Chapter 7

Lexi's POV

I stood rooted in place, unable to process the chaos that unfolded before my eyes. The other officers in the observation room finally broke down the door, and one of them, a young man named Sam, rushed to my side, his expression a mix of concern and urgency.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his hands gently holding my shoulders as he searched my face for signs of trauma.

"I'm fine," I assured him, trying to dispel the fear in his eyes.

“Are you sure? You're not hurt anywhere?” His voice was steady, but I could hear the underlying worry.

"I’m okay, Sam," I insisted, and his shoulders relaxed, a breath of relief escaping his lips.

“Let’s go after him!” another officer stated, determination etched into his features.

“Forget it,” the Director of the CIA interjected, his voice authoritative and firm. He turned to me, his gaze piercing. “Have you met Leonardo before? Why did he choose you of all agents to interrogate him? You’re not the only female agent here.”

He had a point; I wasn't the only one. But that man, that bastard, had chosen me and stirred up trouble.

“No, sir, I haven’t met him before,” I replied, my voice steady, hiding the embarrassment that bubbled beneath the surface.

“Are you sure?” The Director's brows furrowed in suspicion.

“She hasn’t met him before,” Sam quickly defended me, surprising me with his boldness. “There’s no man who doesn’t recognize a beautiful woman. That’s why he chose her.”

"If I was a criminal and had the chance to pick who'll interrogate me, I'll choose her too." He turned to me, a protective light shining in his eyes. “And besides, she wouldn’t have anything to do with a criminal. I trust her.”

A warm flutter stirred in my chest at his unwavering support. I gave him a grateful smile, which he returned with a gentle squeeze on my hand.

“Okay. So what did you get from him?” the Director pressed again, his tone shifting back to business.

“Nothing that can be submitted, sir. Just a stream of vain talks,” I admitted, realizing they had deactivated the audio feed during my interrogation.

“Everyone, back to your duty posts,” he ordered, and the room began to disperse.

As I made my way to my office alongside Sam, my phone buzzed from my pocket, breaking the rhythm of our conversation. I fished it out and squinted at the screen, staring at an unfamiliar number. The message read, "Hey, pretty. Thanks for the number. Text me back when you have time to talk; I’d like to give you a call."

“Leonardo,” I hissed under my breath, the name slipping out before I could catch it.

“Leonardo? Where?” Sam's eyes darted around, clearly taken aback.

“Nothing,” I quickly replied, shoving the phone back into my pocket.

As we reached the door to my office, Sam halted me, placing his hand gently over mine. “Don’t think too much about it, Lexi. It’s not your fault. We’ll catch him some other time.” His sincerity soothed my frayed nerves.

I forced a smile, grateful for his support, and he opened the door, flashing me a reassuring smile before walking away to his own office across the hallway. He's the Chief of Team Beta, and I admired his unwavering dedication.

The moment I sunk into my chair, my teammates encircled my desk, expectant gazes glued to me.

“What happened? We heard an explosion!” Ava broke the silence, her brow furrowed in concern.

“That was Leonardo,” I replied, my voice steadying as I began to recount the nightmarish events.

“What?!” They gasped in unison. “But he’s in our custody!” Robin exclaimed, disbelief etched on his face.

“He 'was' in our custody,” I clarified.

“He escaped?” They chorused again, shock rippling through the group.

“Yeah, through that explosion. The roof of the interrogation room we had him in was blasted open.” I explained.

“But how? He was contained…” Lisa's voice trailed off, her mind racing to comprehend the enormity of the situation.

“Who's Leonardo?” I asked.

"The infamous and ruthless Mafia Don," they replied with a tone of resignation.

"Good, that answers the question," I said.

"Will that guy ever be behind bars?" Ava sighed, her worry evident.

"He will… I’ll make sure of that," I vowed, determination flooding my voice.

"Chief, here’s the report you asked for," Dylan said, presenting a thick folder to me.

"Lexi," I sighed, shaking my head. No matter how many times I insisted they address me casually, they always reverted to 'Chief.'

I accepted the file and began sifting through its contents as the others dispersed to their posts. "Prepare this for sending to Director Jovi," I instructed. Jovi, the Head of the Directorate of Operations, was my immediate superior, supervising all teams under this Directorate and reporting directly to the the Director of the CIA, or G.D.(General Director), as we often referred to him.

"Yes, ma'am," Dylan said, taking the file from me.

"Got him!" Marcus shouted from his desk, excitement lighting up his expression.

"Got who?" Ava questioned, her curiosity piqued.

"Martins," Marcus replied, his eyes gleaming.

"Really?" Lisa gasped, her head snapping towards him.

"Yeah, I'm sending the location to Chief," he said, typing furiously on his keyboard.

Just then, my computer beeped with a new notification. I clicked on it and saw the location Marcus had sent. It was the bar I frequented, the same place where I’d met Leonardo.

I stood up, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I loaded my gun with bullets. "I'm going after him," I announced, my voice firm. Ava stood up immediately. "I'm going with you, ma'am," she insisted.

"No, I’ll go alone," I replied, my resolve unyielding. She hesitated before reluctantly sitting back down.

"Feed me on updates," I instructed Marcus, who nodded vigorously. Without another word, I dashed out of my office, only to collide with Sam, who was also making a hasty exit.

"Field work?" he asked, brow raised.

"Yeah, Martins," I replied, urgency lacing my tone.

"Martins? He's the person I'm going after too," Sam said, his eyes lighting up with determination. Martins was a highly wanted criminal who we'd been tailing for months without success.

"Wow, then let's do this!" I smiled as we rushed out together.

We hopped into his car, the engine rumbling to life as he drove us towards the bar. But as we sped through the streets, my phone buzzed incessantly with calls from Leonardo. I glanced at the screen, debating whether to answer, but ultimately opted to ignore them.

"Your phone has been buzzing for quite a while," Sam noted, glancing at me with curiosity.

"Yeah, I know. But trust me, it's not an important call," I said, trying to sound casual.

"Is it from a guy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, an idiot," I replied, stifling a chuckle as he laughed.

Arriving at the bar, we decided to split up to maximize our chances of finding Martins. After what felt like an eternity of scanning the thrumming crowd, I finally spotted him—a shadowy figure slipping through the throng of dancers, heading towards a narrow lobby.

I pushed through the mass of bodies, heart racing, eager to catch him before he vanished. But as I burst into the lobby, my excitement turned to despair—he had evaporated into thin air. "Fuck!" I cursed under my breath, frustration boiling within me.

Determined not to let him slip away, I continued down the dimly lit corridor, when my phone erupted with another call from Leonardo. I felt my temper flare and shoved the device back into my pocket. Just then, a voice, smooth and deep, startled me from behind.

"Why are you ignoring my calls, baby?"

I turned swiftly, my heartbeat quickening at the sight of Leonardo, a smirk playing on his lips. His presence was infuriating and magnetic all at once, and I could feel the tension in the air thickening between us.