Book 2 – Ch.#9
“Are you ready to follow the rules now?”
…Rule number one… obedience. Always follow the orders from the boss. No questions asked.
I‘d broken that rule. I knew I was breaking it the moment I‘d chosen to run that night. I knew it would land me here. And yet I still did it.
I pulled my body upright from the old bed, more sluggish than I would have liked, and hated how I still felt so sore from the injuries inflicted several days earlier.
‘Days‘. That was the key word.
That was how long I‘d been trapped in here, alone with my thoughts as it forced me to reflect on every decision I‘d made leading to this point,
Because, at its core, that was the true punishment.
It wasn‘t the pain. No, that was always over quickly. Gavin did a great job of making sure the damage inflicted was swift yet efficient. Always enough to get the point across and never seeming to even flinch as he did what he did.
But it was the psychological punishment that truly made it horrific.
…‘Days‘.
I’d been in here… for days.
Alone.
In pain.
Wondering how I’d managed to convince myself that running had been worth it. Wondering how much longer it would take before punishment was finally over.
And now this was the first thing spoken to me after all that time. This voice of my father on the other side of the door, asking if I was ‘ready to follow the rules‘.
Yes, I was ready.
Of course, I was ready.
I was about ready to do anything, to say anything, if it meant finally getting out of here. I‘d learnt my lesson the minute Gavin had ripped me from my bed. There was only one authority in my life and that was my father. It had always been my father.
…Someone I just wanted to be free of.
I forced that thought away as quickly as it sprung to mind. It was thoughts exactly like that which led me to this moment. Testing the patience of a man who had none. I wasn‘t exempt from the rules because of our relationship. If anything, this punishment had been necessary. I‘d clearly become too complacent in its absence and needed the reminder.
Really, it was my fault.
All my fault.
“Raven?” prompted my father.
up, taking a deep breath. The first one I‘d done in so long, my chest having felt too sore
I committed to this decision
It didn‘t take long before I heard it. The sound of a key clinking for a few seconds before the satisfying click of the lock. Within moments, I found myself face–to–face with my father after
said, entering the room towards me. “Because there
should be thinking ‘thank you‘, praising how lucky I was to be given another chance. This was a good thing for me.
show how grateful I was. Forcing myself to believe that very thing. “It‘s a clean–up job,” he simply said. “You know what to do.” …And,
gotten dressed. A black attire that made it impossible for anyone to recognise me; this being accomplished via a moveable cloth mask that could be
when completing a mission like this. Making sure that no one saw me. Or,
wanted to be recognised at a murder
left my house and swiftly started heading to the location, choosing to stick to the shadows of the night and alleys along the way. Thankfully, my speed and strength made the journey easier, but I‘d be lying if I said my injuries weren‘t interfering at all. Truthfully, even back in the fresh air and with slightly faster healing, I knew I would still need
regardless. · Running with only the intent in mind of proving myself to my father. Telling myself that
location perfectly on time, intending to enter the run down looking apartment complex, but as I did so, I felt something that wasn‘t just the achie of my
a burning in my mind, the start of a headache. Similar to what i‘d experienced on the night of
it. This wasn‘t the time and
now, I just needed to
slipped through the front door silently,
public area without being nottced. It was late at night but not late enough that people wouldn‘t still be around, coming home from the local pubs and bars. Yet I knew this
job, all
information. Just a first name, a brief description, a time and a location. I hadn‘t wanted to press for more details since it wasn‘t something I needed to
follow the orders from
until I finally came
ignore. In fact, it made lockpicking the front door harder as concentrating became increasingly more difficult. Just a little bit longer
I needed to do was sneak up and end this quickly. A job that should
few cautious steps, testing the floor for any weakness that may create sound, and
–You don‘t have to…’
a faint voice suddenly spoke behind me, and I
one was
like a whisper and yet I‘d heard it so clearly. As if it were right next to me. As if they were close enough to
wasn‘t just a
my brain, a new pain pierced me and caused me to wince. Making it more difficult to focus as I looked around, frantically trying to spot the source. Searching for whoever had spoken. …And yet
front of it. A confirmation that whoever had spoken, it wasn‘t
and stood back up, walking to behind the armchair. Moving quietly until I stood right behind the man who fit the
now or
a spot that would make this quick.
don‘t
out towards the voice, hoping to silence whoever it was once and for all. To stop the intense, sharp pain it seemed to bring
no one there… but I thought I knew what was wrong now. The same thing that had been messing with
…It was that drug.
that Kieran Lycroft had given
he‘d done to me must have still been in my system. Now, it was interfering with my work. Scaring me out of
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