Everyone breaks off into groups of two to search the rest of the ship. I follow Oliver and we head deeper below deck. I start to get nervous when we don't see any of Jasper's men- I know we can't be lucky enough to raid the ship when no one's here.

This was a huge shipment. Boxes upon boxes, various sized crates full of god knows what, all stacked anywhere and everywhere they could find space. They would definitely be here, guarding it with their lives.

"Where is everyone?" I whisper.

He lifts a finger to his mouth to shush me and places his ear against a door. I hadn't even noticed it was there.

"Get behind me," he whispers back, motioning for me to get closer to him.

I take a few steps towards him and push my chest flush against his back, leaning under his arm to hear whatever it is that he's hearing. At first, all I can hear is his slow, even breathing, but then I pick up on a very faint noise. It's a soft clicking sound, faint but rapid. Oliver turns the door handle slowly with one hand, keeping the other on the gun in the waistband of his pants.

Beads of sweat pool on my forehead. My hands feel clammy against Oliver's back. When he opens the door, a low, almost inaudible growl sounds from his throat. I'm too scared to peer around his shoulder, but I can sense another person in the room.

The clicking sound becomes more prominent, amplified by the deafening silence and tension that permeates the room.

"Jasper," he snaps.

My breath catches in my throat. Realistically, I knew he had to be somewhere on board. I was just hoping we wouldn't have to run into him.

"You always were one to run head first into red flags, Oliver. I'm just surprised you were stupid enough to bring your girlfriend with you into this one."

Jasper's voice is even deeper than Oliver's, but it sounds far more sinister and cold. I take a few deep breaths and try to stop the convulsive shaking racking my body before stepping out from behind Oliver's protection.

He makes a noise of disapproval when he realizes what I'm doing but I ignore it and keep my attention on Jasper. He freezes in place when he sees me. The pen he's fidgeting with- which I assume is the source of that clicking sound- rolls off the side of the table.

He looks me over, appraising me as if I was another valuable on his ship, one to add to his collection. The stare felt familiar, more than just a guy checking me out. It was off-putting, but I couldn't tell why it irked me more than anyone else that gawks at me.

"I didn't realize he was in control of what I did or where I went," I retort.

Jasper smirks at me as he stands up slowly from the table. He's only slightly shorter than Oliver so he still towers over me. He's a stark contrast to the man beside me. Where Oliver's hair is almost black, Jasper's is a dirty blonde and his clean shaven face stands out against Oliver's dark stubble.

What stood out to me the most though was his eyes. While I always admired Oliver's deep blue eyes, Jasper's were unreal. What I originally thought were hazel turned into pools of emerald green with flecks of brown and blue, only noticeable as he sauntered closer to me.

They were gorgeous, but there was something dark and menacing lurking beneath their depths. There was no emotion behind them, no sign of his humanity.

This man was pure evil.

I knew he had to be bad to be a rival of Oliver's. Oliver wasn't in the business of meeting good men, and he was certainly no saint himself, but at least he was capable of compassion and warmth. There was a light in his eyes when he was happy. His smiles, as rare as they may be, were genuine and unassuming.

But there was none of that in Jasper's cold, hard stare. This man was lifeless and wicked, which made him that much more dangerous.