***Trevor Bane***

Cutter walks into his office out of breath. "What do you want Trevor?" I watch him walk behind his desk and sit down before talking.

"I would like to speak to Alice." He looks down at papers, ignoring my request. "I could go walk to her room right now."

"You wouldn't find her there." He says and I furrow my brow.

"Where is she then?" Cutter sighs and looks up at me crossing his arms over his desk.

"She willingly took punishment for separating from the gang. She is currently chained up in a cell. You can see her in three days when her  punishment is over." My eyes widen and Cutter stares at me.

"She's an active member of the gang?" Cutter laughs, expecting me to laugh too I guess.

"Wait, she didn't tell you?" He says slowly. "Oh this is too good." A sardonic smile forms on his face.

He starts to laugh again and I get irritated. "What am I missing here?" I ask and he quiets down.

"She was my enforcer." I shrug my shoulders and he smiles evilly. "I sent her to get information on you. She was my little puppet, until you ruined everything. Somehow my most loyal member turned into my biggest hater. She literally held a gun up to my head." He laughs at the last part.

"You mean to tell me that the entire time she was with me, she lied?" He nods his head and leans back in his chair. Anger grows in my chest and I clench my fists. "I trusted her." I say through closed teeth.

"I did too. Girls like her can't be trusted. They tell lies and weave tales to get what they want." His calm composure only pisses me off more.

"Was she even promised to you?" I ask angrily.

"Of course not. I keep my business and personal life separate." Everything was a lie, a huge lie that I fell for.

"I'd like to speak with her." I say, putting on a calm face, while my insides want to rip everything apart.

"She is most likely passed out in her cell by now." He says  nonchalantly.

"I don't care. I have business with her that I would like to deal with now. Not three days from now." My fists are set at my sides and I know I'm getting out of control again.

Cutter notices the tense anger surging through me and sighs before nodding. "Fine, but only for a short time." He stands and walks, allowing me to follow.

We go down into an underground warehouse of sorts. There are tons of weapons on site, and I make note of that. He leads me down a dark tunnel and stands in front of a metal door. "You've got ten minutes. Any more and I lock you in there with her." I nod my head at him and he opens it. There's no light, so I pull out a pocket flashlight.

Directly in the middle of the room is a passed out, hanging and naked, Alice. All the anger I had aimed at her dissipates and I rush to her. "Alice, wake up baby." Her body is dangling from a set of chains and she looks dead. I try to lift her, but she cries out in pain. I quickly remove my hand from her back and notice it's wet. Shining my flashlight on my hand I see red sticky liquid, blood. Quickly I look at her back and see hundreds of straight cuts in her back. It's now that I notice a whip on the floor, drenched in blood, which I'm guessing is hers.

"Alice." I say it almost as a whisper. Who cares that she lied? Obviously she chose me instead of him. She has set up this entire plan to take him down, and took a beating.

I pull my phone out of my back pocket and call James. "Change of plans. You're leading the attack tonight. I'm getting Alice out. When you have Cutter alive, tell me. I'm killing him myself."

"I thought you wanted to give him to your father?" He asks me.

"A body is a body, dead or alive. He beat my baby. I'm finishing him myself." I end the call and carefully lift Alice. The chains are wrapped around her wrists and I slowly untwist them. She falls against me and I hold her, her back away from me.

"Trevor." Her voice is harsh and raspy, but it's hers.

"I've got you baby." She tries to stand, but can barely hold her own weight.

"I have to tell you something." She sounds out of breath, and definitely in pain.

"Is it that you're his enforcer?" She nods. "And that your original plot was to take me down?" She looks up to me scared.

"At first it was, but then I learned the truth and I couldn't just blindly follow Cutter. Not when I knew he had lied to me about so much." Her hands grab mine and she tries to stand.

I grab her waist to steady her and she takes deep breaths. "There are things I haven't told you too, but that isn't as important. I can tell you later. For now, I need to clean you up and get you dressed." I look around and the room is barely lit by the crack under the door. There's a small sink in the back of the room and I slowly walk her over to it. "Come here." I gently lift her up and onto the small counter.

My shirt would work to clean her, but she needs to wear that. Instead I walk around the room looking for cloth. Nothing. She is still seated on the counter, eyes closed. I can't stand seeing her look so down. Cutter locked the door minutes ago, so now we're stuck here.

"There isn't any cloth I can use. You have to wear my shirt and I have to keep my pants." I walk up to her and she shudders from the cold.

"Are you wearing underwear?" I look down and back up to her.

"Well yeah, of course, but-" she cuts me off.

"Use them." I don't move and she sighs. "They're clean, right?"

"Yeah?" I watch her not sure whether to be disgusted or curious.

"They will be fine then. These are starting to burn. They need to be cleaned." I nod and strip. If it has to be done, it has to be done.

She stays quiet as I lightly clean her back. I can smell the blood and she hisses every now and then. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." We're quiet as I clean her back. When I finish, I hand her my shirt then pull on my pants, without the underwear. "We're locked in, aren't we."

It isn't a question, but I nod anyways. "Cutter gave me ten minutes, and that's definitely passed. Unless you know a way out, we're stuck here for a while."

She tries to put on my shirt, but can't lift her arms above her head. "Damnit." I walk in front of her and she looks at me. "My shoulders are dislocated."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" She shrugs and curses at herself. "Alright. I can get them back in, but it will hurt, badly."

She deadpans and rolls her eyes. "My arms have been dislocated before Trevor." I raise my hands then grab her shoulder.

There is a loud crack and her eyes shut and she clenches her teeth. "You good?" She nods and I do the next one. Her eyes stay shut and she holds my arm tightly. "I'm right here."

A few seconds later her eyes open and she takes a deep breath. "I swear, when I see Cutter, he better hope I don't have a gun."

"Oh, don't worry. James is saving him for me." She nods before holding onto the edge of the counter. She shoves herself off and into me with a grunt. "Take it slow. We have time." My arms  go around her shoulders and she lays her head on my chest.

***James***

"A body is a body, dead or alive. He beat my baby. I'm finishing him myself." The line cuts off and I look at the phone in my hand. It's nearly eleven. All of the men are in the house preparing to leave. They all know that this may be the last day for some of them, but that's what they signed up for.

I watch as the hustle and bustle steadily flows through the house. "Meeting in the training building for all fighters, ten minutes." I say over the intercom.

I can't believe Cutter would beat her. Why would he do that? Is he an idiot? Trevor said he'd be back for her.

I think about Alice, and how she was in the beginning and before she left. She is definitely a puzzle. The fact that she could dissolve Trevor so quickly, it's baffling. Trevor says no to hookers, good girls, bad girls, nerds, any girl. I guess you never stop loving someone, even when you think they're dead.

I find myself in the center of the training facility, surrounded by my comrades. "Where's Trevor?" Someone asks over the crowd.

A murmur begins through the crowd and I raise a hand. "Trevor is already inside. I am taking control of the invasion tonight." Arguments bubble up around me and I wait patiently for everyone to stop. "His girlfriend is inside that house, currently in the grasp of Cutter and his men. Trevor is retrieving her."

"Trevor doesn't fall for anyone!" Everyone agrees and even I nod.

"She's his childhood love." The room is so silent that you can hear a pin drop. "She is actually the reason we are invading tonight. She gave us an in." Thankfully, no one tries to argue and I move on. "Tonight isn't going to be a cake walk. Some of you may die, I may die. This is what we came here for. We all would give our lives for Trevor, and he would do the same for us." People nod and I nod too. "Trevor wants Cutter alive. Anyone with a gun is free range, but no one else is to be hurt."

I put my fist in the air. "Tonight, we fight. If we die, we pray we die a hero's death and join our fellow warriors in Valhalla."

Everyone punches their hands in the air and does a battle cry.

"We move out in an hour!" I leave the room, and the screaming.

"James!" I hear my name and turn around to see Chris, a teenager eager to join, run up to me. "I want to join. You need all the hands you can get."

"Yea, skilled hands. You're a kid. Trevor would kill me if I let you fight, and you know it." He groans but runs to keep up with me when I walk off.

"Please? I don't need to fight. Give me a job that doesn't require a gun." I turn back to him, seeing the hope in his eyes. I can't keep saying no to him.

"Fine. You can stay and watch the cars." He perks up, but I hold up a finger. "With the dogs." Chris physically crumples, and I laugh. "You wanted to help." He nods, straightening up.

Chris places his hand against his forehead in a salute. "Yes sir."

Without another word, I turn and walk out of the building and back to the heads of the family room.

As soon as the door opens, I'm met with a chilly atmosphere. "So where is my son, James?" I sit in my seat, quiet.

"He's inside Cutter's house, waiting." I can't tell him that his son went to save a girl. He'd be livid, and take it out on me considering I'm the only one here.

"And how did he manage that?" Trevor's father thrums his fingers on the table impatiently.

I can't say anything without telling him. He'll immediately know his son was fixed on getting a girl out. Most dads would be thrilled that their son found a woman, but not this father. He'd call her a distraction and tell him to get rid of her before she starts having kids.

"Cutter has something of Trevor's, and Cutter can't deny him it." I hold my breath, hoping he doesn't catch on.

He stares at me for a second, contemplating if I'm telling the truth. "Do you know what this thing is?" His steely gaze attempts to cut through me, but working with Trevor has made me immune to deadly looks.

"You'll find out when Trevor and I get back. I have to leave soon with the fighters." He nods his head, agitated, but he knows that he can't force anything out of me.

"Alright, fine." He leans back in his chair, watching me. "Tell my son I want to meet this girl of his."

I hadn't said anything about a girl. "How did yo-"

"James, I've been a single father for a while now. Nothing distracts my son from what he wants to do, or has to do, but if a woman comes into the picture then there's no telling what he'd do to protect her."

"You talk as if you'd know about this sort of thing." I say to him.

"And maybe I do." He's perfectly still, the image of a statue.

There's a knock on the door and it pulls me from my thoughts. "Yes? What is it?" I call through the door.

"We're leaving sir. I thought you'd want to know."

"I'll be out shortly. Give me a minute." I hear footsteps walk away. "Your son and I will be back shortly." I stand from my seat and walk to the door, hearing nothing from the man behind me.