2: Going undercover

KATHY

"Katherine, Katherine" Daniel called out to me while I was walking as fast as my legs could carry me.

My hands were shaking and my heels were suddenly too loud that my feet felt numb. My chest hurt so badly that I couldn't breathe properly.

"Katherine, wait!" he said again. "It's not what you think"

Is he for fucking real? The image of him with HER on the bed... butt naked... popped in my head and I stopped walking.

Why did I stop? No idea but I should have kept walking because the moment he got to where I was standing and held my hand, I spun around and gave him a slap across the face.

That must have hurt because he winced and let go of my hand.

"Then what exactly does it look like Daniel?" I asked, my voice cracking.

He opened his mouth and tried to speak but nothing. He had no excuse to give.

"How long?" I asked again.

"What?" He asked, acting confused.

"How fucking long?"

"A few months" he said.

That was all I needed to hear. My heart shattered.

This was the same Daniel I was laughing with just two days ago. The same Daniel that professed his undying love for me and promised to give me the world.

We'd been dating for over two years and I thought he'd finally pop the question with a big ass rock, but here I was.

God.

I was such an idiot.

I wasn't ready to hear whatever nonsense he had to say because I got into my car and drove off.

By the time I got home I was exhausted... emotionally, mentally, physically.

I unlocked the front door and went inside.

The light suddenly came on and...

"SURPRISE!"

I nearly had a heart attack.

Nana my grandmother and Gabriella were looking at me with big smiles on their faces, Gabriella was holding a cake with exactly 24 candles that were all lit up.

I was surprised, but my throat tightened as the tears I was trying to hold back for the past 20 mins finally started pouring down my face.

Nana's smile immediately disappeared and Gabriella rushed to drop the cake on the table while they both came up to me.

"Oh, baby" Nana said softly as she gave me a hug which was just what I needed.

I sat on the couch curled up with a blanket wrapped around me. I had gotten out of the dress and make up.

The thought of them again, the bed, naked, a few months of lies and I broke down again. Gabriella looked like she was ready to commit a crime while Nana just held my hand gently.

"You can talk to us. You're not alone" she said.

That was the thing about me people didn't really know about.

I could handle anything, the dangers at work, being almost shot on a weekly basis, I could beat a criminal that is twice my size but what I really couldn't handle was being tricked and left alone.

"I hate him" Gabriella announced.

"I hate him too" Nana nodded.

Despite everything, I laughed.

"Thank you" I said, drying the tears from my eyes.

"If I ever see Daniel again, I'm keying his car" Gabriella said crossing her arms.

"Gabby..." Nana warned.

My gaze drifted to the frame sitting on the shelf. It was my parents and me.

"You miss them" Nana said.

"Everyday" I nodded.

I think of them everyday, I couldn't forget that day. I was just 6 years old but I remember it like yesterday.

Mom and Dad wanted to go out that day, I wanted to go with them, I obviously couldn't go with them, but they didn't tell me that. Didn't want to break my tiny little heart.

So instead, they said we'd play hide and seek!

I'd hide, they'd seek. They tricked me.

I hid in my tiny closet for 6 hours, they never found me.

Instead the police and Nana found me and when they did, Nana had to tell me that mom and dad were away for some kind of work, so I'd be living with her.

Another trick.

Two years later when I was 8 years old, Nana found Iris, my step sister who was 10 years old. I was so happy that I didn't get to be alone until I found out from Iris that Dad had died. That was how I found out about my parents death.

Nana never held a funeral because she couldn't believe her son was dead until they eventually found his remains.

_________________

The next morning I managed to get out of bed and got ready for work.

I walked into the precint looking like nothing had happened.

The celebration from catching Petrov yesterday was apparently still ongoing... someone taped a little banner on my desk that said KATHERINE GETS HER MAN which was ironic, given what happened last night

I ripped it out of my desk, rolled it into a ball and threw it in my trash can. I gulped down the horrible precinct coffee and was about to start my work day.

"Bishop" Officer Reeves leaned over "Harris wants you"

Great.

I made my way upstairs and found his office. I gave a slight knock and was gestured inside.

"Katherine"

"Sir" I responded straightening up

"Sit"

I obeyed.

He studied me for a moment before sliding a file across the desk.

I looked down at the photograph and my stomach dropped.

Gray eyes, dark coat, a face I had been trying not to think about since yesterday.

Viktor Svyatoslav.

"We want to launch a new operation" commissioner Harris said.

"What kind of operation?" I asked.

"An undercover mission"

Okay. But I was still wondering what it had to do with me.

"We're going after Viktor head on" he said.

I should tell him.

I should tell Harris I saw Viktor yesterday... right?

But then I would have to explain why I didn't say anything since yesterday. Why I didn't report it immediately.

Why I spent almost the whole day thinking about a criminal even though I was trying not to.

So I stayed silent.

"We need to infiltrate his house" he continued.

"What?!"

"We need someone smart enough to get close to him."

Oh no!

No. Please no.

"Detective Katherine Bishop, you're going undercover"