The Crew: A New Beginning

Chapter 12

6 months later..............

It had been 6 months since the festival. 6 months since everything went down. 6 months since I gained my boyfriend back and earned 2 new friends, lost a few. I thought about this as I pulled. a light blue loose baby doll style dress over my head and smoothed the material over my growing stomach. Out of that 6 months, since Josh had moved into my apartment and Jake and Ava got together, I was now 4 months pregnant. I smiled to myself, thinking how things worked out. Everything was back to normal, or as normal as it gets. "Ella! Hurry up, we're gonna be late!" Josh called from the lounge room. I gave my long dark brown hair a quick brush, slipped into my converse shoes and grabbed my bag as I headed out the bedroom door. "Ready," I say, smiling, just as Josh turned to look at me. "Whoa babe, if your mum saw you in that dress, she'd probably kill you," Josh teased, obviously commenting on how short my dress was. I shrugged, pretending to tug it down with no effort and no success. I grinned. It was above the knee, but dangerously short. Not that I cared as Josh pulled me to him, kissing me passionately on the lips before grabbing my hand and his car keys. We were meeting Ava and Jake and Tommy and Ashley for dinner that night. Apparently it was going to be a celebration of Tommy getting promoted at the racetrack to track manager. Josh also told me he had a surprise waiting as well.

Once we got to the dazzling strip of Surfers, instead of pulling into a parking space, Josh drove further down the road to a spot that was quiet, where the beach closed off into an alcove. Curious I turned to him. "What's this? A move from the Twilight Zone?" I joked nervously. Josh also looked nervous, as he kept running his hands through his hair, but he smiled a genuine smile anyways and shook his head. "No, but you'll see," he replied as we got out of the car and made our way towards the beach. I froze when I saw tea lights scattered across the strip of beach. I realised what was happening when he got down on one knee, the breeze blowing my hair as he pulled out a velvet small box and I gasped. "Miss Ella Watson, will you marry me?" He asked nervously, looking at me intently. Then briefly added, "Your parents and mine do know about this by the way."
I felt myself relax and a wide smile spread 9n my lips. "Yes! A thousand Yeses, a billion yeses!" I replied, as he slipped the Tiffany & Co ring on my finger and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him tighter as he pulled me to him, gently wrapping his arms around my waist. "I love you, always and forever," he murmured into my hair. I giggled and whispered back in his ear, "I love you always and forever too."

We ended up later than expected at the restaurant but when we rocked up, Tom, Ashley, Ava and Jake were all congratulating us as we announced our engagement. "Took you two long enough, even with a kid on the way," Tom teased as he clapped his best mate on the back and gave me a hug. As we sat down to eat, Ava sighed with content and squeezed Jake's arm. "Would you believe it's been 6 months already since we ran those street rats out of town?" Ava said with a grin. "It's been the calmest 6 months ever!" I nodded. "Yeah I agree. At least we don't have to deal with Annabelle anymore," I replied as I took the menu card Josh was holding. It was true. After Josh and I sort of, eloped, Tommy and Ashley helped get rid of CeeCee and Annabelle, once again by threatening them with bringing up the past. As for Jake, he really had eyes for Ava, once he realised that I was back with Josh. It did seem weird, seeing Josh's ex with another guy, but there was a great sense of peace and friendship now between everyone in the group. "So, what's our next adventure?" Tommy asked when we finished ordered food. My eyes slid over to Josh who smiled. "I think it's time we focus on what's important to us," Josh replied, looking back at me and squeezing my hand. I was about to say something when a tall guy with black hair, tinted sunglasses and gangsta looking attire headed straight to our table. "I'm looking for a Josh Hollister" the guy said in a breathless tone. Josh raised his eyebrows, and pointed to himself. "That would be me," he answered. "Who's asking?" The guy slid into an empty seat in between Tommy and Jake and looked across at Josh.

"My name is Scott Cameron. I work as an undercover cop for the Gold Coast Police Department. I'm here to recruit you and your crew on an undercover assignment," he said. There were gasps and whispers around the table. "Are you kidding me?" Tommy suddenly burst out. "What in the world would an undercover cop such as yourself want with us? You're basically our age dude." The undercover cop, Scott, gave him a glare. "If I'm correct, you guys took down a guy named Billy a few years ago who was stealing luxury cars and selling them on the black market. Apparently there's a deeper hole than that little sting and since you know the streets here and this type of scene, I thought you all could be my eyes and ears on this," Scott snapped sharply. I blinked. How could this be? Josh and I knew both Billy and his brother were in jail now, so who could be behind stealing cars now? Josh pursed his lips. "The only people who'd know bout that stuff is the hardcore street racers. My crew doesn't really do that.......although we were involved in one illegal one......." Josh shifted in his seat and dropped his gaze. Undercover Cop scoffed. "We do have records Hollister. If you want them cleared, I suggest you take up my offer." Scott looked squarely at Josh, who seemed to squirm in his seat. The others fell silent. Not knowing what to say. Finally I piped up. "Well, looks like we got our next adventure," I say, glancing at my friends and fiancé. Josh looked at me then and I noticed something in his face I had never seen before; dread and worry. He looked back up at Scott. "We'll take your offer. So long as Ella, stays out of this," he replied, quietly. I looked up at him in surprise. "Wait, what?" I say, confused. He looked back at me. "Things just got real. Those illegal events, the ACTUAL street events, have low-lying criminals hiding between them. I don't want you getting hurt, especially when......." He trailed off looking at my barely noticeable baby bump. I looked more worried and concerned. Looking back at the young officer, I spoke. "When will this project take place?"
Scott took off his tinted glasses and stared at everyone at the table, his eyes landing on me and I gulped. How could anyone have the most intense eyes? "We start as soon as we can," he replied. His gaze then fell back on Josh, who looked rigid and tense in his seat. "There's an underground event happening I believe in a couple of weeks. You'll be hearing from me then with what you need to do, no improvising." The undercover cop got up from the table then and started to walk out of the restaurant. Josh hesitated before getting up after him. "Hey! How will you contact us?" Josh called out. Scott turned back, his eyes now glazing over like ice. "Like I mentioned, Hollister, we have you on our records. Just don't bail." And then the cop was gone. Josh shivered, his mind flipping back to a few months ago before the car fest. That mysterious phone call he got. He rubbed his chin absently as he sat back down at the table, where the hustle and bustle of chatting and eating had resumed.

Later that night, when we got back to our apartment, Josh was still quiet. "Okay, what's going on in that brain of yours?" I asked finally, as I dropped down into the sofa, patting the seat next to me. Josh sat down, fiddling with his watch strap on his wrist. "Awhile ago.......i got a mysterious call. And now this weird officer guy says he got me on file. Sure Tommy and I only been to one underground event but, we never did anything illegal," he said with a frown. I took his hands in mind and squeezed them gently. "Hey, it's going to be ok, and at least you'll be helping people. Just as long as you don't get hurt and just as long as you're here when this little one is born," I replied quietly. Josh pulled me into his lap and wrapped me up in a big warm hug, nuzzling my cheek. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" He murmured into my ear. I giggled and kissed him. "Not as much as I love you," I replied with a smile. "Always and forever. I promise."