A good fifteen minutes have now passed. At least I think so, but it's not like I'm keeping track. After today's chaos, it seems that my body has finally gone into 'shut-down mode'.

The good news about that: I'm completely numb. I can't feel. No anger. No pain. Just this emptiness.

The bad news: As I said before, I'm completely numb. I can't feel my body, I can't feel any emotions, and a small part of me seems to think that's concerning, but to me, the voice sounds faint and distant.

Still, it's not like I don't have the capacity to think anymore. So many questions are still swimming in my head, it's just that I'm not feeling like an emotional wreck about them.

My whole world has turned upside. Emotional feeling towards that thought? Nada.

Everything I thought I knew was a lie. Zilch.

If Erik, Mark and Justine are right, then I've been deceived my whole life. Zero.

I notice that the sun is already moving towards the horizon, meaning it must already be around three or four o'clock now.

I should get home. Mum will be worried.

I mentally order myself to stand up, but I only find enough energy left within me to hug my knees as I sit on the grass, the warmth of the sun being my only comfort.

"Hey."

Unlike my usual reaction where I would jump up in fright, it takes me a full minute to comprehend that someone else is out here with me. Not bothering to move, I shift my head in the direction of where I heard the voice. It's Mark.

A few hours ago, I would have turned crimson just at the thought of being alone with him. Now I simply look ahead again.

He sits down beside me, and for a few sweet minutes, I'm happy just sitting in silence, bathing in the sunlight, and I almost think it peaceful. Then a thought occurs.

"That day at school, when we first met... it wasn't a coincidence, was it?" There's a sudden bitter taste in my mouth as I realise the truth. Stupid, little me thought that for once, my life might just turn out like those sappy cliché movies, where the girl gets the guy she wants.

He was just checking to see if I was in his first class. After all, that's his job. He's my 'protector' or whatever.

"It's true," he says, somewhat ashamedly. "That's why I go to your school now. Audrey, you need the three of us now more than ever."

"Right," I say dully.

"Listen, Audrey," he places his hand on my shoulder. A part of me wants to slap his hand away, get up, and run home, yet I can't seem to find the energy to do so.

"Audrey, I'm sorry about how you found out..." he hesitates. "It can't be easy learning all this in one day. Especially after..." He stops. "Look, if I've learned anything about you this past term it's that you're strong, Audrey. Don't feel like you have to go through this alone, though."

I glance up at him at these words, and he gazes back at me seriously, his hand lightly squeezing my shoulder.

"I'm here for you. Wherever, whenever."

I blink a few times, not sure what to say to this. Mark seems to have some weirdly calming effect on me, and as much as I want to continue to sulk in my bubble of self-pity and anger, I find that some feeling is returning to me, but it's not hurt or rage. Strangely, it's determination.

I cast my eyes down towards the grass, not wanting to stare into his gorgeous brown eyes longer than necessary.

"How's Justine?" I mutter, some of my guilt returning.

"She'll be alright," he answers, finally taking his hand off my shoulder.

I consider apologising for how I acted before. I know that I should, but I can't bring myself to say the words for some reason.

"You ready to head back inside?" Mark stands and offers his hand.

I stare at it hesitantly. It's no longer a matter of decision. It's a matter of accepting the truth. All of it. My father was a thief, and he was training me to be one as well until he decided it was too dangerous. Justine has lied to me my whole life, and oh yeah, I'm now on the run from assassins. However, now that the storm has passed, curiosity is starting to take over.

Why are the assassins hunting me? What makes them think I can give them what they want? I guess there's only one way to find out.

I take his hand, and he pulls me up. Then we head inside Erik's house.

***

"Got that out of your system?" Erik smiles, gesturing towards the empty three-seater couch.

He is leaning back into the single-seater, his face seemingly relaxed, but behind those eyes, I can see the wary concern. I cast him an annoyed look, contemplating the idea of going home, but there's still too many questions that need answering. I sit on the longer couch, but Mark remains standing, leaning against the wall. I draw in a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the conversation to come.

"So, just to recap, this group of assassins were after my dad because he stole something from them." Erik nods, willing me to continue but there's something that doesn't quite fit. In all the years my dad played these thieving games with me, never once had I caught him. I know I was just a child then, but still...

"Was my father caught in action? Is that how they knew it was him?" I ask, and Erik gives me a sly smile.

"Does your father seem like one to be caught in action?" he shakes his head, and I have a strong feeling he's not telling me all he knows, but I decide to leave it at that for the time being.

"What exactly did my father steal?" I question, realising he hasn't told me so far. It must have been bloody important for them to go as far as killing my dad.

Erik leans towards me. "Your father stole many things, Audrey, so you must understand that not even I know everything that he stole. He was quite reserved, shall we say, and though I worked with him, even I could not be sure at times of his 'missions'."

"So you don't know?" I ask in surprise. Erik seems like one to know everything.

"On the contrary," he grins, and I roll my eyes at his know-it-all attitude.

"Okay then," I sigh. "What's this thing that's so important?"

"I have reason to believe that your father stole gold from them. A lot of it."

I stare at Erik in disbelief. Is he joking? What is this, a wild-west movie?

"Gold?" I say, not sure how else to respond. Something just doesn't seem right about it. All this for gold? It's a bit far-fetched.

"Are you sure?"

"Certain enough," he replies.

"One-hundred percent sure?" I press. I see Justine enter the room out of the corner of my eye.

"I was just getting some water," she says quietly. "Would anyone else like a drink?"

I turn my head and for a split second, we make eye contact. I swiftly turn away, but I only needed a glimpse to see Justine's tear stained face.

I push away the guilt that threatened to gnaw at me.

I'm not about to be guilt-tripped, not now. She's had years to tell me, yet never once has it crossed her mind to tell me the truth. That's not what a friend does.

"Not for the time being, thank you, Justine," Erik replies.

"You alright?" Mark asks gently, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly and she nods.

Mark seems to care a lot for her. How long have they known each other?

I feel a sense of exclusion as if I'm the third wheel in this relationship. Not that I have much of a relationship with either at the moment.

Erik clears his throat, interrupting my envious thoughts. I realise that I've been staring too long at them and quickly face Erik once again.

"On second thought," Erik glances at me briefly with an amused expression, and my cheeks redden. "Justine, would you mind bringing me a warm drink? Perhaps tea or something of the sort?"

"Uh, yeah sure," she gives Erik a small smile.

"You want me to come?" Mark asks, giving her a concerned look.

I attempt to mask the jealousy that has suddenly sparked up within me. Justine knows that I like Mark, but maybe all along they've liked each other! They might even be dating! I shake my head slightly, attempting to push the negative thoughts away. Even if they are, what does it matter anymore? They both lied to me. They deserve each other.

"I'm fine," she insists, before walking out of the room and presumably towards the kitchen.

"So," I start, trying to regain my train of thought, "These people wanted this gold back. Did they ever get it?"

"No," Erik replies. "Your father was just as good hiding things as he was stealing. They never found the gold."

"But you know where it is, don't you?" I prod.

Erik looks at me thoughtfully, "No, I do not. I've had my fair share of assumptions, as have they, but neither the organisation nor I know where your father could have hidden so much gold."

So Erik the know-it-all, doesn't know everything. Who would've thought?

"I don't get it. If you were so close to my father, why didn't he tell you where he hid it?" I ask.

"Your father always believed it best to keep big secrets to himself. Sometimes, these secrets can kill you, and the last thing he wanted was to harm his friends or family." He sighs heavily, leaning back against the couch. "As of yet, I still have no clue where the gold could be. Luckily, neither do the assassins."

I sigh in frustration. What the hell am I supposed to do about all this? I still don't understand why they're after me. Instead of focusing on revenge, shouldn't they be working on getting the gold? Then another thought hits me.

"Are they after my mother now too?" I voice my thought aloud.

Erik sits silently as if deeply contemplating the question. "For the time being, I don't believe they are."

"What makes you so sure?" Panic strikes me as I think of what they could do to my mum. "They could be after her right now!"

"That's just it, though," Erik answers. "Ever since your father took that gold, they have been after him. You might have noticed that from the time you began high school, he started going on more plane trips. He was trying to keep them away from you and your mother, trying to lead them to other places. He wanted to keep an extra eye on you, though, so he asked me to send Justine to help look out for you."

"What has Justine got to do with all this?" I ask, hoping for perhaps a reasonable explanation to her lies.

Erik's face suddenly turns grave. "You are not the only one who has gone through grief and terror thanks to this organisation."

I glance at Mark in concern. "Did they do something to your family?"

Mark stares off into the distance, and something tells me I'm treading on dangerous territory, so I don't press him further.

"What happened to Mark and his family is a story for another time," Erik intervenes. "It's getting late, and I suggest you stay on topic."

I return my attention to Erik. "So why haven't they tried to go after me before?"

"They have a few times, but never as seriously as today. Your father protected you well. Didn't you ever wonder why he happened to be away more often as you became a high schooler? Or how you changed from apartments to houses quite frequently in the recent years?"

I fidget with my hands. Whether I like it or not, it's all starting to come together. The past years had seemed a little queer, and we did change houses more often than the average person.

"Yeah, we did move quite a lot, but my dad said it was for business reasons."

Erik chuckles, "Indeed it was. Anyhow, their original focus had been to capture your father alive and force him to tell them where he had hidden the gold, but after he had managed to avoid them successfully so many times, they grew tired and decided to get rid of him."

I bite my lip thoughtfully. Something isn't adding up.

"Why would they kill him if only he knew where the gold was hidden?"

"Now this is where it gets interesting," Erik says, leaning towards me. I can practically feel the tension in the room escalating. "Apparently, someone else does know."

"What do you mean?" I stutter. "I thought you said nobody knows. Not even you."

"Yes, but your father was a smart man, and they knew it. They must have figured out at one point that he couldn't have kept such a big secret to himself."

"So..." I say slowly, "He must have told someone else? Someone he really trusts?"

Erik nods his head. "Think about it. This secret was too big. He had to have told someone else, in case anything ever happened to him."

I think about it for a bit, trying to make sense of everything so far.

"The assassins could barely catch him" Erik continues, "Let alone get a confession out of him, so they did what they do best. They killed him, quick and easy." Erik snaps his fingers to demonstrate his point. "With him out of the way now, they figured there's no one to protect the only other person who knows where it is."

"And do you know who it is?" I sit up straighter, the curiosity buzzing inside me.

There's a hint of a smile on Erik's face, but he doesn't answer straight away. "After your father's death, they went quiet for some time. I assume they used the time to regroup and figure out who else he would've told. For a while they even thought I was that person," Erik chuckles grimly.

"For a good month or two, they stalked me, watched me. Hunted me down..." He pauses. "Luckily, I was able to avoid them throughout that period. Eventually, they must've discovered that I actually didn't know. They disappeared for quite a while after that. Then, a few months ago, they reappeared again, and I learnt of their new theory."

His grey eyes are boring into mine, and there's something in Erik's expression I can't quite place, something intriguing, making me want to hear his every word as if my very life depends on it.

"Well then, who is it?" I ask, a hint of impatience in my voice.

Erik gives me a toothy grin. "You."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

| Dedicated to iceecream456 |

Thanks for the votes and for adding this book to your reading list! Xx

Again, not action-filled, but I promise it's coming up very soon...

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EDITED ✔