Confidential

Chapter 4: Rose's Well

The car ride was deadly silent. The Lieutenant and I drove in a separate vehicle, the others piled into the van which had become a mobile command centre. I could hear them joking around through the earpiece, laughter breaking up as Albert tried to regain everybody's focus.

I sat in the passenger seat, my eyes subconsciously drifting to the steering wheel.

There was a sense of anxiety brewing in my blood. The Rose's Well was known within the criminal underworld; all sorts of people came there. I had been there a handful of times in the last few years as well. Sometimes to find somebody who had useful information, sometimes to accompany Michael. He had his own bodyguards, but a woman didn't attract that much attention in these places. At least not the suspicious kind.

Would Michael have men planted there? Would he intervene and snatch the target away before we could make a move? No, he wouldn't raise suspicion like that – and there was no way he knew we were headed there to begin with. I hadn't given him the intel and I wouldn't until this was over.

I lifted my gaze to the Lieutenant's face. His jaw was set, eyes hyper focussed on the road ahead. He had a different air around him with his face uncovered, dressed in civilian clothes. Not exactly an approachable one, but I decided I preferred this.

Running my hands over my jeans, I nestled them between my thighs and turned away again. I didn't need him to catch me staring. There was something about him, I thought, something that pulled me to him every time he was close. I didn't know what it was: a threat or something more?

'Do we need to go over the briefing before we arrive?'

I shook my head, 'Everything's clear. We get in, find the target, lure him out.' I could see him glance over from the corner of my eyes. 'Eyes on the road.'

'You better not fuck this up,' he grumbled back before looking ahead again.

The corner of my lips tugged up for a split second. Silence grew again.

Part of me understood why he was so harsh. The life he had lived sharpened a person, it stripped them of many things and I doubted he had time for women in his life. Regardless of what anybody says, it had an impact.

I glanced down at my tucked away hands as that feeling of anxiety grew. I didn't usually get nervous, too many guns had been fired my way to still feel the jitters. But somehow, I couldn't shake it tonight. And I knew it was rubbing off on the Lieutenant, as he kept glancing over at me every so often.

'We're here,' he eventually announced as he pulled the car into a tight spot, off the main road.

I went to unbuckle my seatbelt, but a strong hand stopped me. My eyes snapped up to his, confused.

'I don't care what you think of me or how your sentiments are towards me,' he spoke lowly, 'Once we step out of this car, your life is in my hands – And mine is in yours.'

The message was clear. He had my back as long as I had his. This could turn ugly and it was the goal to both make it out if that was the case. I nodded but his hand didn't let me go. It squeezed around my wrist, as if to drive the message home.

'Yes, sir.'

He looked pleased and let me go before stepping out of the car. I took a deep breath and shook my head. What had I gotten myself into?

I padded my ribs to make sure my gun was still there as I stretched, my eyes scanning the quite street around us. The Lieutenant came to stand next to me, doing much of the same as I was until I felt his hand snake around my waist.

With slightly wide eyes, I turned to him. Somehow he had gotten close, his chest almost bumping into my as I moved. I could feel the warmth he radiated bounce off me. It didn't burn, it welcomed.