“What… are yeh… I don’t…”
“Dad??” I bark, walking away from the armory a few feet to see if I can get better service. “Shit… Fucking storm. Dad, are you there??”
I really want to know what he was trying to say. It sounded important.
My father isn’t one to show much emotion. Hearing him sound so vulnerable really cuts into me.
“Cailin?!” He croaks in my ear, but it’s too choppy.
A bright flash startles me, a bolt of lightning striking a nearby tree. The thunder is immediate, and so loud that I jump, dropping my phone.
“Holy fuck!” I gasp, slapping my hand over my heart.
Jesus, that was intense.
Maybe I shouldn’t be standing out here…
“Shit,” I mutter again, bending to look for my phone. The ground is covered in wet leaves. My boots are being swallowed up by mud as it is, and now I can’t find my fucking phone.
Fuck my life.Even if I find it, it’s probably gonna be all waterlogged. Hopefully, I can find some rice in the caf after we…
Footsteps have me going still. Slinking behind a tree, I take cover just in case. I’m expecting Jasper and Hancock, but the last thing I need is one of The Ivory’s guys finding me out here alone. And so close to our rendezvous point.
Checking that the coast is clear, I make a run for the armory, slipping inside and closing the door quietly. I stand off to the side, listening as best I can. The footsteps are growing closer… My hand falls to my Glock.
But then I hear a whistle.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, I open the door for them.
“Party’s here.” Hancock smirks, stomping inside with Jasper close behind.
“Okay, Snooki, calm down,” I huff.
Jasper cackles, while Hancock fakes a laugh, shaking the water from his shaggy hair.
“This storm is no joke,” he sighs, shedding his soaking wet jacket.
He looks like he’s about to drape it on the handlebars of Velle’s bike, and I snap, “There’s no way you’re that stupid…”
He rolls his eyes, tossing his jacket onto a wooden crate instead.
“How’s it looking?” I ask them.
“The East was clear,” Jasper answers, brushing his fingers over Hancock’s lower back on his way over to check our cache. “Quiet.”
“Almost too quiet,” Hancock adds. My head cocks. “It was weird. I mean, it’s always weird down there, but something felt…” He swallows visibly, shaking his head. “I dunno, it’s probably nothing.”
“If you noticed, it’s not nothing,” I say pointedly. “You tell Velle?”
“I didn’t want to bother him with a feeling,” he murmurs, poking Jasper in the side while he smacks his hand away, attempting to sort boxes of ammo.
I snort and shake my head. Hancock is sweet. He’s always been the baby of the group. The youngest of all the guards, the kid is in his twenties, but he reminds me of the boys I used to make out with in high school. Charming, funny, a real sexy troublemaker with dimples for days and one of those hot emo-boy bodies—tall, slim, and fucking cut.
He and Jasper are cute together. Especially now that they’re done vehemently insisting that they’rejust friendswho are desperate to rub their dicks together. I’m not sure if they’re official or what, but ever since the night Velle convinced them to fuck while we all watched, they’ve been more inseparable than ever, and I swear, Hancock’s bed hasn’t been touched in months.
Yes, they’re also roommates. I mean, come on…
It really was inevitable.
