When I woke up in the morning, I was in the same spot on the ground. The hears had dried on my cheeks, and the blood had crusted in my clothes. 

Jared hadn't come back during the night, and that sent another aching wave through my heart. 

He just needed some time to cool off, that was all. I was sure he'd be back when everything settled down. I just needed to occupy my time until then. Time. I had a lot of that now that Klarke had given me the rest of the week off. 

"Layke." My voice sounded strange in the otherwise empty, silent room. 

If I had the free time and the information, I may as well check it out. 

Isaac could have tried to set me up. It wasn't completely out of the realm of possibilities. If this Layke was what he said it was, and if these people were on Klarke's radar, the act of telling me could be enough to get him in real trouble with Klarke. Family or not, I had to assume Isaac wouldn't put himself in danger to help me. He wouldn't go down for or with me. 

Even if it was a set up, it was the only lead I had. I couldn't just sit on the information and do nothing, especially when it was what I'd set out to do when I left the country anyway. 

I sighed and got up from the floor. I took off the clothes, and threw them in the trash. I didn't want the reminder of what had happened the day before. I wanted to forget the blood, I wanted to forget the thrill as I'd made the fatal slice, and I wanted to forget the pain of Jared leaving. 

The blood on my skin had darkened. Some had flaked off when I'd peeled the clothes free. A scalding hot shower was exactly what I needed to fix everything. 

I turned on the water, letting it heat up, and I looked in the mirror. My eyes were red and sore from sleeping with the contacts in. The face I looked into didn't look like my own. I don't mean that in the sense that I'd changed, though that could very well have been part of it, but it wasn't my face. The flaming red hair bordered the same pale skin, but my eyes were so tired, and the sharp green covered my regular blue. 

I blinked a few times and battled with the contacts, working to get them out before cleaning them and placing them back in their tray. 

Even with the blue staring back at me, I didn't recognize the girl in the mirror. I'd always hated that line in books that I'd read, but standing there, seeing the emptiness that stared back, I truly understood what that meant. 

For the first time since Jared had waltzed into my life, I wished for things to go back to how they used to be. I wouldn't mind going about my life in ignorant bliss, killing supernatural creatures because I thought they were evil. At least I'd felt like I had a purpose. What was my purpose supposed to be now? I hadn't been lying when I told Isaac the only thing I was good at was hunting. I'd put my entire being into the craft when we'd been shown the door to the supernatural world. 

The steam started fogging up the mirror, and I turned back to the shower. As soon as I stepped in, the water turned pink as it streamed down toward the drain. I rubbed the soap all over, making sure every last bit was gone. 

I looked at the clock when I left the bathroom. It was just after six in the morning. I made a cup of tea hot tea and stood at the window of the bedroom. It was the first time I'd gotten the chance to look at the sun rise. I'd always slept in or been working before the sun came out. It felt different, being able to stand there and watch the new dawn approach.

 Despite all the bad things going on, and the pain I felt inside, the sky was beautiful, and it gave me a sliver of hope. That sunrise symbolized the beginning of new things. Today it was a new day, and if I followed the lead Isaac face me, it would hopefully symbolize a new start. One where I could truly step away from the clutches of The Organization.

I sipped the tea and made my way to the dresser. I was going for observation and nothing more. I didn't have any weapons on me, which could either be good, or bad. I hoped there wouldn't be a confrontation, and if there was, I hoped it was with a human and not some supernatural creature. 

I slid my hands into the pocket of the robe and looked at my clothes. Jeans would probably do. Jeans and a cotton tee. 

I towel dried my hair before running the blow dryer over it, taking my fingers through the wavy strands to help the process go a little faster. I got dressed quickly and made my way outside. 

Thankfully, we were only two blocks from a busy street, so I was able to call a cab. Jared had left with the car, and even if he hadn't, I still wasn't sure about driving on my own. 

I flagged down a cab and told them the only thing I knew. 

"Essex, please."

How in the world was I going to find the person I needed? I had no clue, and no plan what-so-ever. 

The drive was a silent one, which wasn't all that great for my mind. The night before played over and over again. I watched Jared walk out about one hundred times. Those calculated words he'd used, knowing they'd hit me where he wanted to. 

I had changed. I had just forgotten what we had come here for. And falling into old habits harder than I had before was just too easy. The only difference between doing it back then, and doing it now, was that I felt hated myself. 

I bit the inside of my cheek. I needed something to distract myself. 

I pulled the cellphone The Torch had given me for secure, reliable contact and looked through the names. Isaac Jaeger was one of the names. 

I tapped the side of the phone with my thumb while I debated what to say. They were Torch phones, which meant they could be monitored at all times. I wanted to know if Isaac had any other info for me to go off of. Anything that would give me some sort of hint as to where to start looking. 

Any advice on where I should start my free day in Essex?

I hit the send button and hoped he would understand what I meant by that. I didn't have to take long before I got something back from him. 

Their pub scene is one of the best around.

He wanted me to visit the bars. I was really hoping he'd understood what I'd meant. Otherwise I'd be trolling for bars just before eight in the morning. What a way to make yourself to look sad and lonely. 

"We're in Essex. Where'd ya want me to drop ya?" The driver asked. 

"That's the million dollar question. Is there a bar called Layke by any chance?"

"Aye. Been 'round for some time now. Just a ways further. Is that where ya headed? Ya know it's closed at this time."

I didn't miss the judgmental tone. 

"I figured it would be. Could you just drop me off near there? I know where I'm going after that."

"Can do."

He zig-zagged around and pulled up on a rather dead street. I looked out the window to the sign in front that advertised Layke's Pub. I pulled the money out of my pocket, counting through it. I paid the cabbie and hoped I'd have enough by the end of the day to get back. 

The money Jared had given me in case of emergency when we first got here was nearly gone. I was about to have a real emergency soon, and that was going to be not having money. 

"Can I have a number for when I need to get back later?"

"Aye." The driver flipped a card between his fingers, leaning over to hand it to me. It had a number to contact for a new ride. 

I thanked the man and he took off back down the road. I pulled the burner phone out of my jacket pocket. I hadn't felt it go off, but I wanted to make sure Jared hadn't tried to get a hold of me. It showed zero missed calls, and there were no unread texts waiting for me. I put it back in the pocket and crossed the street to Layke's Pub. It was looking like Layke was the big guy in charge. 

The door dinged as I opened it, and the place was completely deserted. Nothing like what pubs looked like during their prime time. 

"We're closed," a woman said from behind the bar. She was wiping down glass cups with a rag and setting them up where they belonged. 

"Not here for a drink."

"American." She looked my way with a suspicious glance. "What would an American be doing 'round these parts if not looking for a drink?"

"I was hoping for a word. I'm looking for Layke."

"Well you're looking at her. Now why were you looking for me?"

It shouldn't have surprised me that Layke was a woman. There have been plenty of women who led the torch. I suppose it surprised me that a woman led in the world of supernatural creatures. Any Alpha we crossed or heard about were male. The only time women led, was in covens, and she didn't seem like a witch at all. I was getting the werewolf vibe off her. 

She set the glass down that had been in her hands, and crossed her arms. Definitely a defensive stance. 

"I'm looking for help and was told you may be my best bet."

"Tell me who you are."

"I'm Eliza Ja-"

"I know when you're lying, even if it doesn't feel like a lie to yourself any longer."

My breath caught, and I looked at the ground. "Uh. I'm Electra Jaeger."

"Jaeger. I know that name. You're a hunter, no?"

Instinct told me to lie, experience within the past thirty seconds told me that would be a mistake. I'd taken too long though. I only caught it in the reflection of the glass near Layke, and barely had time to make a counter move. 

A large man had gone for my back, swinging a large piece of wood. I had tucked and rolled away just in time, but the big guy didn't slow down for a minute. He was right back at it, lunging to the ground. 

I rolled away again, managing to get to my feet. 

"Come on. I really don't want to have to do this. Can't we just act like civilized people?"

"I think you know by now that we aren't just people." 

I looked back at Layke to see she'd started wiping down more glasses. Apparently this was one of her lackeys. I spotted a broom not too far away and decided to go for it. It wasn't silver, and it wasn't a real weapon, but I figured it would at least act as defense against the werewolf coming after me. All I needed was to get away. 

The man barreled toward me, and I readied the broom. 

He matched me attack for attack. We seemed to be on an even playing field. That's what it would look like from the outside at least, but I know that wasn't really the case. He had power behind him, power he wasn't using yet. He was trained. He knew how to fight. He was a werewolf who knew how to fight. 

I was screwed. 

There was no getting away from this, because I wasn't able to land a blow anywhere. This was a test of will, a test of stamina, and while I had it in me to go a while, I had no where near the amount a werewolf had. I'd always been better at fighting, and that had helped to push me past the fact that I wasn't as strong, fast, and wasn't able to last as long as the supernaturals. I'd always said that if we came up against some supernaturals that knew how to fight, we'd be screwed. 

Well, here it was. 

With every offensive attack, and every attempt to defend, my energy depleted. I tried dropping and sweeping out his feet with the broom, but he countered the attack and I had to push back to the ground as he brought the piece of wood down toward me. 

Before I had the chance to get my feet back under me, I felt a hard hit to my side. I was laying face down on the wood floor. 

"Don't kill her. We just need her contained. We need to make sure she'll answer whatever questions we have. We're not going to let a hunter slip through our fingers if they're going to walk right up and find us."

The man grunted. He obviously wanted to use his strength on me, and he was going to give it his best shot. If he couldn't kill me, he was going to give me just a little more than I could handle. 

The fist hovered in the air, just at the edge of my vision, and it disappeared faster than I'd thought possible. His hand struck me, and that was the last thing I remembered before there was nothing.

~~~~~

Here's the next chapter. I hope you liked it, and I hope you're dying for more ;)

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Red Assassin