Thalia

"We meet again, Thalia." He said, bringing my hand close to his lips to kiss my knuckles. The kiss was long and made my skin crawl in disgust.

I quickly snatched my hand away from him. "Jason." I deadpanned.

Corey and Rhys came to stand at my side protectively, though Rhys still had his plate in his hands, so I wasn't too sure how threatening he truly looked.

"Relax boys." Jason smirked. "I just came over to offer your newest member over here a congratulations." His eyes turned to me and I saw a sick glimmer inside of them. "You've come a long way since the night we first met, haven't you?" He teased.

"Getting tortured by a man who you've never met in your life because of something you have no clue about does miracles for a woman's morals." I stated coldly.

"Oh, does it, now?"

I glanced over to where Leo and Peter were talking. They both had their back turned to us, so they wouldn't be much help right now. Fiona and Ricardo were also talking in the other corner, showing no signs of giving us any attention. I guess Corey, Rhys, and I would have to handle this ourselves.

"You know something, Thalia," Jason began. "Joining the Ronans mob as an official member isn't going to do anything to protect you."

"Excuse you?" Rhys asked.

"I believe Mrs. Moore heard me perfectly fine. Oh! By the way," Jason gave me a lopsided grin, "How's your side?" He asked, reaching out a hand to stroke my side where he'd previously stabbed me.

I quickly smacked his hand away from me. "Do NOT touch me." I seethed.

Jason smirked. "How cute. The scar is still there, isn't it?"

"What the hell do you want?" I demanded, keeping my voice steady. Images flashed in my mind as he stared at me. Memories of me bleeding out in that shed resurfaced and tore at my mind.

"To see the merchandise before is destroyed." He smirked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, clutching the side of my dress to hide my shaking hands. Just being around this mas was bringing up frightening memories. If he remained near me for one more minute was sure I was going to breakdown.

"No matter who you hang out around, Thalia, there will always be someone after you. The Ronans aren't the only ones who fancy you now. They have enemies. Enemies who would love to exploit their weakness. You are that weakness."

"That's enough." Corey stated, his voice deathly calm, yet violent. "Don't you have someone's boot to lick, old man?"

"If I were you, I'd watch my tone, boy. Remember your place." Jason spat. Corey scowled, but didn't respond. With a roll of his eyes, Jason was gone. My heart was still pounding in my chest and my hands were still shaking. I could still hear the sounds of gunshots firing and feel my bare feet being forced to walk across the broken glass that was on the floor that night.

"Thalia!" At the sound of Corey's loud voice, I snapped my attention to his face. It was then I realized that I must have zoned out. "Are you alright?" He asked, his voice laced with concern.

I blinked a few times before nodding. "Yeah," I began, "Yeah. I'm fine."

Why was I letting his mere presence get to me? That was exactly what he wanted, and I had just given it to him. How pathetic of me.

"I know what you're thinking." Rhys said at my side. I turned to face him, and he gave me a small smile. "It's perfectly normal to feel that scared, Tal. What he did to you was scaring. Its okay to be afraid of him." He placed his plate down and leaned down to hug me close, enveloping me in his strong arms. "Just know you're not alone anymore. You have us to keep you safe, okay?"

I stood still for a few heartbeats, not quite sure what to do, but slowly, I wrapped my arms around him and accepted the hug, not even realizing how tears were streaming down my cheeks.

He pulled away and smiled kindly at me. I wiped my tears and smiled back.

"Excuse me." An all to familiar voice called out from behind me.

I turned around to meet Caesar's green eyes and he smiled down at me.

"I'd like to borrow her for a hot minute."

"We'd feel a lot more comfortable if we stayed with her." Corey replied.

Caesar's smile melted and for a moment, his face showed pure unbridled rage. "Are you defying me?" He demanded. "Because if so, that's no going to end too well for you boys."

Corey and Rhys shared a look before stepping back. They had no choice in all honesty. Caesar grabbed my forearm roughly but kept his smile on his face. "Thank you." He said, pushing me in front of him.

I allowed him to lead me wherever and I looked around the room. Everyone had their eyes on me. Caesar leaned down and whisper. "Play along, doll and I won't hurt you."

"W-what?" I asked, my voice still shaky from my encounter with Jason.

"Just shut up." He said, pulling out a pistol and pressing it into my temple. I instantly stiffened up and my first instinct was to scream, but then Leo's words traveled to my mind.

"Please promise me."

I gulped and forced my lips shut. I couldn't show any emotions. That wouldn't help anything. I remained passive.

Once we had made it to the center of the room, Caesar dramatically turned around with a grin. "Now, we get to the good part!" He called out.

Peter instantly cursed out loud and Leo grabbed his forearm to hold him back.

"Let me go, Leo!" He exclaimed.

"I can't do that Peter. You need to calm down first."

"HE HAS A GUN TO HER HEAD! THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I'M CALMING DOWN!" Peter yelled.

"Ronans," Caesar began, drawing everyone's attention. "I have a proposition for you! I'm sure you'll like it." Caesar pressed the gun harder into my temple and I gritted my teeth, hoping that my face was as passive as I was willing it to be.

"What's the proposition, Caesar?" Leo asked calmly as he tightened his grip on Peter's arm.

"I've grown attached to Thalia here," He said brushing a strand of hair out of my face with the gun. "How about you leave her here with me and I let you all go on with your lives." His eyes met Peter's and he smirked. "I'm sure Peter can find a new toy."

Peter scowled at Caesar and Leo mumbled something to him to keep him calm.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to decline that offer, sir." Leo stated. "Thalia is one of us now. Isn't that what this whole celebration was about?"

"Oh please! You're acting as though you intended to make her an actual member of your mob. How cute." I heard the gun click and it took every ounce of willpower in my body not to jump at the noise. "Care to reconsider?"