18| She was so into you!

The best feeling is when you look at him,

and he is already staring.

Kathy's POV

I feel my stomach drop and immediately ask, "Are you at your house?"

"Ya w-" Before he could answer, I hung up and started speeding towards his house. I definitely went through a stoplight, but I have more important things to deal with.

I finally get to his front door and ring the doorbell. Anthony opens the door, and I jump into his arms to hug him. He instinctively wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer.

I rest my head on his shoulder and ask, "Are you okay? How are we getting her back?"

"A little, now that you're here..." He says softly. "We have to head to my gang's base and plan. They gave us a meeting spot and three hours to give them five million." He says desperately.

"We're going to get her back," I say confidently. We're going to kill those motherfuckers.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

When we get to the base, I see everyone talking. But when they see Anthony, they all stop and wait for him to speak.

I walk away from him and walk up to Alessia. We quietly say hi to each other, and then Anthony starts devising a plan.

Anthony is interrupted by a call and puts it on speaker. "Speak." He says, knowing this has to do with Jasmine.

"Thony!" We hear someone whisper.

"Jasmine, tell me what's happening." He says.

This time a different girl speaks, saying, "We're being held captive by Nefarious, and I'm taking care of Jasmine. She's alive, and they haven't done anything to her. We are located in a forest somewhere in Oakwood Valley."

We hear footsteps through the phone, and she quickly whispers, "I'm sorry, I have to hang up before we get caught."

While the girl was speaking, Will was trying to pinpoint the location of the call. "I got it!" He mutters, typing things on his computer.

"We have the location. Now we need to make a plan of how you guys are going to break in." Will says.

"Can you get the layout of the whole building?" Anthony asks him.

"Here," Will says, showing him the file.

Nick starts explaining a strategy of how we can enter through two of the side entrances and surprise them. Then all these other people start adding to the plan.

"Do you know where Jasmine is in the building?" I ask.

"The places we don't need to check are the maintenance rooms. We need to focus on these three areas of the building." Will says, pointing at the screen.

Blue says, "Okay, so I'll go here with Charlie. Alessia and Michael, go over here. And then Anthony and Kathy, you guys will find Jasmine while we try to fight anyone who interferes."

"Do you think they heavily guard the areas with prisoners?" Alessia asks.

"We can bring extra backup," Blue says, thinking about it momentarily. Everyone starts separating into their groups, and I freeze when I realize they have said my name.

I look at Anthony and say, "I thought since I just joined you guys, you would have to train me first..."

"You're fighting skills will give you an advantage." He explains, but when he sees my face, he adds, "How about I teach you the basics of a small gun? It can be just for protection."

"And this is your training," Blue says, winking.

"Great..." I say sarcastically. So this is our first mission and could be our last.

"Will will stay here and guide us through the building if we need to escape a certain area," Blue says, finishing the plan.

"They'll think we'll be meeting them at the location they said, but we'll break into their warehouse instead in 2 and a half hours. Dismissed." Anthony says.

I turn to Alessia and say, "I'll be right back. I'm just going to make a call."

She looks concerned and asks, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I say, smiling at her for reassurance. I walk into the bathroom and call Cece. It goes straight to voicemail, so I wait for the beep.

I whisper, "Hey, Cece. Long story short, Anthony's sister, Jasmine, was kidnapped. So we're getting her back, but I'm not sure if I'll make it back alive. I know you think I'm a badass, but I've never had to deal with this type of stuff. So this might be dramatic, but just know that I love you. You're basically like my sister. So thanks for sticking around. I'll miss your ass."

Once I end the voicemail, I look in the mirror. I take a deep breath and put on my game face. I unlock the door and step out to see Anthony waiting for me. He wraps his arms around my waist and brings me to his chest.

"You are going to do fine, Kathy. You will make it out alive, and I'll be right by your side." He reassures me.

I half smile and say, "Thank you. But we shouldn't focus on me, how are you? How are you so calm?"

"This isn't the first kidnapping I've had to deal with. The leader of Nefarious also has a family, so there's a line not to cross with children. If a child is a target, it's a warning."

"That's still fucking scary," I say. Pissed gangs do that in general.

"Ya, but I've trained Jasmine to be calm in these situations. She knows I'll always have her back." He says seriously.

"Just like I have yours." He adds. It's so cute how much he cares about you! We're just friends. Shut up. Time is going to change that. Change what? We need to focus on Jasmine!

"Why can't we just get her now?" I ask.

"Again, there's also power dynamics in play regarding things like this. It's not just about killing each other." He explains.

I just nod, and he says, "Why don't we grab a snack." Anthony asks. "Get your mind ready and body fueled."

"Fine," I mumble, accepting that I won't fully understand everything right now.

"Let's go," Anthony says, taking my hand and running. His hand feels right in mine. Abort abort! Kathy is becoming one of those hopeless romantic people in cheesy books! I ignore my brain and follow Anthony.

We run outside, and he starts speaking. "I started running as an excuse to hold your hand."

I laugh and feel a blush creep up my face. When we get to his motorcycle, he sadly lets go of my hand. I secure my arms around him and feel his abs. Damn, he has a six-pack.

He feels my breath hitch and turns to smirk at me. I roll my eyes and say, "Sorry, I didn't expect you to have so much belly fat."

He scoffs and gets off the motorcycle to face me. He lifts his shirt and reveals his six-pack. Hot damn! Stop reacting!

"Does this look like fat to you?" He asks.

I stare at his abs for a bit longer and then look straight into his eyes. I respond with a flat-out "Yes." Lies.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Your nose is scrunched up, by the way." He says. "It's almost impossible to notice, but it's one of your tells when you lie."

"Just drive," I mumble as he grins.

He brings me to a bakery and orders a chocolate donut. The cashier pulls down her shirt to show off her flat chest and bites her lip.

"Anything else you want? Or anything I can do for you?" She purrs, emphasizing want and do. Is she a fucking cat?

I glance at an uncomfortable Anthony and see he's trying to come up with a polite response. "I'll have a cinnamon bun and coffee, please!" I say. She writes my order down and looks at Anthony again. Damn, I just want my food already.

"I think he wants your number, don't you, Anthony?" I say, ignoring Anthony's gaze.

Her eyes light up, and she says, "No problem, here it is." While she's writing it down, Anthony glares at me. She hands me my order and then gives Anthony his donut and her number.

"Anything else?" She asks.

I respond, "Ya wh-" Anthony covers my mouth with his hand and starts dragging me away. This looks like he's kidnapping you.

"Nope, goodbye." He mumbles.

I lick his hand, but he doesn't budge. When we get to a booth, he removes his hand and wipes his hand on a napkin. That's the napkin with her number!

"Hey, her number was on that!" I exclaim. He glares at me and rips up the napkin, causing me to laugh.

"She was so into you!" I say, eating my cinnamon roll. He takes a bite of his donut and rolls his eyes.

When he's done chewing, he says, "Well, I wasn't interested. I have my eyes on another girl, so that wouldn't matter, now, would it?"

I feel my heart slightly deflate, but I ignore it. Your heart isn't a balloon. "Really? Do I know her? What's her name?" I ask, drinking my coffee.

"Actually, you know her really well." He says, taking another bite of his donut.

"Hmm..." I say, thinking. I know Cece well. "Is it Cece? You've barely met, but I don't think you're her type." I say.

"Nope." He says, finishing up his donut. We still have a chance!

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