Page 43 of Sebastian

“All right.” Agent Long held up his hands in an uncharacteristic show of surrender. “We have to be sure. Our agency will confirm the identification, but I believe you. It looks like this case just got a lot more complicated.”

From the moment we saw Lorenz Mariano on the video, Damien had sat practically motionless in his chair. Even when he spoke, he barely seemed to breathe. Yet, all at once his paralysis disappeared. He sprang to his feet so violently that his chair fell to the floor with a crash of wood and metal.

“Is that why they tried to kill Sebastian? If the Russo has found us again, then we need to run. Another state. Another country. Anywhere else.”

He was already halfway out the office, probably to start packing our essentials right at that moment, when Agent Long grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Hold on. Listen. We don’t know what’s going on for certain, or how it involves Russo and the Mariano family. Right now, you need to stay put so we can protect you. This building has decent security, so you both need to stay inside behind locked doors until we figure out what’s going on.”

Everyone else was standing. Even Agent Adder had risen to his feet, though he stayed out of the argument. I hated the feeling of being loomed over, and reached for my crutch so I could stand as well.

“You’re going to protect us? Just like your agency did last time Russo and his goons were after us? We trusted your so-called witness protection and one of your own people sold us out. We only survived because we went into hiding on our own. So, we’re sorry if we’re not jumping at the chance to trust you this time.”

It was a four-way standoff. Two brothers versus two agents. There was no telling how long the silent stare down would have lasted, had the door not suddenly burst open. Like a synchronized unit, all four of us turned to face the interruption.

Newt stood on the threshold with his hair all askew and sweat dripping down his forehead as he gasped for a breath. An angry crimson scrape cut a jagged line along his cheekbone.

“I think someone just tried to kill me.”

CHAPTER 13

Newt

My hands shook as I held onto the doorframe, my fingers turning white from how hard I gripped the wood. Right after almost being run over, everything had felt numb. However, as I ran the distance to Sebastian’s apartment, more and more feelings erupted inside me until I’d become a jittery mess. I probably looked half crazed as I shoved the door open, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was to find Sebastian.

As soon as he saw me, Sebastian’s face morphed into a look of concern. He held out the arm not gripping his crutch in my direction, inviting me into his embrace.

“Oh my god. Newt, what happened? Come here.”

I stumbled over the remaining distance between us and buried myself against his chest. His familiar scent of bergamot and leather calmed my nerves and finally stopped my hands from shaking.

Sebastian couldn’t support us both while standing on one leg. So, he sat on the edge of his desk and let his crutch clatter to the floor before wrapping both arms around me.

“Who is this? What’s going on? You didn’t mention anyone else was involved,” someone barked.

I peeked out from the safety of Sebastian’s embrace to see two unfamiliar men staring at me with a mix of confusion and suspicion.

Sebastian held me closer. “This is Newt. He’s my... boyfriend and has been helping me with my injuries.”

We hadn’t actually discussed terms yet, and whether or not we were an official couple, so I understood his hesitance over the word “boyfriend”. However, I’d used the same term when talking about him to my sister, so it seemed we were both on the same page.

The two unfamiliar men looked very official, dressed in suits and polished shoes. They were definitely government men. One seemed mostly confused, clutching a briefcase in front of him like a shield. The other one, with glasses and perfectly styled hair, glared at me like I’d just pulled a gun on him.

“Civilians shouldn’t be involved in this matter,” the guy with the glasses and great hair growled.

Damien stepped between us, blocking me from the stern man’s suspicious eyes.

“It seems like he’s already involved. Newt, you said someone tried to kill you. What happened? Weren’t you meeting with your sister?”

Now that I’d calmed down a little, I realized how pathetic I must look to this room full of impressive men. Gathering my nerves and wiping away the terrified tears from my eyes, I tried my best to explain what had happened as calmly as possible.

The unfamiliar men turned out to be FBI agents who had been investigating the recent attempt on Sebastian’s life. They had several questions for me, especially the man with glasses.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t answer most of them.

“No, I didn’t get a license plate. I don’t think they had one, but the car looked just like the ones that ran Sebastian off the road. There was even a big swipe down the side like it was in a recent collision.”

They weren’t convinced by my story. If anything, my lack of helpful details only seemed to annoy them. The one still holding the briefcase in front of his chest even rolled his eyes.

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