Chapter 2

Jayden sighs and nervously rubs the back of his neck. “I did it a thousand times before, but I always feel nervous. Let me explain to you, do you see these people?” he points to the agents. “Each one of them killed someone dear to them. William told me what happened to you.” he stares at me with a sad smile. “Everyone here understands you.”

I look at them confusingly. “But what makes us different from other criminals?”

“There are a lot of types of criminals,” says Vicky before sitting in front of me. “There are those who kill for fun, those who kill for revenge, those who do it because of mental illness, those who do it by accident and those who kill someone close because of a good reason. So, who have you killed?”

I stay silent for a long moment before finally answering. “My boyfriend and my best friend,” I whisper, remembering their scared faces before their death.

She crosses her arms and scoffs. “You caught them cheating. Well, I guess they deserved it.”

“Vicky.” Jayden groans.

“And you? Who have you killed?” I ask them nervously.

“My stepfather,” answers the girl. “He was hurting my mom; I couldn't let him do so. I don't regret anything.” she presses her lips and look away.

“I tried to kill myself,” speaks Jayden with a calmness which surprises me. “Will was the one who saved me. That's why I'm here.” I nod quietly and give him a sad smile, then I look at Vicky and try to change the subject, “So, what's your position here? You must be someone important.”

“I'm the mission programmer, the one in charge of sending the agents to missions,” she says proudly, her legs are crossed and her arm resting on the chair beside her.

“What missions?” Victoria looks at Jayden who shakes his head slowly, “Maybe it's not the moment.”

After lunch, we walked around the agency as Jayden wanted to show me around while Vicky is just chilling with us. She asked if she could join us because she had nothing to do.

“That’s is the training room.”  He opens the door to a large place filled with box rings, taekwondo carpets and gym equipment. Two agents are training with their coach who’s half-naked, his abs all covered with sweat and his brown hair sticking to his forehead. He may be tall and muscular, but he looks very young. A body of a Greek god with the face of a baby. I chuckle, “Who is this?”

“He's our personal trainer,” answers Jayden.

“He's also my boyfriend,” adds Vicky with a smirk. “He’s going to train you. Don’t worry, he's really nice.” We leave the training room and walk to see other rooms. The company is really big; I can't believe William could do all this.

While we are heading to the elevator, I spot someone sitting on the terrace. While everyone is wearing suits and ties, this guy is wearing black leather from head to toe; the jacket, trousers, shoes, even the gloves around his hands are of leather. He’s sitting comfortably on the chair, smoking his cigarette, his black hair moving along with the gentle breeze.

“Who's this?” I whisper.

Both Vicky and Jayden turn around and sigh. “Our best agent. He doesn't talk to anyone. He just does his job and sleeps.”

“He only talks to William, apparently he's cold and rude,” adds Vicky.

I don’t move even when they walk away. He lifts his head and catches me staring at him. His dark feline eyes pierce mine in a fraction of seconds. My heart jumps and I quickly avoid his stare and run to the elevator. Jayden notices how nervous I am and chuckles, “Don't worry. You won't have to talk to him, Keira. You’ve got us.”

I stay silent. The image of his dark eyes is still in my mind. He looks elegant, quiet and mysterious. “What's his name?” I ask.

“No one knows his name,” answers Jayden. “He is only known as the Black Tiger.”

My first day at the agency was better than I expected. Jayden and Vicky didn’t leave me for a second because apparently it was difficult for newbies to adapt to this new life, especially after committing a murder.

They know that I think about Jacob and Julia all the time when I get the chance to be alone. So, they are making sure to always talk to me and make me forget about it.

Killing is a sin, it’s a crime. But here they don’t make you feel like you’re a bad person. When I look around me, I see people experiencing the same as me, building a new life and burying the dark past. No one looks bad or cruel, they’re all young or old people who made a mistake to protect their loved ones or to protect themselves.

During my first day, I’ve got to know a few agents. Jayden and Vicky are quite popular here as everyone knows them and respects them. One thing that caught my attention is the family environment in the building, it’s warm and makes you comfortable around them. 

“I hope you’re comfortable here.” I lift my head to see William approaching our table as we are eating dinner.

“It’s nice. Better than prison cells I guess.” I say.

I hear him chuckle, “Sure it is.” He sits in front of me and crosses his arms. I can feel him watching me and I don’t like being watched while I’m eating— I can’t taste the food properly. “So, you’ve been taking care of her?” he asks my new friends. 

“Of course,” answers Vicky. “She seems to adapt well.”

“I hope it’s true. We don’t want Keira to regret not going to prison. She was so determined to go.” He smirks and I feel like punching him on the face. 

I clear my throat and ask, “Do you mind telling me about the missions now?”

Jayden was about to speak when William stopped him by shaking his head, “Not the time.”

“Come on.” I roll my eyes. “When is it the right time?”

“When you’ll be mentally prepared for it.” Answers the boss.

“I am!”

He raises an eyebrow, “You just killed two people two days ago.” he says, making my body freeze and my brain stop working for a second. “You don’t expect me to believe that you’re stable enough to turn the page.”

“Will,” Jayden stares at his friend with a frown, “Don’t be rude to her.”

“You’ll tell her until I tell you so.” the brown-haired crosses his arms. I clench my fists and give him the scariest, but he doesn’t seem to be affected. “Then why did you bring me here? To just order me around?”

He furrows and bursts out laughing, attracting the other agent’s attention. William stops and approaches his face to mine, “Consider yourself lucky, pretty girl. If it wasn’t for me, you would be whining in your cell, your stomach crying for food.”  

I hate to admit it but he’s completely right. I might hate people ordering me around, but I will rather be patient here than get beaten in prison.

“You need more time to relax your mind and learn to be more responsible,” he adds.

“I am responsible,” I mumble, my eyes staring at everything but him. “Says the one who left a trophy with her name on it in the crime scene.” William scoffs. I can even feel Vicky and Jayden trying not to laugh.

Yes, I know. I was stupid enough to leave the trophy I won at the competition. The one I hit them with, multiple times until they lost consciousness. It was supposed to be a happy day, the trophy was supposed to be a proof of my hard work, a proof that I will finally get to realize my dream of becoming a professional dancer, but it ended up being the proof of my crime.

“I know you don’t like my words.” William interrupts my thoughts. “But one day, you’ll understand them,” he adds before leaving.

Jayden pats my back, “He’s right Keira, don’t be mad at him. Sometimes being straightforward delivers the message better. He was like this when we first came here. We didn’t like it either, but we’ve learned plenty of things thanks to him.”

It’s finally time to sleep. I take a shower after everyone and get in bed. The one next to mine is empty because Jayden left earlier for a mission. Hours pass and I see the lights turn off, one by one. The agents find their sleep unlike me who can’t close my eyes. Every time I do, I see myself two days ago.

I opened the door because I had the keys. “Babe! I’m here!” He told me that he had some assignments that’s why he couldn’t come to the competition.

“Jacob!” I thought he was listening to music, so I climbed the stairs and headed to his room. What I heard in the corridor was nothing like music, they were moans. I thought he was watching a movie but then I recognized his voice and the other one also sounded very familiar. My heart was about to burst inside my chest as I approached his room. I was imagining countless scenes in my mind and chased them.

The trophy was in my hand; I came to celebrate with him because he had always been the first person I’d tell the good news to. When I finally opened the door, I wished my eyes were lying to me, I wished they were just fooling me.

“J-Julia?” My boyfriend and my best friend were on the same bed I slept on the night before.