THIRD PERSON POV
Nicolas walked out the room, camera in hand.
"You have it?" Madeline asked, leaning against the wall.
"She did everything we wanted with no fighting," he said handing it to her. "So how are we getting this to the feds?"
"Her sister," Madeline said. "Dump her at the hospital with tucked in her pants."
"Send Pavlov to do it?"
"Of course," Madeline said.
"What do we do with her now?" Nicolas asked.
"We are going to need her to ensure passage and once we are out, you can do whatever you want with her, as long as she's disposed of properly," Madeline said, waving her hand nonchalantly. "For now, you can go have your fun with her, talk about your feelings or whatever bullshit you need closure for to do your job."
"I'm not sure I follow-" Nicolas began, but Madeline cut him off.
"Do I look blind and stupid to you?" she asked. "I think you forget that I had and continue to have eyes everywhere… in fact, that's why we are still dealing with this mess."
"You know-"
"Yes, I know about your little love affair, but it does seem that she played you like a game of chess," she said, laughing lightly.
"It was a mistake," Nicolas said hurriedly.
"I don't care," Madeline said, "as long as it doesn't affect our work now. Now, I will take this to Pavlov to make sure Ashley is taken to the hospital with this in tow." Madeline walked out the room, positive of her victory.
Nicolas glanced back at the room where Danielle was, remembering their time together, even if she had been undercover.
"Nic!" Danielle yelled.
"What love?" Nicolas asked, closing his laptop in his study as Danielle pushed open the door.
"Look, I made a pie! And I didn't burn it!" she said, gleefully showing him the apple pie that was crispy, but not burnt.
"It looks amazing," he said, "but how does it taste?"
"Don't you dare insult my cooking skills," Danielle said. "Besides, we have to wait for it to cool to taste it."
"How long will that take?" Nicolas asked.
"A few hours," Danielle said, exiting the study to take the pie back to the kitchen to cool. Nicolas all too eagerly followed her, wrapping his arms around her.
"I have an idea on how we can kill the time?" he said, brushing her long, brown hair away and kissing her neck.
"Oh, do you?" Danielle said, turning around to face him. "And what would that idea be?"
"I think you know," he murmured, lifting her up on the counter and kissing her. Soon enough, they found themselves in Nicolas' bed, the pie all but forgotten between their breathless 'I love you's' and their soft laughter.
Shaking himself from that memory, he reminded himself that it wasn't real. That wasn't the woman in that room. That was a lie. This was the truth.
Seeing her hurting still stung him at his core, but she betrayed his trust and landed him in prison. She deserved this.
He opened the door to see her head hung as she sat in the chair. Even from her posture, he could see that she had given up all hope. Looking at her arms, he felt disgust rise in him. He did that to her.
"What do you want?" Danielle asked, her voice hoarse and quiet.
"To talk," Nicolas said.
"About what?" she asked, looking to meet his eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot. "We talk and talk and I never learn anything! Just get it over with and kill me."
Nicolas didn't respond at first, pulling the chair next to her so that he could sit in front of her.
"Was it all a lie?" he asked.
"Was what all a lie?" she asked.
"Us."
Danielle was clearly shocked.
"Nicolas, why are we talking about this, I don't understand why-"
"Was it a lie?" he asked more forcefully this time.
Danielle didn't speak. Neither of them could read the other.
"No," she said quietly. "It's wasn't all a lie… but it ended the minute I found those documents."
"You knew what I was."
"You made me think… that maybe, just maybe, I was wrong… That I had the wrong guy, but then I found those papers and contracts and I couldn't lie to myself," Danielle said. "And then you ordered a hit on my parents."
"I had to," he said. "I had to keep you quiet."
"Look how well that turned out for you," Danielle said bitterly.
Silence enveloped the room. Danielle didn't know what to think, while Nicolas had thousands of thoughts running through his mind.
"Did you ever love me?" Nicolas said.
"Nicolas…"
"You owe me that," he said. "After all the lies, the betrayal, and the deceit… you owe me that."
"I don't owe you a damn thing," Danielle said. "You killed my parents, you kidnapped my sister and her family, and you murdered my friend."
"Please," Nicolas said. Danielle met his eyes, and she couldn't lie to him.
"Yeah," she said, "there was a time that I loved you… but that time is over now."
"I know," he said.
"You promise that you won't hurt my family?" Danielle asked. Nicolas paused, remembering the last promise he made to her before he was imprisoned.
"Nic," Danielle asked as they walked along the shoreline one morning,
"Yes love," Nicolas said, holding her hand, their feet in the water as they walked.
"Can you promise me something?"
"Of course, what?" Nicolas said, his face concerned.
"Promise me," Danielle said, stopping to look at him, "that you'll never forget me and this?"
"I could never forget you," Nicolas said.
"You never break a promise," she said, smiling, "so promise me?"
"I promise," he said. She smiled and gave him a soft kiss as they continued on their walk.
He may have been a man of many faults, but Nicolas was right about one thing.
He never broke a promise.
"I promise," he said, exiting the room. "Goodbye love."