{3}

It was only when I arrived at the safe house, when I realised I had none of my belongings with me. Everything was happening so fast, I almost couldn't keep up with everyone and their demands. River had drove me to my house, sending three agents to check the area for syndicate members prior to pulling up in front of it. 

"Hurry up, and pack as much as you can." He ordered, his silver gaze trained on his phone. 

His harsh tone almost made me flinch, his hostility was actually bothering me. Was he like this with everyone? Despite feeling like this, I didn't show it at all and glared at him.

I couldn't expect every person to be a decent human being.

It was just annoying that this one happens to be my damn bodyguard.

He followed me inside, his unique eyes flickering around the area, slipping his phone into his back pocket. He had changed his clothes, from the suit to a casual monochrome outfit. He wore black from head to toe, matching his raven coloured hair. It was clear he had a well built, muscular body, you could tell by just glancing. 

I sighed, such good looks wasted on a rude person...

I packed as efficiently as possible, only bringing what I needed. I planned ahead, picking out clothes that matched well together. I finished much quicker than I anticipated and came out with one full suitcase, meeting River who stood outside my room.

He glanced at my suitcase. "That's all?"

I nodded, and moved past him. "It's enough."

We hopped back into the car and travelled, for most of the journey, in silence. I noticed how tight his grip was on the wheel, making me wonder what had got him so agitated. Surely it couldn't be me?

I glanced at him, confident that I'll find my answer by observing his face and body language. I frowned when I saw nothing more than an icy brick wall, he had his guard up. He wore no expression, his cold attitude suddenly increasing once I looked at him.

"What?" I gritted out.

"What?" He responded in a bored tone. 

My hands curled up into fists, anger pulsing through me as I looked away. I have never come across such an aggravating person, and I hated how I couldn't read him like other people. As though he could feel my intense frustration, his vivid eyes were suddenly on me.  

I glanced back at him to find him looking irritated and displeased with me. "If you don't have anything of value to say, then shut up." He told me icily, clenching the wheel even tighter. "You're annoying me."

"How hypocritical." I spat out, glowering at him. "I'll speak when I want to. If you have a problem with that, give up this mission."

He tore his gaze from me, deciding to not respond.

We finally reached the road outside the safe house, which was highly secured; we needed to pass through two gates before getting inside. After careful inspections, we were allowed in and pulled up to the drive way. 

When I came here earlier, I couldn't help but gasp at how grand the safe house looked. It was more of a mansion than anything, built to house a dozen people. There was a huge, marble fountain display at the front, clear water gushing out in front of the intricate golden design. 

I tore my awed gaze from it and headed inside the mansion. My family were well off, thankfully money wasn't an issue, but this was a different level of luxury. I followed River deep into the place, not wanting to get lost in this huge palace-like structure. 

The theme was white, gold and marble, the interior designed to perfection. We arrived at what looked to be the living room, everyone was present and happily chatting to each other. I left my suitcase at the doorway, and walked in with him.

Caleb noticed us first, waving at us. "Ay, what's good!"

I smiled in response, sitting when Nura gestured for me to sit beside her. "Have you got everything you needed?" She asked me.

"Yup."

"So did we." She retorted. I forgot that this group was put together very recently, so everyone had to also pack and move in, like me. 

Her twin brother, Isaac, appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto the sofa, falling face first. My eyes widened, watching him slowly peel his face from it. 

"Hi, Lia." He beamed with not a hint of embarrassment. Wow, that was an entrance...

Nura reached out and mercilessly pulled on his curly hair, making him yelp in pain. "What the fuck, Nura?" He yelled, not hesitating to pull hers too. Why did she do that? 

"You're scaring her, dumbass!" She whispered loudly as though I couldn't hear her. She dropped her scowl and grinned at me as she rubbed her scalp. "Don't mind him."

I laughed it off, not forgetting to greet him back. I got a good look at how much they resembled each other. They both had hazel coloured eyes with mischief glinting in them, and had very tan skin, glowing under the living room lights. Nura had shoulder length, curly brown hair, and Isaac sported a curly undercut. 

Hyemin sat across from me, nodding in acknowledgement when I caught her gaze.

Caleb suddenly stood up. "So since we're gathered here, I think we should get to know each other more. We'll be working together, so this will be beneficial for us."

Everyone nodded in agreement, except River. 

He turned his heel and walked straight out, not glancing back at us. 

I watched him leave, my mouth opening in shock from how disrespectful he was. Everyone paid no attention to his sudden departure, and carried on like nothing happened.

Except Isaac, who, I'm pretty sure, swore under his breath in a different language. It sounded like...Arabic? I didn't miss how the corner of Hyemin's mouth raised in amusement.

"So I'm Caleb, twenty one years old. Born in the Bahamas, raised in London. I specialise in engineering, creating innovative gadgets for agents in the field." 

He's the same age as me, I noted. 

Isaac spoke up next. "I'm Isaac, twenty years old. I was born in Morocco and raised in Dubai. I specialise in tracking people down and I'm a hacker; I can pretty much hack into everything." He retorted confidently.

Ah, Morocco and Dubai? So he did speak Arabic earlier.

"Not everything." Nura corrected him with a frown. "You're exceptional, but you haven't been able to hack into any of the systems created by The Draconic Syndicate."

Isaac mumbled something along the lines of, "You meanie, why did you remind me?"

"Anyway, I'm Nura and also twenty. I was born and raised in the same places at Isaac, I'm sure you can all tell we're twins. I'm also a hacker and tracking people down is my forte, we work best as a team." She beamed, high fiving her brother.

Caleb eyed them carefully. "'The Twin Hackers' is what they're known as among the organisation, their talents have made a brand and a name for themselves."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Alright, 'The Genius Engineer'. We're not the only ones with a cheesy name!"

Caleb flushed at the sound of his nickname. "Anyway, moving onto Hyemin." 

Our gazes moved onto the quiet girl, who had been watching us with amusement. She cleared her throat to speak. "Hi, I'm Hyemin but I prefer to simply be called Min. I'm nineteen and was born in South Korea, but raised in London. I specialise in languages, I speak over forty and I'm currently learning three."

"Forty?" I exclaimed, my mouth hanging open. "What even..."

I wondered how the SIS recognised their abilities, and recruited them? 

"Tell us about yourself." Isaac asked, bringing everyone's attention on me. 

"Well, I'm sure you already know a bit about me already." I told them, assuming they got a file about me. "Like my name, who my family is, where I was born and raised, etcetera. I'm the client you're supposed to be protecting, after all."

Caleb's smile widened. "That's true." 

I nodded towards the doorway and said, "So what's up with the rude guy."

They all chuckled, knowing I was referring to River. 

"He's never been one for establishing friendships, so this introduction rally we're doing is meaningless to him." Isaac explained, waving it off. "He's great at his job, but I think you should mentally prepare yourself for how cold he can get."

He paused before grinning happily. "But hey, you have us!"

"He's actually nice once you get to know him." Caleb said in River's defense. "He's also a great person to work with, carries out tasks to perfection."

Isaac shrugged, before glancing at the time. "Time to pray." He muttered to himself as he stood up. "See y'all, whenever."

Nura did some elaborate wave before leaving with him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Isaac struggled to have an opinion about River, hell, even I was confused about him.

Min silently brought her phone out, plugged her earphones in and played music. Without glancing at us, she said, "Only disturb me if my life is in danger." 

I blinked at her, taken aback by her personality. 

"You'll get used to it." Caleb chuckled beside me. He suddenly crossed his arms over each other, leaning against the wall. "Now that everyone is gone, let me give you a real run down on everyone."

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and stood up, to which he grinned at. 

"Min is extremely anti social, she's absolutely not shy. She just likes to have the power of not succumbing to social pressures. It's hard to tell if she likes someone, but when she does, she considers that person family."

I glanced at the petite girl on the sofa, who was paying absolutely no attention to us. Her long straight black hair covered most of her face, but I remember seeing a cluster of freckles on her nose. 

"Now the twins." He said with a loud sigh. "They are like hyperactive kids, but they're fun to be around. They have already taken a liking to you, so good luck."

I chuckled, agreeing that they were a playful pair. 

"Are we the oldest?" I asked him. We were both twenty one, and he'd been the one to lead to group thus far.

He shook his head. "No, River is. Twenty two."

"I know River has been a bit...cold towards you." He said abruptly, smiling sheepishly. "But he's not all bad, he'll warm up to you."

I grimaced at his tone. "You don't sound convinced."

He let out a heart chuckle, deeply amused by my answer. "Nothing gets by you!" He shrugged and said, "To put it simply, I think he's just dreading the inevitable time when you fall in love with him."

I almost choked on air when I heard him say that. "What?" I spluttered, not holding back my laughter. "Are you kidding?" 

Caleb watched me in amusement. "No, I'm very serious."

I shook my head, wiping away the tears of laughter. "What made you say that?"

"There are ranks when it comes to being an agent." He began to say. "The newly qualified are usually assigned guarding missions, like protecting the daughter of the prime minister or the son of an important government official or an agent."

"Let me guess, he was assigned to protect a girl and she fell in love with him." I deadpanned, rolling my eyes. "That honestly doesn't seem that traumatising."

"Correction, he was assigned to protect dozens of girls and they all fell in love with him." Caleb retorted with a grin. "Could you believe it? Every. Single. Girl."

"Wow." I said monotonously, not that impressed. "But I doubt it was 'love', they probably had a crush on him."

He shook his head. "Hell no, the way they were behaving had me convinced they were head over heels for him. Anyway, his talents were recognised and he was promoted quicker than usual. I'm sure he hasn't had a guarding job in a good few years, but here he is, assigned to protect you."

So River is convinced I'll fall for him?

Not happening.

"He didn't have mutual feelings for any of them, but that didn't stop most of them from trying to date him. Almost all of them continued their pursuit to make him fall in love with them, even after his job to protect them was over." He carried on. "He hated every moment of it."

I waved it off, rolling my eyes again. "He shouldn't worry too much, I'm far from being interested." I paused and asked, "Did you think I was going to be the next victim?"

He laughed at my question. "Hell yeah, we all did."

"Even the twins?"

"Even them." He confirmed. "They probably still do, but I'm starting to believe that maybe you won't fall for him after all. You know, some people back at headquarters even placed bets..."

I wore the most unimpressed expression I could muster, I couldn't believe it.

"Your choice of words is even funnier, why did you say 'victim'?" He asked curiously.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe he is the reason all those girls fell for him?" I questioned calmly.

This time, he rolled his eyes. "Obviously, he is the reason. What are you even saying?"

I shook my head, trying to word my sentence differently. "There is no way all those girls were attracted to him, right? He could've purposely played them right into his hands, you know?" I told him, hinting at my theory. 

He gasped a little. "Are you telling me, he seduced them all?" 

I shrugged with a smirk. "It's a logical argument. Although, I don't know the numbers in the equation so it's just a matter of probability. Not to mention, there are too many factors to take into consideration before coming to the conclusion that they 'happened to fall in love' with the same person, River."

"When you say 'numbers'...?" He started to ask.

"I don't know how many girls were talking about." I clarified simply. "You said dozens earlier, were you exaggerating?"

"Nope."

"Are you telling me they all liked him without his input into the equation? Maybe it's true for some, but come on." 

Caleb frowned at the new theory. "I guess no one questioned it, since it seemed so plausible. I mean, I think we can all agree that the guy is pretty damn handsome."

I didn't agree to that statement out loud, but I had to admit that River was a really good looking guy. Like extremely handsome, but something still didn't add up. I was convinced he wasn't as innocent as he wants to appear to be, and I'm sure as hell not going to get caught in his trap.

"Enough about him, tell me about you." I said, actually curious about him.

"Me?" He said in surprise. "There's not much about me to say."

We heard the stairs creak, giving us time to watch the twins run into the room. They jumped and faceplanted onto the sofa. Min stood up in alarm, staring at the twins with shock and horror as she slowly took off her earphones.

I thought she was about to scold them, before Isaac revealed his face and displayed his dimpled smile at her. "I'm sorry, Min. We get carried away when we're excited about something."

I watched as Min's annoyed expression slowly dissipate the longer she looked at Isaac. 

"No, you're always like that." Caleb deadpanned, shaking his head at him. "You probably gave the poor girl a heart attack, sheesh."

Isaac sighed and stood up, his tall figure towering over her small one. Her eyes widened a little at his proximity, her small fists curling up. "Forgive me?" 

Nura and Caleb started to talk about the latest artificial intelligence that was currently being developed. I was so amused by the whole Isaac and Min exchange, I couldn't stop watching. 

It was easy, for me, to see how flustered she was. Her cheeks were tinged with red, and she couldn't maintain eye contact. Without saying another word, she stormed out of the room. 

He watched her leave, scratching his head. "She hates me."

I held back a laugh, that was far from the truth.

"Ah right, Caleb?" He called out, brightening up when he remembered something. "River wanted you to double check his tracker."

"You wanna come with?" He asked me as he left the room. "Remember the tracker that I mentioned in the afternoon? Well, I might be able to explain it better if I showed you it."

I nodded in agreement, curious to know more about it. I was informed that it was best to insert a tracker on my body, in preparation for the worst case scenario.

I followed him up the large, spiral staircase, and asked me to wait as he went to grab his equipment. He appeared again, carrying a metal box before heading to one of the opened doors and peeked in. 

"Hi." I heard River say.

My stomach churned uncomfortably, already regretting accompanying Caleb. He gestured for me to come in, before disappearing into the room. I reluctantly headed in, stepping into River's personal space.

He was sat on the edge of his bed, and had changed into a black T-shirt and grey joggers. His tousled black hair was thick and lustrous, effortlessly in place. His side profile almost had me stop in my tracks, his prominent jaw and structured face seemed to be chiselled to perfection. 

He sat carelessly, his legs wide apart, looking relaxed and emitting authority. 

His gaze narrowed in on me, his silver eyes already swirling with annoyance. I noticed how his dark eyelashes were full and long, framing those stunning eyes of his. How unfair...

"What is she doing here?" He spat out, his face hardening. 

"So fucking rude." I muttered under my breath, shooting him a death glare.

His jaw ticked in vexation. "What the fuck did you say?"

"You heard me." 

We sounded like damn ten year olds.

Caleb anxiously chuckled. "Listen, I just brought her in here to show her where the tracker is. So calm down with the swearing!"

"You could've done that without bringing her in here." He coldly gritted out. "She needs to leave my room."

"You're being dramatic, let me check your tracker." 

Caleb opened his metal box and started to assemble a device. To my surprise, River backed down, albeit he still looked irritated. 

"Don't consider this as an invitation to my room." He warned me, his icy stare drilling holes into me. 

I simply responded with a cold, hostile glare, I didn't want to regret saying something too mean. However, this guy seemed to know how to push my buttons; I felt annoyed just by looking at him.

Caleb finished assembling his device, and turned it on. 

"So the tracker is extremely tiny, and is usually placed behind the ear." He started to explain. "It's usually the last place someone would look for a tracker, and the easiest place to hide it. The procedure of inserting it is simple and it heals up nicely."

"Do you have one too?" I asked, bringing my hand up to feel behind my ear.

"Every agent does."

"Okay, can you check it already." River cut in, making Caleb narrow his eyes at him. "Please." He added, not wanting to be rude to the person helping him. 

He held his ear back for him to have a better view, it didn't seem like there was anything under the skin since it looked smooth. Caleb put a red light over it and said, "Look closely, and you'll see the outline of the tracker."

I squinted, seeing a rectangular outlines under the red light. "I see it, it's pretty tiny. So everyone will know where I am at all times?"

"Actually no, it can be activated when it needs to be used." He carried on, hovering the device over the back of River's ear. "For example, for if you're missing."

It beeped five times before he retracted it, and looked at the screen. 

"It's in perfect working condition." He informed him, reading the results. "It doesn't need to be replaced any time soon actually."

"Alright." River nodded, running his hand through his hair. "Thanks anyway."

His intense gaze moved onto me, and opened his mouth to say something. Judging by his hostile expression, I was sure he was going to be rude.

Not giving him the chance, I turned away from him and left his room. I heard Caleb say, "She's pretty different from the others, isn't she?"

His ego was so inflated that he was absolutely convinced I'm going to fall for him.

I smirked, how inconceivable.

How hilarious would it be if he fell for me instead?

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Hello guys! >< 

How did you find this chapter? Who do you like thus far? 

I hope you enjoyed this update, please VOTE and COMMENT <3 

Love Yasmine, xx

P.S. For all those who have exams coming up, like me, GOOD LUCK! Make sure to have something to eat beforehand, even if the exam is early in the morning; glucose is the brain's fuel! ><