Chapter 2 - At His Mercy

ELLIE

That was the first time in years I'd let myself cry. After years of being disappointed and hurt by both my family and my bad taste in men, I'd grown an immunity to tears. But seeing my brother in that state was enough to open the floodgates I'd sealed shut for the past five years—the last time I cried—and it reminded me of all the reasons why I'd stopped giving in to my emotions.

The lack of control, the weakness.

I hated it.

So fucking much!

Even now, with the barrel of a gun staring down at me, I hated how I couldn't stop the tears that streamed down my face.

But my years of training seemingly went down the drain the second I learned of my brother's death. My entire form trembled, a chill consumed me from the inside out. I wasn't just sweating; I was shivering from it.

My fingernails dug painfully into my palms as I set each arm by my sides, or rather, I was forced to. I was shoved into a small black car not too far from the entrance without being given a moment to breathe before two of the bald men went in with me, shutting the doors and squeezing me between their hefty bodies that reeked of sweat and tobacco.

Both men had guns pointed straight at my head, eyes narrowed with warning.

Don't try anything stupid.

Not that I intended to.

The windows were tinted, the streets we drove by were illuminated by street lamps but still empty.

I was being kidnapped.

And I didn't know why.

"Now," the man on my left began. I couldn't bring myself to look into his eyes or anywhere else but the window and my jean-clad thighs.

I felt the coolness of the gun press against my skin. He was making a point.

"You have no idea how much of a treasure you are, do you?"

I swallowed uncomfortably, opting for silence rather than asking the questions I wanted to. I didn't trust myself to say the right thing, not now... normally I would be very good at handling myself in high-pressure situations, but not this.

I hadn't even recovered from seeing my brother's body.

"You are the sister of Elijah Knight, a massive pain in my ass!" He threw his head back and laughed. "Whoever put him in those sewers did me a huge favor... not just that, you were sent my way as well."

He laughed again, this time spittle leaving his lips and settling on the side of my face. My skin crawled even as my heart pounded.

"I wish I put that bullet through his fucking skull myself!"

I inhaled shakily, reminding myself that getting angry in such a situation would only get me killed. The driver and the rest of the men in the car seemed to find my brother's death to be just as funny.

Like he was nothing... no one deserves to die in such a manner, not even these tobacco-infused bastards!

"You know what this means?" He dug the gun deeper into the side of my face, so deep I knew it would bruise afterward. "It means The Black Rose are no longer invisible!"

The Black Rose?

The company Elijah said he started up with his friends?

My eyes narrowed as I turned slightly and looked at the man. Something in my eyes must've looked rather hilarious; he burst out laughing again. "To think they would slip up enough and let you come out in the open or..." He tilted his head to the side, the sick glint in his eyes spreading. "Do you not know why you're here?"

I shook my head, words failing me. This was the lowest I'd been. My heart pounded and ached with frustration and an emotion that felt dangerously similar to anger.

He laughed again, this time taking the gun off my face and scratching his bald head with it.

"Well, when we get you to the boss, he will put you to good use... The Black Rose will finally get what's coming to them, those fucking dogs!" Then his eyes settled on me again, but this time with a different light. It went lower until it stopped on my chest... then lower.

"And you... aren't half bad looking. Are you sure that mutt Elijah is your brother?"

The rest joined in the joke, making comments about my body and comparing my looks to those of my brother's. It made me shiver, made my stomach churn with pent-up disgust.

"The boss will like her—"

His sentence was cut short when the car took a sharp turn, catching us all off-guard.

"What the fuck?!" The man next to me spat out in irritation as he reached to smack the shoulder of the bald man who drove.

"You trying to kill us or what?" He brought his hand back, and I noticed something that made me scream.

Blood.

The car was going at an alarming speed, and the driver wasn't responding.

"Shit! Shit!" The men began to panic. The one in the front seat immediately stepped on the brakes while the rest of them turned off the safety on their guns and were immediately alert. The slimy smiles were wiped off their faces and replaced by genuine panic.

"Shit! How did they get to us so quickly?!"

The one in the front seat gasped while the talkative one next to me seemed to be frozen.

"No..." The other said. "It can't be them." He shook his head, sounding like his nightmares were coming to life.

"The boss said he would take care of them..."

"We need to get out of here, like fucking now!"

While they struggled to throw out the now-dead driver, I noticed a silhouette in the distance, slowly approaching.

It was just one man. His shoulders were broad, and his body seemed stacked with muscles, like it was built to be a weapon.

In his grasp was an axe.

It was pitch black, just like the night that masked his arrival. The rest of the men hadn't noticed, but I did, and in turn, I became frozen in fear. My heart seemed to stutter to a stop as I found myself unable to pull my gaze away from the approaching figure.

I couldn't see his face, but I caught sight of long black hair.

Even in the dark, the aura that this man gave off was enough to let me know I was in danger—we all were.

I gasped in shock, a shriek leaving me as I felt a sudden vice grip on my arm as I was ripped out from the car like a rag doll. Something in my hand snapped, and I was immediately overwhelmed by blinding pain.

It burned through everything else I should have worried about in that moment, knocking the air out of me and making my eyes wet again.

I wasn't given enough time to recover. The gun was set against my skull again, digging deeper into the bruise that was already there.

"You're here for her, aren't you?" The bald man behind me went from sounding amused and confident to sounding desperate and scared for his life.

But what did he say?

That man was here for me?

I forced my eyes open, and the sight had me going still.

His silhouette didn't do him justice. He was larger than I thought he was, easily towering over the bald men like they were children who had just encountered their bully.

The white street lights illuminated his olive skin, the gnarly looking scar that slashed across the top of his nose and straight to his left eye.

One eye was green while the other was a completely silver-gray color.

He was blind in that eye, I realized. But it did nothing to tamp down the danger this man emitted.

"If you come any closer, she dies, Noir!"

Noir.

Such a befitting name for a man with such a dark vibe.

I watched in misplaced awe as the corner of the man's lips stretched.

That wasn't a smile, that was...

"You should know better than to challenge me, Yusuf," he held up his axe, his eyes devoid of any emotion, yet that voice...

"Are you saying I can't make the shot?"

"I...I..." The man who held me stammered, his hands shaking and, in turn, so did the gun.

"What about you, Goldie?"

I immediately tensed, knowing full well he was talking to me.

"Do you think I can make the shot?" He took a slow step backward. "Do you?"

What sort of... man...

I wasn't given much time to think; it all happened so fast.

He raised his powerful arm and threw the axe straight at me.

I was going to die. Just like my brother, with a hole between my eyes.

I heard the axe sinking into flesh, and I knew it was over. I fell to the floor, my body no longer having the strength to hold me as I waited for death.

Then I felt an arm go around my waist, the scent of something spicy hitting me, making my eyes snap open.

Just in time to witness the monster of a man lifting me up in his arms.

"Don't be dramatic, Goldie. I'm here to save you."

One dead eye and one green one stared down at me like I was prey rather than protected.

I didn't believe him.

After all—

Wait.

There was no axe in me... my eyes trailed off to the side of the road, and that was when I saw the bald man who had threatened me, with an axe between his eyes, his face frozen in horror.

"I told you, I'm here to save you," the man—Noir—repeated.

Save me?

No, from the look in his eyes, from the edge in his tone...

This man isn't saving me; he's going to destroy me.

And in that moment, I was entirely at his mercy.