Thirty

I wake up in Brandon's arms.

Taking a deep breath, I stay still for a moment, not wanting to move. But I should. I have to. Especially when I remember what's happening today.

We're going to see the Master.

The man that tried to kill Brandon in my apartment told us where we can find him tonight, but nothing else. No names or more information. We can just trust the information we found ourselves and what we think is correct, like his name. Matthew King.

It's not like I really care, at this point. All I want is to see him. To talk to him, and to understand what the fuck is going on. What does he want from me?

Why me?

I sigh softly and gently raise Brandon's arm around my waist to attempt getting out of bed. I turn my head to look at him. He looks peaceful right now. His hair is tousled, his eyes are closed but his full lips are partly open, and I find myself glancing at his mouth.

Shaking my head, I look away. I need to get ready before he wakes up.

I start to walk towards the door. I come to a halt when I notice my jumpsuit and heels from last night. After grabbing everything, I turn around again and make my way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Brandon's husky voice stops me, and I slowly turn my head to see his sleepy eyes on me.

That voice in the morning gives me chills, which is wrong. Everything is wrong.

That kiss we shared. Me sleeping in his arms.

"Sophia?" I blink when he speaks again, and I watch as he stretches, letting out a small groan before he stands up.

That's when I realize he's half-naked. I'm still wearing his t-shirt and nothing else. It shouldn't be something I notice and be all nervous about. It's just Brandon, goddammit. I've seen him shirtless before. He's seen me—

"Hey, you okay?" Brandon is standing just in front of me now, frowning. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

"Yeah," I lie, glancing up at him. "Are you?"

He runs a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath. "Yeah."

I nod. "Okay. Good. Are you still on for tonight?"

He slowly nods in return, staring at me. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?" He pauses. "You're my partner. I'm not letting you go there by yourself. Especially not when you're in danger."

"Yeah... the Bird needs to be protected, unfortunately," I mutter, shaking my head.

I don't need protection. But the Bird does... and I am it.

"Don't you have an idea about who the Master might be?" Brandon asks, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "If you're the Bird, he might be someone you know."

I sigh. "I have a lot of enemies. I've met so many people over the past few years. It could be anybody."

He nods. "Good thing we're seeing him tonight, then."

"I have a feeling it'll be more complicated than that," I murmur, biting my lip.

"Well, sweetheart," Brandon says, and I glance at him. "Let's put an end to this. For good." And then he walks away.

I inhale deeply.

Let's hope he's right and that we can, indeed, put an end to this.

As I walk away, a question pops in my mind.

And then, what? When all of this is over... what will happen?

This whole situation took so much of my time, energy, and my mind that now when I think about it, if we end this tonight, there'll just be an... emptiness inside me.

Because I need dangerous missions to be able to... live. And that's kind of fucked up.

But who am I kidding? I've been an agent my whole life. I know nothing else, and once I tried something normal, like love, it destroyed me.

I wonder if I would be able to live a normal life. I don't think so.

Scowling, I shake my head to myself and try to focus on more important matters. I don't even know why I'm thinking about all of this.

You became too soft, Sophia. You're just weak, and you don't have what it takes anymore to be ruthless.

I load my gun, angry all of a sudden. With myself. With everybody.

With the Master.

Britt rolls up her sleeves and turns her head towards her computer. Andrew stands beside her and runs a hand through his hair. He wears a dark blue button-up shirt and black pants. Brandon went for a black suit, and it reminds me of The Ball Mission.

The night I discovered my ex-boyfriend was alive.

He looks calm. Quiet. I glance at him, wondering what he's thinking. I shouldn't be wondering about that right now, but since Nova died, something has changed.

Maybe something has changed between us. Maybe he has changed. Maybe I did.

I shake my head and look at Britt. After a moment, she speaks up.

"All right guys, time to go." She puts her earpiece on and glances at us, nodding once. "Be careful. Who knows who's gonna be there and who is exactly him."

Right. Him, the Master, or maybe Matthew King.

I step out of the vehicle just as I hear Brandon's voice.

"Remember what we said? You come near us only if—"

"If you guys are in trouble," Andrew finishes his sentence in a bored tone. "I know."

"I'm keeping my eyes on him," Britt declares quickly. "Now go!"

I narrow my eyes but say nothing. Brandon is soon by my side and we start walking. I'm actually freezing, in my short red dress and damn heels, but I can't focus on that right now.

"You're cold, sweetheart?"

I slowly turn my head towards him. Of course he noticed.

"Who cares?" I mutter, looking back ahead. "I'd rather be cold than dead tonight, so can we please focus?"

"Damn," Brandon whistles lowly, getting a glare from me. He smiles a little. "Hey, I didn't mean to piss you off."

I'm walking faster now, but he grabs my arm to stop me just before we turn the corner of the building. I take a slow breath and look up at him.

"Everything will be fine. You don't have to worry." He pauses, holding my gaze. I don't like it. "Or be scared."

"I'm not scared," I automatically reply, shaking my head. "I'm just..."

I cross my arms over my chest and don't finish my sentence.

"Scared of what we could find out tonight?" Brandon says tentatively, raising an eyebrow.

After a few seconds, I shrug a shoulder. Maybe he's right. Maybe that's it. I'm scared of what we could find out.

"I have a bad feeling," I finally declare, readjusting my blonde wig on my head.

With that and the brown contact lenses, I'm less recognizable for anyone who knows who the Bird is.

Nodding, his hand finds mine in the darkness. We start hearing voices and we both turn our head. Then, Britt's voice is what we hear.

"Guys, the password already has changed." She pauses, and I can hear the worry tone in her voice. "It's Red Bird."

My heart skips a beat. I suddenly have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Fuck.

Brandon looks down at me. "Coincidence. For the... red. At least, we now know the Master is here."

"I regret this fucking dress," I mumble, shaking my head."

"Let's go," Brandon declares, turning with my hand still in his, and we head towards the door.

The two bald men in front of it glance at us suspiciously. Before they can say anything, Brandon talks.

"Red Bird," he declares calmly, and I keep my face blank of expression, focusing on Brandon's thumb that draws small circles into my skin.

I can't believe I'm actually relieved he's here, with me, with my hand in his.

The two men glance at me for another second before they turn and open the door for us. We nod at them and enter the secret casino, where Matthew King is probably hiding.

And maybe even waiting for us.

*

I really wanted to update and didn't want to make this chapter like 3000 words, so I decided to update this kind of short chapter, still hope you like it! ❤️

BUT ANYWAYS, HAPPY NEW YEAR MY LOVES! 🎆 I hope 2019 will be good to you if 2018 wasn't! 💛

You deserve everything.

If you liked this chapter, don't forget to

VOTE ⭐️

COMMENT ⌨️

FOLLOW ✔️

Votes are actually so important and make a difference for every author on Wattpad, so PLEASE don't forget to do it. It takes two seconds and makes me very happy :)

First day of 2019 already went by so fast. I watched Bird Box (still shook, this movie is so good) and wrote this chapter!

Hope y'all are having a good day/evening/night. I'll see you in the next chapter! ❤️

INSTAGRAM: authoraudreyb

WATTPAD: MlleAb

PINTEREST: MlleAb

EMAIL: [email protected]

DM ME FOR QUESTIONS OR JUST TO CHAT!

All are linked in bio! x

new year means that this 👆🏼is back ;) I'm having a lot of memories right now.