- Serena -

We arrived at a warehouse, the men shoving us inside. What made it harder was my ankle giving out every once in a while and they would pull me even more roughly.

It was a huge area. The ceilings were high and fluorescent lights hung from the extreme height.

There were neatly arranged metal shelves and crates everywhere, it must be filled with weapons. There were also two rows of forklifts at the side of the wide space.

It was incredibly neat, only someone like Shawn could handle such a big operation alone.

We got pushed into a decently furnished room at the back of the warehouse. It had a long wide table and I suppose this was where they came up with their plans or whatnot.

There were more men in the room and they all nodded when Shawn walked past. Just how much of a big deal was he?

He sat at the front of the table and made Ben and I sit on his left and right.

When everyone settled, he snapped his finger and an ice carving of a dock appeared in the middle of the table. It was a smaller scale of the original, but big enough for everyone in the room to get a good look.

I stared wide-eyed, it was so beautiful and intricate. 

"The shipment will arrive tonight at midnight, sharp. I will need security at the six exit points. The front has a main entrance and two exits, there are two exits at the back of the dock and one on each side of area," he gestured to the model and each time he indicated an exit, it would glow a bright blue and I watched in wonder.

His powers were beautiful. How he managed to control his powers to such a level was mind-blowing.

I only used my powers to chill cups, cover my whole cafe in ice and throw a snowball at Roxy every once in a while.

"We only have about twenty men on our side but Tyronne has at least fifty. He may have recruited more just for tonight so keep a lookout. It is the biggest shipment we've received in a long time. I don't want any screw ups."

He snapped his finger again and the view of the dock changed into the view near the water and it was fucking awesome.

There was literally water flowing and a huge ship pulled up at the unloading area. 

"We have ten containers worth of stuff and there are ten crates in each container. There is no need to do a count when we are there, there is no time," Shawn swiped the air and the model spun to a different view.

"Tyronne will come in from the back exit because he's an ass."

I rolled my eyes and Shawn raised his finger at me, "That's his habit, don't look at me like that."

Shawn rarely spoke any form of vulgarity in front of me. Even 'stupid' was counted as one. As I said, he was the perfect older brother. Until now that is.

He cleared his throat and continued, "He will come down from the vehicle when we've loaded the containers onto the transporting vehicles.

He plans to follow the vehicles to our next destination but we won't give him that chance. 

The moment his vehicle is spotted at the exit, whoever is stationed there must contact me. Get your walkie-talkies from the store room before we leave.

I don't know what car or vehicle he will be taking but with more than fifty of his men, there will be a lot of them.

When he arrives at the unloading area, we will capture him. Simple," he folded his arms and I eyed him. 

"If it's that simple why do you need Ben and me? We're redundant."

Shawn chuckled, "Aww come on sweetie. You want in on the fun?"

I scoffed, uninterested and he continued.

"There are too many men, subdue them. Get them out of the way, get Tyronne. Freeze the car or whatever, Ben can burn the tyres off the car, anything. 

Just remember to get Tyronne."

"What do you plan on doing when you get him anyway?" I asked out loud and Ben shot me a look.

Do it or get killed.

"You want to kill him," I mumbled and Shawn patted my head.

"Clever girl, now let's get the hell out of here."

***

It was a quarter to midnight and I was dying just waiting in the van.

The cuff was straining my arm and the stirring of my core was driving me insane. I needed an outlet.

"You feeling okay?" Ben reached across the tiny space and brushed my hair away from my face. 

It was only us two in the van, and the four idiots watching over us.

Shawn wouldn't let anyone lose sight of me and if he wasn't such a bastard at this point, I would have thought he was being protective.

"I'm okay, it's just a little stuffy in here," I took a deep heavy breath to calm my insides and Ben reached over to wind the front windows down further.

"Boss said to not touch anything in here," one of the guys growled at Ben.

"Sure, if you want her to suffocate to death and give your boss a lengthy explanation on how she died because of your thick skull which may end up in you being killed then I won't mind not touching anything," Ben shot back at him.

The man huffed out an aggravated breath and I sighed, these guys were the worst. Which was why Shawn hired them anyway.

"Better?" Ben squeezed my shoulder and I nodded.

"Thank you."

"That's enough, get your hands off her," the guy next to Ben pulled him back.

Ben threw his elbow backwards and it slammed into the metal of the van, creating a huge dent.

"If you don't shut the fuck up, that will be your head next," he glared at all of them and I felt a gush of air escape me.

He was fierce as hell but extremely hot at the same time. This guy was still confusing as before. Or maybe I was confusing. 

It wasn't the first time I saw him angry but it made my heart jump regardless.

The four men looked scared for once tonight and they looked away, trying to distract themselves from the tense atmosphere.

I sighed really loudly and closed my eyes, feeling the cold in my core stir up like a storm. I focused the energy on my hands, feeling a thick layer coat my hands and slowly start freezing the cuff.

I huffed and took a breath of air, it was extremely tiring, but nothing I couldn't handle.

I opened my eyes and found Ben staring at me, as per usual.

He gave me a look, as if asking if I can do it. If I can break out of the cuff.

I gave a slight nod and felt the ice around my hand thicken.

The walkie-talkie sounded and the four men rushed out the back of the van, slamming it shut behind them.

"Take it easy Serena, you'll strain yourself," Ben voiced out and I could hear the worry in his tone.

"It would be nice if you could help me out here," I mentioned bitterly, only to have him return that comment with an empathetic smile.

"I would, but I might hurt you," his eyes looked deep into my soul and I wondered what he meant by that.

"What do you mean?"

"Shawn and I tried breaking out of the cuffs before, when our previous boss found out that he could use these stuff to stop us I guess.

I got out of mine after some practice, it's easy to melt metal. So I tried helping Shawn with his cuff and well that didn't really end well."

I recalled the marks I saw around Shawn's wrists and mouthed an oh.

He shrugged, "I'm too hot for you Serena, literally. And your brother too."

I would have laughed at that, but the cuff was killing me.

I pushed all the energy I felt to the ends of my fingers till I heard a loud click and twang.

The cuff broke off me and I heaved a sigh of relief, rubbing my wrists in soothing circles.

"That's my girl," Ben smiled proudly and I felt my heart pound.

"Who's your girl?" I eyed him and he leaned forward in the tiny space.

"Well there's only one girl in this whole van right?"

I rolled my eyes, "Sarcastic much?"

He chuckled and got up, half kneeling half standing to lean even closer to me, I had to back up slightly from the lack of room.

And the lack of sanity Ben was forcing me into.

"I know it's crazy timing Serena, but if I don't get this off my chest tonight, I'll die of regret."

"We're not going to die tonight, are we?" I wondered out loud, suddenly afraid of how tonight's events will play out.

His face was inches from mine, his warm breath sending chills down my spine. What is wrong with me?

"Hopefully we don't, but just in case," he looked down to my lips and back up into my eyes. 

I gulped, "In case what?"

"In case I don't get to tell you how much I like you Serena. Which is more than I thought. I never meant for things to turn out like this. I never wanted to get attached to you because I'm such a danger to everyone around me.

But you accepted me for who I am, totally and unconditionally. When you didn't know about my powers till the moment you knew, you understood me completely. Thank you."

I will die from lack of oxygen and a heart attack because of Benjamin Burnes.

Every word he said was true, I could tell from the way he gazed at me with so much love and affection.

"Well thank you too, for bringing me to your restaurant to see a bunch of hot guys in your kitchen," I mumbled and I saw his face change a thousand different shades of red.

"God you'll drive me crazy, I'm never taking you there again that's for sure," Ben chuckled darkly and I smiled, happy that I lightened the tense mood, for me at least. 

"Oh I'm making sure you're taking me back there, the food was great."

"Who do you think taught them how to cook?" Ben wiggled his eyebrows.

"Haha I know it's not Gordon Ramsey," I folded my arms as his past joke came into mind.

"Of course not, but whoever taught them is the next best chef," Ben hinted.

My eyes widened upon realisation, "You?! No it can't be. Must be Austin."

Ben started laughing and it was the heartiest laugh I heard from him. It was weird, especially when we're in such a situation.

But it made me happy all the same.

"Yes it is me."

I stared at him in awe, he keeps surprising me again and again, "Well, I kind of doubt that. Those guys in the kitchen have serious guns. I've also never seen you using your muscles."

He gave me a playful look, totally confident and sure of himself, "Would you be interested in having your own private screening of me cooking then?"

It was my turn for my face to flash different degrees of red, "I'm sorry what?"

"You're in luck babe, you just scored yourself a man that can cook," he brushed the side of my face and I blinked at him in utter disbelief.

Was he serious?

He held my face in his hand and leaned down, then bumped his head against mine when we heard someone hammer the side of the van loudly.

"I hope you guys aren't getting too comfortable in there," Shawn sing-songed and Ben rubbed the spot on my head where he accidentally knocked me.

"You okay?" 

I shrugged, "It's nothing. Let's get ready."

Ben pressed his lips to my forehead and pulled away just as Shawn opened the back of the van.

"Get down, both of you. Tyronne is here."