Blackstone Academy: The Rogue

41. Nova Rose

Nova P.O.V

Date: December 15, 2238

Regret swelled inside my chest as soon as we left the tunnel, and an icy blast of air hit us. A reality check from Mother Nature, but it was much too late to retract my decision. I'd put on a brave front for Troy and the others, but mainly for myself. Cause I feared if I contemplated too deeply who we were attempting to find, I'd stop. And I'd imagine anyone else would in my position.

A thief, and even worse by my purview, Troy's ex.

Sure, she was Maddox's cousin, but that didn't change the fact she and Troy were once together. But oh, well. You live, and you learn. C'est la vie. And all that jazz.

Throughout the trip, my chattering teeth provided a soundtrack as we glided along the train tracks. And when we'd finally reached our destination, I leaped off the machine, risking twisting my ankle in my haste to get away from it.

After a short hike through the forest, we stood, hidden amongst the trees, observing the warehouse. For how long? I couldn't be sure. But the pain in my lower back and the snowflakes on my eyelashes told me far too long.

A cold blast of pine-scented air brought my attention back to the warehouse.

No one.

Not a single person had left or approached the building since we'd arrived, and the blacked-out windows didn't allow us even a glimpse inside.

"Jax? Jax!" Troy's voice sounded through my earpiece. He was behind the tree and a few feet ahead of me on my left side.

"Yeah?" Jax's voice came back.

"Did you get in touch with Ryder?"

"Yeah, he's coming. He's still fifteen minutes out."

"Okay. That should give us enough time to do what we need to do. Can you give us a rundown of what's inside? And how many people were dealing with?"

"I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine. I can only access the outside cameras." Jax spoke over rapid keyboard clicks. "Just before you guys arrived, I saw two people unload something from the back of the truck before disappearing inside, but that's about it. Sorry, I can't give a more accurate count."

I looked at the single set of footprints leading from the black armored truck to the warehouse and the path of the tire tracks imprinted in the snow, confirming what Jax told us.

"That'll do, Jax. How many exits?"

"I only see two. The front and a side door near the loading dock."

"Okay, let's move in," Troy commanded.

We jogged from the treeline to the side of the warehouse, pressing our shoulders against the cold brick wall. Troy eased forward, peeking around the corner to check the entrance.

I stepped forward, following after him. When my boot thumped against a dark object poking out of the snow, I stopped.

"What's that?" Maverick asked.

I kicked away the snow, revealing the object. "Toy gun."

"Give it to me," Maverick said with his hand out. "It could come in handy."

Shrugging, I passed it to him.

"I have an idea," He said, blinking away the snowflakes sticking to his eyelashes while tucking the gun into his waistband. "We don't have the man or firepower to go barging inside the warehouse, and there's no telling how many people are inside. But the one thing we have is the element of surprise on our side."