Page 49 of Love Fire

Brent digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He scrolls to a photo and shows me. “There are iridescent warehouses up in the mountains.”

“Oh my god,” I say. He did do it. I should’ve had more faith. “I just heard all that gun fire and thought the worst.”

“I managed to snap that picture before I was found out. Sure, it was a bit touch and go once the bullets started to fly. But, I’m Brent of the Draconis Fire. Nothing is stopping me from my mission.”

I lean over and hold Brent close. He wraps his huge arms around me and holds me tight.

“It’s Okay,” he says.

“I was just so worried.”

“Don’t be,” he responds with a huge smirk. “The only people you should be worried about is whoever is waiting for us at those warehouses.”

“Right now?”

“Of course, it’s a long drive into the mountains. Better leave now.”

I nod. “Let’s do this. Let’s send my father a message.” I pull the car back onto the road and we begin our trip into the mountains.

41

BRENT

The drive’s a little calmer now that we head up the mountain. The chase lasted longer than anticipated but we evaded them successfully. Erin knows how to work a wheel. Now we can breathe.

The road starts getting bumpy once we hit the path up. I reach behind my seat for some chips. I sneeze when the spicy dust touches my nose. I offer some to Erin as I eat a mouthful of chips.

“Want some?”

She glances. “Can I have the barbecue ones instead?”

“Ew, gross. Try one of mine first.”

I put the bag in her face. She shoves it at my face. The dust gets in my nose again and I sneeze a little hard. Smoke comes out of my nose and ears.

Erin tries to hold back laughter. I can see she wants to make fun of me. She bites the inside of her cheeks and concentrates on the road. I pinch her behind.

She squeals. “Hey! I’m driving!”

I smirk. “That’s what you get.”

She rolls her eyes at me. Her favorite hobby, I’m beginning to notice. At least she seems relaxed.

After the chase we stopped by the grocery store and a random sports store. Last minute, we decided to do a stakeout. We geared up on food, tents, and an extra set of binoculars.

We’re going to bite back at her father. We’ll be destroying one of the iridescent warehouses to send him a message. See how he likes it.

I look over at Erin, munching on her disgusting chips. Her focus is on the road but I can see her mind’s elsewhere. There’s an emptiness in her eyes when she does that. It sometimes worries me.

“Hey—”

She snaps. “If you make fun of my chips I will smother you in your sleep.”

I raise my hands. “I wasn’t going to. I just wanted to ask you something. If that’s fine.”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, I just wanted to ask about your sister. You don’t really mention her and when someone else does, your face just goes…dark.”

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