Standing finally, Xander approached the crouched figure, keeping enough distance between them so as to prevent the intruder from kicking out at his legs.
Within seconds, Aaron, Jason and another guard stood at Xander’s side — Jason and the guard’s guns aimed towards the masked man and Aaron’s knife held in his palm.
“Remove your mask.” Xander’s instructions were spoken slowly, forcefully.
The intruder didn’t move — so still, in fact, that Xander straightened his spine in preparation for a fight. Two clicks sounded as Jason and the guard readied their guns. Aaron took a step forward, his anticipation of the kill too pressing to remain patient. Xander reached out, stopping Aaron when he attempted to pass.
“Wait.”
Aaron turned to argue, but the intruder shuffled up into a seated position, blood pouring from his shoulder to the floor. Xander stepped forward, grasping the top of the mask in his fist. Pulling at the material, it peeled away revealing the identity of the intruder.
The four men froze when they discovered that it had been a woman who’d attempted the kill.
She looked up suddenly, the gold color of her eyes swirling with hatred and pain. Her long brown hair, previously tucked and concealed beneath the mask, now fell around her shoulders. Silently, she looked between the men, her gaze searching their faces, stopping briefly on each one. When she looked back to Xander she kicked out, catching Aaron on the shin with her boot. He lunged forward, but Xander grabbed him just before his knife could sink into the woman’s chest.
“No! We can’t kill her.”
Aaron’s eyes burned into Xander when he yelled, “She attempted to kill Maddy …”
“Xander’s right.”
Aaron and Xander turned to look in the direction of Maddy’s voice, while Jason and the guard held their guns on the female assassin.
When Maddy approached them, she reached up to run her palm along Aaron’s cheek. “Please, Aaron, let her live for now. Don’t you want to know why she’s here?”
Chapter Four
Hope’s shoulder was on fire and her eyes locked on the brown haired man who’d first chased her. Holding his stare, she was surprised when she heard the woman’s voice, so soft and docile, Hope couldn’t believe the men listened as they had. When the woman approached, Hope finally looked away from the men to fall upon the petite beauty. Her dress spilled along her frame, painted across her skin like crushed, liquefied rubies and garnets.
Reaching up, the woman caressed the face of Aaron Carmichael. Hope assumed she was another criminal, or possibly a lady of The Estate — one of the pampered bitches who spread their legs for the men within the network.
To Hope’s astonishment, Aaron appeared to calm when the woman touched him. Hope’s eyes looked over the group of men that stood before her, but flicked back to Aaron when he finally spoke. “Take her to the cell. We’ll interrogate her after tonight’s meeting. Xander, stay with her. Jason can escort Madeleine and I to the ballroom.” Xander nodded and grabbed Hope by her injured arm. When she winced, he smiled.
“Does that hurt? Imagine how it will feel if you struggle against me.” His hands searched her body slowly, forcefully, in search of weapons she had stashed. Pulling away the three knives she had tucked into her clothing and retrieving her gun from the floor where it had been shot from her hand.
She sneered up at him, but allowed him to lead her away from the group. She couldn’t let herself be taken captive — her sister’s life depended on her freedom. A desperate rage bloomed within her body and she knew she had to keep fighting to escape. Her heart started a frantic hammer, but she breathed slowly, calming the reaction of her body to the futility of the situation. She had nothing to lose if she fought — fighting was just as futile as giving up, you end up dead regardless.
It would be impossible to defeat all three men with her injury and having her weapons stripped, but one man alone — with him she’d stand a chance. They moved quietly down the corridor, and when she’d heard the doors close behind the other men who’d reentered the ballroom, she struck out quickly with her uninjured arm, the bone of her forearm impacting with Xander’s nose.
“Fuck!” He released her in response to the pain and she took the quick second of freedom to drop to the floor, swinging her leg out to catch the back of his feet. Her injured shoulder twisted and it felt like a spear had been driven down her arm. She grit her teeth against the pain, realizing that there was no time to stop.
When Xander fell to the ground, she heard the back of his skull crack against the stone tile and used his stunned moment to retrieve the thin knife she had tucked in her clothes. Bringing the knife down, the blade sliced into his thigh, but his reaction was a second too fast for her to avoid. His fist impacted with her chest, knocking the wind from her lungs. While gasping, she rolled backwards, just out of reach of his hand when he attempted to grab her.
“You are starting to really piss me off!” He lunged towards her, but Hope was able to sidestep him and use the few seconds it took for him to stand up to sprint down the hallway towards what she hoped was the exit outside. Blood rushed through her veins and she couldn’t hear anything over the white noise in her skull and the pounding of her and Xander’s boots through the empty corridors; each of her steps were mirrored by his. Her heart raced, her body moving gracefully and strong — a weapon itself in the way she moved. He lunged for her as they rounded the last corner. Twisting to avoid him, she felt the movement of the air from where his hand had passed.
Steeling herself for the fight that would not be avoided, she struck out again, but with her injured arm, so she didn’t have the strength or speed necessary to battle someone his size. He’d been anticipating the strike, moving quickly to avoid the blow. Normally, she’d counter, but her shoulder prevented the move. Reaching out, Xander grabbed her injured arm, taking advantage of its weakness to spin her so that her back was against him. When he had her tucked against him, his chest collided against her from his labored breath, the heat of which rolled along her neck causing the fine hairs to stand on end. He was so close she could smell his cologne. It was something foreign, a spice or musk.
Lunging forward, she simultaneously kicked back with her leg. Her foot impacted with his knee, pushing him away and causing him to release her. Quickly, she turned to face him and shoved her hands against his body while he was still off balance from her kick. He fell, but reached out, grabbing her and pulling her down alongside him. The jolt through her body stunned her, the pain of her shoulder impacting with the ground instantly crippling her, but exciting her at the same time. She’d been trained to enjoy it, to crave it. Pain would not be the factor that slowed her down.
He rolled on her within seconds, his hands coming down heavily on her arms, his legs and feet pinning her shoulders, abdomen and hips. Sweat slid down his jawline as he scowled down at her. She struggled against him, desperate to free herself from the impossible hold in which he’d trapped her. His body pressed into hers, the pain of his hold floating in exquisite waves throughout her body. The mixture of adrenaline and endorphins was a heady sensation that rushed through her veins when she fought.
“I’ve had enough of your bullshit.” Seething with anger, his words were broken and strained from his heavy breathing. “I apologize for having to do this, seeing that you are, technically, a woman and all.” Before she could react, he reached behind his body to pull the gun he had tucked into his waistband bringing it around quickly and striking it against her temple. She felt the pain of the hit only briefly before a black tunnel overtook her.
~ ~ ~
As soon as she was unconscious, Xander rolled off of her and leaned up against the wall while he inspected his injured leg. The pain was excruciating and he couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid as to miss the thin blade. Growing up with Aaron, Xander was well aware how many weapons could be hidden on a person’s body. “Fucking bitch!” He kicked out with his other foot, striking her in the side of her uncons
cious body. He hated this woman — for her attempt on Aaron’s life and for stabbing him — but, still, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by her skill as a fighter. He knew he was a tough opponent for most men, but for a woman? He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t just been part of it.
Pushing himself up, he calmed himself before grabbing her legs and picking them up off the floor. He chuckled while looking at her limp body. “I’d be a gentleman and carry you if you hadn’t stabbed me in the leg. Unfortunately, you’re just going to have to deal with being dragged.” He laughed to himself again and pulled her through the corridors to a small holding cell which had horrified him to discover after Joseph’s demise, but now one for which he could be thankful. When he entered the room, he immediately placed her by a wall. Four shackles were attached to chains in a bizarre pulley system. The pulleys were then attached to four individual cranks. When he’d first found this cell, it had taken him a minute to figure out the purpose behind it, but, after remembering Joseph’s tastes, he was disgusted to think about what could be done with the elaborate setup.
With the chains, Joseph had created marionette puppets out of the person unlucky enough to wear them. They could be positioned in whatever fashion he would have wanted, the pain inflicted either by the position they were set in, or in what was done to them while they were chained. And, judging by the condition of the room when it had been discovered, what had been done to those poor souls was ghastly and horrific. Even after the room had been scrubbed down with bleach, the stains from the blood could not be removed. Rust color splotches marked the floor, the walls — even the ceiling. Normally, Xander would use any other room, just to avoid the latent energy contained within this cell, but in his current situation, this cell was exactly what he needed.
Tugging the pulleys out from the wall, he was able to secure one shackle to each of her wrists. She was dead weight due to having been knocked out, so he used the cranks for the chains to drag her across the floor and up so that she was hanging from the wall. He lifted her enough that her feet barely touched the ground. She winced in her sleep when the arm of her injured shoulder was forced above her head, but she didn’t wake as a result of it. He smiled to know he’d caused her pain: the bitch deserved it after attempting to take the life of his friend. Walking towards her, he went through her clothing again in search of weapons or identification. She moaned when his hands ran over her hips, her thighs, and higher over her stomach and chest. Xander bit back his reaction to the sound, not wanting to feel anything for this woman beyond his hatred for what she’d done. But he found himself staring at her, his eyes studying her body. Her hair fell in dark waves down her back, perfectly framing an angelic face. Every muscle of her arms, legs and torso were sculpted and toned, but not so much that she was bulky. Her body curved slightly in all the right places, but she was still lean and fit. She was a fighter of some sort, but the to what extent, Xander didn’t know.
She was clean and he cursed under his breath that he’d have to extract the information from her rather than it being as simple as reading an I.D.
After taking one last look, he turned to exit the cell on his way to speak with Aaron about what should be done with their guest.
~ ~ ~
“Stop laughing, Aaron, it isn’t fucking funny! I’m telling you, that bitch is a skilled fighter. We need to find out why she’s here and who sent her. There could be more coming and we can’t allow our guards to be down if that occurs.”
Chortling in an attempt to stifle his laughter, Aaron eventually gained control of himself before responding. “I find it hard to believe you were so badly beaten by a woman. You’ve been fighting me since we were kids; I’ve never actually had the opportunity to stab you. You know better that to leave yourself open.”
Xander rolled his eyes while breathing out a frustrated breath. He winced from the antiseptic that Maddy brushed across the skin of his leg before responding, “I didn’t expect it. I was surprised by her strength. Whoever trained her was, obviously, very good at what he did. But a woman?”
Aaron nodded and sat on the corner of the wing-backed chair facing the couch. “I’ve heard of a female assassin within a smaller network. We have limited information on her, but I know there was a rumor that she could compete against me.”
“Why would Joseph let something like that slip by?”
“She was never a problem, from what I know. Unless she did anything that threatened The Estate, Joseph wouldn’t have concerned himself with her; none of that matters. She’s attempted something now and we have to deal with this quickly. It pisses me off that someone has dared strike out at The Estate.” Aaron stood up, pacing back and forth, rubbing his hand across his chin while he thought.
“All done.” Maddy packed up the small medical kit they kept in the apartment and smiled up at Xander. Turning to look at Aaron, her voice was almost a whisper when she asked, “What are you two going to do with her? I assume if she’s been trained, she’s a threat, but will you treat her differently than you would a man who’d made such an attempt?”
“No.” Xander’s response was solid and immediate. “That bitch deserves what’s coming to her, Cricket, and I don’t want you concerning yourself with her.” Standing, he pulled his pants back up, now that Maddy was no longer tending to the wound. He looked down at the hole from where the woman had stabbed him. “Fuck. And these were my favorite pair.”
“Xander, I want you to do whatever is necessary to gain information from her. After that, you are ordered to kill her. She attempted my life, or possibly, the life of Maddy. I don’t give a shit what her reason is, she will not leave the compound alive, do you understand me?”
Xander looked up at Aaron, noticing how his eyes narrowed from his rage. He nodded. “She’ll be dead before the morning. You have nothing to be concerned about there.”
“Must we kill her?”
Soft and delicate, Maddy whispered her question. Standing, she stared at Aaron, crossing the room so that she could touch him. “I’m tired of the constant slaughter. We’re trying to bring down this network, but it seems like everything we do only serves to make it stronger. Maybe, we should let whoever sent her send more, let them start a war that kills off the network while we run as far from it as we can.”
Aaron’s face softened. “It’s not possible, Mouse. If anybody is going to be targeted within the network, it will be you, Xander, or me. There wouldn’t be a war, because there is no loyalty — not to anything that is worth their lives. They are loyal to the network, to the money and the power, but not to me specifically. The Estate members will follow whoever controls it. If more are sent and I’m killed, they’ll take control, The Estate will exist indefinitely.”
Xander pitied Maddy when he saw her face fall at Aaron’s words. He knew she hated living in this place, knew she still felt trapped, held within a waking nightmare. However, she wanted it destroyed and the only way to accomplish that task was to remain a part of the very thing they hated the most.
“Use any method necessary to get the information we need, Xander.” Aaron looked up from Maddy, anger evident in his eyes. “We can’t look at her like a woman brought in, we have to look at her as a threat. I expect her to be treated as such.”
Nodding his understanding, Xander strode across the room towards the door.
“Do those methods include rape?”
He stopped, his head dropping before he slowly turned to look at Maddy. Her eyes were red from unshed tears.
Aaron reached out, pulling her towards him. Tipping her chin up, he looked at her for a few seconds before responding. “Maddy, she’s not like you. She’s like us. You need to recognize that. We’ll do whatever we have to do to keep you safe. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it can be an effective method of breaking a person down.”
“Are men raped as well?” The incredulity in her tone was surprising.
“I can tell you that Xander and I have not participated in that type of method; but, I
can’t say that I haven’t heard of it being done.”
Her head fell against his chest and Aaron wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. Aaron spoke again just before Xander left to return to the holding cell.
“I’m sorry, Maddy. We are not good men.”
Chapter Five
It felt like her shoulder was on fire when Hope woke. Her head pounded where she had been struck and her wrists stung from where they’d been cut by the metal shackles. She knew instantly that she was in a cell of some sort, a prisoner of The Estate.
Shaking away her disorientation, she slid her feet across the ground so that she could push up on her toes to remove the strain from her arms. Her head fell back against the wall when her bodyweight was better supported. Opening her eyes, she strained to see in the dark. Above her, was a glass domed roof, the moon and stars of the night sky clearly visible and providing enough illumination that she could make out the small table in the center of the room and an elaborate system of chains that ran across the walls.
Her heart tapped against the inside of her chest, slowly, rhythmically, as she forced herself to not panic — to remain clear headed despite her situation. When she could put her full weight on her toes, she tugged on the shackles, the movement sending a sharp wave of pain down her arms. Her body shuddered at the sensation. Since she’d been young, she reacted to pain differently than most people — she’d enjoyed it. Not so much the sensation of the pain itself, but the rush that coursed through her body afterwards. It caused her heart to pound a little harder and her skin to tingle as if from a lover’s touch. It numbed her, but also made her feel alive, human — not the pragmatic machine she’d been trained to be.
A small click echoed through the room just before the door opened. Light flooded in from the hallway and Hope clenched her eyes when it washed across her face.
“Oh good. You’re awake.”