Agent 1 (Book 3)

Chapter 2

Thirteen's POV

I shift in my bed and glance at the digital clock sitting on my nightstand. I can't remember the last time I slept in this late...even though it's only a little after nine.

I throw back the covers slightly and begin to move out of the bed. I'm the kind of person who can't fall asleep again once they've woken up. It's just not going to happen so there's no point in trying to go back to sleep.

I don't get very far out of the bed before I realize getting up is just not going to happen right now. Not unless Cody removes his arm from around my waist.

I look over my shoulder at him. He's asleep as far as I can tell, but his grip is not letting up. I gently grab hold of his arm and move to lift it of me, but his grip only tightens.

"Cody," I whisper, trying to find out if he's actually awake. His face remains the same, and he doesn't move, but when I try to remove his arm a second time and his other snakes around my waist as well, I know he's awake.

"Cody I need to get up." My back is pressed against his chest and his breath fans over my cheek. He doesn't say anything but when I look over my shoulder I can he's smiling.

"Cody," I mutter and his grip only tightens more. I roll my eyes at him and his remain closed. "What are you planning on doing? Holding me hostage?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." He mumbles, his voice muffled and heavy with sleepiness.

"Well unlike you, I have things to do today." I try to roll out of his grip when he doesn't reply. "Cody." I groan.

He loosens his grip enough for me to turn around and face him. His eyes are still closed but he's got a smile on his face. I shake my head.

"You're ridiculous."

"Shh..." He trails off, eyes still closed. "I'm sleeping."

I watch him 'sleep' for a few minutes before an idea pops into mind. I rest my hands on his chest and just barely brush my lips against his. His arms tighten around me, pulling me into him as he begins to move his lips in sync with mine.

I smile against his lips. "Oh, so you're awake now?" I tease and he smiles before finally opening his eyes.

"Maybe..." He trails off, pressing his lips against mine again. I roll us both over till I'm right by the edge of the bed, and the minute his grip loosens just the slightest, I roll out of his arms and place my feet firmly on the floor.

"Tease." Cody grumbles and I smile widely at him.

I make a move to head to my closet...right up until the point I see what's on my floor. I can't get back into the bed fast enough.

"Changed your mind?" Cody's smug voice sounds off right by my ear.

"You would too if you saw what's lurking on the floor in my room. Never mind that Lily has painted its claws with glittering gold nail polish, put a light up bulb necklace around its neck and a Santa hat on its head. That thing is never going to be anything less than the opposite of what she named it."

Cody's eyes widen and he moves unconsciously further away from the side of the bed.

"I'm going to kill her."

"Angel, or Lily?" I question.

"Either one at this point."

"I will help you."

"How did she even manage to decorate that gator without getting eaten."

"I really don't want to know." I cautiously peek over the side of the bed at Angel. Her eyes-thankfully-are closed and she appears to be sleeping.

"I'm going to try to make it to the closet without getting eaten," I tell Cody. He grabs onto my arm.

"Are you insane?"

"No. I'm just motivated. Besides, I'm fairly certain it's asleep."

I slip off the bed before he can protest. I tiptoe as quietly as I can to the closet. As soon as I'm in I close the door and lock it. It's not going to make much of a difference considering that thing can break down doors whenever it damn well pleases.

I quickly change out of my t-shirt and sweats into a tank top and jeans, slipping my feet into my boots. I open the door cautiously, slowly, and see Cody has made it off the bed and over to his bag that he left on the couch. He's changed into a t-shirt and jeans.

I point to the door and slowly creep over to it, but before I can make it to the door...a low hissing sound comes from behind me.

I freeze in my tracks for a second before sprinting the rest of the way to the door and throwing it open, Cody right behind me. He tries to close the door, but I grab his arm, stopping him.

"No don't. Leave it open. I'd rather that thing leave my room on its own instead of having to break down the door."

We both practically sprint the rest of the way into the kitchen.

"Do I even want to know?" Chase asks when we both enter the kitchen. Cody paces back and forth, hands on his head. I have one hand on my knee and the other over my heart.

"You're internal alarm clock is obviously broken. So I figured I'd give you an alarm clock...obviously I need to find a louder gator." Lily speaks up from her seat on the counter.

Her hair is pulled back into a braid, mixing the two colors of her hair together. A pair of reindeer antlers sit on her head and she's wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, gold sparkling pants, and a pair of red heels with white stripes like candy canes...with spikes.

"Yeah, you're getting her out of my room," I tell her and she just smiles devilishly, crossing one leg over the other, tilting her head to the side and twirling the end of her braid around her fingers.

"She'll come out on her own eventually." Lily waves me off.

Chase hides his amused smile in the rim of his coffee cup.

"Keep laughing buddy, cause you're next," Lily says and Chase pales slightly. I laugh at him.

I take a seat at the counter next to Chase and Lily slides herself across the counter on her stomach till she's over by me.

"So when's my new partner in crime going to get here anyway?" She asks me.

"New partner in crime?"

"Well I mean you hardly count. Most of my crimes were committed against you." She says dismissively. "Brandon was my first partner in crime but even then I was mostly dragging him around against his will anyway."

"Another one of your many crimes," I mutter and she begins to poke me.

"Well, when's he going to get here?"

I shrug. "He still has to finish healing, and Zero still needs to clear him for duty."

She lets out a groan. "Can't you yell at Zero again?"

"Not this time," I reply, shaking my head.

I have no doubt that's a conversation I wouldn't win, no matter how hard I tried. I'm not keen on trying to argue with Zero to put his son back in the field before he's finished healing after he just got stabbed and poisoned...yeah that conversation would go beautifully.

"Why?" Lily whines. "I'm so bored."

"Go get Angel out of my room then."

"That's no fun."

"It's fun for me."

"But it's not fun for me."

Before I can say anything else, Angel comes stalking into the kitchen. Cody immediately moves behind the counter and Chase and me pull ourselves up till we're sitting on the counter. Lily grins, that mischievous glint never leaving her eyes.

"Angel!" She calls out in a sing-song voice and to the shock of all of us, Angel actually moves towards Lily's voice.

Lily hops off the counter, landing in front of Angel and slides to the ground, sitting in front of her. She pats her leg and whistles like Angel's some kind of dog, and Angel comes walking over. She lays down, putting her giant head on Lily's lap and closes her eyes like she's trying to sleep.

Lily leans down to where Angel's ears would be and whispers sweet nothings in her ear and places a kiss on her head, her hand stroking Angel like she's an overgrown dog and not a giant evil demon gator.

The boys have a look of shock on their face that probably mirrors my own. When it's around Lily...it's actually an Angel. Lily grins at us.

"Unbelievable," I mutter, but I make no move to get off the counter.

"What's so unbelievable?" Lily questions. She places another kiss on Angel's scaly head. "She's exactly like I named her, a little Angel." She coos and it lifts it's head when she says its name.

"That's not possible," Chase mumbles in shock, not taking his eyes off Angel or Lily.

I lean over so I'm closer to him. "It's got the same temperament as Lily...no wonder they get along."

"Do you want some breakfast?" Lily continues to coo, totally ignoring us and only talking Angel. Lily kisses it one more time before sliding herself away from it and getting to her feet.

"Alright, Angel needs to eat. Which one of you are we feeding her today?"

Chase and Cody widen their eyes and look at each other before turning to look at me. Their eyes asking me if she's serious.

I hope she's not.

"I'm totally kidding." Lily waves off their panic as she walks towards the fridge. "You guys seriously need to learn how to take a joke."

She grabs a ton of packets of raw chicken breasts from inside the refrigerator. She takes a pair of scissors from the drawers and sits back on the floor next to Angel. She begins to open up the packets and toss the chicken into Angel's wide open jaws.

Cody, Chase and Me cringe every time Angel shut's her jaws with an audible snap. Forget Devin giving me nightmares. Lily and Angel are going to ensure I never sleep again.

"I'm changing the password to my room," I announce and Lily scowls at me.

"That's no fair." She mumbles as she tosses Angel another piece of chicken. "How I am I going to get in?"

"You're not. That's the point."

"Well, you're out of luck then Chase," Lily says with a devious smile. "I can't get to either of them but your room doesn't have a password."

"It has a lock," Chase tells her, but there's a horrified look in his eyes.

"Do you really think I can't pick that lock?" Lily challenges. Chase pales. Lily laughs evilly. "Ready or not here I come." She mutters in a sing-song voice that could easily be featured in a horror movie.

Angel's jaws slamming shut only adds to the effect and Chase winces, moving further along the counter away from both Angel and Lily.

"Lily," I speak up and she lifts her head up to look at me. "I had a nice little homemade for that thing so that you wouldn't bring it into the house," I tell her.

"But she gets lonely," Lily says as she puts her hands under Angel's nose and lifts it up, planting a kiss on Angel's nose.

"I really don't think she gets lonely Lily."

"Uh yes, she does. She misses me when I'm gone...I mean I guess I could leave her out there but then I'd need to get her a companion."

"She can stay in the house."

Lily shows me her devilish smile and mischief filled eyes.

"That's what I thought." She mutters as she continues stroking Angel's scaly head.