Chapter 6

• NOVEMBER
• “What?”
• Jacob is looking at me with widened eyes. I sigh and move past him to the dining table in the room where a tray of my favorite meal is already waiting for me. Again, my stomach rumbles in hunger but I know I can't eat without dealing with my boss first.
• “Nova, that wasn't our argument.”
• “Well,” I say, looking over my shoulders at him. He is frowning. “What can I say? I got a better offer.”
• “No, no, no.” He starts walking toward me. “You're going to mess this up. It's too dangerous to get so close to him.”
• I scoff. “And you think it's not dangerous to work in his restaurant as a spy?”
• He frowns even more, looking crossed. “The chances of you getting caught in his restaurant is slim. But working as his private chef, you are at a high risk. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to reach you to help you.”
• I roll my eyes. “The special dark forces have never really cared about helping agents like me. I don't believe they will start caring now.”
• He stalks toward me, leaving the door. “You're not taking this seriously enough.”
• I nod. “You're right, I'm not.” My blood starts to boil and I can feel the venom of my anger rush through my veins. “Because I feel like endangering myself by choosing to put myself in that position. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a real chef. Two days of intense training didn't make me one either.”
• I chuckle and stand from the chair to address him. Jacob hates being disrespected but so do I. “And that's on you for not figuring things out quickly enough. As if that isn't enough, you couldn't get my application online. I had to rely on my charm and luck to push through today. And my thumb still stings from the part I almost sliced off in the name of cooking.”
• His brows furrow as I point the thumb toward him. “How can you handle the deadliest weapon but not a knife?”
• I sigh. “The point is that I was going to fail today but for whatever reason luck shone on me and I got the job. I admit that it's not what you were expecting but I was expecting you'd at least be stoked about it.”
• He shakes his head and I can feel the harsh words coming. “Nova, you're not ready to handle that kind of responsibility.”
• Wow.
• “But it's not a huge responsibility if I'm working with him in the restaurant directly?”
• Jacob ignores me and continues to speak. “Have you taken a moment to consider how high risk the job will be? Not only would you be living with him, your life would be in danger. He's also probably going to ask you to sign an NDA or something.”
• I cross my arms over my chest. “He already did.”
• Jacob gives me a pointed look that I understand clearly. “It's risky.”
• I roll my eyes, irritated with his bullshit and hypocrisy. “If you want to send me back to Korea, just say so. I've been taking high risk jobs for years now and you ain't ever complained about any of them. Yet all of a sudden, this is a big deal?” I snap, losing my cool.
• I can't take it anymore. I can't take any of the ill-treatment anymore. “Nine fucking months, I was wasting away in Korea. Hazel died because of the OP. I couldn't save her. And I know you still hold me responsible for how she died, and I'm tired of reliving the nightmare. But if you're going to judge my abilities after more than a decade of working this job, I'd rather get out of here now.”
• I'm not even joking and Jacob can tell by the sharpness of my voice and the determined look on my face that I'm not joking. He sighs and nods, raising his hand in a silent appeal to stop me from going off on him again.
• “Okay,” he says with a nod. “I've heard you. I understand where you're coming from. I'm your handler, and I'm just worried about you. I've already lost one ward. I don't like the idea of losing you too.”
• My expression softens. “I'll be fine.” It's not a promise and Jacob knows it. In our line of work, there are usually no promises to be made.
• “I believe you. When do you start?”
• “Tomorrow.”
• I go ahead to give him all the details of my experience. He listens to me rapidly and when I finish, he's staring at me without a word, looking to be lost in thoughts.
• “What are you thinking?” I ask him.
• “We need to make sure you're safe. You'll be wearing a tracker. And you would have to find a safe and secure way to communicate with me.”
• I already know all of that so I'm not quite surprised when he says them to me. This isn't my first rodeo.
• “I know. Now, can I eat?”
• “Eat away,” he answers jokingly before walking away.
• I watch him leave probably to make some phone calls and get me whatever I might need. While he is away, I settle down to eat my meal. The food tastes exactly as it looks; delicious.
• Jacob doesn't return until I'm finished. He and some other people start the procedure to make sure I'm probably secured. After a few more back and forth again, I wave my goodbye and leave the restaurant.
• By the time I get back to the motel, I'm beyond exhausted. I start packing up my clothes into my box. I don't have a lot since I didn't come to Chicago with a lot. So, I finish on time.
• After that, I jump on my bed and resume my nap while thinking about all the ways this job can go wrong. It can go very wrong, but I don't let the fear grip me to the point where I can't think clearly. This isn't my first rodeo.
• Whatever Sean Spiridon is hiding, I'm going to figure it out. And then, I'm going to make him pay.“But I don't realize that, in the meantime, Sean has started sending people to investigate my identity...”