Bloodline [h.s.]

forty-two.

Remembering that Bee was upstairs, I held my breath to prepare. If she heard me, there's chance she would come out. As Kai pressed flaming iron to my abdomen, all control over my body was lost. I somehow managed to stay silent for about three excruciating seconds as the scorching pain set flare on me. 

"Submit and it will end." Kai promised. The burn opened the gates to a stampede of agony he intended to remind of as if I could ever forget.

My screaming nerve endings decided for me, "Fuck, what do you want?!"

"What is your priority?" He began.

"The mission." I said through my gritted teeth. After I answered, he removed the heat. My obedience earned two seconds without pain, but it wasn't over yet.

"Who is the enemy?" Heat on. I had to earn the right to not be burned at the stake.

"Alec." Heat off.

"Who do you answer to?" Heat on.

"You! I answer to you! Jesus, fuck, enough!" I begged in a roar that broke through my chest as I approached unconsciousness. It was then he relieved what was left out my skin of the hot iron. I calmed down, hoping Bridget didn't hear me.

"Was that necessary?" I groaned in pain.

"I don't know. Was it necessary for you to pull out two of my molars and cost me thousands in dental work?" He shot back as if we were joking.

"Get your breath back, and then, I'll catch you up." He said, hanging the fireplace tool back with its set. I was released to fall on all fours as he dismissed his oversized helpers. "You two can wait in the car."

"I'm fine. Get on with it." I panted as he offered his hand up.

"Before I do, I need your word that you will listen to the full explanation prior to your reaction. I need confirmation that you will proceed with logic and not emotion." He began sounding less sadistic than I've heard him in a while.

"Assuming the next punishment is that torch up my ass, of course, you have my word. You have my full cooperation. You made damn sure of it." I scoffed.

"You were never supposed to come here. When I first found you, you had just been kicked out of your last foster home in Manchester. I tracked you down for reasons other than exonerating Martin Shepard. You stood out in juvenile detention and in the foster homes. You flawlessly manipulated your peers into feeling whatever you wanted them to feel, even parents sometimes. You had incredible survival instincts given how many times Alec wanted you dead. All of these skills were attractive to my organisation, so a recruiter sent me to train you." He explained.

My understanding of him began to falter as he peeled back the truth behind the start of our already unconventional relationship.

"Kai, what the fuck are you talking about? What organisation?" I wondered as my head started to spin.

"I was supposed to train you to manipulate, lie, torture, assassinate, and then, hand you to the organisation, but you had so much potential and integrity. I couldn't let them turn you into an aimless killer. It would have been a tragic waste of talent. So, I ran and changed course. I led Nick to Maui to find us, where I changed the goal to proving your father had nothing to do with the board room shooting or Alec's corruption." He said.

Was there guilt in his voice? Maybe, even remorse? Was that even possible?

"What organisation?" I asked again.

"Until we got to Maui, I was apart of Allegiance, a furtive agency made to carry out assassinations, missions, interrogations, and torture for whoever hired us. We worked mostly for the US and the UK governments, sometimes Italy, sometimes France. We were often used to quietly protect the republic, faking suicides of journalists that were too good at their jobs, making the death of corrupt political figures look like heart attacks. We recruited a lot of ex-military personnel and people like you, alone in the world but genius. When I decided I wasn't going to let the agency have you, I killed your recruiter to protect your identity." He continued.