Game of Secrets and Shadows (Book One in the Covert Operations series)

Twenty-Three

We parked the cars in a small clearing directly southwest of the prison. It was a near silent affair as we all hopped out of the vehicles and checked over our gear one last time. The air was somber, everyone preparing for what was sure to be a difficult mission. I knew that we were also preparing for not everyone to make it out alive. The dominance and prowess of Scorpion's grasp was undeniable and the moment they realized that we were breaking in, they would be after us with their guns blazing. I just hoped that we avoided as many casualties as possible and that none of my friends were among them.

I was in the process of rechecking my gear on last time, ensuring that I had enough clips of ammunition and that my bullet-proof vest was secured correctly before making sure that my communications unit was working and on the same frequency as everyone else's.

Max was standing beside me, doing the exact same thing. He kept glancing at me out the corner of his eye though he seemed to be trying to make sure that I didn't notice.

Eventually, I sighed. "What is it?"

"Are you in love with him?"

My head whipped towards him. I sputtered out, "What?"

"Daniel. Are you in love with him?" Max raised an eyebrow looking mildly curious.

"You were inside," I hissed. "How did you hear—?"

"I was standing near the window. You're avoiding the question."

"Does it matter what the answer is?"

Max shrugged and re-holstered his gun. He started to make sure that his comms. unit was working. "Not really. I was just curious as to what you were going to do about the situation."

I dropped my voice so that he was the only one who could hear me. Everyone else was at least fifteen feet away but I didn't want to risk being overhead, especially by Daniel's parents. "Nothing, okay? I'm not going to do anything bout it."

Max didn't say anything but I could all-but hear the judgement in his gaze.

"Daniel deserves better than me, all right? That's the issue. I'm not the kind of person he should want to be with. It's not safe. He'll always have a target on his back if he's with me and you can't live a full life if you're always checking over your shoulder. I can't do that to him. Even if I did love him."

"So you do. Love him, I mean."

"I didn't say that." My eyes snapped to his.

Daniel's blue eyes were as clear as crystal. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he started to formulate a carefully measured response. "I would do anything for Lia," he said at last. "I would follow her anywhere she had to go. I'd watch her back so she wouldn't need to. I'd even take a bullet for her if I had to. Do you know why?"

"Because you love her. But Max, it's different than that. The two of you are trained operatives. You know how to take care of yourselves. It's not like that with Daniel."

"That's not the reason. Yes, I love Lia. Even though everyone always tries to tell me that the two of us are too young to really know what love is...I know I love her. But it's not the reason that I would follow her to the ends of the earth or take a bullet for her.

"I would do it because she makes me feel safe. She is my home. When we're apart...I feel incomplete because I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Even when the two of us were just friends before we started dating, I had the same feeling. Lia is my home. And even though we all face uncertain futures, I know that I will always be able to come home."

Max sighed and leaned against the side of the car we were standing next to. "You and I have always been very similar, Melanie. We both had to give up our families to join this life. We both had to figure out where we belonged and had to fight every minute to get there. But the one thing that makes the two of us very different is that you don't know when it's time to stop fighting.