She woke in the dark. Through the slats on the window shades, the first murky hints of the dawn slipped slanting shadowy bars over the bed. It was like waking in a cell.
For a moment, she simply lay there lost in her own thoughts she just killed a man, the sounds of his screams haunting her thoughts.
She sat up wiping swear off her neck before staring at Tyler who had been sleeping like a baby.
She stood up quietly, so she wouldn't disturb his sleep but as she sneaked into the bathroom she heard him mumur her name in his sleep.
"Sarah?... Sarah!"
She hesitated before taking another step forward it had always been like this, he'd always call her name in his sleep like a sweet lullaby.
She walked into the bathroom leaving the door slightly shut, pulled off her clothes and kept them aside as she stepped into the hot shower scrubbing her body gently at first but then harder, hoping if she scrubbed it hard enough it could be enough to wash all her dark sins away. Soon after she started earning footsteps approachibg the door, quiet at first but then louder and louder, till it was almost there, she took a step back, almost prepared for anything, then Tyler stepped out of the shadows.
"Sarah?.."
She took another step back tears falling down her cheeks as the water showered down on her.
He ran into the shower still on his PJs, and hugged her tight, as she hugged him back burying her face in his chest.
He opened his tender eyes to the morning dawn, unfortunately he wasn't able to get get enough sleep tending to Sarah like his little baby. As his opened his eyes fully, he saw her standing in front of him all dressed up.
He smiled gazing at her beauty, before reaching out to gently touch her arm and share a tender kiss.
"where are you going dressed up like this?"
Suddenly the mode turned serious,
"the office".
He moved away, shocked and annoyed
"we talked about this"
She also looked equally pissed,
"no u talked I just listened like always!"
He flared up even more
"that's because you never listen!"
She flinched shocked and a bit scared. He lowered his voice obviously remorseful,
"I'm sorry,"
He took her hand in his palms drawing circles on it,
"I... I just really love you, you've been working so hard it weighing on you maybe you should take a little break just for a week, just for me".
She smiled warmly, reaching out to caress his cheek,
"I know you love and you want the best for me but you can't keep protecting me forever, I'm not doing this cause I don't have a choice, I'm doing this because I want to, and I really need you to support me on this please".
Then she kissed him deeply, enough to make her words melt into his lips.
He drew away from the kiss hesitantly, licking his lips,
"fine... I'm coming with you"
She smiled satisfactorily.
"Sarah... Oh my God you're here finally hereeee, you have to come check this out",
Stacy dragged her through the noisy but
yet quiet hallway, barging into the office where all their supperors sat.
The atmosphere turned weirdly quiet till Darcy spoke.
"Agent Louis ..... Agent Jones "
She signaled to the both of them, giving Sarah room to speak
"I am.... I am so sorry for barging in like this"
Darcy smiled looking at the rest of her colleague sitted ,
"no actually you came at the right time"
Sarah looked around nervously still embarrassed but relieved
"really.. Uhm then that's great".
Darcy kept smiling, obviously amused,
"come in?!"
She stepped right in immediately taking a seat, and attempting to say something before Brad cut her short rudely, standing up
"let's cut to the case. We've been battling the same group of mafia criminals for over 8 years now, which I know is more than the time you've spent here as an agent, although you have proved somewhat useful with your expertise undercover skills which we would now need for a new mission we'd like you to go for (the projector showed an image) they'll be an annual gala function held in Greece to celebrate Nelson incorporated this Thursday, and if our studies are right, Adrian Dickson will be there, we need you to go there dressed as a woman named Shayla Williams, a distant cousin of Adrian's, get close to him make him comfortable, a little seductive, I mean you're a woman of great talents I'm sure you'll interest him and get info on the current drug smuggling project they've been working on. Are we clear? "
She looked clearly pissed,
" you're asking me, to seduce a criminal, are you kidding me, I mean jeez Brad I have a fucking fiance, and even if for some reason you manage to convince me to do this completely insane thing how would he even get seduced by his freaking cousin"
He flared up
"goodness! They don't care bout these things, these criminals fuck who ever they want family or not, and who are you, freaking Mrs Claus, I'm not asking you to have sex with him, just give him a little booby show, get him started, then ask questions assuring him you'll give him a reward then when you get your answers flee before he realizes"
She laughed, clearly annoyed,
"flee before he notices, very easy to say when you're 'ot the one taking the risk! Maybe if you actually spent the time you use to yell at people doing actual work to actually work, we'd be closer to putting those criminals behind bars".
Brad was about to say something else before Darcy stopped him,
"are you both serious right now, we're in the middle of a really serious case we've all lost friends, partners in and all the two of you can do is argue over silly things like this... I must say, I'm truly disappointed".
They all stayed silent, giving Conrad an opportunity to speak,
"Sarah look I know this might be very trying for you but you're our only hope at this point we really need these to improve case".
She looked at her fibbling hands on the table, contemplating on if it was the right decision to take,
"I'll... I'll think bout it".
"what!?"
She turned to see Tyler standing at the door, his face pale like he had just seen a ghost. She immediately stood up and dragged him out of there,
"... Babe.."
He cut her short,
"tell me this is some stupid prank"
She stayed quiet.
He scoffed
"you're going?"
Her voice turned low, a bit scared of what his reaction to her answer might be,
"I'm not... Sure yet"
He looked her deep in the eye like he was was about to search her soul,
"so you're considering it"
He laughed bitterly before raising his voice
"and you want me to just let you! You want me to let you have sex with another guy, a criminal!... You're mine! I'm the only one who can touch you, kiss you or do anything with you and I'm not going to share that with any other fuck do you understand that!!"
He turned to to see people in the office staring at them. He took her to the office store just nearby and locked the door shut. Then turned to her remosefully unable to look her in the eye,
" I'm sorry... I shouldn't have raised my voice, I'm sorry"
She smiled warmly, maybe she should have been upset with him but she couldn't just bring herself to be, she knew it wasn't anyone's fault, whether they liked it or not something had to be done. But at that moment, she wasn't sure she had his answer, she hadn't even finished answering her own questions. So she just kissed him fading all the tension into one kiss and it seemed like he wanted it too, he kissed her back like all the answers where in her lips and he was searching for them, till they were both breathless.
It was already getting late, almost everyone in the office had left, but Sarah was still there, working on some papers while Tyler sat in a corner silently admiring her silently. She turned to him smiling,
"you can go home if you want you know, I can come home by myself".
She smiled walked over to her, squatting in front of her and cupping her cheeks,
"and leave you here, all by yourself, never, plus I'm enjoying this, you look so cute when you're busy"
She chuckled,
"I'm almost done"
She turned back to papers.
But he pushed the papers away turning her face back to meet his gaze, then he kissed her lower lip, drawing away just a little, their faces just inches apart, staring deep into her eyes, his gaze dangerously intoxicating
"let's go home... Please"
She felt her heart beat skipped a bit for a moment
"fine.."
That's all he needed to hear, he carried her up on his shoulder like it was nothing and took her to the car placing her on the passengers seat gently, then going over to the drivers seat.
It wasn't a really long drive but he couldn't stop stealing glances of her throughout, imagining all the naughty things he could do to her.
Wednesday came faster than Sarah expected. The fire of last night still lingering in her veins, haunting her silence in the boardroom. Sitting across from the agencies high rank officers, she straightened her back, masking the chaos in her chest, Tyler's constant smirks making it harder to her to concentrate.
"Agent Jones"
Director Hawthorne's sliced through the room, dragging her back into focus,
"tomorrow night, you will attend the gala in Athens. This is the closest we've come to breaking the Nelson incorporated network in 8 years, we can't afford any mistakes".
Sarah nodded, fingers curling tightly around the file in front of her.
The director's tone hardened.
"but sending you alone is out of the question. The target is unpredictable. The room is filled with his men. If anything goes wrong, we'd loose you, and with you our only chance of getting close to Adrian Dickson".
The statement landed like a weight.
The agents shifted in their sits but no one spoke. The silence stretched unbearably long, broken only by the faint tap of a pen against a paper.
Hawthorne's eyes narrowed.
"we need someone to watch your back. Someone who can blend in, stay in the shadows, and extract you if necessary. Who will it be?"
The finally,
"I'll do it."
Her head snapped towards the voice. Tyler. Hos hand was raised, his posture firm, his expression unreadable. But Sarah knew him too well, there was more that duty burning behind his eyes. Murmurs rippled across the table.
Commander Briggs leaned forward, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.
"unacceptable. You're her fiance, Agent Willson. You'd compromise the mission the second emotions come to play".
Sarah's chest tightened. She wanted to speak but the words refused to form.
Tyler's jaw clenched, his voice calm but carrying steel.
"with all due respect, sir, I know my duty. My loyalty is to the agency first. I've been trained to put the mission first, and I will".
Briggs scoffed, folding his arms.
"really? And what happens when you see her in the arm of another man? When you're forced to stand back and do nothing while she earns his trust? You think you'll stand back and be perfect shoulder then?"
The words stung, not just for Tyler, but for Sarah too. Heat crept up her neck, though she forced to remain calm.
Tyler suddenly got very pissed
" well it doesn't look like any of you scum bags are ready to volunteer, if I'm sure of one thing its that I'm certainly not gonna let her go out there and risk her life for a bunch of people who don't value it!!"
He adjusted his tie calming down, his voice calm, but steady and certain,
" I won't let personal feelings jeopardize this mission. You need someone willing to risk everything to protect her. That's me."
The board erupted in an argument. Voices clashed, some agents siding with Briggs, others with Tyler, the air thickened with tension, every word weighing Sarah down futher.
At last, director Hawthorne slammed his palm against the table, silencing the room. His eyes sharp as glass.
"enough! Jones will not go alone... And since no one else has stepped forward..."
He turned his gaze to Tyler pinning him in place.
"Agent Willson, you've got your assignment. You're her shadow. That is final."
The meeting broke apart in a shuffle of footsteps, low mumurs and chairs scrapping against the floor. Sarah gathered her file forcing her movements to stay calm, measured, though her pulse still hadn't slowed. Tyler lingered at the doorway, waiting for her the, way he always did.
"come on", he said quietly when she joined him. His voice had softened now, stripped off the steel he'd used in the boardroom.
"you haven't eaten all day".
She almost argued, but exhaustion pressed harder than her pride. Without another word she let him lead her down the hallway into a small cafeteria, tucked into the agency's east wing.
The scent of burnt coffee and fresh bread filled the air. The place almost empty, saves for one analyst hunched over his laptop in the corner. Tyler guided her to a booth near the window, away from prying ears.
He set his file aside and leaned against the table, studying her face in that quiet way that always made her feel both safe and exposed. "you're too quiet" he said softly.
Sarah traced the rim of the paper with her fingertip, avoiding his eyes. "I'm just... thinking."
"About Briggs?"
"About everything". She finally looked at him, her chest tightened. "they weren't wrong, Tyler. Having you with me... It could compromise the mission."
His jaw flexed, and for that moment, she thought he'd argue. But instead he reached across the table, his hand brushing her with deliberate slowness.
"or it could save it. You don't have to carry this alone, Sarah. Not while I'm still breathing".
Sarah's throat felt tight as she stared down at the table, her fingers twisted the edge of a napkin, she could still feel the hear of Tyler's hand brushing against hers, still hear the echo of his promise. It scared her how much she needed it.
Slowly she turned back to face him. His eyes were steady, waiting and searching for her walls to drop. And for once, she let them.
"no matter what happens tommorow," she whispered, her voice almost breaking, "I love you."
Something flickered across his face, relief, pride, maybe even fear, but then it melted into the softest smile. Tyler moved forward closing the distance and pressed his lips on hers.
The kiss wasn't rushed, or desperate, it was grounding, warm that kind of kiss that carried promises she didn't want to believe. For that fleeting moment, the mission, the danger, even the shadow of Adrian Dickson disappeared.
It was just them. Just love.
The gala hall glittered under a thousand chandeliers, polished marble floors reflecting golden light. Waiters moved like shadows with trays of champagne, and the soft hum of conversations floated over the music she smoothed her hand over the curve of the red gown, it's silky fabric clinging to her like it was stitched by the gods themselves. They were all placed in position, she quickly glanced at Tyler who was careful placed in the crowd.
And then, he appeared.
From the top of the staircase, Adrian descended with the king of silence that silence that silenced the room without a word. His height alone was commanding, broad shoulders wrapped in a sharply tailored suit that wasn't just a fashion, but power stitched into a fabric. Midnight black hair, framed his face, neat yet effortlessly wild, and his eyes, deep and piercing, a shade that seemed to intense to be ordinary, locked instantly on her.
For a moment it was like the air itself paused.
He didn't glance left or right, didn't acknowledge the whisper that came with each step, his gaze remained on her, steady, deliberate, like he had been waiting for that moment.
When he reached her, his lips curved into a small knowing smile. He leaned in, brushing a kiss against her cheek, while his hand slid to her waist, pulling her closer with ease.
"you look... breathtaking" he murmured low enough that only she could hear.
Her breath caught. Her pulse hammering against her ribs. And out of the corner of her eye she saw Tyler's jaw tighten, his fist curling ever so tightly at his side.
The storm had just begun.