Chapter 18 - Empty Promises

The rest of the afternoon whizzed by as Jaxson, and I wandered from shop to shop. Like a gentleman, he held all the shopping bags and even helped me pick out outfits and find matching accessories. To say shopping with Jaxson was fun was an understatement. A carefree, relaxed vibe replaced the tough persona.
However, one particular thing about Jaxson impressed me the most. He hadn't once tried to flirt with me or passed a sexual comment like his brother had. Jaxson was easy to talk to; honestly, I enjoyed his company.
We wrapped up our shopping and headed back to the penthouse. Jaxson helped me carry all the shopping bags to my room before heading to see if Zach was back. I left all the bags in the walk-in closet and returned to the kitchen to get dinner sorted.
Terence had made a lamb casserole for us with a salad and garlic bread. However, it was the freshly baked chocolate brownies waiting on the counter that made my stomach grumble.
"Okay, so it doesn't look like Zach is back yet. Shall we have dinner and leave a plate for him and Keiran?" Jaxson announced as he walked into the kitchen.
"Keiran?! Wait, he will be eating here too?!" I interjected.
Jaxson had already mentioned he would also be staying in the penthouse while he was shadowing me.
"You will quickly realize that those two are attached at the hip. If you are cooking yummy meals, Keiran will be here to eat them as well." Jaxson started to laugh.
"Note to self, do not cook delicious food," I snickered, plating food for Jaxson and me.
Jaxson laughed and sat on a barstool.
"Where do I eat when everyone is here?" I too slid into a barstool with my food.
"What do you mean? You sit here with us and eat. Why would you have to eat separately?!" Jaxson snorted in between his bites.
"I'm the maid if you forget. I'm not supposed to sit and eat with the boss" I chuckled, explaining the obvious.
"From what I've heard, it's the boss that wants to do the eating," Jaxson smirked, winking at me.
I felt the heat rise on my face as what Jaxson meant sunk in. What was with these guys and their non-filter comments?
We ate the rest of our meal in silence. Once we were done, I cleaned up the kitchen and left meals for the two men in the fridge.
I was about to head to my room when the lift door dinged open, revealing Zach and Keiran. I quickly darted for the hallway and hid around the corner.
Both men's voices resonated through the living room, getting closer as they walked into the kitchen. If the past was any indication, I knew I shouldn't be eavesdropping. The things I had overheard last time were still haunting me.
Relinquishing any desire to listen to them further, I turned toward my room. However, there was a word uttered by one of the men that made me freeze midstep.
My ears twitched, and I immediately pressed myself against the wall, trying to focus on their conversation.
"Fucking FBI agent! All I asked for was one folder. How fucking hard is that?! It's not like I'm asking him to give me a fucking kidney. I put everything aside when he needed my help and made it happen. Now that it's time to return the favor, he's hesitating." Zach's angry voice echoed through the kitchen.
"Dude, calm down. It's a high-profile case. The file was tampered with, and they tagged it because of that. So he can't just pull it out of his ass. I know it's frustrating, but there's nothing more we can do but wait." Keiran tried to reason with Zach.
I could hear the clinking of plates and what sounded like beer bottles popping.
My brain went into overdrive, and all I could think about was what kind of folder Zach desperately needed from an FBI agent. Was I overthinking this? Zach worked for many secret service agencies, so it shouldn't surprise me that he was trying to get hold of a folder. It could be just another project he was doing. So why was this raising flags in my mind?
"This is ridiculous! All I want to do is protect her. Someone out there wants to hurt her, and until I can get my hands on that folder, I don't know who it is. Not knowing what I need to protect her from is killing me." Zach's voice suddenly went from angry to remorseful.
"How about we just ask Stacey? I'm sure she would appreciate you being honest with her. Us going behind her back to try and dig up her past could backfire and piss her off instead. These women are so hard to understand. Even if we are doing something good to protect them, they will still get mad at us." Keiran grumbled.
They were talking about getting ahold of my FBI folder. How the hell had Zach and Keiran found out about my involvement with the FBI?!
Knots started forming in my stomach pit as my mind spiraled out of control.
The same question was playing in my head over and over again. *How did they know, and what all did they know?!*
I instantly bolted for my room. I had to tell Derek about this.
Once in my room, I grabbed my phone with shaky hands and dialed Derek's number. When he didn't pick up, I texted him that I was coming to see him and quickly changed out of my uniform.
It wasn't until I was ready to go that I realized how late it really was. Derek lived in Mountlake Terence, and the fast way to get to him at this hour was Uber.
I tried to be as quiet as I could as I headed for the lift. Relief washed over me when I saw the lights in the kitchen and living room had been turned off.
The man must have called it a night which meant there was little chance I would get caught trying to sneak out.
I rode the lift to the ground floor and quickly booked an Uber. The security guard gave me a weird look before opening the door for me. I silently prayed that he wouldn't inform Zach I was leaving.
As I stood outside waiting for my Uber, I tried calling Derek again, but he was still not answering. Of all the days, today was the day he chose to go missing in action.
The Uber finally arrived, and I quickly got in, not wanting to waste precious time.
Derek's apartment was about 20-25 minutes away, which gave me time to think about all the decisions I had made that made my life such a mess.
I closed my eyes, and memories of the first day I had met Knox replayed in my head as if it had only happened yesterday. I could never forget walking into that hospital room to find him sitting beside his so-called uncle. Those hazel eyes had drawn me in almost immediately.
But the butterfly effect that changed the course of my life was the day Derek brought Knox to the coffee shop near my building. Unbeknown to me, Derek and Knox had been college friends and stayed in contact after graduation. Knox was staying at Derek's place while he was in town visiting his uncle. After our coffee shop encounter, Knox told Derek that he found me attractive.
Even though I knew Derek's heart was in the right place when he set me up with Knox, the whole situation reminded me that no matter how well or how long you've known someone, you can never really know them.
Everything that happened between Knox and me after that was a hundred percent on me. All the red flags were there, but I chose to ignore them for some reason. Although, the biggest red flag was when he disappeared without a trace after a year of us being in a serious relationship. He had left behind a chain of questions that finally popped the bubble I was living in, bringing me back to reality.
And in reality, the man I had loved and was planning to spend my life with turned out to be the country's most notorious drug and weapons dealer.
The Uber started to slow down, and I opened my eyes to find us parked in front of Derek's building. I thanked the driver and quickly got out.
The FBI owned the six-floor building Derek lived in. All the witness protection handlers lived on the bottom three floors, while the top three floors were set up with equipment for surveillance and was a temporary safe house for witnesses if needed.
The cold night hit me like a brick wall as I walked the short distance to the building's main door. Something about the darkness made me pause and look over my shoulder. My heart started racing as I remembered how Jaxson scanned the area around my old apartment.
*Was someone watching me?!*
The empty road sent a shiver down my spine. Like a bat out of hell, I took the last few steps to the door and pressed the intercom button.
A loud beep made me jump a little before a voice boomed out of the intercom requesting I look at the camera above the door. Then, after what seemed like hours, there was another loud beep, and the door screeched open.
I quickly looked over my shoulder again and let myself in, trying to shake off the weird jitters I was getting.
Before I could walk any further into the building, the lift door opened, and Derek came rushing out.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" he barked, quickly looking over my shoulder to ensure I was alone.
"Well, if you bothered to answer your calls, I wouldn't have had to come here." I snapped.
"I was in a meeting. What was so important that you couldn't wait?!" Derek argued.
I could tell I had caught him at a bad time. But, it didn't matter because what I was about to say to him would make his mood worse.
"Zach and Keiran know. I don't know how but they know about my involvement with the FBI." I blurted out, trying to even my rigid breathing.
I watched Derek's eyes widen. His lips moved like he wanted to say something, but no words came out. He blinked rapidly and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Th-... that's… that's not possible. How?!" Derek stuttered.
"I think I should be the one asking you that. How can the FBI be this careless?! How does someone off the street just find out such sensitive information?! Is this how you people look after your witnesses?!" my voice rose with every word I said.
"Zach has connections, Zadie." Derek protested.
"Right, so because he has connections, he can get access to any sensitive information he wants. Is that how Knox got my information?! The last time I checked, he too was very well connected." I was infuriated.
"No, no, that's not… I just… I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for all this. Maybe you took their conversation out of context. Are you sure they were talking about you?." Derek looked frustrated as he ran his hands through his hair repeatedly.
"Are you serious?! Do I look that stupid to you? You think I would come all this way if I were unsure." I shrieked.
"I just.."
"You just what?! Don't know how to protect your witnesses?! Don't know how to protect your friend?!" I yelled, tears starting to burn my eyes.
Derek just stood there staring at me. Regret and sadness were evident in his eyes.
"Let me remind you that before I became a witness, I was your friend. I only agreed to be a witness because you promised to look after me like a friend, not a handler. Is this how you look after a friend? Letting her sensitive information get in the hands of just any bystander." tears were forming in the corner of my eye.
"Zads…" Derek reached out to touch me, but I quickly stepped back.
"Don't touch me! I suggest you go and find out how Zach has found out such sensitive information before I hire a lawyer to sue the FBI for negligence." I growled as tears finally started to spill out of my eyes.
My blood was boiling. Now I was sure it was Knox that had ransacked my apartment. If a decent guy like Zach could get his hands on information about me, a criminal like Knox would definitely be able to as well.
"Zads, calm down. We will figure this out. I made you a promise, and I intend on keeping it." Derek vowed.
Derek's empty promises were not convincing me. I had believed his promises once, and it was the second biggest mistake I had made.
"Come up to the safe house with me. I'll give my boss, Paul, a call and see how we should proceed." Derek moved aside and motioned towards the lift.
I wiped my tears and took a deep breath. Maybe now the FBI would take this matter a little more seriously and find a solution to help me.
I nodded and headed for the lift with Derek in tow. We got in and rode the lift to the fifth floor. Derek made me a coffee and left me there to call his boss.
I don't know how long he was gone, but my eyes started to feel heavy, so I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes. In the darkness of my eyes, more memories of my past loomed. I squeezed my eyes tightly, trying to push the memories away.
Like my nights in Zach's penthouse, the air in the room suddenly thickened, raising the room's temperature. I could feel the static in the air as I wriggled around on the couch, trying to find a comfortable spot to get some sleep.
"Zadie…" Derek's voice interrupted my attempt to sleep.
I opened my eyes to find Derek sitting on the single couch opposite me.
"What did your boss say?" I croaked, wiping the sleep out of my eyes.
Derek looked down at his hands, rubbing them together. There was a gloominess lingering on his face. The five o'clock shadow on his face made him look older than he was.
"He said to ask you to go back to Zach's and find out what all he knows exactly." Derek gulped.
*He said what now?!*
"Excuse me?!" I hissed.
"Paul said we need evidence to show that Zach really does know about your connection with us. We can't just assume things, especially about someone as influential as Zach. Zach has played a crucial role in developing the FBI's technology. We can't piss him off," Derek explained while avoiding eye contact.
I stared at Derek, completely dumbfounded. It was appalling that they even wanted me to go back and spy on Zach just because they didn't want to ruin their relationship with him.
When I didn't respond, Derek cleared his throat and leaned forward.
"I know that is not the answer you were looking for, but Paul made a point. Zach is your best bet to staying alive, and it's safer if you stay there. Plus, if he has breached any rules, Paul will make a deal with him. No charges in return for keeping you safe. But first, we need to know how much he knows and how he found out."
I felt the anger rising in me again. It wasn't Zach's responsibility to keep me alive. No matter how connected he was or how safe his house was. It was the FBI's responsibility to keep me safe. Why were you pulling an innocent man into a war I had waged with a criminal?
I tried to find some sort of remorse in Derek's face, but he had his emotions hidden quite well.
"Okay" was all I said before grabbing my bag and heading for the lift.
I was starting to understand that the FBI didn't care about me. Until they actually caught Knox, I was just a liability, a waste of resources. The FBI was using me for whatever they wanted because they knew I needed them. Without them, I was a walking, talking target. However, now it was apparent I was making a fool of myself by trusting them with my life.
But now, I was done playing their games. If they were just going to mess around with me, I would find another way to keep myself safe. Although, right now, it was in my best interest to just play along until I had a plan.
"Zads…" Derek called from behind me.
The lift door opened, and I got in, turning to look at him.
"From now on, your barren promises and fake sympathy mean nothing to me. Call me again when my friend Derek inhabits your body again and wants to genuinely help me." I told him through my clenched teeth before I pressed the lift button, willing the door to close between us so I didn't have to look at him anymore. My heart ached as I caught the grimace of hurt flash across his face before the doors separated us, leaving me alone with only my thoughts to keep me company.