Her Con Artist

CHAP-7

"Where the heck are we going?" I asked for the tenth time but still no response.

My hand was itching to pull the hand brake and pester them with my questions until one of them speaks up. But i remembered it was my car that they were riding in.

"Keep quiet. You will know once you reach there." Eric said. His tone was calm and thick with annoyance at the same time.

Which awfully attracted me.

Rolling my eyes, i leaned back against the seat and crossed my arms over my chest. I stayed silent during the whole ride lost in my own train of thoughts.

What would be boss doing right now? I hope Dalton was okay.

Owen and Ella were busying doing something on their laptops, their fingers typing hastily over the keyboard. I looked back at Eric who was fumbling with the phone in his hand.

"Give me that." I asked, not letting him answer as i snatched the phone from his hand.

I want him to focus on the road and not hurt my baby car.

"Wai- what?" He mumbled confused as he looked at the phone. His hand coming towards my way to take it back, i slapped his hand away and stared at him coldly.

"Focus ahead. If you hurt my car, you are going to hell for sure." I hissed with my narrowed eyes.

He simply rose his eyebrow at my threat and a small smirk played on his lips.

Idiot.

"Dial Russell's number and don't you dare roam around here and there in my phone." He said, voice stern and his hands clamped so tightly at the steering wheel that they turned white.

Rolling my eyes at him, no matter how tempting it was but i have got manners.

I dialed Russell's number and put it on speaker.

"Man, they are not after us now. What's the status there?" His gruff voice rang through the silent car. He got straight to the point, no hello hi.

"Same situation here. Did you get the location? And how long will it take you to reach there?" Eric said, eyes focusing ahead as he spoke.

"Yes we got. In about fifteen minutes." Russell said, i could hear silence over there too.

He hung up the phone after that and before i could return it to Eric. His hand came so quickly and took the phone from my open hands, before i could even blink.

"What the hell? I was about to return you." I said, accusingly.

"I don't trust you." He said and went silent. His forehead creased either in annoyance or focusing on the road.

Huffing, i looked away and found us entering a small town, Massachusetts.

The place was beautiful and cozy looking. Soft breeze hit my face as i lowered the window. Rustling of different shades of fallen leaves was the only sound that made a bit happy in this situation. Houses were small and the whole atmosphere was different here.

We took turns here and there and finally reached a plain looking house. It was a double story house with a car parking and a small loan. It was nice overall.

I guess they were staying here.

They all got out of their seats and i followed them quietly. I stood beside the car looking around as they unloaded the bags. My phone ringed, alarming everyone around me, pulling it out of my pocket, i was about to pick up the call when the phone was rudely snatched from my hands.

"What the-"

"I totally forgot about it. You can't use it until you are with us." Eric said, turning my phone off and pocketing in his jacket.

"Excuse me. If i wanted to give out your location, i would have done it by the time i reached there." I said, moving towards him. Trying to intimidate him but he was taller than me. So it was of no use.

"I know." That's all he said with a smirk and walked inside.

Leaving me hissing at him in anger. Ella and Owen chuckled at us, i sharply turned towards them and narrowed my eyes, to which they duck their heads and ran inside.

Storming, i walked inside the house. The interior of the house was cozy and nice. It gave me a warm feeling of home. My feet moved towards Eric who was going through a laptop on the kitchen shelf.

"When can i have my money back?" I asked, resting my elbows on the counter and my back against it. As i looked up at him in question.

He gave me a are-you-dumb look and went back to his laptop. Long, thick fingers hovering over the keyboard.

"What?" I asked, pushing my face in front of his view.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, making him look hot.

What was wrong with me?

"You can't have your money right now." He said, picking his things up and moving towards the launch.

"Why is that!?" I hissed, following him.

"Because we need it right now." He said and sighed in defeat as he looked back at me with annoyance.

"Oh really. Stealing money from others and use it for your stupid gang stuff! Don't you have any shame! We need this money too! We work day and night to make this money! Not going behind people's back to steal their money for your own selfish reasons! If you are in so much need of money, why don't you all work! Then may be you will realize how hard it is to make money!" I took a deep breath after my shouting at them.

Eric was fuming with anger, Ella and Owen stood with their mouth open as they all looked at me.

"You better shut the hell up before i make you! Take her to her room, i can't deal with her right now." " Eric said, in a stern voice, anger lacing his every word. A vein popping on his forehead as he spoke with anger.

I narrowed my eyes at him and huffing i followed Ella.

Time was slipping through my fingers, i need that money back!

"What is exactly you guys want?" I asked her once we reached the room.

"You won't understand." She said, softly and left the room.

What the hell?

I sighed and fisted my hands in my hair out of frustration. I paced back and forth in my room thinking what to do next. The room had one window, through which i tried to escape and found out it was jammed. Slamming my hand against the wall in anger, i sighed in tiredness. I felt my body was shutting down, so i stumbled to my bed and fell flat on my stomach as sleep took over me. I woke up by someone shaking my back gently but in deep sleep it looked like someone was boisterously trying to wake me up. I groaned and pushed myself up, eyes still closed as i fixed my ridden shirt, looking up to find Lexi standing a feet away from me.

"Sorry. Come have dinner." She said and left the room with my mind still sound asleep.

I shoke my head to stay oriented and walked towards the washroom to freshen up myself before i go down. Opening the tap, i let my hands feel the cold water before i washed my face. I heard loud voices as i neared the kitchen, pushing my hair out of face, i entered the kitchen which fell into pin drop silence upon my entrance. I walked inside as took a seat beside Josh, who now looked awkward with my presence here.

Not giving a s**t, i looked around and found everyone was now present. Keith, Ella, Owen, Lexi, Russell, Eric and Josh.

I took a plate and thanked Lexi as she passed me food and they began to start eating, ignoring me. I was eating my food but my eyes were focused on Erik.

"Is there any problem?" He asked, looking down at his plate. His hair were pushed back, making me easy to see his features properly. He was doing that thing, that make him look hotter. The twitch in his jaw muscle.

"Yes there is. I want to know more about your work. Who do you work for?" I said, putting the back of my fork against my chin as my stare didn't falter.

Everybody kept silent as Erik sighed. Putting his spoon down, he looked up at me narrowed eyes. Annoyance clear in his eyes. I gave him a cheeky grin to which he grinded his teeth. It was working, he was getting pissed off.

"We don't work for a particular person or party. We work for different politicians, businessmen or gangsters." He said, his finger's moving against his hand in which looked like he was crushing something in his hand.

I nodded my head, absorbing this information.

"Isn't it dangerous for you all?"

"It surely is unless you do exactly what you are asked to do." Josh answered this time,

I poked my tongue against my cheek while nodding my head.

"Tell me about the whole gangster thing going on." I said, looking at Erik.

"Gangsters are a real deal don't think of them as junky gangsters. They are really powerful and dangerous. The people you encounter at the bar were the people of The Shadows. They are described as one of the largest and most problematic gangs within the federal population. This gang is known to be problematic because they are said to be very proficient with all kinds of improvised weapons and robbery. They often operate small, local businesses to earn extra money, however, their usual source of income comes from protection fees, in which they take over a certain neighborhood designated as their "territory" . To keep different image for the outsiders. They demand that all businesses in the neighborhood make a monthly p*****t to the gang leaders in exchange for not damaging their business. That's how they work and stay within the people without knowing they are lethal gangsters."

The spoon in my hand was left hanging in the air as i was shook with the information.

I am dead meat then.

"Ho-How did you guys get involved with them?" I asked in complete confusion.

Were they out of their minds to work along such dangerous people!

"It's not your business. So stay out of it." Eric said, putting a stop to the revealing conversation.

But i was not having it.

"It does when it involves me. My life is in danger." I said, as a matter of fact, my spoon against the plate producing a gong sound. The sound added a touch to the gravity of situation.

Russell was speaking incoherent words under his breath making me narrow my eyes at him in annoyance.

"Listen here woman. You have two options now. One- shut the hell up and don't interfere with our business. Second- if you don't stay quiet, gangsters already think of you as one of us. So we have no issue throwing you into the lion's den. Now you better choose." Russell said, his gruff voice stern as he glared at me.

I sat up straight at this and looked down at my hands.

I was stupid to jump to catch them without a proper plan! i***t!

After cursing myself, I clenched my teeth and nodded my head at him.

"I am willing to stay quiet and stay low here. But don't even think you can order me around, otherwise i have no issue making a deal with lion myself and i am sure they won't spare once you all they get their dirty hands on you." I said with a smirk, pushing the stool with my hip as i stood up.

Russell slammed his hand on the table in anger, Erik just watched with amusement. Not giving a care about them, i went back to the room. On my way back, i mimicked Russell.

Who does he think he is? He was just a fake person fooling other people around.

The night passed painfully slow to my liking, my mind was not letting me have a decent sleep. It was running a marathon. I kept tossing here and there, finally my mind got tired of overthinking and slept when the sun was almost out.

The days passed by in blur and i was mostly excluded from their 'meetings'. But it doesn't mean i just sat back calmly, i sneaked up on them and heard some of their plan regarding robbing someone. Until Keith found me hiding, he had sharp eyes. He told the rest and well you can guess what happened. I was dragged by Eric and was locked up inside my room now. They have been going on with this meeting for a few days now, i was getting curious as every day goes by.

Who they were targeting now? What's the reason behind all this? What do they exactly want?

They kept their distance and mouths shut in front of me. We were eating dinner in the kitchen as usual, when Owen gently tapped his wine glass with fork to get our attention.

"Tomorrow we have to go to city for some work, you will stay here." Eric said, pointing a finger at me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my eyebrow.

"Lexi will stay here, to keep an eye on you. We don't want any trouble once we are gone." He said, running a hand over his hair.

This is my chance. I thought to myself.

"Okay." I said without any objections which left them suspicious.

Eric stared at me, trying to read my motive but i hide it well behind my fake smile. After all, hiding my feelings and emotions for years, now it was a piece of cake for me. Thankfully, he didn't questioned me more. I had a plan of my own, which will come to life tonight. After they all went to their rooms and i waited. I was laying on bed, looking at the sky from the open window. Turning to my side, i grabbed the mini clock and read the time on it- 2 am.

Alright let's go.

I put my hair into a pony tail and tip toed towards the door. Grabbing the handle, twisting it gently, i poked my head out first to see any danger outside- meaning if anyone of them was out or not. Once the coast was clear, i went to hunt. I was on high alert as i passed across their rooms, tip toeing around the house. I finally reached my destination, the room they had their meeting in and all of their stuff was in it. Rubbing my hand in anticipation, i opened the door and to my luck, it was unlocked. Biting my lip in excitement, i looked behind me once to see if anyone was there or not, thankfully no one was up. Gently closing the door, i stared in to the dark room blindly as my finger's move over the wall to find the switch.

Click

The lights flickered on and i was able to see the empty room. There were sofas, a small round table at the corner of the room and a large Led TV. It was like just another launch. There were at least seven laptops lying on the table and sofas. I found stash of papers near a laptop, quickly walking towards it, i sat down on the floor and grabbed them.

The first bundle of paper had a name on it. Which was;

All Fours Industries

It was a company which i did my internship in.

What is this about?

I thought to myself as i flipped over the pages and found basic information related to the company, like who was the director, assistant manager, Financial manager and so on.

Were they targeting them now?

Putting it away, i picked up the next bundle which belonged to- Vibrant Inc.

The company where i work had done many deals with this company. The papers have same thing like the other, basic information. I couldn't understand, why they were targeting only the business companies not the others. I stood up and around for more clues and found another bundle of paper near the table, quickly walking towards it, I picked it up. As soon as my fingers flipped a page, i heard footsteps. I stilled and so did my brain.

Hide! My brain yelled at me.

Quickly, reading the pages i found a few more company names like- Glass tattoo Inc and Envirosonics Inc. There were a few more but i couldn't read it as the footsteps were nearing the room. I dont have time to switch off the lights so i decided to let it go for now as my biggest crises were to hide right now. I couldn't find a place to hide as everything was like an open book. I finally found a spot which was difficult to find and it was underneath the chair of round table which was near a large plant. Grunting in pain as my head bumped into the chair leg, i sat down in crouched position. Thankfully i was wearing black clothes so it was helping me blend with the shadows. The door opened and the person stopped at the door step. I had a hand over my mouth to prevent the person from hearing my sharp breaths. My heart was already beating hard under my chest.

"I am sure, i turned off the lights.... Or may be not." the voice belonged to Eric.

Why him out of all?

The lights went off and at the same time the door was closed roughly. I sighed in relief and came out of my hiding place grunting as my ankle was throbbing in pain. I had put all my weight on one ankle trying to fix into a small place. I blinked my eyes trying to see anything in the dark, i took a step forward when the lights were suddenly turned on. My whole body froze and my widened eyes found those of Eric's, who was leaning against the wall with his arms over his chest near the door.

"Well what do we have here?" He said, with a smirk on his face. His voice held certain playfulness which made my throat dry. His eyes held mischief as he walked towards me and i was frozen on my spot. His eyes moved from my head to toe, taking in my appearance.

"You thought you could hide if you wore black clothes?" He said with a chuckle. I was in awe as i was seeing this side of him after a long time. Most of the time, he is serious and has a frown over his face.

He seemed like a teenager boy with a carefree smile but sad he shows this side of him sometimes only.

"I couldn't sleep and was just looking around as you hide this room from me. Not my fault for getting curious." I said, nonchalantly and walked forward to get out of the room but was stopped by him.

His hand grabbed mine and spun me towards him and gently pushed me against the wall. My back was pressed up against the cold wall as my breath was caught up in my throat at the sudden action.

His blue eyes stared down at my own. He moved closer to me, putting one hand on the wall beside my waist, caging me in his arms.

"You think i can't see the lies? I know you, Monica." He said, with a smirk.

"You don't know much about me." I argued as i stared at his blue eyes. Which threatened to untangle my secrets.

"I know you more than you know. I observe my clients very well." He got close, his cheek touching mine and whispered the last thing in my ear. It tickled me and i moved my head away.

I was feeling butterflies in my abdomen from the interaction. He moved my chin towards him my his finger. We kept looking into each other eyes, emotions flashing in our eyes. We were so close. So close. My insides were turning into jelly.

What was he doing to me!? Why body is acting this way!?

Suddenly memories of the night at the bar came back rushing into my mind. The kiss, the way he held me close to him, the way his lips caressed mine.

I looked up into his eyes to find him looking at me hell lot of emotions. It was new for me, to see this side of him. Without realizing we both moved in and almost touched each other lips.

Coming to my senses, i pushed him away and looked at with wide eyes. He blinked and ran his hand through his hair as he looked away. I found this opportunity to ran away from him.

"Wait!" I slammed the door behind me as he called out. Running at full speed, i made it to my room safely. And locked the door, in case he tried to budge inside.

Phew, that was close.

I meant the kiss. Did i want it to happen? Do i have a liking towards him?

I questioned myself as i got under the covers.

Agh! I don't know.

Frustrated, i huffed and closed my eyes to sleep.

~~~~~~~