With a plan agreed on, everyone broke off into their roles. Summer would be going with Kayla to catch up on training and everything else they had missed as if the planning session had never happened. Derrick would maintain his suspicious behavior of winning the twins and only the twins over. As for Ashton, he would be setting up his fake betrayal as well as framing Derrick for it.

  That was definitely the plan. Summer knew that it was what they had all decided on, but she could shake the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe it was the way Ashton had been so insistent that he played the most dangerous role. It might be the strange tone in his voice as he spoke of taking Untouchable as part of their plan. That longing, and maybe even desperation, wasn’t something Summer had ever seen Ashton show.

  For now, Summer made sure to play her role perfectly. That meant that both her and Kayla needed to meet Harper to get briefed on everything they had missed, and everything they needed to know going forward. Harper was already in her office waiting for them when they arrived. She always gave off a sharp impression, but Summer thought she looked worn and a bit edgy. Maybe she hadn’t been able to sleep? A lot had been going on.

  “It looks like the two of you are well rested,” Harper commented, looking between them, “I’ve heard news that you got up to a lot while you were suspended. You even recklessly made contact with a target. Do you even realize why you got suspended in the first place?”

  Summer winced. “I have no excuse,” she told her, “Even though I regretted it instantly, it was too late and I know that.”

  “Just keep in mind that it is only thanks to Ashton that you are still standing here on Gale Research grounds,” Harper warned, “If it were up to me I would have sent you far away until everything settles down. I should consider it lucky that you only show this penchant for recklessness with one target. I expect you to be on your best behavior while we target Checkmate.”

  It was really good that Ashton had shut down any plans for her to play bait. Summer got the feeling that Harper wouldn’t let things slide a second time. Or third time? Did any of the times she got involved with Maskz before joining Gale Research count? Regardless, she intended to take her warning seriously.

  “I will,” Summer promised.

  The familiar chime of her phone went off the moment she promised as if openly mocking her. She was itching to check what it was, but she locked eyes with Harper. Doing so now might be a bad idea. If it was really Ned, it could wait. That is what Summer thought until she heard another chime. Then another. The intervals between them became shorter and it gave the impression of panic.

  Summer whipped out her phone, expecting to see a message from her family that was in danger, or one of the team. Instead, every one of the panicked messages was from exactly who she guessed at first. When Summer read through them, her own panic began to rise. MysteriousMaskz was definitely an enemy, but he had never lied, and he always took Ashton’s business very seriously.

  “You have to stop him!”

  “Ashton, no!”

  “It’s too late…”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Go find him now!”

  “Hurry!”

  “Before he finds out!”

  “He found out.”

  “You need to go to him.”

  “Go to him!”

  “Look at my messages!!”

  “Summer Aster, do something!”

  “Do you not care if he harms himself?”

  Summer nearly dropped her phone as the last text came in. “I need to go,” she said, not even bothering to check Harper’s reaction. She barely even clocked Kayla reaching out to grab her arm before she shook her off. Ashton was in danger. Ashton was in so much danger that even MysteriousMaskz was panicking! She should never have agreed to this plan.

  Her walk sped up to a run before she even left the building. By the time she was on the sidewalk she was sprinting. Why had she decided to walk here?! She should have just driven her car even if the day was nice and the distance was short. It was their first day back, so she had let her guard down. Summer had felt from the start that something was off with Ashton. She knew and yet she still just walked away like that.

  The apartments finally came into view and summer practically collapsed against Ashton’s door. Her lungs were burning and the adrenaline was making it hard to think straight. It was all she could do to manage a normal knock. She couldn’t afford to scare him if he truly was in danger. No response.

  Barely a second had passed but Summer’s head was already flooding with the worst case scenario. She banged against the solid barrier with all her might, wishing she had the strength she needed to break it down. Why hadn’t she ever asked Ashton for a key? What if he wasn’t even there?

  Summer fumbled to unlock her phone to see if Ned had mentioned anything about where Ashton was. Nothing, just more urgings to hurry up or she would regret it forever. She didn’t have time to worry about the big secrets he kept hinting at. She needed to find Ashton first. Just as she was about to run upstairs and check Derrick’s apartment, Ashton opened the door.

  “What happened?” he asked, clearly trying his best to sound normal.

  “Are you alright?” Summer asked, shoving her way inside the barely opened doorway to get a better look at Ashton.

  Physically he looked just fine, but from the messages she had read, it wasn’t his physical state she needed to be worried about. Summer had never been the best at playing guessing games, so she bulldozed forward with what she did know. She shoved her message history with MysteriousMaskz in his face.

  “What did you find out?” she demanded, “This isn’t a joke. I can tell how shaken you are by whatever it is, and even our enemy is freaking out. Don’t even think about trying to hide it from me!”

  Ashton was silent for a few moments before he pulled her the rest of the way inside and shut the door. The hand that held her arm was trembling, but his gaze was locked onto something unseen in the distance.

  “Untouchable doesn’t work on me,” he admitted in a whisper, “I have spent so long dreaming of the day I can finally be free of my power. What do I do now, Summer?”

  At last his eyes met hers and Summer could see him falling apart. “We don’t know that for sure,” she offered, desperate for anything to stop him breaking into pieces, “The one you used could have been a dud.”

  “A dud,” Ashton repeated, latching onto the words instantly, “That’s right. We can’t know for sure if I am immune from just one sample. Back then, those two greedy CEOs never would have allowed me to be rid of my power. They must have given me a fake on purpose.”

  “Definitely,” Summer agreed, pulling him into a hug.

  Even though they both spoke with such certainty neither of them were actually sure. Summer was just glad that Ashton seemed to have no intention to test out another dose to prove himself wrong, or worse, right.