"Absolutely not." She said, watching as the man that was by the door suddenly pulled the metal shutters up.

Ashley gripped the seat in front of her incredibly tight and bit down hard on her lower lip. Ever single fiber in her body told her to stay put and not go through with this. She absolutely could not—and would not—jump out of the death trap a few steps away from her, that would a hundred percent lead to her non existence.

"Come on, Lee. You're exaggerating."

Slowly and stiffly, she turned her head to glare at Brock, who seemed perfectly fine. Almost as if they weren't fourteen thousand feet in the air. She opened her mouth to say something only to purse her lips and swallow sudden bile that rose up her throat. She had made it clear that heights were her weakness, but Brock being the idiot that he is, had managed to convince her to challenge herself and get over her fear. This man could get anyone to do anything with just a few words and a smile on his stupid face.

"I could die." She reasoned once she had recollected herself.

The wind rushed into the plane from the opening in place of where the door should be. Ashley nearly hunched on the floor and hid under the bench she was seated on when she saw one of the people she was with push himself off the edge backwards and disappear in to the open atmosphere. She shut her eyes and took a huge, deep breath, before she looked at Brock. His excited expression from earlier was suddenly replaced with one of concern and regret. Ashley, having noticed this, let out a sigh and sat up straighter on her seat.

"We can just stay on the plane then, until it lands." Brock suggested before he began to remove his gear, starting with his helmet.

Ashley looked at the woman behind her and grimaced. She was supposed to jump with her since she couldn't do it alone and didn't have a license. Ashley shook her head at Brock and sent him a smile,

"No, let's do this." She paused, strapping her own helmet on, "—you weren't wrong anyway. I need to do this. I mean, when will I ever get another chance to tick this off my bucket list, ya know? Besides, it's not like there aren't any professionals to help me jump. They're trained to do this. They have experience, Ashley—."

"Two years worth." The woman behind her interrupted as she rambled on.

"—right? What am I so afraid of. This is nothing. They have a reserve canopy in case the first one doesn't deploy. But what if the second one doesn't work?—."

"She's done her research." Someone whispered from Brock's side of the plane.

"I can do this. This is nothing." Ashley finally finished and turned her gaze back to her assistant. She sent her a nod and got on her feet when she did.

Brock stood up as well, a smile playing at his lips as he crouched behind them. Ashley and Helen—her instructor—stood by the open door as Helen did all the necessary preparations to get both of them strapped in.

Ashley let the hard rush of the wind distract her from looking down and instead kept her gaze on the clear, bright blue sky in front of her. There was not a cloud in sight and the bright yellow sun was hidden somewhere behind them. She gulped when she heard Helen let out a breath.

"Are you ready?" She asked, lowering her dark brown eyes at Ashley with the sweetest smile on her dark brown and pink lips.

Ashley felt oddly reassured from her simple, refreshing expression and her shoulders subconsciously sagged, the tension from before leaving them. She looked away from her and took a deep breath, letting it out and hoping it took all her worries away with it. She nodded and gripped on the straps wrapped around her shoulders.

"Alright. I'm going to jump on three." Helen said, a bit louder as the wind picked up. She begun her countdown, "—one."

Lord, please—

"Two—."

I ask that you take the wheel.

"Three."

My life is in your hands.

Helen pushed the both of them off the plane and into the free, open troposphere. Ashley's heart immediately shot to her throat and her grip on the straps tripled. She forced her eyes shut as she felt her body sink in to the air fast. She didn't dare open them out of fear of seeing the ground below them closer than it should be. She couldn't bare the risk of looking down and finding out that their canopy wouldn't open. Helen gave her a gentle tap on her shoulder, interrupting her prayer as she constantly mumbled it without realizing she was.

"You can trust me, you know." She comforted, her voice close to her ear, "—nothing will happen to you, Ashley."

Reluctantly, Ashley opened her left eye and dared to look. The bright light almost blinded her, so she instinctively open her right eye to adjust to the sudden brightness. Her stomach dropped all the way to hell when she was other people dropping a few feet beside her and some below her. She could feel her head become heavy. Suddenly, she was opening her eyes again, adjusting to the light as they got closer and closer to the ground. She could hear Helen erupting into fits of giggles.

Did I just pass out? She wondered and snickered when she asked Helen the same question and she confirmed it.

Feeling a bit better, Ashley lowered her gaze and took in the island's beauty. The land was surrounded by nothing but clean, crystal blue water, and was filled with green trees, hills, houses and a mountain that was at the very north of it. She smiled at it's gorgeous colour and almost cursed herself for willing to miss such a view.

"It's freaking beautiful!" She exclaimed, letting go of the straps and stretching her arms on both of her sides.

Helen chuckled and told her to hold on tight as she wanted to deploy the canopy. Ashley immediately brought her hands back to their original position without question. Once they finally landed, she kept her legs at a ninety degrees angle when Helen hit the ground with her feet and did a little jog to keep the momentum until they could stop. Ashley then planted her feet on the ground with the biggest smile on her face and took off her gear. She turned back to Helen and thanked her for not killing her.

Helen chuckled, "Maybe next time you'll keep your eyes open, yeah?" She advised with a wink before she took both of their gears and walked away with a little bounce on her step.

Ashley blinked at her with her head tilted curiously to her side. She then turned her gaze to her right in time to catch Brock trying to sneak his way towards her. She narrowed her eye at him and he threw his head back in laughter. Ashley scoffed and pursed her lips in an attempt to stop her self from smiling.

"I saw you pass out." Brock revealed, a sharp, bushy eyebrow arched at her.

"What how? You were above me." 

His eyes widened before he broke into a genuine, breathless fit of laughter and wheezes. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and took in huge breaths with tears falling down his face. His deep, loud and yet silent laughter caused a few curious heads to turn towards them and Ashley immediately wished she was an Ostrich. Oh, to have the neck strength to plunge your head underground and cease to exist for a second. Brock eventually sobered up, but before he could explain himself, Ashley had already realized that he had been joking around about her passing out, and had no idea that she actually did. 

Digging my own grave, yet again.

"Man, I would have paid to see that." He revealed, actually sounding disappointed as he fell into step with her and they both walked towards the beach not so far ahead of them. 

"I knew I should have chosen to play volleyball like everyone else." Ashley said as she made out the figures jumping and running around the net to be the others. She could see other people wind surfing, scuba diving further in to the distance, surfing, snorkeling and even sailing—judging from the group of five that were making their way in to a whole yacht.

"True." Brock paused, "—but you were nice enough to join me." He added with a smirk on his face, "—though, it would have been a thousand times better if we had jumped togeth—." He stopped himself short when Ashley jabbed him in the stomach before he could finish his sentence.

"You sir, need a filter." She joked, revealing so with a small smile on her lips.

"You know what would shut me up?"

Ashley sighed, knowing where this was going, but curious to see if he would actually finish.

"You." He said, pointing at Ashley's deadpanned face, "—riding on my face." He finished, directing his index finger at himself and wearing the most serious face she had ever seen on him.

Ashley felt a sudden rush shoot down her chest and stomach before disappearing between her thighs. She pursed her lips, straightened her back and cleared her throat, "Well then, it looks like you'll be forever chatty." She said, internally cringing for her weak—but needed—comeback.

Brock tilted his head to the side, his expression seeming to darken as he watched her instead of where he was walking. He pursed his lips and smirked, "Did—," he paused, hesitating, "—did that just work on you?" He continued, "—are you feeling flustered?"

Ashley looked anywhere else but at him and scowled, unaware of her brightly flushed cheeks, "It did not. I'm still overwhelmed from the dive." Ashley said, letting out a breath through her nose, hoping he would drop it.

"Holy shit." 

"Hey. You two playing?" A familiar voice said in front of them once they reached the volleyball court. It was basically just a net put on a particular spot on the beach with white chalk lines marking the edges.

"With each others hormones?" Brock asked as Ashley walked towards a very shirtless Seb and gingerly took the ball from his hand.

As soon as it was out of Seb's grip—and before anyone could react—she chucked it at a clueless Brock with all the force she had and watched as it landed on his stupidly chiseled face. She had been aiming for his nose, but it hit him square on the forehead instead. Brock's head and torso was forced back a little from the blow as the ball dropped on the sandy floor and came to a bouncy stop a few feet in front of him. There was a snicker somewhere as Ashley turned back to Seb and sent him a sweet smile.

"Why yes, S—."

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud pang that almost seemed to echo and bounce off imaginary walls around the beach. Ashley felt a stinging pain shoot from the back of her head. She slowing and menacingly turned her hardened eyes at Brock—murder and rage frothing in them—and let out a single chuckle, before she bent down and gripped the blue, yellow and white ball. She held it in a tight, iron grip and stared at Brock, who slowly begun to back away from her with his palms held out in front of her.

"Ah." He paused, "—I—f—forgot that every time I hang out with you, I always end up running for my life."

Ashley's right eye twitched as she stepped towards him, one step after the other, before they both built up to a jog until it became a full on pursuit. Seb watched the two of them running around the beach before they disappeared towards the direction that lead back to the villas and sighed. He looked behind him and sent everyone a shrug, to which Blake, Ally and Alessio replied to with a shake of their heads. Casey, Jason and Reece had smiles on their faces as they stared after them.

***

"Looks like it's game over then." Seb concluded, dusting off his hands against each other.

"Wait who was keeping score again?" Casey asked, looking at each and every one of them in disbelief.                                                                        

"You, Case." Ally replied with a scoff and shook her head as she got up from the ground and patted the sand off her ass. "—let's just go eat. But for the record, my team won."

"Wow, now. No, you didn't, we scored way more than you guys." Alessio argued, a frown resting on his face.

"What the fuck Al, I was keeping score too." Ally said, frowning at him with a sharp look in her eyes.

"So was I. Clearly, one of us is lying." Alessio retorted, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood dangerously close to Casey.

Seb sighed and looked at the sea behind him, waiting for their bickering to come to an end so they could go eat. He was starving. He frowned and found himself thinking about Eros. He was supposed to be on this trip, but he suddenly decided that he wasn't going to come at the last literal second. It made him wonder what changed his mind since he loved going on secluded island trips. Whether it was alone or with other people. It was one of the few things he loved. Of course, he would never say it out loud, but one could tell. He would smile more, which was basically the only reason Seb could arrive at the conclusion. The only other time he smile is if he is with Mika, when he was back home or both. 

Could it be because of Ashley? He wondered, and nodded to himself as he crossed his slightly tattooed arms across his chest.

Definitely. He didn't come because they were still awkward with each other. Of course he would want her to have fun without him. Sebastian wasn't stupid. He understood that if he did come, Ashley wouldn't be as comfortable as she currently was. He did almost choke her to death—a dick move at that too—so it was understandable. He shook his head at no one in particular, still amused that he lost his cool so easily around her. He turned back to the others—his hard expression still in place—only to find most of them already watching him, while Ally and her cousin went on bickering. 

Seb rested his face and smiled.

"Shall we go eat?" He asked, snickering when he grabbed the cousins' attention as well and saw the identical scowls on their faces. Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed his shirt from off the floor by the edge of the court and draped the sandy mess over his shoulder. 

He was hungry and wasn't letting anyone stop him from getting to his food.

Priorities first.

 Always.

🔱🔱🔱

"Detective Kayden!" 

Kayden turned towards the voice with a raised eyebrow. His colleague beckoned him closer and disappeared into his office which was a few steps from where he stood. He was about to refill his coffee, but apparently that had to wait. He sighed, placed the cup next to the coffee maker then walked towards the office; a part of him curious about what the man had to say. It had better be important. He knocked twice before he let himself in to the small, dark office and gently shut the door behind him. 

Nolan was a good man, but when it came to disrespect, he could easily become your most vivid nightmare. They had been partners before when they were rookies, so Kayden knew this better than anyone. Something as simple as shutting the door too loud could lead to him giving you a lecture on mannerisms and why they are important in the work place. Nolan was like your personal lecturer that was constantly looking over your shoulder.

He almost shuddered when he remembered that he once gave him a three hour lecture when he called him bro. The word has never left his mouth since. The fact that Nolan was such a big, bulky guy only added fuel to the fire. He stood at six eight, brown eyed, had a little beard hanging on his chin and had the widest shoulders he had ever seen. 

Kayden stood in front of Nolan's desk with his arms behind his back. He wasn't his boss or anything, but he didn't feel like getting a scolding over something trivial. When Nolan gestured for him to take a seat, Kayden did so without wasting a single movement.

"I really respect you, Detective. You must know that I only have your best interests in mind." He begun and placed his elbows on the desk between them. Clear veins popped out and showed themselves from beneath his dark, tanned forearm.

Kayden raised an eyebrow out of habit and immediately lowered them, "And I you."

Looks like I'm getting a lecture after all.

Nolan nodded, "I heard you're investigating the Huxley case." He said, getting right to the point this time, knowing his former partner was never one to like beating around the bush.

Kayden sighed and leaned back on his seat, "So that's what this is about." He said, his jaw ticking as he searched Nolan's eyes with his own calculating ones.

Nolan looked away from him so he didn't reveal to much, "So you know the weight of it."

"I don't care about his occupation and you know that. I just want him to pay for what he did to his own family." Kayden explained, suddenly feeling cramped up in the tiny, but oddly neat office. 

He hated this about Nolan. He would always make your business his own, whether you wanted him to or not. Although this time he was right to, he should know him better than to assume that he could stop him from doing this case; or any at all. This man has been let off the hook for years and has been allowed to walk around as if he wasn't a wanted man with an actual bounty on him in this day and age. Kayden wasn't stupid. He knew that for him to be able to achieve this, then he must have a lot of powerful connections from all over the place—not just the police department. He knew that he was dealing with a very powerful man, but something had to be done. What he did should not go unpunished by law. 

This was his job.

Justice must be given to those who need it.

"Kayden. You're smarter than this and you know it. You absolutely cannot bring this man down."

He sighed and looked at the shelf behind Nolan, diverting his attention to the titles of the books arranged alphabetically. How can such a scary man be so neat? He grimaced when he noticed that they were all law books. 

Of course.

"I know. But it's worth a shot. I want him off the streets."

"Kayden, every single detective that's been compromised while investigating him have ended up dead. I cannot let you end up on the same path. You're clearly our best man on the team and your family needs you. I need you to think this through. I need you to be logical here and let this go before it builds up to something you cannot handle. Which it will." He paused, "—I need you to be smart about this."

"I am."

"Are you really? Do you even have any idea what Academy you sent your daughter to?" Nolan asked, his voice gradually getting louder as he laced it with disappointment, "—are you using your daughter, Crowther?"

Kayden's eyes darkened. He slowly leaned forward and placed his right fist on the desk, besides Nolan's open laptop, "Careful." He growled out, his teeth clenched hard, "—do not bring her in to this debate, Harred."

Nolan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Then tell me," he paused, "—why the hell would you admit her to Grudgeford Academy if that were the case? Why would you throw her to the wolves and expect to catch the leader?"

Kayden's fist softened and it slid weakly off the edge of table, "What are you talking about? She's at Greenfield University."

Nolan shook his head in disappointment, "This is exactly why you shouldn't go after Gregor." He said, an edge in his voice as he clenched his jaw, "—he's a manipulative bastard."

Kayden immediately rose to his feet, pushing the office chair back to the other side of the small office as his heart rose to his throat. The chair hit the tall, black file cabinet that had been far behind him and next to the door he came in through, making a fuss loud enough to cause conversations from the people outside to come to a short pause.

"He has my daughter?"

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