My Undercover Life

Episode 47

“I thought he would never shut up.”
Lowering her gun, Annemarie stared at Asher lying on the floor. Blood poured out of his shoulder, as he struggled to catch his breath. At first the blood came out thick and strong, flowing through his fingers as he clasped the ripped flesh. The scarlet blood lashed over the floor, as Asher la!d there. The blood spread into his white t-shirt, the bright red quickly darkening. Feeling the very fluid of his life draining, I rushed over towards him. Taking my jacket off, I clamped it down on his shoulder. Applying pressure, I saw the slight movement of his eyes, as he tried to look at me.

“W-why,” he managed to choke out.
“I’m only saving you, so I can see your a-s behind bars.” He let out a chuckle that sounded more like a violent cough. He nodded his head a moment later, before he continued to stare up at the ceiling, his eyes closed.
“I don’t g-g-get it,” he said.
“Seriously? After all you’d done, I can’t let you f—–g die! It’s too easy—”

His eyes flashed open. “No—Anna.” My mouth closed shut, remembering the person who actually shot Asher. Cranking my neck around, I saw her being constrained by Al. Both Skylar and Demitri were nowhere to be seen.
“Don’t you f—–g Anna me, Asher,” she shouted, her dark hair a wild mess. Suddenly she seemed a lot more crazier than Asher a moment ago. “You know exactly why I did it. I wish you were f—–g dead! I can’t believe I missed your d–n heart. You should be dead right now, Asher, you should be dead!”

“Miss, you need to calm down—” Al started to say, when she backhanded Al, and hit him square in the eye. He grunted, but otherwise didn’t move..

“No, you don’t understand!” she cried. “Asher made me do it. He made me find those victims for him. He said if I didn’t, he’ll kill my dad, and my dad—he’s the only person I have left right now. He’s already dealing with a lot of health issues, and I-I-had to go along with it to keep him safe.” She locked eyes with me, her face red and blotchy. “Please, Lily, you have to believe me. I was roped into this! I would never harm anyone on purpose.”

“What about Bradlee and Ashleigh?” I questioned, arching my brow at her. “And those photos in your room?”

“That was all Asher. He planted those photos in my room, and he made me kidnap them! I know this doesn’t excuse anything, and I’ll pay the price. I swear I will, but I promise you, both Bradlee and Ashleigh are safe. I made sure they were well taken care of.”

“You b—h!” Asher croaked out. He used what strength he had left, and pushed me away from him. He stood up slowly, his breathing rigid. “I knew you didn’t love me. I’m going to—” Whatever he was going to say next died off, when his eyes rolled over. His body collapsed on to the floor, as he let out a loud roar. “You’ll pay for this,” was his last words as his eyes closed shut.

Al let go of Annemarie, and rushed over to Asher. Checking his pulse, he looked up at me.
“He’s alive, but barely.” Al reached behind his back, and pulled out his handcuffs. Locking Asher’s hands together, he lifted Asher up. Being careful of his wound, he swung his arm over Asher’s shoulder. “I’m going to bring the suspect to the nearest hospital. At this point, we can’t afford to wait for the ambulance.”
“What about Bradlee and Ashleigh?”
“Demitri and Skylar are searching for them now.” Al glanced over at Annemarie. “I still don’t trust you, so I’m going to have to cuff you as well.”

“I swear I’m telling you guys the truth!” she frantically shouted at us. “Asher made me do it! I told you I did it for my—”

“—she’s telling the truth.” My head turned around when I heard Ashleigh’s voice. That was when I saw Bradlee standing next to her. Seconds pass, as my brain took in his form. I struggled to comprehend that I wasn’t just seeing things—that he’s real. Even though my brain was numb, my body moved on its own accord and ran towards him. When my hand touched his face, his mouth paints a soft smile. The familiar warmth of his body met mine, giving me hope that he was okay; that Annemarie wasn’t lying.

His hand reached behind my back, and drew me in closer. I could feel my body shake when his rough fingers touched my cheek, wiping away the tears I knew was there.

“A-are you alright?” I asked, as I la!d my head on his chest, wrapping my arms around his torso. Even though we were only a part for a few days, it felt like an eternity.

He chuckled, his chest rumbling against me. “I’m fine. I promise, I’m not hurt.”
Looking up at him, the same blue eyes I fell for lit up. He looked exactly the same—save for the dark circles under his eyes. But, other than that, he had no visible injuries. “So, Annemarie was telling the truth? She protected you guys?”
“For the most part, yes. She kept Asher at bay,” Bradlee said, as I heard the front door closed shut.

“And Bradlee made sure I was okay,” Ashleigh said with a smile.
“See,” Annemarie spoke up. “I wasn’t lying. That b—–d forced me to do everything. Asher was like a fuse—you didn’t know when he would explode. That’s why I had to keep him happy. I had to do everything he told me to do and act like I like him so he wouldn’t harm my dad. But, I knew I couldn’t stand by and watch him kill anyone else. So, I formulated my own plans.”

“What do you mean?”
“As you can see, I wanted him gone. I thought killing him was the only way to save my dad, but I blew it.” Her hands clenched tightly together. “The bullet missed his heart.”
“Trust me, you missing was a good thing. Dying’s too easy.”

“Lily’s right you know,” Demitri said, making himself known. “Seeing him behind bars will be more satisfying. Unfortunately, you’re still an accessory to his crimes, so according to the law, you’re still going to be punishable. Plus, you almost killed the guy.”

She hung her head low. “I know. I already accepted that fact when I decided to pull the trigger.”

“So, you know exactly what we have to do, right?”

“Yeah.” She lifted her hands up, and put them together. That was when Skylar handcuffed her arms together. He stated her rights as he ushered her out the door. That’s when I saw the police cars. There were at least five of them, each sporting at least four officers. The door swung closed before I could get a good look at everything else.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Now, we head to the hospital,” Demitri answered.

“The one with Asher?”
Demitri shook his head. “The one back in town. Even though you guys may appear fine, we still need to double check. We can’t risk anything happening to you guys.”
“But—”

He interrupted Ashleigh. “Police orders.”
She pouted. “Fine . . .” she mumbled something under her breath, grumbling to herself.

“I heard that,” Demitri bit back.
Ashleigh’s cheeks turned scarlet, apologizing profusely.

He held his hand up, silencing her. “Hospital, okay?” He looked at both Bradlee and Ashleigh for an answer. They both nodded in response, and followed his lead out the door.

I smiled quietly to myself when Bradlee held my hand tightly the whole time. It was like he could sense how much I needed him right now—to feel his body warmth against mine. To know that he wasn’t going to leave my side ever again—that he was safe, and finally back to where he belonged—with me.

“Ashleigh!” Ian was the first one to yell. He crashed into her, and pulled her against his chest. “Are you hurt? Did they touch you? I promise I’ll hunt their asses down and skin them alive for—”

“Clam down, I’m fine,” Ashleigh cut her brother off. “They didn’t hurt me, and Bradlee was there.”

Ian turned to look at Bradlee. “You protected my sister?”
“Yeah, and Annemarie did too.”

He stared at Bradlee, his eyes rapidly blinking. “Wait, what? What does Annemarie have to do with this?”
“She was apart of it, and—”
“—she was?!” His eyes hazed over. “Where the f–k is she? I’ll shoot—”
“Ian, listen—”

Bradlee and I decided to let the siblings talk it through amongst themselves, as we headed off towards the front desk. Demitri went to talk to the nurse, while we situated ourselves in the waiting room.

“Are your parents coming?”
“Yeah, they said they’re rushing here from work.”

“Do you think they’ll be mad at me?” I glanced at the floor, chewing on my lips. “I mean,”—I looked up at him—”The whole reason why you’re in this mess was because Asher wanted me, and he used you guys—”
His fingers brushed against my cheeks. I felt my face reddening as they lightly brushed over my lips. “Nonsense,” he said, comforting me. “You saved me. And trust me, my parents have seen worse.”

I paused, narrowing my eyes at him. “What do you mean your parents have seen worse?”
Bradlee took a deep breath, and dropped his hands down. “I never really told anyone this, but when I was younger, these burglars broke into our house when my parents were away, and well . . . long story short, my hearing was damaged because of that, and Hunter, well he was traumatized. The doctors said he developed a rare form of selective amnesia, and ever since then he hasn’t exactly recovered.”

“So, that’s why Hunter was being secretive when he mentioned it a while back,” I said, mostly mumbling to myself.
“Sorry, what?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. I was just talking to myself. I just can’t believe that happened to you guys.”

Bradlee shrugged his shoulders. “It’s all in the past now. Plus, I have—”

“—Bradlee,” a woman who looked a lot like Bradlee, yelled suddenly. She broke down, and started sobbing into his chest, mumbling, “my poor baby” over and over again. A man, I’m guessing was his father stood behind his wife, while Ailee cried into Hunter’s shoulder. But, judging by the smile on her face, she was crying tears of joy. “I promise you, honey, I’ll make sure that person stays in jail for a long, long, long time for kidnapping you. I’ll do everything in my power to—”

“—Mom, I’m okay. Ashleigh’s okay. You don’t need to worry about stuff like that, alright? The police will handle it.”

“But Sweetie, he hurt you—”
“—I’m fine, Mom.” He sighed. “The only reason why I didn’t escape sooner was because he had a gun, and I couldn’t risk him potentially hurting Ashleigh with it.”
“But—”

“—Mom, I’m okay. Lily, saved me before anything bad could happen.”
“Lily?” His mom cocked her head to the side. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“It’s his long time crush, remember?” Ailee pipped in.

His mom’s eyes brightened up, noticing me for the first time. “Oh yeah!” She let go of her son, and grasped my hands. “You must be, Lily. Thank you so much for saving my son. You have no idea how grateful I am—”
“—Mom,” Hunter cut in. “That’s not Lily. That’s Avery Reed.”

I bit my lips, wondering if I should tell him now. I mean since my mission was over, technically I didn’t need to keep up with this charade anymore, right? I’m sure my cousins wouldn’t mind.

“Actually, my—”
“—her name is Lily Ace.” My mouth dropped open when I heard that sentence coming out of Ian’s mouth. Ashleigh stood beside him with a grin on her face.
“H-h-how—”

“—did I know?” Ian finished off for me. “Well, it was easy, really. Remember my little song I sang when we were all having lunch that one day?”

I thought about it, as the song rang inside my head: I love girls. They’re so pretty. Brown hair and brown eyes. They’re like angels in disguise.
My eyes grew dramatically, as I shot up from my seat. “That was about me?”

He stuck his tongue out, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Guilty. I meant it when I said you were an angel in disguise. I knew from the very beginning that you were Lily. That’s why I wanted to be friends so badly. I’m a huge fan of your work.”
“—wait a minute, can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on here?” Hunter asked, his face blank. It looked like his brain was cog and couldn’t process the information presented to him fast enough.

“Well . . . for the past month, I’d been undercover for the FBI. Like Ian said earlier, my real name is Lily Ace, not Avery Reed. Megan isn’t my cousin, but my sister-in-law. And Avery, is just my middle name, not my first name. And, um . . . I’m really sorry for deceiving all of you. Trust me, I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t like I had a choice. We needed to catch the Birthday-A-Killer and well . . . the suspects went to Woodway, so yeah,” I explained to Hunter, purposely leaving out the fact that he was actually one of the suspects. That’s a story for another day.

“So, all this time, I was the only one who didn’t know?” Hunter asked.
“Pretty much.” Ailee laughed. “I knew the moment I saw her too. You’re just dumb to realize anything.”

“Am not!” he shouted back at his sibling. “She really looks different from what I’d remember . . .”

“Oh yeah . . . about that, these are fake,” I said, taking my glasses off. Throwing them on the floor, I quickly took off my contacts as well. Touching my lip rings, I ripped them off, throwing them into my pocket. “The hair’s real though.”

Hunter stared at me dumbfounded. “I can’t believe even Ian knew . . . what the hell—”
“—what do you mean, even I knew?” Ian lashed back. “You’re just stupid.”
Hunter’s face heated up. “Call me that again, and I’ll punch you.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll love to see you—”
“—Honey, I don’t think it’s a good idea to start a fight in a hospital. People are staring,” Hunter’s mom whispered to him. And she was right. The whole room was staring at them, whispering to one another, even Demitri was having a good laugh at the check-in counter. I just hope when my parents get here everything would be settled down by then. Who knows what they’ll do. Especially Megan when she finds out about Annemarie and Asher.

“Your mother’s right, son. Why don’t we take a deep breath, and just relax. I’m sure Ian didn’t to—”

I didn’t hear the rest of his sentence when Bradlee pulled me down to ear level. “Wanna go somewhere quiet?” Bradlee whispered, his hot breath fanning my cheeks. “I need to tell you something.”

I nodded, before we quietly got up and snuck away. We rounded the corner, and headed down the empty hallway. We stopped when we couldn’t hear Ian and Hunter’s shouts.
I leaned against the wall, looking up at Bradlee. “So, what exactly did you wanted to talk about?”

“Well . . . now that you’re done with the whole undercover thing, what exactly are you going to do from now on?”

My brows scrunched together. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you going to continue to stay at Woodway?”

“I don’t know,” I told him, honestly. “I haven’t really thought about it. I mean, I would love to stay, but I need to talk to my parents about it. Plus, there’s the fact that everyone at school thinks I’m Avery, and I really don’t want to continue lying to everyone anymore—”
“—Lily.”

I gulped, as I hesitantly looked up at him. The swirls of emotions in his heated eyes, made me gasp. “Y-yeah?”
“Stay.”

“I-I—”

“—stay.” Warmth radiated from his lips, as he leaned in close to me. “I know I’m not perfect, and I know you don’t love me, but I’ll try my d–n hardest to give you a reason to.”
“Bradlee—”

“—just let me finish.” He shifted sideways, and then shyly looked back at me. “I couldn’t say this before, but I need to say this now before I chicken out.” He took a deep breath. “Lily, you know that I love you right?”

When he said those words, my heart lit on fire, and the warmth spread throughout my entire body. The only thing I could do was nod, yes.
“Lil, I promise, if you say yes, I’ll make sure your life is full of laughter every single day. I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy, and if you want, I’ll even throw in some chocolates—or whatever food you want. You name it, and I’ll make it for you. I guess,”—He fidgeted with his hands—”what I’m trying to say is, um . . . do you want to be together? You know, officially? Of course, you don’t have to answer me now, just think about it—”

“—Bradlee.”
“Yeah?”

I laughed. “Shut up, and kiss me already.”
His blush seared through his cheeks. “Does that mean . . . ?”

I giggled at his cuteness. My arms reached up and tangle around his strong neck. His eyes widened, licking his lips. I breath in sharply, and kissed him delicately, his arms encircling my waist. My lips part, as our breaths mingle. My heart flutters, as he draws me close. When we broke apart for much need oxygen, I rested my forehead against his and smiled.
“I love you too, dummy.”

So, technically this was the last chapter but there will be an epilogue up sometime (You’ll hear my long sappy goodbye then). So, yay for that, right?
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