Odessa had never been one to show mercy and forgiveness. When she walked into the training facility for the first time, she was disappointed to say the least. A younger Geunsoo approached her and stood at her side, hands behind his back.
"Training is going well, don't you think?" He looked proudly at the young children sparring but his gaze was settled particularly on two of them, watching intently as one of them took a hit to the face before falling to the floor. The young boy swiftly picked himself back up to throw a punch right back, causing the other kid to crumple to the floor, groaning in pain.
"You are too soft on them. If they are ever going to be true members, you need to break them." She watched the young boys with a blank expression as a hand came to her growing stomach.
"Will do," he nodded as one of the young boys bound over to him.
"I finished my drills, father." Blood ran down his nose, but the young boy refused to cry, refused to look weak in front of the stoic man standing tall before him.
"Again." Geunsoo's cold expression remained as he nodded back to the mat. The young boy's expression dropped. His eyes traveled over to the woman standing next to his father, eyes narrowing for just a second before he slowly walked back to the mat without another word.
"He will learn, in time," Odessa spoke up and Geunsoo turned to her.
"I'm sure our daughter will be much stronger," he mumbled, pulling her into his embrace as he leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her lips.
"She will be..."
Charlie was on a knee, her hand on the floor to keep herself upright as she tried to catch her breath and push away the pain. Her jaw was on fire and the faint metallic taste in her mouth frustrated her. She turned to face her mother and a fist met her jaw again, causing her to fully fall to the ground.
"That's enough," Odessa said calmly. The guard then stepped back from Charlie and wiped his bloodied hand off on a nearby rag. "I think she's learned her lesson, right dear?"
Charlie turned her head enough to meet her mother's gaze. She didn't speak. She didn't move. Odessa turned and walked out, the two guards following her as Charlie was left alone on the cold pavement. She grimaced, letting not just the physical pain wash over her but the emotional and mental pain as well. This couldn't be her life... could it? Suddenly, her head pounded as images of a dinner table surrounded by people flashed through her head.
A man with jet black hair and a decently stoic face met her gaze. "I just want to make it clear right now that no one will ever lay a hand on you here, I can promise you that."
More faces, more... memories? Is that what they were? Charlie pressed the heel of her hand to her temple as she suddenly felt someone touch her, causing her to flinch.
"Hey, just me," Stitch said as Charlie relaxed. He helped her up, putting an arm around her waist as he guided her to his medical lab. He helped her onto the table and gathered everything he needed to clean up her wounds from the beating she just endured.
"So... what was it this time?" he mumbled as he approached her.
"I let someone from Bangtan get away," she grumbled in response.
"You what?!" He nearly dropped everything. He knew that Charlie should have been dead if she let someone from Bangtan get away, but the girl had gotten off easy.
"Yeah..." Jungkook's face filled her mind once more and her head started to ache.
Stitch set down a tray next to her and placed a gentle hand on her chin to inspect her features, noting all her injuries. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to stitch up any of the wounds since they didn't cut too deeply into her skin.
"You're not going to elaborate, are you?" He picked up an alcohol swab and started to clean away the blood.
"There's uh..." she winced in pain, but didn't move, "no point really. I fucked up again and dealt with the consequences."
"You should be dead. You know that, right?" He put down the bloody swap and started to carefully put ointment on each cut.
"I do, it won't happen again," she gritted out. She repeated the words she told her mother and she meant it. If she ever saw Jungkook again, he would not get away.
"Charlie, you... nevermind," he said, shaking his head as she curiously glanced up at him. "You are good to go. Keep some ice on that jaw though to help with the swelling." He quickly walked away from her to clean up everything.
"Hey Stitch?" He stopped and turned to face her. "You're the only friend I have here and... I really appreciate all you do for me." Charlie hopped down and headed toward the door, pausing as she heard his voice.
"What about Ryder?" he asked, confused.
"I know what I said," she replied, walking out of the medical lab before trudging towards her room.
Once in her room, she immediately strode towards her desk, fingers tugging one of the drawers open before she found her journal, looking over it again:
Pretty boy with silver hair, at a club together
Older woman helping me learn to dance
Orange haired boy, crying on a bed
Blue hair...Tae?
Jungkook is a friend?
Black haired man who said no one would hurt me
She stared at the words scribbled on the page, trying to piece everything together. She looked to her hand and up her arm at the vine tattoo. She doesn't remember getting it, doesn't remember the Phoenix tattoo, doesn't remember anything! She stood up and threw the journal across the room, frustrated with the lack of clarity. What the hell happened to me? She opened her mouth to scream but stopped before she made a sound. Don't let them think you have lost it. Keep it together Charlotte.
She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths before walking across her room to pick up the journal. She heard footsteps outside and quickly shoved the book under her mattress before hearing a knock on the door.
"Come in," she called out.
The same guards who had given her the bruises on her face opened the door.
"You are needed, follow us."
Charlie knew better than to ask questions and immediately trailed behind them, not realizing that she would soon forget the faces of her so-called family all over again.
~☾~
Jungkook looked in the mirror, inspecting the new tailored suit he was now wearing, making sure nothing was out of place and that it fit him perfectly. He adjusted the jacket and smoothed out the lapel as someone knocked on the open door.
"Looking good." Namjoon stood in the doorway in his own suit, looking sharp as ever. "You sure you want to do this?"
"Of course," Jungkook confidently replied. "This event is huge and we need everyone." He was still looking into the mirror, picturing a beautiful woman standing beside him in an elegant evening gown. God, how he missed her.
"I understand that, but I need everyone on their A-game tonight. I know things have been tough, especially since we found Charlie, but she's-"
"Stop! I know Joon, damn," he grumbled, irritated by the constant pestering from both him and Yoongi. Things had still been tense between them since Jungkook was still harboring anger towards both of them for not protecting Charlie in the first place and now, for the lack of response in trying to get her back from Ganghan. "And I don't need another lecture," Jungkook cut him off as he finally peeled his eyes away from the mirror.
"I'm not here to lecture you Kook-" Namjoon started only to get cut off as Jungkook let out a small scoff. He ignored his words as he brushed past him, not even bothering to look back as the elder called his name. Namjoon let out a heavy sigh, hand instinctively running through his tousled blonde locks before striding downstairs towards their meeting room.
Yoongi stood at the head of the table, his arms crossed as he glanced at his team to make sure everyone was present while his black tie had been discarded after multiple failed attempts to tie the damn thing. He instead settled on unbuttoning a few of the buttons on the crisp white shirt he wore underneath his tux, not really caring about impressing anyone at this event but still making the attempt to fit in and fly under the radar tonight.
"Everyone aware of their assignments for tonight?" he asked, eyes flitting to each member as the men around the table nodded in response. "I'm going to run through it one more time." Yoongi's eyes settled on Jin before shifting to Taehyung. "We have two goals tonight: try to get as many girls as we can out safely and to gather intel on Ganghan. Now tonight's event is taking place at an art auction, which is just a cover up for the shit that's going on behind the scenes." Yoongi nodded his head towards Namjoon, who cleared his throat before adjusting his posture.
"Tonight's event is run by the Mujeog gang, but Ganghan is the sponsor. The auction items are the girls they've been trafficking, so our goal is to place bids and get as many as we can out. I've managed to pull a few strings with an associate of mine, who got us in under a low-level gang, so our presence shouldn't draw too much attention. This event is promised to be neutral, so that means no fighting and no packing heat." Namjoon gestured towards Yoongi, who thanked him for the information.
"With that being said, we still have to be on high alert with Ganghan being there. Even though it's supposed to be neutral, it wouldn't surprise me if they're packing since they're sponsoring the damn thing. Namjoon, you are going to be with Taehyung and Jin. The two of you are responsible for placing bids, got it?" Both men nodded solemnly, Taehyung fidgeting slightly as he adjusted his tie before turning his attention back to Yoongi. "Now the rest of you will be laying low and gathering intel. Try to talk to some people, see if you can get anything on Ganghan-"
"What about Charlie?" Jungkook chimed in. The room became stifling as the tension settled in, embedding itself into the momentary silence that followed the youngest member's question.
Yoongi took a deep breath, bracing him for the argument he knew was coming. "Our goal is to gather intel Kook, we can't do anythi-"
"Why not?" Jungkook pushed, the material of his suit taut against his arms as they folded across his body.
"We're not going in blindly to try and get her back," Yoongi tried to reason. "Besides, it's a neutral event, we can't just go in there trying to kidnap someone who belongs to another ga-"
"But she's not a part of Ganghan! She belongs here with her family, she belongs with Bangtan! I can't believe that you're not even going to fucking try to-"
The slam of Yoongi's palm on the table effectively cut Jungkook off from finishing his sentence, both men staring each other down while the others cautiously watched from the sidelines.
"Listen carefully kid," Yoongi gritted out, trying to reign in his frustration and maintain some sense of composure as he spoke, "you said it yourself that she said Ganghan is her family, so until we figure shit out and come up with an airtight plan on how to get her back, we work on only gathering intel. Got it?"
Jungkook huffed, refusing to look at Yoongi as he clenched his jaw. "Fine," he muttered. But if I see her, I'm not going to just sit back and do fucking nothing.
~☾~
The room was buzzing with various conversations, the faint sound of classical music resonating in the background as patrons continued to pour in from the hidden entrance that was located off to the side of where the art auction was being held in the ballroom upstairs.
A beautiful young woman stood at the bar, trying to get the bartender's attention for a drink, which she desperately needed after the grueling practice she had today. She wore a light shade of lipstick and kept the color around her eyes a neutral shade while the black eyeliner accentuated her eyes. She wasn't one for getting dolled up for these events, but when duty called, she did the bare minimum in order to appear presentable... although the make-up didn't do a great job of covering up the minor cuts on her features.
The black gown that she wore left her shoulders exposed and hugged her curves nicely before pooling at her feet as a small train trailed behind her. The slit on the side of it gave a peek of her Phoenix tattoo while the inked vines on her arms were on full display.
She groaned as she shifted on her heels, making another attempt to get the bartender's attention when she felt a sturdy arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her back into a familiar scent.
"You shouldn't be drinking, remember? Doctor's orders," a familiar voice whispered, causing her to shiver while she smirked at the comment.
"I'm sure there are a lot of things I shouldn't do... Like sleeping with my partner, right?" she replied, turning towards the man who grinned in amusement as he pulled her closer.
Charlie's body eagerly moved into his touch, faint memories quickly flashing through her mind of when she would find herself underneath him in her room. He placed a chaste kiss on her lips, bringing her back to the present.
Charlie was still trying to piece together her memories after she woke up earlier with no recollection of where she was or who the people around her were. Stitch, the man with fiery red hair, tried to calm her down when he noticed the panic in her eyes while a stoic woman stood off to the side watching the scene unfold.
Once Stitch helped Charlie calm down, the woman stepped forward to answer the hundreds of questions that had been running through the girl's mind. She told her about how she was born into Ganghan, how she had been training under this gang for awhile and how she injured herself during a mission which resulted in a concussion that apparently left her without any recollection of her memories. Charlie was still trying to process all of the information, her mind reeling once she found out that the woman in front of her was her own mother.
The rest of the day was spent moving in a hazy fog, trying to navigate through the unfamiliar house as she hoped that something would trigger a memory. She bumped into Ryder in the hall, who led her down to the training room in order to do some sparring together. Her muscle memory could recall every move she had ever mastered during her training, easily blocking Ryder's advances. She noted just how close Ryder got during their training, how intimate his touches felt while they were sparring. She couldn't help but ask him about their relationship. He boldly kissed her in response, causing one thing to lead to another and before she knew it, she found herself in his room with both of their clothes discarded carelessly on the floor.
"Your mother is looking for you by the way," Ryder added, pulling Charlie out of her thoughts as she let out a defeated sigh before following Ryder back to their table. She could feel a slight burning in her head, an indication of a small headache forming and she wished that she was back home in bed right now.
She whined as she tugged on Ryder's arm, causing him to halt for a moment. "Can't we just make a run for it and go home?" she offered, a small pout settling on her lips in an attempt to win him over.
"As tempting as it sounds princess, I don't wanna get on your mom's bad side," he replied. "C'mon, the auction is about to start." The two settled into the vacant seats beside Odessa, who looked as intimidating as ever.
The screeching sound of the microphone feedback interrupted the side conversations, resulting in a lot of grumbled cursing while the room quieted down as everyone focused their attention to the dapper man standing at the front of the room with a huge grin on his features.
"Welcome to our special auction, we are excited to have you with us this evening," he started. "Before we get started on the bidding, I would like to express my gratitude towards Ganghan for helping us put together this little soiree and providing us with some... beautiful items for the evening."
Yoongi's face scrunched up in disgust at the words, already dreading this evening as he called the bartender to refill his drink. He glanced around the room, eyes scanning the crowd carefully as he spotted his right-hand man at one of the tables located in the back of the room. Jin wasn't too far away, only a few seats over listening intently as he waited for the first girl. Taehyung was located two tables over, in Namjoon's view but a safe distance away so as not to draw any attention to them.
Yoongi continued to survey the room, trying to spot the other three in the crowd when suddenly the abrupt applause pulled his attention back to the stage as the curtains were pulled to reveal the first item of the evening. His fist tightened around the glass in his hand as Yoongi observed the young girl on the stage, who was shaking as she tried to tug her dress down while tears stained her cheeks as she avoided looking out into the crowd.
"Bastards," he lowly mumbled, a word that everyone in Bangtan was able to hear over the radio transmission in their ears.
Jimin felt his stomach lurch as he stared at the girl, the charming smile he wore all evening fading as he excused himself from the table he was sitting at. His quick movements caught Yoongi's attention as he watched the young man rush out of the room. "Spider," Yoongi whispered, glancing over at Namjoon who locked his eyes on him before nodding in understanding. Yoongi calmly headed in the direction that Jimin had disappeared to, hoping to check in and make sure he was okay.
"Wait, what happened?" Hoseok's voice chimed in quietly.
Namjoon brought his fist up to his mouth, covering it as he spoke in a soft voice. "Phantom went to check on Breaker, everyone remain in position."
Both Jin and Taehyung returned their focus to the auction as the patrons around them started placing bids. Taehyung's jaw clenched as he watched intently, eyes narrowed in determination before he raised his own hand to bid five thousand.
Charlie turned her head as each patron offered a bid, her stomach churning in discomfort as the number kept getting higher and higher. She couldn't even turn her gaze to the girl standing on the stage, feeling sick at the thought of her family being involved in this kind of business. It just wasn't right...
After multiple offers from various patrons, Jin finally managed to place the final bid, letting out a small sigh of relief before glancing over towards Namjoon, who gave him a reassuring nod before turning his head away from the stage just in time to see Yoongi return to his previous seat. The leader eagerly grabbed his glass from earlier before downing the drink. "Breaker?" Namjoon whispered.
"Needed another minute," Yoongi gritted out before ordering his third drink of the night.
Good thing he's got a high tolerance.
Everyone's attention returned to the stage as yet another girl was dragged onto the platform. Taehyung's eyes widened as he stared at her, clearing his throat as he tried to maintain the neutral expression on his face. "She's just a fucking kid," he whispered. When the host started the bidding, Taehyung was the first to raise his hand. It didn't matter how much money he had to spend, he was going to make sure that she didn't end up with any of the perverted assholes who were eager to outbid him.
Charlie continued to quietly observe, her eyes scanning over the patrons placing their bid on the young girl before settling on her own mother, who continued to watch the auction with sharp eyes as a faint smirk appeared on her lips as the bids continued to exceed the previous girl's bids.
A permanent frown settled on Charlie's features, eyebrows furrowed as she turned to Ryder. She noticed how everyone in Ganghan was very nonchalant about the whole ordeal, not a single person showing distaste for what was taking place in this room. So why is it bothering me so much? She felt like she was suffocating, she couldn't sit there any longer.
"I'm parched, I'm going to get some water," she whispered to Ryder, who insisted on coming with her as she eagerly excused them from the table.
Their movement went unnoticed by most of the guests, but two sets of eyes intently watched them as they navigated through the crowd to get to the bar.
Hoseok was stationed at the table right in front of the bar, curiously watching the young couple before he recognized Charlie. His eyes widened as they remained on the woman in the black dress, in sheer disbelief as she passed by him without even recognizing him. I guess Jungkook was right.
Hoseok knew that his main mission was to gain intel, but his body moved on autopilot as he got up from his seat and followed them. He only took a few steps before he froze, eyes trained on Charlie's neck as his eyebrows furrowed at the marks present. He knew what caused those marks, and he tried not to raise any alarm as he glanced around the room before he found Jin, quickly walking towards him while the bidding continued in the background.
Hoseok was quick to turn off his ear piece. Jin curiously looked at the orange haired man approaching him, immediately taking note of the subtle way that Hoseok brushed his finger against the transmitter in his ear before Jin followed his request and turned his own off as well.
"I need you to check something for me, didn't want to alarm the others," Hoseok quietly spoke as he leaned into Jin. The auction was long forgotten as the elder nodded, eyes fixed on his member's serious expression. His eyes slightly widened as Hoseok explained the situation, a worried expression now resting on his features as Jin processed his words.
"Where is she?" he inquired.
Hoseok indicated towards the bar, gesturing towards the woman who was now a few feet away from Yoongi, the only barrier between them being the man who had his arm wrapped around her waist.
Jin didn't waste any time as he took a deep breath, fixing his tux as he stood before confidently striding over towards the bar.
"Excuse me sweetheart," he said, brushing past Charlie as he called for the attention of the bartender.
Charlie frowned, hand coming up to her temple as she tried to sooth the pain that was hammering away in her head.
"Trust me sweetheart, he's not a guy you want to be messing with," the familiar voice said, letting her go. The man glanced down at her, noticing her features. "How old are you anyway? Do your parents even know you're out?" he questioned.
"You doing good?" Ryder asked, hand rubbing her lower back while Charlie brushed his concerns off.
"Yeah, just trying to get rid of this damn headache," she replied, her eyes glancing sideways at the stranger standing beside her ordering a vodka and soda.
She watched as the man glanced at her, taking in the way his eyes traveled down her figure before his worried gaze settled back on her eyes.
"You okay miss?" he asked.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm good, just took a few hits, nothing too bad," she replied.
"Hey Hoseok, can you drive? I want to make sure she's good." The man pulled out a small first aid kit he kept under the backseat before turning on the light, facing her as he gently grabbed her chin, assessing the damage.
Charlie tried to process the hazy memories, no response escaping her lips as she continued to stare at the man before her.
"Babe," Ryder whispered, his nose brushing up against her cheek in an attempt to get her to respond.
"Sorry," she sheepishly replied, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "I'm fine," she reassured, pausing for a moment before speaking up again. "Hey, do I know you?"
Jin tensed slightly, lips pulling back into a taut smile that could pass as a genuine one to those who didn't know him that well. "No, I must just have one of those faces," he replied.
"I guess so," she replied, a warm smile gracing her lips while Ryder wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her back into him.
Jin couldn't help but stare at the small cuts on her face, slightly wincing as he took note that they were fresh wounds. Charlie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his reaction before he gestured to his own features. "You got quite a few nasty cuts there," he observed.
"Oh yeah," she replied. "All part of the hazards that come along with the job, right?" she joked.
"You should make sure to tend to those, wouldn't want it to get infected," he advised.
"It's amazing how you learned all this stuff from just books. It looks fascinating." Charlie still had her eyes in the survival guide book.
"I had somewhat of a mentor though too. I could teach you some things if you like." Charlie's eyes shot over to the man as she smiled. "It would be good to have someone in the field knowing something about the various injuries you guys may get."
"That would be great!" Charlie said, closing the book.
He started small in teaching Charlie what he knew. He focused on the most common injuries that they would get: cuts to the face, broken bones, and concussions. He showed where all their supplies were kept, and if they were stuck on a mission, he talked about what the most important things to do were.
He was showing Charlie some of the stitches that would be used for different cuts when two very beaten and dirty members appeared in the lab.
Charlie stared at the man before her as so many memories clashed at once. She knew him and yet, she had no idea what his name was. Grasping Ryder's hand that was around her waist, she peeled it off before stepping away from the both of them.
"I need to use the restroom, be back soon." Keeping her head down, she quickly walked away.
Ryder watched her go and huffed before reaching for his glass.
"Problems at home?" Jin asked, clearly trying to gain any information about the situation as he read Ryder's frustrated expressions.
"You have no idea," he mumbled.
Jin finished his drink before setting the glass down. "Good luck man." He turned and walked away, eyes locking onto Hoseok before he nodded in confirmation.
Meanwhile, Hoseok hadn't been the only member to notice Charlie. Jungkook was the other member who was drawn by her movements earlier, his eyes unwavering from her figure once he recognized her. He remained in his seat, eyes flitting from her to Yoongi as he tried to formulate a plan. His jaw clenched as he watched the man next to her wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him as they approached the bar. His anger started to boil within. No one touched Charlie like that, no one! He clenched his jaw as he continued to watch carefully.
It was then that he noticed Hoseok move from his position, curiously watching as he walked towards Jin. Jungkook's eyes intently watched as the two spoke, but he couldn't hear anything through his earpiece. It was then that he saw Jin moving towards the bar, taking the spot right next to Charlie. His eyes narrowed as he watched Jin talking to her, taking note of the way the asshole next to her was possessively wrapping his arms around her. He watched as she pulled herself away from the man. Before Jungkook knew it, he started mindlessly walking towards her direction, forgetting everything about what he was supposed to.
"Don't." Yoongi quickly stepped in front of Jungkook, hand on his chest to keep him from going any further. They could not risk drawing attention to themselves, especially the attention of Ganghan.
"He wouldn't stop touching her," he spat through clenched teeth as he watched her push through the crowd. He could see the disgusted look on her face, but why didn't she pull away from his touch? His stomach was in knots as so many options ran through his head.
"You stop thinking right now. She is not our mission and I will not have my- "
"Oh fuck you!"
The outburst had some patrons in the back turning to see what was going on. Yoongi gripped Jungkook's lapel and pulled him to the other side of the bar, purposely pushing him into a chair. Jungkook winced in slight pain, but listened and sat down. Yoongi ordered two drinks and set one in front of Jungkook.
"You drink that and then you leave. You can wait out back if you can't behave." Yoongi still tried to keep his voice down as he looked around to see who's attention he had gained, noticing Namjoon looking over. "I know Charlie is family but we have other things to focus on. Got it?"
Jungkook remained silent as he sipped his drink, still watching Charlie as her figure disappeared by the bathrooms located off to the side. Yoongi had made eye contact with Namjoon who started towards them.
Namjoon had turned towards Taehyung and Hobi, who was now sitting in Jin's spot. Hoseok had taken over Jin's role, both men now bidding once more. It was then that Namjoon caught the side profile of a woman, his steps faltering as he froze, squinting his eyes at her. It can't be... right?
"Spider?"
He shook himself from his bewildered trance and focused his attention back on Yoongi.
"Hotshot is a little too hot, take him out back," Yoongi said as he leaned into his underboss, knowing he could probably get through the kid's thick skull better than he could.
As Jin passed them, Jungkook quickly stood up and intercepted him.
"What happened? Why did she walk away? Who's the guy?" Jungkook started his interrogation, unaware that Ryder was starting to piece things together as he watched Jin with a sharp gaze. His eyes widened when the realization settled in, a mischievous smile stretched across his lips.
Namjoon reassured Yoongi he would handle it, ushering him back to the mission before turning to Jungkook and Jin. The boss of Bangtan nodded, allowing his right-hand man to deal with the situation while he walked to the other side of the room and watched as the next girl was brought out.
As Namjoon tried to get Jungkook to lay off Jin for a minute, Ryder approached the group, grabbing ahold of Jin's shoulder while his eyes were locked directly onto Jungkook with a smirk.
"Seems we have some Bangtan scum here," he chuckled in amusement. "Good thing some of you are good for something." He smirked again before looking in the direction that Charlie had disappeared to.
Jungkook couldn't hold back anymore and punched Ryder, making him stumble back. Jin immediately stepped in between them and gave Jungkook a very disappointed look. Jungkook was only focused on Ryder as he tried to push past Jin.
"Don't you fucking talk about her like that!"
People started to look over and the posted guards quickly made their way to brawl. Yoongi made eyes with Namjoon and started towards them but the underboss quickly shook his head. Yoongi needed to maintain his anonymity and finish this. He would take care of this mess.
Ryder was reaching around Jin, trying to get to Jungkook when Namjoon pushed him away, and that's when the guards finally intervened.
"Stick to the plan," Yoongi said softly so the ear piece could pick up his command. Taehyung and Hobi turned to see the chaos, but quickly faced front. Tonight was not going to be good.
Charlie had come out of the bathroom just in time to see the chaos and froze. She should help Ryder, but for some reason she couldn't compel herself to intervene, not when she knew she had some sort of connection to the man she spoke to earlier. Closing her eyes, she tried to will the headache away once more and once she opened her eyes, the group was gone. She walked back to her mother and sat down.
"Ryder was taken, a fight broke out," Charlie whispered and Odessa took a deep breath, her expression not changing as she remained silent. She'd deal with it later.
Charlie continued to watch the rest of the auction with complete disgust. Her eyes looked down to the large tattoo on her arm, her fingers lightly tracing the ink of the vines as an attempt to distract herself from the event. Her thoughts went back to the man from the bar, trying to piece together the hazy memories. So much she didn't know, so much that didn't make sense. She was going to find answers, no matter how difficult it would be.
A/N: We back baby!! Sorry!! Life got in the way but I hope you all enjoy this chapter with some hidden teasers of what's to come :)
GalxyDefendr is the co-author so be sure to check out her work!!