Chapter 9 - Old Ground
992 Words
The phone rang again, cutting through the office without warning.
Tessa looked at it for a moment before answering. Her focus shifted immediately, posture straightening as she stepped away from the desk and toward the window.
“Yeah.”
A pause came through the line. She listened without interruption.
“I said I’d be there in an hour,” she replied.
Another pause followed.
“I know. I know.”
Her hand rested lightly against the desk as she listened, eyes fixed outward.
“Ten minutes,” she said. “That’s all I can give you.”
The response on the other end wasn’t audible, but it kept her attention. Her tone shifted slightly after a moment, becoming more structured.
“Alright,” she said. “I’m listening.”
Sierra watched her carefully. Tessa wasn’t reacting emotionally. She was responding like someone used to stepping back into a system that never fully disappeared.
The conversation continued in short exchanges Sierra couldn’t hear clearly. Controlled rhythm. Familiar pauses. At one point Tessa gave a small nod even though no one was watching.
“Understood,” she said.
A pause followed.
“Grayshollow is quiet at the moment,” she added.
She listened again, then spoke once more.
“I’ll be there shortly.”
The call ended.
Silence returned, but it didn’t sit the same way anymore. Something had already shifted direction.
Tessa set the phone down and stayed still for a moment, thinking through what came next.
Sierra broke the quiet first. “What was that?”
Tessa didn’t answer immediately. She reached for her jacket and slipped it on, already moving into action.
“Change of plans,” she said.
Sierra frowned slightly. “Plans?”
Tessa nodded toward the door. “Shadow Road.”
Sierra paused. “The MC?”
“Yeah.”
Tessa picked up her keys.
“Ardon called.”
Sierra stopped. “Ardon?”
Tessa glanced at her. “Yeah.”
Ardon “Bandit” Vale
Sierra exhaled slowly. “I didn’t think he was still around.”
“He never left Grayshollow,” Tessa said as she headed for the door.
That ended the thought without further explanation.
Sierra followed her out.
“Why is he calling you now?” she asked.
Tessa didn’t slow her pace. “Something inside his territory needs attention. He wants it handled quietly.”
Sierra studied her. “That sounds like more than routine.”
“It is.”
They stepped outside into Grayshollow. The street continued around them like nothing had changed, but the direction of everything felt different now.
Tessa locked the door behind them.
Sierra walked beside her toward the car. “He knows I’m here, doesn’t he?”
Tessa paused briefly. “He already does.”
Sierra frowned. “Because of Dead Mile?”
Tessa gave a small nod. “And because nothing in Grayshollow stays hidden for long.”
They reached the car. Sierra hesitated before getting in.
Tessa noticed but didn’t comment. She opened the door and waited.
Sierra asked as she settled in, “You and Ardon… you still on and off, or did that finally die down?”
Tessa started the engine before answering, buying herself a second.
“Depends what you call on and off,” she said.
That was enough of an answer.
The car pulled away from the curb, leaving Grayshollow behind as the road opened into wider stretches of land. Buildings thinned out, replaced by open ground that felt less defined the further they went.
Sierra looked out the window for a moment before speaking again.
“He sounded serious?”
Tessa kept her eyes on the road. “He doesn’t call unless something’s already moving.”
Sierra turned slightly. “And that involves me how?”
“It doesn’t,” Tessa said. “Not directly.”
Silence stretched between them for a while, filled only by the road.
Then Sierra asked, quieter, “If he already knows I’m here… what does he think I’m doing back in his space?”
Tessa exhaled once. “He’s probably trying to figure that out himself.”
Sierra gave a small, humourless smile. “That feels uncomfortable.”
Tessa glanced at her briefly. “Get used to it.”
A few more minutes passed before Sierra spoke again.
“You didn’t answer my question properly,” she said.
Tessa didn’t look away from the road. “Which one?”
“You and Ardon,” Sierra said. “You’re still doing that thing, or is it over?”
Tessa let out a short breath, almost a laugh.
“We never really fit into ‘on’ or ‘off’,” she said. “It’s more like timing that never lines up properly.”
Sierra studied her. “That sounds exhausting.”
“It is,” Tessa replied.
A pause followed.
Then Sierra asked, softer, “Does he still look at you like he knows exactly what you’re thinking?”
Tessa’s mouth tilted slightly, something almost like recognition.
“Always did,” she said.
“And you let him?”
Tessa didn’t answer immediately.
Then, “With Ardon, you don’t really get a choice in what he notices.”
That lingered in the space between them.
The road continued forward, quieter now, less defined as they moved further from Grayshollow and closer to Shadow Road territory.
Sierra shifted slightly in her seat. “What does he want from you?”
Tessa kept her voice steady. “Something inside his territory needs control before it spreads.”
Sierra looked at her. “And me?”
Tessa shook her head once. “You’re not part of the problem.”
A pause.
“Yet,” she added, more quietly.
That was enough to end the conversation for a while.
The road stretched ahead, open and unmarked, pulling them further into Shadow Road territory where familiarity waited in ways none of them were fully ready to name out loud.
- Writer
