Once I entered the house, I found my dad sitting on one of the kitchen stools, reading a piece of paper as he rubbed his temples then mumbled, "stupid teenagers."

Well, guess I wasn't going out today.

My stomach dropped to the floor as I slowly and quietly made my way towards the stairs but of course, your father being part of the FBI team, you couldn't really sneak to wherever you wanted to be.

"Darling, how was school today?" my dad asked as I closed my eyes and breathed in and out a couple times before plastering on a fake smile and turned towards him, facing his direction.

"It was...eventful," I muttered.

"That's great," my dad replied with a smile as it quickly dissolved. "I think."

"What are you reading?" I asked, taking big steps towards him as I peered over his shoulder broad shoulder.

"It's an investigation on this teen," my dad answered, putting down the paper and facing it the other way as if thinking I was trying to steal information out of him.

"Well about tonight..." I trailed on, my eyes darting everywhere as I could now tell that my dad's full attention was on me, his eyebrows narrowing in on me.

"Did you do something wrong?" my dad asked suspiciously.

I shook my head.

"Did Mr Walker do something wrong?" my dad questioned again, leaving me annoyed. "Did he murder someone?"

"Dad," I said sternly, arching an eyebrow at him as he sighed and place both of his hands up symbolizing that he gave up on guessing. "Xavier and I are going out tonight."

"Where?" my dad asked in just a millisecond which kind of scared me.

"I don't know," I answered with a shrug. "I promise it's nowhere shady."

My dad smiled at my comment and shook his head before placing both of his hands on my shoulders and looked deeply into my eyes. When I mean deeply, oh I mean deeply. I stared at him, bemused, as I watched him watch me.

"I trust you," he said after a couple of seconds of silence.

"I know," I replied with a smile, kissing his cheek.

"Don't do anything stupid," my dad responded with a frown. "I mean it. I lost you once, not losing you again."

I sent him a sad smile in his direction, imagining how it must've felt when you're trying to find your daughter for two years but finally gave up because you lost hope. I didn't ever want to put him through that ever again.

Even though it was my mom's fault.

"Yes sir," I saluted him which made him chuckle.

He shooed me away as I nodded at his command before taking two steps at a time on the stairs to reach my room, slamming the door behind me as I quickly ran into the bathroom and showered.

After the warm and long-needed shower, I had managed to get out after battling with myself whether or not I should leave the shower but in the end, I left anyway as I walked into my walk-in wardrobe, naked since no one else was inside my room. I closed the door and picked out a pair of leggings, a loose neon pink tee, and a black Nike jacket. I quickly looked down at my shoes, taking out a pair of combat boots before changing into my clothes I had picked out for the night.

My heart was hammering against its cage at the thought of hanging out with Xavier again. My cheeks were already getting warm and when I exited the walk-in wardrobe, I almost screamed at the sight of Xavier laying on my bed, as I quickly used one of my hands to slam my heart to keep the pounding down, his phone in his hands and scrolling through something that I did not see.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" I whispered-shouted as I grabbed my robe and threw it across the room at him.

I watched the robe land onto his face as he disgustedly took the robe off and sent me a playful glare my way which had me smiling proudly. Since my hair was still wet, I managed to put it in a neat bun before applying some light makeup and faced him once I was done.

"Where are we going tonight?" I asked curiously.

Xavier only shrugged, walking to my window before flying out the damn window. I was literally scared for his life. I took my phone and placed it inside my jacket before heading downstairs just as I heard the door bell ring. I've never seen my dad run to the door as fast as he did and that had only made me chuckle over his protectiveness.

"Take care of her Mr Walker or I'll find you and throw your ass into a cell," my dad threatened in a low voice, thinking that I wouldn't hear him.

"With my heart," Xavier replied that had made my stomach do back-flips before his gaze met mine and I swear, in the dim light, I could see him give me a tiny smile.

"Off you go now, Thea," my dad whispered, kissing my forehead before I stepped out into the dark, cold night.

The cold refreshing breeze washed my face as I looked up to see the bright stars illuminating the night sky just as I heard the front door click behind me. I looked to my left to see Xavier already opening the passenger door seat to his car as I embarrassingly picked up my pace and slipped inside his sleek car.

I waited for Xavier to round his car before taking the driver's seat then started the car before driving out of my cave. I sighed peacefully and closed my eyes, giving myself into the warmth. Before one word could even escape my mouth, his phone starting ringing in one of the cup holders in between the seats.

He kept one hand on the wheel as the other picked up the phone. "What's up, Carl?"

I watched his facial expression turn dark as he continued on with his conversation with whoever was on the other side of the phone; Carl. His last word was 'coming' before he ended the call and placed it back in the cup holder before looking at me as I held a bemused facial expression.

"Hold on tight, baby cakes," Xavier whispered before observing the outside of the car.

We were on a deserted road, well there were only a car or two but Xavier had the nerve to speed, going God knows what km per hr. I gripped onto the seat and sucked in a breath, looking at him as if he was a madman but his dark eyes were trained on the road, his grip on the wheel was tight as if he was suffocating it. It was all too fast, I couldn't observe the surroundings but I knew that he was on a more crowded street, dodging cars here and there as I could hear other cars honking at his.

~

~

"Are you okay?" Xavier asked worriedly as I placed a finger in the air before crouching down, my hand on my stomach as I could feel my sick stomach do back flips. The bad ones.

After a few seconds, my stomach calmed down as I stood up and glared at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Xavier gave me an apologetic smile before he and I observed the area. The thick, dark trees surrounded a large field packed with groups of people, mostly men. My eyes widened at the sight of motorcycles parked in a row as my eyes snapped back towards the people in groups.

They were gangs.

I managed to make out the black leather jackets that most of them was wearing with gold or silver studs on the shoulders and sleeves in the dark. I gulped, hair standing on end as I looked up to Xavier whose eyebrows were narrowed in together, scanning the area. I looked at my hand, my eyes widening further at the trembling, realizing that I was damn terrified. I bit my lip and in a flash, Xavier's big hand covered my own, fingers locking as he gave me a reassuring smile whilst my cheeks began to heat up in the cold.

"Never leave my side," Xavier whispered before taking many steps forward as I realized that we were beginning to move.

After a few minutes of walking, turning left and right, dodging comments that were thrown at us by other gang members, we finally reached a small group that consisted of Aubree, Marco, Luke, and Carl. My eyes widened at the sight of my sister with her hands on her hips, not showing any fear as her eyes scanned the area until they landed on me.

"Oh hell no," Aubree muttered as she angrily stormed towards us, pushing Carl and Luke to the side in the process as Xavier's hands tightened around mine.

"You promised you would never bring her here!" Aubree shouted as she glared at Xavier.

"We were supposed to go out but Carl called me saying it was an emergency and I had no choice," Xavier explained calmly as he gave her an unreadable expression.

Aubree pinched the bridge of her nose and nodded. "You should go talk to the boys. I'll take care of Thea."

Xavier hesitated before letting go of my hand. I almost wanted to cry out and reach for his hand again but I fought myself back. I faced Aubree as she gave me an apologetic look before engulfing me in a tight hug. "At least you will get to experience this journey with me."

I bit my lip and nodded before she pulled away. She tugged on my hand towards the boys as we formed a group. The breeze got colder as I managed to snuggle into Aubree's side for warmth. I met Xavier's eyes and hell did it scare me. Xavier's face was emotionless yet his fists were clenched tightly, eyes were saying everything.

He needed to punch someone.

Suddenly, Xavier turned around and walked towards a bigger group fearlessly and just before he reached the person in the middle, he managed to kick the person in the manhood then landed a punch on his face. The person's group backed away slowly, not wanting to involve themselves with Xavier and his boys as Carl, Luke and Marco were already surrounding Xavier and the person, facing the person's boys with their arms crossed. Aubree looked at me and bit her lip before tugging me forward, joining Marco's side as he shot me a wink.

My stomach turned upside down as I managed to make out who Xavier was punching. Derek's cheeks were bruised as his eyes held guilt but he was fighting back, landing his fist on Xavier's jaw. My jaw dropped as my hands flew to my mouth instantly. I could hear Marco count down from 3 before removing himself from his position before trying to pull Xavier away, Luke and Carl included.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Aubree whispered calmly, holding my arm tightly. "Xavier has a good reason."

The other gangs were minding their own business as if what was happening did not interest them at all. I watched Derek's boys helped him up but Derek refused the help as he brushed off their hands and sent a deadly glare in Xavier's direction who was dusting off dirt from his outfit.

"What the fuck, Walker," Derek managed to spit out as he wiped the blood that was trickling down his lips.

"Don't 'what the fuck' me, Dickworth," Xavier replied, unclenching and clenching his bruised hand. "You know what you did wrong."

Derek's eyes met mine as a smirk formed on his lips crossing his arms over his chest. My stomach was boiling with fear. "Ah, the angel is here."

Xavier went rigid at the nickname Derek has officially given me. "Don't fuck around. Approach my sister one more time and I'll fuck you up."

Sister?

Derek's eyes never left mine. "I did not hurt your sister, calm the fuck down."

"But I knew you would've," Xavier argued before turning around and walking into my direction, placing an arm around me before kissing my temples which made my heart flutter.

Derek's eyebrow narrowed in on us and I could already see his fists clenching.

What was Xavier doing?

Aubree raised an eyebrow at his gesture as I sent her a weak smile in her direction.

Xavier and his boys had one hand in a fist and the other open before they connected them at the same time in Derek's direction before turning away, also forcing me to turn away before we walked off together.

"Now this is what you call 'Squad Goals'," Aubree whispered with excitement as I chuckled nervously.