DANGEROUS OBSESSION

5

BLAKE WRAY

“I heard she knows how to defend herself,” James comments sarcastically after Moss daughter leaves.

“She’s rude, intrusive, and spoiled, that’s what she is,” Hailey says.

“How was it?” I ask Samuel, intrigued.

“Well… exactly as we imagined,” he says, and I look at him, wanting more.

I want Moss behind bars as soon as possible.

“She really is exactly how the media portrays her: rebellious, the black sheep of the family,” he says, and well, that can definitely be an advantage.

“Either way…” Hailey starts. “We don’t need her for any mission,” she says, and her attitude towards Moss is starting to become unbearable.

“In that case, you should’ve already managed to gather evidence incriminating Moss and putting him behind bars, Hailey,” I say, impatient, and instantly her face flushes before she finally quiets down.

“It was an accident,” she justifies, and I sigh, taking a sip of coffee while waiting for Sasha to enter the field.

“Just like you, she’s the heir of an extremely wealthy family. The only difference is that she’s much closer to being disowned by her own family than being their favorite,” Samuel continues, and the fact that he pointed out a similarity between them clearly didn’t please Hailey.

“And another difference is that I’m a special agent, with high IQ, not a guinea pig, a criminal’s daughter who knows nothing and is only going to get in the way of our missions,” Hailey insists.

“She killed an A-level criminal and assassin by herself, and she was a prodigy student until she left school. I really don’t understand your issue with her, Hailey,” James says.

“Whose side are you even on?” she demands, outraged.

“There are no sides here, Hailey. And if you continue acting like this, I will remove you from this mission,” I warn, and she stares at me indignantly but finally sits down, silent.

“Well, I got there, and the security guards were looking for her,” Samuel continues, and I taste my coffee. “But not really because they were worried about her well-being, it was more because of the possibility of a rescue, from what I could understand,” he explains.

Interesting.

“Who would even worry about her?” Hailey mutters, and I’m genuinely losing my patience.

“Their relationship is the most chaotic I’ve ever seen, her with her parents, and with her siblings it only gets worse,” he says.

Definitely interesting.

LAUREN MOSS

“Don’t mind Hailey, she’s just not having her best day,” Sasha says as we walk, and I watch her.

“Apparently, she won’t be having her best days as long as I’m around,” I say what I’ve noticed, because I’m not stupid.

“It’ll just be a matter of time until she gets used to it,” she says, and I sigh.

I doubt it.

“She…” Lauren, stop being nosy!

What’s the need to ask?

Why? Is that even of your concern?

“Is she Blake’s girlfriend?” I ask, curious, unable to resist, and Sasha looks at me with a half smile.

“So you really fell for Blake’s charm, huh?” she almost asks rhetorically, and my entire body simply burns.

“Of course not,” I deny instantly. “I was just curious. She might be upset with me because of what I said during the interrogation,” I justify, shrugging. “That’s the only thing that would make sense,” I comment as we turn down the hallway and step into an elevator. She presses the button to go down.

This place is surreal…

And I’m sure this isn’t the regular FBI agents’ area, this is definitely the special agents’ zone.

“They dated once, but they’re separated,” she answers my question, and I nod.

Humn, interesting.

My eyes are simply mesmerized by everything I can see here.

This is all too surreal.

And honestly, I still can’t fully process how I ended up here.

“Oh…” I mumble, confused. “Sasha, why me?” I ask her, and she looks at me and smiles as the elevator doors slide open.

“What do you mean, why you?” she asks while we walk down a single corridor that immediately grabs my attention.

“Well, I’m here…” I say, confused. “What are your requirements for selecting aspiring agents? Because honestly, I don’t have any skills,” I say sincerely, and she smiles.

“I’m sedentary, I don’t know the basics of technology… Is there some specific reason you put me in something of this caliber and secrecy?” I genuinely ask, and she smiles again, looking straight at me.

“Of course, and it involves everyone else in your class,” she says as we step into a huge open area with some people around.

It’s like a condominium.

They greet us as soon as they see us coming in.

“Good night…” I reply, surprised and relieved.

Of course, what was I thinking?

That I’d be graduating in a class all by myself?

“You really shouldn’t underestimate yourself like that,” she says, and I follow her towards one of the ‘houses’.

“So everyone here is here for the same reason?” I ask, following her, feeling slightly intimidated now.

“No, each of you has something that caught our attention—and the government’s attention, Lauren,” she answers as she pulls out a magnetic card and slides it through the lock of the house we’re entering. The door clicks open.

Not bad.

“Come in,” she says, and I step inside. She comes right after.

“Listen, a piece of advice from a friend,” she says, and I smile, pulling my eyes away from all the details of the place to her greenish eyes. “This is training. Serious training. You have a lot of potential, but in the end, only those who are truly committed stay and move forward,” she explains.

“Rest. You’re a few days late, and you’ll really need to rest after today and focus,” she says, handing me the access card. “We’ll see each other tomorrow,” she says, and I simply nod.

Confused and stunned.

“Good night!” I say as I see her out. She smiles and leaves, closing the door behind her.

“Lauren… what the hell did you get yourself into this time?” I finally ask myself once the door closes.

Dear God!

Me? Lauren, in training to become an FBI special agent?

What the hell did I do to end up here?

“All right…” I try to keep calm, because freaking out now won’t help.

Well, the ‘house’ is really basically a house, but it feels more like a hotel room. There’s a living room, not too small, not too big, and no TV.

But the décor isn’t bad; it’s just minimalistic.

I walk in, observing everything. There’s only one bedroom, and the bathroom is inside it.

The bedroom is normal: a bed, a bedside table, well-lit, and there’s a closet, not huge, but decent. I think all the stuff I shoved into my suitcases will fit here.

The bathroom has a shower stall, it’s spacious, but nothing ridiculous.

Coming out of the bedroom, there’s a mirror in the hallway, an area that’s pretty much a study space, and a “kitchen.” It’s not exactly a kitchen. I don’t know…

There’s a mini-fridge in the bedroom and, out here, there’s just tea, coffee, milk, a kettle… Basically that.

I wonder if there’s a real kitchen outside. Maybe there’s a cafeteria.

But I’m not necessarily hungry. I think the overload of adrenaline I caused myself is eating me alive to the point that my stomach is twisting.

I killed…

“Lauren, what did you do?” I ask myself, feeling a tightness in my chest as reality finally drops on me.

I literally fainted from crying when I saw that man—who was about to kill me—lying on the ground, covered in blood, not breathing, because of me, but…

I wasn’t processing anything properly.

“I’m a murderer…” Like a coin finally hitting the floor, my knees meet the ground as the whole scene comes back to torment my mind, which is finally beginning to understand the gravity of what happened.

BLAKE WRAY

“Lauren, what did you do?” the voice of Moss’s youngest daughter echoes through our room, coming from the listening device inside her quarters.

“Is she crying?” James asks, intrigued, throwing the red ball against the wall again.

“I’m a murderer…” her voice comes out shaky, she’s definitely crying.

“Oh, please, what a drama,” Hailey says, apparently irritated, turning the volume down a little.

“Hailey, she killed someone by accident. For someone like her—a regular citizen—it was obvious her conscience would weigh on her,” Sasha says.

“He was a level-A assassin, and she already knows that. Who would feel bad for killing an assassin?” Hailey asks, dismissing it completely.

“Someone who has never killed before, Hailey,” Sasha replies, and honestly, today is not a good day to be stuck in the same room with these two.

“She’s literally the daughter of an assassin,” Hailey mutters.

“That’s enough,” I say, impatient, making her shut up.

“Get ready. You have a mission now with James,” I tell her, and she nods as James stands up.

“Sasha, is everything ready?” I ask her as she focuses on the monitor.

“It is!” she confirms, and the two finally leave.

Patience, that’s what I’m asking for.

LAUREN MOSS

I have no idea how long I’ve been crying out of fear, tormented by what happened. I just know that no more tears are even coming out of my eyes, and my throat hurts.

My head is pounding, and it feels like the logical reasoning I lost these past few days suddenly returned, showing me how impulsive and irresponsible I was.

I don’t know what happened to me—I lost control, and it was dangerous. The consequences of what happened are literally terrifying.

I get up from the floor, with nothing left to do after asking God for forgiveness a thousand and one times, and walk to the bedroom feeling like trash.

I splash water on my face, which is way too swollen. After calming down enough, I take a deep breath, go to the kitchen, and drink water.

I drink water, and more water, and somehow that manages to calm me down a bit.

I go back to the bedroom and head straight to the closet. I open the shoe suitcase and start organizing.

After all, I need to get things in order, and it distracts me while I try to think straight.

“Come on, Lauren…” I talk to myself, trying to lift my own mood so I can get things done.

What else is left for me anyway?

Outside, there are a bunch of athletic and impressive-looking people.

And me?

To begin with, I never thought I could ever be or do anything like being a secret agent. That thought had never crossed my mind. But now I’m actually interested, and when I’m interested in something…

Well, look what happened?

Yeah. That. No one can stop me.

Thinking about it, this fits too well with the kind of things I like to do. I enjoy exciting things, and I think this place is promising, at least in that aspect.

It’s definitely better than being forced into a college I didn’t even want, and still living under the same roof as them…

As you’ve seen, it’s a bit chaotic over there.

And why didn’t you leave, Lauren?

I only didn’t leave earlier because I’m still dependent on them, and it’s not by choice.

I wanted to move out and work, but obviously, because I carry the surname I carry, that isn’t possible—according to them. They don’t even want to send me abroad. Nothing.

I must always be under their radar.

After all, I’m a rebel, according to them, and I must not dare to ruin the image of the most beautiful and respected Moss family.

If only they were all that, a real family… But no. I have a family that’s entirely about appearances. So, whatever happens, I will stay here.

I will make an effort to stay here.

I organized my unjustifiable amount of shoes.

I basically just shoved everything inside the suitcases.

I arranged my clothes, underwear, pajamas, workout clothes, socks… I brought a bunch of random clothes to be here, but at least I have clothes.

Accessories? I don’t think I’ll even use them, but I’m pretty sure Miriam put them in here.

I organized everything, and then put my bath products, hair products, perfumes, deodorants in the bathroom. There’s makeup, too.

That was Miriam.

But anyway, after a good while, everything was well arranged.

My body hurts, but it must be from the beating I took from that man.

I stored away the empty suitcases and went to the bathroom. I took off my clothes and stepped into the shower.

I finally showered. After everything that happened today, my body desperately needed it.

I washed my hair, got out and towel-dried it, brushed my teeth, did the basics of my skincare routine, applied my body lotion, put on my pajamas, it’s basically long black silk pants and a matching top, and dried my hair.

I left the bedroom to put my clothes in the washing machine.

I’m so sleepy that I just went back to the bedroom, closed the door, and fell asleep.