I felt my nerves jumping all over the place as we continued to walk through the busy streets. The whole time we walked back to my apartment, Mitch never let go of my hand.
When we got to my building, I unlocked the door and walked inside, Mitch following closely behind me. I turned around, wrapping my arms around myself, as Mitch shut and locked the door. He turned around, his eyes softening when he saw the expression on my face.
Without a word, he walked over and wrapped me in a tight hug. I let out a shaky breath as I hugged him back. He started rubbing my back as I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.
"It's going to be okay, I promise."
I pulled out of the hug and looked at him, tears threatening to spill. "How can you promise that?" I asked, my voice breaking.
He smiled down at me as he reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. I bit my lip as he grabbed my hand and led me over to the couch.
As we sat down, he started to explain. "I've trained for this kind of thing, Y/N. It's a simple locate and transport. My job was to find you, which I did, and take you to the safe house. Once you are safe, I will find your father and bring him back. As long as we get to the safe house undetected, everything will be fine."
"Safe house?" I asked causing him to instantly nod.
"It's a safe place that only a small number of people know the location. It's protected and well-hidden."
I just nodded, not sure what to say. I was still having a hard time processing everything.
"What led to all of this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. His smile dropped as he looked away from me. "Mitch?"
"Two years ago, my fiancé was killed in the middle of a terrorist attack," he said, his voice breaking. I was about to say something when he added, "Minutes after I proposed to her."
I reached over and grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers. He looked down at our hands before looking up at me. "That's what you meant when you said you couldn't lose me too," I said causing him to nod.
"I lost myself, Y/N." He whispered. "I was miserable. I mean. . . Y/N, I loved her. And when she was taken from me, I lost everything. Right when I was at my lowest, a man named Stan Hurley recruited me. I joined a secret operative group for the CIA called, Orion. He started training me. Since then, I've taken down drug lords, terrorist groups, even corrupt politicians."
He looked down at our hands, sighing heavily. "I've killed people, Y/N."
I reached forward, cupped his cheek, and made him look at me. "But, you've saved even more."
He smiled as he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I immediately started kissing him back. Our lips moved in sync as his pulled me closer. He was the first to pull away. He leaned his forehead against mine as we caught our breaths. I slowly leaned back, studying him. I was about to say something, but stopped when he started talking first.
"When I found out that your father was the scientist that was taken, I instantly thought about you. Where you were, how long it would take them to find you, if you were safe. I asked Hurley if he knew about you, if he had a plan to protect you. After being reminded not to make it personal, he said that the men who took your father had threatened your life and that our next step was to make sure you were safe. That's why I was following you today. I couldn't just walk up to you. I had to make sure they hadn't found you. But when you noticed me, they noticed you. When they realized who I was, they started to walk towards us."
"Then you pulled us into that alley," I said, slowly catching on. He nodded, smiling at me. "Then why did you kiss me?" I asked with a small smile on my lips.
"Because I couldn't lose you, Y/N. You mean more to me than you know," he whispered. "I may have loved Katrina, but not as much or as long as I have loved you."
My breath got caught in my throat at his confession. Instead of responding, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. Our lips instantly started moving in sync as he pulled me over so I was straddling his hips.
"I love you too," I said, quickly pulling away. "I have since we were little." I looked up at him to see him smiling at me. Suddenly, his smile dropped.
"I need to get you out of here," he said softly. "Pack a bag and we'll head to the safe house."
I nodded as I climbed off his lap and headed to my room, him following closely behind me with his hand on his gun.
*****
We were quiet as we drove into the mountains. Mitch hasn't said anything to me since we left my apartment. The second we had gotten in his car, he reached over and intertwined our fingers. And he hasn't let go since.
I bit my lip nervously as we pulled up to a small house. He was right. This place is well-hidden.
He looked over at me and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before putting the car in park and getting out. When I got out of the car, he was standing in front of it, staring at the front door.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"The door's open," he whispered. He looked over his shoulder at me as he grabbed his gun out of the waistband of his pants. "Stay here."
Before I could say anything, he jogged up the steps and went inside the house with his gun raised. I looked around nervously as I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans. I gasped when I thought I heard a twig snap. I scanned the trees, but didn't see anything. When I turned back towards the house, a man was standing in front of me.
I didn't have time to scream before I felt him stab a needle into my neck. A second later, I felt cold liquid entering my veins. As my knees gave out, the last thing I saw was the safe house before my vision went black.
*****
I woke up, my hands and ankles tied to a chair. I tried to get out of the restraints, but stopped when I realized it was useless. I looked around the room to see us in a hotel room.
"Y/N."
I gasped when I heard someone say my name. I looked up to see my father tied to a chair across from me. "They didn't hurt you," he sighed.
"Dad?"
His eyes softened as he sighed, "I'm so sorry, kitten."
"Don't call me that," I said harshly, cutting him off. "After all these years. No calls, no voicemails, no texts, nothing. The first time I see you in years, I'm kidnapped."
He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when he noticed I wasn't done. "The first thing I hear about you in years is Mitch Rapp showing up at my college, telling me that I'm in danger. You know something? When he told me it was because of you, I didn't believe him."
"Y/N," he tried to interrupt me. I was far from done so I kept talking, not giving him the chance to explain.
"I mean, how could I? You left me when I was twelve! No explanation. You were just gone. You could've. . . You could've told me."
"I couldn't," he corrected. "If I had, it would've put you in danger." I sent him a look, instantly shutting him up.
"Not telling me put me in danger." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "This is because you didn't tell me. You could've told me, dad. I would've believe you. I believed Mitch when he told me the truth about what he does and what happened to his fiancé."
"His fiancé?" My dad asked, tilting his head slightly. "Mitch Rapp is engaged? I always thought you two would end up together."
"No," I stuttered. "She. . . She was killed two years ago. That's why he came for me. He couldn't lose me too."
I looked down with tears in my eyes as I thought about Mitch. I bit my lip, trying to stop the sob from escaping. I took a shaky breath as I closed my eyes.
"It's going to be okay," my dad tried to comfort me. I opened my eyes and sent him an annoyed glare. "If I remember Mitch Rapp right, he isn't going to let you get hurt."
"If you remember him right," I scoffed under my breath. I looked over at the door, begging Mitch to walk through it.
*****
I wasn't sure how long I sat, tied to the chair across from my father. He kept trying to talk to me, but I ignored his many attempts to apologize. I didn't want to talk to him. All I wanted was for Mitch to come save me.
"Please, Y/N." My father sighed. "There is nothing we can do until someone comes for us. At least talk to me."
"No," I said with no emotion as I looked at him. "I have nothing to say to you."
He opened his mouth to respond but stopped when we heard shouting and gunshots outside the door. "Please be you, Mitch." I begged under my breath.
I jumped when the door swung open. "Mitch," I said as I let out a sigh of relief. He scanned the room, a smile forming on his lips when he saw me.
"Mitch, behind you!" I screamed as two guys appeared behind him. I watched with wide eyes as he fought them both off with ease.
He looked up at me and sighed before putting his gun in his waistband and running over to me.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he knelt down and cupped my cheek in his hand. I nodded as he scanned me for injuries.
"I'm going to get you out of here," he said under his breath.
He pulled out a knife and cut through the restraints tied around my ankles. He then moved to the ones around my wrist. Once they were off, he helped me stand up. I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my head in his chest as silent sobs escaped my lips.
I felt him sigh as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer. "You're safe," he whispered.
He pulled away, making me look up at him. He smiled before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine. The kiss was short and soft. He pulled away and kissed my forehead.
With his arm still wrapped around my waist, he turned around to face my father.
"Sir," Mitch nodded as he let go of me long enough to help my father with his restraints. The second he freed my father, Mitch was back by my side.
"Stay close," he said. As he led both of us out of the building, I couldn't help but look at the dead bodies. Mitch's grip on my hand tightened when he noticed.
When we got to the elevator, I noticed Mitch scanning the area. I jumped when the elevator dinged. Mitch looked at me before we walked in. The entire ride down, I leaned into Mitch's chest as my father watched us with a small smile on his face.
"It's good to see you again, Mitch." My father complimented, making both of us look at him. I looked back at Mitch to see him nod.
"You know something," my father said trying the fill the silence. "I always had a feeling that, sooner or later, you two would realize how much you each cared for the other. And maybe even realize that your relationship went past best friends."
I looked up at Mitch to see him smiling at me. I sighed when I heard my father still rambling on about how he knew we would fall in love.
"Dad," I sighed. "Please stop."
I let out a sigh of relief as the elevator dinged. When the doors opened to the lobby, my father was the first one out. I gasped as two men came up and escorted him to a car. My eyes widened as I looked up and saw a large team of men, scattered around the lobby. I instantly hid behind Mitch, gripping onto his arm.
"It's okay," he whispered. "They're with me."