Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 1022 : Hesitated

*Leo*

“Here is the warehouse I told you about,” Oscar cunningly adjusted the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, a smirk on his lips as he led me into the new warehouse. I gave him a sparing glance, a meaningful look exchanged at that moment before I pointedly glanced around the empty space.

An old fishery or canning warehouse which had closed down over thirty years ago. The building remained in shambles, with no electricity or running water but that didn’t matter much if I was being honest. All this warehouse needed was to suit our purposes and for that, it was perfect.

“It’s falling apart,” I sneered, crossing my arms as I played up the disgust. However, it wasn’t like I was wrong. The place was filled with molded walls, half-collapsed pillars, and graffiti sprayed on nearly every surface. Even the old equipment wasn’t spared with the graphic artistic words.

The place was large, with multiple areas sectioned off between walls. I walked through, ignoring the crunch of the broken glass and various other objects I stepped on.

“It’s isolated, a perfect location for what you said you wanted,” Oscar, our masterful spy played his role of the over-eager salesperson easily, happily standing in front of the nearly destroyed wall like he meant to hide it. “It’s quite spacious and with a little refurbishment–”

“A little?” I whirled on him with a sharp look. He let out a nervous laugh, his lying eyes hidden behind his glasses.

“Maybe it requires a bit more investment than you were expecting but I assure you this is the best warehouse in the area that suits your needs!”

“Wow, he’s really selling it, isn’t he?” A low voice echoed through the hidden earpiece in my ear. I shifted uncomfortably, holding back the snort at that comment. Franky’s deadpanned voice never failed to make me crack but now wasn’t the time.

“No movement so far,” I heard Darion on the line as well, sounding more serious and determined than I’d heard before. “Are you sure making you the bait is the best move, Boss? If things go south–”

“It’s too late for that. Two approaching from behind,” Franky said into my ear grimly. “Be prepared. Don’t get caught off guard.”

“Ugh, don’t screw this up, Boss,” Darion grumbled in my ear.

I didn’t answer, just gave a noncommittal hum as I moved through the warehouse. I eyed Oscar and the two guards I’d brought from the corner of my eye, watching as Oscar chatted away from them. Behind his back, he held up the signal- two fingers that vanished as quick as he’d shown it.

I nodded to myself as I moved from the main section to one of the smaller rooms, casually leaving behind the guards just like we planned. A week of in-depth planning, of putting every piece in its place all for the sake of trapping the rat who was after me and my family.

Jack Frost.

It was a risky move to give myself up as the bait but it was the only thing we had on the new leader of the Angels. The only lead we had. If it worked, we would catch the culprit, and if it didn’t...

Well, I wasn’t going to think about what would happen if we failed just yet.

Oscar’s voice echoed through the empty and falling apart building as I headed to the private room we’d set up. I knew how many hidden eyes were on me but it didn’t make it any less unnerving to trap myself. No windows or crevices to escape, just a small room and one door.

I kept my back to the doorway, listening to Franky’s clinical voice as he reported the intruder’s movements. I played still, doing my best not to reach for the gun I had hidden under my jacket and the various other weapon plants we had in the seemingly empty room.

“They’ve slipped past security. They’re heading straight your way,” Franky warned me alarmed and I tensed, unable to help myself as the little light coming from outside the private room suddenly vanished.

I slipped into the dark as the door slammed shut behind me, I knew Jack Frost was here with me. And he thought he’d trapped me.

“Leo Wilson...” a raspy voice called out, much higher and lighter than I expected but I didn’t take the time to wonder about that as I whirled around in the darkness, the bright searchlight attached to my clothing lighting up with a push of a button.

I grabbed my gun, ripping it from behind my back where I hid it, and aimed it straight at the figure’s head, a cold smirk on my face.

Even hidden under a black cloak, their entire body obscured from view, I could tell a few things about them straight away.

The so-called Jack Frost was about a head shorter than me, tiny in comparison if I was being honest but that didn’t matter. I knew never to underestimate someone based on their size. Besides, this Jack Frost person wasn’t a killer.

Just a clever mastermind who hid in the shadows.

Their mouth opened but all that came out was a click of a tongue as they tensed, backing into the door.

“Sorry but this isn’t going to go the way you think, Jack Frost,” I said coldly. Then sneered at having to say the ridiculous name. “Terrible name by the way. Couldn’t you come up with something better?”

They pursed their lips, all I could see of their face from under the hooded cloak but didn’t say another word.

“Give up now,” I demanded. “And I’ll spare your life.”

The figure muttered a curse under their breath, and I frowned as I heard them speak something, words almost distorted. Spanish, I realized abruptly. But I didn’t know what it was they said exactly before I heard the door behind us crack in half as it was lifted off its hinges.

“Sir!” My men, including Oscar, surrounded the entrance, all with their own weapons. But what I thought would be intimidating to the solo player in front of me turned out to be the opposite as I saw a smirk on their lips from under the cloak.

“Get back!” I shouted, but it was too late.

A gunshot echoed out and I barely dodged the bullet heading my way as Jack Frost fell to the floor and swept their leg under one of my men. That moment of knocking them off balance was all they needed to get the upper hand as they grabbed my man into a chokehold, pressing a silver knife to their neck.

Their back to the wall, Jack Frost smirked as he held our guy tightly by the throat. I cursed as I got to my feet, staring at the hole in the wall where the bullet hit and the nervous-looking rookie in front of me who was now being used as a hostage.

His gun had dropped onto the floor and all I could do was keep my own barrel aimed at him as did Oscar and the other guard beside me. They blocked the only way out so there was no escape.

A bead of sweat ran down my forehead as we stared at one another, both unwilling to back down. I gnashed my teeth together in frustration, wondering what the best thing to do in this situation was.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have to make that decision.

With a kick to the back of his knee by the assailant, the hostage went down like a bag of bricks, crying out in pain as Jack Frost practically threw his limp body at Oscar and the other guard. I jolted forward, aiming my gun before they could slip out.

The shot rang out and I saw it hit their leg, their figure crumpling as they skidded out of the room onto the floor. I raced after them as Oscar and the guards got their feet. There was a trail of scarlet blood leading me straight to their crumpled form.

Long black tresses fell out of the hood and I hesitated for only a moment before I grabbed the back of their cloak.

My eyes widened and my whole being shook as the woman stared up at me in pain, her leg bleeding from where I’d shot her. She looked only barely older than me, thin and petite but those eyes.

The startling blue eyes that stared back at me, framed by a face of pale and gaunt features were nothing like what I expected. Because despite her honeyed brown skin and clearly Hispanic features, her striking eyes looked just like mine.

Like staring into a twisted funhouse mirror, the same color, the same shape. Those eyes were mine, I thought numbly.

My gun fell loosely in my hand, all intent and plans crumbling apart like a stone in front of me as I struggled to digest this - to find any kind of semblance of logic here. My whole body felt cold and numb.

The woman smirked.

“Cat got your tongue?” Her voice was light and almost playful, those eyes drilling me like she knew something I didn’t. “Huh, Leoncito?”

I dropped her arm like it was fire, the name shaking something in me to my core even though I had no memory of ever hearing it before. But it felt like something was scraping against the deepest part of my heart, something I’d forgotten long ago trying to crawl its way back into my mind.

“Who...” I could barely get the words out, locked onto her in horror and confusion. “Who are you?”

Her eyes flashed with something. Hurt? Anger? I didn’t know, not when it felt like my entire world was falling apart.

She didn’t answer my questions, taking my moment of hesitation to scramble to her feet and rush out of the room. I could only stand there emptily watching as she escaped as easily as she came in.

I glanced down emptily at the pool of blood she’d left behind. For some reason, the only thing I could think about was what Andre had told me.

‘They look kinda like you.’ he’d said.

It wasn’t until moments later that Franky and Darion came rushing in that I gained enough of my senses to look up.

“You had him,” Franky demanded, sweeping his eyes across the room. Oscar groaned as he and the two guards came into the main room.

“Leo hesitated,” Oscar threw me under the bus, glaring at me harshly. “You should’ve taken the damn shot.”

My shock faded away into a raging deep boiling anger. At myself, at the guard who let himself get taken hostage, at the woman who’d shaken up my emotions just by appearing. All of it was too much.

“Leo,” Franky said coldly, “Explain.”

“Get the damn blood tested. I don’t want to hear anything until then!” I holstered my gun, not looking at any of them as I stormed off in a directionless anger, overwhelmed by everything.

And praying that the little theory in the back of my mind was incorrect.