His new spy

His almond eyes were trained on the beauty who was sleeping without a care in the world after scaring him to his bone. His black coat was lying on the couch and his crisp button-up shirt was drenched in his sweat. The cuffs were unlinked with sleeves folded to elbows, his golden Rolex dangling around his left wrist while his other hand was busy stroking her hair. No one can read his expression as his eyes were cold, lips sealed in a thin line, and jaw set but despite his reticent and cold aura, his actions were tender and gentle.

Evelyn, on the other hand, was in a hospital gown with a cannula attached to her left hand and her mouth covered with an oxygen mask. The beeping of machines and his soft breaths were the only sound that could be heard in the small room.

After bringing Evelyn to the hospital, Xander was frantically pacing in the hallway. His perfect chocolate brown hair was reduced into a mare’s nest because of his habit of combing them whenever he is stressed. His rage for Evelyn got replaced with sheer concern and fear. His heartbeat amplified whenever his gaze flitted to the door of the ward where she was being treated. Joseph and Sara were also worried for Evelyn but relief washed over them when the doctor told them that it was a minor attack and not something serious. The news where brought smiles to her assistants’ faces; it brought a boulder of guilt for Xander as he was blaming himself for giving her such a tough time.

A light knock on the door broke his stupor. Sighing, Xander stood up and bend slightly to plant a soft kiss on her forehand before he turned his heels to check the visitor. Twisting the knob, he opened the door only to get blinded with rage after finding Brandon there. Eyes brimming with deep concern, Brandon looked behind Xander only to find Evelyn lying on the bed.

Ignoring the seething man in front of him, Brandon tried to barge in but was stopped as Xander grabbed his collar and pushed him outside.

“Let me fucking see her, Xander,” Brandon finally exploded. He was tired of Xander accusing him of Evelyn’s condition.

“NO!!” Xander grated. He quickly turned around and locked the door of her room before he again grabbed his collar and dragged to him an empty hallway. Reaching there, he pushed him roughly. Brandon stumbled but balanced himself with the support of the wall.

He heaved a frustrated sigh and tried to explain to him, “Listen to me-“

“NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD LISTEN TO YOU!!” Xander didn’t let him complete and pounced on him like a raging bull. Fisting his collar, he pinned him on the wall and spat on his face, “How dare you hurt her? So, this was you the whole time and I was unnecessarily blaming her.”

His eyes were red and his jaw was clenched revealing his razor-sharp jawline.

Brandon groaned. The way Xander was concluding things on his own had started to fester him.

“YOU ALSO KNOW THAT IT’S NOT TRUE”, he screamed back, “You are well aware that I can never harm Evelyn. You know my purpose for coming here. If I just wanted to traumatize Evelyn, wouldn’t I have caged her in my house after abducting her from the hospital? I dropped her at her home safely but when I went to meet her, she was furious to see me there. Things aren’t going well for me also, Xander.” He raged.

Xander snorted and yanked him harshly, “Of course, she will be mad at you. You are bringing troubles into her life since the day you arrived. And the way you said about kidnapping her, you know what friend, you just revealed your thoughts, in short, your sadistic side to me.”

He grated and the next moment, a hard blow landed on his jaw. Dark red liquid spattered on the white wall as Xander staggered back and looked at Brandon who was breathing heavily.

“I have enough of you, bonehead. What proof do you have that I am her stalker? Just because she fainted or you crammed her head with loads of shit against me.”

Xander snickered, his eyes teeming with amusement. Wiping his lips with the back of his palms, he spoke, “All right, I brainwashed her but is she five that she came into my words and started doubting you? Evelyn was suspicious of you from the beginning itself and I, I simply fan the flames.” He mused.

Brandon chuckled as Xander sounded so ridiculous to him, “I can’t believe you’re willing to risk Evelyn’s life just because of your stupid assumptions.”

His remark scathed Xander turning his eyes to a darker shade. Prowling towards him with threatening steps, he was about to attack him again when Brandon gave him a hard clout on his abdomen.

Xander coughed blood as the impact was so strong that knocked the air out of his lungs. He stooped by holding his waist when Brandon pulled him up by the collar and slammed him on the wall.

Xander let out a loud groan but his anger didn’t curb him from speaking his mind, “So, this is your true face, huh? A wild and violent psychopath who stalks an innocent woman, turns her paranoid, and goes around hurting people who try to help her.” he seethed while glaring at him with hooded eyes. The pain was making him dizzy.

“You’re right.” Brandon suddenly affirmed freezing Xander to the bone.

“What?”, he couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yup, you’re right. Evelyn’s stalker is indeed a psychopath but I would also like to add a few words, Xander. Things which you forgot to mention.”

His pitch dropped an octave as he continued, “Her stalker is an obsessed and dangerous Mafia who had been keeping tabs on Evelyn for the last two years with his spies lurking around her and reporting her every detail to him within seconds. He keeps records of everything related to Evelyn, whether it concerns her company or her home. He even knows when she comes home, at which time she wakes up and leaves for the office, what she eats, and whom she meets. Her stalker has stashed portfolios of her employees, house staff, clients, and business partners. I bet Evelyn’s stalker knows her more than she knows herself.”

Xander was horror-struck by the end. Brandon smirked at his ashen face.

“You’re-“

“Nope,” Brandon instantly cut him midway as he raised his index finger in the air, “It is not me and you bloody know that. So, drop your act because I know you’re here to catch the gangster who has been stalking our best friend.”

Xander looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights, “W-What are you talking about?” He tried to sound confident but failed miserably. His temper flared when Brandon bought none of his lies and kept looking at him with a frivolous smile coating his lips.

“ALL RIGHT!!” Xander blared and snatched his collar away from his hold, “You got me.” He snapped and dropped his gaze to the floor in defeat.

Brandon grinned at his annoyed and helpless face. He crossed his arms before leaning his back on the wall, “Yes, I did. But what I failed to pinpoint is why were you putting all the blame on me. Are you trying to save Evelyn or conspiring against her by playing devil’s advocate?” He took a jibe at him.

Xander immediately shot him a stink eye but then something clicked inside his mind. Brandon frowned watching the calmness on his face.

“How come you know so much about him?” he shot him a question. Brandon broke into cold sweats but quickly schooled his expression to hide his fear.

“Just like you, I did my research.” He said and shrugged his shoulders.

Xander huffed, “And yet you didn’t do anything about it.” He spoke sternly.

Brandon looked him dead in the eyes, “Well, that’s the catch, Xander. I can’t help you even if I want to.”

His words left him puzzled. Walking closer to him, Xander glared into his charcoal eyes before snarling, “And why is that huh?”

Brandon was the first to break eye contact as he heaved a deep sigh and lowered his gaze.

“Because I work for him.”

“ARGHH!!”

An ear-piercing scream echoed in the empty hallway. Xander grabbed his nape and looked at Brandon with shock-filled eyes. His jaw dropped when he noticed the empty syringe in his right hand.

“W-WHAT??” Xander tried to fight the drug but unfortunately, that deadly liquid coursed through his veins like molten lava and consumed all his energy.

His eyes turned droopy. Brandon, on the other hand, tossed the syringe on the floor. There wasn’t a single scar of remorse on his face. His dark and empty eyes stared at his best friend who sagged to the ground coldly.

Brandon looked as if he was devoid of emotions. His glacial stare and ominous aura suffocated Xander to the point that he couldn’t bear it and eventually, ended up succumbing to darkness but not before giving Brandon a stare that represented hurt because of his brutal betrayal.

Brandon waited for his breath to become steady. Once he was confirmed that Xander wasn’t conscious anymore, he crouched beside him by placing his right knee on the floor and started checking his pockets thoroughly.

“Ah, there it is”

A smirk settled on his lips as he fished out something from the pocket of his pants. It was a wallet. Without dallying further, he opened it.

“So, I was right,” Brandon chuckled as he wrested out the white card. Holding it between his index and middle finger he inspected it while the smirk on his face never wavered.

“You’re working for the cops, Pooh.”

Scoffing, he crushed the card between his fingers but then his jaw clenched. A vein on his temple throbbed realizing that Xander was now a secret agent and he had no fucking idea. That means Xander already knew that he wasn’t at fault, he was just using him as bait to catch the big fish.

Suddenly a shadow loomed over him.

“He wouldn’t die with this, right?” Brandon spoke in his deep voice; his gaze was glued on the unconscious figure sprawled on the floor.

“No, he would just forget everything that conspired but Sir I warned you earlier also and I will reiterate the same things today. The drug becomes ineffective once the persons encounter the same situation. His or her trauma would trigger leading to bad consequences,” The female doctor replied while holding on to her breath.

Brandon didn’t respond. He stood up to his mighty height and then gazed at the poor doctor who was looking at him with apprehension.

“Pray it doesn’t happen or I would blast the entire hospital.”

His threat turned her blood cold.

She vigorously shook her head in denial, “Please don’t do that, Sir. I have warned you before prescribing this drug. Its side effects can’t be avoided. The memories which have been erased forces its place back in their mind when people encountered the same harrowing experience. Victims usually go into all-fight mode but that depends on person to person. Some counter their fears by choosing violence but those who have a weak heart choose to escape reality and end up fainting. That’s what happened with Ms. Clarke. She also must have hallucinated her trauma because of a similar face that reminded her of her culprit.”

No sooner she had completed than her neck was grasped in a tight hold. Tears pooled in her amber eyes as Brandon pushed her against a wall and loomed over like a grim reaper.

“What did you say? CARE TO FUCKING REPEAT!!” he bellowed earning a shrill cry.

“I-I am sorry, Sir. I was just telling you that t-this drug is dangerous.” The lady blabbered in fear.

“Then find something safe and don’t show me your face until you come up with a solution.” His voice was like a spell of death that made the pale girl bob her head repetitively.

Giving her a death glare, Brandon released her and stepped back. The shivering girl also weaseled out and took large steps away from him while massaging her neck.

Breathing heavily, Brandon sized her from head to toe. Her swollen eyes were shedding tears nonstop ruining her soft cheeks. His gaze further dropped to her strawberry nose, quivering lips, wobbling chin, and then to her ID near her breasts.

The young lady couldn’t hold back her scream when he suddenly swooped on her and grabbed her ID.

“Daisy Fells. Nice name”

He drawled out her name before peering at her blotched face. Daisy said nothing and kept looking down while wiping her tears with the back of her palm.

“AARON!!!”

She flinched hard when Brandon roared and within a second, a tall lanky guy with a pale complexion hurried inside along with two buff guys. The man named Aaron glanced at her terrified form and then shifted his eyes to Brandon.

“Yes, Boss.”

“Take him away,” Brandon said in a clipped tone and his men immediately jumped to action. The muscular guys grabbed Xander from the ground by supporting him on their shoulders and dragged him away with Aaron leading their way.

Daisy was busy gawking at them when suddenly Brandon turned to her making her jump. He approached her within two long strides and gazed down at her. She quickly looked down, unable to meet his intimidating gaze.

“Nothing happened right?” he rasped. She understood the hidden caveat and nodded.

“That’s better.” Brandon smiled in contentment while she prayed for him to leave her alone. But as if luck wasn’t at her side today because the next moment, he patted her right cheek. Brandon smirked at her blanched face before he moved back giving the girl space. Daisy didn’t waste a second and scurried away.

Brandon smiled at her escaping like a scaredy cat. For some reason, he liked teasing her and the way she looked obeyed his every command, he found it cute. Once her figure disappeared, his eyes again lost all their warmth. Pivoting his heels, he headed to meet Evelyn.

*****

“Are you kidding me?”

Brandon stepped inside the room only to be met with an empty bed. He darted his eyes around and hurried to check the bathroom but found no one.

A peeved expression marred his face knowing very well whose deed it was.

“Dylan”