They’d broken up. They’d barely even started, really, and now they were over? How had this even fucking happened?
He paced and thought back over their relationship. He wondered if he’d said the wrong thing, if he had been unreasonable, or if she had been the unreasonable one. During their fight, he hadn’t thought he was being unreasonable, but he wondered now if that was true. He loved her, that hadn’t changed, but she needed to listen to him, needed to try and understand his point of view.
He wanted a life with her, a real one, and that meant a life in the spotlight. Even if they remained agents for a time, they wouldn’t be able to be agents forever. He had too many royal obligations for that to be true. She needed to understand that certain behaviors, even though he understood they were part of her job, couldn’t be continued. Not just because it drove him crazy with jealousy, but because she would have to give up her acting completely to be with him. The country wouldn’t accept a princess that kissed men other than her prince, would they?
Perception.
No, they likely wouldn’t. Even if people logically knew she was acting, the perception would be that she’d be cheating on him.
She’d have to give up acting, and maybe deep down he knew she would never do that. She loved acting, she’d told him that time and time again, in various ways. She was a brilliant actress, and was using the profession as a means to an end. It was always the mission first with her, and she had a lifelong mission.
They should have been wrapped up in each other’s arms in bed by now, but instead he was pacing the small, sterilized space of his bay. He already ached for her, already missed her, but he needed someone who understood his obligations and how perception could come back and bite them in the ass when they least expected it. Some in the press, hell, even in the public, were cruel and vicious without regard, and Anda would bear the brunt of that if their relationship came to light. Anda might have been strong enough to deal with that, but she couldn’t continue as she was and be with him.
So, he’d let her go, had let her end the fight. He hadn’t really fought for her, for them, but it was over and done.
Time would make it easier. Wouldn’t it?
13
Now
ETHAN
Present Day…
Operation Fucking Rescue Anda (as named by Ethan)
Operation Phoenix (as named by Marcello)
Derelict Apartment Building
Valentia, Valleria
Ethan stood in front of the dilapidated building where Anda was supposedly being held, Marcello and a few agents at his side. “Are there even cameras in this part of the city for you to monitor? Are you sure she’s here?”
Marcello smirked. “There are cameras everywhere. Most people don’t notice them, but they’ve been here for years. We’re sure.”
They took a few minutes to look at schematics of the building, deciding where to go in and the timing. They’d just finalized their plans and moved into position by the front door, when they heard a window break near the top floor, the shards of glass floating to the ground in a spray of twinkling light in the night.
This was immediately followed by a man crashing through that window, his body plummeting to the ground.
They all started running. It was too late for the man who’d fallen by the time they’d reached him; his skull was shattered on the sidewalk.
“Ahhh!”
A scream from above, one he recognized as Anda’s voice.
Without thinking, Ethan ran inside the building.
Marcello ran after him, yelling at him to stop, but he didn’t care. All he could hear were the echoes of her screams.
Ethan continued up the stairs. Based on where the window was located, he knew she was on the third floor, southeast side. He used that knowledge to guide him until he saw a cracked door and heard men beyond it.
Ethan ran faster.
Gun drawn, he entered an old apartment, Marcello covering him from behind. Four men came swarming out and he and Marcello killed them before they’d even drawn their guns.
He swept through the living and dining areas—ramshackle, foldable furniture, a lot of computer equipment, but no one else. They found another man in the kitchen and Marcello took care of him while Ethan made his way down the hall. Near the end lay a room with an open door.
