I stir awake the next morning to the sun rays filtering into the room. Slowly blinking my eyes open, my hazy vision focuses on an ultra sharp jaw. My brain scrambles, trying to recall how I landed up in Damien's bed. A giddy grin breaks out on my face as I recall last night. I take this time to memorise his face, those long lashes, the slight smile on those plump lips, the slightly crooked nose that has probably been broken multiple times, the slight stubble on his chin making him look sexily scruffy. I gently trace his features committing them to memory before lightly placing a kiss on his lips. I stifle a giggle at the smile that breaks out on his face despite him still being sound asleep. Slowly lifting his arm off me, I replace my spot with my pillow, doing a short happy dance when he remains asleep. Throwing my hair into a messy bun, I saunter barefoot into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I scan his fridge, smiling when I notice its fully stocked. Pulling out all the ingredients I need, I start making his favourite, pancakes. You could give the guy pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and he would be the happiest person on earth. Once they're done, I make scrambled eggs before frying some bacon. Biting my lip at the slightly unhealthy breakfast in front of me, i grab some yoghurt, chopping up some fresh fruits and throwing it in. As I'm chopping the fruits, I feel a pair of arms encircle my waist, pulling me back into a hard chest. I smile at the tingles that run through me, leaning my head back.
"I could get used to this every morning." Damien mumbles, his face buried in the crook of my neck. He places butterfly kisses on my neck, causing me to automatically tilt my neck, giving him more room to work with.
"Good morning." I stutter out and he smirks at his effect on me. He turns me around, pulling me close.
"tsk tsk angel. Is that anyway to wish me good morning?" I raise an eyebrow at him, deciding to play along.
"Hmm and how am I suppose to wish you, Your Majesty?"
He smirks, before leaning down to capture my lips in one swift motion. I melt into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"That's how." he mumbles against my lips. I blush slightly but peck his lips once more before pulling away.
"I shall remember that for future reference." I say sassily and he chuckles at my tone.
"So fiesty even in the morning."
I shrug, turning back to the chopping board.
"Hey, if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." I say quoting Marilyn Monroe.
Damien laughs, perching his chin on my shoulder.
"Marilyn had a point."
We remain in that position, damien distracting me with his kisses, till I'm done cutting the fruits. Throwing them into the bowl of yogurt, Damien carries the bowl to the counter where the rest of the food lies. He pours us coffee, giving me a kiss on my head as he hands me mine. I take a seat at the counter, about to place pancakes on his plate when he stops me.
"Come on."he says grabbing the rest of the plates and heading to his veranda. My face dawns in understanding as I grab our coffees and follow him. He places the food on the coffee table outside before taking a seat on one of the chairs. I place the mugs on the table. walking around him to take a seat on the other chair when arms encircle my waist, pulling me down on a lap. I raise an eyebrow in amusement at a smirking Damien.
"You do know my ass will be more comfortable on a chair, right?'
He scoffs, pulling me close."You and I both know that's bullshit."
Sadly, I had to admit that he was right. I mean, which sane girl would want to sit on a chair when she could sit comfortably on a hot guy's lap, enjoying his warm embrace? I roll my eyes at his cockiness before leaning forward to place pancakes on a plate. It's tough using a knife and fork while sitting on his lap so I resort to using my fingers as my utensils. Rolling a pancake, I hold it out to Damien who grins when he realises I'm feeding him. We eat in silence, enjoying each other's company. Once we're done, I stand up to put the dirty dishes in the kitchen but Damien holds me tighter.
"Don't go. just sit here with me for a moment." He says and I nod, snuggling closer into him. And we just sit there, looking at New York's skyline. The noise of the bustling traffic and people below us traveled up to us, though slightly muffled but in that moment, I never felt more peaceful.
"go out on a date with me." I turn to Damien who was once again hugging me from behind as we leaned against the railing.
"Today?"
"Yeah." I stare at him in slight surprise before nodding,"Yeah, I'd like that." He smiles at me, pecking me before turning me back so that my back faced his chest.
"How about we go out for lunch and start our date from there?"He asks me and I nod happily.
"Sounds great."
We chat for a little while before I decide that I should head home and get changed for our date. I change back into my clothes from the previous night and grab my stuff. Damien wants to send me home but I say no. I mean, my car was here after all. He finally relents and makes me promise to call him when I'm home even though I live less than 10 minutes away. I kiss him goodbye, more like make out with him for 10 minutes and head to my car. As I'm parking in my spot, I realise that I left my jacket on his bedside table. It's okay, I can get it later. I call him once I'm up in my penthouse and he says that he'll come over around 11.30. So, I've got about 2 hours before he gets here. I head into the shower and once I'm done, I wrap a towel around me before heading to my walk in closet. glancing at my clothes, I bite my lip, mulling over what to wear for our date. I tried asking Damien where we were going but he remained tight-lipped. I personally think he hasn't planned anything yet. Since I'm pretty sure we weren't going anywhere super fancy,, I grab a pair of slightly ripped skinny jeans and a sleeveless white top. Pairing the outfit with a denim jacket, I wear flats cause I don't wanna spend my whole day with blistering feet. keeping my makeup simple and natural, I leave my hair down in big waves smiling at my reflection.
I glance at the time, realising that I had only taken half an hour to get ready. I head downstairs to watch some tv when my phone rings. Without checking the caller ID, I pick up.
"Alex Winters."
"Hello Alex." an amused voice comes through.
My mood dampens and I curse myself for not checking the caller ID first.
"Dana. How can I help you?"
"Tell me, Alex. How could you pass it up?"
"Excuse me?"
"How could you pass up the chance at sleeping with Damien?"
My blood turns slightly cold as she mentions him. Does she know what happened last night?
" I have no idea what you're talking about."
She chuckles mockingly.
"Of course you don't. That's why he called me to satisfy his needs this morning."
"Dana, are you high?"
"You don't believe me?" she asks and I scoff. I was just with Damien.
"You're delusional if you think I'm gonna believe you, Dana. Have a nice day."
I hang up on her, shaking my head at how desperate she is. Switching on the television, I flick through the channels when my phone pings with a new message. Unlocking my phone curiously, I roll my eyes when I realise the message is from Dana. I open it and immediately wish I didn't. I drop the remote in my hand, the rush of blood pounding in my ears muffling the sound of the tv. My eyes are wide as saucers and I scan the picture for any sign that it's fake. But all my hopes are thrown out the window when I notice my jacket sitting on his bedside table, exactly where I left it this morning. My whole body starts to shake as my knees give way, dropping to the ground. I fight the urge to throw my phone but that image is forever embedded in my memory. Dana is on his bed, the same spot that I was in this morning. She's under the sheets but it's clear that she's naked underneath. I can't see Damien anywhere in the picture so my guess is he's probably showering or laughing his ass of in a corner. Burying my head in my arms, a violent shudder racks my body as a tear slips out. Within seconds, I'm full out crying, my heart breaking into pieces. All i can think of is I have officially been broken.
I don't know how long I sit there crying but the ringing of my phone brings me back to reality. I check the caller ID, debating whether or not to answer Uncle Sam's call. Sensing that it may be important, I take a deep breath and swipe to answer the call.
"H-Hello?"I wince when my voice breaks at the end.
"Alex?"I can hear his concerned voice on the other end.
"Hey, uncle Sam." I say forcing myself to be cheerful but I fail miserably.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" he asks worriedly.
"yeah, I'm fine. what's up?"
He remains hesitant not believing me but he thankfully, he continues.
"We need you to come to London as soon as possible."
"Is everything okay?" I ask concerned and I can hear him sigh worriedly.
"I can't talk over the phone. How soon can you leave?"
Well, there was no way I was going on a date with Damien now so I answer him,"I'll see you tonight."
i hang up and call my pilot, telling him to get my jet ready. I then head to my room to pack a bag, not sure how long I'm gonna be in London. Just as I zip my bag close, my door bell rings and I stiffen. I really did not want to see Damien now or I might end up murdering him. I check my CCTV camera, sighing in relief when I see that it's Jay. Wait, does he know? I take the risk and open the door. The smile on his face drops as soon as he sees my face.
"What the hell happened?"
"Come in jay."
He walks in angrily, turning around as soon as I shut the door.
"what did he do? Did he walk away after you told him everything? I'm gonna kill that little-"
"jay, calm down." I say and he does. He looks at me seriously and in a stern voice says,
"Ally, what happened?"
So, I tell him everything and he clenches his fists as I tell him about Dana but he loses it when I show him the picture. He swears loudly, punching the wall, leaving a dent in it.
"I'm gonna kill that fucker."
My voice turns icy at his words,"No, you're not gonna do anything. If anyone's gonna be killing him, it's me."
jay looks at me for a few seconds before nodding. he seems to hesitate before saying in a gentle voice.
"Al, I'm not taking his side here but are you sure the picture is real or was even taken today? I mean, Damien's told me how he feels about you and this just-it seems uncharacteristic of a man who's in love with you."
I scoff,shaking my head."In love my ass. I'm sure Jay. That's my jacket on the table. I left it there this morning."
Jay turns furious again at my words before muttering,"I'm so gonna kill him."
I sigh, rubbing the tears out of my eyes.
"Look, I can't say I'm completely surprised. This is Damien we're talking about, ex playboy extraordinaire except the ex shouldn't be there. I'm just mad at myself for trusting him. I let him in, I let him break down all my walls thinking that he would catch me when I fell. Turns out, he was the one who pushed me off the cliff."
Jay has a pained expression on his face at my pained voice. He pulls me into a hug, rubbing my back soothingly.
"I'm so sorry baby girl. I'm so sorry." and I can't stop the tears from falling.
"I love him, jay. I finally allowed myself to love and he broke me." I whisper brokenly through my tears and I can feel Jay hug me tighter muttering I'm sorry all over again. His phone rings, breaking us apart and I wipe my tears away. Judging by the murderous look on his face, I'm guessing the caller is none other than the devil himself.
"Act normal." I tell him and he nods stiffly. He answers the call and greets him in a curt tone.
"Damien."
I can't hear what Damien is saying so I watch the multiple emotions that flitter across Jay's face. It starts off with anger, then even more anger which abruptly switches to confusion and shock tinged with disbelief and hope before going back to anger. He hangs up and turns to me.
"Something's not right." he says thoughtfully.
I raise an eyebrow at him,"What? He forgot to use a condom?"
jay chuckles slightly before turning serious.
"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, Al."
I shrug, not really bothering anymore. Grabbing my bag, I say"Well, don't tell me till I get back. I've got other things to worry about than a lying scumbag."
Jay's eyes widen as he notices the bag.
"Al, you can't run away."
I narrow my eyes at him,"I may be heartbroken, Wilson but I'm no coward."
He raises his hands in surrender, looking sheepish and I roll my eyes.
"Uncle Sam called. He needs me in London asap."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. Look, can you not tell anyone where I am till I call you?"
He looks slightly hesitant and I add,"I need to get away from here for a while. Please jay."
He sighs before nodding and heading to the door.
"Come on, I'll drive you to the airport."
As soon as my jet touches down at a private airport in London, I step out to a waiting car. Getting in, they bring me to SSS headquarters and I head straight up to the conference room. I can see Uncle Sam standing at the front of the room along with the other leaders of the other agencies; CIA, FBI, MI6, Interpol and so on. I can feel the tension in the room as I walk in. Uncle Sam sighs in relief as he spots me, hugging me briefly before looking at me in concern.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course I am. Why?"
"Your-never mind." I know what he's about to say. my eyes. I had shut myself off during the plane ride and my once electric blue eyes were blank and hollow. I had basically reverted to Ice Queen except this time, I was colder than ever. I wasn't lying when I said Damien had broken me.
Uncle Sam points to a triangulated location on the huge screen in front of the room.
"We tracked the Syndicate's base."
My eyes widen in surprise and I quickly scan the map.
"He's in north London."
"we have agents there, on surveillance. They have confirmed that there is indeed activity in the premises. We have come up with a plan to take them out for good.
I look over the plan and we spend the next few hours ironing out minor details.
As dawn brings about a new day, Uncle Sam along with the other leaders look at me. I raise an eyebrow at them and Uncle Sam starts off the conversation.
"We've been discussing and we decided that this was a job best for your guys."
I nod, not surprised. I had already planned on going on this mission.
"I'll do it."
Uncle Sam nods before he realises what I just said.
"Wait, what do you mean you'll do it?" he asks and I shrug
"It means that only I and I alone will go on this mission."
Everyone begins to protest about how dangerous it is but I silence them.
"Look, this Oliver is guy is smart. He's gonna know something's up if a team of agents swarm his base. It's easier to infiltrate on my own. Besides, I'm not gonna be on my own completely. You guys are gonna be my tech support."
Everyone stares at me, reluctant to agree.
"Alex, you do realise just how dangerous this mission is, don't you?" Uncle Sam asks softly and I nod firmly.
"You know that once you're done, you're gonna have to follow protocol?" the CIA director says and I inhale sharply. This is the part I was worried about but I knew they were right. Given the risks of this mission and the implications that would embroil me if I was successful in taking down The Syndicate, the protocols were gonna be completely necessary. I take a deep breath, staring at the little red dot on the screen that showed their location. If I involved the agency in this, they would have to follow protocol as well and that would mean more lives being affected. Squaring my shoulders, I straighten looking them straight in the eye, every bit the Ice Queen they call me.
"When do we start?"
We spend the entire day going over the plan and finally call it a day in the evening. I was going in at dawn so everyone was going to get some rest first. I open the door to my room for the night. I take a quick shower, changing into a pair of sweats and a tshirt. I'm exhausted but as I lay down in bed, all I can think about is this morning. I think about how he held me in his arms last night and then I think about this morning. How he must have held Dana the exact same way. I rub my eyes wearily, forcing the tears back. Knowing I wasn't going to get any sleep, I sigh, throwing the covers off and heading to the pantry. Pouring myself a cup of coffee, pushing away the memory of Damien handing me my coffee this morning, I trot back into the operations room which is empty. I stare at the huge screen in front, mind travelling back to when Damien, Jay and I had our meeting here. Everywhere I turn, I'm reminded of him. The conference table reminds me of our meetings back at work and how we used to text each other back and forth when we were bored. The large window reminds me of our time in London together. Dammit Alex, you should not be thinking of him right now. To be honest, I felt a little guilty that I left New York without a word to anyone. Switching on my phone, my eyes widen when I notice the amount of missed calls and text messages on my phone. A few of them were from my parents, Jay and Belle but over 50 of them were from Damien. Quickly replying my parents, Jay and Belle that I'm gonna be out of town for a few days not offering further explanation, I take a deep breath, scanning through Damien's messages. it starts off with 'where are you' and then 'what about our date' to 'angel, you're scaring me' and a bunch of similar stuff till the last one,'angel, we need to talk.' Before the logical part of me could stop myself, I send him the picture that Dana sent me with the caption 'You've said everything you needed to say'. I don't bother waiting for his reply or his call and switch my phone off.
I busy myself with going over the plan a million times.
"Something happened back home." A familiar voice startles me and I turn to find Uncle Sam leaning against the wall, watching me curiously.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know you're reverting back to your old self."
I stiffen, not meeting his eye, focusing instead on the map in front of me.
"I'm fine."
"Physically yeah, emotionally you're a wreck."
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face.
"What do you want me to say? I made a mistake? I gave my heart only to have it stomped and stabbed on?"
Uncle Sam looks at me curiously,"Is that why you don't want to involve Damien in this?"
I shake my head,"No, I can separate personal from work. Besides, if he accidentally gets shot, it's not gonna be a big deal."
He chuckles and walks towards me.
"I'm not gonna lie, I'm worried."
I smile softly at him,"I'll be fine."
"I know why you're doing this alone." he says confidently.
I raise an eyebrow at him,"Why?"
"It's the protocol. You don't wanna affect their lives after this mission. You wanna protect them."
I nod, "You got it right. Can you imagine if Alex Winters, Damien Black, Jay Wilson and Casey Adams went off grid all of a sudden at the same time? The media will have a field day."
"And you feel that you need to do this so that what happened 5 years ago doesn't happen again."
I stiffen, completely taken off guard. Choosing my words carefully, I say softly
"If anything happened to any of them, I would never forgive myself."
It was true. This Oliver guy, whoever he is, had something against me and I wasn't gonna risk their lives trying to figure out what he wants. As much as I was angry with Damien right now, I did not hate him enough to wish him hurt or dead. I would still protect him because as much as I did not want to, I love him. To be honest, I can't say I'm totally surprised that he did this. This was all a game to him. He broke my walls down one by one before landing the death blow. You're broken. You're worthless. No wonder he didn't want you. Who would when he could have someone like Dana.
I shake my head ridding the voices in my head. Ignoring Uncle Sam's concerned look, I wish him good night before heading to my room. Climbing into bed, I turn the lights off before closing my eyes. As my eyes shut, the last thing that comes to mind is a certain pair of smoldering brown eyes.