𝐕𝐀𝐋
༻❁༺
My leg mirrored the nerves going through my body, moving up and down as the car continued with its steady pace. I watched the houses pass by and noticed there was no pedestrian outside, probably too scared to get out from their hiding spot after what began 24 hours ago. There was no evidence left of the explosion except for the intoxicating smell in the air, between ashes and burn.
The sun was setting somewhere behind me and the last beams of light did nothing to make our path a little clear for us. It'd been four hours since I saw the guys before they left, and even though I knew they were okay—Kate confirmed it after she spoke to Price—I still needed to see and hear from them so I could make sure she was right.
More importantly Simon, whose clothes I was wearing and clutching in my hand to pretend I wasn't losing my mind. His scent was surrounding me, still stuck in these too-big-for-me clothes. Rich and husky, just like him. Comforting me, just like him.
I hated that part of me. No matter how much I pretended not to care about something, I always ended up caring either way, losing my mind from the inside and out when I couldn't hold it in any longer. When I applied for this, I was supposed to suppress my emotions and not get them involved in my job, but in situations where I was as helpless as these said feelings, I couldn't stop from circling them around my finger until they flew out.
"Cold?" Max asked from beside me. I almost flinched, if it wasn't because I sensed him before he spoke. We were the only ones who stayed behind, the only ones in the car right now. He offered to stay with me and seemed not to mind being stuck with me while everyone else risked their lives, and I thanked that thing of him that was so calm and steady it eased my nerves a little.
I didn't know much about Max Morris, only that he was recruited by Price to join Task Force 141 and that he was British. His accent was thick and raspy, something similar to Simon's. But Simon's accent was sexier and thicker and huskier and deeper and warmer, a tone that embraced you and made you tingle in all the right places. Especially when he spoke directly at you, low and close, things that were only meant to be heard by you.
God, I miss him, and it's only been a few hours.
"It's hot in Las Almas," I told Max matter-of-factly instead.
"It could be hot, does not mean you have to be hot." He lifted his eyebrows and offered me a smile. A smile that I didn't take. We'd exchanged a total of twelve words since we met, and so far he didn't seem like a bad guy, I just didn't feel like talking to him right now.
"I can't control my body from how it feels under the weather," I muttered.
"Right." He pressed his lips together. From the corner of my eye, I caught the edges of his lips tipping upward as if he was holding back a smile. "What type of music do you usually listen to?"
"Anything that's not country music."
"Very well." The car filled with music I didn't pay much attention to and soon we were pulling up to the base.
I didn't wait for Max to park the car, as soon as the SUV stopped, I threw the passenger's door open and jumped out. A few brief steps and I buried myself in Manuel's waiting arms, breathing his scent in and not finding that familiar comfort I so desperately wanted. He was the only one waiting for us to arrive, and I appreciated that.
"How's everyone?" I asked in Spanish anyway, though I selfishly meant Simon only. I searched for him around but he was nowhere to be seen. I knew he was fine, I heard from Kate, but my stomach turned because I needed to make sure he was okay myself.
"Good," Manu said. "He's in his room."
My eyes shot to meet his. "What?"
He smiled knowingly, tilting his head to the side. There was no point in pretending now. He knew me too much, the idiot. Manu wrapped his arm around my shoulder and guided me toward the doors, Max close behind us. "I don't need to know anything that you don't want to tell me. But you can. You know that, don't you?"
I sighed. "It's complicated."
"Nothing is more complicated than life itself."
"Trust me, this is." And it fucking was. All of it. From my feelings toward Simon to the bonds that tied him back, I couldn't decide where to start.
"Well, if it's any help, talking about it may clear your path a little bit." He squeezed me to his side, and after all these years apart, it made its effects at easing me like it always did before. "I'm all ears whenever you're ready."
"I just need to get to him," I said under my breath and then winced realizing Simon wasn't the only one who went to battle. Soap went too. Ale and Rudy. Price and Kaz. Even Nadia risked her life, though she was the least of my worries. "I'm so glad everyone is okay."
"Yes." We turned right and passed the empty kitchen. Manu glanced behind us and asked Max to wait for him right here, then tucked me tight to his side and continued down the hall. "We've been high on adrenaline all day, but now that it's worn off, everyone is sore as fuck. That's why the base feels so empty right now. Everyone's gone to their room to rest."
"That's good, you all deserve to rest." I felt myself smile. "I take it you haven't questioned Valeria about the third missing missile?"
At that, Manu tensed beside me, pulling his arm and warmth away from me. "Ah..."
"What?"
"She escaped her room."
Shit. "What!" We're fucked now.
She was the only one who knew about the missiles that we could get the information out from, and I was certain she perfectly knew about this third missile but decided to stay quiet when the guys interrogated her. Now she escaped, and that only meant we either have to capture her back or find the missile on our own, which would be fucking hard to do so. Both were hard to do.
Valeria wasn't stupid. After being captured and freed, she was probably on her way to her hiding spot, someplace where we would never, ever, find her, and by then Hassan would have already executed his terrorist assault. The only thing we could do now was find that third missing missile.
Somehow, I felt like it was my fault Valeria escaped her room. In the end, I was the one who practically forced Alejandro to offer her a decent stay.
My stomach twisted in worry. "Alejandro..."
"Yep, he didn't take it so well. Almost murdered Soap on the spot after he attempted to make a joke at him."
"Oh no." Of course, Soap would joke in those types of moments. Sometimes I wondered if he did it on purpose or just because he could never keep his mouth shut.
Manu and I continued walking in silence. Our heavy steps rang across the hallway as we made a left turn and entered the corridor to Simon and I's rooms. When we stopped right in the middle of the two doors, I faced Simon's room and wondered if it was a good idea to bother him with my presence. He probably wanted to rest, right?
Stop it. Wasn't this what I wanted? I wanted to see Simon and make sure he was okay with my own eyes and hands. And I missed him. That should have been enough to make me confident and knock on the door, right? Gosh, Simon probably missed me too and wanted to see me as soon as possible.
"Do you want me to knock for you?" Manu asked beside me, and I almost forgot he was still there.
I turned to him and offered a warm smile. "You can go rest now. Thank you for walking me."
"Of course. Just don't be too much of a coward and knock on that door. That man is crazy for you and if you don't see that, then maybe you need to get your eyes checked."
I could feel my neck and cheeks flushing. "With all love, you can fuck off now."
He chuckled. "Coward," he mouthed before he disappeared around the corner.
"I'm not—" a coward? Yes, I was.
I took a deep breath, forced myself to ignore my head and follow my wants, and knocked on Simon's door twice. A few seconds later, it opened, and the breath I just took didn't seem to have worked at all.
Nothing could've prepared me for this sight. Simon stood proud and tall, too much skin exposed except for the unusual mask that he wore when he bathed me yesterday and the white towel low on his hips that he was clutching in his hand to keep it in place and did nothing to hide his beautiful body. Drops of water ran down his torso and I wanted all but trail my tongue the same path.
Fuck me.
He is so hot.
I did a quick scan from the top of his head to the tip of his toes and then met his eyes, and so far nothing looked out of place unless you counted the white scars across his chest and abs which made him look even more like his normal self.
Beautiful.
"Were you expecting someone else?" I teased.
Simon shook his head with a glint of amusement in his eyes and didn't waste any second before he wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me into the room, into his arms, the door shutting with a soft click behind me. His warmth surrounded me as he buried his head in the crook of my neck, molding my body with his.
I didn't know how worried I was until now. I was so relieved to finally be with him, to hear his heart still beating inside his chest. The smile on my face was big, and I couldn't help but inhale his scent like he always did with me. He smelled exquisite, fresh and clean and alive. I trailed my nails down his back softly and gently, making sure his back was as perfect as it was when he left the safe house. I felt the way his body shivered under my palms before he squeezed me. Being in his arms again felt so good, so heavenly. Right then, I really wished I could stay in them forever.
Simon gripped the back of my neck and pulled back. His hand came around to the side of my throat until he was cupping my jaw, the tip of his thumb starting to rub my lower lip. His eyes softened and without even saying it, I knew what his gesture meant. I kissed his thumb and then leaned forward and kissed the drop that was making its way down his chest right over his heart. I missed you too.
I looked up at him. "How was it?" It came out as a whisper, just because the silence felt so good, so comfortable, I didn't want to break it.
He sighed slowly. "Philip Graves is officially out of this world."
My heart skipped a beat, somehow knowing it wasn't exactly the team who made sure of that. "You?" I asked.
"Yes."
I knew I shouldn't have felt the way I did. I knew my stomach shouldn't have been filled with a million butterflies and my heart shouldn't have fluttered the way it did. But we were in a fucked up world, in a fucked up place, and in a fucked up situation. The only beautiful thing was this thing between us that was growing stronger by the minute, this thing that didn't have a name... just yet.
Because I want to make sure he regrets it all.
Because he touched what is mine.
My heart shook once again at the memory, taking the air out of my lungs. God, this man. I wanted him so much I didn't know how to handle it.
The air shifted then. I saw it in his eyes, the way his pupils got rid of the brown and lit my body on fire. The way his chest expanded and fell slower, deeper. He cupped my cheek and tilted my head up, coming so close I could feel his muffled breath right against my lips. His eyes dropped down, then up and down again, and I forgot how badly I'd been dying to kiss him lately, up to the point that I kissed his lips over the mask about two days ago.
My breath got stuck in my lungs, thinking maybe that was what he wanted again, and thinking maybe I would do it again. Anything to have him close.
"Staying longer?" he asked in a raspy whisper.
I nodded my head. "Yes." That was what Kate said when we spoke an hour ago, but I didn't want to think about her right now.
He let out a long exhale and pressed his forehead against mine, his hand sneaking under my t-shirt. "I need to feel you."
I stepped away to take my shirt off and quickly went back into his arms, pressing our chests together. He sighed again, deeper this time, like he was relieved to feel my skin against his skin just as I was minutes ago. And then he picked me up and carried me to his bed, where we got under the sheets and made a sweet mess, wishing we were able to stop the time and stay in that moment for a little longer... maybe forever.
*ೃ༄
𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐃...
Long chapter because you waited too long for an update and fucking deserve it.
Also, 40k reads? That's insane.
Thank you so so so much!!
* Max Morris is a character made by this author 🤎