*Nate’s PoV*
The tires of my rented black SUV squealed as I shot out of the parking lot. Despite my being a seasoned agent, real-life situations never ended as well as the ones in training. Or the ones on television.
Lives were at stake.
My brother’s life was at stake.
I impatiently switched on the radio. “This is agent Peters in a black SUV headed northwest; where is the warehouse gunfight located in downtown Seattle?
“Let me find your coordinates,” some female voice said over the radio. “Perform a sharp right turn and continue down the two-way street until you reach the dead end. Take a left at the three-way stop. Warehouse should be on the left, you’ll recognize the sound of gunshots,” she said wryly.
“Thank you, agent out,” I said curtly. I literally burned rubber as I hurried to follow her directions.
Dylan needed me.
A bullet smacked against my left rear window. I hunched in my seat instinctively, keeping my head low, and slammed on the brakes. S***, s***, and double s***. Man, was I lucky Boss had invested in bulletproof windows.
I quickly scanned the grounds outside the tainted driver’s side window. The unmistakable sound of guns going off and bullets shattering glass filled my ears, oddly muted. My heartbeat thumped painfully against the confines of my sternum.
Dylan, save Dylan.
With a surprisingly fluid, even for myself, tuck and roll, I exited my hastily-parked vehicle in the middle of the dirt road and crept behind the car. A click of a button popped the trunk.
Another stray bullet whizzed by and actually dinged the trunk lid.
I swore, then counted to three and retrieved my emergency situation bag. It contained my bulletproof vest, black shades, two extra bullet canisters, a pistol, a first aid kit, binoculars, night vision goggles, flares, and an array of tools and handheld weapons.
With practiced speed I pulled on the vest, snapped a canister in my gun, and strapped a knife in my combat boots. One in each, I’ve certainly learned that lesson the hard way.
When I had double-checked that the coast was clear, I bent over and sprinted to the edge of the warehouse. Around the edge, my boss and some fellow comrade agents of mine had set up for the situation. They crouched behind their SUVs, snipers lying low on the ground, my Boss crouched behind the nearest tire.
“Peters!” he yelled, summoning me over. Gunfire ceased temporarily. I seized the opportunity and bolted over, running quickly with my arms covering my head.
“Sir,” I greeted, panting as I leaned against the car next to him. “What is the situation?”
“We’ve hostages inside,” Boss sighed. “Undercover agents got their cover blown and we arrived right as they were about to be executed. Our screeching tires as we pulled up caused a distraction so the agents were able to hide and shoot a few of the gang members-”
My throat tightened. “Boss-”
He turned to look at me. “Your brother is still inside. You’d better hurry and come up with some brilliant plan in order to get into the warehouse, alive, and bring your brother back, alive, with him alive as well.”
I deftly slipped my gun out from behind my back, tucked inside my waistband. “Sir, are you giving me permission to-“
Rapid gunshots crackled through the air. Car windows shattered, and I felt debris sprinkle on top of me.
“Get down!” I yelled, throwing myself over Boss’s body and forcing him to the ground. I heard a pain-filled yell from a comrade.
“Boss, I’ve been shot!” One of the agents wheezed. He limped into my line of sight, and I sagged in relief when I saw it was a simple leg wound.
“Clean through?’ I questioned. Poor guy was new on the job too.
He nodded and grasped his calf. “Think so, I’ll be fine. Damn gangsters! I have a wedding to attend! Can’t be limping…” he muttered. At the sound of his random ramblings, I felt the inappropriate urge to laugh. Hysterically.
“On it, sir,” I responded, turning back to Boss. He grunted and I realized I was still smothering him. I uttered a hurried apology and rolled off, standing up.
“Peters,” he coughed. “Make it out alive.”
I nodded curtly. “I’ll try my best, Boss.” And with that, I checked to see if the coast was clear. “Cover my back!” I shouted to the agents behind me. Bullets whizzed through the air again, another attack from the gangsters, and I ran across the space between the warehouse entrance and the car shelter.
Here goes nothing.
~
*Ainsley’s PoV*
Finally home! Being discharged from the hospital was probably the highlight of my week so far. No, it was THE highlight of my week so far.
I groaned and flung an arm over my eyes. Christmas was tomorrow, and I still hadn’t gone shopping. Life is kind of put on a back burner when you’re helplessly trapped inside a hospital that reeks with death and feels like a prison.
Carefully, I slipped out of my bed, trying not to put too much weight on my left foot. My ugly puke-green cast caught my eye, and I sneered at it. Thank you, Seneva.
I hobbled down the staircase and followed the happy sounds and cheerful Christmas music emanating from the kitchen. Seneva and Mom were baking Christmas cookies and goodies in the kitchen, and the wonderful smell of spices, warmth, and sugar filled my nose.
“It smells good in here,” I remarked, hopping to the counter to lean against. Seneva looked up from squishing some extra sugar cookie dough in her hands.
“Mommy and I baked cookies! Now we’re gonna frost ‘em. Wanna help, Ainey?” she asked sweetly. I smiled and ruffled her hair with my uninjured hand.
“Sure, Neva. What color do you want?” I asked, slowly clambering onto the stool beside her.
“Red!” she announced. Mom slid a bowl of red icing over to her, along with a little frosting spatula, and a few cookies.
“Ainsley, could you frost some of the others with the white icing?” Mom asked, cutting slices of cookies from the chilled log.
“Okay,” I agreed, and reached for the cooled cookies. Next to me, Seneva reached out and touched one of the cookies on her platter.
“Mommy, they’re still warm! The frosting will get all icky!” she pouted unhappily.
“Then roll out a little more cookie dough, sweetheart,” Mom said calmly, placing the cookies on a greased sheet. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer played jauntily from the stereo.
I focused on spreading a thin layer of icing over my allotted cookies, and glanced up when Seneva made a jerky movement. “What are you doing?” I asked curiously.
She looked me in the eyes and began pounding the sugar cookie dough violently while Mom’s back was turned as she slid the sheet in the oven.
“Okay…” I muttered, widening my eyes at her weirdness.
“Mommy, I didn’t get Ainey a birthday present!” Seneva yelled suddenly.
Mom turned around and looked at her. “Honey, Ainsley’s birthday is in a week, we’ve got time to look for one.”
I shifted in my seat. “Speaking of shopping, I haven’t been able to go Christmas shopping yet and seeing as Christmas is tomorrow…” I hinted discreetly.
She sighed. “Fine, I’ll drop you off at the outlet mall after I finish making these cookies. Does that work for you?”
“Yes! Thank you. I’m so excited to actually breathe fresh air again,” I sighed happily. She laughed at me and we all began to sing along to Jingle Bells.
~
“Text me when you’re about ready to be picked up,” Mom said as I exited the car in the outlet mall parking lot. “Seneva and I are going to go finish baking. Don’t forget to buy yourself a dress for the Christmas party at the neighbors’ house, Ainsley.”
I waved a hand. “Buy pretty dress, got it. Is there anything in particular you want for Christmas?” I asked one last time, knowing she wouldn’t tell me.
“No,” she closed her eyes exasperatedly. “Except for you to accept the Witness Protection Program offer,” she mentioned once again.
“Mom,” I groaned, slapping myself in the face in frustration. “That’s not going to happen. What’s the point of moving? I’m staying here! There’s only six months left of school before I graduate, moving now would absolutely shatter any chance at being accepted into a good college,” I reminded her sternly.
She raised her hands. “I’m just trying to look out for you, Ainsley. I wish you could see that this is coming from a highly concerned mother-”
“Mom, I understand. Really, I do. But I wish YOU would understand how pointless the whole moving thing would be, realistically.”
“Ainsley-”
I forged on. “I know you’re worried about my safety, but Dad already talked to the agent on my case-” At this, my mind flashed through images of that green-eyed, gorgeous hunk at the hospital. “-and he promised the stalker would be caught before the month was over. So you see, this will all blow over soon,” I pleaded, desperately wishing she’d see reason.
She sighed and put the car in drive. “We can talk about this later,” she said, quickly darting her eyes toward the backseat where Seneva sat. I nodded and blew her a kiss.
“Okay, I’ll text you when.” I enjoyed the rare December sunshine in Seatttle, basking in the chilly warmth of it, as I clunked unevenly into the mall. The doctor had offered me the use of crutches, but I flat out refused. Who wanted to be on crutches for Christmas? I needed both hands to actually enjoy the delicious cuisine consumption of the holiday.
It took a couple hours of ambling around the mall to find Seneva the perfect gift; a fun super science kit. That way she could focus whatever tension she felt inside on exploding things and concocting potions.
I was in search for a dress when I heard a voice that made my heart lurch.
“Ainsley? Ainsley, hey,” Kyle said smoothly. I turned around and watched as he loped over to me lazily with a half-smile pasted on his face.
“Kyle,” I greeted cautiously. His brown eyes widened when he took in my battered body and vomit-inspired green foot cast.
“Ainsley, are you okay? What happened to you?” he gaped in astonishment. Fear flickered in his gaze.
I looked away from his face, distrust coiling in the pit of my stomach. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just… had a little accident. You know how that goes,” I laughed awkwardly.
“So, uh, what are you shopping for?” he inquired, scuffing his sneaker against the tiles of the food court.
I waved a hand at the endless restaurants crowded in front of us. “I was just going to get myself something to snack on. There’s this party thing my neighbors are throwing and I have to look for a dress.”
Kyle scratched the back of his neck. “Oh. Well, um, good luck with that.”
Kill me now. This was so horrifically awful, like a car crash waiting to happen. “Thanks. Enjoy your winter break, Kyle.”
He lifted a hand, and began to walk away.
“Wait!” He paused immediately, frozen. “Have you… Have you seen Rosemary around lately?”
Kyle rolled his shoulders back, and dread shot out tendrils in my stomach. “No. Be careful, Ainsely,” he murmured before continuing to walk away.
I shuddered and shook my head. Weird. Outside the food court, the air had gotten a bit chillier. I relished in the still-hot salt-encrusted pretzel I had bought inside at the food court, and munched on a bite as I window shopped for a dress. Pastel blue was my best color, but since it was the holidays I figured a green or white dress would work just as fine. Except for red, that was just a hot mess that clashed with my hair.
I contemplated entering Dress Barn and decided against it. There had to be something that would catch my eye. With a sigh, I turned around—and promptly bumped into someone.
“Whoops, I’m sorry-”
“Sorry,” the stranger said immediately. Except, it wasn’t a stranger. Not really.
Startled, my eyes shot up to the brown eyes I had seen before.
“Hello, Ainsley.”
~
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*I am so dreadfully sorry I dropped off the face of the earth, you guys. It’s been a busy year for me, and I actually just flew back home from Boston at 2 this morning. Hopefully this is a long chapter, and THIS IS WHEN EVERYTHING STARTS HAPPENING. What do you think? Who could she have run into? Why was Kyle at the mall?