Strong For Too Long Trilogy ✔️

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE: Cognac Eyes

I stare at him through the window, not in any creepy way, just astutely studying him. He checked his phone often, just as much as he checks the door every time another person enters. I purse my lips, hold my tongue, I was so conflicted. I step down the alleyway and towards the back, instead of catching them stare at the front of the doors, at the glistening entrance. I counted quite a few of them in the room. Alexander was sipping white wine next to Celeste closer to the back, she wore a black sleeveless dress, both of them side glancing the front door, but when Alexander turns back, he chokes on his drink.

Emerald green eyes meet mine, I tilt his glass over his head, ruining the earpiece in his ear before grabbing both of his guns and gliding them in the extra holsters in my jacket, "Say one word, and I will shoot you both." I say, lowly as I step across the room as Alexander sputters and Celeste's wide eyes just sits there, shocked.

I pull the files out of my jacket and dump them right in front of a shocked Branson, who had moved to sit next to Madison, still with his pathetic disguise, Tobias sits up wide eyed, I knock his cheek with the hilt of his gun, discretely while customers were still occupied, "Make one wrong move, Agents, and I'll blow all of your heads off without consequence. Branson, you're good, but I'm better." I say to him, grabbing both of Tobias' guns as he grunts and holds his cheekbone, all before I turn to face the man himself, who's holding his finger to his earpiece and trying hard to get Alexander's attention, when he snaps his cognac brown eyes up and the intensity in them horns into mine. My stone-cold expression must be registered as he stares at me.

I step up to the table, "Unless you want your agents to die slow, painful deaths, Agent Westlake, then you'll grab your keys and drive me straight to your agency where I know you are holding my associates. I'm not one to play games and fooling me is the stupidest, most asinine attempt at looking smart. Now, get up." I say, lowly. He stares at all of me.

I stare at him, "You can continue lying to me, or you can move your ass, because I'm not eternal, and I am not waiting forever for you." I say to him, in half annoyance as he just can't quite seem to comprehend what is going on, I grab the keys from beside his phone. He shoots straight up as I walk around towards the foyer, he reaches for my hand and pulls me towards the side, stilling the second his fingers touch mine.

"You won't, hmm? Wait forever for me?" He whispers, only looking down at my fingers when I pull my hand away. He clenches his jaw, staring at his hand for a second before he trails his eyes to mine, they look...defeated, but they're intensely instilled into mine as I give him a blank look, before Alexander and Celeste steps past us both. I studied their files, looked into every file under Aaron's associates. I didn't have to remember him, to know we may have had a past, but I couldn't trust him, or them, not yet at least. Alexander drys his hair with a napkin, the others move in closer.

I glance over to Branson, he blinks when he looks at me, "So, you weren't convinced of Celeste's story at your dorm at all?" He murmurs, slowly. His voice sounding off as they were all just too quiet, too nervous, too intimidated.

I look over to Celeste, "I was suspicious. We don't call ourselves Numbers, but Candidates and no one from the institute would make their faces known to me. I want my Candidates returned, even if Candidate Eight has found herself attached to one of your men." I mutter, turning back to Aaron.

"She isn't attached to him, she's his wife." Celeste spits at me.

I turn to her, "Don't tempt me, honey, it wouldn't be hard to rip out your damn voice box, which has obviously been used so much that you sound like a rat getting high. Take me to the agency, and I'll rethink our decision to burn your grid lines to ashes and make you dance on it." I threaten Aaron, turning back to face him.