Twenty-eight

I push him away.

No. I can't fail. Not now, not ever.

I need to focus. I can't continue like that, not when I could lose everything again.

I had nothing to lose.

Now, Brandon is back.

It feels like I have something again. And as much as I tried to stay away, he's still here now, standing in my apartment, and I could lose him any time.

It can't happen.

Shaking my head furiously, I watch as Brandon looks at me with a confused expression, his lips still parted.

"I—I can't. I shouldn't have let that happen. Damn it!" I run my hands through my hair, looking around me. Swallowing, I glance at him again. "I'm sorry. I just... can't. I can't do that to you. And me."

He nods, blinking once. I watch as he takes slow steps towards me. I tense.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he says, raising his hands.

"I'm not afraid of you hurting me," I murmur, meeting his eyes. At least, not physically. "This isn't about this. It's—"

"Shh," he cuts me off, shaking his head. "I get it."

He doesn't.

He really doesn't if the next thing he does is getting closer, and then, as if it's not enough, pressing his lips on my forehead in such a delicate way I find it hard to breathe.

To focus.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he says then, taking a step back and turning around.

I don't move as he walks toward the front door. He's about to open it when there's an explosion.

It's hard to process. The front door explodes, and I cover my head in shock, kneeling down. I look up and my eyes widen.

Brandon is laying down in the hallway, and he raises his head towards the door, confused. Through the smoke, I see a man standing there, a gun in his hand and a knife in his other one. He glances at Brandon.

"Brandon!"

The man gets a grip on Brandon's collar and gets him on his two feet before pressing the knife against his neck.

I run across the room and drop on my knees, grabbing my gun from the floor, then aim it at the man.

"Doesn't it feel familiar?" The man smiles, holding the knife against Brandon's neck while having a gun pressed on the back of his head at the same time.

The man applies pressure, and the knife starts to move on his neck. My hand begins to shake. Brandon gives me a warning look.

"Don't miss," he grumbles, his face contorting in slight pain.

"I won't." I clench my jaw and shoot the man twice.

The bullets meet the man's shoulder, and he screams in agony just as Brandon turns around to knock him off.

I drop the gun and raise from my knees just as Brandon comes to my side.

"You okay?" he asks worriedly, and I look at him in disbelief.

"You're the one who almost got his throat sliced or a bullet in the head and you're asking if I'm okay?" I take a deep breath and look him in the eyes. "Are you?"

"Yeah." Pausing, he shakes his head slightly, giving me a curious look. "Thanks."

"No problem. Didn't want a repeat—"

I stop right in time and look away. Brandon gently grabs my chin and turns my head towards him. His eyes soften.

"Come on. You can't stay here. You're coming to the agency."

After a moment, I nod. I won't argue about this.

The damn Bird is in danger.

*

We brought the man with us at the agency. Mr. Neil was waiting for us, and so were Britt and Andrew. They all look tired and like they just woke up, but this is an important situation.

"You think he's gonna cooperates when he wakes up?" Britt yawns, looking at all of us.

"We will make him." I cross my arms. "He was there to kill me."

"But he tried to kill me," Brandon interjects next to me, glancing in my direction.

Because he somehow knew that it would kill me if you were the one to get hurt.

I automatically regret that thought and don't reply to his statement.

"This man was definitely with The Circle," I say instead, looking at Mr. Neil.

"Then it would make no sense if he had to kill you," Garry states, furrowing his thick eyebrows. "They could have done that when they kidnapped you and realized you were the Bird, but they didn't."

"The Master wanted to talk to me first, but he didn't get that chance when Andrew and Brandon arrived."

I pause and bite my lip. I keep thinking about something that the man from earlier said, and it bothers me.

"What is it, Soph?" Brandon asks softly, noticing my expression.

I blink and look at him. "What the man said about this being familiar..."

Doesn't it feel familiar?

Brandon tilts his head, and a lock of dark brown hair falls on his forehead. He looks down, his eyebrows furrowed, and then it clicks.

His eyes widen when they meet mine. Brandon opens his mouth, pausing a few seconds before he speaks.

"You think The Circle has something to do with that night, four years ago?" he says slowly, and I nod.

"Maybe," I say, and we all look at each other in silence, trying to process.

An agent clears her throat, and we turn to look at the young lady, who's clearly tired and now uncomfortable under all our stares.

She turns toward Mr. Neil. "He woke up. We took care of his wounds." Pausing, she turns to face me. "He asked to see you."

"What a surprise," I mutter under my breath, starting to walk away.

Someone grabs my arm. I look over my shoulder at Brandon.

"You shouldn't go there alone," he says. "I'll come with you."

I shake my head, aware of everyone in the room staring at the two of us.

"I'm fine. It's my battle." Slowly, he lets go of my arm after I take a step back.

"You're not the Bird. I am."

*

I stop in front of the cell. The door a few meters away close in a thud, and I'm left alone with him.

My heeled boots clunk loudly on the concrete floor as I slowly get even closer to the cell. The man turns around to face me, a wicked smile on his thin lips. He must be in his thirties. He has his arms crossed in a weird way. His right shoulder must still hurt.

"Hello, Bird," he greets, and I glare at him in response.

Noticing, he starts to laugh hysterically.

"You don't like the nickname?" He shakes his head, smirking. "I'll make sure to tell the Master."

"Who?" I demand, clenching my fists.

The man tilts his head.

"Who is he?" I repeat, taking a step closer.

He tsks, shaking his head. "Ah. Can't tell that, Miss Montgomery. The consequences would be bad."

I take a deep breath, my fingers grazing my gun. Don't kill him. Not yet.

Before I can ask him more questions, he speaks up.

"You never ask yourself why you're called the Bird?" He frowns, looking genuinely curious, but that's bullshit.

"I don't really give a fuck," I grumble, but he ignores me and continues.

"Or maybe, didn't you ask yourself why I so easily let myself get shot in the shoulder?"

This makes me silent. The man smiles.

"I had to get here. I had to talk to you. It wouldn't have worked if I just showed up at your apartment to talk." He pauses. "Lucky me. You made this so much easier."

Tired of listening to this, I lean towards him, making sure my glare is noticeable in the darkness.

"It's two in the morning. I have questions and you'll answer them. And if you really think we will let you go after I get answers, you're even more stupid than I thought, and so is your Master."

The man bursts out laughing. He's mad.

"Where is your Master?" I ask coldly.

"Oh, you really want to see him?" He shakes his head, still smiling. "I don't think you do. I don't think you're ready for that."

I scoff. "I almost got to see him. He's the one who wanted to see me, after all. I'm not scared of him. He can't really hurt me."

"Really? It's not hard to hurt you, Bird. You're so easy to hurt, actually. Your weaknesses? You don't have a lot of these, but the ones you have, though..." He pauses, smiling. "Love."

I flinch, although he hasn't touched me. The man starts laughing.

"See? So easy."

"You're wrong. I don't love anybody anymore, so it's not a problem. Now, tell me where I can find him, so we can finish this," I say, gritting my teeth so hard it hurts.

Don't kill him.

He sighs. "Fine, if that's what you really want."

The man leans against the wall of his cell, giving me a mysterious smile.

"He loves parties. Events. You'll find him tomorrow..."

And then he tells me.

*

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