Damaged Goods

Chapter 19- Expect the Unexpected

"Aria, get your priorities straight!" Nate hollered, agitated at her unreasonable demands.

"Nate, you heard the phone call! Those goons won't be here for another twenty minutes. That's more than enough time to bring the groceries in," complained Aria.

Yes, of course the food should wait until later, but damn it! She was hungry now! When this baby decided it needed to eat, you better already have the food in your mouth or it would make its anger known. It was still too small to feel movements, but nausea was a much more powerful weapon.

Nate rolled his eyes at her dramatics and replied, "I think you'll survive. We have bigger things to worry about right now."

Aria wanted to argue but knew he was right. Hungry was much better than dead, and far less permanent.

"Alright, but you better have gotten everything on my list," she grumbled, sounding like a whiney child but she didn't care.

"Trust me, it's all there and some. Even the stocker didn't know what half of that was so we bought anything it might have meant," Nate griped.

She wanted to laugh at their immature banter, but she began to feel he nausea rearing its ugly head.

"Oh no you don't! I know that sour face, Aria! Go up to your bathroom, you're not puking all over my sofa!" Nate ordered.

Wow, way to be considerate! She should just throw up all across his new rug too, she thought defiantly.

"No time!" she hollered, dashing into the kitchen.

As she emptied her stomach down the drain, Nate and the young spy discussed their plan of attack. The spy seemed genuinely sorry and Nate hoped he would pull through on his word to help. The kid was too young to get himself caught up in this life. Aria didn't belong in this mess either. As much of a royal pain in the ass as she was at times, he was pretty fond of the mouthy little hell-cat. Not to mention she was carrying his inherited niece or nephew.

That threw in a whole new level of determination for Nate.

"Alright, so we've got our plan. Follow through on your part and I will mine," Nate told the man. "Most importantly, no harm comes to Aria."

The spy agreed; this was all too messed up and the woman was involved in this because he took the word of one crazed man over what the evidence suggested. He didn't know the girl, but felt the need to protect her as she didn't kill him when she had the chance.

By the time they thought they had everything in order, their time was up. Aria was still in the kitchen trying to settle her stomach and the men were due any minute. Nate saw rather than heard the door knob turning and the door beginning to open.

Showtime.

Nate silently crept behind the sofa where the spy was going to pretend he had passed out. He wasn't stupid; if he laid down with his eyes closed, the chances of them walking up and putting a bullet in him were astronomically high, so he crouched and waited. What he wasn't expecting came next.

"Travis, where'd you pick up the other two? I thought it was just us," the spy said confused but loud enough for Nate to overhear.

Well shit! This changes things... Two armed men he could probably handle, but four? Highly unlikely.

"Apparently Colin thought we were taking too long and sent in back-up," the man named Travis explained.

The spy didn't miss the way the new guys looked confused by his explanation. That was his job after all, to notice the details. But if Colin didn't send those two, who did? Mason?