by Kira Adams
“Who is he?” It feels like I’m on a merry go round. Everything is spinning and the dizziness is overwhelming.
“That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they have Mikhaela, and we finally have our chance.”
Suddenly the pounding headache and dizziness fade to the background. “Who has Mikhaela? Eduardo? Did you do this?” The anger inside me is beginning to build.
“We needed it to be believable. She’s with one of our ‘double agents’. He won’t let anything happen to her.” Laura is so calm and collected about the entire situation, it’s disconcerting.
“What are you saying to me right now?”
“I’m saying that we used her as bait and now we are going in to get her,” she replies, coolly.
“Used her as bait? Oh hell no. Not again. Not after last time. They are going to kill her, or worse off sell her to the highest bidder. Do you even know what you’ve done?” It’s hard to mask the frustration in my voice.
“Bo, I assure you, we have this under control. She led us right to him and everyone who works for him. The elusive unicorn is no more. You guys helped do this.”
Somehow now doesn’t feel like the best time to be basking in the success of things.
Against my protests, they leave me in the back of the vehicle. Laura insists that if anything happens, my concussion could get worse. She wants me to relax but not sleep. What an interesting concept.
They have the place surrounded with more agents than I can count. They motion silently to one another signaling to inch closer. My mind is reeling with thoughts of what is taking place inside the condemned building.
After what feels like an eternity of holding my breath, noise finally erupts from inside. It sounds like they are lighting the place up. Hurriedly trying every door, my frustration builds when they are all child locked. I pull my legs up and try to kick out the window, but it’s strong glass. Nothing is working and I’m helpless in the situation.
An explosion of sorts lights up the night sky, making my motivation even stronger. What if Mikhaela is inside? What’s left of the old stone structure is not holding up well with the action. Large pieces come crashing down to the ground around it.
At some point, a familiar face pops out from the rubble, looking battered and broken. It’s Stefano, in the flesh. My heart pounds against my ribcage. “Money!” I scream at the top of my lungs, banging loudly on the window.
His head swivels in my direction before he races over and lets me out. We embrace one another instantly. “You’re alive, man.”
He scoffs, but judging by how badly his body is shaking, he’s not 100%.
“Where’s Ammo?” My eyes lock on the front, waiting to see someone, anyone else.
Stefano follows my eyesight, but instead of answering, he just tips his head in the direction he came from. My breath catches in my throat. He can’t be…
Mikhaela appears next, being helped by an unfamiliar agent. She is limping, but overall, she looks good. When she catches sight of me, she ditches the agent and makes a full out sprint in my direction, complaining the entire way. “Ouch!”
She ends up in my arms, hers wrapped around my stomach, and mine enveloping her into a safe cocoon. “You disappeared,” she says, barely above a whisper.
My fingers smooth some of her dark hair out of her breathtaking eyes. “I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” She stares back at me then and all other thoughts go out the window. No one else is around, in this moment, it’s just the two of us. Leaning in, my eyes gauge hers…it feels so weird, yet right. We close them right before our lips meet and become ravenous for one another. Before this exact moment, kissing Mikhaela never crossed my mind. Now, there is nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than right here. The kiss is sweet and quick. Enough to give me a taste, but have me yearning for more.
Ammo comes stumbling out from the wreckage, and even in his worn-down state, he still manages to communicate with stares. He’s asking when this happened…and honestly, I’d love to know, too.
Embracing him, tears begin spilling from my eyes unintentionally. “I missed you, man.”
He pulls away, his eyes raking my face. He’s surprised by the emotion coming out of me. It’s not normal for us. “It’s good to see you, brother.”
Something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye, and it’s a handful of agents leading a handcuffed Eduardo to one of the many waiting vehicles. Eduardo plants his feet on the ground, stopping them from moving forward, and then stares directly into my eyes. “You’re going to pay for this. You are going to wish you had never stolen from Eduardo Jose Ramirez.”
When people refer to themselves in the third person, it’s hard for me to take them seriously. Instead, I stifle a laugh, which only angers him more. They begin tugging on his chains, forcing him forward. They place him into the car and then my mind shifts to the last piece of this puzzle.
“What about Carlos?” The question is posed to anyone who was inside when the gunfight took place. Surely, one of them had to have seen something.
Mikhaela shakes her head solemnly. “He really got himself mixed up in this hot mess and he lost his life because of it.”
Laura approaches us with a large smile on her face. Arrests are still being made and much of Eduardo’s army is being taken down. “We did it.”
Her enthusiasm is difficult to share. Eduardo has finally been caught, but that doesn’t change everything that has transpired the past two months. It doesn’t give us back our lives.
“So, what now?” Ammo poses the obvious question. With Eduardo caught and behind bars, we can go anywhere…do anything.
“We are going to need you guys to stick around for the trial. You are our star witnesses. We will get you all new identities and places to live for the time being, but we are going to need all the help we can get to keep him in prison for the rest of his life.”
Mikhaela sighs, looking defeated. “I’m never going to be free of him.”
“I know everything seems hopeless, but trust me, it’s not. We’ve been waiting a long time for this arrest. There is no way they will sit on the trial. We will do our best to make it as quick and painless as possible.” Laura has a calming way about her that is like a mother. It makes it easy to want to trust her.
“Well, where to now?” Ammo asks, glancing around at the lot of us.
“I don’t know, but I’m starving. Can we start with pizza and decide from there?” Stefano chimes in, his bottomless pit never ceasing to surprise us. It’s amazing how much food he can put down and still be as thin as he is. Most people would wish for a problem like that.
It seems too simple that after everything, we can just go out for a pizza. We are still going to have agents watching our every move, but we don’t have to be constantly looking over our shoulders worried about Eduardo or Carlos making an unwanted appearance. We are not anywhere near scot-free. Eduardo is so powerful; he could make one phone call and end any of our lives with the snap of his fingers.
We can never return to Tennessee, but we can start a fresh life with our new identities and try to make every moment count.
Mikhaela
Hello. My name is June Beckham. I’m nineteen years old and I’m studying to be a lawyer. Well, all of that is true minus the name. It’s my truth to live now. Baltimore, Maryland has been kind to June. She was able to get a job quickly, make some new friends, and most of all, is able to see Aden Tanner every single day.
Okay, putting this all aside, becoming June has been the most incredible experience. Being able to make choices and be heard has made all the difference. They said we have to choose our new identities, so I went with my favorite month of the year, the month I was born. It’s easy to remember and makes me feel like some of this has been my choice.
Bo chose Aden because he said it felt like a strong name. They assigned us random last names and then let us decide where we wanted to move to within the United States. They didn’t want us to b
e too far away for the trial.
In most Witness Protection cases, the witnesses are not physically present at the trial. They offered the chance to do video recorded testimony and even anonymous testimony, but being there felt important. Besides, anonymous or not, Eduardo knows we are to blame for his downfall. Being able to see him get what he deserves, courtside is too sweet to pass up.
Because Eduardo already knows who we really are, the most dangerous part is just being easily accessible while at the courthouse. There is going to be no shortage of undercover agents on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly, which helps put me at ease.
Both Stefano and Ammo were assigned new identities and decided to stay in New York. They said they had some connections that could help them find work. It was tough on Bo at first, but we are carving out our own little life in Maryland, and it feels like everything happens for a reason.
We didn’t have to move in together, but we wanted to. It was just a feeling of comfort. Being around Bo felt like home…the closest thing I’ve ever had to it. We could have slept in separate bedrooms, the way the apartment was set up, but after attempting it the first night, we haven’t slept apart since.
He’s still only ever kissed me that one time and maybe that’s because he was thankful I didn’t die in the explosion and gunfire, but it’s becoming too much to bear. Being so close to him every single night and not being able to express the way he makes me feel is driving me absolutely insane. It’s hard to imagine he doesn’t feel a fraction of what I do. His breath on my bare skin has been putting me on the edge too often. Something needs to happen.
He notices the tension one night and finally makes a comment about it. “Are you okay?” he asks, his arms pulling away. Usually he’s the big spoon and he keeps me wrapped up in his safe and strong embrace. But he spins me around so that we are facing one another.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lie. Being around him like this is torture no one should ever have to experience.
“Hey, you know you can talk to me about anything right?” he asks, tipping my chin up so our eyes meet.
It’s hard to keep it all locked away inside. We’ve been sleeping next to one another for three consecutive months now. If his arms aren’t wrapped around me, my mind won’t let me sleep. Isn’t that messed up? We used to know how to exist without one another, and now he is such an integral part of my life, it’s difficult to imagine being without him.
“Hey,” he says, softly, trying to regain my attention. “Talk to me.”
Opening my mouth, no words come out. He doesn’t realize how much he means to me.
“Is this about the trial? Are you nervous?”
The trial. Shit. It’s tomorrow. We have been waiting for this so we can get it over and done with and move on with our lives. I’ve been dreading it because it means that for the first time since we assumed our new identities, Bo won’t feel obligated to stay with me. It’s the only thing that makes sense as to why he would give up his entire life to “protect” me.
He sighs. “Seriously?”
When the words fail me, my body speaks. My arms reach out around his back and pull him into me, embracing him. “Thank you so much for everything you have done for me. I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but it means more to me than you will ever know.”
When I release him, he is staring at me quizzically. “What is going on? You’re acting strange. Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye?”
Air escapes my lips as thoughts race through my mind. “We don’t know what is going to happen after tomorrow, but I just want you to know that once it’s all over you don’t need to worry about me anymore. You can’t let me hold you back any longer.”
He looks at me as if I have two heads. “Hold me back from what?”
“Everything. You deserve to live as normal a life as possible and for me not to ruin that.”
He still looks confused. “We are headed back to Tennessee tomorrow, nerd. Where we are going to be stuck together for another couple of months if the trial lasts that long. You really think after close to 6 months together, I’m just going to up and leave you like that?”
I shake my head and spin my body around, so we are back to the normal spooning position.
“Hey,” he says just above a whisper, his chiseled arms wrapping around me. “We aren’t out of the woods yet. Going back to our hometown is not going to be safe for us. Laura knows this, but we have to trust that the FBI will do everything in their power to make sure we are protected.”
It’s faint, but it feels like he presses his face into my hair and then takes a whiff. “Are you worried about seeing Eduardo?”
Why does he have to be so freaking perfect? The circumstances we met under weren’t ideal, but he is such a genuine human being. It was so hard not to fall for him after the first couple of times sleeping in the same bed. His arms, like a blanket of warmth and comfort, keeping the demons away. I want to know more about him, I want to know everything. We’ve talked over the last few months, but nothing will be good enough for me. I want to understand what makes him tick, what makes him hum.
“No, not really. He can go to hell for all I care.” It would be amazing to find out what happened to Maria, but there is a possibility we will never know. After everything Eduardo has put me through, he can rot behind bars.
He pushes my hair to one side and then lips are pressed up against the nape of my neck. It renders me damn near paralyzed. My heartrate speeds up; the butterflies flutter inside my stomach. His arms position me back facing him. “I hate to see you upset. Tell me what I can do.”
I can still feel the heat from the outline of his lips on my skin. My heart is still racing. “Do you have any clue what you’re doing to me right now?” Jumping up and out of the bed, my legs carry me to the other side of the room.
“What the…?” he asks, sitting up, still as confused as ever.
“You can’t do things like that and just expect me not to fall head over heels for you. Are you insane?” I’m pacing about, probably looking like a crazy person.
He chuckles. “What?”
“Your lips! On my neck. Does that ring a bell?” It’s hard not be frustrated with him. All I want are his lips on mine. Is that too much to ask?
He pulls the covers off himself and climbs out of the bed. “Mikhaela,” my name comes out softly. He takes hesitant steps toward me. “Tell me what to do.” As he approaches, he grabs me by the hip, pulling me into him. The heat beneath his fingertips sears my skin. It’s all I can focus on. “Hey.” He lifts my chin up, so we are looking eye to eye. His chocolate eyes drink me up.
“Again…you’re breaking the rules,” I grumble, attempting to dodge eye contact.
He laughs. “I give up. What do you want from me?” He backs up, his hands up in surrender.
Finally, I can breathe. You. Instead, no words come out.
“No, you know what, fuck that,” Bo exclaims, frustrated. It’s so unexpected when he begins stalking toward me, looking like he’s on a mission. With every step he takes forward, I take one back until I’m pressed up against the hard wall with nowhere to go.
“What are you doing?” I ask, frazzled by his approach.
He smiles devilishly. “I’m breaking the rules.”
It happens so quickly, I’m not prepared. His lips close onto mine and my heart wants to leap from my chest. The butterflies in my stomach bat their wings incessantly. His kiss is warm and commanding. My knees go weak and if it weren’t for his hand gripping my hip, I’d be crumpled on the floor.
The kiss lasts merely a few seconds, but it renders me damn near frozen. When he pulls away, his eyes search mine. “Wasn’t expecting that, were you?”
This time his lips close on mine hungrily. His tongue parting our lips. He presses up against me, my back flat to the wall, and his hands now tangled up in my hair. When he breaks the kiss, I’m dizzy. “You…” I couldn’t form a full sentence if someone held a gun to my head.
He grins. “So that changes things…”
Bo
It wasn’t planned. In fact, it wasn’t something that even crossed my mind…often. We’ve been sleeping next to one another for the last few months, so it’s to be expected that a couple of times my mind wandered. However, although we have been physically close, we have never been intimate besides the time we kissed the night Eduardo was caught. It was more of a reaction to the relief of her being alive, or so I thought at the time.
This time was different. It felt different. We were operating on the same frequency and it just felt right. But the trial starts today, and we need to put our focus on the things that matter. We are back in Tennessee, right smack dab in the center of the place the FBI plucked us out of for our safety. We will still have agents escorting us everywhere, but it does not make it feel any safer. I’m probably a bitch for complaining about a situation we are willingly putting ourselves into, but since they were using Mikhaela as one of the key witnesses, we didn’t want to be half-in. Doing videotaped interviews or anonymous ones feels like a cop-out when so many other witnesses are coming forward with their own truths.
We haven’t had a chance to really talk much since our kiss last night, but the dynamic between us has shifted. Something feels sexier, more primal. An unspoken attraction has been growing slowly since we passed the imaginary line. For the first time since I crashed into her life, my mind played with the idea of actually pursuing something and it was super fucking terrifying and overwhelming. She’s wearing a white blouse and black blazer matched with a dark pencil skirt for the trial and it turns me on. The way the blouse pulls against her decent sized chest makes my dick twitch. Even though we have lived in tight quarters for so long, I have yet to see her naked, but have assumed that she’s rocking C sized tits. Her brown hair and bright eyes are great contrast to her white top.
Mikhaela was very anxious before we left the hotel. She said her intuition was telling her something was off. She is about to see Eduardo for the first time since everything happened and the thought of it can’t be easy. I’ve assured her that I will be by her side the entire process. She has nothing to worry about. It feels awkward to be assuming our normal identities again only for the time we will be here, to go back to being Aiden and June when we leave and for the rest of our lives. Eduardo stripped everything from Mikhaela and some from me and it feels unfair. Bad people don’t deserve to win. Why do we have to live our lives in fear because we got out?