Dead Flower

Chapter 33

I had locked myself in the bathroom and was currently splashing my face with water as I tried to calm down. My hands were trembling, my heart was racing and my mind was running with a million thoughts. I tried to take slow and steady breaths but I couldn’t calm down because all that kept ringing through my ears was the instructions that Luca, or should I say, Special Agent Finley, recited to me. I didn’t have a choice, even if I didn’t want to be a part of this entire operation, I had no choice but to take part in it because I wanted to get home safe. 

I guess this is what my mother meant when she said that she was working on something being done. I had not expected it to be with the CIA but damn, I was impressed. My mother wanted me out of this situation and I was glad that she was taking the legal route but I was terrified of what this would bring and what our outcome would be because I was sure that the Bianchi’s were not going to play fair. 

I gripped onto the edges of the bathroom sink as I tried to stop my racing heart and still my thoughts. My breaths were coming out rushed and panicked and I needed to calm down before I have a panic attack which would then require me to get some medical attention and I don’t want it to get to that. I couldn’t help but panic because I was now a part of that investigation. I had to be a spy and get inside information from Gregorio or anyone who was a Bianchi. 

I didn’t want to think about what could happen to me if Gregorio or anyone found out that I was now a part of the CIA mission to bring them down. I was certain that I would see my grave, and even though Special Agent Finley ensured me my safety and told me that if I did things the right way, everything would work out and nobody will suspect a thing. I wasn’t a trained operative. I was only a civilian yet the fate of my family and every undercover agent was in my hands because if I am caught, their entire operation will come crashing down. 

I let out a shaky breath and tears began to fall from my eyes as my legs felt like jelly and I wobbled, almost falling to the floor. My hands had a deadly grip on the sink and I whipped my head around the bathroom to make sure that no one was in here with me. “what am I going to do?” I asked myself in a terrified and panicked whisper. I wanted to run away and never see any of these people again. How did my life get to this point? All I ever wanted to do was run Daisy’s flower shop and live my life peacefully. I miss when all I had to worry about was whether or not I would have customers, or that I didn’t have customers for weeks on end and my flowers were dying. I much preferred walking through grocery store aisles by myself and picking out whatever I wanted and simply blending in with the people. I miss being in the safety of my parents multi-million dollar Malibu mansion with dozens of nannies surrounding me to make sure that I was safe, entertained and got whatever I wanted. 

I began to cry, “oh God, why did I ever run away?” I asked my stupid self as I tried to stop the tears and the panicked breathing that I was doing at this point. It felt like the walls were coming in on me and I was trapped with no where to go. I didn’t want my loved ones to die, I didn’t want any of the undercover agents to die and I definitely didn’t want to be the one behind their deaths. 

Special Agent Finley told me that I would be surrounded by undercover agents at all times, I just wouldn’t know who they are unless there’s an emergency, like my cover being exposed or me needing to retrieve special gadgets that might help me find out more about the Bianchi’s. I wanted to get out of this, not get more involved. I was getting deeper into the Bianchi’s and I feared what would become of me once I became too involved. They were drug lords and there was no way that this was going to be a smooth ride. 

I fanned myself and managed to get myself to calm down. I took several deep breaths and decided to ignore my thoughts and simply focus on me. I looked at myself in the mirror and kept taking slow and timed blinks to calm my panic attack. Once I was feeling better and I was no longer panicking too much, I closed my eyes and kept silent. If I managed to just stop, then things will slow down and get better. I can’t get much done if all I’m doing is panicking. I just needed to be calm and collected. I don’t need to ruin everything before it has even begun. 

“I’m calm…” I let out in a quiet and relaxed tone before I opened my eyes and met my own orbs, looking deep into my own soul. I looked down at the golden pen that Special Agent Finley gave me. I had clicked it the moment I stepped into the bathroom so that Gregorio couldn’t listen to me hyperventilate and panic about how in the hell I was going to bring him down. 

I only had 5 minutes to panic and calm myself down before I have to pick myself up and get ready for what I had to do. Special Agent Finley and his team placed some kind of device the size of a dot in both of my earrings that I never take off because they used to belong to Daisy. As long as I had the earrings on, they would hear everything that was going on. I took the golden pen and looked around the bathroom, trying to find a hiding spot. I needed to hide the pen so that Gregorio didn’t find it because I’m sure he’s well aware of certain spy gadgets. I rushed to my drawer that had all of my hair care products and quickly shoved the pen inside my hairspray. The pen is waterproof and the only way to destroy it is by crushing it, so it was fine if I placed it in liquid. I closed the hairspray and made sure to close the lid as tight as I could before I placed the hairspray bottle right in the back. I stood up straight and let out a breath before I approached the door to leave the bathroom because I didn’t want it to seem too suspicious. 

I unlocked the door and the doors automatically slid open and I stepped out of the bathroom. “oh, hey, Gregorio,” I said in a very surprised and caught off guard tone as Gregorio took a step into the bedroom the same time that I took a step out of the bathroom. “what are you doing home so soon?” I asked him because he was always home later. The sun was still out and I thought that I had at least four hours before I would have to see him. 

He looked at me from head to toe before his eyes settled on my face and he strode into the room, “you seem flushed. Are you okay?” he asked as he easily shrugged off the black jacket he had on over his full black suit with a black tie. 

I swallowed, “yes, I’m fine. Just really, erm, frustrated because they won’t let me go out into the garden so that’s really thrown me off,” I decided to say, hoping that I didn’t sound suspicious or obvious that I was now a spy sent to ruin him and everything that his family has built. “so, what’s up with that?” I asked him as I wrapped my arms around myself. 

“The garden is being prepared for the wedding,” he told me as he walked around the room, and returned to the bed, throwing clothes onto it. I had completely forgotten about the wedding. I wasn’t being told about the preparations, I just knew that the wedding was going to be in three weeks. 

“Oh.” I said in response, shocked at the revelation because a part of me had hoped that things had come to a stand still but they obviously had not, “what are you doing?” I looked to see him bring back some more clothes but this time he had some of my own clothing. 

“We are going to Mexico.”

“What? Mexico? Why?”

“When was the last time we went on a date?” he countered. 

“We’re going on a date? To Mexico? Right now?” I asked in surprise.