EVA BLACK

Chapter twenty-three

It was an abandoned building large and dark. The light from the moon made it look a little more eerie than it was supposed to. I looked around me into the dark empty street that was lit only by the single streetlamp that stood at the end of the street. I sighed lightly and put on my phone just to check whether I was indeed at the right location. The last thing I wanted was to get ambushed by whoever sent me the message. It was a very huge risk I was taking if by chance the message was from Cole.

I turned and headed into the building, it was dark and smelt stale. I could smell the lingering aroma of a cigarette recently smoked. The place was probably used by criminals for their overnight activities. I came into a large hall that I assumed was the lobby of the building. I stopped and waited but there was no sign of life.

"no one followed you?" a voice asked but the person's identity was hidden by the darkness.

"No, but you took your time" I replied in an even tone. I heard the person sigh.

"Had to make sure you played no tricks" I rolled my eyes but said nothing. "Put on your phone light"

I fumbled with my phone until I put on the torch. I shone light on the mystery individual and froze.

"Connor?" he grinned at me.

"Hey, Eva thought you might need some help"

"Cole will kill you if he found out" I told him. He shrugged and looked away for a moment.

"I'm considering leaving them and I thought the first step was to help the enemy" he used air quotes on the word enemy. "If you haven't figured, you have only a few days left before Cole attacks, but he seems to be planning something sinister before then, so you have to be careful" I sighed and nodded.

"Is that all?" I asked a after a pause" what exactly are you helping with?"

Connor grinned "I'm gonna hack the security cams and find the real culprit"

I gave him an unimpressed look "you should have done that a long time ago" I deadpanned.

He blushed and scratched the back of his neck "well, the security system was messed with, someone tampered with it so it's not so easy"

"So, what's in for you?" I inquired.

"I was hoping you'll find somewhere for me to stay if by chance the gang disbands" I smiled

"it's a deal red head" we heard a door slam shut from within the building. We both paused and I switched off my light. We waited for a few minutes to see if there was any other sound before we headed out of the building. We went our several ways without acknowledging each other. I started the walk home in the empty streets. The house was dark for the most part except for one window which I presumed was Ashton's office. I headed to the tree that sat outside my window and stopped when I saw Jack leaning on the tree staring a t me.

"where've you been?" he asked pushing himself off the ground and coming towards where I stood frozen at his sudden appearance. He shook me a bit when I gave no answer.

"out" was my only reply as I looked up to examine the route to climb through my window.

"Who was he? The red haired? It's the same guy from that night"

I narrowed my eyes at him "you followed me? How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that something's wrong, who's Cole?"

I sighed in annoyance, rubbing hard at my temple and fighting the urge to just scream.

"it's complicated, its long story and I don't want you to get involved" I said.

"What if I want to get involved?" he retorted. I chuckled.

"You don't know who we're dealing with, that guy will kill you without a second thought"

Jack shrugged and gave me a determined look "I don't mind dying as long as you're safe"

He paused "that's not what I came for anyway, I was wandering if you actually like me?"

I stared at him unsure of what to say. I'd never searched to actually know how I felt. I know I do feel butterflies every time he speaks to me. "I..um...I do" I stammered through my sentence but still conveyed the message. He grinned and bent low to peck my lips.

"See you around Eva" he called before running into the shadows. I turned towards the house and started my ascension to my room.