"She was not fragile like a flower. She was fragile like a bomb."

Cole's POV

Syd grinned at me as the sun kissed her skin and danced in her hair. Crystal blue water gently lapped against the base of the cliff we stood on.

"Is this real?" I breathed, scared it would all disappear.

Syd, clad in a bright red bikini, strode over to me and gently kissed me.

"That feel real enough?" she beamed, resting her arms on my shoulders.

Bright hues of red, blue, and burgundy stood out against her skin and jewelry glinted off Syd. She almost never wore jewelry unless she had to. It always ended up getting in the way on an op. She stepped back and grabbed my hand.

We stood at the edge of the cliff, hand in hand, and jumped. Weightlessness coursed through my body before ice cold water pierced my skin and I jolted up in shock. The sun and ocean dissolved as pain seeped into my body.

"Good, you're awake," a dominating voice cut through the dim lighting.

Sofía strutted into my field of vision wearing a malevolent grin. Black textured fabric clung to her body, outlining every curve and dip. A blade as sharp as her stare danced in and out of her fingers.

"Javier, you and Ms. Lilliana have been lying to me," Sofía begins, "I hate being lied to. Now I know at least that Javier isn't your real name and that beautiful home obviously isn't yours."

An indifferent look remained in place as I watched her, assessing my options. She's handcuffed me, and she has at least four other highly armed men to keep me company. Syd would make a remark about that being overkill. On top of that, I don't know where Syd is, much less if she's alive. I don't dwell on the latter, the thought only making my stomach churn.

"Now, I don't know your relation to Lilliana, or whatever her name is, but I know you care about her," Sofía smirks and sets down the blade, "You think I didn't notice those times your gaze would wander to her when I first met you. It was far too familiar to be mere attraction, though I can understand the infatuation."

Her voice reverberates throughout the gutted room with the occasional sounds of the men adjusting their stance or the grip on their assault rifles—again with the overkill. The doors to my left swing open to the sound of shuffling. Two men drag Syd to where I can see her. She's covered in what looks like her own blood from countless cuts and wounds and I inhale sharply. There looks like there's no fight left in her as she lays nearly limp in their grip, with her hands handcuffed behind her back. What did they do to her? Trying to control my breathing and heart rate, I try to keep my gaze on Syd without flinching.

"Such a waste of a pretty face," Sofía purrs as she runs a finger down Syd's cheek, "A pretty face that told me pretty lies. Even now you're still lying to me. I know you're not as weak as you're trying to make me believe."

Sofía has obviously seen Syd's scars and tattoos. Syd had given the excuse of shrapnel and surgery scars from due to the area she was staying in being invaded by insurgents when her and her family had been there for some business of her father. She blamed her tattoos on a rebellious phase and covered some with special concealer that the agency had provided.

"Your concealer came off, dear. And no one whose survived multiple gun wounds would be this weak after the minimal damage you've suffered thus far," Sofía grinned triumphantly.

Syd just gazed up at Sofía with a look of absolute defeat.

"Whatever you're gonna do, just do it already," Syd croaked out.

"Now, darling," Sofía hums with a sugary smile, "did my men really break you mentally already? Pathetic."

The two men drop Syd before exiting the room and I watch as she crumples to the floor. Sofía merely shrugs before turning her full attention to me and stepping close enough to take up the majority of my field of vision. A black cloth is pulled back to reveal various instruments of which I can only guess their use. What's first? Prying off my fingernails one by one? Waterboarding?

Instead, she gracefully picks up a syringe and presses the plunger allowing some of the fluid inside to leak out. She smirks in satisfaction before turning to look at me as I hear her men shuffle in the behind her.

"Hold him down," her voice echoes throughout the room, "I better not have to ask again. Hold him-"

"Don't fucking move, bitch," Syd seethes.

Sofía grins and steps back far enough to see two bodies lying on the ground and Syd with one hand holding a knife to one guard's external jugular vein and the other pointing a pistol at Sofía. A handcuff hangs off her left wrist. The other guard stands with her weapon aimed at Syd. She fires only to hit the guard Syd had used a human shield. In a matter of seconds, Syd pushes his body away and effortlessly throws the knife right into the space between the woman's eyes. She then fires two rapid shots at Sofía's knees. The two never break eye contact as Sofía is forced into painful submission.

A clink is heard from the dropped syringe that Syd crushes with her boot.. Knowing Sofía won't be able to go far, she retrieves the blade from the woman's head, bracing her foot against the guard's face as she removes it with a sickly squishing noise.

Quick as lightning Syd grabs Sofía's dominant hand and plunges the knife into Sofía's dominant hand to pin it to her thigh. The dark smile or blank expression from Sofía is for once absent as her face twists in agony. Syd quickly frees me before hauling Sofía into the chair I previously sat in and finally unlocks her other handcuff. It's now that I notice she had sewn lock picks below a patch of skin. The knife is pulled out of her hand and leg before Syd uses our handcuffs to secure Sofía.

Syd motions for us to leave only for Sofía's laughter to slice through the air.

"You coward!" she cackles, "You can't even finish the job!"

Syd pauses and turns on her heel, her cold smile matching Sofía's, "God, I was hoping you'd say that. I do remember you opening up about some tidbits during a few pillow talks. Not to mention I've done my homework. Your family died in such a horrific manner. They were burned alive. The locals said their screams could be heard throughout the night as the flames lit the night sky like the sun."

Sofía instantly paled.

Syd walked over to one of the bodies and felt around until she pulled out a flask and a lighter.

She tsked, "Don't they know that day drinking and smoking are such nasty habits."

"Syd, you're not gonna..." I questioned not wanting to finish the sentence.

Sofía was never the type of woman to beg, but her fear was palpable as I truly saw the fear in her deep brown eyes. Her lip quivered as tears pooled in her eyes.

"This is for every innocent family you slaughtered because they couldn't pay your impossible fees. For the children you ripped away from their families to do your dirty work. For every innocent life you took. This is for the time I watched you force a father to kill his own family because he stole a few pesos from you in desperation to feed his family."

"You're no better than me," Sofía gritted out.

Syd took a swig from the flask, "I'm just a little better but what does it really matter in our world?"

The liquor was dumped on Sofía andSyd flicked open the lighter before throwing it on Sofía without batting an eyelash. Her screams filled the air and haunted the street below. Syd sent proof of death to the agency before we returned to the mansion to pack up and attempt to patch ourselves up. We said nothing as we sat on the plane and after paperwork at the agency was filled out, we departed without a word.