Suicide Mission (Guarded Secrets #1)

28: "Did you see something?"

It had taken us almost ten hours to get from Sandtown, Maryland to the address Tessa had given me in South Carolina. I unfortunately hadn't been able to sleep through the entire car ride, John had to take frequent breaks to let me collect myself. Now it was clear to me why Demon kept sedating me; I needed it. I would start shaking, crying and screaming at the memories or the fear of another accident. It only got worse when we were coming through some rain in the southern part of North Carolina. I had gone into a hysterical fit, which not even Demon's sedation would have fixed.

Tears had streamed down my face, screams ripped through my throat, and I wasn't able to stay in my seat. Needless to say, when we finally made it down to Ash Crest's address in South Carolina, John was thrilled to get rid of me. He told me to be careful again, then we said a quick good-bye and I watched him drive off before I walked through the tree line parallel to Ash's mansion. I would say that I was hurt, but I couldn't blame him to be honest. I would want to get rid of me too.

The large white building seemed like a true southern plantation home with the pillars in the front, tall windows, and the balcony that would travel around the front of the building in line with the pillars. It was a beautiful home, but it held a dangerous man and a cruel past. I raced from tree to tree, trying to stay hidden from the guards that were placed strategically around the house and any surveillance system they had. Taking my time, I had eventually made it to the side of the home and climbed a tree so that I could watch how the men moved and operated. From the side of the home, I could see the guards in the front and in the back of the building, but I could also see the guards on the inside. I had chosen a tree surrounded by others so the foliage of the trees would cover me as I waited for my chance.

From there I waited for a few hours. I watched their activities, how they handled Ash's movements about the home and grounds, and then how their security was when Ash left the home. I noticed that very few guards were left on the grounds when Ash left, most went with him or were following close behind. This was the best time for me to go in. There were fewer people to catch me, and I'm sure getting in wouldn't be a problem once I was out of sight, but I'd have to figure out when to attack once he came back. Ash never seemed be left alone or with only a few guards so this was going to be more complicated than I had anticipated already.

Ash went on multiple errands during the day, and I took that time to build up my confidence. I would run between the trees around me, moving closer to the home, then eventually stepping onto the lawn to stay out of sight of the guards. I felt as if I was in a video game, constantly restarting so that I could make it through without getting caught. The only difference is that if I died here, then there would be no real restart or next life to use. This was it.

I had run through the grounds a few times by the time Ash Crest went out for another errand. His men formed a protective circle around him, and made sure he got into his car safely before they went into their separate vehicles. This time I counted eighteen guards going with him instead of the usual thirteen. I wonder what made him add the extra people, I thought to myself as I looked at the grounds around me. There were still the same amount of people in the yard, so that meant the extra men had come from inside. I had assumed that there were five to eight guards inside, and with five of them gone that left two or three at most. That was good news for me, as long as I could get inside, because it meant less people to hide from.

I just had to find a place to hide and be able to observe him so that I could find the right moment to strike. Although, to even begin to worry about that I had to get into the building. I had run the practice a few times, and figured out where I got stuck or almost caught, so from that I knew where my best path choice would be. I just needed the right moment, and hope for the best.