Chapter 49
Chapter forty-nine
Annalise
“Where is it?” I say aloud, my hands moving faster as panic starts to spike.
I dump my beach bag turned storage bag out on my desk. Sunscreen, my rolled beach hat, a notebook, too much sand, and an array of pebbles and seashells we found scattered everywhere. Several pieces roll off and crash against the floor as I dig through the mess with shaking hands.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ana, what are you looking for?”
“My anklet! It’s not here, it’s not anywhere!” Aiden tilts his head, thinking. “You took it off before we left the room, remember? You put it in the jewelry tray in the bathroom.”
“I know, I checked there,” I choke out. “I’ve been looking everywhere, but I can’t find it.”
I tear through the bag again, lifting things I just moved, like it might magically appear if I look hard enough. It isn’t until my second frantic sweep comes up empty that Aiden gently catches my hands.
“Hey,” he says softly. “Tyr’s waiting for you to go on your run before class. Why don’t you go do that, and I’ll stay here and look for it, okay?”
“Do you remember what it looks like?”
He scoffs, “Yes, Honey. I remember what the anklet that you wear all day, every day looks like. Now go, I’ll meet you at the vault.”
“Are you sure?”
“He’s sure, Little Faren. You need to practice your morphing, and I need to see you. Your anxiety spike from the other day still has me on edge.”
Feeling guilty for making Tyr’s emotions change without his consent, I kiss Aiden and take off down the hallway for our morning run.
“Seems like all those drinks on the beach are still slowing you down,” Tyr says as he takes another pass overhead. He’s invisible, camouflaged to look like the sky, but I can feel him.
After I told him, Aiden, and Matt about hearing male voices behind me throughout my last run through the woods, they will hardly let me go anywhere alone.
“It’s called a jog. I’m trying not to draw attention to myself, remember?”
“Sure, that’s it. And what was your excuse before we started heading to your class?”
Tyr’s laughing chuff settles me as I head into the woods that run along the obstacle course, my chosen route to the vault today.
Even though I ran it barely three days ago, I still have to fight the reflex to veer onto the course when it comes into view, muscle memory tugging at me like an itch I can’t quite scratch.
I’m surprised when I see Korr, sweaty and shirtless, on the second wooden wall climb. I must look ragged based on the way he disapprovingly looks me over. We exchange nods as I pass, but I feel his eyes tracking me until I turn off to another running path.
“Who is he and what did he do?” Tyr growls.
“What do you mean? He’s my combat instructor.”
“Uh huh…Now the rest of the story.”
Clearly, I’m not getting away from this conversation that easily.
“I just flirted with him a few times before Aiden and I were together. He seemed to return the affection, which was great until I learned he was a slimy bastard who was cheating on his girlfriend. So now I just try not to think about it, or him, even when I’m in his class—which is made even easier by him turning into a gigantic asshole ever since. ”
I add a few extra turns through the forest—nothing crazy, just enough to know I’m not being followed.
“Want me to kill him? His bonded is a Beta, and I’m sure she’ll be mad, but that’s a fight I’m willing to have.”
“No, now that I know he’s just a shitty person, his bullshit remarks just fuel me to work harder in class.
“Oh, and please don’t tell Matt you offered to cover up a murder for me. He’ll get way too excited and will try picking up the Lucas assassination plans again,” I plead.
“On the condition you put some effort into this and actually sprint.”
Thanks to his push, I make it to the vault with fifteen minutes to spare. Aiden is already waiting for me at the top of the steps leading down into the vault.
“Tyr, I’ve got her now,” Aiden says a little louder than necessary with Tyr’s dragon hearing, then he gives me a soft kiss on my slightly sweaty cheek and leads me down into the hidden room.
We’re only a few steps in when Captain Lin approaches us, “Wells and Corvin, I need you to see me after class.”
“What do you think that's about?” I ask Aiden.
“No idea, but I guess we'll find out after class,” he shrugs as I take the seat next to Matt. Soon after, Antonio and Sasha walk in, holding hands, and slide into the open seats on the other side of Aiden.
Since becoming official, they’ve practically been inseparable.
Their permanent smiles and giggles are the cutest to watch!
Her bubbly personality pulls him from being so quiet, and his adventurous side has her trying all kinds of new foods and activities—some Aiden and I hear when she forgets to move her speaker by the wall.
“Did you find it?” I ask Aiden, holding my breath for his answer.
“No, sorry, Sweetheart. I checked everywhere.”
Tears fill my eyes as I turn to Matt.
“Lee, what’s wrong?”
“Is there any chance you’ve seen my anklet? I swear I was being careful with it,” I sniffle, trying not to cry in class. “But it’s just gone. I put it on my jewelry tray before we went to the beach, and I haven’t been able to find it ever since.”
“Hey—it’s okay. You were probably due for another one anyway. You’ve worn it more than most people probably ever wear theirs.”
“But I still want to wear it, Mattey.”
He leans over in his chair, hugging me from the side. “I’ll look through my stuff and see if it got caught in there, okay? And if not, we’ll get you another one.”
“No, you can’t do that.”
“I can, and I will…if we can’t find yours. Okay?”
“Okay…” I concede before Antonio starts recalling stories from the beach while we wait for the rest of the class to arrive.
“Attention, everyone,” Captain Lin says once everyone is seated.
“Rather than teaching the same thing twice, we decided to bring in both companies for a joint lesson. Today you’re going to be working on the ins and outs of logistics planning.
While most of your missions have the details worked out for you, not everything can be planned in advance, and everything will not always go according to plan.
“Each of you will plan a mission in which you’ll sneak into one of the Clowess military camps along the border. Once inside, you’ll need to find a way to get a map from the base commander's tent and get out undetected. This is a solo task, so we shouldn't hear any discussions.”
Immediately, the rustling of notebooks and pens hitting paper fills the room.
Matt mouths a quick “Good Luck” to me, and I stick my tongue out at him before creating my own outline.
Five hours later, our plans have been made, torn to pieces by our classmates, and finally rebuilt as a class with Lin and Halden guiding us. The downside to not having a set schedule for Ghost Walking is that we never know how late class will go.
We’ve had lessons that only lasted an hour, and others that took up an entire day—and that’s not including our missions that can take place any day of the week.
“Impressive plan today, Annalise. Other than a few minor things, you’d never know you haven’t had to plan a mission before,” Major Halden says, as he flips the chair in front of me around so he can sit facing Aiden and me.
“Thank you, Sir.”
He nods before signaling for Captain Lin to get to what she wanted to see us about.
“As we mentioned after your first mission, we were very impressed with your performance as a team in your roles. Something has come up, and we need you two to break out those aliases again.”
Aiden and I exchange a quick look, both excited to work together again, and curious.
“There was another couple you interacted with at the party that has raised some red flags. We’ve had other teams try to break into their security systems, but they are highly advanced and require more intimate tools for hacking, which is where you two come in…”
I’m not sure if it’s her pause or the pink tint that creeps into her cheeks, but butterflies are suddenly flapping around my stomach aggressively.
“They will be at a resort up north this weekend for one of their group events. Aiden, you will need to get Mrs. Blane’s retina scan, while Annalise, you will need to get Perry’s fingerprints, and a recording of his voice saying a specific set of words.”
Passing us each a file to look through, I choke when I read it over.
“You HAVE to be kidding!” My reaction has Aiden quickly scanning the page. “A swingers getaway?”
“Ana, look at this code phrase.” Then, looking back at Major Halden and Captain Lin, he asks, “How exactly is she supposed to get him to say this?”
Major Halden can’t seem to keep a straight face as he says, “She’ll definitely need to get creative with this mission.”
“Creative?” Aiden laughs bitterly.
“Only couples are invited in, and Mr. and Mrs. Blane tend to like slightly younger partners to swap spouses with.”
“Uh-huh” was all he said, which was still more than I could get out.
Captain Lin clears her throat. “Your mission will be next weekend, so you do have a few days to prepare before you have to leave on Saturday morning.
She passes us an envelope filled with the same forged documents from our last mission together before dismissing us.
“Oh, and Annalise? All of your classes have been cleared for Saturday. You two should leave early in the morning so you can get settled in before the kickoff pool party.”
Ignoring that last detail until I can fully read through the file, I thank her and leave as quickly as possible.
We’re barely out of the classroom before I’m laughing hysterically, Aiden looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Ana?”
“Aiden. This can’t be real life! Pinch me or something because this has to be the craziest dream I’ve ever had.”
I’m trying to talk, trying to calm myself, but it feels as impossible as I would have thought getting an assignment like this would have been an hour ago.
He pulls me into his chest, and I inhale the faint scent of his lingering cologne.
“I really fucking wish this was just a dream, Sweetheart. But it’s not, and we have a lot to discuss.”