Ashley's POV"Who the hell is this guy?" David asked, turning to me. I didn't answer right away. Instead I stepped further into the room, towards one of the holographic screens nearest to Zara. Images of my children slid past, casual and candid moments they shared with one another and with me. Rhea held a flower crown in one of them, Jace pretending to be asleep while a wide smile spread across his face. Catching sigh of his cute dimples, I gasped, as emotions swirled within me. "They'd be bigger now," I mumbled, brushing the screen without thinking. It magnified the image of Jace, his dimple spreading all over the screen. "Yeah," Zara replied a bit dryly. "That was the last time we caught signal of them. And believe me we'd have gotten them under our claws but..." I didn't get her last words, as my thoughts were already on the stats and digital footprints and biometrics that were along the pictures. But the most catching of it all, their fake IDs. I blinked severally, my lips
Ashley's POV"Yeah," I replied, trying to sound composed and feigning a smile. "I'm fine." The very moment the words came out of my mouth, the taxi came to a halt. The tires made a soft squeak and the vehicle pulled up before a towering structure that was cloaked with luxury. It was was a hotel, with its name etched in silver on a dark marble slab near the entrance. "Coast is clear Zara," the driver said in a calm voice, leaning slightly. Zara nodded slightly and reached for the door handle. "Let's move." She stepped out first, David behind her. I followed, the scent of the California air mingling with faint jasmine. I looked around sharply, noting how the streets were quiet. Not a soul loitered, no single camera in sight. I felt safe.Only a little too safe. The doors of the building slid open even before we reached them, with motion sensors recognizing our presence. We stepped inside, cold air washing over us despite the jacket we wore. The lobby was a perfect blend of underst
Ashley's POV"The wheels just kissed the tarmac ladies!!" Rodney announced just as I felt the jet slow to a steady crawl. The engines slowly hummed down, the big bird rolling elegantly across the private runway. We had landed. Without a word did Zara get up to her feet, disappearing with purposeful movements into a small inner cabin near the rear of the aircraft. A few moments later she re emerged with two sleek black jackets that slung over her shoulder and a pair of tinted specs in her hands. " You'd need this," she said, tossing a jacket to David and the other to me. " Put 'em on. You'll look every inch like those mid level corporate drones who are always in Zurich meetings.".David chuckled at this, winking at her Zara stylishly. I felt the texture of the jacket, noting instantly the smooth fabric and the nature at which it was tailored to fit yet nondescript enough to draw no attention. I slid it on and caught a glimpse of my reflection in the polished side panel. I could bar
Ashley's POVThe two strangers moved with expertise and precision. They flipped switches,scanned dials,and spoke to each other in efficient tones."Oh they're good at this," David complimented in a whisper,turning to me."The name's Ben," one of the strangers noted in a hushed tone too, a signal that he heard what David said. "And that grumpy guy over there is Rodney." Rodney glanced over his shoulder briefly and nodded. "A pleasure it is," he said, his eyes fixed on me intently before he strode towards me. He had confident strides, his face charming and quite alluring. Reaching me, he picked my hand up in the most high fashioned way and planted a kiss on it. "It's really a pleasure," he said again, winking and smiling. "Well... she's not exactly of that kind" David interrupted, making to pull my hand away from him. "The Alpha won't be so pleased to see this." Rodney caught what David meant, got to his feet and winked at me again before turning away. " Good old pals of mine," Z
Ashley's POV "Move!" Zara snapped. "Fast!" She turned around with urgency, the fire behind us blazing like a second sun and illuminating her fierce eyes. We all broke into a brisk walk, nearly jogging. We stumbled over the uneven terrain, passing the gravel that gradually turned to packed dirt, then narrowed into winding paths. The moonlight flickered through the trees, casting eerie shadows that seemed to dance at our feet. After several tense minutes of weaving through the paths, Zara came to a sudden halt. "Hold on a sec," she muttered, slipping her hand into her pocket and pulling out her phone. Raising it up slightly, her arm extended over her head and slowly made slow arcs, more like she was drawing invisible lines in the air. "Damn it," she muttered, clearly frustrated. She took two steps to her right, then to the left. David opened his mouth. "Do you mind .." "Yes!!" Zara hissed before he could even finish. She turned to us. "The explosion of the ambulance made it dif
Ashley's POVThe hum of the engine slowly became a lullaby, the vibrations of the road becoming a slow, steady heartbeat beneath me, harmonizing with mine. Zara spoke not another words after the checkpoint saga, her focus welded to the road ahead. David had leaned back too, his hands far away from his neck and his eyes slipping shut now and then. Where we were going to? I had not a flinch of an idea, but I knew for sure that I could trust Zara with that. The tension of the day, right from the fight back in the police station to that in Zara's makeshift house to the explosion in the bar, it all came crashing down like a weight over my chest and finally, exhaustion won. The darkness swallowed me whole as I shut my eyes. Then I was standing. But no longer in the car, not even in New York city. I stood barefoot on a cool marble flooring that was surrounded by a fog. I looked around, confused and ever willing to leave. But two figures suddenly appeared before me. They were partially o