MATE AND HIS LOVER 9

#24 You worked with him?

Frank drives fast over the wet roads, splashing mud everywhere, and in five minutes is running towards Nate on the training ground where Nate is having a deep conversation with Ross.

Panting, Frank says, "Nate! We have to talk."

"What is it?" Nate says, turning towards his friend.

"Alone," Frank quickly says.

Ross leaves the two boys alone.

"Why did you run? What's the matter?" Nate asks as Frank swipes away his forehead sweat.

"Daisy, she left."

In an instant, it's like Nate's heart dropped and hit the ground. He grabs Frank's collar. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he angrily says.

"Oh, not permanently!" Frank says, wresting his shirt from Nate's grasp. "She said she has a job in Mexico and will be back in a couple of days."

"And I told her not to leave for that job! Why did you let her go?"

"I told her not to leave. She didn't listen. It's not like I can detain her. Besides, she said she'll be back."

"And you believed her, the words of a thief?!"

Nate pushes his hair back. He doesn't like this. His heart is racing faster as if he had just finished a sprint. He's angry, while also a part of him is scared. Could he really believe she'll be back?

He decides he can't. "Call Drey right away, ask him to send someone close to the airport to fetch Daisy. Under no circumstance she can board her flight. And then book a plane for Mexico."

"What?! Now you are going with her?"

An hour later, through the window of the aircraft Daisy watches one of the workers in a white jumpsuit climb down from the right wing after performing his maintenance check. He signals the others around him. One by one, they all climb into their buggies and drive away.

With nothing left to watch, Daisy faces forward, and sighs.

It hasn't been long since Daisy was grabbed by one of Nate's men outside the ladies room in the airport when she finds herself seated opposite a glowering Nate inside a private jet.

Now that he finally has her attention, Nate says, "You can't just fucking pack up and leave. Our deal is not over yet!"

"I said I'll back in a day! And how dare you get me kidnapped? That fucking gave me a heart attack! I thought the Stantons found me!"

"If you keep this shit up with me, you'll soon be wishing you'd rather get caught by them," Nate says.

While the two are glaring at each other, one of the air hostess walks in. She says to Daisy, "Excuse me ma'am, I'll need your passport to do the paperwork."

Daisy rummages into her backpack, pulls out a passport and gives it to the hostess. The woman gingerly opens it and says, "Do you have any goods that needs to go through the customs Ms. Sabrina?"

Nate's brows crease. "Sabrina?"

Daisy shrugs. "I can't use my real name."

The hostess' eyes go wide. Nate grinds his teeth at Daisy before taking a look at the hostess' name badge.

He then puts on his best disarming smile at her. "Caroline, I'm sorry about troubling you with this. But can you pretend you just didn't hear that, and have the paper work done quickly?"

Caroline blushes. "Yes sir, I'll get it done. Will only take a moment."

After Caroline leaves, Nate looks at Daisy who has started eating a candy bar she brought with her. The scare she had when she thought Ian had found her when she was getting grabbed by Nate's guy has now made her hungry.

"What are you?" Nate says. "It's like you have no regard for any law. Why are you using a fake passport? What if you get caught?"

"I won't get caught. I've been doing this forever. Besides, prison is better than where the Stantons will put me in if they find me."

"Aren't you being overdramatic?"

Daisy gapes at Nate. She slides to the front over her seat's edge, grabs the armrests of Nate's seat and leans towards him. "You're not the only one with your men all over the damn town. The Stantons have men, women, children, bloody dogs and cats as well. I absolutely can not be caught by them!"

"How much did you steal?" Nate asks.

Daisy straightens and pulls back into her seat. "Just a few million. Nothing but a change for guys like you and him."

"Him?" Nate says.

Daisy freezes for a split second. Then quickly recomposes herself. "Whoever runs the gang. Anyway, they are loaded. What I stole is just a change to those jerks."

"You know Ian personally?" Nate asks as he stares at Daisy. 

Daisy pricks her thumb into her closed palm so she could focus on the pain instead of letting slip the shock and panic from hearing Ian's name from Nate show on her face.

Daisy smirks. "Everyone knows he's in charge of the Stantons these days. But I'm surprised a goody two shoes like you knows anything about the gang."

"Can't say I know that well, just heard of him. You worked with him? What exactly you did in the gang?"

Daisy dramatically laughs out loud, throwing her head back, to mask her anxiety. "Suddenly interested in my former employment, I see. All that matters is I'm out. Besides, no matter in what capacity anyone worked among the Stantons, everyone is just a dispensable lackey in that place," she says and pulls down the wrapper of the chocolate bar and takes a bite.

"Then why would they go the extra effort to track down a mere thief who stole just some of their pocket change?"

Daisy chews on the bar, not wanting to answer.

"What else did you do?" Nate says.

"Look, it's about their pride. They don't go easy on those who betray them."

That's not it, Nate thinks, by the look on Daisy's face, but before he could press further, the hostess is back with a stack of papers for Daisy to sign.

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