Taking Hold {ON HOLD}

Chapter Two

It was the soft, almost unnoticeable, snores drifting over from the backseat that made Adam smile. He knew that Ana hadn't slept at all during her stay at Office a la Adam, not that he could really blame her given the camp beds that appeared to have been resurrected from wartime, but she appeared almost dazed by sleep deprivation so there was no question as to whether she needed sleep or not. That was often the problem with Ana, too stubborn for her own good. She would push herself past the point at which normal people would give in and refuse help if she was possibly able to do so.

It was also one of the qualities that made her one of the best spies that ARC had.

Adam reached up to tilt the rearview mirror so that he could check on her knowing that Tom wouldn't mind as he very rarely managed to use the mirrors when driving. Ana was curled up, spread across the back seat of the car, her head resting against Adam's coat in a makeshift pillow, her bare toes brushing across the soft leather of the seat.

"How have things been?" Tom broke the near silence, speaking quietly so as not to wake their passenger.

"Interesting." Adam divulged, his eyes focusing on Ana's form for a moment more before he allowed his attention to fall back on to the road ahead.

Tom had known Adam for almost as long as Adam had known Ana. It was an occupational hazard in their line of work. Everyone knew everyone, although it did come in handy to know that the person you were shooting at was indeed a foe and not a friend in disguise.

Owing to their instant friendship and the coincidental timings Tom had been privy to more than a few drunken musings about Adam's feelings for Ana. He knew all about the Christmas party antics that had ultimately led to the deterioration of their friendship and the teasing defence mechanism that Adam had since put into place to prevent his heart from going astray.

Personally Tom thought that the whole situation was completely idiotic, and he had voiced his opinion on the matter more than once to Adam, yet his friend refused to listen to anyone's advice and continued to find pleasure in the various shades of red that Ana's cheeks would turn at his quips.

"Has she said anything about him? Or what happened to make her leave?" Mario was notorious across the world, known for dealing in some of the darkest shadows. He was a criminal, most definitely but his danger lay in the fact that he didn't operate alone.

As head of one of the largest Italian Mafias he had an incomprehensible number of men ready to respond to his every beck and call. It was primarily for this reason that most of the ARC agents refused to touch him.

Ana was the exception.

She had wondered into the lion's den with no regard for her own safety, simply operating under the knowledge that if she were successful in bringing this man to justice then hundreds of needless deaths could be stopped.

"She hasn't spoken about it, no." Adam's eyebrows furrowed.

It had been two weeks now. Two weeks since Adam's mobile had rung at a few minutes past four in the morning and Ana's choked up voice had crackled down the line.

He had gone immediately, why wouldn't he. She was a fellow agent and in trouble. She didn't offer him many details just the announcement that she needed a lift and a cryptic location. That was enough.

If he had questioned her decision to call him he didn't pursue the topic when he tracked down the fleeing brunette on the roadside and took in the tear bruised eyes and drenched clothes.

Since that night all Adam had learnt was that Ana had broken off her engagement with Mario the previous night at dinner. She had fled immediately knowing that he would not take the rejection well and had then travelled as far as she was able with no funds, no vehicle and no map in the middle of rural Italy.