Line of Fire (Book #1) GirlXGirl

FIFTEEN

"Alexa," Derik cut me off, "When someone offers you help out of the kindness of their heart, you take it. No matter what."

I just watched him from the passenger seat, knowing I was lucky to have someone like him in my life. He reminded me of my dad, or what I could still remember of him anyway. I shook the thought

"Here's what we're gonna do," he started. "You're going to pay off the hospital bills. Once that is off your back then you'll talk to your mom about selling that house, because you can't afford to live their anymore."

Sell the house? If I sold the house where would we live?

I shook my head. "Derik I can't sell the house. Where would Anna and I go?"

"You'll live with me," he answered. "Mia and I have two spare bedrooms. You'll talk to your mom about selling the house, and if she fights then I'll talk to her. Once she agrees we'll talk about rehab, okay?"

He made everything sound so easy. Like this was a normal occurrence and that there was no need to feel ashamed. But I was ashamed. Not only was my mother slipping deeper into her depression but I had stood by and watched it happen. I didn't know what to do. I hadn't known how to help.

But Derik knew what to do. He always knew what to do.

"Okay," I mumbled.

"We'll fix this Lex. You don't have to do italone," he comforted. "Everything's gonna be fine."

* * *

I snapped out of the memory as I heard the front door close. Everything's gonna be fine, echoed in my head. Almost three years had passed since my first score and things had only escalated. Everything has not been fine, but there was a possibility it would be after tonight.

Melissa and Willi were here and I was needed downstairs but for some reason my body didn't want to move. If everything went well tonight I would be able to leave my old life behind. All the crime, all the lying and stealing... but if we failed...

No. I couldn't think like that.

After a deep breath I forced myself out of the safety of my room. On top of the pressure for success there was also a nasty ball of guilt weighing me down. Melissa would most likely be upset with me and I couldn't blame her. Leaving this morning had been a real shitty move, but at the time it had felt like the easiest thing to do.

I jogged downstairs and locked eyes with her immediately. She threw me a look that made me uncomfortable. Yeah, she was upset.

"We're going meet Chapman at the NIA building. We'll drop off my car and take the one he's gotten for us," Derik ordered. "The plan is simple. Go in through the ground entrance and get to the elevator. Alexa and I have key cards to get us to our target departments. We'll be able to communicate the entire time with the devices Chapman's providing."

"Okay, and if something goes wrong?" I added.

"Everything's gonna be fine."

There it was again.

"I'm preparing for the worst."

"Lex, the building will be empty. Victoria is getting us through security... Nothing will go wrong."

"And if there's a GIB lurking around?" I asked.

"Then you do what you have to do," Derik demanded. "Chapman's also providing guns."

My stomach churned at the thought of using a gun. If there was ever an alternative to killing I tried my best to find it. But if we did run into someone who shouldn't be there the likeliness of being recognized was high. And if I knocked them out there was also a high chance they could come to and alert everyone else of our presence. Just because the NIA was conducting an investigation didn't mean me and my crew were welcome. After all, we were still criminals.