Strong For Too Long Trilogy ✔️

21. Losing Olive

CHAPTER 21: Losing Olive

The ground this man walked on was possessed. Perfected in every step he took, every firework that sparked his entrance when a man who seems to never remove his mask, his gear. He steps up with purpose as he's cheered on to stand by the many other celebrities around Aaron. Everything in me pauses when I see him walk up to a dark red Lamborghini. Aaron looks at the masked Candidate, calculating his next move. I drop back down next to Branson, who leans on the railing, each of them are moved into their respective cars. Tobias and Harrison step back, "Be truthful with me, how good is Aaron?" I ask Branson, slowly.

He looks down to me just as I look up to him, "He's the best driver in our group, I swear." He says to me. I stare at him for a long second.

"I truly hope so, Branson." I whisper to him, he steps forward, sliding his arms around me.

Just as I hear, "That better be just a friendly hug." Aaron teases on the earpiece.

"Did you seriously hear us?" Branson says with a puffed out scoff as he rubs my back while I lean on the railing and look down, meeting his beautiful cognac brown eyes, he blows me a kiss.

"I will be fine. I love you." He says to me over the earpiece.

I sigh in defeat, "I love you, too. Be safe. I may have nine lives, but we haven't tried to see how many you've got." I say to him, catching the kiss he blew. He chuckles lightly, warmly and I goes straight down my every limb, I loved that about him, just his voice could set me aflame now.

"I promise. We do have an engagement party to plan after all." He says as I see him slide into his car the moment they're all lined up. We saw the beginning and the end of the races, but in the middle, there were hidden tunnels, some so dark and narrow, it all depended on the car size, the driver's accuracy, the engine...it's all important.

I breathe slowly, "Fuck, I hate this feeling." I mutter.

Eight smiles in her seat by Javier, "You're just scared for him, he'll be fine." She reassures me.

"And I will be. Just breathe, honey." Aaron says over the earpiece, sounding amused, along with something else indecipherable against the sound of his voice that had me stilling and wishing we had switched places.

"The fact that you are reassuring me right now, Aaron..." I say to him, trailing off in my annoyed worry. He laughs lightly as I watch the countdown begin.

"I will be fine. I promise." He murmurs softly to me, I step away from the others, changing the earpiece to just his.

"If you win, I say we bump up our promise of the wedding night, to tonight." I say to him.

Right as I see the cars move at great speed and Aaron shoots straight forward in a speed that I knew was fumed with adrenaline and something else much more distinct as he begins taking the lead. Only when I see Candidate Zero not far behind him. I fold my arms tightly, just before Tobias growls lowly, "We have activity, VIP, level Thirteen just below us, opposite side. Woman in red, I see her." He says, Thirteen steps in next to him, grabbing the binoculars.

"Let's go." She says to me, nodding to Branson and Reynolds, who grab their guns, ready too.

This was the part I didn't tell Aaron, because I needed him to focus on the race, which would end in exactly fifteen minutes. I give Thirteen an earpiece, "Measure how many candidates are here, I need to trace their vehicles but to do that, we have to get through how ever many candidates this woman has brought up to keep protection. I take the stairs to the left, Thirteen takes the ones on the right as we move quickly, when I come across the first two candidates, I side glance their wrists before ducking and slamming my shoulder into the closest one, shoving him straight into the wall, not a grunt murmurs as the other almost slices my cheek, I moved aside, sliding my arm under his, both facing forward, I grab his chin and flip him through the air, over towards the three new candidates facing up them until I knew I was ambushed.