Clandestine

The Willow (29)

"Watch your back Martinez," Mackles voice spoke through the speakers in my car, as I turned the last corner before rows and rows of storage units come into view. I had to make a quick pit stop to my mother's storage unit, there was something that mum had found a few years ago that I had always found important to dad's life. It was a storage on the far side of the city, close to the docks. Extra space storage held up to two thousand storage garages, and Noah's and my mother's just happen to be two of them.

 I couldn't believe it when Mackles had said that that was where Noah had been captured going into. I didn't need to be intertwined with this case anymore, but yet here I was.  

Weeks had passed since I broke whatever was going on between Noah and I off, Piper had said that he had started up boxing again but she hadn't seen him bring home a chick since I broke it off. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. He was probably fucking them somewhere else because he knew Piper would run and tell me. 

Not that it was any of my business anyway.

Matthews had been on me for weeks about what had happened at the apartment after he and Mackles left but I still hadn't told them. I had called off the dinner with dad and had been going to see my mother each night, dad didn't understand but he accepted it. I knew i'd have to have dinner with him sometime soon. 

I only worked at CrossX when Piper told me that Noah wasn't going out, I didn't want to run into him but I had run into Clinton a few times and he had asked why I had stopped hanging around so obviously Noah hadn't said anything all I said back was 'ask Noah' and left it at that. 

I pulled up to the fence, smiling at Marty the guy who owned the whole thing. "Miss Martinez, New car?" I nodded as he wiggled his large eyebrows at me. "You here to put some stuff in? or take out?" He wondered, his yellowing teeth flashing at me.

"Take out if that's okay Marty." I smiled sweetly, he nodded and opened the gate.

"Sure thing Gorgeous, how's your mum doing?" Marty had always been super sweet about my mum, always wondering how she was.

"She's alright, every day is a new challenge you know?" He nodded sadly, and waved me through the gate. I crept towards my mother's unit, pulling up out the front of it. It was number 1013. Noah's key was warm in my hand, to look at his while I was here or not?

I needed to check out what was in his unit before he realized that his key was gone, I already had it for a few weeks surely he had to be wondering where it was.

Screw it, I moved down the line to Noah's unit looking at the door, nervousness bubbling up inside me as i wondered what was inside.

My heart pounded in my chest as I slid the key into the hole, twisting until the roller door finally raised from the ground. I had to remind myself to breathe as I took out the key and pushed up the door.

"Hey bitch." I froze, stopping the roller door halfway up. A familiar voice called out to me, I turned slowly, my eyes leaving what was inside the container and landing on Willow. But she looked different. Her blonde hair was red and tied back in a slick ponytail.

I narrowed my eyes at her, was dad keeping an eye on me? 

"Willow? What the hell are you doing here?" My voice squeaked a little, her eyes narrowed at me as she smiled sweetly. There was something about the smile that wasn't friendly at all. 

"You know your father wouldn't tell me what you actually do, he just said that you aren't really a bartender." Her hand slid to her back and she whipped out a gun pointing it straight at me. "You're a cop." Her lips twisted up into a wicked smirk as she held the gun – my gun – steady. I put my hands up in surrender. "I knew it from the night when I caught you snooping outside Vince's warehouse. You moved too carefully, and held the gun too professionally to be a fucking bartender."