Espionage? Teenage spy? Sounds bonkers. That kind of thing only happens in movies.
Normal teenagers wake up every morning and go to school, come home, do homework, do their chores, go to sleep - then wake up and do it all over again.
Ariella Alder...
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𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 | 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠
Archer's phone pinged near the coffee shop we always go to. It didn't take more than a few minutes for me to get there on my bike. It's still the afternoon, so the bright neon pink lights underneath my motorcycle are barely on display for the world to see. I didn't have time to turn them off before I started riding.
I needed to get to Archer.
His safety is my top priority.
His phone pinged right outside the coffee shop. Fuck! I told him to get inside.
The signal disappeared once I started getting close to the red dot.
"Fuck!" I shouted.
Fuck! No! Archer's gone. He's gone and I have no way of finding him.
My pulse started pounding against my skull as I tried taking a deep breath. I can do this. I can find Archer if I take a deep breath and follow where the signal was. Even if I don't find Archer right away, then I'll know that I'm on the right track.
Speed walking down the street was knocking the wind from my lungs. No intakes of air were filling my lungs enough to catch my breath.
I've never had a panic attack before, but I think this is what it feels like. My entire body is shutting down and I'm shaking through my clothes. I must look like an idiot to people on the streets, but I knew I needed to stop walking.
I need to stand still for a second and catch my breath. Deep breaths in through my nose, and exhale through my mouth. A few of those should have me back on track.
My phone started ringing, but it wasn't Archer. It was Grayson.
"What?" I shouted into the phone.
My hand ran along my forehead, pushing all my hair away from my face. I need the wind to hit my face. Every intake of air feels like I'm suffocating.
"Donovan Halstead has been taken into custody by the agency," Grayson said.
"What? How'd they find him? Why wasn't I notified?" I asked. Oh, right, I was fired. They don't have to tell me anything anymore. "Why are you telling me this? How'd you find out?" I asked frantically.
"He's requesting to speak to you. He won't say a word to anyone until he sees you," Grayson explained.
Why does Donovan Halstead want to see me? Does he not want to see his own child? Does he know that Little Dean has been in New York City this entire time? Did he find Little Dean long before his plan to kidnap the Hawthorne's? Is this a misdirection? Did Donovan kidnap Little Dean and is using my vulnerability as a bargaining chip?
Donovan Halstead shouldn't want to speak to me. We met once and he nearly killed me and Little Dean. He's a narcissist, so I know that he's probably still pissed that I caught him and sent him to prison. He should be using his one and only chance outside of prison to see his son.
