I bit my lip, choking back tears as I cauterised the gaping wound on my stomach. It took every bit of self-control within me to resist the urge to scream. I know she hadn't meant to, but that bitch on the train ruined everything; her lack of common sense caused her to knock me over, ripping my stitches. Unless she had meant to. What if she was working for Rodernis? His goonies were always one step behind me. Had he finally caught up?
I looked in the mirror beside me, my eyes washed over the reflection. Pale skin with harsh dark circles under the eyes in a gaunt, weak figure stared back. I was tired.
I carefully placed the straightener down on the bathroom counter, unplugging it. ‘I’ll clean it later’ I thought. If Rodernis were onto me, he would know my approximate location. Blood on a straightener would look unusual to anyone, but to his men, they would know I am injured. Slower. Easier to catch. I shuddered, supporting my body on the doorframe, still staring in the mirror. I felt the disappointment weighing heavy in my chest each time I looked at myself. All I could think of was how I was failing the company and myself. I was supposed to be the best of the best and here I was in a shabby little motel in downtown Lynesse waiting for another field agent to fetch me first aid supplies. Shit.
I walked over to the window. Squinting in the room's low light, I looked over the highway. The traffic was heavy for this time of night, horns blaring in the distance. Neon red decorated the roads as far as the eyes could see. I diverted my gaze to the little hut to the right, a little 24-hour store where Ace had supposedly disappeared into just under half an hour ago.
“Hello.”
I pulled out my hairpin, ready for whoever had managed to sneak up on me.
“Wow, I thought a thank you would be nice but maybe a threat on my life is really what I need.” He glared at me, however, his lips curled into a coy smile.
“Try knocking for a change,” I said, lifting my hair and fashioned it into a loose bun with my pin. “It may change your life—or at least allow you to live until 40.”
He giggled sarcastically, dashing my bag of ‘goodies’ on the bed.
“Very funny. Maybe you should change career paths, Spade. Comedian would look good on your resume.”
I sank myself onto the bed, peeking inside the thin plastic. Bandages and plasters. Plasters?
“What the fuck am I going to do with plasters, Ace?”
“Not my problem.” Water began to run as he disappeared into the bathroom. “Blood on the hair straightener? You should change careers.”
Shit.
I collapsed onto the soft surface beneath me, summoning up the strength to think of a good excuse. 13 years in the field and this was my first streak of bad luck. No excuses. I placed my hands over my eyes, suppressing the urge to cry.
“I was going to clean it in a few minutes,” I mumbled, sitting up gently.
“What?”
“I said that I was just about to clean it.”
I removed my hands from my face, bracing myself for the daunting task ahead when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Even though I know who that hand belongs to, I can't help but tense up and stiffen within. How can he manage to make me jump twice in 5 minutes?
“Spades.” His low voice caressed my ears providing me with an ounce of comfort.
I rested my head against his body, allowing myself to relax in his arms.
“Ace,” I whispered, the words melting against his Merino sweater. “Aren’t you hot in this thing?”
"A little," He chuckled lightly. “Why? You in a hurry to get me out of my clothes?”
At that I grimaced pulling away, focusing my attention on the first aid bag.
“I’m going to patch this thing up.” I gestured to my abdomen.
I rose sluggishly balancing myself with Ace’s hand under my arm.
“I’ll help.”
I met his eyes with a ferocious scowl.
“No,” I hissed. “You won’t.”
He craned his neck down, taking a step closer so that our faces were mere inches away from one another.
“Try and stop me, Aria.” His breath was warm against my face and the way he said my legal name made my chest flush.
The low musky smell of his sandalwood cologne encapsulated my senses as his arms tightened around me, sitting comfortably on my waist.
“Spades. You know it’s Spades.”
“You want to keep up the formalities right now, kitten?” his lips brushed against my neck, causing a desire to stir within me.
No, this is not the time or place.
“Agent Ace,” I gently pushed him away creating distance between us. “I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“My apologies, Agent Spades.” Ace turned sharply heading towards the door of our room.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I’m going to see if they have another room on this floor. I think we both need our own space.”
“Don’t be silly, we can still sleep next to each other or one of us can take the sofa.”
“No, it’s fine.” He shrugged. “After all, we wouldn’t want to be unprofessional. You’re already on thin ice with Joker.”
The door slammed behind him and once again I was alone, although this time the thought of being alone with myself wasn't comforting.
I reached into the pocket of my joggers for my communication device.
“Thank you for your call. You are through to the Pack of Cards, who are you trying to contact?”
The voice on the other end was familiar. Hello, comfort.
“Quit Joking around please,” I replied.
“I’m sorry, I didn't realise that you were a Jack of all trades…”
“But I am a master of none.”
The computer chimed as she entered the security password.
“His phone is currently occupied, can I add you to the queue?”
A queue at this time?
“Sure, can you let Joker know that it’s one of his favourite suits?”
“Spades?”
I paused. How did she know?
“Who am I talking to?”
“Agent 404 of the King district. Where are you? The company lost track of your location.”
I could hear typing on the other end.
“Oh, yes.” I had only been disconnected from the company once. This wasn’t good, especially for an agent of my calibre. “I was incapacitated. Agent Ace should have sent our location to you. We are in Lynesse.”
The typing stopped.
“You are with Ace?”
“Yes. Why?” I headed to the bathroom with the First Aid supplies in hand.
“He was let go from the company 2 days ago. He is no longer an agent with us.”
Oh.
