Mission: Undercover

Chapter 29

"Did you... Did you kill him?"

"Of course not, Nessa," Jackson answered for his brother.

"Then who?"

"How the hell would I know?" Cole replied, this time rather harshly.

"And why did he want to kill you?"

Vanessa's questions, and perhaps her very presence, unnerved Cole. He turned to her. "Stop asking questions, Vanessa! And stop messing around with things that are not your business! Go to your room!"

His voice was rough. His eyes were icy. There was no feeling in them—just anger.

"Don't yell at me, Cole." Vanessa also raised her voice. "I'm not going anywhere, and dammit, stop bossing me around!"

"I am so sick of your stupid childish attitude! I am so sick of you!" Cole was out of control. "It's much better when I don't have to see you all the time! And don't come back to work because you are fired!"

"Well, good!" Vanessa yelled furiously. "So I can finally do this!"

She stepped towards Cole, swung her hand, and slapped him.

Once again, she didn't manage to control herself. No matter how hard she tried, he always made her act irrationally.

But she felt such a relief. She was getting closer to the needed strength to do what she had to do in the end.

And Cole let her. He wanted it, too. He needed it.

But in the next moment, he gripped her hand tightly. "Don't ever do that again, Vanessa."

Jackson, who had been standing to the side and at first even enjoyed watching them fight, interjected, now worried. He took his brother's hand. "Shit, Cole. Let her go. You're going to hurt her."

Cole loosened his fingers and let go of Vanessa's hand, then waved his own slightly so Jackson could let go of him too.

But he kept looking at her. So she did too. At that moment, they both knew it was the end—the end of something that hadn't even begun.

Jackson stood between the two and put his hands on Vanessa's shoulders. "Go to your room, please, Nessa. Please!"

Vanessa took a deep breath to calm the raging adrenaline and, without saying anything, she headed up the stairs.

At this point, Jackson turned to Cole. "What's wrong with you, bro? What's wrong with both of you?"

"Nothing," Cole replied nonchalantly as if nothing had happened. "I'm fixing the mistake I made by hiring her."

***

Meanwhile, Vanessa entered her room. She opened her backpack and pulled out her gun. She looked at it for a second and looked at the door, giving herself a moment to calm down. Then she leaned against the wall and slid down until she sat on the floor. "Soon," she muttered as she looked at the gun again. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. "Soon."

After a while, Jackson's voice was heard calling from downstairs. "Nessa, we're going out."

Vanessa opened her eyes. She put away her gun, and a few minutes later, she went to the kitchen.

"Nessa, there you are."

"Danny, hi."

"What's going on? You look upset."

"Nothing. Do you want coffee?" Vanessa asked him after taking her cup from the coffee machine.

"Yes, thank you."