Please read the end note, thank you, love you.

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Thalia Lively

I panicked as Austin left the car wordlessly and went into the café through the side door. I looked over at Ethan who held a strong stone cold face as he glared down the mysterious man. I was almost frozen in my place as I looked into James' eyes trying to find the same calm James that I had seen just a couple days ago. He was long gone.

"Get in the back," Ethan demanded and I didn't argue with him as I followed his order. I shifted into the back seat and he switched over to the drivers seat, turning the car on and reversing it before driving out of the parking lot.

"E, who is that?" I asked hesitantly but he didn't respond, instead he just kept flickering his eyes from the road to the rear view mirror. I looked behind our car and saw a suspicious black Range Rover trailing us. Ethan swerved into a different street and sure enough, the car followed.

"Answer it," Ethan said as he passed back his phone that was ringing.

"Emmett?" I asked through the phone, wanting to guarantee it was Emmett calling.

"Thalia, thank god." Emmett's voice said gratefully. "Where Riley? Is Austin with you? He won't answer his phone." He asked everything all at once.

"Riley's at the café near our school with her brother and Austin. I'm with Ethan and there's this car following us, a-and at the café James was there with this man that I don't know." I tried explaining the situation to Emmett.

"Put the phone on speaker," Emmett insisted and I did so shortly after. "E," Emmett called out and Ethan kissed his teeth as he focused more on losing the people behind us.

"It's Colt, he's back." Ethan informed Emmett who paused for a second. "His boys are following us right now, but Colt's still at the Café." Ethan continued.

"Meet at the warehouse." Emmett spoke after a moment of silence, making Ethan's whip around to the phone. Before Ethan could say whatever was going on in his head, Emmett ended the call.

"The warehouse?" I questioned.

"It belonged to Darren, that's where he kept his cars and where we used to spend most of our time when Nathan worked for him. It's been empty for the last year, ever since Darren left." Ethan told me after not saying a word to me since the café.

"Do you think Nathan and Carter are there?" I asked him hopefully.

"No," he answered after thinking for a moment. "It's too risky, which is why I don't know why Emmett's there." Just as he stopped talking, I flew to the other side of the car when he cut into a new street quickly. "Put on your seatbelt." He told me and I complied. I wasn't used to this side of Ethan; angry Ethan was definitely new to me.

"I think you're losing them, there's too many cars on the highway." I said as we drove into the highway to the city out of the town we lived in. I watched as a car drove next to us and I had a quick moment of panic until I saw that it was Austin and Riley. Ethan and Austin look at each other for a second before both of them sped off— driving way too fast compared to the other cars near us.

After a series of silenced minutes, Ethan drove into a deserted one way street that was outlined with trees. I took off my seatbelt and moved into the passenger seat, knowing that we lost the car behind us. My eyes glued themselves on to the scenery, something about the forest intrigues me. Maybe it's the different shades of green that was scattered within the forest, or the quietness that it contains. I wasn't sure what it was about it, but I couldn't get enough of the feeling it gave me.

Soon after a large warehouse entered my view, just as the trees came to a stop and a huge acre of clear land started. Ethan drove into the clear land and parked in a random spot outside of the warehouse. We both stepped out of my car, at the same time Riley and Austin did.

"It feels so weird being back here," Austin said as he came up to Ethan and I. Ethan's eyes trailed the outside of the warehouse slowly before nodding, agreeing with Austin.

"Never thought we'd be back," Ethan responded. No other words were exchanged as Ethan made the first move to walk towards the entrance that still looked well kept even though it's been abandoned. There was a door to the left side then multiple garage doors alined themselves across the front and side of the warehouse. Ethan attempted to open the door but it didn't budge making him roll his eyes then open a key pad to the right of the door, entering a code then swinging the door open. He held it open for us as we followed his lead.

"Woah," Riley said as we walked into the two levels warehouse with a such a high ceiling that it made it look 10x bigger. My eyes flickered around the bottom half as I turned around, wanting to not miss anything. There was two staircases that led to the top half where I could tell cars were being held under a tarp. Cars were also on the bottom half and stored to the side.

"Colt's guys left this at Carter's apartment door," Emmett's voice suddenly bounced throughout the warehouse, making us turn to the right, seeing him come down the stairs with a chain dangling from his hands.

"That's Nathan's chain," I whispered to no one but myself as I observed the item in Emmett's hand. It was the chain he wore in the pictures I've seen in the past.

"Nathan lost that at the accident." Ethan commented, also not taking his eyes off of the chain.

Emmett nodded, confirming our suspensions. "They're starting to look for him, and he isn't here which means they're going to resort to plan B." Emmett gave a knowing look to both Austin and Ethan. Austin's eyes flickered over to Riley and I then towards the floor.

"Where did he go? I'm asking you one last time Emmett." Ethan's voice came off stern and powered by anger, and that anger was fuelled by worry.

"I don't know," Emmett's voice came off equally as strong. "Yes, he called me but it wasn't anything about what he's doing or where he went. I had no idea until you guys find out too." Emmett explained himself.

"What were you talking about then?" Austin asked and Emmett stayed quiet, not because he was guilty but because he didn't want to talk about it. I assume it hit close to home for Emmett as a sadness crossed his eyes.

"All he told me the last time I talked to him was to stay here and make sure none of you go looking for him. Carter found out and went to look for him anyway and I'm pretty sure he found him, they're probably together." Emmett avoided Austin's question. "I don't exactly know where he is, what he's doing or why he left. But he's well aware of Colt, Bethany found this in his jeans." Emmett pulled out a crumbled piece of paper and handed it to Ethan. We all stood around Ethan as he opened it.

C — 01/16 2:40am
1602 Iverdale st.

"It's Nathan's birthdate, a time, the letter C that I could only assume is referring to Colt and the location of the warehouse." Emmett said as Ethan analyzed Nathan's writing. "Colt left after Victor went to prison, but he's been working on the outside searching for Darren. I'm thinking Nathan found out that Colt came back and was searching around Darren's property. I mean Darren left the licenses for his properties to Nathan and anyone who comes into that door without the code, alerts Nathan. Nathan left the same night of his birthday, so I'm assuming he wrote down when he got the alert that someone was breaking into here at 2:40am." Emmett concluded.

"What are you trying to say?" I spoke up whilst everyone else thought to themselves.

"I'm saying," Emmett started as he looked over at me. "I think Nathan went to find Darren."

Ethan whipped his head up to Emmett at the same time Austin did. "But Darren's gone?" Austin said, phrasing the statement in a question.

"Is he though?" Emmett replied. "Listen I don't know exactly but this is the only lead we have. Now that Colt's fully made us aware of his presence, I'm pretty sure his message that he's sending is that he knows Nathan's gone." He looked down at Nathan's chain again. "And Nathan's the main target and the closest lead to Darren, which means the search for him started and—"

"And they're going to use us as bait to make him come back." Ethan came to the conclusion before Emmett could continue. "So what are we doing here? What's the plan?" He asked, fully invested.

"Well for starters, when I read the note I came straight here and I noticed that the front door was completely locked. I searched for the other entrances they could've came in, and none of the garage doors were forced open so I wondered if my theory was even right until I went up to Darren's office." Emmett spoke as he walked up the stairs, all of us following him. We were lead into an office upstairs and my eyes grew wide after seeing the shattered glass all of the floor.

"They broke in through the window." Austin observed. "There's silent alarms all over, especially in this room so that's how Nathan was notified." Austin spoke as he walked around the room, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

"Exactly, so I searched his whole place and up and down and I couldn't find anything that would help with Colt, Nathan or Darren." Emmett confessed his poor luck.

"The safe?" Ethan asked and Emmett shook his head.

"Whatever Darren had in there is gone. Either he took it himself or Colt found it. But I'd bet money that it was Nathan, maybe that's how Nathan had a lead towards Darren?" Emmett theorized. "I have no clue and it's pissing me off. I've tried calling Carter and Nathan but their phones are disconnected but for good reason too, no one can trace them especially Colt and Victor."

"But now we're left to deal with Colt," Austin complained. "They're out there while we're blindly fighting against people who know more than us." Austin said and I couldn't agree more.

"He's right, we know nothing. No leads, just theories." I commented, having Austin's back in his argument.

"But maybe that's for our benefit," Riley piped up, making us all turn to her. "The less we know, the better so if they were to get to us, we wouldn't be lying when we say we don't know the answers to their questions. Imagine what they would do if they knew we were hiding something, they'd try everything to get their answers and Nathan, right?" Riley continued. "We have the main details, and that's all we need to work on from here. Now all we have to do is trust Nathan, it seems all of you were more caught up in the fact that he left you in the dark but has Nathan ever done something like this without good reasoning?"

"No he hasn't," Ethan thought about her statement.

"Exactly, we need to trust what he's doing and hope that he has a bulletproof plan but until then, we just need to prove to Colt that Nathan's not one of us anymore." Riley sparked up an idea in my head instantly.

"What? Why would we do that?" Austin asked, not understanding where she was getting at.

"No, no I think she's onto something." I urged her idea on. "If we act like we haven't spoken to Nathan for a while and that he's no one to us now, why would we know where he is? That also helps with them trying to use us as bait, why would Nathan come back for people he doesn't care about anymore? They would see that and have to come up with another plan, and we'd be giving Nathan more time." I explained and Riley nodded at our idea.

"I think it's a good idea," Ethan nodded and got off from leaning on a table. "We can start by not leaving each other's side, and you two—" he pointed to Riley and I. "— are staying with one of us at all times."

"Pfft, we can handle ourselves." Riley scoffed then showed off her muscles. "This doesn't happen overnight, you know." Riley joked making the mood ease up. Emmett chuckled at her then walked over to pull her into a hug.

"I'm sorry I've been off with you," he whispered to her. "When I found out Colt was back, I was fucking worried sick about you." He continued and she dug her face into his chest as he spoke.

"It's okay," she forgave him. "It's going to be okay, we got this." She said confidently, clearly being the only confident one about our situation. I could tell all of the boys were on edge, not having Nathan and Carter by their side during this. I feel like they're less tense when Nathan's with them because Nathan oozes confidence in every decision he makes regarding situations like this which makes everyone else put their trust in him. Without having Nathan around, that comfort and feeling of assurance is gone. The boys are all insanely smart and strong but they work better together rather than separated and that's our disadvantage.

"They're most likely going to search around places tied to Darren before turning to us for Nathan, and if there is something that leads to Darren, they can't find it." Ethan broke the silence.

"Why can't they find Darren? From what I understand is that Colt is working for Victor, and Victor is not on good terms with Darren so why would they be searching for someone who wants to kill them?" I was left stumped.

"We'll never know their true intentions but we can't let them get to Darren, if he even is still out there. For one, if they have something that'll change Darren's mind and negotiate Darren's protection; they'll use Darren as a weapon against Nathan and us. And for two, they'll find Nathan if they look for Darren since I'm certain Nathan's already on his way to Darren." Emmett answered.

"But we don't even know if Darren is alive for fuck sake, we're working off theories. That's not a safe plan." Austin growled. "Fine, so this plan magically works, and Nathan ends up finding Darren. What makes any of us think, Darren Romano of all people, would even care? Because of his ties with Nathan? This Darren we're talking about, a freaking billionaire who isn't someone you want to fuck around with."

"Do you have another fucking plan?" Ethan snapped and I raced to stand in front of him as he took steps towards Austin, the pressure hitting them both harshly.

I stopped Ethan by keeping my hands on his chest which made him stop since I was blocking his path and holding him back. After a moment he calmed down and Austin did the same.

"What now?" I asked Emmett who was the only guy that was assembling the plan more thoroughly.

"You guys have school, so Ethan you're going to stay with them at school. Austin and I will follow Colt to see if he finds any leads." Emmett said after thinking for a moment. "For now, I'm going to stay here and look through the stuff here a bit more, Nathan was here before he left so he had to have left a trace somewhere. Nathan knows this place more than any of us so he knows where Darren keeps secret information. Ethan will drive with you guys to your house," Emmett decided that was what we were going to do currently.

"I'll help you look around," Austin said to Emmett who nodded at him.

"Let's go," Ethan said to Riley and I. Riley hugged Emmett and pecked him quickly before walking away with Ethan and I. Just as I was about to step into the car, I remembered something so I told Ethan to wait a second while I needed to say something to Emmett.

I walked into the warehouse once again, looking for Emmett and Austin who already left to look around. I heard them in a room downstairs so I made my way towards the room but stopped once I heard them talking. I peaked through the gap in the door as they spoke.

"The calls with Nathan," Emmett started as they were looking through files. "They were about my dad." He admitted. "He, uh, he has heart problems. And he's not doing well." Emmett struggled to tell Austin who completely dropped what he was doing to look over at a vulnerable Emmett. "He's been in the hospital for the last two weeks and they don't think—" he paused. "They don't think he's going to make it. Nathan found out from Bethany since she works there, so he kept calling to check up on me and my dad. He was the only one who knew, and I didn't want to tell anyone because I felt like if I say it out loud, it's more real." Emmett's voice broke as a tear left his right eye gracefully.

Austin walked over to him and pulled him into a brotherly hug, gripping Emmett's shoulders as he let Emmett have a moment.

"I had no idea, Im sorry that's the case. I pray only the best for you and your dad. I'm sorry for accusing you of hiding shit from us—" Emmett cut off Austin.

"No, don't worry about it. I didn't tell you, it was on me." Emmett brushed it off then collected himself. "I just felt like letting you know." He finished off by saying and my hearts melted.

That's why he was distancing himself from Riley and the group, he was too busy at the hospital with his dad and was keeping it a secret. That's why he's looked so tired lately, he must've been spending nights at the hospital too.

After I felt like they moved on from the topic, I knocked on the door to announce my presence. Emmett's eyes flew onto me and he gave me a look almost asking if I heard anything and by my pity filled eyes, he got his answer. "I, um, I just wanted to ask if you keep me updated with anything you find out about Nathan." I mumbled and they nodded at me. I looked back towards Emmett and he didn't seem mad that I overheard at all.

Just as I was about to leave, Emmett called out to me. "Don't tell her," he said. "I want to." He muttered softly and I looked back, nodding at him. This was something he needs to tell Riley himself, since it is his situation and not my place to tell her.

I hurried back to the car and as soon as I entered, Ethan drove off.

• • •

Once we parked in my driveway, I looked back at Riley who was in a deep sleep in the back seats. Ethan did the same then looked over at me, finally letting himself breath. His shoulders slumped down from being so tense and his eyes closed for a brief moment as he rested his head against the seat.

"What are you more worried about, us or Nathan?" I asked the question I've been wanting to ask him this whole time.

"I don't doubt that we can handle Colt." He responded and that alone answered my question. "I'm worried that Nathan's going to put himself straight back into the position he was in a year and half ago, a place he finally escaped. He's might not get out this time if he does find Darren." He poured out his thoughts to me. "I know he's doing it to protect us, and to have a plan for when Victor's let loose but—"

"But the last thing you want is to see Nathan trapped again." I finished for him, looking down at my lap as my heart ached to just hear his voice.

We sat in silence as we both thought about the outcome. "What do you think will happen in the end?" I asked hesitantly.

"If Nathan doesn't have a solid plan," he began. "We're so fucking screwed."

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{ I'm a horrible author who doesn't edit }

Short but sweet! I gave y'all a lot more info in this one but trust me, there's a lot more coming your way.

Now onto something I want to address real quick. In the last chapter Riley invited Mason and Axel to hang out with them— BUT SHE IS A NAHLIA SHIPPER PEOPLE. She was only teasing Thalia because she knows Axel has a crush on her, but she only invited them because she wanted to hang out with her brother since he had free time. So