Chapter 7

<Gavin Forrester>

"I can't believe you stopped her from leaving. Gavin, she was going to leave and we weren't going to get caught. She was going to make sure of that." Blaze fumes the next day at breakfast.

Blaze had been so excited when he walked into the kitchen this morning because he thought that Victoria was gone. His mood had instantly deflated when he saw Victoria sitting next to me, sipping on a mug of coffee and smiling.

Thankfully, Victoria is back in our room now, putting on some lounge clothes because last time Blaze talked about her, she almost left.

"Blaze, I love her. Why can't you understand that? I didn't let her go because it's not her problem to solve. I got involved in Talon's business. I shot him and Mrs. Grayson. I was put in Attica and I escaped. If anyone should be solving the problem, it's me." I cross my arms, my shoulders tensing up when I talk about Talon.

Shooting him was the most satisfied I'd felt in the last ten years. Watching that bullet go through his body and the red blood staining his clothes was my version of revenge. Having power over him, making him feel what it's like to lose their life stirred some feeling deep inside of me; it made me feel at peace. It made me feel like I'd amended the wrongs I'd done of killing random people for Talon by putting a bullet through him. Of course, now I know that those wrongs can never be amended but putting Talon through hell sure felt damn close to making the score even.

"Gavin, she wanted to help you out. Why couldn't you just let her do that?" Blaze asks in an exasperated tone.

"I'm not letting her leave because you were being an ass to her. She doesn't have to solve this problem for us, we're professionals. We can survive a few months inside until the cops have deemed our case cold."

"I don't think you understand this, her dad is the damn NYPD police chief. If she'd gone then he'd be off our backs because he'd have his precious kid back. Why couldn't you have just let her go? We all know you'd find her again anyway." Blaze grunts and gives me a harsh look.

"And what if I didn't? What if she got killed by Talon or by some freak accident? What if she married someone else? What if I could never find her because she went into witness protection and changed her name? I would never be able to live with myself if she got hurt in any way because she left for me. I'd never forgive myself if I lost her." I mutter in an increasingly angry tone.

"Fine, let's stop talking about it because whether I like it or not she's here to stay. I don't want to be at your throat all the time. We're all in this mess and we're all going to get out of it, together." Blaze holds out his hand and I grab it.

"Together." I give him a forgiving smile as we both take a sip of our coffee.

~~~~~

It's been three and a half months without the cops having a lead. The media has moved on to other exciting stories where the investigation is actually going somewhere. The world seems to have moved on and my friends and I are beginning to move on too. We haven't left the house since Blaze and I fought the day after Victoria didn't leave.

We decided it'd be best if we actually gave the cops and the world time to move on without us constantly stirring the pot. So far, Jeffrey has been the only one to see the outdoors in over three months and that was only for food so we'd all live. I know better than to think that the cops have moved on but at the moment, the lack of attention on us feels nice.

Currently, Victoria is getting her hair re-dyed by Jeffrey in the hall bathroom as she has been doing every month since the first time it was dyed. It's gotten easier for her to see red hair in the mirror but I don't think she's enjoying it. Slick and I have also continued to dye our hair but it doesn't do much to change our appearance; mine in particular since I was a brunette before the dye job. I've brainstormed some ideas about how to alter my appearance and stay under the radar but so far my only idea has been tattoos and piercings to turn myself into some hardcore punk guy.

When I told Victoria that idea she chuckled and told me that she thought tattoos were a complete turn on. While that's all nice and everything, there are two things stranding in the way of me getting a tattoo makeover. One being money because I am not wasting any of our scarce money on a makeover and two being the fact that I hate needles and wouldn't to pay to have some random person stick one through me.

I walk down that hallway to the bathroom where Victoria is getting her hair touched up. I knock on the door and Jeffrey opens it with a pair of red stained rubber gloves. Victoria smiles as I come in and shut the door behind me.

"How's it going, babe?" I grin at Victoria whose hair is coated in a gloppy red paste.

"Same as usual." She shrugs.

I lean up against the bathroom counter and pick up a comb that hasn't be coated in the blood looking substance. I run it through my hair and turn around to look in the mirror. I bite my lip and try to decide how best to alter my appearance, then I spot Jeffrey's razor.

"Hair grows back I guess." I pick up the electric razor and turn it on.

"As long as you don't shave off all of your hair. I don't need to be dating an egghead." Victoria pokes out her tongue at me as Jeffrey rinses the dye from her hair.

"Oh c'mon. I could shave yours too and then we'd match." I pout and bring the razor a couple of inches away from from her head.

She yelps and jerks away from me. I laugh and turn back towards the mirror. I bring the razor to the left side of my head. In one quick move, I take off the hair on the left side of my head. The rest of my overgrown, scraggly hair is now flipped over to the right side and if I do say so myself, I look damn good. I run the comb through my hair and continue to admire my new appearance. I turn towards Victoria with a smirk.

"As if you couldn't get more cocky and attractive." Victoria rolls her eyes as I come near her.

"This is only the beginning, honey." I whisper in her ear, letting each word out in a breathy tone.

"Quit being lovey dove-y and making this room unbearable." Jeffrey shakes his head as he shoves Victoria towards the sink.

I sigh and walk out of the bathroom when I hear Blaze calling for me.

"Gavin, get out here! There's a headline that will make your day." Blaze shouts as I stroll down the hallway.

"This better not be about the royal baby; despite common views, a baby I will never get to meet does not interest me." I cross my arms as I come into the living room.

"Don't worry, I didn't even know there was a royal baby so, you're spared from that." Blaze chuckles as the news comes back on. "Sit down, they're getting to the good stuff."

I take a seat next to him and turn my head towards the TV just as the news comes back on. A woman wearing the wrong color of foundation, blue eye shadow and the biggest false eyelashes I've ever seen begins to talk about the search for my friends and I. She fidgets with her overly tight pantsuit as she continues.

"This morning the FBI has released a statement saying that as of now, due to the fact that there are no plausible leads to go off of, they are halting the investigation of Gavin Forrester who escaped from Attica Correctional Facility in New York a few months ago. Until further evidence arises, the case has now been deemed cold. This is the quickest the FBI has ever deemed a case cold which calls into question the fact that the NYPD police chief's daughter is believed to be on the run with the criminal. This could mean that Chief Grayson wants to negotiate with his daughter for her return home. Whatever the case, the investigation will no longer be of top priority." The woman continues on but the buzzing in my ear helps me to tune her out.

I'm free, for now at least...

Blaze claps me on the back and brings me back to reality.

"Congrats man, you were right. We're basically free and Victoria didn't have to leave." Blaze winks as he stands up to go back to the kitchen.

I'm still sitting shell-shocked on the couch, unable to believe that the case has gone cold this fast. I've been on the run for about four months and they've already stopped looking for me. This isn't right; this has Talon written all over it.

I don't know how and I don't know why but Talon steered the cops in the opposite direction of me. I made it very clear to him that I wanted him dead, why does he insist upon staying in my life? Why can't he just leave me alone? My disposable phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, afraid to see who's texting me.

Never say I didn't give you anything.

-Ainsley

The little she-demon found my disposable phone number. So, much for not being found. I stand up and grab the Jeep keys and some money out of the coffee can in the kitchen.

"I need some air. I'll bring lunch home." I mutter and walk out of the front door without saying anything else.

I get in the front seat of the Jeep, slipping a pair of sunglasses over my eyes in the process. I turn the key in the ignition and drive away. I didn't lie about needing air but confronting Ainsley about her text was more at the forefront of my mind than the air. I continue to drive until the town comes into view. I pull into a park behind some restaurant and I dial the number Ainsley texted from. After ten seconds of ringing, she picks up the phone.

"Hello, my pet." She coos, an obvious attempt to annoy me.

"Are you sure you aren't related to Talon? I mean you guys are both assholes and love to taunt people who can kill you. You guys are basically twins." I say in a faux-happy tone.

"Very funny, why did you call me on this lovely day?" Ainsley's voice is sarcastic, telling me that whatever I have to say doesn't concern her very much.

"I need to talk to you face to face. Be at the jewelry store in an hour." I look around town and locate the jewelry store before checking the dashboard clock to make sure of the time she'd be here.

1 P.M.

"Are you tired of Victoria already? I was really rooting for you guys to make it through to the end." Ainsley chuckles without a trace of concern in her voice.

"Adorable, just come or I'll find you and I'll strangle you." I mutter in a threatening tone.

"Don't strangle the person that got the cops off of your back. I'll be there, but I'm a busy woman so you better make this quick." With that she hangs up, leaving me to my thoughts for an hour.

~~~~~

After my phone call with Ainsley, I decided to go to the jewelry store and get an earring since I don't have enough money or patience for a tattoo. I walk in and the man from when I went shopping with Victoria is standing behind the counter. He smiles when he sees me.

I walk up to the counter and ask him about ear piercing. He nods and takes me to a back room where there's a chart of earring choices and packages of needles for the purpose.

"Choose your earring while I go and get my someone who will pierce your ears." The man pats my shoulder and then leaves me alone in the room.

I look over the chart and decide on a pair of plain black earrings just as the man comes back in with a woman who looks to be a few years younger than me. She has blue hair and at least six piercings on each ear. After I finish looking her over, my eyes come back to her face which is smiling.

"My name is Vera." She continues to smile as she searches for some forms in a filing cabinet.

"I'm Hunter." I bite my lip, glad I remembered to give my alias instead of my real name.

"Cool name, sweetie. Please sign here, here and here." She hands me the forms and points out where exactly I need to sign.

"Don't worry, they're just liability and permission." She smirks when she notices my apprehension at signing.

I sign quickly and thrust them back at her.

"Somebody is eager to get this done. You'll be here awhile unless you want me to pierce your ears off-kilter." Vera chuckles as she begins to pull out supplies.

"Take all the time you need; it'll be the highlight of your day." I wink and sit up straight in the chair.

"A cocky pig, my favorite type of customer." She rolls her eyes as she puts on rubber gloves and grabs a pen from a cup on the nearby table.

"I'm taken, I just love to annoy people." I lean back, the smirk never leaving my face.

"Well, you've achieved your end goal then, I guess." Vera walks closer to me and places her hand at the base of my neck to straighten me up even more.

She uncaps her pen and looks at my ears so she can line up the piercings properly.

~~~~~

It's been about half an hour of me sitting in this chair and waiting for Vera to actually pierce my ears.

"Are we almost done?" I sigh as she corrects the position of the pen dots once more.

"Yes," Vera smirks as she puts the cap back on her pen.

She loads the piercing gun and then checks the positions once more. I hold in my breath as she brings the gun close to my ear. Vera bites her lip as she puts the gun right on my ear lobe.

"Ready?" She asks, her eyes fully focused on my ear.

"Whenever you are." I mutter, finally releasing my breath.

There's a slight pinch as the earring pierces through the skin on my ear lobe.

"Just one more ear." Vera chuckles as she re-loads the gun and goes through the same process as before. "Damn it,"

"What?" I ask, my heartbeat speeding up just a tad.

"They're off-kilter." Vera shakes her head as she hands me the mirror.

"You're kidding, right?" I glare at her as I look in the mirror hastily.

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding in when I see that the earrings are perfectly positioned in the middle of my ear lobes.

"You were scared there for a second, weren't you?" Vera smirks as she cleans up her supplies.

"I know who won't be getting a tip today." I set down the mirror and give her a smirk of my own.

"Very funny," Vera rolls her eyes and hands me a receipt. "You pay at the counter."

"Thank you," I set down some money on the table near her and walk back out to the main area of the store.

The man is standing behind the counter, looking very bored while flipping through a magazine. I hand him my receipt and he rings up the price on his cash register.

"Anything else for you?" He asks in his thick accent.

"Nope," I grin and wait for him to state the price.

"Twenty two," He traces his mustache with his finger while he waits for me to hand him the money.

I pull two twenties from my pocket and slide them across the counter to him. He gives me my change and a receipt.

"Pleasure doing business with you." He waves as I walk out the door.

I lean up against the window outside and wait for Ainsley to arrive. I see her brunette head bobbing down the street as if she's in a really good mood. Once she reaches me, she stands right next to me, deliberately as close as possible.

"What's up, buttercup?" She chuckles and takes her sunglasses off so I'm able to see her soulless, devil eyes.

"What the hell did you tell the cops?" I grimace and stare her straight in the eye.

"What no thank you? I think I deserve a thank you for getting them off of your back." Ainsley pouts but that quickly changes back into a smirk.

"You deserve to get strangled but that's beside the point. Tell me what you told the cops, word for word." I whisper in case there's anyone listening in.

"They said the case went cold because they had no leads for 3 months. How could I have been leading them on for three months?" Ainsley places her hand over her heart in mock surprise.

"You work for Talon." I state and stare at her blankly.

"Is that your answer to everything?"

"It answers all of my questions about why you're so messed up." I cross my arms and wait for her response.

"Thanks, your compliment really warms my heart but in all seriousness, Talon did send me to tip off the cops with fake leads; that's been my job for three months. I've used multiple disposable phones and many voice disguising programs so they'd never catch on that the same person was calling their anonymous tip line. As for what I told them, I sent them on a wild goose chase all over the world to find places that no one's ever heard of and people that don't exist. First I sent them to Australia and then to Hong Kong and then to Russia; you get the picture don't you?"

"Yes, but why'd you do that? You want something out of me, don't you?" I narrow my eyes and take a step away from her.

"Wow, Gavin, what's you're IQ again? That took you much longer than I thought it would." Ainsley shoves my arm playfully and then continues talking. "Yes, in fact I do want something from you."

"What could you possibly need from me?" I ask with a skeptical look.

"I want to take down Talon."

What. The. Hell. Did those words just come out of her mouth?

"A few months ago you were raving about how he was such a genius and now you want to take him down? That just doesn't add up..." I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow at her, not trusting any words that come out of her mouth.

"I've been wanting to take him down for a while. A few months ago, when I was raving about how he was a genius, it was to test you to see if you'd actually be the right one to help me. Also, Talon did send me on the mission to get the cops off of your back but that was 'cause he wanted to torture you himself; I didn't do that of my own accord."

Then why should i be giving you something in return?

"Why should I believe you? I don't want to have anything to do with Talon anymore." I continue to glare at her, hatred being the dominant emotion in my eyes.

"Yes, you do. You're mad that he's still out there, living and breathing. You want to be the one who makes him take his last breath, you want to be the one to kill him. Help me and I'll make sure that honor is reserved just for you." Ainsley tries her best to convince me but I'm not buying into it.

"Prove to me that you want to take him down."

"I'll give you building plans to his new hideout, complete with detailed notes on how to get in and out and the location of every security camera and trap he has set. I'll even provide you the schedule of his security guards." Ainsley lets out a deep breath and gauges my reaction.

"How do I know you won't alert him and tell him to change locations?" I raise an eyebrow at her, slightly warming up to the idea.

"I'll give you my cuff, because as of now, I no longer work for Talon Tenebris; I work against him." Ainsley slips her cuff off of her wrist and hands it to me. "Come with me to my car and I'll give you the file with detailed notes and maps of his new hideout."

"Why'd you come prepared with that if you didn't even know I was going to agree?"

"I'm forced to bring it with me everywhere." She mutters as we come to her car.

She pulls out her keys and unlocks the doors before opening the passenger's side door. Ainsley pulls out a rather large file and hands it to me. It's tattered along the edges and is labeled with Talon's signature cryptic number system. I hold it close to me body and then stick my hand out towards her.

"I guess we're in business then." I smirk as she grabs my hand.

"I guess we are." She walks around the car to the driver's side and gets in. "One more thing,"

"What?" I chuckle as I come over to the driver's side window.

"You can't tell Victoria about this; I don't want her involved. This is just between us, okay? She doesn't need to be hurt." Ainsley taps her fingers on the steering wheel as she waits for my confirmation.

"I wouldn't dream of it." I wink and begin to walk back towards the restaurant where I parked the Jeep, my head still spinning from what just happened.