing a beat, “Oh, I bet you’ll be interested to hear about this.”

He pressed a button on a remote and the screen came to life and the sight of the picture suddenly made my heart clench. I haven’t seen those pale blue eyes I’ve been dying to see again. His name flashed under his picture. Everett Saunders.

“I’m sure he must look familiar, eh?” Nimri said, a smug smile on his face, eyes glinting with gleeful delight.

My jaw clenched. “I’m sure I must’ve passed by him once.”

“Or spent early morning with him,” Nimri mused, “We keep tabs on you, Sterell and I am are sure you know that too.”

He was right. I knew it. I could feel the eyes on me but over the years since I’ve worked with them, I’ve learned to play cool and act like I didn’t. I knew they kept tabs on me to make sure I haven’t gone rogue because if I did, they’ll have an even bigger fish to catch and catching me wouldn’t be easy.

“You want me to kill him?” I asked, my eyes glued onto Everett’s pale blue ones. My mind raced back to the broken boy who had told me his mother just died and he wasn’t even sure if he should grieve her. I’ve killed people before who had no idea they were going to die at that moment, and I killed without remorse because they were strangers to me.

Everett wasn’t exactly a stranger.

There was challenge glinting in Nimri’s eyes. He was expecting me to back down from the challenge. Backing down wasn’t in my books. Uncle Henry wouldn’t be pleased if he found out I didn’t rise up to it. My eyes narrowed as I waited for him to respond.

“He’s your assignment, yes, but as him being your target, that’s still unsure.”

“Then what do you want me to do if I’m not meant to kill him?” I asked, the confusion seeping in my question. I wasn’t an undercover agent. I didn’t have anything that certified me to be an FBI agent or even to be a cop for that matter. I was solely trained to kill and that was the only thing I knew how to do and I did my job well.

“This isn’t a shoot to kill order,” I growled, glaring at Nimri, “Why am I here?”

Nimri chuckled without humor and when I looked around, Justin looked as confused as I was and so did the rest of the team. “Orders from above. We’ve been suspecting the Saunders for smuggling women and selling them for pleasure. They seem to be running a brothel.”

I blinked. Smuggling women. Brothel. What the hell? They still did that now?

When I glanced around, everyone seemed to have the reaction as me. Justin’s eyes almost bugged out of its sockets. I turned back to Nimri. “You want them to smuggle me?”

He shook his head. “Not exactly. We want you to get insider information from Everett. It’s a business passed down to generations. Everett’s the eldest of his cousins. I’m sure his uncle, Curtis Saunders, would start to train him with the ropes of that.”

I tried to remember if Everett ever mentioned a job but he didn’t. All he told me was that his mother left him when he was a baby and his father died when he was young. That he wasn’t supposed to ask questions.

He wasn’t supposed to ask questions.

“He told me he wasn’t supposed to ask questions. I doubt he knows anything.”

“And I doubt you know how this family business works, Sterell. But I’m sure you actually do.”

He was taking a jab at the fact that being an assassin was a family thing. We were all trained, my cousins and I. But technically, I shouldn’t be a part of it had my parents not died. My father had turned his back on this job to save me from being a part of it. But he and my mother died and I had nowhere to turn to.

Maybe I was just simply born to be an assassin and I couldn’t escape the destiny of being one.

“And I’m sure you know that this isn’t a job meant for an assassin so why am I here,” I demanded, irritation seeping in my voice.

Nimri’s eyes narrowed to slits and replied, “You’re not an undercover agent but you will have to learn everything you need to know in a span of 72 hours. We know that Everett knows you, Sterell, and we can play that to our advantage. You gather intel for us and when we have the right target, that’s when you shoot and kill.”

I digested the information he had given me. Go undercover. What did that even mean? Nimri must’ve noted my expression but he didn’t respond. I felt someone’s presence beside me and when he spoke, it was then that I knew it was Justin. “You want her to go undercover and what? Seduce Saunders to give her intel?”

“Ah, it wasn’t me that made that suggestion, you did, Agent Calhoun,” Nimri smirked and then turned to me, “You heard Agent Calhoun. If by seducing you get information, I won’t stop you, Sterell. You seemed to have already garnered his attention with that kiss.”

He turned his back on me and I moved swiftly, kicked the back of his leg and spun him around, my hand on his neck, backing him on the table. My eyes were narrowed to slits and the anger coursed through my body. Uncle Henry’s voice echoed in my ears, always reminding me to control the temper I had, to not let it flare. My skills were deadly enough and I didn’t want unwanted blood painting my hands because of emotion.

“I’m not a prostitute that you could send to seduce your criminal, Nimri,” I growled.

He didn’t struggle under my hold but he glared at me. “If this was up to me, Sterell, I wouldn’t have assigned you given you almost failed your last mission because you let your emotion overtake you. But if you can’t do this assignment, then you won’t have a target. I’m sure Henry wouldn’t be pleased to be called out of retirement.”

I wanted to punch him and I raised my fist to do so. But I felt someone grab my wrist. It was a pathetic move because I quickly elbowed his face and spun around to tackle him. Justin cursed his hand on his eye. I flinched at the sight of my friend in pain.

Nimri chuckled behind me. “Pathetic move, Agent Calhoun, when you know that this girl is hard to handle. I’m sure Everett would love it though.”

I growled and wanted to lunge at him again but felt Justin’s firm hand clasped on my shoulder. He held me back as I watched Nimri disappear somewhere in the headquarters. I closed my eyes and tried in vain to calm myself before turning back to Justin.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured and then reached for his face. He flinched but relaxed at my touch, “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“You were going to beat up my senior. I didn’t want to lose my job.”

I sighed, “Get me out of here, Justin. I’ll treat you brunch as an apology for the shiner I gave you.”