Agent Rogue: Espionage

Chapter 15

Sienna gave us nothing. Not for Collins's questions, my own mind games, Derek's threats or Davis's physical persuasions. Her lips kept sealed throughout, moving only to tease and frustrate us and our efforts. The taunts, however, took a dip as she grew tired. I pushed harder when I noticed this, but to no avail. After three whole hours of this, Collins suggested retiring. We were exhausted, all of us injured to some varying extent, and Sienna showed no signs of letting any secrets slip tonight. Scotty figured she may give more up at the agency's headquarters, anyway, where the security was tighter.

          So we turned in, sharing the same room as planned, and Collins took the first watch.

          Strong painkillers sent me off quickly, and it was not until the alarm on my phone started ringing hours later did I wake for my turn to watch Sienna. I grumbled while I reached for the device sitting on the dusty floor next to the sofa – somehow being cramped next to Derek on springy cushions with a flimsy blanket to keep us warm had become my best night's sleep in a long time. Dreamless and uninterrupted... until it was time to work.

          Muscles groaning, I let out a sigh. Was it not possible for me to have a good night's sleep when I didn't have to wake at four AM?

          A snore made me frown at the sleeping body beside me. Derek opted for the second watch, giving him the rest of the night to disturb everyone else's sleep by embracing his own. I'd gotten used to it these past couple of years, even as a light sleeper, as if the sound had melded into white noise most nights, but the others had not. I anticipated an explosive argument when Scotty returned from his own guard duty to find his slumber at risk.

          Collins was sitting up. It caught me off guard.

          "Sorry, did I wake you?" With the alarm, I meant.
He shook his head, voice quieter than normal. "I was awake anyway. No need to worry about it."
I pointed at Derek. "Him?"
A sigh. "His snores are... vocal."
I glanced at Davis nearby – fast asleep. "Surprised he's unbothered by them."
"Adam's a heavy sleeper," he explained. A smile crossed his face and he let out a near-silent laugh. "This one night when he was staying over last summer... I got up to use the bathroom. From across the landing, I heard something from the room but just assumed he had woken up himself. When I entered, however, I found a complete stranger unscrewing the flatscreen not two metres away from where Adam was sleeping."

          I expelled a laugh. He never told us this story. Then again, Collins rarely spoke of his private life, especially Davis.

          "How did he not notice someone was in there?" I asked.
Collins chuckled. "Like I said: he's a heavy sleeper."

          The way he watched him sleep... He had a look upon him. A desperate longing that wanted what he once had and more.

          It was not my place to pry, but I said, "You miss him, don't you?"
The subtle smile collapsed into a frown. "He's still in my life. That is enough for now."
"Is it?"

          Collins had always been selfless. For that reason, he put aside his own desires to focus on the mission at hand: finding those we lost last year. But in giving so much, he gave himself up entirely. Even keeping Davis close at hand was seen as a selfish act in his tired, tired eyes.

          I did not know how he did it. When Derek and I broke apart from the agency – a lifetime ago now – every second apart from him was agony. The only thing keeping us apart was our own minds. I tried resisting those feelings, but the pain of watching him even speak to another girl that night on the ship was too great. How did Collins endure hearing of his hook-ups for so long after having him all to himself not too long ago?