"You need to come with me."
My mouth goes dry as Marcus says those words. In my chest, my heart thunders wildly and for a few moments, my mind goes completely blank.
"Is something wrong?" I finally manage to spit out.
Marcus' jaw tightens and he stares into my eyes intensely.
"It is a matter of Realm security," he tells me and a burst of terrified adrenaline pumps through me. I clench my hands into tight fists, trying to keep them from trembling.
He's caught me. He knows it was me. Tears sting my eyes and I mentally prepare myself. I'm not going down without a fight.
"I need your help, Ivy," he says.
I almost let out a breath of relief.
"My help?" I ask, then open the door wider, gesturing for him to come in. "What can I help with? I'm just a low-level analyst, Marcus. Why would you need my help with something so important?"
He sighs and steps into my flat. Watching him walk into here, my safe space, makes a cold chill spread over my body. This is the one place I can be the real me and having him here tarnishes that.
"There has been an incident," he tells me.
"Okay? But what does that incident have to do with you coming to my flat at," I pause and look at my watch. "Nine-thirty at night?"
He turns and looks me in the eyes. "Please, Ivy, I'll explain everything later, I promise. Can you just come with me?"
It's a trap.
I push that voice out of my mind. This is what Cobalt wanted. The whole point of leaving the message in Athainian was to get me closer to Marcus. It isn't a trap. If he were going to arrest me, if he knew what I was, he wouldn't lure me away. He'd storm in and take me out before I even knew what was happening.
Relax, Rowan.
"Okay," I sigh. "I'll come with you."
"Thank you," he replies, sounding relieved.
"I'll just get changed. I'm assuming I need to wear my smart clothes like I do at work?" I ask.
"Yes," he says, then sighs. "And I hate to say this, but if you could dress as attractively as you can, then this may work."
I roll my eyes and nod my head. "I can do that," I tell him, then gesture to my sofa. "Well, take a seat. I'll try and be quick."
"Thank you, Ivy," he says and smiles softly. My heart flutters seeing it and I nod my head.
"You're welcome," I reply, then turn and make my way quickly to my room. As soon as I shut the door behind me, I let out a long breath.
Connor stands up from where he'd been sitting on my bed.
"I've got to go with him," I whisper. His eyes widen and he shakes his head.
"It's too risky," he replies.
"I have no choice," I reply. "I'll be fine, trust me."
He looks down at the floor. I walk over to him and put my hands on his shoulders.
"I've got this," I whisper, making him look into my eyes. His jaw clenches, but he reluctantly nods his head.
"Now, I need to get changed."
"I'll just go back into my flat," he replies.
"And risk Marcus hearing a strange thump as you climb through? No way. Just wait until we're gone," I say to him as I pull out one of my best dresses and begin to change.
Connor paces across the room, not paying attention to me as I quickly pull on new underwear, followed by the dress.
I let out a shallow breath as I look at my reflection and straighten the maroon dress. It is figure-hugging, with a narrow V neckline that only shows a hint of cleavage, small sleeves over my shoulders, and a pencil skirt that falls to just below my kneecaps with a tiny slit in the side.
I drag a brush through my hair, wincing as the bristles catch on the knots. Then, I rub foundation and concealer over the bruise, hiding it effectively, before grabbing the rest of my make-up to finish later. I shove it into my black handbag, then slide on a pair of my black stilettos. Finally, I pull out a long, smart black coat from my wardrobe and hang it over my arm.
Turning to Conner, I give him a small smile.
"It's going to be okay," I whisper to him.
"I hope so," he replies. His face has paled slightly and his eyes are twinged with worry. I pull him into a tight hug. As his warmth and safety encompass me, I close my eyes and savour the moment.
This isn't going to be the last time I see him. I have to keep reminding myself of that.
"I'll be back tomorrow like nothing happened," I say. He just nods his head and we pull apart. Despite my words, pulling away from him has a deep ache of dread settle in my stomach.
I almost want to be sick.
"Move out of sight of the door," I say as I turn toward it. Connor moves, going over to the wardrobe ready to climb up through the secret door into his own flat.
I smile at him a final time, then open my bedroom door. Down the corridor, I can see Marcus looking at me. His eyes widen slightly, and I smile as I walk toward him, my heels clicking on the wooden flooring.
"Is this attractive enough?" I ask jokingly as I come to a stop in the living room.
He chuckles lowly and nods his head. "You look great," he says and gestures to the door.
"We really need to get going."
"Understood," I sigh. Reaching for my phone, purse, and keys, I shove them in my bag and then open the door. Marcus leaves ahead of me and I turn off the lights and shut the door behind me.
The walk down to his car is awkward. Neither of us really know what to say to each other. I find myself scanning him closely. As usual, he looks impeccable. His dark brown hair is styled perfectly and I still can't get over that little curl that hangs over his forehead. The suit he wears is fitted and immaculate. The dark grey material is free of any creases and the blue tie is silky. The long, black coat he wears over the top brings the whole outfit together, making him look powerful and I've got to admit, sexy.
Just as I think that, I remember the video of him in the laboratory. A chill ripples through me as I tell myself that though he may be completely and utterly gorgeous, this man is a cold-blooded killing machine.
"So, how did you know what flat was mine?" I ask, trying to cut through the awkward silence between us.
"I looked at your employee file," he says casually.
I laugh and shake my head. "Isn't that some sort of confidentiality breach?" I ask jokingly.
"Not when you work for the ministry," he tells me and I nod my head.
We arrive in the underground garage, and I spot his luxury, gleaming black car. He unlocks the doors and for a second, my heart rate spikes as I realise that I'm about to be alone with him in the car once more.
It's fine, Rowan. Everything is going to be fine.
I open the door and get inside. I let out a satisfied sigh as I sit in the comfortable leather chair.
Marcus gets in on the other side and starts the engine immediately before tearing out of the car park in a rush.
"So, are you going to tell me what's going on yet?" I ask as I open up my handbag and pull out my make-up and a little mirror.
"Are you really going to do that whilst I'm driving?" he chuckles.
"I have steady hands," I reply as I start applying simple black eyeliner.
"There's been an incident," he tells me, all humour gone from his voice. "Someone very important has been killed."
"Really?" I gasp. "I haven't seen anything in the news."
"This person's existence was meant to be confidential."
"Oh," I mutter and put away my eyeliner. "So, what happened?"
"To be completely honest with you, Ivy, I have no idea. Yet. We know there are Second Realm spies here, but I have no idea how they found out about..." he trails off. "Anyway, this person of great importance to our realm has been assassinated by the second realm and the man who did it left us a message."
"So, you need me to translate it?" I ask. Internally, I jump with joy. Marcus said the man who did it. That means, at least for now, they believe the disguise I wore.
"Yes," he replies.
"But why me, Marcus? There must be other translators who have a lot more security clearance and experience than me. Surely the powers in charge of this investigation won't allow a low-down analyst anywhere near the evidence you've collected so far."
"No, they wouldn't," he agrees. "But I need someone like you."
"Why?" I push.
"Fresh eyes, for one. But most importantly, I need someone who isn't already embedded in the world of espionage and politics. Everyone of any sort of rank high enough to work this investigation is linked to one politician or another. Especially those who know Athainian. Anyone of any use to the war efforts has already been scooped up by the powers in charge. It means finding a translator is a political nightmare. I basically have to accept that whatever confidential information they find out will end up in the hands of whatever politician whose pocket they are in. From there, my investigation becomes a nightmare of bureaucracy and red tape as egos clash and the powers that lead this country all want to either take credit or sabotage my investigation to get back at their political enemy."
"That sounds like a nightmare," I reply with a sigh. He nods his head in agreement.
"It is," he tells me. "The politicians in this country don't care about anything but their own gain and their position in the polls. They will use a situation like this to get further ahead in their careers instead of actually helping protect this realm. I haven't got time to be conducting an investigation and hunting down a deadly assassin whilst navigating around stupid, fat politicians," he hisses. As soon as he says fat politician, Mr. Salt's face pops into my mind.
I wonder how much he interferes with Marcus and his work. Then again, he is the defence minister, so wouldn't that technically make him Marcus' boss?
I pull out my lipstick and apply it, managing to make it neat despite the car moving beneath me.
"So," I begin, "I assume that you asked me to dress like this because I have to convince someone to let you use me for the translation."
He nods his head. He doesn't look at me. His eyes are focused on the road. I can see the stress radiation off him. He holds the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles are white. I also notice the way his jaw is clenched. I can practically hear him grinding his teeth.
"Mr Salt is the Minister of Defence," he begins, "but luckily for me, the man is useless. Who isn't useless, however, is the head of the MOD building and the agency I work for."
"You work for an agency?" I ask.
"Yes. I am a commanding officer for MI-14.
"Military Intelligence?" I ask, remembering it from the brief notes from before I arrived.
"Yes," he says, "we work in the Ministry of Defence building alongside the MOD teams, but not for them. We answer to the President himself."
"Oh, wow," I say, my eyes widening. I hadn't realised just how high up Marcus sits in the ranks.
This man has more power than I realised.
The car goes quiet as I take in that information.
I gulp and look out of the window at the city, staring at the skyscrapers lit up in the darkness. It dawns on me then that I will not be able to keep up this façade forever.
It isn't a matter of if Marcus discovers me. It is when.
I just need to make sure that when that day comes, I'm ready to do what I need to do.