DANGEROUS OBSESSION

6

BLAKE WRAY

Today’s last mission was successfully completed, mostly because it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

At this exact moment, I’m at my mansion, specifically in my office.

I’m looking at the board full of criminals and suspects of horrendous crimes, including the one responsible for my father’s death.

Jacob Moss.

One of the most dangerous criminals alive, and by some miracle, I haven’t put a bullet in his head yet. I’ve wanted to for a long time, and I could, but that’s not how my father would want me to handle these matters—nor my grandfather, who commands the most secretive association of top-tier secret agents in the world, runs the FBI, and oversees all other intelligence, security, and investigative organizations.

And well, what could be more advantageous in this case than having his youngest daughter by my side, helping me bring down not only her but him and his entire family once and for all?

The funniest thing about all this is that it’ll be his own daughter helping me dig his grave.

Considering he took great pleasure in doing the same right in front of me, with my father.

I was a kid, and he took my father’s life in front of me.

Protected by my grandfather for years, trained to be the best agent in existence, and ready to avenge my father, with my father’s surname omitted from mine this time and only my mother’s remaining, because my grandfather isn’t stupid, I’ll finally put an end to his existence.

My eyes stay fixed on the screen for several long minutes.

LAUREN MOSS

I wake up startled by a loud alarm sound, sitting up in bed because I practically jumped from fright, and my dream wasn’t going well either.

“Damn…” I mumble, frightened, already getting out of bed and walking to the door, worried about the noise.

What if, I don’t know, some ultra-mega dangerous prisoner escaped and is now killing everyone?

I open the door, scared, looking around with my heart pounding nonstop.

I see a girl coming out of the house next door, a lot less scared than I am, and she’s already showered. She looks up at me and then smiles.

“You’re the new girl, hi!” she greets, way too calm for this situation, and I rub my hand over my face, still sleepy and confused.

“Hi!” I greet back. “What’s going on? What’s that noise?” I ask, with my eardrums begging for mercy, and she smiles.

“That means you should already be ready for breakfast. In twenty minutes, the cafeteria closes,” she says, and I sigh in relief.

I genuinely thought something catastrophic was happening.

“I didn’t know…” I say. “I’ll try to get ready quickly, thank you!” I tell her, still half squinting from sleep, and she nods with a smile.

“You’re welcome!” she says and walks away.

“Good Lord…” I grumble, yawning, as I close the door. “We’re off to a great start, Lauren,” I tell myself, eyes shut from how sleepy I am as I head to the bathroom and brush my teeth with my eyes closed.

I hate, hate waking up early.

And mind you, I usually wake up at six or seven… but at dawn, like this, just to have breakfast?

Excessive.

If I get into the shower now, I’ll miss breakfast. There’s barely anything to eat here, and I barely ate yesterday.

“It’s just pajamas,” I tell myself after taking a look at my reflection and washing my face.

After brushing my teeth, I comb my hair, slip on my slippers, and put on a robe. I head out, with only ten minutes left to eat.

I mutter, “Save me…” as I walk out. It’s kind of cold. “Surely I’m not the only one like this,” I comment to myself while heading in the same direction I saw a few people going.

No one is here.

I walk towards the cafeteria. I know it’s there because I can hear voices coming from that area, and the smell of good food hits my nose fast.

I walk in, and the discomfort instantly follows, because every pair of eyes turns to me.

They’re not many, but certainly not just five either.

And all of them—none of them—are wearing pajamas or a robe like I am. But in my defense, it was this or no food. I don’t even know how things work here yet.

“Good morning!” I greet loudly and clearly, since they all stopped talking, and honestly, there’s no reason to create awkwardness just because I’m in pajamas.

Everyone wears pajamas.

Well, apparently not here, but in general.

“Good morning!” I hear some of them reply, and I simply walk to the buffet, refusing to look at any of them—half embarrassed, but not that much.

I grab a plate, serve myself some fruit salad, two sandwiches with different fillings, and decide to drink tea because it’s a little cold.

I sit at a table that was empty because, apparently, they all know each other, and I really don’t want to impose more than I already did just by showing up today, invading someone else’s table would be the cherry on top.

Besides, there’s no time to socialize. If those twenty minutes the girl mentioned are real, I need to shove all this down my throat as fast as possible.

I feel their eyes on me, but since I’m more worried about finishing my food, I don’t care.

Or I pretend not to.

I genuinely don’t know if they’re staring because I’m new here, because I’m eating like a desperate person, because I’m in pajamas, or because they might know who I am.

I manage to finish the fruit salad. It was delicious. And I’m not even someone who eats in the morning, because it makes me feel stuffed or nauseous, but it went down well.

Then I eat the first sandwich and finish the tea.

And then the alarm, or whatever hellish sound that is, goes off again, and everyone simply stands up.

Where exactly did I think I was?

Of course they have a schedule for everything.

We’re talking about people who need to be somewhat disciplined and trained to deal with high-caliber crimes.

I quickly grab the other sandwich and head back to the house. I need to shower. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do…

Good heavens.

They could’ve at least given me a schedule so I’d know what to do and when. I enter the house, finishing my sandwich and heading straight to the bedroom.

“Of course they were looking at me weird. They’re probably thinking: ‘Does this girl think she came to a hotel?’” I mutter to myself while undressing quickly.

“I’d think that too, but it’s not my fault. I barely know how I even ended up here. How am I supposed to magically know what time things happen or how to do them?” I question myself as I turn on the shower and step into the stall.

I don’t even dare wet my hair. I washed it last night.

I shower as quickly as humanly possible because if I’m going to shower, I’m going to do it properly.

I don’t even dry off. I just apply lotion to my body.

No skincare, I don’t have time for that now. I sigh, already panicking since I can’t hear their voices outside anymore.

I rush to put my pajamas in the laundry basket, then come back and put on my black training set. I put on my socks and black sneakers to match.

I apply deodorant and perfume, brush my teeth again quickly.

I place the hair tie around my wrist to tie my hair later, but I’m already walking out of the room, leaving everything messy.

I step out in a hurry when I hear movement on the other side and decide to run there.

And just like that, my stomach is kind of full, and I was already dying of embarrassment before. Now? Even worse.

I arrive and… this looks like a concentration camp.

They’re all here.

And, of course, they’re all dressed in black. But the thing is, they’re wearing some sort of uniform.

Every pair of eyes turns to me, the late one, who doesn’t know what kind of uniform this is, surrounded by people who are probably highly intelligent and dedicated and want this training more than anything…

Meanwhile, I look like the clumsy one of the group.

And as if it were only them…

Blake is here, and damn!

Lauren, what is wrong with you?

“Miss Moss, to what do we owe the honor of your presence?” Blake’s blue eyes, piercing and seductively intense, meet mine, and I feel every cell in my body explode.

I lose my mind.

Well, now it finally makes some sense why I was so obsessed with finding him. He is brutally, stupidly handsome…

Saying it like that, it even sounds as if I’ve never seen an attractive human before.

His gaze, his presence… it’s simply magnetic.

Lauren, stop embarrassing yourself, for the love of God.

“I'm sorry. I'm… late,” I say, blushing, burning with shame, both from the lateness and from

his unreal presence.

And I’m definitely not the only one seeing this.

His gaze on me is cold and neutral at the same time. He studies me meticulously, from head to toe, and I swear it feels like he can see me naked—like he can see my bones—before bringing his eyes back to mine.

“You’re not wearing the proper attire, your hair isn’t tied up, and besides being late, you’ve already wasted two minutes of my time.”

Okay, apparently someone is strict.

But I don’t want them thinking I’m irresponsible.

I have been lately, but I’m not.

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to delay you further,” I say, tying my hair into a ponytail right then and there, stepping behind everyone. “I wasn’t informed of any rules or how the activities work, and I also don’t have that uniform.” I keep talking, warning them that none of this is my fault, trying to disappear into the back.

“Moss.” His voice sounds. I had been actively avoiding looking at him, but now I’m forced to, and my heart speeds up. “To the front,” he orders, and my heart threatens to jump out of my mouth.

But I go, right? What else can I do?

God help me.

I walk forward, standing between him and the lines the others had formed.

“A hundred push-ups,” he says, and my eyes widen in indignation.

“I don’t even know if I can do five…” I mutter, horrified, but he doesn’t care.

I don’t get it… He knows I’m not exactly an athlete. I don’t think going to the gym counts.

Especially because the only reason I went to the gym was to escape home, and nothing more.

“We’re all waiting for you,” he says, coldly, and I sigh. I’m starting to feel a little annoyed.

I sigh again and get into position under the stare of all of them.

God help me…

No one says a word. The silence is deafening, and the weight of having everyone here delayed because of me, watching me suffer…

It really manages to make me even more embarrassed.

“We’re waiting for you, Moss,” he repeats, and I let out a frustrated breath, simply starting…

Look, I’m not completely sedentary, but I’m not an athlete either. Still, I don’t know if it’s a habit or a problem, but I always want to prove myself to others, and this situation is no different.

Especially with all of them underestimating me this much.

The worst part is that my stomach is still kind of full.

BLAKE WRAY

Today the recruited agents have training, and they’ll also have their first test. So I arrived at the training base early.

The ones in my group must be the best, because they’ll be competing against the other groups. And each group has, at most, fifteen students.

However, when I arrived and found all the students on the training field, unsurprisingly, Moss’s daughter was not there. And when she finally showed up, besides not being in the proper uniform, her long, dark hair was loose, and she was out of breath, apparently because she had been running.

I might have found it mildly amusing if she weren't wasting my time. And it was extremely satisfying to place her in front of everyone and make her do a hundred push-ups.

I know she doesn’t have the capacity for that. She’s visibly dying of embarrassment, but I want to see how far she will go.

And, besides that, she needs to learn something from this.

All the trainees stayed silent, watching her, finding it amusing. And in the first ten push-ups she did, even I was surprised.

I didn’t think she’d get past five. And her form is perfect.

Her body, parallel to the ground, moves up and down impressively. Some strands of her hair fall over her face as time passes and she keeps flexing more and more.

The amount of effort she’s putting in is clear, but she doesn’t stop, and that is impressive.

Eighty-six…

Her arms are visibly trembling, but she doesn’t stop. Her breathing is no longer controlled, but she keeps going.

Interesting.

LAUREN MOSS

I must be extremely competitive, because I’ve done ninety-two push-ups so far and I truly can’t take it anymore.

I feel like my hands are going to lock from exhaustion, and that I’m going to fall face-first onto the ground—but better that than being underestimated by all of them.

And three, and four, and five… six… seven, eight, nine.

“One hundred…” I whisper, extremely out of breath, finishing in disbelief at myself and, at the same time, satisfied.

I did it!

I stand up, shaking out my hands, trying not to look tired or too shocked by what I just accomplished… I’ll just act like it was the bare minimum.

But my breathing is beyond unsteady, and I’m unbelievably thirsty right now.

I lift my eyes to him, and I don’t see even a shadow of surprise on his beautiful face—which obviously disappoints me—but I don’t let it show.

He’s apparently not impressed by anything.

“Take your place,” he simply says, and I walk back again. “In the front, Moss,” he adds, and I nod, not daring to look at him while stepping forward.

Why the front? I don’t know anything.

Ugh, my wrists are tingling. My arms… my heels.

I’m exhausted.

His voice echoes again, but it isn’t directed at me—thank God—because I’m trying to regain my energy.

My vision even darkened for a moment.

Heavens.

From what I gathered, there will be some sort of test today.

I say “there will,” because, honestly, I practically arrived today. I know nothing. I have no physical strength left, especially after that.

I only regain my senses when he simply leaves and everyone follows him, and I let out a deep sigh.

I walk in line, still out of breath. I undo my ponytail and tie it again.

Blake gets into one elevator, and we get into another.

The moment we step inside, the women here—oh, they just let themselves get carried away… and not just them.

I told you I’m not the only one seeing Blake. He looks like a lab experiment, he’s so attractive and handsome, and on a completely unreachable level. I’ve seen handsome men before, but like this…

I think the way I arrived here explains everything.

“He looked at you,” I hear one girl whisper to another, and well… this attraction, interest, whatever this is, is going way past the limits.

I’m feeling strange. I shouldn’t feel irritated because someone is happy that this man looked at her.

What do I have to do with that?

Nothing.

So it’s better if I stop, because I’ve never felt like this, and it’s starting to scare me. And another thing…

He works with his ex-girlfriend, and apparently they have unresolved issues. No one wants to get involved in more trouble, and when I say “no one,” I mean I…

I killed a person.

My chest tightens the moment I remember that, and I don’t want to make any more stupid mistakes.

The elevator is really big, so no one is crowded. Good for me.

The elevator opens. We’re on a floor I’ve never seen before, but apparently they know it. For my happiness, there’s a water fountain here.

The moment I step out, I walk straight to it and drink water.

They walk ahead, and I keep drinking. My throat was dry. Watching them cross the hallway, I simply follow them.

Let’s not make Agent Blake Wray angry at me for making him lose his precious milliseconds.

We reach a place that, compared to everywhere else I’ve stepped into here, has absolutely no movement.

They go in, and since I’m in the back, I’m the last one to enter, and it feels like I just stepped into one of those action cartoon scenarios. Because this… I swear I thought it only existed in cartoons and movies.

It’s a training field, with obstacles and everything is very high-tech. You can practically feel the sophistication in the air here.

I smile when I notice they’re all here, not just Blake, but Sasha, Samuel, the other agent who was in the room yesterday, and Hailey, who looks at me, and the smile she had on her face instantly vanishes.

Okay then…

What did I do?

She just picked on me for absolutely nothing.

This place is huge. It looks like a football field, and there are apparently thirty more people.

My eyes go upward, and apparently there’s a glass room with people inside, just like the interrogation room, but it’s dark.

“Lauren!” Sasha calls me, and I walk to her. She’s standing with the agents.

“Good morning!” I greet them, and she smiles.

“Good morning!” she replies, along with Samuel and the other agent—everyone except, of course, Hailey. Everyone else is friendly to me.

“Who do you think you are? There’s a specific uniform. This isn’t some fashion show, Moss,” Hailey says, looking me up and down, and I sigh, staring back at her.

“Rest assured, if I thought this were a fashion show, I would’ve put more effort into my outfit,” I reply, ironic, meeting her gaze before turning to Sasha.

“Sorry, I didn’t know there was a uniform, and I didn’t even see it anywhere; otherwise, I would’ve worn it.” I explain, and she nods.

“It’s fine. If Blake didn’t say anything, then there’s no problem. We’ll sort it out later,” Sasha says, and I nod.

I leave and simply follow the other classmates here.

I don’t know what we’ll be doing, but I’ll just go with the flow until this is over so I can question Sasha about everything.

Because I am hating feeling and being so lost.