Line of Fire (Book #1) GirlXGirl

FOUR

Then next morning I awoke alone. The heat of being encompassed in the bed sheets managed to confuse me early in the morning, knowing I hadn't crawled under them last night. Melissa must have covered me. With that thought I threw them off.

My feet touched carpet as I rubbed my eyes, realizing the feeling of being well rested was unfamiliar. I heard voices from the living room. Willi and Melissa. They were probably waiting on me to wake up, so I dressed myself and headed out the door.

Three pairs of eyes took me in, only two faces giving me a welcoming smile. I asked, "What time is it?"

"Almost noon."

"Holy shit," I went for the door but Derik grabbed my hand.

"Lex, relax. It's fine," he claimed, "Chapman agreed to meet as soon as you've eaten lunch."

I shook my head, "I'm not hungry, let's go now."

Derik stood then, Melissa's eyes watching the interaction curiously. I went for the door again but Willi stepped in this time.

"We're eating lunch," he ordered, "Then we'll see Chapman."

"Fine," I obliged, opening the door and heading towards the elevator. There was no point in arguing. But I was dying to talk to Chapman and relieved to know he was keeping his end of the deal.

My appetite was nonexistent as I stared down at my plate. I forced a few bites to make my friends happy while they ate with no problem, talking while I remained silent with thought.

"How's your arm?" Derik asked, his curious eyes lingering on my own.

I shrugged, "Sore but that's all."

I caught Melissa's eyes scanning me and it took everything I had not to blow up. Sleep hadn't dimmed my anger at all. I didn't want to be mad but was finding it hard not to be. The disapproval in my eyes was clear, so I was sure she was ready to part ways as well.

Lunch finally ended and we headed out to meet Chapman. I was more than ready to talk. There were a lot of questions, and I had a good feeling he would answer them. I believed we had proved ourselves enough last night to deserve it.

His door stood open, as if he was expecting us.

"Close the door behind you."

I did as I was told and sat with the others, waiting for him to continue.

"I have to say you four surprised me last night," Chapman admitted. "I have an agent searching for Welsh. Alexa, the files were very beneficial. I should get word on him within the next hour."

At this I just nodded.

He sat on the edge of his desk, those eyes never leaving mine. He lifted his hand, "I believe you have questions."

"How long have you been watching us?" Derik jumped in without hesitation.

Chapman answered bluntly, "A few months."

The truth behind our assumption seemed to hurt a little more than expected, but at least we knew. I thought back on what I had done during that time and realized nothing special until the bank job.

"Why?" I threw out.

"We noticed suspicious activity around the bank you hit. No one's tried to rob that bank in years, so when they reported a car driving around late at night we looked into it. That led us to you."

I leaned back in my chair, "You mentioned Victoria."

"We knew to break into the bank you would need an experienced hacker so we waited. She had tapped into the system a week prior to the hit and fried one of the security circuits. It's kind of her signature. We knew it was her before she even helped you get in."