Chapter 16 #2
“I have a reconnaissance mission, and unfortunately, these types of jobs happen under the cover of night.” Dante leads us farther into the house, to his office.
Ashton and I step inside. I barely glance at him, the tension thick between us.
“Tell us about the assignment.” Ashton is the first to speak, not the least bit reluctant to get started on a mission.
At this point, I haven’t been forced to do much. Learning to shoot wasn’t exactly a fun assignment, but I wasn’t killing anyone. I was hitting a target. Now, I’m pretty good at it, but I hope that’s not going to be part of our next task.
“As you know, we control a certain territory. Someone has been smuggling goods just outside of Blue Sky Resort.” Dante pulls up a map on his phone, showing us the location.
“This dirt road is hardly ever used, especially in winter. Well, it turns out that’s where their operation is.
At the end of the road, there’s an old building that’s been shuttered.
I need you both to do some surveillance work, take some photographs, find out exactly what they’re smuggling.
Is it drugs or weapons? I need to know as much as I can, how many men there are, bring me back details. Can you both handle that?”
“Yes, sir.” Ashton is quick to agree to help.
“Yeah, we can handle surveillance. Is there a location where we should be hiding?” Since we aren’t familiar with the terrain, I don’t want us to be spotted.
“I don’t have enough information to help with that, just stay out of sight.
Kill the lights on the car, park and hide the vehicle, if you have to, and travel on foot the rest of the way.
I’m sure you both can use your heads and figure out the best way to get intel.
The shipment happens around midnight. You’re dismissed. ”
Dante hands Ashton a folder with information. There isn’t much, but it does detail the information that Dante is looking for, and there’s a place to mark in as much information as possible.
We head out of his office and retrieve our shoes and coats, heading back into the car.
While it’s not anywhere near midnight yet, we certainly don’t want to show up, lights blazing, car rumbling, and alert everyone of our presence.
“Did Dante give us anything in that file?” My attention is on the road, which at least it’s not snowing tonight. It’s cold, freezing enough to see one’s breath outside.
Ashton flips through the pages.
“Not much. Mostly, it’s what he wants us to fill in.”
I press the button on my car door and roll down my window.
“It’s fucking cold!” Ashton scowls at me. He reaches for the heater, cranking the temperature in the car.
Smirking, I grab the folder from his hand and toss it out the window.
“Are you fucking insane? We need that.”
I press the button on the door, rolling the window back up. “We’re not here to take fucking notes for him. We’ll surveil and get out. This isn’t a school assignment.”
Ashton grumbles under his breath.
“What’s that?” I glance in his direction.
He folds his arms across his chest. “You’ve been a dick since you found out I’m dating Nova.”
A dark laugh bubbles and seeps out past my lips. “You think that’s why I’m angry with you?”
Ashton shifts in the front seat. “Isn’t it?”
“You broke the one cardinal rule that I had regarding Nova and then you proceeded to lie to me for months!” I keep my gaze trained on the road, but I want to pull over, throw Ashton out, let him fend for himself.
“Nova is old enough to make her own decisions. She’s not a child anymore, and you need to stop treating her like one.”
“I’m not treating her like a child. She just turned eighteen. Did you even wait until she was legal or were you—”
He interrupts me. “I didn’t touch your sister until she consented.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” My jaw clenches.
“She was eighteen. I swear I never laid a finger on her until she was of age.”
“Still doesn’t make it any better,” I grumble and glare at him. “You were warned to stay away from her!”
“I can’t help my feelings for Nova. Yes, you told everyone on the team she wasn’t some girl to fuck around with.
My feelings for her are genuine. We hang out all the time; you’ve seen that, the flirting, the other stuff, it just developed on its own.
” Ashton’s voice is calm, but I don’t feel the least bit calm, listening to him tell me about Nova.
“You only think those feelings are genuine because you’ve never experienced them before. What happens when you meet another girl who knocks your socks off? You’ll break Nova’s heart, and I’ll be left picking up the pieces.” I don’t want to see my little sister getting hurt by my best friend.
“Okay, I know I may have made a few mistakes in the past with girls—”
“A few?” I laugh at his exaggeration of a few. He’s slept with tons of girls, more than I can keep track, and I doubt that Ashton even knows how many girls in total he’s bedded.
“I’ve fucked up, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to keep screwing up.”
“Seems like it to me. That’s all you’ve ever done, Ashton. You’re Captain of the Fuck a Girl Squad.”
He doesn’t so much as flinch. “That’s not even a thing. And no one calls me that.”
“The team calls you that.”
“Liar.” Ashton glances at me. “Admit it. You’re just jealous of what Nova and I have.”
Has he lost his mind? “You’re kidding me. I can attest I’m not the least bit jealous of your relationship with my sister.”
I glance at him, and he shrugs. “Semantics. You know what I mean. What we share, the fact we’re close and can tell each other everything. There are no secrets between us. We both actually like each other and can stand to be in the same room together.”
I flinch at his mention of secrets. That’s what’s been tearing Harper and me apart at every turn. When things finally get back on track, there are new secrets, new surprises that seem to want to find their way to destroy our relationship.
Not this time.
Not anymore.
I won’t let anything or anyone come between Harper and me.
Exhaling a heavy sigh, I make the turn-off for the road for our mission. It’s nearly two hours to midnight, which should give us plenty of time to scope out the area without being seen.
The clouds are thick, the sky black as night.
The road is covered in snow, but the path already has several tire tracks heading up the desolate road.
“Kill the lights,” Ashton commands, as if I take orders from him.
“And run us off the road? No, thanks. And our conversation isn’t done.” It’s too dark to shut off the headlights and safely make it up the narrow road.
“Wouldn’t dream of it ending now,” Ashton seethes. “Don’t worry, if you want to go at it on the ice, I’m game.”
“Are you really going to fight me? You know I’ll kick your ass, Rinaldi.”
He’s got some nerve! After betraying me and hooking up with my little sister, now he wants to fight me?
He laughs, shaking his head. “Do you really think you can take me?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” I shoot daggers at him as I attempt to keep my focus on the one-lane road.
“That’s rich, you thinking that you’ve ever beaten me. I let you win, Ricci.” The smug sound of his voice sickens me.
He’s so full of shit. “Is that what you’re telling yourself?”
I climb the mountain slowly, not wanting the roar of the engine to alert anyone of our presence. But I swear the shouting match between us is far louder than any hum of the vehicle.
At least it’s dead outside and the middle of the night.
We crest to the top where it’s flat. On our approach is the battered building of what used to be a cabin. It’s abandoned, dark, and run-down.
“You ever touch my sister again, I’ll end you with my bare hands.”
“She’s not yours to protect. Not anymore,” Ashton grinds. “She’s mine. I’m hers. You’re just her older, annoying brother who is interfering in her life.”
“Get the fuck out of my car.” I hit the brakes forcefully, the wheels spinning on ice, kicking up sludge.
Ashton shoots off another order, ignoring my command. “Turn around. We’re out in the open. We can’t park here.”
I ignore him. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.” Heat burns my cheeks, and I grip the steering wheel so tight, I wonder if I might peel off the leather.
“Gladly. By the way, Nova will hate you when I call her and tell her what a dick you are.” Ashton yanks open the door and steps out.
“Tattletale.”
The cold air whirls into the car. It’s frigid, the night air a reminder of the job we’re here to do.
My stomach plummets.
“Ashton—”
“Fuck off, Ricci.” Ashton slams the car door shut, slinking off into the darkness.
I can’t chase after him and leave the car abandoned in front of the cabin.
I make a three-point turn on the narrow road and turn around. Glancing at the clock, we have less than an hour until the real fun begins. It took longer to climb up the mountain than I anticipated.
And I just left Ashton out in the open, in the cold, alone.
It doesn’t take minutes for shame to build within me, merely seconds.
Regret.
But I can’t park out in the open, not without being seen.
Ashton can manage on his own for twenty minutes while I figure out where the hell to park the car and hike back up the road, unseen.
The headlights of my car reveal a ravine on either side as I slowly descend down the path which we came.
Desperately, I need to find a side road, somewhere to park, and I can head the rest of the way on foot, catch up with Ashton.
But there wasn’t anything I noticed on the way up. We were also arguing, which didn’t exactly mean my head was screwed on tight.
I’ll have to pay closer attention coming back down the slushy road.
Slowly making my way down the one-lane road, headlights reflect off the trees in the distance.
Shit.
It’s another vehicle coming up the road.
I tap the brakes and slide across the icy road and turn the wheel, keeping from falling into the ravine.
My stomach is in my chest, and I curse under my breath.
The vehicle in front of me revs their engine and pushes forward, having spotted me. They turn their brights on, blinding me.
I have little choice but to put my car in reverse. I floor the gas, driving backward, watching over my shoulder as I dangerously navigate the edge of the mountainside and the narrow one-lane road in the snow, until I’m back in front of the battered cabin.
Not fucking ideal.
So much for being inconspicuous.
Where the hell is Ashton?
I grab for my phone and attempt to call Dante, but the call immediately fails.
Men flood out of the vehicle in front of me, blocking the road, guns drawn. The car’s engine is idle with its headlights blinding me.
A darkened figure steps out, the man who was sitting behind the driver, smoking a cigarette. It dangles from his lips as he lifts his right hand, giving a gesture to move in.
Two men I don’t recognize come to my driver-side door, smash open my car window, throw open my door, and yank me out of the vehicle.
I’m entirely at their mercy.
To Be Continued…