Princess

You may be surprised to note that I didn’t burst out laughing at Luke’s proclamation. Instead, I asked, calmly as I could, “Why?”

He looked slightly baffled. “It’s obvious to anyone that he doesn’t really care about you. I could crack an egg that would cook on your forehead with that temperature you were running. But yet Owen didn’t really seem to think of it as a big deal.”

“Is that all?” I felt like rolling my eyes at him. “It really isn’t a big deal. Where I come from...having a fever really doesn’t count for anything.”

Luke stared at me, surprise writing out the puzzlement. “Christina, where do you come from? I think that it’s worse than where I do.”

I smiled grimly. “You have no idea.”

Luke shook himself out of his amazement and continued, “But that’s not all. I...was there last night, I...um...arrived later. You’d already left with Dylan at that point. Owen hadn’t left yet and I saw him with my uncle.”

“Dylan’s...father?” My voice was still a little hoarse but I think that if I hadn’t controlled it, it would’ve cracked.

He nodded once. “Yeah, I still can’t quite figure out how Owen knows Dylan’s father, he’s...rather private and particular about the company that he keeps...a little bit of a security freak. So I don’t really know why he would know him.”

I tried not to let this get to me. It was entirely possible that Owen would know Sean Fuller because of those mysterious ‘connections’ that he had mentioned before (after all, this school was part ran by the Mafia as Dylan had demonstrated with Principal Lee) but it would also be unusually convenient and disturbingly suspicious.

I smiled lightly. I knew that my acting wasn’t good but either Luke was very naive or he had complete trust in me because he seemed a little reassured that I could still be smiling after realising that my ex-boyfriend, whom I’d already known that I couldn’t completely trust but still felt as though I could at least somewhat depend on, had connections with a man who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.

Since I couldn’t control my inner turmoil, I tried to project what I wanted to feel. “I’m sure Owen has his friends. You really have nothing to worry about.”

But I did.
***
“I would like to know what you sent Owen here.”

Calloway sighed. “Kristen. I believe we have gone through this before. You have your own ways of handling your cases and I, unlike some other superiors, respect you for that. However, there comes a time when your efforts don’t appear to be working and I have every right to send whomever I think would aid you.”

In short, it meant that she sent him here because she thought that I wasn’t moving fast enough. So it looked like Owen had been telling me the truth. Being sick actually had its perks, in a way, because I could have a conversation with Calloway without Owen being in the room. I could imagine how great that would have felt.

And I know that it was unreasonable, even a little illogical; t0 start to question Owen’s agenda after Luke warned me. It should’ve been Luke Ouverson that I should be looking out for, because he was connected to Dylan Fuller, yet I was taking his advice seriously.

Still, I couldn’t help but do so. “I’ll complete my case ASAP and send you the details when I can.”

My finger hovered on the ‘end call’ button, I had so many things I needed to straighten out and I needed time and space to think through them, but Calloway interrupted me. Her expression frosty, she said, “I hope you haven’t been putting ideas in Owen’s head, Kristen. I received a message from him yesterday, requesting permission to leave the Agency after completing this case. Have you been manipulating his feelings for you?”

“His feelings for me? Are you kidding me? He has none of that sort of crap for me. You should ask him yourself instead of interrogating me.” No matter how hard I tried to control myself, how I tried to appear cool and collected like Calloway, I could never do it. I really did need help in the acting department. “Besides, he’s been the one that has been manipulating me.”

It was kind of strange though, that Owen would want to leave something that he felt great pleasure and did fantastic at. I’d never seen any inclinations that he would. Did this have something to do with what Luke had seen? Did Owen intend to join Sean Fuller after leaving?

“I had hoped that you would have gotten over that childish spat you had with Owen but it appears that you have not matured.” Calloway smiled nastily, upset that I had problems with her favourite agent. It was no secret that Owen was her protégé, the one she had greatest hopes for.

Hopefully, it would not cloud her judgment though. “I have some disturbing information about Owen though. I had an...informant that told me that he saw Owen with Sean Fuller at Luke Ouverson and Tia Ridge’s engagement ball last night.”

“What are you implying?” Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion but I could also see a little paranoia in them. This she had in common with Sean Fuller.

“I think Owen may be more involved with the Mafia than we thought.”

She cocked her head to the side, seriously considering it. I was glad that she had not let her fondness for Owen impair her consideration...though I guessed I shouldn’t have doubted her to begin with. “I will look into that. In the mean time, Kristen, I would like you to work with Owen. At this moment, he is the only person you can trust.”

I nodded, but wondered if Calloway really knew all that much about trust.
***
Dylan plopped his tray next to mine and sat down. “I feel as though it’s been a really long time since I talked to you, Princess.”

I rolled my eyes at him. It had been a few weeks after I fell sick and I guessed it was kind of true. For someone who claimed that he liked me (here I go sounding like a jealous girlfriend. Which I wasn’t), Dylan Fuller had kept away from me past few weeks as though I had some sort of infectious disease. Maybe he thought that Owen Harrison had some claim on me as my ex boyfriend and didn’t dare to make a move or maybe he had something planned.

I was leaning towards the second, since the first was unlikely because Owen was sitting right next to me.

Hearing those words, Owen lifted his eyebrows and shifted himself such that he was closer to me. I wondered if it was a conscious or unconscious move before deciding upon conscious. There was no reason other than being ordered here that Owen would purposely sit so close to me.

All this thinking was starting to get to me, so I focused on Dylan and said, “I thought we’re over the whole Princess thing.”

Dylan smiled. “Nope. You’re still in that ivory tower.”
Owen frowned. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Nothing. At least nothing to do with you.”
“She has everything to do with me.”
He let out a short frustrated laugh. “You wish.”
“If you have a problem man, spit it out.” Owen stared daggers at him, inching closer to me. “I don’t appreciate you and your veiled sarcastic little comments.”
“Thank you for the compliment but those comments aren’t for your benefit, anyway.”

Owen tilted his head to the side, studying Dylan. Then, turning to me, he said, “You were right, he is pretty annoying.”

Turning beetroot red, though I wasn’t sure why since I’d practically said that to Dylan’s face though never to Owen, I didn’t take Owen’s bait. Instead, I said, “So, what’s up?”

“Nothing really, I have a couple of papers I need to hand in, Luke’s still pissed about you know what and Tia’s...well, I think you would know what’s happening with her more than I do, considering you guys have that secret girl thing going on.”

I couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. I did know what was going on with Tia but it wasn’t anything particularly good. She had been pretty torn up about the whole engagement present thing (and I realised that I truly lived in a psychotic world where one little present could have such an impact and so many hidden meanings) but I had tried to explain to her that Luke was sort of pissed at the whole thing as well. I didn’t know if she believed me but I think she was a little comforted with that knowledge.

But I found all out by talking to her and not by a ‘secret girl thing’ as Dylan thought.

“I think Tia will be fine. She’s been disappointed many times before so I don’t really know if she believes what I said but she’ll be okay.”

Dylan nodded. His gaze turned towards Owen. As though something suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “By the way, what brings you to this lovely school?”

“I just set a couple of fires around my neighbourhood. No big deal.” It sounded so flippant that I would’ve believed it was the truth as well.

Dylan whistled. “Wow, Princess. You sure know how to pick them.”

My smile grew a little forced. Giving on having a civil conversation, I took a few bites of the food and was a little taken aback by how good it tasted....and how it was because of Dylan that we had better food. Thinking of that reminded me of who Dylan really was and how I really shouldn’t be wasting time like this.

I’d told Calloway that I would complete the mission as soon as possible, yet I had let time slip away for the past few weeks. I needed to kick this game into gear, starting with a few innocently posed questions perhaps. “So...where was your father that day? At Tia’s engagement ball, I mean.”

It was only after I asked the question that I realised that Owen could have a part to play in it. I glanced at him to see what sort of reaction he would have but he didn’t give anything away. Instead, he was busy chewing on his food and looking a little surprised at how good it was.

I turned back to face Dylan. He pulled a face at the mention of his father. “I don’t know. I guessed he should’ve been there to watch the show, since he was the one who initiated the whole engagement, but who the hell gives a damn?”

Well, I had no idea Dylan felt so strongly about his father. What I couldn’t figure out was if Dylan was like this because he knew how miserable the engagement had been or because he honestly didn’t like all the crimes his father was committing. I would like to have believed that it was the latter, because it would make everything I was feeling easier if I knew that there was some good in Dylan.

“You really shouldn’t talk about your father like that.”

I gawped at Owen. But he ignored me, smirking at Dylan. “After all, having you heard that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree? You may very well turn out like him... I’d be a little more respectful keeping that in mind.”

“You sound just like my father.” Dylan said this as though it riled him.

Owen continued smirking. “Well, maybe that would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?”

Dylan didn’t reply. Instead, he was clenching his drink so hard that his knuckles were turning white, almost as if he was going to lose control of himself if he didn’t have anything else to take it out on.

What was happening? Really, I would’ve liked to know but I didn’t. The tension between them was obvious, the air almost sizzled with it but I didn’t know how to break it. So I did the best I could and accidentally-on-purpose toppled my water over Owen. Then, smiling sweetly, I said, “Class’s going to start soon. I guess you should go get changed?”

Owen glared at me, conveying the message that he knew what I was doing by trying to lure him away but he did as I suggested, though with hostility emanating from him.

After he left, Dylan stared at him warily before relaxed slightly, releasing his drink and taking a bite of his lunch. Then he turned his eyes to me. “There’s really something wrong with your ex, Princess.”

I shrugged although I knew it too. Owen had been defending Sean Fuller (which in itself was already bizarre) and wasting my time when I could’ve been gathering more data. It was highly unusual of him to mess up like that, especially when he knew what I had riding on it. Yet, he’d provoked Dylan and seemed entirely unapologetic about it. “I think maybe he just hasn’t totally adjusted to this environment yet.”

“Oh no, I think he’s done fine. After all, he’s already picking fights like he’s a pro.”

I grinned. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Dylan was now completely relaxed, the tension melting away from him. “I didn’t imagine that arsonists were your type, Princess.”

“And how would you know what my ‘type’ is?” I had to admit, I kind of wanted to know since Dylan did seem to know or be able to infer a lot about me.

Dylan smiled. “I don’t know. You’re a bit of a mystery but honestly, I never did think that you’d like Owen.”

You’re a bit of a mystery. For some reason, I preferred hearing this rather than him actually telling me who I’d liked and really, was it wrong for my heart to have sped up a little after hearing those words?
***