Blood

Twenty Six

Faye

I stared at the door as Daisy left. The small glimmer of hope that I had with her here vanished as the door closed behind her.

I liked Daisy. I felt like I could relate to her. I knew with her in the room I would have someone else on my side.

But I had to let her go.

She needed to find Eli. He needed her more than I did.

My heart was pounding in my chest, I was certain that Finley could hear it in the now silent room. I felt trapped, suffocated.

I needed to get out.

The cuffs around my wrists clinked as I adjusted my position. I wanted to scream as I stared at them, begging that I would see a weakness in them, but Finley knew me and in this moment I hated him for it. The cool metal was digging into my skin, I could feel my fingers tingling as my circulation was being cut off. He had purposely secured them tightly, knowing that with even the slightest of gap I would easily get out of them.

I didn't want to look at him. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to hate him fiercely, but I couldn't, not when I knew that he was only doing this because he wanted to protect me. Even though I disagreed with him, I knew he only had the best intentions.

But he knew how I would feel by doing this. He knew what my freedom meant to me. And he didn't care, not if he thought I was safe.

He sounded like he was in physical pain when he said my name. My heart broke and I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and looked to him. "Faye, please, you know I don't want this-"

"I can't guarantee that I want this even less than you, Finley," I said softly.

"God, Faye, I know. I-"

"There's nothing you can say that will change how I'm feeling right now," I said. I wiggled my fingers and winced from the tightness of the cuffs. "What are you going to do? Keep me locked up until I'm safe?"

He hesitated and I titled my head, giving him a disbelieving look.

"Sweet," I sighed, "I will never be safe. Never. Not with Julian looking for me. I've accepted that and I'm living with it. You need to accept it as well. You need to trust me. I can't hide for the rest of my life, that's not living."

"I do trust you, Faye," Finley snapped. "It's him I don't trust."

"Trust me to stay off of his radar. Do you think I want him finding me? You know how much I hated that life. You know I want nothing more than to stay away from it. Do you think I ever plan on him finding me?"

"Of course not," Finley sighed. "But I'm not risking it."

"You're risking me," I said. I raised my hands. "By doing this. Finley, please."

"We'll sleep on it. You need time after last night. You'll stay here for today. We'll reassess this tomorrow."

"Finley." My voice was firm. "I do not need to sleep on anything. You do not get to tell me what I need to do. This doesn't need reassessing. You're going to uncuff me and I'm going to get back to work."

Finley shook his head. I knew by the firm set of his lips and his furrowed eyebrows that he was not going to budge. "No."

I let out a slow breath, anger searing inside me but I pushed it down. I couldn't let it control me. "Don't do this," I pleaded.

"You'll go to my quarters," Veronica spoke up. She was watching the two of us with a frown. In that moment she looked so much like Finley, even though they weren't biologically related. "And like my son said, we'll readdress this tomorrow, Faye. You know it's the wise choice."

I shook my head. "No. No. I've told you-"

"And we're telling you no," Veronica said sharply.

"I am not a child. You do not get to order me around-"

"I am your boss," Veronica said cooly. "You'll do as I say."

"This is not a work matter."

"You'll go to my quarters now, Faye"

I stood up. Finley was on his feet immediately, watching me cautiously. "I will do no such thing, Veronica. I am an adult. I make my own decisions."

"Don't be reckless, Faye," Veronica said with a shake of her head.

I ignored her and turned to Finley, holding my arms out. "Take them off, Fin."

"Come with me," he urged gently.

"Take them off."

"If I take them off you're going to walk out of that door."

"Do you want me to hate you?" I asked curiously. "Because I know you're trying to protect me, sweet, I really do, but this isn't the right way to go about this. If you trap me here and lock me up it will backfire. I so desperately want to be so angry at you, Fin, but I'm not. I know you only want to protect me. However, the longer you drag this out the more likely I am going to resent you. Don't make me resent you. Please."

"Finley, as your mother and your boss I am ordering you to take Faye to my quarters and make sure she does not leave," Veronica called.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Really, Veronica?"

"I don't care if you resent me," she shrugged.

I couldn't stop the scowl that formed on my face and I turned back to Finley, my eyes darting over his body as I tried to figure out where he would be keeping the key to the handcuffs.

"Faye." Finley reached for my arm back I jumped back. "Faye, come on."

I was still trying to figure out where on his body he would have the key. I would only have one shot at retrieving it so I had to make sure-

"It's not on me, Faye," Finley said. "You don't think I'd know that you'd try to swipe the key?"

He reached for me again and managed to grab hold of my bicep, pulling me into his side. "Finley, get off of me-"

"We're going now."

"Stop this," I said calmly. "Stop this now."

"You stop being stubborn."

"Wanting to have freedom isn't being stubborn."

"It's one night, Faye! To calm down and think things through clearly."

"I don't need to do that!" I snapped and Finley gave me a look, knowing that my temper was close to snapping. I rarely raised my voice. "I don't need to think about how I'm feeling, I know myself well enough. I need to not be locked up and trapped in a place where I thought I was safe and surrounded by people who wouldn't control my life!"

"You know neither of us are going to give in," he said lowly. "Faye, you're outnumbered here. Accept it."

"What if I slapped some handcuffs on you and started bossing you around like you were some insolent child?" I asked. I gently pulled against his grip on my arm, testing the strength, but he held me tightly. I sighed softly in frustration. "Please don't do this, Finley."

"Come on," he grunted and gently tugged me towards the door.

"Fin-"

"Faye, do as he says," Veronica called.

I glanced over my shoulder and stared at Veronica, not quite glaring but letting her know that I was far from pleased with my current situation. Veronica was hard to read but I could tell by the way that she looked away from me that she felt bad. I had gotten to know her very well over the past few years and it pained me that she knew how doing this would make me feel.

Finley opened the door to Finley's office and there were four agents waiting outside. Eyes went curiously to the handcuffs on my wrists and then to Finley. "Let's go," Finley murmured to me.

I pursed my lips when the agents surrounded us as we walked through the hallway. Finley knew that I wouldn't attempt anything, not if I was outnumbered.

I knew my limits.

If I wasn't restrained I would have had no problem taking down five men. However, I didn't believe in fighting unless I was certain I would win. I didn't want to engage in physical contact unless it was completely necessary. I knew I was outnumbered and Finley had made sure I knew this by making sure the agents were ready to escort us through the Agency.

He knew I wouldn't try anything.

"I hate you," I whispered. I didn't. Not really.

"I'm sorry," was all he said.

"You're not going to feel any differently about this tomorrow," I said softly. "And you know you can't keep me a prisoner forever."

"You're not a prisoner, Faye," he said.

"Could have fooled me."

"You do know that I don't want to do this to you, don't you? I know exactly how this is making you feel."

"Fin, sweet," I said sadly, "that just makes it even worse."

Finley sighed in frustration. "I kind of wish you weren't so damn calm. I wish you would shout and swear at me. I wouldn't blame you."

"What would that achieve?" I wondered. "Apart from making you feel better about this? It wouldn't change the situation I'm in."

"I just want to protect you, Faye."

"I don't need you to." I wasn't being rude, or cocky. It was the truth. I was more than capable of handling myself. "I saw the way you looked at me last night. You didn't fully realise what I was capable of. Did you?"

"That wasn't you last night."

"But it was. It's who I was raised to be and it's who I've spent the past five years hiding from. I'm dangerous, Fin. I hate that I am, but it also means I do not need you or Veronica to tell me what to do because you think you're protecting me."

"You're not invincible, Faye."

"With what I have done in my life I should have died numerous times. There's a reason I haven't."

"You're not going to change my mind about this."

"Then I guess this conversation is over."

"Faye," Finley groaned.

I didn't talk again. I kept my eyes ahead, scanning the agents around us. Hands were on their tasers ready in case I decided to do something. I wasn't stupid. I wouldn't fight them. The thought of harming any of my colleagues terrified me. The thought of fighting Finley made me sick to my stomach and he knew that. He was using my weakness against me.

The walk to Veronica's quarters felt like an eternity. She lived in a large house towards the back of the Agency. Once we were at the door Finley nodded to the agents, dismissing them, but not before taking out another pair of handcuffs and securing one around my wrist and then his. He knew he would have to be more alert with just him and me. I didn't want to hurt Finley, but he knew I would get free of my restraints given the opportunity and it was easier for me to do so with just the two of us.

I had no choice but to follow Finley inside and once the door was shut he secured the lock and then set the security alarm. He glanced at me. "I've changed the codes."

I stiffened. "This is ridiculous, Finley."

Finley ignored me and we made our way to the room that used to be his bedroom. I grew more and more tense as he locked the door and the window, tucking the keys safely away into his pocket.

"There's nothing in here that you can use to pick the locks," he told me as my eyes scanned his old bedroom. I had been here countless of times. I knew every inch of this room, but nothing here would help me escape. "I've removed all weapons."

I felt tears spring to my eyes. I hated this feeling of helplessness. I hated that Finley was the one making me feel this way.

"Sit down, Faye," Finley urged softly.

I shook my head and looked at my feet. I didn't know what to do.

"Faye," Finley said again. He gently tugged on my wrists and my feet found themselves walking to the bed, sitting down next to Finley. "Look at me, Faye."

"Please don't talk to me," I whispered.

"Look at me."

"You're the last person I want to look at right now," I said.

Finley sighed and leaned back against the headboard, going on his phone with his free hand. I looked at his wrist that was cuffed to mine, his fingers resting on my thigh. I shoved his hand away from me, even though it meant my wrists were turned at an awkward angle.

I tensed when Finley's fingers found my chin and he turned my head to face him. I gritted my teeth when he saw the fresh tears staining my cheeks. "Faye," he murmured. He ran the pad of his thumb across my cheeks, wiping away the tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Finley, this is torture," I whispered. New tears replaced the ones he had wiped away. "My brother locked me up once."

Finley blinked. "You never talk about your brother."

"I had snuck out," I said. "I was sixteen and a little reckless. I just wanted to be a normal teenager so I snuck out of our compound to go to a house party of some friends I went to school with. I got very drunk. I had purposely left my phone at home because I knew Julian would track it. The party got raided. I knew immediately that they were from a rival gang. A student at the party had a drug debt to them that they weren't paying so they came for him. I tried to leave once I realised who they were, but they had all the exits and windows covered. They recognised me immediately. If it wasn't for the alcohol I might have managed to get myself out of the situation, but I was too drunk and there were too many of them. They grabbed me, cuffed me, roughed me up and were dragging me outside when Julian turned up. He and his men killed all of the other gang. The ones holding me suffered the most. Julian didn't say a word to me as he wiped the blood from his hands onto his trousers and grabbed me, shoving me into the back of his car. I'd never seen him so angry. Back home he left me in my room, still handcuffed. The door was locked and guards were stationed outside. He left me locked up for a week. The only social contact I had was his men bringing me food. After that week I could barely walk to the kitchen without having eyes on me. Julian had always been protective but after that it was another level. I think it was because he was scared of losing me, but forcing me to be trapped in that life made him lose me anyway. It wasn't the first time he tried to resolve things by locking me in my room. It got worse when I started to express that I didn't want to be as involved in the life that we were. I didn't want to kill, torture, be a criminal. Instead of talking about it with me, he locked me away so he wouldn't have to deal with it. I'm his little sister, he always thought he knew what was best for me, he didn't care if I disagreed. He forced onto me what he thought was the right choice and didn't listen to what I wanted. It was horrible."

"Faye," Finley breathed.

"Being controlled is not something I ever want to go back to," I said quietly. "I can't do it, Fin. You can't do this to me."

More tears escaped my eyes and I choked back a sob as Finley wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his chest. "I'm so sorry, Faye."

"But you're not going to let me go, are you?"

Finley ran his fingers through my hair. His silence made more tears flow. I closed my eyes and let them out. It wasn't like I could do anything else.

*

Daisy

I slid another tumbler of whiskey across the table, my eyes not leaving Eli's as I sat back across from him. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, the emotions on his face taking various forms. Confusion, anger, nervousness, frustration. He picked up the glass and knocked back the whiskey in one gulp.

"I don't understand," he said slowly. "This doesn't make sense."

"Do you recognise Faye. At all?"

He rubbed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "I made a conscious effort to try and block out my parents and their death," he murmured. "I was young, I was traumatised. I thought forgetting about them and my life with them would make things easier. I don't know, Princess. I don't know."

I slid my hand across the table. A small sigh of relief escaped my lips when Eli linked his fingers with mine. His grip was tight but I didn't dare comment. "We'll figure this out."

"He has no fucking right to invade my life like this," Eli muttered. "If there's truth to this, I don't give a shit. To have men hunting me down, attacking me with fucking knives. I don't know this man, I don't care that we may be related. He doesn't get to decide if he wants to be in my life. If this is how he handles things then I want nothing to do with him."

"Then we need to make that clear to him."

"We don't know who he is. Where he is. We know nothing about him. I hate that he has the upper hand."

"Faye is going to help us. She's going to send us all information she has."

"She's his sister. We can't trust her," Eli said through gritted teeth.

"We can," I said slowly. "Eli, I trust her. I believe she wants to stay far out of her brothers reach. She doesn't want you dragged into this either. I believe her, Eli."

Eli held my gaze, frowning. "You do?"

I nodded.

He sighed. "Okay. Fine. But she gets one chance."

"I'll reach out to her tonight but I don't reckon we'll hear a response from her just yet."

"Why?"

I pursed my lips. "They're keeping her locked in the Agency."

"Why?"

"They think they're protecting her," I murmured. "Finley and Faye... I think they're together. He handcuffed her. He didn't want her leaving and getting caught by Julian."

"She's stayed hidden from him for five years," Eli said. "If anyone can stay off of his radar it's her."

"Veronica and Finley don't seem to agree," I sighed. "If we haven't heard from her by tomorrow night I'll go back there myself. I'm not letting them keep her captive. They'll only push her away if they take away her freedom. I know a little something about wanting to escape a life you're born into. She seems like she values control over herself and she certainly doesn't have that right now."

"We can't wait until tomorrow. We need to start gathering information now. We need to know who exactly we are up against."

I eyed Eli's drink. "Drink up then and let's get to work."

*

"Nothing," I scowled and shoved my laptop away from me. It had been two hours and I had not come across one snippet of useful information. With Jack and Eli's help, we had hacked into various police and government databases but there was nothing about Julian.

Eli lets out a huff of frustration next to me in bed and leaned back against the headboard, running his fingers through his hair. "This guy is a ghost."

"We need Faye," I said quietly. The stubbornness that was rooted within me hated that we couldn't figure this out on our own. I pulled out my phone and the slip of paper that Faye had written her number on. I sent her a text even though I knew she wouldn't respond anytime soon.

I couldn't help but wonder what was happening with her and Finley.

"Even if we do find out information about him, we need to figure out a plan," Eli said.

"We kill him."

"We still need a plan to do that, princess," Eli said. He didn't bat an eyelid at the suggestion of killing one of the few family members he had left. "We have two gangs to find, we need to be smart."

"My focus is finding Julian, not the other gang."

"Well, my focus is finding the other gang," Eli said and raised his eyebrows at me. "The one that Faye believes is behind all of these attacks... they're my priority."

"That shouldn't be your priority right now," I snapped.

"You're my priority," Eli shrugged. "And I'm not stopping until we catch the bastards that are doing this."

"I'm not letting you put your yourself in danger because of me."

"Julian being after me isn't causing anyone to die. Not looking for this other gang means that more innocent girls will be brutally murdered."

I hesitated and bile rose in my throat as I imagined other girls and women going through what I endured.

"That was harsh, I'm sorry," Eli sighed, "but this is more important."

"You're important," I protested weakly but I couldn't argue with Eli's reasoning.

A wave of nausea came over me as the image of a knife sticking out of my stomach came to the forefront of my mind.

"And I can look after myself," Eli said and his hand went to my thigh, squeezing gently. I stared at his bare skin on mine for far too long. For a split second it wasn't Eli's hand on my thigh, it was the hand of the man that had physically and mentally scarred me for life. "We can look for both, but please, make this your focus."

I crossed my legs over each other and Eli's hand fell from my thigh. He gave me a look but didn't say anything. I swallowed. "We'll focus on the other gang until we can get more information about Julian from Faye."

Eli sighed. "Fine."

"We need a list of all the attacks," I said. My fingers started to drum against my leg anxiously. "There has to be some connection, some sort of information we can figure out. They wouldn't attack if they didn't know they could get away. We need to get into the details and try and get into their minds."

"I already have a list," Eli said lowly. I was hyper aware of the cautious look he was giving me. I felt a sudden surge of anger. I knew by the look on his face that he was easily reading my emotions, my body language. It was terrifying how well he knew me.

"Fantastic," I said stiffly and reached towards the end of the bed, grabbing the blanket and covering up my bare legs. "Let's see it."

"No."

I turned to glare at him. "No?"

"I want your help, princess, but not when you're like this."

My eyes narrowed. "Like what?"

"It's getting to you," he said. "Sometimes you can handle talking about it, sometimes you can't. Right now, you can't. It's okay."

I flinched when I felt something brush across my leg. All I could think about was how it felt when my underwear was dragged down my thighs. I moved the blanket and stared down at the label that had touched my skin. It made me angry. A fucking label had made me flinch pathetically.

"Princess," Eli called slowly.

I held my hand up and closed my eyes. "Shut up."

"We can start again tomorrow," Eli said. "Let's try and get some sleep."

"I don't need sleep. I need to figure this shitshow of a situation out," I snapped.

"Which you're not going to do in one night," Eli said. "Let's sleep."

"Just, shut up," I growled. I pressed the heel of my hands to my eyes, wishing that all I saw was darkness when I closed my eyes. Instead, I saw a replay of that night, I saw memories of the innocent people that were attacked in the same horrific way I was. I saw Eli, crouching over my dying body.

"I'm going to touch you," Eli murmured and I jumped when I felt his breath behind me by my ear.

"Don't," I whimpered.

"Tell me no," he whispered and his hands made their way up my arms. "Tell me no and I'll stop, princess."

"I..." Words failed me. I clenched my hands into fists and let out a groan of frustration. "I hate this!"

"I'm here," Eli mumbled and his arms cocooned around me. I let him pull me into him, wrapped up tightly in his embrace. He rested his chin on my head and ran his fingers soothingly down my arm. "It's okay, princess. I've got you."

I went limp in his hold. I wanted to scream and shout, I wanted to curse at the world and destroy whatever I could, but with Eli's arms around me I found myself doing none of that. I opened my eyes, relaxed into him and let a few tears slip from my eyes.

"It comes out of nowhere," I whispered after a while of silence.

"I know."

"I hate it."

"I know."

"I don't think it's ever going to stop."

There was a silence. "I know."

*

Two days passed.

There was no word from Faye.

Eli and me, along with the rest of the agents had barely left the hotel, all of us spending every waking out researching and trying to find out everything we could about this rival gang that Faye suspected was behind the attacks.

I helped as much as I could without getting too deep into the specifics of the attacks. I couldn't stomach going over every intricate detail of the crime scenes looking for clues. I tried once, but after a sprint to the toilet to bring up my breakfast and a hours curled up in a chair in silence, I knew it was best for me to let Eli and the others deal with the more brutal side of it.

I was on the look out for other gang activity: drugs, petty crime, weapons shipments, gang violence.

Joey had reached out to his parents and he was meeting them today with Blake and Jasper to go through any information they had.

My mind wandered to Faye often. Was she still trapped by Finley, who she so clearly trusted and cared for? Had they thrown her into the cells? Locked her up? Taken away her freedom?

"I've got something," I said. Eli was lying on his front, a stack of papers in front of him. He looked over his shoulder at me. Beth who was sitting on the floor with Kyle with her laptop in front of them turned to me. "Romeo Gallo. He's been arrested numerous times for assault, breaking and entering, dealing and possession. He's sloppy but somehow has avoided jail time. And if surveillance cameras are accurate then he was in the close proximity to at least eight of the attacks so far. CCTV has caught his face near the scene within the hour of all eight attacks. Thats more than a coincidence."

"Does he have a job?" Kyle asked.

"Unemployed."

"Social history?" Beth asked.

"Orphaned. He was in and out of foster homes and did a stint in a youth offenders institution when he was sixteen. He's somehow managed to stay out of jail ever since."

"Sounds like the ideal kid for a gang to get their hooks into," Eli murmured. "What other details do we have for him?"

"His last known address."

"Text his details to Tom and Hunter. Get them to start surveillance on him."

"Already on it," I nodded.

"And look into his known associates. Anyone connected to him that looks remotely suspicious we'll look into surveilling."

"I'll do that when I get back."

"You're not going anywhere," Eli said.

"Yes, I am. We've been stuck in this room for two days. I need a breather."

"It's not safe," Beth called.

I pointed at Eli. "He's the one they're after. Not me."

"Half an hour, princess," Eli told me, raising his eyebrow in warning. "Or I'm coming after you myself."

"You're definitely not leaving," I scoffed.

"Then be back in less than half an hour."

I roll my eyes and left the room as my phone started to ring. I frown when I see Musa from university calling. "To what do I owe this displeasure?" .

"Hello, Daisy. How am I? I'm wonderful, thank you for asking."

I laugh and make my way to the elevator. "What do you want, Musa?"

"A bunch of us are having a study session at uni. Seeing as we start the job for real soon, I thought you may want to join?"

"Group study sessions are not my scene."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Musa chuckled. "Thought I'd ask anyway."

"Appreciate it, thanks Musa."

"See you soon, Daisy."

I hang up and eventually make it out of the hotel, taking a large gulp of fresh air. I then check my watch and sigh, knowing the next thirty minutes would fly by.

*

Faye

I couldn't stop picturing Finley's motionless body. I felt awful. I had just left him abandoned on the floor of his bedroom. I wanted to go back, to make sure that he was okay, but I couldn't. Not when going back would mean he would just keep me trapped.

Two days. 48 hours he had me stuck in his bedroom.

I wanted to hate him for it. I wanted to never forgive him.

But I knew I always would.

I pulled the hood to by jacket up and kept my head low as I manoeuvred my way through the London crowds. I wasn't far from the hotel where I knew Daisy was staying. It didn't take long for me to search up all the hotels nearby the coffee shop that I saw her at the other day. A quick hack into the hotel systems showed that one particular hotel had very recently hired out multiple rooms for an extended period of time.

All the names were false but it had to be where she was staying. It also wasn't far from my flat which was a bonus.

I saw the hotel in the distance but I didn't head straight for it. I couldn't put my finger on it but something wasn't right. My intuition had never let me down all these years and I wasn't stupid or cocky enough to ignore it now.

I found cover behind a red telephone box and scanned the surrounding area. My hand went instinctively to my ribs where I had multiple knives sheathed. Something was wrong.

I nearly stepped out and revealed myself when I spotted Daisy leaning against the wall of a building, smoking a cigarette. My eyes immediately clocked onto a familiar person and I froze in my spot. He was walking past Daisy, not even looking at her. She didn't spare him a second glance. I noticed his movements clearly, even though they were discrete. His left hand flicked out and I saw him press a button on a small device.

I had seen that device before.

"Shit," I whispered. I needed to get to her, I had to help, but I couldn't reveal myself.

Daisy flinched, reaching down to rub her leg. She probably thought it was an insect bite, a bee sting. Oh how she was in for a hell of a surprise. The man continued walking past Daisy, he only glanced back when there was a shout from a member of the public and Daisy stumbled and then collapsed to the ground.

"Damn it," I groaned. I ducked further behind the phone box. He was walking in my direction. I had to stay, I couldn't leave, Daisy, but I was risking everything. I moved around the other side of the phone box and was waiting for him to pass me completely. His back was now to Daisy and me, he was walking away.

"Keep moving," I murmured.

He was nearly around the corner. I risked a glance back at Daisy. She was now unconscious on the floor. When I returned my gaze back to the end of the road I was expecting to see his back as he walked around the corner. Instead I saw his eyes on me.

"Crap," I swore and pushed away from my hiding place. Daisy would have to wait. I'd get a message to Eli somehow, but first I needed to run. I vaulted over a nearby bench and ran headfirst into the busy road. Hell, I'd take being run over rather than my brother finding me. I risked a glance over my shoulder and of course he was following me. I dodged through traffic, skidding over the bonnet of a taxi before making it across the road. I then ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

I cursed London for being so busy. I collided with random strangers, barged into numerous shoulders and had to stop short multiple times to stop myself from crashing straight into people. I had the upper hand. I knew these streets. I could get away from him.

I skidded to a halt and darted down an alleyway. A chain link fence blocked my path but I easily manoeuvred over it in a few short seconds. I heard the fence rattle once I was running away from it and knew that he had also followed me over it.

"Damn!" I hissed and reached into my pocket as I ran. I needed to send a message to someone in case he caught me and I needed to get Daisy help. A few roads later I risked a look over my shoulder and couldn't see him. I knew he wouldn't be far but I needed to contact someone. I snuck down another alley and ducked behind a dumpster. I pulled up Finley's contact and dialled his number. I hoped that he would've woken up by now.

I nearly cried out in relief when he answered. "You knocked me out," came his pissed off voice through the phone.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I need your help," I rushed out.

"Faye, what's wrong?"

"Daisy has been poisoned," I said. "She's outside the hotel-"

I heard gravel crunching and I froze. The footsteps weren't rushed and they were getting nearer.

"Faye, what the hell is going on? Where are you?"

"Fin..." I whispered. I looked up from my hiding spot as he walked in front of me. "He's found me."

A wide grin crossed his face when he saw the colour drain from my skin. My phone slipped from my hand and I scanned my surroundings. There was only one way in and out of this alley.

"Twice in one week," he said with a smug grin. "Your luck has started to run out, trouble."

"Vincent," I breathed. I didn't get a chance to get a good look at him when Finley and I had encountered him only a few days ago. I was too busy killing his men. He hadn't changed much. He looked older now, rougher. He was bulkier, his hair had grown out and was styled in braids across his head. I quickly scanned his body. Fitted black trousers could be hiding numerous weapons. He had a crisp white shirt on but I didn't miss the holster that was hidden under his jacket. I was certain that multiple knives were stashed discreetly in it.

"There's no one around for you to kill today," he said. "It's just you and me, trouble, and we both know you're not going to kill me."

"You and me both know that I'm capable of killing you," I said slowly.

"You'd kill your oldest friend?" Vincent wondered, arching a dark eyebrow at me.

My oldest friend, my best friend, my first love. My first everything.

"If you don't let me leave and never look for me again, then yes."

He grinned. "It's been what, five years? You couldn't lie to me then and you can't lie to me now."

"Get out of my way, Vincent," I warned.

"Oh, trouble, you and I both know that I'm not going anywhere."

I braced myself, reaching for one of the knives sheathed on my ribs. "I'm not going back to him."

"It's time for you to come back to your family, Faye."

"Not going to happen."

"Do you think Julian has ever given up? Do you think I have? Do you think any of us have?"

"Don't make me hurt you," I pleaded.

"Still got that soft streak in you, I see," Vincent observed.

"Vincent, please," I begged. "I killed your men. Don't make me kill you too."

"That's not going to happen, don't worry, trouble," Vincent smirked.

My heart dropped. "I'm sorry," I murmured and just as I was about to attack I heard a voice that I prayed I would never hear again.

"I would put the knife away if I were you, little sister."