here is the night guard. Right?” I cocked my head at Lena. She nodded. “Yeah. First thing I checked.”
“Alright then.” I turned to Cassius. “Come on. Let’s compromise. What if we all meet her outside the docks, by the car? We can keep an eye on the guard hut, make sure nothing happens.”
“Winter! You can’t be serious right now.” He stared at me in disbelief.
“I am. Come on. We’ll be right outside if she needs us.”
“Cass, please. I have my phone. Look, I’ll pull up your number and have it ready to dial if there’s any trouble. I won’t be long. Promise. I’ll even cancel my ride home and come back with you.” Lena waved her phone at him, and he gave a frustrated growl.
“No. Way.”
“Cassius. Let’s go.” I injected as much firmness as I could into my voice, and Lena shot me a small, grateful smile as I turned on my heel and grabbed Caiden’s hand. Reaching up to whisper in his ear, I murmured, “Please? The others will listen to you.”
His eyes met mine, and he sighed heavily, his gaze conflicted. “You’re so fucking lucky I love you.”
I watched as his lips tipped up at the corners in the barest hint of a smile as I replied, “I know.”
“New compromise. Everyone except Lena, back to the car. Cass, get the engine running so we can make a quick getaway. I’m staying here to keep an eye on Lena.” Caiden’s tone was commanding.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Lena hissed.
“Don’t give a fuck. I stay, or I drag you out of here, right now.” He narrowed his eyes, daring her to test him. “Don’t worry, I won’t cramp your style. I’ll wait right here.”
“Fine! I was almost done, anyway.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Come on, let’s do this,” Caiden instructed. Lowering his voice, he leaned closer to me. “Watch out for the guard. Stay between Cass and West.” He dropped a quick kiss on my forehead, before stepping back. Weston and Cassius gave him identical hostile glares, clearly unhappy with the whole situation, but they fell in line with huffs and angry sighs, Weston pulling me in front of him.
Back in the car, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I leaned forwards between the front seats and put my hand on Cassius’ shoulder as he sat, staring straight ahead, making no attempt to start the car. “Cade will look out for Lena. It’s going to be okay.”
“She doesn’t think about the fucking consequences of her actions,” he muttered, finally starting the engine. “I don’t know what shit she’s got herself mixed up in, but it needs to stop right now.”
We lapsed into silence, waiting. The only sound was the soft hum of the running engine and the distant crash of waves against the rocks below us.
“Where’s Lena?”
I followed the direction of Weston’s gaze to see Caiden jogging towards us, a dark shape blending in among the shadows, barely visible since Cassius hadn’t yet turned on the headlights. He threw open the door, and Weston immediately turned to him. “Where’s Lena?” he repeated, his tone urgent.
“She’s right behind me—” Caiden’s head shot around. “What the fuck? She was there a minute ago!”
Everything seemed to happen at once. I heard Cassius’ Oh, shit and looked up to see another dark figure streaking towards us, closely pursued by yet another figure. A light bobbed up and down, the glow from the torch the pursuer carried dimly illuminating the ground as they ran, but too weak to illuminate Lena.
Caiden swung into the car, all business. “Go! Drive at them. When we get there, slow down. Get Lena in, turn your headlights on to full fucking beam and drive at the fucker chasing her.”
Cassius nodded, already slipping the car into gear and moving, flying towards Lena and suddenly screeching to a halt as we reached her.
She wrenched open the door and threw herself into the car, landing in the footwell by Caiden’s feet, and Cassius wasted no time in speeding straight back up again, flicking on the powerful headlights to full beam. I caught a glimpse of the horror on the night guard’s face as he threw up his arm to shield his eyes from the sudden blinding light, and then he was diving out of the way as we drove at him. Cassius spun the wheel, sending the SUV skidding onto the road. The car shot across the tarmac, and we left the docks behind us, obscured by