ABLOCATE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME ONE
━━ ❛ 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 ❜

chapter no. 011!

❝ IT'S TIME TO PAY THE PIPER. ❞
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     THE ICY, METAL TOUCH OF THE SILVER TABLE HARSHLY YET SWEETLY KISSED CARA'S ELBOWS WHILE SHE TREMBLED. The palms of her hands were nearly cold as ice and shaking. Her bottom lip quivered in fear.

     "Cara..." Raine whispered, perturbed at the lack of response she and Ace were receiving.

     Cara blinked for the first time in what felt like forever, and a tear trailed down her tear-stained cheeks. "T-This c-can't be happening," she whispered, face twisting in pain.

     Ace crouched beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, but she unconsciously flinched. He wasn't phased. "I'm so sorry, Car," he murmured, but deep down, he knew that nothing he, or anyone, said could change what happened.

     Lightning crackled down, and its bright, illuminating light shone through the windows. It echoed outside in the downpour. A door slammed from somewhere inside the house, and Cara's head turned so quickly she could've gotten whiplash. Grabbing the silver-plated baseball bat resting on the kitchen table, she rose shakily. The power went out, and Raine almost yelped. The three were left in a cold dark that perched onto their shoulders and clouded their vision.

     "Lyn?"

     A relieved breath of air fell from Cara's mouth.

     Dropping the bat to the floor, she raced down the darkened hallway. "Owen," she gasped, throwing her arms around him.

     The warm, safe, and solicitous arms I would always run home to wrap around me, pulling me closer to their chest. "I heard what happened," Owen said as a sob racked through my chest.

     "He's gone." A delicate kiss was pressed to the side of her head, and she buried her head into his chest. "H-He's gone," she whimpered, and Owen pulled back to kiss her forehead softly. Brushing away her tears, he peered at her grimly, his left eyebrow twitching. He was hiding something. Immediately, Cara pushed herself away from him and stepped backward. "What aren't you telling me, Owen?"

     "I don't—"

     Shaking her head, Cara wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "You should know better than to lie to me," she warned. Both of them knew she was the equivalent of a human lie detector, and she could spot a lie miles away before it crossed the threshold.

     Raine came up from behind her and glanced at the man in the dark.

     "Kirk, Joseph, and I have been made the new leaders," he said quietly, and Cara's blood began to boil. "Le was the one who ordered it. I had no choice."

     Cara scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You always have a choice. Whether or not you have the balls to make it is what matters." Ace grabbed her shoulder, but she shoved him away, glowering at the man she fell in love with five years ago. Watching Owen walk over, she stayed confident and still. He grabbed her hips and pulled her to him, resting his forehead against hers. The glare never once left her countenance.

     "I don't want this. You know I don't. Being a leader means I must be violent, tough, and emotionless. Those are three things I never want to be when I'm with you," Owen whispered, wrapping his fingers around her waist.

     Blinking back tears, Cara shook my head. "And you being a leader is something I never wanted in this relationship. I want you, Owen. I want us just as we are."

     "I want that too," he protested, and she stepped backward again.

     "No, you don't. If you did, you would have said hell no and done something, but you accepted this revolting gift that should have never been given out in the first place," she was interrupted by Owen grabbing and kissing her roughly, trying to stop her talking. "No." She shoved his chest, breaking off the kiss. "This isn't like our other fights. You can't just kiss me and expect things to be okay! Not this time. I'm not okay with this! If Le told me I was now one of the leaders, I would tell him that he could shove a crowbar right up his ass and pray to whatever God exists that I wouldn't kill him right then and there. I would tell him I choose my boyfriend over being a leader."

     As more tears streamed down her face, Raine grabbed her hand. Cara's chest heaved up and down in anger, and a somber look clouded Owen's expression.

     "I'm sorry."

     Those were the last words he spoke to her—the last words that weren't coated in hatred and loathing. That was the last time Raine Russo ever held Cara Valentine's hand. That was the last time Ace Ingram tried to grab onto Cara Valentine's shoulder to keep her from hitting Owen. That was the last night Cara lived in the oblong home that shielded her from the world.

     To her horror, a gunshot went off, and Raine dropped to the wooden floor. She choked out a gasp, and another shot rang throughout the house. Ace was the next to drop dead. Covering her mouth with the palm of her hand, Cara stumbled as her vision blurred. However, she could still see their blood mingling and outspreading in different directions on the floor, swallowing her feet.

     Suddenly, a set of arms wrapped around her from behind, gripping her body so tightly there was no possible way she wouldn't be left with bruises. "Sorry, sweetheart, but we can't have Daddy's little princess out in the open anymore. It's time for a little trip." All the light in the world disappeared and everything faded to a silent, dark nothingness. Nothing could be heard but Cara's silent screams as a bag was thrown over her, swallowing her whole.

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     SIX—THAT'S HOW MANY SETS OF EYES CARA COULD FEEL BURNING INTO HER SOUL. She lay on a soft and flat surface. Her head was pounding like a bad hangover, and her muscles were sore. Then, as if the world and her mind conspired to attack her simultaneously, memories of the last twenty-four hours came flooding back like a hurricane—drowning her in their wake.

     The image of a person dressed in all black and red raising an index finger to their lips, signaling for her to keep quiet, flashed while the sound of handcuffs clasping sounded in her ears. She gasped and her body jolted awake and up. Running her hands over her face, heavy, exasperated breaths tumbled from her lips.

     "Cara?"

     Her eyes, wild and crazed, connected with a familiar set that softened as they racked over my face. Spencer was sitting on the edge of the bed while JJ, Morgan, and Blake sat on the floor behind him. Hotch and Rossi were pacing.

     "They're still here." The sound of her voice was low and raspy, and she cleared her throat. "The Red Scorpions."

     The two men stopped pacing at the sound of her words, and Spencer's warm hand left her knee. "How do you know?" he asked, brows furrowing while he tried to read her facial cues.

     "Someone was watching us from across the police station—I saw someone," she answered, intentionally avoiding his gaze and falling into her signature emotionless countenance.

     "Why didn't you tell us when we were there?" Hotch asked, crossing his arms and glancing at Rossi.

     Sighing, Cara tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ears. "If I told you while we were there, there was a chance that any of you would've been killed. I don't need that on my conscience," she stated bluntly. Those words created a crease on Spencer's forehead, and he frowned, averting his eyes from hers.

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     THE FEELING OF HOT, MUSKY BREATH TRAILED DOWN FARELL'S SPINE AS THE BROWN-HAIRED MAN STOOD OVER HIM, STARING INTENTLY AT THE SCREEN. "What are you waiting for? Press fucking send," Ross Valentine spat, and Farell right-clicked the computer mouse. The red Sent! text flashed on the screen for a split second before disappearing.

     "It's done."

     Arthur rolled his eyes, a look of pure and utter exhaustion obscuring his features. They all looked exhausted. Everybody had been so focused on the mission for so long that they forgot what it was like to rest—to sit down and breathe—to catch their breath.

     Owen glanced at the man across the trailer, his eyes narrowing slightly. The resemblance between him and his daughter was uncanny—that much was obvious. Cara and Ross both modeled the same eyebrows and dark blue ocean eyes. The only difference between the two was that Cara's hair was dyed platinum blonde—her attempt to change her appearance in spite of Michael Le.

     Grimacing, his heart curled slightly. Knowing he had hurt Cara was hurting him, but there was no way to fix it. Nothing he could do or say would repair the years of damage. He couldn't leave the Red Scorpions, even if he wanted to.

     "Sánchez," Farell snapped, and he moved his stare. "You need to begin with phase two."

     Nodding solemnly, Owen pushed himself off the couch and grabbed the black backpack that sat comfortably on the floor.

     "What's phase two?" Valentine asked, straightening his posture. Arthur rolled his eyes once more. "I asked you all a question."

     "Stephen Leone," Owen smirked, spinning to face the other three. All color drained from Ross Valentine's face and a look of recognition flickered in his eyes. "You remember him, don't you?"

     "No."

     Arthur chuckled gleefully and stepped forward, his hands clasped in front of him. "We run the circus now, Valentine. We'll do as we please," he responded, grinning from ear to ear like something was funny.

     "What do you want with Leone? He's useless."

     "He's anything but useless," Farell hissed, standing from the small desk he'd been sitting at. The smirk on Owen's face grew, and Arthur seized Valentine by the upper arm, slamming him into one of the trailer walls. Pulling out a pair of handcuffs, he cuffed the retired leader and ignored his empty threats.

     "If you use him to get to Cara, I swear to God—"

     "You'll what?" Owen cut him off, raising a mock curious brow. "Kill me? Kill us? We have dozens of loyal followers behind us. You don't stand a chance."

     Valentine sneered and he thrashed in Arthur's arms, eyes ablaze in a wild fury.

     "It's time to pay the piper, Valentine."