Chapter 30
MICAH
“Everything’s in place. Stop worrying.” Grayson shot me a quick, reassuring smile.
I resumed my pacing, wearing a track in the dusty ground beneath my sneakers. “I can’t help it. What if it goes wrong? What if we put ourselves in danger, or worse, Ava and Cruz?”
“We’re gonna stay back. We won’t confront them unless we’re sure it’s safe. We have the cameras set up, and Cruz has his phone set up to track our location.”
“Okay.” I nodded, trying to convince myself. “We can do this.”
“We can and will do this.” Grayson’s hand found mine, pulling me to a halt, and he squeezed reassuringly. “Ready? Let’s go.”
We pulled the ski masks we’d brought with us over our heads and then jogged down the path that led us close to Cruz’s apartment building.
When we drew nearer, Grayson silently indicated with a jerk of his head, and I nodded.
We melted into the undergrowth to our left, coming up behind the large tree we’d scoped out earlier.
It had a clear view of Cruz’s bedroom window, and it was set a little farther away from the dense clump of trees to our right, which made it more exposed.
The higher risk of being seen meant we’d dismissed it as a likely location for our stalker, but it was perfect for us.
As long as we could remain hidden ourselves.
The closest branch was just out of our reach, so Gray dropped to his knee to give me a boost, and then I helped him up. When we were both safely balanced on the branch, we began to climb.
There were several sturdy, low-hanging branches among the thicker foliage, creating a good spot for us to hide.
Grayson straddled one of the branches, his back against the thick trunk of the tree.
Clambering onto the branch in front of him, I straddled it, too, shifting backward so I was against Grayson’s chest. He wrapped one arm around my waist to hold me securely.
When we were settled, I lowered my night vision goggles from the top of my head, placing them over my eyes and adjusting the strap to ensure they’d remain in place.
I carefully scanned our surroundings. There was no sign of life, but that didn’t mean we could relax. Our stalker—or stalkers—could arrive at any time, and we had to be prepared.
“We have about twenty minutes until the show begins,” Grayson murmured in my ear, almost too low for me to hear. “Try to get comfortable, because it’s too dangerous for us to talk or use our phones.”
He was right. Dusk was turning to night, and the glow of any light from our phones would be a dead giveaway, as would the sound of our voices.
“I know,” I whispered back, and we fell silent.
After twenty minutes had passed, I pushed my goggles back up and discreetly checked the time, only to find that only five minutes had passed in reality.
Fuck. This was going to be a long wait. I wasn’t cut out for a life of detective work if I was getting antsy five minutes into a stakeout.
I had an idea. Taking Grayson’s hand, I tugged it down to my thigh, palm-up, and then I began to trace letters with my index finger.
F-U-C-K. I tapped twice to indicate I’d finished the word, and his free hand tapped my side, which I hoped meant he understood. I continued.
M-A-R-R-Y. Two more taps. K-I-L-L. Two more taps. A-V-A. Two taps. M-E. Two taps. C-R-U-Z. Two taps.
His chest shook with his stifled laughter, and I grinned. Curling his hand around mine, he placed it on my thigh and then drew his finger over my palm. It was more ticklish than I’d imagined, and I turned my head to whisper one word. “Tickles.”
A huff of amusement sounded in my ear, and then he increased the pressure slightly. I nodded, and he began tracing his own letters.
F-U-C-K. Two taps. He paused for a long moment before slowly spelling out Y-O-U, followed by two taps. M-A-R-R-Y. Two taps. A—
I could tell where this was going. When he’d finished spelling the words out, I wrote the word “predictable” on his palm.
He huffed again and grabbed my hand, this time asking me a question. We passed the time in the slowest conversation in the entire world, using just our fingers, until a soft light appeared in the window of the house in front of us.
It was time.
I brought the goggles back down. Behind me, Grayson reached into his pocket and pulled out the small pair of binoculars we’d brought with us.
He tucked his chin over my shoulder, adjusting the binoculars to focus on the two figures inside the room.
I heard him curse softly under his breath, shifting on the branch, and I leaned back, knocking my shoulder against him as a reminder for him to stay still.
He lowered his own night vision goggles over his eyes and handed the binoculars to me, pointing with his finger. I used them to look through the window, and I immediately saw what had gotten him so worked up.
Ava and Cruz were in full view of the window, kissing.
Cruz had his hand inside Ava’s shirt, and she was grinding against his thigh.
The two of them together were so fucking hot, I could barely drag my gaze away.
But we were on a mission, and so I did my best to ignore the interest my dick was taking in the view, using the binoculars to scan the area around the house.
Behind me, Grayson stilled, his attention focused on an area to our right, where the tree line was denser.
It only had a partial view of the window, so we’d discounted it for ourselves when we’d scouted out the area, but…
I swung my binoculars, trying to see anything through the small gap in the leaves and branches. Fuck. Nothing. It was too dark.
But then Gray’s hand found mine, taking the binoculars and replacing them with my night vision goggles.
His hand clamped over my mouth just in time to stifle my gasp. In the bushes, half hidden behind a tree, a hooded figure was crouched.
A figure who was holding a camera.
A camera with the lens pointed directly at Cruz’s bedroom.
Grayson moved his head, placing his mouth right over my ear. “We need to get out of the tree,” he breathed. “Come up behind them.”
Shit. How were we going to manage that without making any noise?
Suddenly, our well-thought-out plan didn’t seem so well-thought-out.
We’d agreed to hide in the tree because it was unlikely we’d be spotted, hidden above the ground by the branches and thick foliage, but we should have thought ahead about what would happen if and when our stalker actually showed up.
One of us should have remained on the ground where we could easily move.
Even if it had meant there was a higher likelihood of being spotted.
Slowly, so slowly, I shifted forward, giving Grayson space to climb down.
He was already braced against the trunk, so it would be easier and safer for him to go first. There was a strong breeze rustling the leaves and branches, allowing us a tiny bit of cover for our movements, but every creak of the branch made me freeze, my heart pounding out of my chest. I kept my goggles trained on the figure in case their attention turned our way, but it seemed as if luck was on our side, with their full attention directed toward Cruz’s window.
At least our plan was working. They’d taken our bait, and now we just had to hope we managed to sneak up on them without them noticing.
Grayson’s body heat disappeared from behind me.
There was a louder creak as he carefully lowered himself to the branch below.
I held myself as still as I could, not even daring to breathe, as I continued to watch the figure for any signs of movement.
Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, and the figure’s head rose.
At the same time, I heard a soft crunch in the undergrowth below me. Gray had made it to the ground.
The figure abruptly swung around, and suddenly, the camera lens was pointed directly at me.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I threw my body down, pressing my belly against the rough bark of the branch in the hope that it would be enough to disguise me among the thick foliage.
My heart was hammering against my rib cage, and I couldn’t even look to see if Gray was okay, because it could risk giving away both our positions.
We were trapped. What the fuck was I going to do?
There was a loud crunch from somewhere toward the direction of the figure, and I raised my head, gripping the goggles in my shaking hand. The figure was gone, and I could hear more rustling in the undergrowth, moving farther away from the tree I was hiding in.
It was my chance. I scrambled off the branch, climbing down to the ground as quickly as I could, ignoring the scrape of rough bark against my skin as I moved. The only thing that mattered was getting out of the tree and finding Grayson.
When I was safely on the ground, I pressed my body against the trunk and peered around the corner. Through the goggles, I saw something that made my blood run cold.
A dark figure that was unmistakably Grayson, ducking through the trees, with the other figure right on his heels.
I didn’t even hesitate. Keeping my gaze fixed on the figure chasing Gray, I ran. I did my best to keep as quiet as I could, not wanting to alert them to my presence yet, but if I were discovered, then so be it. As long as Grayson was safe.
He had to play the fucking hero, didn’t he? Knowing him, he’d purposely led the guy away from me, not even thinking about his own safety. When we made it through this night, I was going to give him a piece of my fucking mind.
But first, I had to catch up with them both.
I pumped my legs harder.
Hold on, Gray. I’m coming for you.