Enzo

I could never fail to recognize Alex in a crowd of people.

After landing in LA, a friend of mine from the agency, Jasper, was waiting for me. I knew I could trust him to keep his mouth shut about what I was doing. I left out a few details and made him understand that I needed some gear. I had no idea what to expect, no idea what would happen once I found Alex.

Before I left Jasper's house, he asked me if I needed backup.

I refused. Let's fucking hope I don't need some, I thought. Right. Because what could go wrong when I try to get back what was taken away from me?

It was five PM when I walked out of Jasper's house, and ten minutes later my phone beeped with a new message from Jake. A camera saw Alex outside a restaurant downtown. My heart skipped a beat. I was about to see her again. In person. Fuck. Don't screw this up, Enzo.

Jake hadn't mentioned anyone with her. Strangely enough, it didn't reassure me to know she was left alone. Something was off.

Now standing right in front of the restaurant, I unbutton my black shirt a little more and let out a breath. Why the hell am I nervous? I'm not here for a date. With a rush of adrenaline, I push the door open, carefully glancing over my shoulder. A quick look around me and my eyes find her in a heartbeat.

Jesus. She's beautiful.

Her head is tilted as she reads the menu, her red curls falling over her right shoulder. She wears a pair of black pants and a white blouse. Her mouth is painted in blood-red lipstick. Just by the way she clutches the menu in her hands and the way she swallows and blinks way too many times in a minute, I can tell she's nervous about something.

For a moment, I'm in a state of shock. She doesn't see me. Of course she doesn't. But I do, and fuck, I want to stride over to her and take her in my arms and apologize for not being here before. I want to apologize for leaving her in the first place, for letting her think I gave up on her. Because I certainly didn't. I want her to look up, to see her eyes fill with relief when she realizes that I'm here. I want her to tell me it's over, that she's coming home, that nobody is going to follow us. That she's free from whoever and whatever is holding her back from leaving this hell.

"Sir?" A voice makes me look away for the first time from Alex, and I recover quickly, putting a blank face as I glance up at the blonde-haired woman in front of me. She smiles at me. I decide to do the same; I need to sit as close as possible to Alex. I need to understand what she's doing here.

Maybe she's on a date. My fists clench, and I shake my head. Now is not the time to think so negatively.

"Do you have a reservation?" the woman asks me, trying to get my attention again.

I blink. Shit. Of course I don't. "No."

She blinks back. "Okay...Let me see what I can do for you, then."

I throw a glance toward Alex. She's still here. I don't know why I think she'll suddenly disappear.

"You're in luck," the woman announces as she comes back a minute later, "a family just canceled their reservation." Thank God. "Follow me."

The universe is definitely on my side tonight. I'm seated two tables away from Alex and have a clear view of her. She didn't see me when I walked past her, still engrossed in the menu like it was the most interesting thing ever. That confirmed my doubts; she is nervous, and she's not only here for dinner. At least, that's what I tell myself. She doesn't seem to be waiting for someone.

I open the menu as well, but my eyes remain on her most of the time. I look around with narrowed eyes, trying to see if someone is watching me or if there's anyone suspicious. I glance at the entrance and notice Alex doing the same, her head raising for the first time when a family of three walk in.

With confusion mixed with interest, I watch as her eyes widen in surprise. She shifts on her seat and looks down for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing. With a trembled hand, she reaches for her glass of wine and takes a sip, her eyes raising to follow the woman, man, and little girl as they take a seat at the table fifteen feet away from hers.

I lean my elbows on the table and frowns. Why did she react like that? Does she know them? As I keep watching her watch them, I realize that's not it. She doesn't know them. She's here for them. And why is what I need to figure out.

The family doesn't look suspicious at all. The father reaches out to take his wife's hand, his lips forming a smile when he glances at his daughter. The couple looks in their forties while the little girl must be at least six. The woman laughs and pushes back a few locks of her short straight brown hair, saying something to the little girl. The latter wears an adorable blue dress, and she's barely able to stay put in her seat. She lets out a high squeal that both Alex and I hear from where we are.

My reaction is to smile a little. Hers is to tense and drinks a lot more wine.

I order the first thing I read on the menu when the waitress comes to see me, my eyes fixated on the red-haired woman. She doesn't touch her food much. I hate to see her like that—in a state of distress. She keeps shifting in her seat now, glancing around her occasionally. I have to look down and turn my head a little, fearing that she's going to notice me. As much as I'd like that, now is not the right time. I'm still waiting to see what she's going to do next, and I'm still waiting to understand why her attention keeps drifting toward the family not so far away from her. Her feet bounce under the table. Meanwhile, I remain calm and look between her and the family of three.

At some point, she reaches for her phone and stares at it for a good thirty seconds. My heart beats faster. What is on your mind, Alex? I just want to talk to her. Damn it.

Hours fly by quickly, and I know exactly when Alex is ready to leave. The family of three are getting up, and I watch as she stands up, too. She's in a hurry now. I pay for my plate that I barely touched and follow her outside.

I can't help noticing the difference in her body, her posture—she trained, I can tell. That's what Cole Valdez did with her? I grit my teeth and stay as far as possible from her, and she walks faster to not lose the family walking down the sidewalk.

When she reaches behind her back, I have a bad feeling.

I see it, even if she doesn't take it out. The gun.

My steps falter at the realization. She's going to kill that family.

Blood drains from my face, and I force myself to move my legs forward. This can't be real. It's Alex. She wouldn't do that. She didn't become...that person. This can't be her new lifestyle. How did she get herself into that?

It's all your fault, remember?

Shit. When I was asked to leave her years ago, I thought this would be good for her. I thought I would protect her from any future danger, as I got more and more perilous missions. I couldn't be with someone like Alex, I was told. If I really wanted to commit to the agency, I couldn't be with anyone. I had to be alone, I would move a lot. I thought it made sense, and I accepted without thinking more about it, leaving the woman of my life at my best friend's wedding like a fucking coward.

They were wrong. Whether or not I was in Alex's life, she wasn't immune to the danger. She will never be. What happened at the bar that night was probably meant to happen. She got involved in the Valdez situation way before Cole steps in. She wasn't just anyone, and yet I accepted what they wanted me to do.

I always followed the rules, and I guess that's why they thought I would make the perfect agent. Growing up with no father and a mother who was constantly sick, I wasn't one to get into trouble. I took care of my mother the best I could since she didn't think it mattered to take care of her health, and one day, she was too sick for me to do anything and lost the battle. I was thirteen, and the only family member I had left was a grandfather who didn't give a damn about me, but for some reason, he still accepted to let me live with him for a while. I knew better than annoy him. I was quiet, calm, did the housework, I was good at school and did my homework. At night, I started to box in the garage, like I knew in my heart that I needed to get stronger, to get ready for something.

My grandfather lived in a very poor neighborhood, and I guess that's why shit went down one night. Some guys came in, started to beat my grandfather. I tried to stop them, to fight them off, but was still too weak.

I woke up in a hospital bed. My grandfather didn't.

The rest is history. I survived. I was recruited, and I always did what I was asked to. I never broke rules before—at least, not by choice. I did many things I wouldn't have normally done because of Jake and Elena and everything that happened...

And Alex.

Today, I'm done following the rules, thinking things through. Alex is a part of my life, and I couldn't care less if it costs my job.

I was never supposed to come back into Alex's life. Thank God the universe was against our separation. I'm not about to walk away that easily now. Not without a damn fight.

And I definitely can't let her go through with what she's about to do tonight.

*

Hi to whoever is still reading this story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :-)

I'm feeling very uninspired lately and it sucks. Writing this story is getting harder and harder. *sighs*. Still, I loved to write more about Enzo. ❤️

Don't forget to vote and comment! I will see you in the next chapter! ✨