Lesson 14: Passwords

"That's the last time I ever do you a favour, Jaia," Kole groaned, holding an ice pack against his left eye.

I laughed, disinfecting his split knuckles with alcohol. "You say that every time yet here we are."

Kole didn't even wince as I patched up his cuts, instead channelling his energy into sending me a death glare. "I can't believe I did the dirty work of drugging Jacob in the fucking bathroom and knocking out the goddamn bouncer who walked in whilst you were getting with that pretty boy."

I shrugged, flashing him my pearly whites. "I was doing crucial work. If it weren't for my flirting with Zack, Jacob would've never made up the excuse of going to the bathroom. Now that's teamwork at its finest."

"Oh, of course, it definitely sounds like the work was split equally. It must be so difficult to flash your tits and snog someone."

"Didn't flash this time. It was too dark to be worth it," I winked.

"Oh definitely. How didn't I think of that?" Kole mused with a sardonic smile. "All I'm getting from that is you did even less than I thought. I've been cheated."

"Isn't it you who constantly likes to remind me that I'm a rookie? If that's true then shouldn't you be carrying most of the workload anyway?"

He rolled his eyes, getting up and heading over to his kitchen cupboards and fishing a protein bar out from them.

After a very successful mission of planting a new bug on Jacob's phone and Kole getting punched in the process because he was too slow to knock the bouncer out, I'd come with Kole back to his flat to help him with his scratches. The little boy needed constant attention and couldn't clean up a few cuts by himself.

He took a bite of his vomit coloured protein bar and smirked at me. "Does that mean you admit I always carry you on missions?"

I scoffed, clearing away the first aid kit and throwing used wrappers in the bin. "If it makes you feel better I could lie and say yes?"

"It never ceases to amaze me how arrogant you are."

"Learnt from the best."

Kole sent me the middle finger just as his phone buzzed on the table. He shot me a warning look which I completely ignored as I dived for it, reaching it just a second before he could.

"Ooo, what's this? A message from... Emily. How exciting," I teased with raised eyebrows as I unlocked his phone to read the text. You'd think an MI5 agent would know not to use the same passwords for everything but not Kole. He must've skipped those lessons or something.

Kole lunged for me but I dodged him, running into the bathroom and locking the door behind me. He banged on the door with his fists over and over again. "Fucking hell, Jaia. Give me my phone back."

"Nope. Do you want to know what Emily's message says?" I asked all too innocently, batting my eyelashes even though he couldn't see me.

He groaned and slammed the door one final time before sighing. "You're impossible, d'you know that? Fine. What does it say?"

I cleared my throat, putting on my high-pitched squeaky voice. "'Ouch. You're so brave fighting off those guys like that, Jack. Don't worry I'll be there as soon as I can to make you feel better in every way I know how. Winky face. Kissy face.' Ew gross, Kole. I think I'm gonna vomit."

He laughed from the other side of the door. "It's your own fault. Now get lost. You're not being here when Emily comes over."

I unlocked the door, pouting as I shoved the phone back into his hands. "I don't want to be, trust me. I just can't believe she's coming to see your sorry ass at one in the morning. Surely any girl has better things to do with their time than be within ten miles of you."

Kole flicked my forehead, sticking his tongue out. "You already ruined my last hookup with that stupid stakeout mission so kindly fuck off, Jaia."

I grabbed my bag, shoes and one of Kole's jackets to fight the chilly evening air. "Wow, I can see I'm so loved. You're not even going to drop me off?"

He shook his head as he pushed me towards the door. "Nope. Call an Uber or something. Bye, Jaia." The door slammed in my face before I could even open my mouth. Horny bastard.

Wrapping myself in Kole's jacket, I made my way down eleven flights of stairs because the lift was broken and was just about to book an Uber when Tammy texted me.

T: you up for a little late-night break-in?

J: what kind of break-in?

T: the stealing precious information from a rich guy uptown kind

J: send me the address

~*~*~

I wasn't exactly dressed for a break-in wearing skintight ripped jeans and a black bralette and by the look on Tammy's face when she spotted me she was not impressed. The only thing that was somewhat appropriate was the black jacket I'd stolen from Kole. At least the idiot had been useful for once.

"Why the hell are you wearing that?"

"May or may not have just had a mission of my own."

Tammy raised her brows at me with a smirk on her face and I gave her a light push. "Not like that, Tammy."

"Oh sure, it's not like you were out with Zack King earlier or anything."

"I- how'd you know about that?"

She rolled her eyes. "He's kind of a well-known guy, Cassie. You know I'm never going to pry into what you get up to for work so I'm not going to ask any questions but I can't help it if I see the odd picture on my timeline. Lucky for you, no one's managed to get a clear image of your face just yet. Make sure it stays that way for your own sake."

Whenever I'd been alone with Zack, I'd done my best to avoid cameras and keep my head down. He wasn't a celebrity or anything so people didn't swarm him but enough people knew who he was to draw a bit of attention so I always had to be on my guard.

"Well, it's not like that with Zack, Tammy. It's just work stuff."

The look on her face meant she did not believe me in the slightest. "Whatever you say, Cass. Look, work shit aside, from one friend to another, be careful. Guys like him only want one thing so don't get too close, please."

Why did everyone think I was getting attached to this guy? First Kole and now Tammy. Axel said he saw chemistry and even Naeem had been making insinuations. Were they all seeing something I wasn't?

"Don't worry about me, Tam. I don't get attached. Especially not to guys like Zack. You know he's not my type."

"Ah of course, how could I forget about you and Gio. You guys still a thing then?"

My heart sank at the mention of Giovanni. I hadn't seen the boy in almost four years and he still hurt to think about. He was my first love and I'd promised to see him again but by this point, I was sure he'd moved on. It wouldn't have been fair for me to ask him to wait for me so I'd let him go.

Around a year into this mission, Gio had contacted me and asked me to forget everything and come back to Italy. At the time, I'd almost considered it. If Celine hadn't found me when she had, it was likely that I would've gone back to him. So, when I'd been recruited I'd told him to forget about me and move on.

Gio had stopped talking to me after that. I hadn't heard from him since I'd joined MI5 and Luca never mentioned him when we spoke. I assumed that meant he'd moved on and cutting me off was the healthiest choice for him. Of course that hurt me but I understood. If you loved someone, you had to let them go.

No one deserved happiness as much as Gio so I was not going to be the one blocking him from that no matter how much it had killed me inside.

Over time, I'd moved on. I was in a good place now. Occasionally, my mind would still drift over to him but I knew we weren't meant to be. My job didn't really allow for serious relationships anyway so it was better for the both of us this way. Besides, by letting him go it meant I could focus on the mission at hand and protecting my family. So it worked out for the best I supposed.

I shook my head, smiling softly. "Nah, we ended it years ago."

"Really?" Tammy asked, sounding mildly surprised. "I remember the way you guys used to look at each other. I thought you two were in it for the long haul."

"So did I," I whispered, not meeting her eyes.

Tammy put her hand on my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. I had never been much of an emotional person so even showing this much vulnerability to Tammy was alien to me. I cleared my throat, not liking the attention and wanting to focus on the mission at hand. "Anyway," I said, looking into her eyes with a determined stare. "Who's this guy we're robbing?"

Tammy smirked, pulling some files out of her backpack and handing them to me, our previous conversation completely forgotten. I skimmed over them, noting any important details about the floor plan. "So, how are we getting in?"

My friend flashed me a wicked smile. "For a rich guy, he's not so great with cybersecurity. Uses the same passwords for everything. I've already turned off the cameras and unlocked the doors."

My eyes shined with amusement as I handed her back the files, thinking of my earlier encounter with Kole and his repetitive attitude to passwords. Clearly he should've been paying attention in those cybersecurity lessons.

~*~*~

By the time I had managed to get home, it was close to three in the morning. Tammy had gotten the files she'd needed off of that guy's computer no problem, making our break-in quick and easy but I was still exhausted.

I groaned to myself as I fished the key out of my bag, ready to just fall into bed, not even caring that I still had makeup on.

However, all my dreams of sleep were long forgotten as I made it to my door, my spine rigid as I put the key in the lock. The light in my apartment was on and if I listened closely I could make out the faint murmurs of Richard Hammond from Pointless.

The only weapon I had on me was the pepper spray in my purse because my clothes were too skintight to actually conceal anything. I cursed myself for the arrogance I'd had this afternoon at thinking I wouldn't have needed weapons tonight.

As silent as a mouse, I unlocked my door, pepper spray in hand. Luck was not on my side when the hinges squeaked loudly in protest as I pushed the door open. I cringed at the noise, readying to launch myself onto whoever had broken in. However, I was not expecting what I saw. I dropped the purse that had been tucked under my arm as I gasped at the male figure reclining on my sofa and eating popcorn.

"Emilio?" I spluttered.

"Long time no see, sorella."

~*~*~

Emilio is back! I hope you liked the chapter and do let me know what you're thinking so far : )

Stay safe xx