Player (A Secret Baby Sports Romance)(259)
I refuse to answer his questions or play his stupid mind games, so I pinch my lips shut and meet his eyes with my own look of resolve. I've had the training, and though this might be the first time out of a classroom that I've had to use it, I'll be damned if a man like this asshole is going to break me.
“I want to thank you by the way, for re-introducing me to my old pal Javier.”
I stiffen then, the iron grip I'm trying to keep on my emotions beginning to shatter as I imagine whatever horrible things they've done or are even currently doing to him. I clench my jaw as I try not to think about what a man like Benson does to men who leave his services in the manner in which Javier probably did.
This is part of it, I know that. He's trying to get me to crack in some way by hanging Javier over my head, and I'm sure they're going to do the same thing with him using me.
Remember the training and push it from your mind. Eyes on the goal, agent.
“Yes, me and your little boyfriend Toro have a lot of catching up to do.” Benson starts to chuckle, shaking his head as he slowly puffs on his cigarette; “Hey, Toro!” He turns and knocks on the mirror behind him; “Why don't we all say hello!”
A light goes on, and suddenly the mirror fades to glass, and my eyes lock onto Javier.
But he's not tied down, or being tortured, or fighting to break free, like I'd imagined.
Not in the slightest.
He's standing right on the other side of the glass, un-cuffed, unrestrained, and his face blank as he meets my eyes, saying and doing nothing.
Do something! I want to scream; Fight!
But he does nothing except stare at me.
Benson chuckles again; “You know, we really couldn't have done it without him.”
The words hit me like a slap in the face; like ice water rippling through my veins.
Javier.
The room starts to spin as Benson's words start to burn their way into my head, and I can feel my lungs squeezing out my breath as I stare at the man I thought I knew through the glass.
Fuck him. Fuck that fucking asshole.
I almost can't believe it, just because I don't want to believe it. But as the roaring in my ears erupts into a scream inside my head, I know it’s the truth.
He was in on it. He was the bait, and I was the mark this entire time. All of it - the escape, the thrill of the chase, the hiding-
Letting myself fall for him.
All of it was part of the plan, and I walked right fucking into it. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stop the spinning as the truth sears itself into my heart. The whole thing was a trap; set, lured, and sprung by Javier.
And he even got to get a little taste of what he couldn’t have along the way.
The thought makes me sick to my stomach as I think of all the ways I gave myself to this man. It's like the twisting of a knife inside my chest as I think about the parts of my body, and the parts of my heart, that I let him have.
This can't be happening.
But there it is, written large across his face through the glass. His eyes are unblinking, his mouth tight. Not a single word of protest, or one indication that anything I'm hearing isn’t true comes from him.
“Toro! Quit leering like a creep, buddy!”
Buddy.
Benson chuckles and raps on the glass again; “Come on in and say hello to the young lady, Javier.”
He backs away from the glass, slowly walking out of the room he's in, before he suddenly appears in the doorway of mine.
Benson slides his arm over his shoulder; “It’s great to have him back. Thank you, agent; really.”
He grins and as he turns to leave, he pats Javier on the back in a familiar way that has me dying inside as my heart just starts to shatter like glass.
The other men start to file out of the room, leaving Javier standing in the doorway, his eyes never blinking, his body still as stone; “Chelsea, I-”
“Fuck you.” I whisper, shaking my head and willing myself not to cry.
“You don’t-”
I look away from him, my eyes dropping to the ground by my feet; “Please leave.”
“Chelsea-”
“Just, leave.” I say quietly, feeling small, and stupid, and like I've just lost it all.
“This isn't over, you know.”
“Yes, it is.”
27
Chelsea
I'm still cold later; much later when I'm alone in a new room, this one without mirrors or windows. I'm sitting up on the small cot in the dark, and though part of me just wants to sleep - to close my eyes and dream this all away - I know there's no way sleep is coming tonight.
Because temperature aside, there's a coldness inside of me that I know no sleep or blanket is going to warm.
Fuck him.
I'm angry. I'm angry at my circumstances, and Benson and the rest of Blackwater. And I'm livid at Javier. Javier the con man, the snake in the grass, and the criminal. The Agency always taught me that in the field, danger is always where you least expect it.