chapter 3

The knock came again making her jump as she stretched her hand out to open the door.

She unlocked the door and the hinges creaked softly as she pulled it open. She looked up at the man who stood in the dimly lit hallway. He was tall enough for his shadow to stretch along the wooden floor of the apartment.

He wore black trousers,a shirt and a black jacket. His hair slicked back.

He looks like someone she could pass by on the street and not even register his face but somehow right now he seemed intimidating.

The room suddenly felt smaller. Dalia narrowed her eyes, this guy was dangerous. The quiet kind of danger. He didn't need weapons to make people fearful.

She couldn't make a run for it. It would just get her tortured and killed. That was something she desperately needed to avoid. What she needed to do now was play along and act scared to keep the presence of Avery.

She studied him carefully. He looked relaxed but not in a way that meant he wouldn't kill her here and now , just in a 'I know she won't do anything stupid ' and boy was he right.

His gaze swept the apartment and then stopped on her.

"Avery, you need to come with me.." he almost sounded polite but she knew he was far from it. He was just giving her a chance to comply with him so when she disobeyed or resisted he would have an excuse to shoot her.

Well too bad she wouldn't give him a chance to do that

Her body reacted just as it did when she heard him knock. It annoyed her because she wasn't afraid at the moment. She was more.... cautious.

But her fear was justified. From what she knows this man was working for someone, someone worse than him and this wasn't their first encounter.

Every instinct in her body pushed her to run but Dalia fought them. She was an assassin who had long removed ever feeling of fear from her mind. She did her job like every mission was her last.

"If you resist, it won't be good for you.". He said calmly and she knew he was serious

She nodded slowly as she turned around, got her keys and walked out beside him, locking the door.

She walked beside him , trying to keep up with his pace, he didn't drag her and just let her comply.

As they stepped out, the cold air hit her skin, reminding her that she did not wear a jacket.

They walked towards a black SUV, and the door open and another man stepped out. He looked younger, he stepped aside as Avery stepped into the vehicle. The two men sat besides her on each side, maybe to make sure she didn't try anything stupid like jumping out of the car. That was a thought but she was already bruised enough.

The car pulled away, Dalia's eyes remained on the window on her left. She decided that no matter what she had to take note of everything so she could find her way home incase anything bad happens. But it felt like these men read her mind because before they moved far, a black hood was placed over her head.

She leaned back into the seat. She didn't need sight for information, she could just focus.

She kept track of the places they passed-the rough roads, the stops at the traffic lights, the smell of water which meant they were going towards a water body- until the car came to a stop..

An arm held her hand tightly as she was led out of the car and dragged inside. As soon as they stepped in,the cold air made her shiver, air conditioning. Their footsteps echoed as the walked which meant that they were in a large building, with high ceilings and polished floors.

She was lead into a room, and tied to a chair. The hood was the removed from her head. The room was empty. With just two chairs and a rectangular table.

The men that brought her here walked out of the room. She tested the restraints on her wrist, she could have broken it but she was Avery now.

Soon a faint red mark appeared on her wrists from the resistance.

She fell back into her thoughts. If these people had dealt with Avery before then they expected her to be frightened, so frightened that she couldn't talk. But she stayed calm. Maybe they would take her as cooperative.

She needed to maintain this facade. If she suddenly started acting like someone trained to survive an interrogation , they would have suspicions that she had been pretending because they wouldn't believe she wasn't Avery.

She lowered her shoulders, put her head down and let her hair cover her face. She allowed her breathing to become uneven. This caused her shoulder to shake.

The fear in Avery's body helped with her act. She could feel it clawing at her mind.

Whatever she had experienced had not only left her with scars but also truma.

Who exactly had her father gotten her involved in.

The silence stretch across the room until she heard the door open. She fought the urge to see who it was and kept her head down. There were multiple footsteps.

Her head was down just enough to hide the cold calculation in her eyes.

Right now she needed to become Avery.

Scared and frightened Avery.

The steps pulled her out of her thoughts.

A man walked towards the table, while two stood not too far behind her. She slowly raised her head. She made eye contact with the man in front of her. He was unlike the men who had brought her. They were soldiers but he looked like commanded them.

He was wearing and all black suit and had a stoic face.

He looked down at her, eyes with no emotions...

"You've recovered " he stated like he was making an observation. Dalia remained quiet. So it was them who attacked Avery and left her in this condition..

He reached into his pocket, not saying another word. He pulled out a small speaker and set

it on the table. There was static sounds until....

"Hello Avery " A cold calm voice spoke