Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
"A set just for home then?" Amber raised a brow at him, "so I can just stab you when you inevitably annoy me? That's brave..." she teased, because whilst they had been through a hell of a lot already for the early stage of a relationship, he had yet to actually annoy her. It would no doubt happen some day, everyone annoyed each other at some point, but she had a feeling he wouldn't manage to rub her the wrong way like everyone else did, there was something about Mik that made all her worst traits a little bit better. "Or is this some of your secret kinks coming out?" She added, giving him a curious look.
The wolfish grin did something to her stomach without fail every time - it was far too cheeky. "My parents?" She chuckled at that, even if she rolled her eyes slightly at his response. "An all you can eat buffet... but then if the dinosaurs learned how to read, that could go very badly. There again, it would be food to go." Amber laughed softly at that, politely finishing the last of her pie, and collecting up some vegetables that were unlikely to make the cut. "You are full of all the good ideas today - it'd be a great way to feed the dinos." She shrugged, "and a great way to offload your enemies if you gave them a free invite to dine at the park." She winked, her grin turning a little wicked.
"Indeed, especially if the veg is this good!" She couldn't help but agree on that one, if only she could cook the way chef's did - then again, she probably wouldn't pour pints and make cocktails for a living if that was the case. "I'm sure the people that do the community garden would be happy for the info. As you can see from the awesome garden we have at home, I don't have much of a green thumb. Wonder if Naomi would like the info too?" Amber placed her cutlery together on the plate and sat back with a long breath, feeling rather full to bursting and unable to finish her plate. "Supply might become a bit of a problem if everyone gets the secret info..." She warned teasingly.
She narrowed her eyes at the chuckle, wondering what joke she was missing out on. "I know a good bladesmith. I'm sure she could make you a couple of pretty daggers that you could hide on the inside of your boots." She raised a brow out of curiosity, her mind drifting to the idea of two jewelled daggers tucked into her fancy high heeled boots, like one of those sexy vampire slayers on TV or something - then she shook off the idea. "It'd be far too tempting to use them." She said with a sigh, knowing it wouldn't take much for someone to push her over the edge at the bar and for her to reach across and plunge something pointy in them. Maybe that was a little dramatic. Maybe.
Amber gave a soft laugh as he batted his eyelashes at her - his annoying long, dark lashes that any girl would kill for. "You say the sweetest things.""Just for you," she promised, she didn't let just anyone in past the barbed wire fence of her feelings. She caught his shudder and grinned slightly, knowing exactly how it felt to have the alcohol shudders - there were many on her shelf of 'can never touch again' thanks to one too many heavy nights out. She reached over to touch his hand at the beam, unable to help but reach across and seek his touch. She craved it with him, like she could never get enough.
She took another mouthful of pie, savouring the taste. "A young dino than. The older ones are tough and stringy." Amber glanced at him, "speaking from experience?" She asked, a hint of a smile as she speared a carrot herself, wondering how they had managed to cook these so well. Whenever she tried, they ended up soggy every damn time. It was a talent she didn't want. "This is what the Jurassic Park movies were missing; a restaurant specialising in dino meat." Amber gave it a thoughtful nod. "Absolutely, if only they'd had the restaurant, I'm sure nothing else would have gone wrong.""In a pile of dino poo?" She chuckled at his joke, giving a playful roll of her eyes as she finished her mouthful. "It obviously makes the best fertiliser." She wished she could be the dirt in the nails, digging into the earth, home grower kind of woman, but the idea just did not appeal. "Maybe you need to get onto this," She suggested, "Ask them for their supplier?"
She felt almost like blushing again under his scrutiny, suppressing a slight shiver as his eyes ran over her. "I could totally see you in a suit of armour, brandishing a sword as you fight for my freedom." Amber snorted at the idea, raising a brow, "Not sure I have a sword hidden away in the closet," Not even a baseball bat for her. "Perhaps if I chuck my handbag at them." She joked, handbag full of bricks maybe.
His smirk made her a little giddy and she hid her coy smile. "Promises, promises." An eyebrow arched. Well he just cemented things like waving a flag to a bull. A challenge. "I could always show you when we get home. Unless... of course, you're too tired and we need to hit the hay." Amber let her smirk widen, taking a sip of wine before looking at it in consideration. "Maybe I should quit drinking now then," She winked, "But I'll never be too tired for you, my love." She promised with a sultry look. She couldn't deny her appetite for Mik, even if food came and went - he was one thing she never had any problem satisfying that desire.
Amber laughed softly at his attempt to downplay the taste of the shot. "Um... yuck, gross, I never want to drink one of those things again!" Amber made a 'there there' expression and reached across to pat his arm patronisingly. "Was that a better reaction?" Amber sipped her wine and then smiled, "yeah... I guess I'd better not order that one again - as you hated it that much." She teased. "Normal is so overrated. You're right though, it does feel good to just be out and about." Amber nodded, looking across at him, "pretty decent choice too, I'll give you that credit." Though she could quite happily have taken to Mcdonald's or Nando's.
The smell of pie made her stomach rumble and she thanked the waitress for delivering their dinner - it smelt really good, better than the store brought one's she was used to having. She picked up her knife and fork and poked a hole into the top to let the heat out, no way she was going to risk burning her tongue that quick. "Wonder if they make it with dinosaur meat?" Amber raised a brow at Mik, "let's hope they picked the most tender one?" She joked back, spearing a vegetable and taking a bite out of that as steam rose from the middle of the pastry. "Well, they clearly grow their veg in the right spot." because it was ridiculously good.
"Plus me mam would have killed me. Or worse, had me locked up with the criminally insane." She glanced at him with interest, "now that would have been interesting to see," She teased, "I'd have had a chance to be your knight for once," She added, imagining him now locked up as a damsel and her cantering up on a horse... okay ew, not white horse, but a nice fast car instead. That she could get behind.
Well if looks could.... melt the pants right off her. She flushed a little, hiding it with a roll of her eyes instead. "If you were sitting beside me, rather than across the table, I could show you how adventurous I can be, but alas, we shall have to behave and wait until... later." She cleared her throat and shifted in her chair, "well, next time I'll be sure to sit beside you, and test out this illusive adventurous side." Only a half joke - because she loved him at he was, and he was plenty adventurous for her. She didn't need a jet setter, a spontaneous go getter whose feet barely touch the ground. She had been flighty enough in her life, she needed grounded, she needed someone settled, who knew what they wanted in life, who knew who they were, who would help her do the same.
As the shots were brought over, she raised her glass and touched his gently to his - careful not to spill a drop. "A salute to the time I pretended I was gay." Amber snorted at the memory, "And a promise to bring Gay Mik back out at parties" She joked, "Sláinte!!" She chucked back to the liquid, enjoying the smooth strawberry taste. "Other than the disgusting colour, that wasn't too bad!" Amber laughed gently, noticing how he still followed the shot with a chaser, but choosing not to tease him for it. "I was generous, it's actually one of the better shots. Play nicely now or I'll make sure the next one has you gagging." She mused, putting the empty glass aside to take a swig of her wine. "Thank you for coming out with me tonight. Wouldn't have been the same without wonderful company." Amber smiled, a soft, genuine smile, and caught his eye, "you don't need to thank me, thank you for getting us out, it feels... good... normal again..." She admitted.
"And the fact that I'm not a woman, is what you like the most about me." Amber made an assessing noise as she considered the option of Mikhail as Michaela. She raised a brow, tilting her head slightly as if she were truly picturing him with a curvy frame, longer hair, and a larger chest. "Huh, I've had worse," She responded after a moment, flashing him a cheeky grin that would leave him guessing as to whether it meant she'd has worse women. "While I admire those that do it, I couldn't think of anything worse than trying to work out routines all the time. I know that a lot of them use real life things in their routines, but there's always that line, and I'd hate to always be balancing on it." Amber gave a slightly nod, understanding his points. "Yeah I guess that makes sense, plus.. there's that awful embarrassment of not getting any laughs." She shuddered to think of it. "The only person I care about making laugh, is you." She grinned and returned his kiss, "And you do it so well," She promised.
She narrowed her eyes at his expression, knowing exactly what was coming. No pun intended their either. "At the table?" She pursed her lips but the smile threatened all the same. "Isn't that a little public?" Amber gave a slight shrug, playing Mik as his own game a little, "if you're too chicken just say, I'm sure I could find someone more ... adventurous..." She raised a brow, "besides, it might get us a discount off the bill." More than likely it'd get them barred from the restaurant before they got a chance to eat, and probably a night in a jail cell. But, there was no harm in making a joke about it.
"Damn straight!" Amber shot him a look. Oh boy had he forgotten who he was dealing with? She surveyed the menu again and wondered just how awful to be. Tequila was too standard. Vodka sucked. Jaeger was too nice. "Just remember that I have to drive us home." She gave a wicked grin, "there's always a taxi... but okay, okay, just one shot." She teased, rolling her eyes as he looked at her at the mention of 'eating'. She reached across and swatted his arm gently. "The pie looks good." Amber nodded in agreement, "I was thinking the same," she said, and when someone approached to take their order, she chose the pie - a wine that would agree with it ... and then she added "and we'll take two shots of tequila rose," okay so it wasn't a gross shot, it was basically strawberry milkshake... but it was pink and very girlie.
"I would, but they're in the glovebox." Amber rolled her eyes, as if disappointed. "Mistake number one - accessibility fail." She pursed her lips slightly, "a woman would have had that covered," She continued in a teasing manner. It fell on a little bit of truth, however - women were good at having things to hand, they got used to having to make sure they had everything on them - or at least close enough to hand, just in case. His grin made her smile - it always did, even when she was trying hard not to. "I'd like to say yes, but I'm just saying them as the pop into my head." Amber hummed slightly, "perhaps you missed your calling as a comedian," She suggested mildly, though in all honesty she liked Mik just the way he was - even if that did include horses in the deal.
Her cheeks flushed faintly, not something she would ever get used to, but something that happened often with Mik. How he managed it, she didn't understand - perhaps because this was the first time she'd had real feelings with someone before - Tristan had caught her as an unaware and naive teenager, it hadn't been the same. "You." Her grin turned a little wicked as she peered over the menu at him with a heated gaze. "That's for later, I meant right now... at the table.." She couldn't help but let the innuendo still sit heavy in the air. How she hadn't realised her feelings for Mik sooner, she'd never know - when they had been bantering in this manner ever since they'd started working together. Friends? Yeah right.
"I'm easy, happy to drink whatever you want." Amber raised a brow slightly, "So... if I picked something like.. Grappa? Or Tequila... or ... an old fashioned, you'd just roll with it and say 'sure'?" She questioned, half tempted to push the idea by ordering the most disgusting thing she could find on the menu. To be fair, he might like it even if she didn't, but she knew him well enough that she was sure she could pick something he'd hate. Even if it did waste money. Her eyes returned to the menu for a moment, perusing through the options before she paused on the salmon dish - she wasn't usually a fish person, but the honey glaze and vegetables appealed. Either that or the pie... "what are you having to eat?"
"Well, I could make a suggestion," Of course he could, Mik was always hot with the ideas - as hot as he was to look at. "but then my plans would turn into us ordering in, and that would defeat the purpose of going out." Amber sighed dramatically, but then gave him a quick wink so he knew she was only teasing - it was literally the same thought she'd already had, and now they were about to leave, she didn't want to perform a 180 and waste all the time he'd had to wait for her to be set. She knew once they were out they would relax into it, and enjoy themselves - she always enjoyed herself with Mik, and he was always so ridiculously positive you couldn't help but forget the bad, even if it was only for five minutes.
She laughed at his response, "How did you know my car's name?" With a roll of her eyes, she pretended to stroke the car's interior, "such a fancy car such as this and the only name you could think of, was silver?" She tsked. "Yes, that's the line." Whilst she actually enjoyed older movies, particularly those that were black and white, she wasn't such a cowboy or horse themed movie watcher - not that anyone could have guessed that given her countenance toward animals: especially large, four legged animals. "Eh, I would have put in ear plugs if it had got that bad." Amber gave him a look, "is this when you suddenly pull them out or something?" She joked back, well aware of how horrendous her singing could be, so she couldn't blame him if he did.
Sliding her arm through his, she matched his pace easily enough in her heels - they were only small today, and she had practically grown up in them. "I hear the meals here are roarsome." She rolled her eyes again, but gave a small smile all the same. "Have you been saving up all these jokes for tonight, because you're on fire," She teased, though she knew he always came with a good crack or two. She watched him deal with the receptionist, giving the woman a quick smile as thanks for leading them to their table, and then she allowed Mik to help tuck her in. Manners would never cease to amaze her and catch her by surprise - she hadn't thought they existed anymore until this gracious handsome man who'd fallen into her life. "Would you like anything to drink?" Amber chewed her lower lip in thought - hell yes she needed a drink, her nerves still hadn't recovered from the Tristan drama, but she had also cut back a lot on drinking because of it, feeling that she needed a bit of a reset. She hesitated as she looked at the menu but then threw caution to the wind anyway, "a red wine?" It came out as a suggestion, but she was open to ideas if he thought something looked better. "What are you in the mood for?"
"Maybe I should have reservations for midnight?" Amber raised an eyebrow at that, her look beginning as a warning, and then turning into something a little more sultry as she teasingly looking him up and down. "Oh, do you have pre-dinner plans? Looking to work up the appetite?" She quipped, though the more she talked about it, the more likely she was not to let him out the front door. They needed it though, to go out and have a normal evening - with no crazy ex fiances, with no threats, blackmails, or knocking out of boyfriends. Just good food, good drink and good company. Perhaps she'd even be able to persuade Mik to go find somewhere to dance, if he hadn't already made other plans post dinner. Of course, she wouldn't want to dance too closely to dinner or that might make an ugly reappearance.
When he coughed, she paused, fully statue whilst she waited for his amendment - to save his skin. "Uh, I what I mean to say is that you look gorgeous when you wake up in the morning, and we've got all night." Amber made a noise that sounded like 'mmhumphhh' and rolled her eyes, but she knew damn well that he thought the world of her. Insecurities aside, one thing she knew she didn't need to have a confidence crisis was how Mik felt about her. "You look amazing, love, you always do." Amber blew him a kiss, "thank you... and I know," She winked, though she tried not to be too cocky, there was the odd occasion she could admit that she thought she looked decent - especially when she made a real effort. The bar - less so. Hair thrown up in a pony tail and a blank tank top was as much as she could be bothered with. "Not too far." She gave him a curious look, wondering where he had booked them to go.
Amber bit the inside of her cheek as his discomfort, avoiding asking if he was okay as she knew he would only say 'fine', even if it were a lie. She made a note to keep an eye on him though, just incase he was feeling more worse for wear than he had let on. "Then we should get going." Amber gave a small laugh, "high ho silver, away - is that the line?" She asked, feeling like it was a very Mik-ish thing to say. Perhaps he was finally rubbing off on her. She messed with the aux cable, taking over the music for the drive and forcing him to listen to some of her more girlie choices before she switched tracks and made it fair - "So you don't start to complain about your ears bleeding," She promised, though that also might have been partly her terrible singing. "May I escort you inside?" Ridiculous but she still blushed, she would never be able to get used to his chivalry as he came round to offer her his hand to exit the car. She took it, careful with her heels as she stepped out and straightened, peering around to see where they were and the front of the restaurant. "I suppose you may."
"Staying home has it's advantages." Amber gave him a look in response, somewhat sultry and suggestive, and it was very tempting to slip his jacket right back off his shoulders, but they had a date planned and reservations to get to. They'd be home again later. "What? This old thing? You don't think the pants make my butt look big?" Amber chuckled as Mik's usual sense of humour got to her - he could always make her laugh, no matter the mood. "You butt looks huge, I'm very impressed." She teased, though in all seriousness he had a fantastic butt, she should know - she'd stared at it enough.
She rolled her eyes as he pretended to check his watch, "well if you want me to look decent, you know it takes time." Knowing his response was going to be about how she didn't need any time to get ready blah blah blah... and she loved him anyway. "I've got mine, all you need is you." She nodded and kissed his cheek quickly in response, happy to be tucked into his side as they headed down to ground floor. "I thought I'd keep it pretty easy, we'd go somewhere that we know the food is good and the people that work there like us, so less chance of anyone spitting in our food." She smiled, "Guess we're going quite far then," She teased, though she was aware that Mik was both well liked and highly respected..Amber... it depended on who was at the bar.
An incline of her head in response to his words as he helped her into the car. Amber settled into the familiar seat and buckled in. "I can't lie, I'm starving." which meant her appetite was coming back and that could only be a good thing.
She looked up as she felt someone's presence behind her - she'd always been conscious of that kind of thing, people sneaking up behind her. Not that Mik was sneaking. She just seemed to know when it was him, it was like a familiar warmth that came over her, a feeling of comfort rather hair prickling like when it was a stranger. Her eyes caught him and she couldn't help but let her lips curl up at the corners, enjoying the way he was watching her. "If you keep looking at me like that, we won't make it out the door," She warned, because she always had an appetite for enjoying Mik, but even more so when he was looking at her the way that he was. "You look very handsome by the way," she added, her eyes roving over the way his shirt fit his lithe frame.
"I'm ready whenever you are." Amber nodded, finishing up her little touches and reaching to grab her jacket she'd hung up on the wardrobe ready. "Okay, I'm ready," she promised, picking up her purse and slipping in her phone. "Do you have your keys? Or shall I take mine?" She asked, figuring it best to check before they left the apartment with no way to get in. She had done her fair share of shimmying through windows but she didn't much fancy it when they weren't living on the ground floor. Slipping her arms through her coat, she left their home and headed for the elevator, giving Mik a quick smile and going to tuck her arm through his, keeping close to him. She always liked to be close to him. "Where did you say we were going? Or are you still refusing to give up the game?" Amber teased, determined not to be a misery this evening and to get her head back in the game.
Amber had to admit she wasn't wholly in the mood, but she also knew that they both needed this night and that it would be good for them. With everything that had happened in the last several weeks, from Mik ending up in hospital, her ex demanding money and then their plan to hand it over to get rid of him and calling it in as stolen... her stress levels were through the roof. She was having trouble sleeping and if it weren't for Mik plying her with meals, she knew she wouldn't have been eating much either. The only thing that made it better was having Mik with her - without him she wouldn't even be getting the few hours of sleep she was getting. Curled up in his arms with her head on his chest was the only time she really felt safe.
She had taken on extra shifts, throwing herself into work to the point she knew Mik wanted to comment, but he was still hanging on being supportive. It was the only way to quieten her brain, by working extra shifts back to back. She picked up running more too, longer distances, anything to quieten the anxiety eating at her, as if she could outrun the thoughts picking at her brain. They'd talked about a date night and she'd finally relented to not working an evening - the boss had somewhat insisted it in all honesty. She'd requested they do the date night out of town, she felt fresh might be best for them both; some different scenery and different faces. Maybe it would stop her looking for Tristan's face in the crowd.
It didn't take her long to get ready, she went simple but she did make an effort, putting on a little black dress and some small heels. It helped to get dressed up, it distracted her and it put a different spin on the night, a shake up of her routine. Her mood shifted a little, and she found herself bopping a little to the songs she'd put on, her hips swaying as she put on some earrings in front of the floor length mirror in the bedroom. She was almost ready, and she glanced up from her reflection as she thought she heard Mik approach - probably to ask if she was going to be ready any time soon.
"Not any time too soon, I would hope." She heard Mik mutter and she looked from him to Tristan's rapidly disappearing back with a glower. Yeah she sure as shit hoped so too. Sadly she didn't think it would be unless Mik's plan worked. If it did then at least he'd be busy behind bars for a while - until he was released and would no doubt come looking for her again. She didn't want to think about that now, about where she might be when he came about again, she would deal with that when it came to it. The issue would be if this plan didn't work, if he made off with the money and wasn't caught, or got wind of the drama and made an escape. He would come for them then, she knew it without doubt. Honestly, she knew she wouldn't sleep well until she knew for sure where he was and how safe they were.
Amber was surprised by Mik's grin and the kiss, but her response was as natural as breathing, wrapping her arms around his neck and automatically relaxing a little as she always did with him. "Hmmm, how about we head home and do something to erase this from our minds?" She managed a slightly brave smile at that, finding it cute he was already calling this issue as solved and moving on with their life together, she wished she could do that. "That sounds intriguing, what were you going to do to make me forget?" She asked, momentarily distracted, and then she frowned slightly and gave a reluctant chuckle - how he managed to do that, she would never know. He'd taken her mind elsewhere for a minute. "But I meant about him and the money. Do you call it in now?"
"Yes, but it's only money. Mom and Pops have enough to spare, and I'm sure that with our jobs, we aren't exactly short on money ourselves." She shot him a quick look but kept her thoughts to herself. Only people who had grown up with money were dismissive about it. While Amber's parents hadn't been strapped for cash exactly, they'd never been rolling in it either. Her mother had a penchant for fancy things, and money that came in quite rapidly went back out. Amber had been shipped off to boarding school which she knew had cost a bit of penny, but it also hadn't been top of the range - especially going by the type of girls she'd come across there. After she'd been kicked out of that one, the schools quickly nosedived in cost - her mother wasn't going to waste good money on a shit of a daughter like her. Once she'd left home at fifteen, she was out on her ear with nothing to her name, and all her time with Tristan had done little more to get her any further into wealth. Now was probably the richest she'd ever been - not just from her bank account but what she had in life too.
She didn't blame Mik for his nonchalance about money, it was a common conception she'd learnt from people with the stuff, and she didn't begrudge him for it. The thing was, it was just one of those things for her she couldn't agree with the through away comments for - it wasn't only money to her, in the past it had meant the difference between eating anything for the day and going hungry for another 24 hours, or being able to afford a warmer coat because they couldn't afford to pay the heating bills during winter. She knew that money was part of the reason Tristan was the way he was - drugs was a part of that too, but that was all a mess tied up in money. At least he didn't question them, or start trying to count the bills there and then - but that was the bonus to being in public; people would start to question what they were up to if he did and the police might be in attendance sooner than planned.
"You will find everything in there that we agreed to." Tristan gave Mik a long look, and Amber almost stepped forward on instinct, wondering if he was going to try and swing for him. She'd never let Tristan hurt Mik again, she couldn't. Luckily he didn't, he took the bait and settled the bag on his shoulder. "Whatever. You're welcome to her, if that's the best you can really do." Tristan curled his lip, jerking a chin at them both. "I'll see you around." Amber bit her lip, holding back any further comments to encourage him to leave. She didn't take another breath until he turned and melted back into the crowd, and then she let the trembles happen, releasing a shaky breath. "Okay, what's next?"
His chuckle sounded a little flat to her well trained ears - she knew Mik well enough by now to know when he was only on a half level of his usual good nature and high spirits. "Yeah, neither would I. So at least we have witnesses." Which was true, but as Amber spared the passers-by a brief glance, it didn't do anything to ease the tightness in her chest. It would probably stop her ex from doing something too drastically stupid, there was that, but.. and this was going to sound selfish, she knew.. she hated the idea not that strangers would get hurt, but that they might end up privy to an embarrassing amount of private life drama. She was such a private person, preferring to do the arguments and struggles behind tightly closed doors, that it was hard enough to let a stranger see, let alone someone she loved and trusted.
"Nah, there are nearly enough bystanders for this to be a made-for-TV special. In my head, it's a lot more serious than I'm making it out to be." She tried to return his smile but it was more a wince and grimace than anything genuine. "It's a serious amount of money you're just handing over." She couldn't help but mutter, still sour that he was even doing this, whether the plan was it would be returned or not. It was another thing that made her feel uneasy about the whole thing.
She felt the squeeze of Mik's hand, it was the only thing that held her back from either running a mile, or trying to punch Tristan in his stupid smug face. "It's all yours." She saw the curl of her ex's lip as he watched the bag fall to the side. "Surprised you didn't dive for it." Amber commented, practically able to see the dollar signs wracking up his eyes. "Shut your mouth." Was his snap of a response, glaring at the both of them as he slowly bent to retrieve the bag, as if expecting one of them to whip out a gun or something ridiculous. "There better be no tricks. If this isn't real cash, and the exact amount I asked for, you'll regret it." Amber wanted to roll her eyes, but went for gritting her teeth again, squeezing Mik's hand for support. "Take your damn money and leave."
She felt the warm press of his lips against the cold of her hand, a touch of heat against the ice in her heart. It felt like betrayal to do this, which seemed ridiculous, but her brain couldn't help berating her for all her damn mistakes. If she'd never met Tristan, never believed his bullshit and lies, never let him play her, then they wouldn't be here. She didn't understand, even now, how Mik could be so cool about it, so calm and collected, just casually handing over such a huge sum of money she could never dream to have, like it was nothing. Granted, the plan was to get it back but there was that chance it wouldn't - he had to know that, he was an intelligent guy.
"He'd have to be wearing a ski mask and shoot us as point-blank range for him to get away with anything dirty." Amber shot Mik a wary look, "I wouldn't put it past him." And she genuinely wouldn't. He could have anything up his dirty rotten sleeve, he'd played these games many times over the years, he had an advantage over them for that. Amber had always just done what he said, rather than learn to the play the game too. "We've got this in the bag, quite literally, we're just going for a walk in the park." She raised an eyebrow, unable to help but shake her head. "You make this seem like it's just part of a TV police show." Amber sighed, but Mik was Mik, and she knew he was trying to just make her feel at ease.
They reached the meet point a few minutes early, and she chewed her lower lip, standing still only for a moment before she began to fidget, shifting anxiously from foot to foot. He should be here by now, and every second he wasn't made her more concerned that he was up to something. Just as she was about to say they should leave and that he was clearly on a wind up, she heard Tristan speak from behind. "Hello Amber baby," Her hair stood up on end immediately and she shuddered. He barely spared Mik a glance, though he was only too happy to stare greedily at the bag he carried. "You got something for me, there?"