A harshly whisperedkittenfollows me as I run to the bushes, skirting around the house to the next one over. Flattening myself against the siding in the dark, I draw in a breath and wait.
A body presses against mine, but I don’t scream.
“What are you doing, kitten?” Eli doesn’t move back, keeping me trapped.
“Helping.” My breath shudders in and out of my chest as adrenaline pumps through me. It’s risky, but not overly so. “We need intel. We shouldn’t pass up this opportunity.”
“We don’t go in without a plan. That’s how shit happens.” His mouth is against my ear and his words are barely a whisper.
I put my hand over his rapidly beating heart. “What if they move the location next week? What if that’s what they’ve been doing all along and that’s why you can never track them?”
For a few heartbeats, we remain pressed together while he processes my words. He has to know I’m right. Even if they meet again, it might not be about whatever this is.
His sigh blows my hair. “Stay close.”
He takes my hand. Good.
We move cautiously toward the house the guys disappeared into. My heart pounds so loud I swear they’ll be able to hear it, but Eli never would have left me alone in the car to do this on his own.
I’ve never done anything like this in my life and it’s exhilarating.
When he leads me to the house, we creep around it, looking for the room they’re meeting in. Most of the windows are dark, but light pours out of one and we’re lucky they have the window cracked as smoke and the smell of weed filters out.
Eli puts his hand against my hip to flatten us against the dark wall. When he pulls his hand away, I stay put. The only way this works is if I follow his directions. Otherwise, he’ll never trust me to do this again.
He has a small camera like the one Sidney found that they planted. He carefully puts it on the window ledge. I long to ask him if they all just carry one around, but it’s better to be quiet and ask later.
Then he takes out his phone and dims the screen. He hands me one Bluetooth headphone and I put it in my ear as he puts the other one in his ear.
“What the fuck are you doing? Where’s Harper?” Luke’s harsh whisper fills my ear, and I almost yelp in surprise.
Eli types on his screen, but I can’t see it.
“Fuck.” The word is soft from Luke. “Jack has the camera on. You should leave.”
Eli types.
“Too risky.” Luke hisses.
I grab Eli’s hand. We’re staying. Just in case the feed cuts out or something. I need to know what I’m up against.
“I told you not to trust those cheerleaders,” a guy says. “They’ve been cuddled up to the horsemen for too long. Ashley went out with Eli for lunch.”
“They’re useful.” I recognize Zach’s voice and it’s close to the window. A little chill runs through me, but I don’t lock up. He doesn’t know I’m out here. Eli will keep me safe. “And a good distraction.”
“Fucking them won’t get us what we need,” a second guy says.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t hurt.” The smile is evident in Zach’s voice. “We just need to eliminate their little bird.”
My breath catches. Is he talking about me? Fuck. I was hoping the guys were wrong and I was off the chessboard.
“You were supposed to take care of that.”
My mouth opens because I recognize that voice. Tanner. WTF?
“You’re the one who fucked up and got our merch taken by the school.” Zach doesn’t raise his voice, but his tone loses some of the easy-going attitude. “You’re lucky it wasn’t a full shipment. We wouldn’t even have a problem now if it hadn’t been for you.”
“It was only fair. They were fucking with my sister, so I fucked Caden’s.” Tanner’s voice moves close to the window before walking away.
