She knew that she was making the right decision. One quick plane ride to Paris and this would all be over. She would just explain to him that he was just a little piece of fun on the side while things were slow in the spy world. He had entertained her, but she was bored now.
If she was hurtful enough, maybe he would believe it. Because she sure as hell didn't.
She hailed the first taxi she could find outside the airport and directed him to the Latin Quarter. She just hoped that Tyler was still staking out that building. Otherwise she was going to have to call in a few favors to get his location, and she didn't fancy having to come up with a reason why she needed to have the position of a CIA agent who had nothing to do with her current assignments.
Ignoring the hard decisions lying ahead of her when the driver took her to her final destination, she focused instead on another component to her current confusion. Why had the New Directorate wanted her to forget about growing up with Tyler? If she was such an important agent, wouldn't it be wise to make sure she remembered the man who could possibly kill her? You would think they'd want to protect her.
Then again, there wasn't much she knew about the New Directorate. She just knew a few contacts within her department and the tech guy. That was all the people she had to know to get her job done. She didn't even know who made the big calls.
"What is a pretty lady like you doing in the city of love all alone?" the cab driver suddenly asked in not-so-good English, looking at her in his rear view mirror.
She gave him a sweet smile before responding in French. "I'm here to break up with my boyfriend."
That shut the cab driver up. Good. She didn't need to make polite conversation at a time like this.
She tried to focus on the exact point where her life had gone so wrong. How had she ended up working for an agency that was doing potentially bad things and not the CIA like both her parents? Why had she let herself be sucked up into the organization while never thinking to ask questions about the people who ran it? When had she decided it was okay to let these people she did not know start putting things into her brain?
God, she could be a complete moron sometimes.
The cab pulled to a stop outside the building she had indicated. This was it. Thanking the driver and giving him a rather handsome tip in hopes he wouldn't remember this particular passenger and her destination, she stepped out of the car.
Walking into the building, it didn't take her long to find him. He was on the top floor staring out the window with a pair of binoculars. He wasn't kidding when he told her this stakeout thing was completely old school. She didn't even see any computers anywhere. How were you supposed to find out anything without them?
"The CIA is so stuck in the Dark Ages," she said, making her way across the creaky wooden floor to where he sat.
He put down the binoculars and stared at her a moment before hesitantly asking, "What are you doing here, Ana?"
"I didn't want to put off seeing you again." Silently, she applauded herself. That was a good opening. Now if only she could keep up that disaffected, detached tone. Maybe then she wouldn't start to cry.
"I'm glad you came," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her in between his legs where he sat on a wooden crate. "I missed you."
"Tyler, we need to talk."
"I know. I can't believe you actually took me up on my offer to spend the rest of my time here in Paris together. I thought you were going to get on that flight yesterday. Speaking of, where have you been if you didn't get on it? That was eighteen hours ago."
Eighteen hours. God, it felt like an eternity. "I've been busy." She tried to shrug out of his hold, but he wasn't letting up.
"Well, I'm glad you got un-busy." He looked up at her, and before she could stop herself, she was kissing him. It was their last kiss, a kiss goodbye, even if he didn't know it yet.
Before she could prepare herself to pull away from him and end their last embrace, he surprised her by doing so himself. "I have something I want to give you. I wasn't sure if I was going too fast or if you didn't feel the same way. But you're here. So I think that says enough."
She watched as he riffled through a knapsack that was at his feet. He looked so happy about whatever he was about to do that she couldn't bear to break his heart. Not at this moment. Maybe she would get the courage after he was done.
"Here," he said, holding out a small box for her to take.
Okay. She might be a moron when it cam to matters of the spy world and of her heart. But she knew what was in that box without even having to open it. This was not good.
"Tyler, there's something you have to know."
"Later." She watched in horror and in excitement as he opened the box himself.
There it was. The most beautiful ring she had ever seen in her life. It was prettier than the ring her father had given her mother. A good size diamond surrounded by two emeralds that seemed to be the most vibrant shade of green that she had ever seen.
She hadn't known a heart could melt and break at the same time.
"Tyler. We've only known each other for a month. We've only been on four dates."
"I don't care. You know when it's the one. And I know. I love you, Ana. I know this is going fast, but I don't want to sit around and wait for something to come along to tear us apart. Because eventually something will. If we make this commitment, then we'll have something to fight back with. And frankly I don't care give a damn about all the obstacles between us. We'll get through whatever gets thrown our way. Together. So just say yes and we can get started."
"I… I…" What was she trying to say? I want to with all my heart. You're crazy. There's no way I can. It's too fast. I would if only I wasn't destined to be your murderer or your victim one of these days. All of those were good options. But instead of any of those, she found herself simply shrugging and saying, "I just can't."
"Is this about your mother? Because you're nothing like her. I understand that."
Her look of horror obviously wasn't lost on him as his body suddenly tensed up a little more. "I am everything like my mother. She's the best person I've ever met. I have spent my whole life striving to be more like her."
Tyler shook his head. "I don't understand. Why would you want to be like her? She's done nothing but cause trouble for everyone you love, including me."
"She never did a thing to hurt you. Everything she did was for our own good. She gave up her whole life to make sure--" Hope paused in the middle of her rant as something occurred to her. "Wait. If you knew who my mother was, then why the hell did you get involved in this? Didn't you realize how big a mistake seeing me would be? At least I have the whole memory loss card to play. What's your excuse?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. All I know is that I love you no matter of your past mistakes or the current mistake you're trying to make. Do you hear me? I love you, Ana Santos."
Her hand flew to her mouth. Oh god. He didn't know. He thought she was… "You thought I was Nadia Santos's daughter?" she yelled. "How stupid can you be?"
Pieces were clicking into place. Tyler had mentioned that he grew up with her cousin. At the time, she had thought it funny that her Aunt Nadia had had a child and didn't tell anyone. Then there was the whole fact that he was so upset when he found out who he thought her mother was. He really must have been convinced that she was an evil agent if she was the offspring of someone like her aunt.
"If you're not Nadia's daughter, then who are you?" Tyler asked.
She suddenly noticed that he was still holding the ring box open in his hands. Slowly, she took it away from him and shut it before handing it back. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Tyler. Some of it I kept secret for your own good and some of it I didn't even know would affect you. Oh god. My parents are going to kill me."
"I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"Well for starters, they think that I'm on vacation in the Belize. They don't know that I'm currently having a conversation with the one person I have been forbidden to see in the whole goddamn world."
"You're not making any sense."
"Nothing that involves you and I makes any sense." She sighed and composed herself for a moment before looking up at him. "My name is not Ana. I mean, not really."
"Okay. Aliases. I understand that."
"No, you don't. My real name is Hope Anastasia Lazarey."
She waited as the weight of her words sunk in. "No."
"Yes. Which is why I can't marry you. And why I can't even talk to you. It's too dangerous."
He kept shaking his head. "There's no way. I would know if you were Hope. I would know. There are so many people watching over me. Someone would have figured it out. You're just saying this to avoid owning up to your feelings for me."
"God, I wish that was the reason."
"I can't handle this."
She nodded. "I understand. Let's not keep talking about it then. I'm going to turn around and leave. Don't try to contact me. Don't even think about me. It's for the best." She gave him a small smile even though she knew he could see the tears forming in her eyes. It only hurt slightly when he immediately looked away from her.
And that's when it hit her.
This was really it. This was the end. There wasn't going to be any type of Hollywood movie ending to this mess.
She gathered up the last bit of courage she had and turned to make her way out of the building. All of the sudden she just wanted to be home with her parents. Things were easier when she didn't have to be strong.
She flagged down the nearest cab and, even though with all her being she wanted to give one last glance to that window on the top floor that she just knew Tyler was staring down at her from, she slid into the car. "Take me to the airport please."
"No problem," the cab driver said.
She stared at the buildings and roads flying past the window, leaving her near-fatal mistake behind her. She would have thought her mind would be racing in an attempt to figure out how she could have gotten so far off the path she thought her life was supposed to take. Instead, her mind was blank. Somewhere along the line, she had shut down.
The cab slid to a stop, and she noticed where they were for the first time. "This isn't the airport."
"You didn't specify which one. This is a small airfield that has private planes take off from its runways."
"And how the hell is that supposed to help me?"
The driver pointed to the plane sitting in front of him. "There's a woman on that plane that desperately wants to speak with you. That should help you."
Hope shook her head. It figures that on the worst day of her life, she would manage to get herself semi-abducted. And damnit if everyone in her life didn't think she was in the Caribbean.