It was after midnight, and the sky was a darker shade of black than I had expected it to be. I suppose I hadn't been outside this late in a long time, so I misjudged how dark it would be.
I jumped slightly when I heard a shuffle of noise behind me. Although I knew that I was fairly strong for a seventeen year old girl, being alone walking in the dark unnerved me. If only I had remembered to bring a flashlight. Things would be going a lot more smoothly.
Arms circled me from behind and I screeched. I tried to turn around to see who was attacking me, but a hood from the black sweatshirt they were wearing was blocking my view. From the build it had to be a man, though.
I managed to twist out of their grasp and shove them. He tumbled to the ground, lying on his back. It seemed too easy.
That's when I heard him laugh.
"I recognize that voice," I said with relief.
"Who in their right mind could forget it? It belongs to me," he said. His hood had slipped off when he had fallen to the ground, and in the moonlight I could just make out his face.
I grinned and jumped on top of him. It didn't matter that we were lying on the side of the street. It didn't matter that my hands were slightly sore from pushing him so hard. It didn't even matter that it was the middle of the night and I was officially frozen to the bone. All that did matter was that we were together. Him, and me.
"Hi, Aiden," I greeted.
"Emily," Aiden responded.
My smile dropped a bit. Emily wasn't my real name, but Aiden thought that it was. Only one person alive knew my real name. I hated that I couldn't tell him the truth, and I hated it even more when he called me by my alias.
"I saw you heading toward my house, and thought I'd try to scare you a little. Get the heart pumping," Aiden said.
"Then how'd you end up behind me?" I asked.
"Cut through the neighbor's lawns."
"Jerk."
He laughed, and I couldn't keep the glare in my eyes. Aiden's laugh was one of the many things that I adored about him. I finally got off of him and held out my hand. He took it and I helped him up. I dusted off some of the gravel off of his sweatshirt.
"Emily," Aiden said softly. I looked up into his eyes. Like his laughed, I love Aiden's eyes. They were a shade of blue that would put any ocean to shame.
"Hmm?" I responded.
"I think I love you."
My hand froze on his chest.
Please tell me you didn't just say that.
The worst part of my job was when I knew that I had made my victims fall in love with me. I also knew that our time was coming to an end. I had known Aiden for two months, one of the longest cases I'd had. I would have to cut this off any day now, as soon as my orders came in. Because he was just a pawn. I was using him. It was my job. Get close to the enemy so you can take them down easily.
But Aiden wasn't the enemy. How could he be? I had spent two amazing months with a guy I had become close friends with. His father was the real enemy. Aiden's dad owned a company that was of some rival to wherever my boss worked. And it just so happened that Aiden and his dad were very close. So I had to bring him down.
Except…I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for Aiden too.
I wanted him. Wanted to spend more than two months together, wanted to build romance into our relationship. I wanted to be with him too.
Was that so wrong?
My eyes widened when I realized that Aiden was leaning in toward me. When our lips touched for the first time, sparks flew. My hands snaked around his neck, and his around my waist. He pulled me closer.
And then my phone vibrated in my pocket, signaling a new text message.
No.
I pulled away from Aiden, and I couldn't help it, tears started falling down my face. I sank to my knees and a strangled sob came out of my throat.
"Emily?" Aiden asked in worry.
Only one person ever texted me; only one person knew my phone number.
My boss. Chloe.
I flipped open my phone to confirm what I already knew was happening. The message read: Bombs away. It was part of Chloe's code, and I knew exactly what it meant.
"I'm so sorry," I managed to get out.
Tonight would be the last night I ever saw Aiden.