DANGEROUS OBSESSION

19

LAUREN MOSS

The agent here didn’t even care about how annoyed I am.

If there’s one thing that puts me in a bad mood, it’s waking me up.

Do not wake me up!

And he just had to wake me up that way… I’m here rethinking my entire life now.

I could be sleeping.

Since the moment I arrived here and even before that, I haven’t had one decent night of sleep, man…

We step out of the elevator and walk through the corridors I already know like the back of my hand.

I’m just questioning whether the others have already gone through this test and I was the only one left out, or if it’s because I was the last one to arrive here, or if theirs still haven’t happened yet.

BLAKE WRAY

“Of course, I’m more than ready to go into the field,” Jennifer—one of the best trainees here—says after being brought in by one of the agents for a “test,” in which the main bait is being brought in now.

Jennifer will be great, because she’s proven capable of handling the evaluations. She’s definitely more rational than Moss and can help her, because the Moss’s daughter certainly won’t know how to handle any of this.

She literally confessed to the agent that, up until that moment, she didn’t know who he was, and that she had killed someone.

Who is that foolish?

She doesn’t handle pressure well.

Obviously, this mission will be heavily supervised, but with no intention of any of us actually entering.

Moss is important because she knows the criminal in question, and he will be one of the witnesses to many of her father’s crimes, even though she has no idea that he’s directly involved.

The doors of the room slide open, and the agent appears with Moss, coming in right behind him in pajamas, trying to fix her hair and undeniably sleepy. Yet strangely attractive.

“Hi…” she greets, but her tone drops the moment she meets Jennifer’s eyes, who’s staring back at her the same way.

“You?” Jennifer questions, glaring at her, and Moss just lets out a long sigh and looks over at Samuel—who simply got himself charmed by her and has now become the latest friendly face around here.

LAUREN MOSS

We walk into the room while I’m over here trying to look at least minimally decent. So, I start smoothing my hair with my fingers, trying to show a tiny bit of enthusiasm for whatever test this is, and trying to disguise both my sleepy face…

And my angry one too.

“Hello…,” I was about to lean on my manners because, in case I didn’t pass this test, at least my politeness could contribute to saving my life or something.

However, my eyes notice one extra person in the room and, oh… it’s not Hailey.

It’s Jennifer.

“You?” She asks, staring at me, and I genuinely wonder why she’s surprised.

But of course, right.

Maybe I’m the one who tied with her on this test or something… anyways.

Still unpleasant to deal with her in the middle of the night after literally being dragged out of bed.

I sigh and look at Samuel, trying to figure out what’s going on since he and Sasha are the only ones around here who seem remotely nice to me.

“Hi!” They reply, all of them except Blake. Hailey isn’t here.

Amen!

No one deserves both of them together.

“What’s going on?” I ask, confused, turning to Sasha.

“In pajamas?” Jennifer simply comments, and I sigh, staring at her. She’s dressed in workout clothes.

“Well, I don’t know if I’m here for the same test as you, but I was literally pulled out of bed. The agent just said I had to come up. I didn’t have time to change,” I say, outraged.

There’s nothing wrong with my pajamas. Lucky me I’m not wearing my shorts these days I’ve been wearing pants because the temperature here is low.

Still, it wouldn’t have been my fault anyway. I was dragged here.

“You passed the test and will accompany Jennifer on a mission,” Blake says, making me look towards the direction I had been avoiding.

For heaven’s sake…

How is it possible?!

How can someone be that attractive, seriously?

How?

Lauren, for the love of self-awareness, can you calm down your youthful hormones? They’ve been out of control for a long time.

“A mission?” I ask, surprised, curious, and with a knot forming in my stomach already.

“Exactly. And in forty-five minutes, you two must be on the field,” he concludes, and I immediately feel like throwing up.

But I don’t. Obviously.

Why?

I don’t know.

Maybe I’m nervous. No clue.

Or because my period will probably decide to show up at any moment. I’ve had cramps since this morning.

“Forty-five minutes?” I practically squeak, horrified.

Of course, the last time I heard the word mission, I was insane, totally lost it, and killed a criminal so I wouldn’t die. So yeah, I’m terrified, because that whole thing scared the hell out of me.

But it’s okay… If you’re here, apparently you passed.

And whether I like it or not, even though I can’t stand Jennifer anymore, she is good at evaluations.

So that must mean I have a chance of not being eliminated just yet.

“Exactly. So, come on!” Irika says, walking to Sasha’s other side, and I follow her along with Jennifer, who keeps glancing at me sideways.

“We will give you the necessary descriptions so you can complete this mission successfully. It is not a simulation, so you must take it more seriously than the evaluations,” she says, and my stomach twists painfully. I simply nod.

Jennifer looks steady.

“This man doesn’t… I know who he is,” I comment, staring at the photo that appears in Sasha’s hologram.

“Eduard Chamber,” Blake says.

I nod, vaguely remembering his name, but remembering him vividly.

“You must know him. He attends every party organized by your family, apparently very close to your father,” Blake adds, and I keep staring at his picture with disgust.

“Yeah… He auctions, buys women at those… galas…” I mutter, trying to figure out whether I said too much. But obviously not—they must know. They’re secret agents.

“Uh… for the night. They say they’re qualified… I mean... uh… the women who sell themselves for…” My God, why am I trying to explain something that has nothing to do with me?

“Prostitutes. Say the word,” Jennifer says, and I sigh, rolling my eyes.

“Does the mission have anything to do with that?” I ask, already halfway worried.

Whether I like it or not, he’s a friend of my father’s, and if he sees me…? Or if he’s in trouble and drags my father into it?

Not that I care about him, but the issue here is me.

I directed the question at Blake, but his blue eyes suddenly become gray and neutral.

“Not exactly,” Irika says, making me tear my gaze away from Blake to her.

“He’s throwing an underground party right now and called three specific women to go to him,” she explains. “You two will disguise yourselves as two of them,” she finishes, and…

In the middle of the night, seriously?!

“Uh… He probably knows me…” I try to warn them.

“That won’t be a problem, and I’m sure you know that,” Irika says, and I nod, disgusted.

He’s already tried to flirt with me.

I just have to walk in and say I’m having fun, right?

A very atypical kind of fun, but anyway… Will he care?

Of course not.

Or at least, I really hope not.

“Continuing your line of thought… Since you know him, you can lure him together with Jennifer to this room in the mansion,” they show the place, and I nod as I look.

“The only thing you must do is be as womanly as you possibly can. Nothing drives a man like him crazier than someone wearing a skirt,” Irika says, and I immediately blush.

“The only issue is that no one can suspect anything, not even during his capture at the party. That’s why this place is strategic, and you’ll have to use this on him,” she continues, placing a syringe and a vial with liquid on the table.

Man…

This is getting really serious.

I’m liking it.

“All right,” Jennifer says confidently.

“Then let’s move on to the styling,” James says, and both Jennifer and I follow him.

We enter a room inside here that seems to be exactly for that, with people who work specifically on this part.

Jennifer sits down right away. She’s confident.

“Hello!” I greet them.

“Hello!” they reply, and I sit down as well.

“Ten minutes,” James tells them, and they nod. “Got it!” they answer, and I sigh.

How come?! I did my skincare, and now it’s all going to be smashed under whatever color palette they want to slap on my face.

Some of them start working on our hair and others on our faces, but nothing too exaggerated… Actually, nothing too dramatic. But now my face looks like someone who wants to…

The makeup isn’t as over-the-top as I thought it would be. I mean, it is exaggerated, but not that much.

I’ve got a sharp, bold eyeliner, red lipstick, and a subtle yet flashy shimmer on my eyelids. I’m leaning toward the “dark” side of things. Jennifer, on the other hand, is on the “red” side of things, she looks very “meow,” and I look more like a seductive, black-clad catwoman.

My outfit is a whole separate issue…

It’s cold, and I have to wear a mini-skirt—a micro one, actually—with ripped tights, a cropped top, and knee-high boots. The heel is insanely thin, but honestly…

I look good.

And it took them barely any time to get me like this. Jennifer is wearing a dress, and she also looks good.

In our outfits, they attached earpieces that just… disappeared inside my ear. I have no idea how, and even less idea how they’re going to take them out later.

We have purses and everything. You have no idea what this setup looks like.

“Holy crap…” I laugh in disbelief, staring at myself in the mirror.

“You need to go,” they say, and we leave the little room.

I’m already cold.

My eyes go straight to Blake. Why? I don’t know. It was almost magnetic. His aura just pulls my attention.

And his eyes were on me too. But unlike me, not on my eyes—they were burning across my skin. He looked me up and down, and I’m almost sure he can see all the way to my skeleton. My whole body heats up and, when his gaze finally meets mine, I immediately look anywhere else, undeniably nervous.

“Humn, great!” Irika and Samuel say at the same time, watching us.

“Let’s recap everything one more time before you leave, yes?” Sasha asks, and I nod, walking toward her.

She explains again and emphasizes how important it is that no one suspects us and, even more, that no one notices he’s being taken from the party.

Why they want to bring him here, I don’t know. They didn’t give many details, but I hope I can finish this quickly so I can sleep.

I need it.

Since we also have to stay in character, they’ll be monitoring everything and will intervene if anything gets out of hand, though they emphasized they don’t want to intervene.

So… I think it’s better we do well.

We’re in the taxi now, with an agent also in disguise, driving us there.

“You better not ruin anything,” Jennifer says out of nowhere, staring at me.

“And you better stop with that attitude you’ve got, because it’s getting on my nerves already,” I respond.

Spare me.

I think the hardest part of all this will be putting up with this girl.