I Fell In Love With The Devil

Chapter 8

I actually enjoyed living in a house of strangers. It brought me out of my comfort zone a few times but it was the wake-up Piper call I needed to help me realise how much I had relied on my friends and family being close by. Now, when I had to act on my own, I couldn't always ask those close to me how they would go about the situation, I had to use some initiative. Three more days passed and still no sign of Levi; there were only so many Call of Duty games someone could play or watch and commentate. Suddenly a phone call at lunch changed everything. They dropped their lunch --except for David who took it with him-- and fled the room only to return downstairs clad in black suits --except Scarlett was in an elegant ensemble of breezy, black and white striped pants and a plunging white coat-- and heading for the door. 'Mission?' I asked, not really expecting a direct answer.

'Nah, urgent meeting at HQ. Sorry, gotta be there in,' Matthew's eyes flicked to his watch, 'Shit. Seven minutes. Go, go, go.'

'Bye.' The door slammed shut. I shrugged and changed into my bikini then headed out to the pool to tan and float about. 

It was a scorcher today, almost forty and heatwaves muddled anything in distance, making it impossible to clearly see houses beyond the adjacent ones. At the sound of cars pulling into the driveway, I sprinted over the fucking hot concrete --don't let anyone tell you any different, hot concrete is the worst nightmare of any Aussie during summer-- and hopped a little once I reached the shade to help cool down the balls of my feet. The cool floors inside the house were a welcome that I relished in. Wrapping my towel around me, I strolled to the door to see them arrive. Excited looks were plastered to their faces as they swept in and ushered me into the closest room. 'So, Levi will see us tonight at the Prada Gala. You, missy, have been allowed to join us tonight,' Scarlett grinned from eye to ear.

'There is a catch though,' Jake admitted. 'We need you as bait. You will arrive with Levi who is still healing, in other words vulnerable, X-'

'That's what we're calling Theodore Harps agency at the moment,' David interrupted.

'As I was saying,' Jake glared at David, 'X will want to take you when Levi is weak and incapable of protecting you.'

'Don't worry, nothing will happen to you or Levi, there'll be twenty other agents there to protect you guys,' Scarlett assured. 'Including us. Just whatever you do, steer clear of us.'

'Why lure X?' I inquired.

'We've been after them for a while and since Theodor is working for them he has helped them evade our security on multiple occasions and mess up files, prevent us from tracking them, confusing security cameras, and so on. Many of our missions have also been to prevent X from doing things, terrible things, to selected people. We need to stop them.'

'I agree. I'll do it.'

'Now boys, scoot, I gotta take Piper to the salon. She can't turn up with hair like that,' Scarlett giggled. 'You guys watch TV, maybe take a shower, just make sure you're dressed by six-thirty. Can I count on you to be ready in five hours?'

'Sure thing boss,' David teased and ducked to avoid Scarletts manicured hand from hitting him in the back of the head.

'I'll get changed, then we'll go,' Scarlett said before disappearing for the second time today before returning in a black sundress and throwing a burnt orange one my way with some cute sandals. 'You can't go to the salon in a bikini,' she chirped. Laughing, I slipped on the sundress and followed her out the door.

We returned to the house, me in a face I barely recognised and Scarlett in a similar face to her usual one. I guess she was pretty enough to need less makeup. My hair was pulled back into an elaborate bun, brown hues of eyeshadow had been dusted above my eyelid, fake lashes that looked almost realistic fluttered shut and open with every blink. I was astounded when I first looked in the salon's mirror. I looked gorgeous. Scarlett had laughed at my gaping mouth and shocked eyes. The brown eyeshadow matched the different hues of brown that naturally streaked through my hair and it also accentuated my olive skin and hazel eyes.