Chapter 24

Waiting for someone to answer Jackson's knock, it took maybe a total of 20 seconds. In that time, it allowed us to pause in our rushed objective. Some of you might think that those seconds would have helped settle me down. Well, whoever think that are idiots. 20 seconds of waiting gave me 20 seconds to think everything over. It wasn't a good thing because my concerns, worries, and stressors multiplied to the point where it hurt my 'slutty' self.

I was in a building full of killers that dedicated their lives to locate me. Our future success counted on how this goes. Somehow, I needed to act cool and calm. It was extremely hard because I was already nervous from the moment we walked through the door of this screwed up establishment.

I didn't think my anxiety could have gotten worse than that but it did a few minutes ago. A man recognized us. It's what I have been worried about all night and it happened!  It happened despite my blonde hair and Jackson's plastered face.  What if that happens again? What if this Vic recognizes me? Unlike in the bar, it was brighter up here, which might have been what contributed in us being recognized. That only made my need to hide my face increase.

Even worse, what if someone goes into the men's room and sees the dead body and the girl? What if someone started looking for them? What if the girl woke up? What if she managed to break away from the fishnet I used to tie her hands and cover her mouth? A body weighing on her would not stop her for long!

With all that, imagine how fine fucking dandy I was feeling! Jesus Christ. All I wanted was out at this point and to do that effectively, it meant acting calm. That was going to be key and I had to pull it off just as well as Jackson. Then again, he didn't have a skirt squeezed around him and riding up his ass. Composing myself just in time, the door squeaked open.

Standing before us was a man as tall as me if not a little shorter. Facial hair carefully trimmed around his chin and under his nose made up for his distinctive height. Matching brown hair lying flat on his head and around his ears, the man appeared scruffy as well as professional. He had black slacks on, contrasting with his plain white dress shirt. It was hard to grasp that this man, Vic, was one of the higher ups who held contact with Reid. Who was put in charge by Reid to find me for him.

His dark brown eyes appeared mature when they fell on us, offering nothing but a blank gaze. He looked between us slowly, saying nothing yet. I can imagine that seeing my clothing choice gave him enough of a clue.

"Are you Vic?" Jackson asked after a few more silent seconds, needing to get this show on the road. I had to give Jackson credit once more for how calm he was acting. Facing Vic was daunting to me.  With the lighting and his presence, I felt like at any second, he was going to figure us out.

"Yes," he said. Expression not changing, he gestured for us to come in. As he shut the door behind us, I could feel his eyes on me. Whether that was a good thing for our cause or not, it made my body tense. This wasn't some guy at the bar. This was the guy, the one we were here for. The one who Reid put in charge to find me. The man who led his workers to follow and keep tabs on Luke. The one that could lead us back to Reid. And apparently, the one that also invested his riches in anything other than his work space.

Don't get me wrong; his office was very nice and spacey when I took it in. It was big, with a red couch and a glass coffee table along the far right wall. The floors were polished wood and looked new. He had file cabinets along the wall of the door we walked through too. What caught my interest the most though was his big cherry desk. It was the central piece of furniture in the room too, sitting in front of the back wall. And that back wall... was a big wall of glass, made up of about 12 windows. That was going to be our key out of here.

However, for a man who was rich and had polished furniture, his taste was sure different. Not only was his back wall completely windows, his three other walls were wood paneling. Paneling that supported several framed documents and maps I noticed. Pictures of exposed women were hung up among the documents too. Yes, I know! How very classy. That wasn't it either.  There were shelves all around us too, supporting an interesting collection of snowmen figurines. The dude even had a bear skin rug spread out on the floor by his file cabinets. You can all bet your ass that when I apply at this place, I'm decorating my office exactly like this! Jesus, what a character. Looking around at everything put me more on edge. This was a very interesting person, a very specific one, and someone I realized we needed to be careful with.

"Usually I expect visitors," he said, snapping my attention back. Glancing over to him, he did the same and met my eyes from where he stood beside me. He continued holding that blank face, not making me feel confident at all. The only change came when he flashed me a tense smile, and even then I had no idea how to read that. 

"I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience. I know you have a business to run," Jackson said, coming to stand before him, attracting Vic's gaze from me. He looked more relaxed at Jackson's casual tone and carefree smile. His eyes through the blue contacts looked genuine too as he spoke to Vic. "My name is Frank and I am a business man myself. This is my... Cindy. We don't mean to hold you up, but I wanted to make you a special offer," he smirked, looking over to me.

Cue my seductive smile up to shorty. Honestly, it wasn't too hard to do. This guy wasn't coming across as a pig – yet. Not to mention, I was motivated to get this thing rolling.  I wanted to be done with tonight.  The weight of everything at stake was becoming too much to handle. Biting my lip and smiling over to him, I could only pray he would take the bait. 

Thankfully, he did.  The man looked amused but definitely interested once he followed Jackson's eyes to me, the 'special offer.'  Immediately, his view of me changed.  I wasn't just some girl but a girl who might have the potential to please him.  It put me more at ease, especially when I was worried about our cover being blown.

"I see," Vic said curtly, searching my eyes. The smile he flashed earlier came back, except it was more relaxed. "Well, this is a nice surprise. I could use some company.  What exactly is it you are offering?"

Jackson answered for me, almost immediately. "Hopefully, exactly what you want," he said with a half joking smile.

Vic didn't look amused when his eyes found Jackson's. He gave him a tight smile. "I was asking the girl, if that's alright?" He glanced back to me. "What can you do for me?"

My heart jumped on instinct. I knew I should be ready for crap like this.  Not pausing for more than two seconds, I put my sickening act back to work. With a flirty expression trying to coax his blank one, I moved closer to him. "Anything you want, I am willing to give," I smiled. "I heard you're a man that likes aggressive girls," I said, running my hand down his arm and shimmying closer. Thanks to Carter giving us some insight regarding his tastes, hopefully that would make Vic buy our act.

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued.  "Where did you hear that from?"

"Other women," I said with a flirty grin. Inside though, I began freaking out more. I needed to sell this perfectly and was scared what other, more specific questions he might ask.

His expression showed more skepticism than interest now, making my heart want to sink.  "Other women?" he asked, smiling slightly with a sign of amusement in his eyes.  I hoped mine didn't show signs of panic. 

"Yeah, I'm familiar with a lot of the girls that would come here for... a long term visit. They said it makes them feel more safe and comfortable, being with the same man longer. So... I thought that could be something I could do," I said in a small voice up to him, trying to goad him in. Biting my lip, I looked down and smiled. "I like getting... rough. I heard you liked that too and I think that's hot," I said, blushing. And trust me, I didn't need to try blushing either.

His expression didn't change much. But when he looked away from me and up to Jackson, he smiled slightly.  It started to become clear that he believed us.  "One of kind. I like her. How is she?"

Glancing to Jackson, with him meeting my eyes, I actually saw him look a little uncomfortable, which was surprising. He hid his disgust at least and smiled back to Vic. "She's good. She doesn't have limits and has enough confidence to put you out of work," he smiled in humor, looking back down to me. "I've tested her. She will go as far as you want her to."

Shorty didn't respond. Instead, his eyes studied me again, my body and face, before nodding. "I think we can make a deal. I'll need you Frank to sign an agreement on the time and conditions that best suit both our needs," he said, grinning and looking between us.

"Good man," Jackson said, smiling.

"I'd be a fool to give up this opportunity, especially since I was apparently well recommended to Cindy," he said as he turned, walking towards his desk. "Take a seat on the couch and I will be with you both in a moment."

Jackson and I were breathing easier now. Well, for maybe a fraction of a minute. Walking over to the couch, we noticed a few things that we didn't before. One was that the glass coffee table had papers cluttered on it and the other was that there was a clock on the wall. I noticed it read that it was only 11:13 as I sat down on the couch with Jackson. My eyes were straining to not pop out of my head. Time was ticking slowly and we needed keep this conversation going until it was the right time.  When was that? I didn't know. Jackson would decide since he was the one who ended up with a gun and had a watch.  I knew we were going to have to cut it close. We don't want to end up restraining this guy for nearly 20 minutes. That would be risky; the longer we need to hold him, the bigger the chance he would try to escape. So, we needed to wait and make this exchange last. That's what was making me fidgety. I just wanted this over with! All I could look forward to was getting out of here! Luke was calling the cops at 11:25 and hopefully after that, we will be out of this shithole.

A moment later, Vic came to join us, pulling up a chair to sit across the coffee table from us. Crossing a leg and looking down at the papers he now held, he then looked up and smiled. "This shouldn't take long."

"We're in no rush," Jackson said casually, making me want to give him a pat on the back.

"I think I am," he said, looking directly at me as he said that, making my stomach turn. I kept up my flirty and wanting smiles, but it was hard.  He wouldn't stop staring at me with such lustful eyes.  It became too much and I looked down to the table. My cheeks heating, giving him the idea I was playing shy and flirty, I forced my smirk to stay put. I just couldn't handle those eyes anymore. That long stare was too much, especially now that he was throwing me those hints.

However, I wish I would have kept my eyes up.  Because right when I looked down and my eyes landed on those papers... my heart sank heavily and threatened to make me throw up.

I somehow managed to stay composed. All I did was freeze in place, which was better than what I wanted to do. As Jackson and Vic carried on, I took in a picture of Albany Higgins. The papers... they were updates, addressed to Vic with a picture of me on the side. I couldn't see any more than that but it all regarded me. It scared the absolute shit out of me too, especially seeing that my picture was facing the direction of Vic! Oh good lord!  Holy shit... we were going to get caught. He might catch on if he looks at that picture. One thing that didn't help any of this: my stupidity and what I was doing right now.

"You alright?" Vic asked, interrupting my racing thoughts and my very interested eyes on the papers and picture. Eyes flying back up to Vic and not daring to look back down, I scoffed and nodded. Oh yeah I was sure alright.... So alright, I might just shit right out of my eyes and ears!

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. Just a lot of things to think about and look forward too. This is going to be a big change from what I'm used to. I've never done anything long term like this," I said, grateful that I did the best I could in recovering. Vic didn't look phased; he just nodded. Glancing over to Jackson for a minute, giving him a smile and staying calm, I saw his eyes zeroed in on what I was looking at.  I could feel him tense next to me but that was the only sign of a change. His eyes found mine then Vic's calmly, smile lazy on his face.

"It will be a big change. She's ready for it though," Jackson nodded.

"Do you have an idea of how long you are willing to have her here?" Vic asked, getting back to business. All I could do was try to calm down. Those papers were on me, and I finally realized with horror, how everything business related had to do with me – literally. I would bet money the framed documents on the wall had to do with me. He must see my picture, think about me, all the time. It made me that much more tempted to drop my face out of his sight.  If only I could turn around and look at the clock!

Jackson, staying as calm as possible, answered right away. "However long you wish to have her. Let's give this maybe one or two weeks at first, to start to see how you like her. Then we can get back in touch, make a more solid agreement if that works for you?"

Shorty answered him smoothly, but all the while, his eyes continued flickering to me. He was clearly curious and more interested, maybe skeptical after my mistake. "That's a good idea.  Talk to Tony downstairs.  He will set you up so you won't have to go through the trouble next time."

Jackson and I both smiled at that as we continued on with a few other things Vic wanted to know. Despite still trying to calm down, I stayed listening. The most intriguing part of this deal came a few minutes later, which felt more like a few hours.

"Since this is a very private and... unique set up, things need to be settled a bit differently.  What's the usual rate you offer for an hour?" he asked, looking between the two of us.

"Around 300. Of course, that usually includes anything a customer wants." Jackson didn't hesitate in that answer. Should that make me worried about his extracurricular activities? I managed to successfully gross myself out.

"This is often tricky to sort out," he said. "This won't be going per hour. It's going to go by day. Now obviously, I won't be playing with you the entire day - most days I won't anyway," he said, looking at me. I forced myself to smirk. "I need a price per day. Now, since she will most likely be staying here, she's getting a place to live and eat. Hopefully, that will--"

Shorty was interrupted midsentence thanks to a phone ringing from his desk.  Not bothering to try to finish what he was saying, he only sighed with a tight smile.  "I'm sorry about this.  It's been a very busy day here," he said, getting up and putting his papers on the ones that were all about me.  "Excuse me for just a moment."

Busy?  Why?  Why were they busy today?  Their jobs revolved around me!  I didn't want to know what that meant; it would only drive me up a wall more.  It was hard not to already upon glancing down at the papers again.  Taking in my picture again, along with all the words and documents around it, I slowly tilted towards Jackson.  My eyes pinned on Vic, seeing him reach his desk and answer the phone, I whispered slightly.  "We need to grab these papers before we leave.  It could help."

He didn't move, didn't have a response.  He thought the only thing that would be appropriate to say in the softest whisper was, "It's 11:19.  We move at 11:23."

Taking a deep breath, staying composed with my eyes ahead, I was ready for what Jackson said.  I wanted this over with and couldn't wait until we are far away from here.  Sizing up the man who just answered the phone, I concluded it won't be too hard to restrain him.  Not only was he short, but he was also on the skinny side and didn't look too strong.

There was nothing but silence in the room besides his voice as he spoke into the phone. It made it effortless to overhear.  All that did was make me want to shit my skirt though folks.  This took a bad turn, very fast.

"When was this?" I heard him say.  Not daring to look at him anymore, I tried remaining calm and collected.  I hoped his words had nothing to do with me, but my faith in that was soon shattered.

"That was the last time she was seen?  How close, Eldago?  I need to know," he said, staring down at his desk and suddenly sounding very anxious.  If he thought he was under stress, he should see the stuff going through my head!  Hearing that, it made me tense more than I should have allowed.  I was ready to stand up and walk out as fast as I could right now!  Thankfully, before my instincts might have gotten the better of me, Jackson gripped my wrist tightly and pinned it to the red velvet couch under us. Eyes snapping over to Jackson, his face and lips were blank.  Like nothing was happening!  As if Vic wasn't receiving an update on my whereabouts this very second!  This Eldago dude might even be telling him I was last seen in this building!

"What about Prenta?" he asked next into the phone. Jesus, if I wasn't sitting here, I would be openly flipping the fuck out! What about Prenta were they talking about?  Why were they talking about him?  If there was anything worse than me getting caught here, it was Luke!  Biting down hard on my glossed bottom lip, I did what I could to remain cool.  That phone call was not helping so I didn't need to make things worse.  

Unfortunately, I realized any effort Jackson or I pitch in at this point would be useless. When I caught the man's eyes in the next moment, I knew it was over.  Holding the phone to his ear and staring at me with suspecting and curious eyes, all else blank, it was like I was already dead.  He either figured it out or suspected it was me.  I don't know what he was told but it must have been credible enough. 

"Thank you," he said simply before hanging up the phone.  Looking slowly between me and Jackson as he came back to sit before us, I could feel my heart want to fly out of my chest.  I hoped Jackson was ready to pull his fucking gun now!  He was tense too and I could feel was ready for anything.

He sat back down and when he did, he leaned towards the table and grabbed the papers he was using before.  Only now, he paused with his eyes lingering on my picture.  That picture... sold him. 

Watching with shaky nerves, seeing his eyes scan over it, a very satisfied smile made an appearance on his lips.  A satisfied, proud, and slightly amused smile that stayed there when he looked up and met my eyes.  He knew... and it was clear from the hint of surprise that hit him once he clearly saw the similarities between me and my picture.  Vic's eyes and smile were very excited without any hint of fear or panic.  It did not make things any better.

It was definitely too late to ask to go to the bathroom. "Christmas came way early this year," he said, nodding with a smile and confirming our fears.  From there... everything went to hell.

That was all Jackson needed to know it was time to act.  But just as his hand flew into his jacket to dig out the gun, Vic was ready.  He stood faster than I expected him to, hand flying behind him and retrieving a gun we didn't know he had.  Shorty had it pointed at Jackson before he could fully pull his out. "Don't fucking try," he said, taking a few steps around the coffee table and pointing it in Jackson's face.  "Give it to me."

Oh fuck, oh fucking shit fuck!  How did it escalate to this?  How the hell did he have a gun out before Jackson did?  Why did he have one on him to begin with?!  Was he just that paranoid of a prick?  Well it came in handy for him!  And it was going to be why we get screwed over.  We didn't have the time for this. Was it past 11:25?  Because if it was, it was too late and Luke would have already called the cops.  More importantly, what was going to happen to us now?

Jackson groaned, withdrawing the gun that he wasn't able to get out fast enough earlier.  He slapped it into the guy's hand, not at all looking happy.  At least he didn't look that scared; that helped me stay as calm as I could for the moment.  What also helped was the knowledge that I still had that knife Jackson slipped me.

In possession of both guns, it made Vic more comfortable.  He tucked both guns behind him and against the hem of his black pants.  Smiling with too much excitement and amazement to be normal, his eyes found mine and he didn't pause in coming over to me and hauling me to my feet.  Staring into my eyes with such interest, gripping my resisting wrist, he chuckled and shook his head.  "I've been dreaming of this for years.  Thank you."

Cover blown, I had nothing to lose. So I blurted out a fast-paced rant in his stupid face, done with everything that tonight was.  If we were failing, I wasn't going to fail silently.  "In that case, I suppose you are welcome. It's because I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry that you are so pathetic, you have been dreaming of this for years.  How shitty is that?  My life is so much more valuable than your piece of shit life, you made finding me your job.  So you are welcome, asshole.  I am honored that I managed to give your life meaning for these few seconds.  I'm so fucking glad I could!  Now go fuck yourself!" I hissed loudly in his face.

As I expected, he didn't care what I had to say.  Nothing could phase him now. "You're just as I predicted you to be from what I've heard.  It's a pleasure to see your charm in person," he said, his face now the complete opposite of earlier.  I could see the image Carter put in my head before.  This man, despite how blank and serious he was about business, he was full of chaos and craziness.  His eyes were on fire.  "We're going to have a little chat."

Now on my feet, I had no issue snapping my vision towards the clock.  The sight made my heart sink.  It was past 11:25 and Luke most likely called the cops before he knew this was happening. I would bet my ass he was as panicked as we were. Maybe even more so.  He was sitting in the alley a couple yards below that wall of windows, right now. 

"Shall we start with introductions?  My name is Vic.  You, my girl, are...?  Albany?" he said, as gleeful as any little kid would be on their birthday. 

As naturally and slowly as I could, I let my fingers brush up near my hip and the knife that was there.  With each word he spoke, I became more tempted to pull it out.  Good idea of not, we needed to get the hell out of here.  "Maybe.  Or maybe it's Cindy.  Or Morgan.  Each one of them live up to your expectations of being aggressive so keep this bullshit up.  I'm going to kick your ass," I put as simply as I could.

He voiced my only reason for not pulling out the knife.  "Go for it.  I have the guns.  I might not be allowed to seriously hurt you, but I can put a bullet in that one's head, no problem," he said, nodding towards Jackson.  Eyes back in mine, he raised an eyebrow.  "I'm honestly surprised how stupid you turned out.  For being able to hide for years, only to walk in here, it really give's credit to your reputation," he said sarcastically.  "I am surprised Prenta wasn't dumb enough to come in with you.  He's going to love to know about this."

He already knows, fucktard was the only thought in my head that wasn't scrambling.  Everything else in my brain couldn't be comprehended.  We were stuck and he was right.  He had the guns and would have no issue shooting Jackson.  Luckily for us, Luke knew about this and everything that was being said.  Thankfully, because of that, he gave us exactly what needed: a distraction.  

Before another pointless word could leave his mouth, a loud shattering sound hit our ears.  It came from around his desk, making our eyes shoot in that direction.  I could see one of the windows making up the massive wall behind his desk was clearly busted, glass shattering to the floor.  Then a second later, something hit the glass again, only this time it on a different window higher up and easier to see.  We didn't know what made the glass break, but I knew who was causing it.

Our gaze shifting over to Vic and seeing his head turned in surprise, it was all we needed. I pulled out the knife with one hand, slugging the side of his distracted face with the other.  Clearly catching him off guard, he stumbled back and away from me.  I didn't stop, knowing he was a risk despite my now stinging fist.  I went at his stumbling figure and tackled him from the side, knowing Jackson was following.

"Bitch--"

"Shut up!" I screamed down in his face from where I was towering over him, straddling his side and arm, his other arm trapped under him. Jackson raced around us and knelt down, snagging the two guns that were tucked in behind Vic and could be easily reached.  That might not have been possible if he had rolled completely on his back, but once I managed to get the blade out and put it against his neck, he wasn't moving much. 

Not taking my eyes off the not-so-excited Vic anymore, I could see Jackson standing a few feet back from my side vision, aiming the gun down at him.  "We need to go.  We have two min--"

Carter was right about these guys being unpredictable too.  Vic tilted slightly forward and that was all he needed for his once pinned hand to swing up and grip my hair.  He pulled my head roughly to the floor with him, making me grunt and lose my grip on the knife.  Before Jackson could put the gun up to his head, Vic snatched the knife and pulled my back against his chest from where we were on the floor.

"Fucker!" I screamed as he held me against him with the knife against my neck.  This was not turning out well!  Pushing aside all the issues we were facing, the biggest one flashing before me was my life.  Vic couldn't afford me dead and said so himself.  Yet, I don't think he would hesitate if his life was at risk.  The knife against my skin was tight and stinging, making me remain as still as I possibly could.

"Drop the guns.  Right now.  Next to me!  And step away," Vic hissed close to my ear, his demands aimed up to where I was staring at Jackson.  He was frozen in place with both guns helpless in his hands.  I wish he would have just shot him but that was too much of a risk.  He knew it and I for sure did too! 

Jackson slowly moved closer and set both guns on the floor, a few feet next to Vic's head.  Taking in his face as he backed up to where he stood before, Jackson was clearly conflicted. He was a strong man but even through his heavy disguise, it was clear he was worried.

He wasn't the only one worried over me though.  Not just for my life; all the possibilities were going through my head of what could happen next.  The most likely possibility seemed to be Jackson getting shot and me getting shipped to Reid.  With that all I could think, it helped make up my mind.  I wasn't going without a fight.  Even with a knife to my neck.

"Back up more," Vic barked to Jackson, having him move back until he was at the desk several feet away.  He was so focused on Jackson that his grip on the blade against my neck started to loosen.  Knife becoming more slack with each second, I realized I needed to take my chance. 

Just as he attempted to say something else to Jackson, I was in action.  The blade was hovering far enough in front of my neck for me to snap my head forward only to shove it back hard.  Smacking the back of my head into his face, causing him to lose his grip on me and grunt, I rolled away from him as fast as I could.  Groaning myself from that hurting like a bitch, I scrambled to my feet despite the dizziness.  I managed to block it out though when I saw my grand opportunity.

Vic was on the ground, cupping his face with one hand as he struggled to his knees.  Before he could even think about reaching for the guns next to him, I wasn't finished with him.  I was pissed – to the point where the guns didn't exist in my mind.  I was pissed not just at what happened but at everything.   

This man was part of the reason people were coming after us.  As far as I was concerned at the moment, he was Reid.  There was nothing that could have compelled me more at that moment to ignore the guns and charge him with intent to let it all out. I did just that too. 

The next quick few seconds happened in a rush and would be imprinted in my brain only as a fast blur of violence.  Head swarming and neck still stinging, I strode toward his hunched and kneeling body.  Kicking him in the stomach and pushing him to his back, I couldn't and didn't stop.  I let it out and it felt fucking good.  He clearly wasn't as strong as some past opponents of mine and I took full advantage of that. 

On his back and trying to quickly sit up, I didn't give him a chance.  I kicked him in the side, once then twice. It wasn't good enough!  He tried scrambling or getting up but I didn't let him get far.  I was done!  I've been done this whole night and now, I'm pissed!  He needed to pay for everything he's done.     

"Albany!  Let me handle it," Jackson said, much closer.  I kicked the man one more time before looking over to Jackson.  He was back to possessing both guns again and my knife was at his feet.   

"I am," was all I could say, coughing slightly and not letting up.  The only break Vic managed to get was when he finally stumbled to his feet, but I wasn't giving him a break.  Very rarely have I ended up in a fight with a guy where I can actually take him on.   It only gave my rage a better reason to continue. 

That's why I launched forward, not stopping, and punched him hard in the face like before.  I continued blocking out the pain but it was hard once he didn't back down.  He snapped his own fist forward after that, nailing me hard in the nose. My head was aching overwhelmingly now, as if my brain was ready to fly out of my head.  I couldn't stop myself from stumbling back.  It hurt like a bitch, making a long groan seep through my now bloody lips.  My nose was wet with blood too but this only made me angrier, more determined.  I needed to beat this guy.  He's been after me for years and now, I was given the chance to show him how fucking sick I was of it! 

Shorty managed to dodge me a few more times and even tried pinning me to the ground.  Jackson continued hovering close, wanting to intervene but he knew what this meant to me.  He knew this fight was something I personally needed since I told him to stay out of it.  I personally needed to beat this bastard.  I didn't realize that would be something I would want but there was no doubt in my mind of how terribly I wanted to hurt him.  To the point where I lost control when I tackled and pinned him, this time successfully. I put my weight into holding one of his arms down while using my knee to pin down his other arm at his side. From there, I didn't let up.

Straddling him and staring down at the bastard, I went to town on his face. I punched him again and again.  His face already clearly went through hell from me.  Blood was running from his nose and lip like mine was.  The difference was I wasn't stopping.  I punched him more until there was more blood on my fist, until I knew he would have a decent black eye, and until he gave up.  Under me, I felt very little resistance after a bit.  Even still, I kept punching him a few more times without even thinking.  All I drilled in my head was that he was the cause to all my pain.  It was my motivation to keep going as I stared down hard into his bloody face.  However, Jackson at least was in a good state of mind.  Seeing Vic was down for the count and not getting away, he stepped in and restrained my arms before I could deliver any more pain to the man's face. 

"That's enough and you did good. But we need to go!" he said, hooking both my arms in his from behind me and pulling me off the guy.  "You did enough," he said again, shoving me to my feet.  It was the first time that I could really take in what I did.  That I actually did that and didn't even let it register.

Running a shaky and most likely bloody hand up through my hair, I let out a deep sigh. I didn't like the fact that I lost control of myself to the point of my actions becoming a blur. Regardless, Jackson made it clear we had other issues.

"Hey! We need to fucking go!" he said, leaning towards me and stressing that message with his blue contacts.  He pointed to the ground and hissed.  "The cops are here!"

Sure enough, under where the heavily breathing Vic laid, I could faintly hear the crowd we faced earlier.  They were much louder now since we were able to hear them from the second floor. Not only that, but my head was clear enough now to finally hear the multiple sirens of cop cars. With that being all the push we needed, we were moving!

Not needing to restrain a man already close to half unconscious, I raced over to the glass windows.  Busting the rest of one window and another with Vic's desk lap, giving us enough room to get through, I could see down into the alley. Surprisingly enough, Luke was out of the truck and staring up at me. He already had the ladder in place up to where I broke away the glass of the windows. The rest of the alley was bare and empty besides the familiar truck. For now, that is. Any minute, the cops will be back here too.

His green eyes looked panicked upon finding mine and he quickly strode over to the ladder, gripping it tightly. I could almost hear his breath from all the way up here. "Get down, we need to go right now!" he said, voice extremely shaky. Probably because the cops were here and Luke heard everything that just happened thanks to the mics Jackson and I had on.  They did come in handy though.  Luke saved our asses by breaking the glass and distracting Vic. 

Nodding down to him, I looked behind me to see Jackson hauling Vic over his shoulder towards me.  That was all I needed to see before I eased my way to the floor and through the opening.  Moving my legs out and turning around, I made my way down the ladder as fast as I could. Jackson understood our need for urgency too and within a minute, he was in the alley too, holding Vic on his shoulder.

Running to the truck and jumping in as fast as we could, with Luke hopping in the driver's seat, we could hear the sirens more and they were loud. Jackson and Carter held up a moaning Vic in the backseat while I sat up front. I wish I could have put my head down though once I sat down. Not because I was hurt but because I didn't want to see this. The cops sounded like they were right on top of us and there was great risk of them seeing us leave! It made us all stammer out demands for Luke to go before that could happen.

"I know, I know!" he said, eyes wide and looking ahead at the end of the alleyway. Putting the truck into drive, Luke didn't even try to go slow to avoid suspicion. He pulled out of the alley and when he saw no police in sight, he floored it until we were far enough away to feel safe.

Little did any of us know about the consequences a seemingly successful night would have on us.  Consequences none of us saw coming and consequences that changed the course of everything we were trying to accomplish. Little did we know that our stunt was about to bite us hard in the ass.

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Hi everyone! I am so excited to be back and writing Isolated! And it's going to stay that way. I don't know if all of you got my message about why I haven't been able to upload for several months on end. But it was because I was working on Island Rush! I am in the process of getting it published and it took up all my time to revise it and make tons of changes to it. I'm finished working on it and now its going through the publishing process more. So these next few months or so will be exciting with many surprises for those of you interested in Island Rush! I am so glad though that I am done editing it too because I've missed writing this story so much! I apologize again for how long its been but I hope you all understand now knowing why I wasn't able to upload. I am back and will be working on uploading consistently again.

As I said from the beginning, I won't leave a story hanging. Especially not one so important and that I've put several years into. This is the final book of the trilogy and it means so much to me. I am excited to continue it and share Albany's story with you once more. I hope you all have been well and again, I am sorry. Now that I'm back I'll be uploading more and I can finally respond to comments more frequently.

Thank you all so much for sticking through with me on this trilogy. You have waited so long and stuck with me from when I started with Handcuffed. Knowing that it took years to go from there to here and to still not be done, it's wonderful to know people still are here to read and didn't stop. That means so much to me so thank you guys so very much. I couldn't feel more honored to have people like you reading my work! So please let me know what you think. I wrote these books but you guys are my audience. I would love to know what you guys think about where this book is heading! Thank you again so much!