I walk towards my locker and decide to avoid Ashton today. If I don't talk to him, maybe this stupid crush will go away... Actually, no, I don't have a crush on him. I hate him! Yep!

You're supposed to help me get over him! No. Shut up! You know crushes don't mean anything, right? Especially when your crush doesn't like you back... Of course not! That would be so awkward!

He would probably laugh, thinking I'm just being sarcastic! Then I would laugh, but then on the inside, I'd cry. How do you know?

Before I could get a response, someone placed their hands over my eyes. "Guess who!" I heard Ashton say.

"I'd remove your hands before I jab you," I answer.

"Wrong. That's also not a name." He says, taking back his hands.

"Does Asshole work?" I ask, turning to face him.

"Lynn, that's not original." He says with a disappointed face.

"What do you want?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Nothing. You look beautiful, by the way. I like the braids." Ashton says, looking straight ahead while walking.

Caught off guard by his compliment, I feel my face turn a darker shade of red. No shit, thanks for helping!

"Thank you," I say quietly. "Um, are you ready for our presentation?" I ask, changing subjects.

"Yep, we'll easily get an A." He says, no longer walking. "Can you hold this?" He asks.

My hand goes up to hold whatever he's talking about, but there's nothing there. "Wha-" Before I could ask, he smoothly captured my hand.

We continue walking to class, but this time we're holding hands. I can't decide if I'm cringing or happy, but Ashton and I don't glance at each other.

Our presentation went smoothly despite the whole holding hands thing, and we still haven't brought it up. We're walking to our last class when Ashton and I receive a text simultaneously.

I know something about Ashton that you don't. I wouldn't trust him if I were you -E

I show the text to Ashton, and he shows me the same message. "What do you think this is about?" He asks.

"I'm not sure," I answer. Someone is either spying on us or bugged the meeting room.

I get home and see my dad in his office. "Hey Sweetheart, how was school?" He asks.

"Okay... I got this text message." I say, showing him my phone. "Ashton received one too. We think it's from Evanescent."

"Did you tell someone you guys were working together?" He asks.

"No, we didn't tell anyone. Do you know if the conference room was bugged?" I ask.

He shakes his head and says, "Ashton's parents made sure it wasn't, and then your mom and I double-checked."

My mom walks into the office and says, "I tried tracking where the text came from. But it was a dead end. I assume they got a burner phone and then threw it out after sending the text."

"Thanks for trying. I have to check on a shipment. I'll see you guys later." I say, leaving their office.

I meet up with Mila at the dock and see our customer waiting for us. "Give us the containers, and we'll give you the money." He says.

"We're not stupid. You're supposed to show you actually have the amount we asked for, and then we give you your order." I say.

"I wanted a peaceful exchange, but you bitches don't look like you know what you're doing." He says with an annoyed expression.

I see movement behind him and immediately grab my gun. A group of masked shooters aim for all of us, so we all hide behind pillars and boxes.

For a second, I think he called back up from Evanescent, but he started firing back at them. I shoot a few guys in the head and try to stay focused. This has to be Evanescent threatening just me. They're wearing the same masks Ashton and I saw last weekend.

I see someone trying to take our containers, and Mila is the first to shoot their chest. They fall back into the water, and she grabs a couple of people to retrieve the containers.

Everyone starts to retreat, and I ask Mila, "What the hell was that?"

"How'd they know we'd be here?" She asks. I keep my face blank while Mila talks about what happened, and I come up with a possible answer.

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