Page 93 of The Bonventi Hitman

Fuck.

I’m pregnant.

ANNA - 34

Igrab the keys on the counter and head outside.

It takes me more time than I'd like to admit before I figure out you don't actually need to stick a key into the ignition to start the car; you just need to press a button.

When the car comes to life, the screens light up with blue accents that, when paired with the cream interior color, make me feel like I'm in a million-dollar car, or at the very least one celebrities are caught by the paparazzi in.

As I drive downtown, toward my rendezvous with the FBI, I can't get past the notion that this is all going to blow up in my face and I'm on borrowed time. I turn on the radio and blast it to clear my mind. I roll down the windows and let the breeze drift my mind to other thoughts.

When I get close to my destination, I know two things are probably certain. One, there has to be a way for Gabriel to track this car, and two, he's definitely tracking the phone.

With those things in mind, I find a parking garage that's not too close to the boutique masquerading as an FBI location, and I decide to accidentally forget the phone in my car.

I walk inside the boutique store and into the hidden room.

I pick up the phone in the room, and as soon as I do, it immediately starts ringing. On the fifth ring, a familiar voice answers, "Agent Harris."

"Agent Harris, it's me, Anna Bennett. I?—"

"Shit, okay, stay there. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

"I don't?—"

"Do not leave. I repeat, do not leave. Stay put. We're coming to you."

He hangs up without letting me speak.

I pace around the small hidden room, and it starts to feel increasingly claustrophobic. I grapple with the questions: what do I tell them? How much do I reveal?

The truth?

That I've fallen for a ruthless hitman and I've compromised myself in ways I never thought possible.

I close my eyes.

Breathe, just breathe.

Then there's the information about the blue warehouse, the planned hit on the Russians. That's valuable intel, the kind that could potentially bring down multiple crime families. That's originally why I'm here, after all. It's why Bill...

A lump forms in my throat at the thought of Bill. What would he think of me now? Would he be proud of how far I've infiltrated, or ashamed of how much I've lost myself in the process?

I feel as if I'm on a battlefield where duty clashes with desire, where loyalty fights with... love?

Is it?

I don't know, but it's something I've never felt before, and now I'm torn between the woman I was and the woman I've become. Anna Bennett, the FBI agent, sworn to uphold the law, to bring criminals to justice. And Sofia, the mistress of a mafia hitman.

I close my eyes, trying to silence the war within me. But all I see is Gabriel's face, all I hear is his voice, all I feel is his touch. I remember the very first night we spent together, the passion that consumed us, the connection that transcended everything I'd ever known.

The rational part of me knows what I should do. I should tell them everything. It's my job, my duty. But the part of me that's fallen for Gabriel, that part wants to protect him, even if it means betraying everything I've ever stood for.

The door opens suddenly, startling me from my thoughts. Agent Harris enters with another man I've never seen before who's holding a bag.

"Anna," Agent Harris says, his tone serious. "Are you alright?"