The Driver

Chapter 16

I sit up in bed and check my phone to see 2 missed calls from Reese I quickly call him back and sneak out of Ryder's room. "Rae why haven't you answered your phone?" Reese asks and I can tell he is worried "I'm sorry I had it on silent and overslept is everything okay?" I ask and Reese takes a deep breath "okay so 2 issues I need your help with the first I have a date in an hour and need your help! What do I wear?" He asks clearly stressed out so I throw on a shirt and switch the call to FaceTime "alright let me see your options" I say and he shows me 2 options the first black jeans and a white button down and the second khakis and a blue button down "hmm wear the black jeans and the blue button down shirt your eyes will pop and he will be staring at your ass" I say and Reese grins "you're the best thank you Rae" he says and then puts a serious face on "okay so I've been scanning for any chatter or anything about the gala tonight and my gut tells me something is off" he says and I furrow my eyebrows "what do you mean?" I say knowing if he has a bad feeling he is always right "you need to be armed and ready for anything Rae I could be wrong but I have a bad feeling about tonight" I take a deep breath "you're never wrong Reese" I stroll to my bag and pull out my knives when Ryder walks into the room "don't worry Reese I'll protect him at all costs just keep me updated I'll talk to you later" I say and hang up the call. "What was that about?" Ryder asks crossing the room and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Reese has a date and has a bad feeling about the gala" I say and Ryder sighs "we will be armed and ready but for now I need a shower" he says and pulls me into my bathroom. I turn on the water and Ryder pulls me into him and puts his lips on mine and kisses me. Before I know it he has my shirt off and we're in the shower. He presses me against the shower wall and kisses down my neck. He lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist.
When we're done I wash my hair and Ryder washes my body. We rinse off and get out of the shower. Ryder kisses me again before leaving to get dressed and I dry my hair and get ready for the day knowing we will come back here before the gala. I put my wig and makeup on along with dark blue skinny jeans and a black top with my boots. I meet Ryder outside of my room and ask the question that's been on my mind since I woke up. "How does this work now? Are we together? do we hide it? What's the plan?" I ask and Ryder chuckles and guides me to the couch. "Okay first of all do you want us to be together?" He asks and i nod "I do but if you don't that's okay" I say and he smiles "I want us to be together Rae I meant what I said last night" he leans in and kisses me again. "That being said I do think it's for the best if we remain professional while on the job but in private you're all mine" he says and pulls me onto his lap making me laugh. "Okay sounds good so we keep it a secret?" He nods "for now yes" he says and I get up "alright deal now what's on the agenda because I'm starving" I say and head towards the door "let's go get brunch and then we can do some last minute sight seeing before we have to get ready for the gala" he says and I grin and grab 2 disposable cameras "why do I have a feeling I know where we're going?" He says and I shrug and walk out the door. After brunch I drive us back to the Harry Potter set and grab the cameras. "Come on wizard let's go" I say and head to the gift shop. I make a beeline for the robes and grab a slytherin for Ryder and gryffindor for me along with 2 hats and 2 wands. I give Ryder his and put mine on. Ryder rolls his eyes and put his on too. We take tons of pictures of each other pretending to be wizards and take pictures of the 2 of us together. In a few photos we are kissing but in my favorite he is giving me a piggy back ride while I wave my wand. Before we know it it's time to grab food and head back to the hotel. Before we leave I make sure to grab a hufflepuff robe for Reese and some Bertie botts every flavor beans.
When we get back to the hotel with our takeout food we eat and discuss the plans for the gala. "Reese gave me this bracelet that the beads come off and I can place them as listening devices" I show Ryder and then pull out my black bag that had my other weapons in it "this is a smoke bomb, and I have 2 flash bombs and this pen has a paralytic in it all you do is click the pen and stab them" Ryder looks at me and I shrug my shoulders "what? I'm always prepared" I say and he chuckles "you know you're quite scary for a girl" he says and I smile "I'll take that as a compliment" I say and head to my room to get ready. When I'm done getting ready and have all of my knives and gear hidden perfectly I put on the bracelet and earrings. I walk out of my room and instantly hear Ryder whistle "damn you look sexy Rae" he says "you don't look too bad yourself" I say and quickly fix his tie. "Ready to go?" I ask and he nods "yes but first" he pulls me in and kisses me deeply then pulls away "sorry I had to kiss you while I had the chance" and walks out the door leaving me staring after him "you coming or what?" He calls back over his shoulder and I laugh following after him. When we get in the car we put our earpieces in and head to the gala. Reese's voice comes through the earpiece "damn girl you clean up nice" I smile "thanks Reese cup oh I forgot to tell you I got you a present" I say and Reese squeals like a girl making me and Ryder cringe "damnit Reese not so loud through the earpiece!!" Ryder yells "sorry boss I got excited is it from Hogwarts?" Reese says and I just grin in response. "Score I knew you were my best friend Rae" Reese says "aww you're my bestie too" I say in response.
I tell Ryder that we will be arriving in a minute and he puts his gun in the hidden holster on his lower back. "Ready?" I ask as I park ghost and get out to get boss. "Ready let's do this" he says and we head into the gala. As we walk into the gala I make note of every exit as we walk past an alcove I notice Ricky talking to another man and I discreetly toss a bead from my bracelet so it lands at their feet. When we get to the small ballroom I notice tables off to the right and a dance area to the left that leads out to a garden. "It's beautiful" I say as we walk to a table that has our names on it. We notice Victor and Adrian are also seated at the table. I look over at Adrian and ask "Chelsea couldn't make it?" Adrian shakes his head "no she's been having Braxton Hicks contractions all day and her doctor said she is not to leave the house unless she is going to the hospital so naturally I paid the doctor to stay with her." I laugh "Poor Chelsea I'll make sure to send her pictures and you bring her home some food" I say "yes ma'am" Adrian says and I scowl at him "watch it" I say seriously causing Victor to chime in "I'd listen to her Adrian this girl is crazy" and I smile at him. "Only if you piss off or disrespect my boss or myself" and Adrian looks between me and Victor "okay what did I miss?" he asks and Victor happily recounts the other day with slight exaggeration if you ask me. "Seriously Ryder?" Adrian says and Ryder just shrugs.
After awhile Francisco joins us and he and Ryder talk while I survey the room. I discreetly leave a bead in the middle of our table and 1 in the pocket of Francisco's jacket. I excuse myself to grab a drink and discreetly say "update" and Reese responds in my ear "keep a close eye on Ricky he clearly doesn't like you or Ryder and he is not to be messed with" he says "Francisco?" I ask and Reese says "from what I know Francisco thinks of Ryder as family so I doubt he knows what Ricky is up to but I'll keep an ear out" I sip my drink and grab another for Ryder as I head back to the table. When I get there a slow song comes on and Victor asks me to dance, I glance at Ryder and he nods for me to accept. Victor leads us to the dance floor and we begin to dance. "You're on edge is everything okay?" Victor asks "how could you tell?" I reply and he chuckles "for starters" he says and dips me "you're armed and you bugged our table" he says and I mask my surprise with a smile "how did you know?" I say and he twirls me "because we're a lot alike you and I, I came prepared as well" I look at him seriously and he smiles "I had a bad feeling about tonight and I see you did too" I glance at Ryder who is already watching us "tell me Victor can I trust you?" I say and Victor looks me dead in the eye "you can I'm on your side Rae and I've got your back" I smile "what do you know that I don't?" I ask him and he glances around the room "between the 2 of us I'm the only one here you can truly trust" I slightly squint my eyes at him "you can trust your boss but will he protect you as well as you protect him?" He asks and I pause "I know you two are attracted to one another but be careful" he twirls me once more as the song ends "it was a pleasure dancing with you Rae" and leads me back to the table where Ryder asks to dance.
When we get on the dance floor Ryder holds me in his arms as the song begins and asks me "everything okay?" I smile "of course" I notice Ricky join the dance floor with a beautiful woman. I slightly squeeze Ryders hand and feel his muscles tense up. "Looks like I'm not the only one who plays with knives" I say as I spot a knife hidden in the sleeve of Ricky's tux. I glance back at our table and catch Victor's eye and look towards Ricky and his eyes follow he seemingly understands what I'm trying to say because when he looks back at me he taps his waist where I noticed a gun was hidden. I look around the room and notice 5 other men in near identical tuxes watching us "Reese" I say and look up at Ryder and smile softly knowing Hell is about to break loose. Ryder twirls me and in that moment Ricky pulls out his knife.