When I woke up I could smell food and it made my mouth water.
I sat up slowly and massaged my shoulders. The door unlocked and I yawned.
A small woman opened the door and put a tray of food beside the door.
"Excuse me?" I said.
She didn't look up, instead she shut the door and locked it back.
I sighed and shifted off the bed. I was horribly sore and still tired.
The food smelled great so I picked it up and sat down on the bed.
The meal was a regular breakfast meal I guess: pancakes, bacon, toast, juice.
I took a drink of the juice and choked it back up. I leaned over the edge of the bed and puked.
The tray of food spilt on the ground. The plates broke and the food fell all over the ground.
I started sobbing and I clutched at my stomach. Pain was searing through my abdomen and it felt like I was still being punched in my stomach.
The door opened and Landon stared at the scene. He walked away and came back shortly with the woman from earlier. He was signing to her and pointing at the mess.
That's why she didn't answer me. She's deaf.
She looked at me and smiled politely.
Landon walked in the room and picked me up.
"Stop." I groaned.
He rolled his eyes.
I hit him but a new wave of tears rolled down my cheeks because another pain shot through me.
He took me to a different room and put me on the bed.
"I hate you." I glared at him. The pains went away but I still held onto my stomach.
"You'll get over it." he dug through a backpack and tossed a grey t-shirt and a pair of shorts in front of me. "Change if you want." he sat down at the desk and turned away from me. He had his laptop open and he started typing things.
I stared at the back of his head and sighed. He didn't stop typing. I laid back on the bed and wiped my face. This is pathetic, I'm pathetic.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I whispered.
"Is that what I'm doing?" he asked without turning around.
"I could run away from you." I said and changed shirts.
"But you won't."
I glared at the back of his head. "Really? And why is that?"
"Do you really want to get the shit kicked out of you again?" he asked incredulously. "Actually it would be worse, because I would have to kill you."
I rolled my eyes and carefully put on the shorts. "you think, you're so tough because you have a gun." I said in a mocking tone.
He shook his head and stopped typing.
"You know, you're not as bad ass as you think you are." I said.
He turned and stood up. He was at least a foot taller than me. "I'm not trying to be something I'm not." he said and raised his eyebrow.
"And I am?" when he didn't say anything I glared at him. "Go to hell."
He smirked.
"What he hell are you smirking for, it only makes you look stupider." I said.
He nodded and, so fast I didn't see it coming, he had my arms behind my back and the gun at the base of my jaw. He brought his head down and I could feel his breath on my neck.
"I will and can kill you." he threatened.
I yanked my arm away but yelped quietly when a pain went through my arm.
"Landon?" a male voice called.
He moved away from me but pushed me through the door and into the main room.
Valencio was standing beside the window when we saw him. He smiled and I rolled my eyes and stomped on Landon's foot.
He glared at me and pulled the gun up to my head. "Can't I just kill her?"
Valencio shook his head. "She's important." he looked at me. "What happened to her?"
Landon pushed me on the couch and sat on the arm. "Austin and Ralph."
Valencio tilted his head. "I never told them to come here."
"Well they did." I snapped. "and the evidence is all over my face."
He nodded. "I can see that."
I sighed and sank back into the couch.
"I'm sorry that they did that." he said. He sounded sincere.
I looked up at him and found no hint of a lie in his face. I nodded softly and looked away. It's hard to believe that this man killed my family.
"I need you two to go on a job." Valencio said.
"No." I shook me head. "No, no, no."
Landon nodded. "What do you need us to do?"
"Find a little girl. She was kidnapped by Marconi's thugs and her parents need us to find her." Valencio pulled a manila folder out of his briefcase. He tossed it on the table and Landon opened it.
"Why did they take her?" I asked quietly.
"She is the only daughter of a very important person. The details aren't important right now."
I looked at the picture of the family. They looked happy.
"Anderson?" Landon asked.
Valencio nodded. "His wife was almost killed by two of Marconi's thugs. They almost lost their little girl. That is the reason the two gangs hate each other." he said. "That's why they contacted us, because if any of them went after the girl, she would die."
"What's her name?" I asked quietly.
"Gracie." Landon answered. He handed me the profile photo and I studied it. "She is almost five."
"I'm only doing this for the family." I looked at both of them. "Not you."
Valencio smiled and we stood up. "everything that you need is in that folder." he left and I rubbed my face.
"I hate you." I mumbled and picked up the folder.
Landon shrugged. "You've said that."
