Three years before
They drag her from the cell, her leaving a trail of blood behind her. She’s since fallen unconscious, her skin pale and sweaty. She’s lost too much blood.
Fear strangles my heart, it makes my stomach sit in my gut like a lead weight. I pull on my restraints but there’s no getting out of them. If she dies I don’t care about taking my time with them, I will blow this house up with me, them, and everyone else inside. I don’t care for the lives within these walls, only her.
When the door closes and she disappears from my sight, Clayton turns back to me, crossing his arms.
“You belong to me now, Hunter. You are my puppet, do you understand?”
I nod.
“My, my, if only I knew giving you a woman would make you this bendable, I would have threatened her a long time ago. You do as you as you are told, she will remain untouched and unharmed, that is my word.”
I bite my tongue, there was no use telling him how little his word meant. I’d give him all the promises to keep her safe while still going behind his back to destroy his entire life.
He had no idea what he has just fucked with, and the thoughts of destroying him almost made me want to smile.
“You will not keep me from her.”
“Are you really in any position to make demands?” He laughs, the others with him smirking, eyes taking in how very little I can do to them right now.
But they wouldn’t kill me, I was far too valuable. They’ve had many of assassins in their employ but none that could do what I could. I didn’t get caught, I left no trace and I never missed. Ever.
“I am in every position,” I say to him calmly, “You may have me, but I can still make it very, very difficult for you.”
“And every time you fuck up, I’ll give her pretty skin another scar.”
I bare my teeth.
He looks over to the guards and jerks his chin. I knew what would happen next.
“Do not disappoint me again,” Clayton says just as the first guy throws his fist, and then he exits, and leaves them to beat the ever-loving shit out of me. More ribs crack and skin splits, old wounds reopening, and I can barely cling to my consciousness by the time they’re done.
I feel them unlock and remove the restraints and they don’t bother to catch me as I fall, my body thudding hard against the cold, concrete floor. Pain lights fire across my skin, no inch of me is left untouched.
They drag me through the door and down the stairs, barely bothering to lift me as they descend the steps, and only when I’m thrown into a cell do I bother opening my swollen eyes.
My vision is blurred and even opening my eyes hurts, the swelling bad but I see her. I see her shape on the bed, awake and sitting with her back pressed to the wall. I blink and blink again, trying to clear my vision, but it only improves a touch, enough for me to make out small details while the edges remain blurred and foggy.
Her skin remains pale, but there’s a clean white bandage wrapped around her thigh, and her cuts and grazes have been cleaned and dressed. Her dark hair hangs limply around her face and there’s a slight tremor to her hands.
“Snow.”
“Don’t call me that,” her voice is cold, lifeless.
“Isobel,” I drag myself, eyes squeezing closed as I try to sit upright and get closer to her, “I’m sorry.”
Her bloodshot eyes meet mine and they widen in shock at the state of me but she’s quick to hide the reaction, setting her face into an impassive mask. Her nostrils flare and the corners of her mouth turn down, and she simply looks away from me, choosing instead to look at the door.
“Isobel,” I practically crawl across the floor towards her.
“Stay away from me,” She still doesn’t look at me.
“Isobel, please.”
Slowly, she turns to look at me, “You don’t get to beg me, Hunter. You are a liar. A thief. You are one of them and I will never, never, forgive you.”
Pain, different to the physical kind flares inside my chest and something snaps.
Her eyes do a once over on my body, taking in the injuries. She wasn’t my Snow anymore. She was cold. I’d broken her.
“If your injuries don’t kill you, I will,” She vows. “Now leave, Hunter. When we meet again you best put a bullet in my head, before I do it to you.”
Using all my strength I weakly get to my feet, my breath wheezing and ribs flexing painfully. I take a step up to the side of the bed, staring down at her. Her eyes remain forward.
I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me.
“You don’t hate me, Snow. You won’t hurt me, and I’d never hurt you, but I will give you some time.”
She jerks her face from my grip and smiles cruelly, “If you truly believe that, Hunter, then you don’t know me at all.”
Ignoring the pain, I lean into her, whispering my lips against hers, “Until we meet again, Snow.”
And then I leave.
I find Clayton in his office, blood still caked to my skin, my clothes still dirty.
He eyes me and turns up his lip, “What?”
“What will you have me do first?” I ask.
He cocks a brow, “So willing, so soon?”
I nod.
He grins, “A monster can never be tamed, Hunter,” he says, “no matter how much you beat it or threaten it, a monster will always be just that.”
I don’t react.
I didn’t care about being called a monster. It was true, I always knew that, and I didn’t care.
Clayton surveys me from his oversized leather chair, “I want you to go to the US.”
I hide my shock, I didn’t want to be that far from Isobel.
“Why?”
Clayton taps his fingers on the top of his wooden desk, “There’s a city, Brookeshill, have you heard of it?”
I nod, large and ruled by a family that’s been there for generations, I forget their name.
“A war between two families has been going on for months, I see this as a situation that could work in our favor. Brookeshill has always been on the Syndicate’s list but it’s been difficult to take control. The Silver’s have worked for the loyalty of their people and the city belongs to them and well, we want it.”
“What war?”
Clayton sighs, “Between the Valentine’s and the Silver’s. It’s been going on a long time, but Valentine is small even if he believes himself a king. He needs some help. I need you to go over there and aid Eric in convincing Valentine to join forces with us in return of our support in taking out the Silver family.”
“So, you’ll hand the city over to Valentine if successful?”
He scoffs, “No, I’ll kill Valentine, but he knows how the Silver’s run and why rid yourself of an asset that could be of use for the time being. I want the Silver’s unaware of our presence until it’s too late for them to do anything.”
“Okay.”
“Good.” Clayton studies me once more, “See the group doctor, get fixed up, you leave in three days.”
I take my leave, heading through to see the doctor. It was the wisest choice even if I didn’t want to use any of their ‘services’. After I’m stitched up and my ribs strapped, I head up to the room I was first provided when I came to work for them. It was empty save for a large bed in the centre of the room, several still packed suitcases and my sketchbook that hadn’t been opened in years.
I wouldn’t go to see my Isobel, even if my soul screamed to do so. This would take time, a lot of it, and a lot of proving myself devoted to her. I could give her that.
So instead of doing what I craved to do, I pick up the sketchbook and my set of pencils and sit in the centre of the bed, placing my glasses on my nose. I open to the first clean page, bypassing any of the old sketches in favor of this one.
The pencil scratches over the surface, loud in the otherwise quiet space and the outline of my sketch becomes clearer with every inch I cover. First, it’s the shape of her, her oval face with black hair, and then her long, delicate neck and soft curve of her shoulders followed smoothly down by her arms and then her hands, hands that have caressed and soothed parts of me no one has ever dared touch. Something far beneath the skin, into those deep, dark places no woman has ever ventured.
I draw the mounds of her breasts next, tapering it down into her waist, sketching out the curves and hips, all the way down to her legs and feet.
This.
This will forever be burned into my skull. Her staring at me like she wants to kill me, the pain, the devastation, and also, the anger, all directed at me while she curls her legs to her chest and holds them tight as if she can contain everything inside.
Knowing I’d done that damage, that I’d caused that pain, it would haunt me. It would drive me crazy but everything from now until we were together again, would be for her.