Chapter 1

Tessy sighed softly when her bike screeched to a halt on the asphalt floor, and looked around her surroundings fur a moment. According to her GPS tracker, she was a few minutes away from the express that led out of the city. Far away from her usual meetings, and she nervously wondered why her boss had assigned this job to her.

She got out of her bike and removed the helmet she was putting on, shaking her long blonde hair free. She brought out a handkerchief and wiped her face slightly before she quickly packed her hair back into a tight ponytail, fixed in the blue contact lenses she always used for these deliveries, and put on the black ski mask. Afterwards, she bent down and hooked her bike tightly to the rail beside it, making sure to lock it tightly. Even though the place seemed empty, Tessy knew that thieves were always lurking around and she didn't want to hike back so much distance. Especially in the blazing sun.

She stood up and let out a breath from inside the mask to be sure it was comfortable and tightly placed, before she stuck a hand into her pocket and began to walk towards the designated point of meeting. Cool air blew across her clothes and a small shiver ran through her, but it was enjoyable so she started to slow down her steps. Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket thrice and she fished it out, groaning when she saw the name on the screen.

"Hello Sir, is there–"

"Remember what I said, Tessy. Don't let them see your face and do not speak to them. Am I understood?" He interrupted her with a harsh bark into the phone and immediately, she grunted out a response, he continued, "By this time, you should be at the meeting point. Just deliver the goods and get out of there, no questions asked or answered." She quickly nodded her head and started to answer verbally but the call was already cut from his end so instead, she silenced it totally. The buyer didn't need to hear what her phone sounded like, it was too risky in this line of business.

She took in a breath and adjusted the mask on her head, making sure that all her identify able features were out of sight. To an onlooker, Tessa would have looked like a demon. Clothed in all black from her head to her feet, and not a visible inch of skin showing because even her hands were encased in black gloves.

She liked it that way, because the buyer would not even know how to describe her if he couldn't see what race she belonged to. She continued to leisurely stride further into the desolate area, fully aware of the penknife hidden at the back of her cargo pants. Braxley always drummed it in her head that she needed to be able to protect herself in case anything went wrong. That was the life of a woman in the business world, especially the risky kinds. Like hers.

After a brief moment of walking, she finally entered a small uncompleted building. It happeared to be an abandoned warehouse, with large cranes stacked up by the corner and rows of building blocks at another corner. The place appeared deserted, save for the occasional chirping of birds outside and the rustling coming from further along the building.

Tessy crouched down and assumed a fighting stance as the rustles became louder and she started to reach for her penknife before a small lizard came out from behind the shadows and quickly scurried away. She hissed a bit loudly at ther unwarranted fear when a voice snorted behind her.

"Don't tell me they brought a girl to deliver my goods today." The hairs on Tessy's skin rose up at the sound of the familiar voice. She sharply repositioned herself so she was facing the person, and nearly recoiled in shock when she saw the client for that day.

Of all people for Braxley to give her, it had to be Blaze Colt. Her brother's best friend. Her first instinct was to scream into the air about her worst possible luck, and maybe if she could, shove a few fingers up her boss's eyes. But a shudder ripped through her at that moment. Braxley's guards would kill her before she even started to raise her fingers up.

She straightened her back and looked straight at Blaze, even as beads of sweat pooled on her back. Could things get any worse?

She moved a few feet further away from him, creating more space between them as he struggled to keep her shaky hands on check. She pulled out a red pouch from one of the pockets in her pants, and stretched it out to him, bending her head as he reached over and collected it.

"Why would that man send a girl over? Of all the people in the world." He opened the pouch and placed it to his nose, inhaling the musty scent of the drug while Tessy struggled not to choke. No matter how long she delivered those noxious substances, she still couldn't get used to their smell and the ski mask on her face was not really doing anything much.

Still she raised both hands and quickly tightened the strap behind her head, while Blaze closed the pouch back and started to roll it absently in his hands. It was quite heavy and he grinned at it, happy that he was finally getting his money's worth. By his calculation, the drugs would last him for about a month...if he didn't throw a party like the one of last week. His head still felt heavy after all the alcohol and smoke he had consumed that day.

Hey. Tell me. Couldn't they have sent a guy instead? Girls annoy me," he muttered and glanced at her, expectantly waiting for an answer but she just shrugged in response and he sighed. "Right. They don't let you talk when delivering the goods, and I wonder why. It's not like anyone is going to rat you out. Well not me though."

Blaze knew he was a lot of things but he certainly wasn't a tell-tale, he knew when to keep his mouth shut and also, he would never admit it, but he needed to be anonymous as well. Perhaps even more. Being accused of taking drugs messed with a person's reputation, but he couldn't help himself.

Tessy rolled her eyes inside her mask and wished he could see the frown in her face. Blaze always made things quite difficult, always asking a lot of annoying questions and when she stretched out a hand for the money, she wasn't surprised when he just looked at her face and laughed out.

"You seem quite feisty, lady. My usual supplier is not this... uptight. I'll give you your money but first, I need to properly taste this stuff." He opened the pouch again and put a finger inside it, relishing the feel of the powdery substance before he brought it to his face and inhaled it again. Sweet deliciousness.

He put the finger into his mouth and sucked on it for some seconds, savouring the sour taste in his mouth with relish. He knew just how fast acting and potent the stuff was, but Blaze couldn't help himself. He stuck a finger into the pouch again and Tessy didn't know when an audible gasp escaped her lips.

She started to cover her mouth with her hands before Blaze turned his head to focus on her, and she whimpered softly behind the mask. Braxley had always told his employees, legitimate business or not, to never allow the clients repeatedly test the products before paying for them. He didn't like when his people flounted his rules, and in less than three seconds, two were already broken. She tried to keep a straight face and put her hand out again for the money, even as her breath hitched in her throat. Had her cover been blown?

Blaze cocked his head at the womanly figure in front of him, and tried to figure her out. Even with the total cover, she behaved and sounded like someone he knew. On a personal level.

He straightened his posture and kept his cool, even as his insatiable curiousity was peaked. He thrust a hand into his knapsack and started to bring out the money, noticing the girl's relaxed posture. He reached out immediately, holding her by the shoulder and before she could say another word or reach out into her pants, he pulled the ski mask from her face and gazed into her surprised features.

He threw the ski mask few feet away from them so she couldn't reach for it and chuckled bitterly as his eyes went wide for a second before reverting back to his usual blank stare. "So it's you. Tessy Roper."