Make Your Move

Chapter 1- Honeymoon's Over

“It’s alright,” He lightly laughed. “I’m not used to it either.”

There was a time when we were at another house on another balcony, or maybe just standing on the porch, when Valentin admitted he would never reveal his name to anyone unless they were someone truly special to him. When I lay dying in that warehouse and before I blacked out Valentin had revealed his true name to me. When I awoke again I tried using it as much as possible but to me he wasn’t Mark, he was Valentin.

“We can come back you know,” Valentin brushed off my earlier mishap. “I do own the place.”

“I know,” I draw out the last word. “I just don’t know what I would do when I got back.”

The world did not know I died, they did not even know who Aurora Carter was except for the mishap that happened a couple years ago when they thought I killed Mr. Crugen, my old professor, along with Rae, my landlord in Lithuania, and Mary, my friend who was my supposed enemy. After that my name wasn’t really in the news much and if it was I made sure that every article, recording or and document was erased permanently.

Of course the criminal circles had a little more access and intel as to who I was. With the whole fiasco with Lockstar, everyone looked at me like I was the idiot girl taking on a giant, and I was. But like a fable I pulled ahead and won, and when Levi entered the picture I started my battle again. However, the rest of the criminal world was not notified that I had actually survived the bullet. Every single one of them thought I was dead and there was further proof of my supposed death when a video surfaced of Levi actually shooting me. I thought momentarily of taking it down, but then decided otherwise. The video served as further proof of my death and whenever one of them doubted it they could pull the video right up.

Of course there would be a day and a time that it was released to the world that I was still alive and kicking, but for now I could remain a ghost.

“You’ll help the Guardians, take down other human traffickers,” Valentin listed things off. “You could even go into a different field, how do you feel about preventing terrorism?”

“I might need a little more help with that,” I responded with a light laugh.

We sat there a little longer and when the sun finally rose and was continuing its climb into the air both our phones went off, signaling it was time to go to the airport. At the noise my hands gripped onto the ledge of the balcony a little tighter, not wanting to go back quite yet.

“Aura?” Valentin questioned, already back on the solid ground of the patio. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” I nodded taking one more look at the view. “Let’s go.”

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Date: February 9th

Location: Brewster, Texas

Time: 8:29 p.m.

“I should be driving,” I say for the millionth time as Valentin speeds down the road and he glances over at me for a second before scoffing.

“And why is that?” He asks mockingly.

“While I love you and Iris and Matt and Fran and,” I start to list off.

“I get it, our little group,” He gestures for me to continue.

“The rest of the Guardians still pretty much hate you.”

There was no sense in lying to him, besides he’d see right through it, even if I have gotten better at it over the years. To the Guardians Valentin was still Lockstar and a brutal assassin with an unknown history which meant that he’s definitely not to be trusted. Last time he broke into the Guardians base in Australia half the people were ready to shoot him on site while the other half were planning more discreet ways to have him killed and make it look like an accident.