15
R aylene Walker didn’t pass out. But dear god didn’t she hope she had. The whip came down on her like a damned lightning, thunderous and painful. Ray’s entire body shuttered, her mind-numbing when the whip slashed on her shoulders. For a second, there was no pain. No ache.
And then it exploded like a fucking bomb.
She bit down on her tongue in an attempt to not cry out loud, but still, a treacherous sound of agony ripped past her lips. The pain was everywhere, thundering through her shoulder and working its way down to her abdomen. There was a part of Ray that thought her body would be scarred forever, but it diminished with the sudden white and red that flashed behind her eyes. It was as though someone had brought forth a hot iron poker and had set her entire body on fire.
Ray’s words were incoherent as she slammed down to her knees, gasping harshly against the blinding agony tearing through her skin.
Everything throbbed. Everything burnt.
Her ears were ringing, barely registering the young girl shaking behind her or Maya’s tip of her chin as she looked down at her through her dead eyes.
Ray’s body shuddered violently, and she let out a harsh breath before lifting her dangerous sheen eyes to Maya’s,
“Are we– good?” She managed to gasp through her clenched teeth.
One of her hands was braced against her abdomen, and the other was supporting her weight while her entire body threatened to give up .
But Ray wouldn’t give Maya that satisfaction. Not today.
So, she matched her lethal gaze, daring her to strike again even as her entire body begged for her to give up.
Maya’s chin lifted further, a look of interest entering her eyes as she threw the whip away. It crashed against the stone wall, making everyone except Ray and Maya flinch.
“Get up.”
Maya’s voice was low, was almost lost. But not kind. Never kind.
Ray obeyed, even as her entire body protested and screamed against the movement. She stood, her hands shaking and her body in near convulsion as she faced Maya Larsen. Ray’s breaths were harsh, borderline crazy as she ran a shaking hand through her hair and raised her eyes in question.
“This bravery, these actions,” Maya started, her heels clicking as she took a step in Ray’s direction. Ray fought her urge to step back, to back down from this, but she stood her ground. Knew she’d lose everything if she didn’t, “They won’t be tolerated henceforth.”
Ray’s eyes shuttered but didn’t lower. Not even as Maya got into her face and snarled softly enough for her to hear, “Your job isn’t to save Raylene Walker. Remember why we got you here.”
Fucking assholes. All of them.
“I understand. That’s why I’m here.” She responded, keeping her voice light and quiet even as tremors ran down her spine, “I’m just doing my job.”
Her head tilted to nudge in the girl’s direction, but she didn’t dare look away from Maya, “I’m here for her. For the potential leads she could provide. Nothing more. ”
Ray saw the tick in Maya’s jaw. The first real emotion she’d shown in days. The raw, feral anger however was wasted on Raylene Walker. Because there was no way in hell she was going to step out of her way.
“Stick to your words Raylene.” Was Maya’s smooth response, so icy that Ray’s blood froze in fear.
She tried to shake herself out of it and was almost close to doing so when a murmur of words began behind her. Ray didn’t turn but heard the small girl saying words that weren’t audible to her. Her shoulders stiffened at the desperation in those inaudible words. At the reek of fear and anguish, they brought forth.
“She’s praying.” Maya whispered, far too close to Ray now, “Hear that? She’s praying.”
Ray’s chest hollowed out, all air leaving her lungs as Maya gave her a once over, “Don’t play God Raylene.” She said softly, and Ray might as well have died at the threat in her voice, “You won’t stay alive for long.”
The threat was clear. Maya’s eyes were wary now, almost bored when Ray noticed the silence of the room. No one, not one of them had dared to speak up. Her teeth clenched at their cowardice , her fingers tightening into fists as her honey eyes sparked with that flame. The same flame Maya had seen when she’d recruited her.
The very flame that had gotten her to where she was now.
“She isn’t praying to me.” She responded, her voice quiet but still echoing through the stone chamber, “No one has ever mistaken me for God yet Mrs. Larsen.”
“No one until you. ”
Dangerous game, Ray was playing a dangerous game. But it seemed to work in her favor because a rare smile flitted across Maya’s lips as she gazed back at her. The same smile she’d gotten the day Maya had begun her tests to accept her in the Lions.
To determine her rank. Her worth.
Maya didn’t respond. Just waved her hand in the air and turned on her heels slowly without another word. Ray didn’t move, not until she saw Maya glide past Kyle and Verana and step out the doors. Alessandro’s shoes hissed against the floor, drawing Ray’s wary attention. The man’s lips twitched at her, his eyes gazing into hers as he rubbed his chin,
“Do as you wish with the girl.” He said gruffly, sounding amused, “But get me a lead by today.”
Ray ducked her chin ever so slightly and saw the man walk past them as well, murmuring something incoherent under his breath.
Surprisingly, the pain didn’t hit her immediately. Or maybe, a part of her had unexplainably gone numb to it. And yet, she could feel tremors rock her body like damned bullets. And hell, if they weren’t on a roll.
She was staring off into space when her brain scrambled for the next course of action,
“Verana.” Her voice had gone soft now, devoid of any fight as she heard Verana’s footsteps shuffle closer, “Take her to my room. Get her bathed and dress her wounds.”
For once Verana didn’t argue. Ray’s entire body was threatening to bow in exhaustion. But still, she turned on her heels and faced the girl on the floor. Regarded her through a wary gaze as Ray bent with a wince.
The girl was small and could be easily mistaken for an eleven-year-old. But Ray knew she was older than she looked .
Her body was curled into a small ball when Ray shifted closer to her. That small head snapped up immediately, and Ray was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of blue-grey eyes glaring right into hers.
“You’re the same .” She spat in Italian, making Ray’s brows rise, “You’re all the same. I thought you were different. I–”
“Shh,” Ray said, closing her eyes to fight the wave of pain that crashed over her, and opening them again to look at her intently, “I want you to go with her.” Ray said in Italian and pointed in Verana’s direction, “And she’ll take care of you until I get back.”
The girl opened her mouth to argue but Ray shook her head, “Do as I say, or you’ll die.” She said, knowing her words were too harsh, but she couldn’t help it. She’d just taken a whip atop her abdomen injury. She wasn’t in any mood to entertain small girls.
Ray got up with a small groan at the back of her throat, placing her hands on her knees as she did so and swiveled on her heels.
Her eyes were on the door when Kyle’s soft voice broke through her demeanor.
“Where are you going?” he asked, and Ray sighed but didn’t cease walking towards her door. Just threw her head back and closed her eyes briefly,
“Follow me and I’ll cut your dick off and hand it to you.” Was all she said before she walked out the door.
* *
He really should’ve stayed back. Maybe if he had, he wouldn’t be stuck here, with Luke pacing in his room without saying a word .
After revealing to Ray yesterday that he was going to reveal his suspicion about Sorin, he had finally awoken this morning with a strange feeling to tell his closest people before he dropped the bomb.
Or maybe that had been just one of the excuses he’d conjured to untangle himself from Ray’s arms this morning.
Angel sighed loudly, “ What Luke?” he snapped, and Luke stopped pacing, swiveling to face him with a glare in his eyes, “What do you want to say?”
“You could’ve told us.” He snapped back and Angel groaned at the ferocity in his tone. Jack scoffed from his bed just as Mia tapped away on her phone and murmured,
“Where the hell did you find this information anyway?” she asked. Even she sounded a bit hurt. Angel ignored the stab of guilt and turned to Christina in an attempt to gain some sympathy.
He got none.
Christina crossed her arms, looking at him through narrowed eyes as she sat on the couch. Apparently, none of them had left his room last night. And when he’d barged in here, they’d all simply been waiting for him to start speaking.
Giving him literally no time to reel back from his memories of Ray from last night.
“It was by chance.” Angel answered Mia’s question, only half lying to his credit. But he couldn’t bring himself to get more involved in this.
“Who else knows?” Jack quipped and Angel turned his deadpan look to his. He saw Jack grin and shrug in his direction innocently. Pricks, all of them. They all knew who else –
“Screw that.” Christina interrupted, “Where the hell were you last night?”
Ray’s wounds, her face flinching with pain suddenly flashed in his mind, making him wish he’d never left from her side this morning. Angel leaned forward, lacing his hands as he looked up at her seriously,
“Raylene Walker got stabbed in the ambush yesterday.” He said grimly and saw all their head snap up at his words. Angel understood their surprise, their confusion. They’d all seen Ray’s ferocious nature, but maybe they’d all overestimated her strength?
“Makes no sense,” Mia murmured, making Angel clench his jaw in slight annoyance. His mind caught up at his actions a second later and immediately reprimanded himself for it. He shook his head abruptly and chose to continue,
“I went to see her last night.” He said softly but didn’t give them a chance to question him at all. Not as he lifted his eyes in slight warning. Angel saw Luke sigh once and avert his gaze just as Christina let out a small groan and flopped back against the couch.
“So,” Mia started softly from beside him and Angel’s shoulders relaxed, “When do you want to see Mom?”
Shit. Between the ambush and Sorin and Ray, he hadn’t had the chance to talk to Mia about her mom. Angel made sure to show the remorse in his eyes as he moved on the bed to face her,
“I completely forgot.” He started sheepishly and saw Mia look up from her phone, her gaze weary as she absentmindedly swiped something on her phone. Angel gulped, his fingers clenching the bedsheets as he looked at her, “Is she mad? ”
Mia let go of her phone and leaned forward, putting her chin in her hands as she smiled, “No. Just disappointed.”
Angel clicked his tongue and sighed. He didn’t have the time or energy to talk to Miranda Andrews, but it seemed as though he had no choice today. Angel nodded his head softly and got up from his bed. First Miranda, then Sorin.
Then Ray.
Making up his mind, he turned to her warily and frowned at the triumphant smile on her face, “Let’s go you brat.” He said halfheartedly and watched her jump off his bed with a small grin. Angel sighed and turned to face Jack who was lounging against the chair that was kept beside the closed door of his room. The other boy shifted his head almost lazily, giving him a smile that said, you’re so fucking screwed.
Angel was mature enough to flip him off.
Luke rolled his eyes in disdain just as Jack threw his head back and laughed out loud. He saw Christina let out a small groan of protest as she got off her couch.
“So how’s she doing now?” Christina asked suddenly, her question making Angel freeze in his tracks. Despite his protests, the image of her pressed up close to him flashed in his mind. Her legs touching his, his fingers wrapped around her wrists and those damned honey eyes darkening–
Angel cleared his throat, not letting the flush in his cheeks show as he replied quickly, “Fine. She’s fine.”
“She’s discharged?” Luke continued as Angel went to open his door.
That reminded him, he did have David’s number. He should probably call him to ask about her condition this morning .
But a part of him knew she was probably up and out of bed, looking for ways to get out of the hell-forsaken hospital immediately. Angel shrugged in response to Luke’s question and reached into the pocket of his jeans to fish out his phone just as he pulled the door open.
He was still scrolling through his contacts in search of David’s name when he stepped out into the hallway. And heard a loud thump echo on his side.
Angel’s head snapped up, his hand reaching out to grab the handle of his gun. But the scene up ahead hadn’t been something he’d been expecting.
Angel froze, a terrible feeling climbing up his spine as he saw Verana open the door to Ray’s room and push a smaller, hooded figure inside gently. Those black eyes snapped at him, daring him to say a single word as she walked through Ray’s room and shut her door. Maybe he should’ve walked away, but just as Angel started striding towards her room, he heard faint footsteps echo through the narrow corridor.
He saw Kyle run through the hallway, his eyes wary and tired as he looked down at his phone and swore out loud. Angel was about to say something when he saw the other boy notice his presence. Angel’s curiosity heightened as he saw all the emotions leak out of his face, not a hint of friendliness from before shone in his eyes as he looked away from him and pushed Ray’s door open as well.
Disappeared inside.
Angel grit his teeth, his mind still reeling with that terrible feeling as he dialed David’s number in a frenzy. He pressed the phone up to his ear and his gaze wandered to the front of Ray’s door .
What the hell were they doing here? He was thinking as he walked forward and stopped until he was right in front of her room.
David answered on the third ring.
And Angel’s eyes fell to the carpeted floor. Found drops of red coloring the pale carpet.
“Hello?”
His lips parted in surprise as his mind went into shock. What in god’s name was going on here? Angel didn’t answer David’s words, was just staring at the drop of blood when he felt Jack’s presence behind him. He didn’t turn but somehow, Jack had already noticed Angel’s tense set of shoulders. Angel saw him move to stand in front of him and go down on his toes in front of him.
Angel grit his teeth as Jack examined the red color once and looked up with a grim look in his eyes.
“Blood.” He stated and Angel’s mind went blank.
“Tell me Raylene Walker is in the hospital right now.” Angel snarled into the phone, and he swore he heard David’s sharp inhale. God fucking damn it, “Where is she, David?”
“She ran out!” David said hurriedly from the other end, and Angel’s eyes flitted to the closed door, “Verana Smith came into her room and the next moment, she was running out like her life was on the line.”
Angel thought back to the hooded figure and his eyes shuttered in annoyance. Not her life, he thought venomously as he hung up the phone and turned to face the door, someone else’s.
He didn’t wait. And he didn’t have to work really hard either. Just thought of the dark look on Kyle’s and Verana’s faces and gripped the door handle tightly .
As if they had something to hide. Angel was thinking when he twisted the handle and threw open the door.
So lost that they had forgotten to lock a simple door.
Angel’s eyes snapped in the dark room, flashing against the sunlight that rushed through as he caught Kyle and Verana standing with their bodies frozen. As if they’d been deep in conversation. He saw both of them move swiftly after a moment’s pause, their faces drawn tight as they shifted on their feet and their weapons already fixed in their hand. Angel just tipped his chin upwards with a questioning look as he saw the blonde hair and green eyes. As he heard the faint drip of water coming from the closed washroom doors.
“Kyle,” Angel said and tucked his phone back in the pocket of his jeans. He saw the boy stiffen, his eyes casting a dark glare, “What’s going on?”
Kyle let out a ragged breath and it was then Angel noticed the splatter of blood on his clothes. The exhausted yet haunted look in his eyes. Something was wrong, he realized with a start, very fucking wrong.
“What happened?” he probed, his voice sharp enough to earn Kyle’s attention and friendly enough to keep it. The other boy heaved a breath and turned to face Verana warily. The girl shrugged back at him, as if suddenly tired and tucked her gun in their pants as Kyle looked at him,
“We caught a girl.” Was Kyle’s fast response, making Angel frown in confusion. Kyle caught the look and dragged a hand down in face, “She’s one of our leads.”
“So why do the two of you look like you just survived a plane crash?” Jack asked incredulously and Kyle tucked his hands in the pocket of his pants roughly.
“We did.” Was Verana’s tight response .
A sudden thought hit Angel at the way they were both acting suddenly, making him go cold all over.
“Who talked to her?”
Angel had only heard rumors about Maya Larsen, but they were enough. Dios, he hoped not –
“Mom did.”
He clenched his teeth and was about to respond when Kyle continued grimly, “Ray interrupted.”
Angel stilled, his eyes going wide. No, she couldn’t be that stupid. But by the look in Kyle’s eyes, apparently, she was.
“What do you mean she interrupted?” Christina asked, appearing from the doorway suddenly, her shoulders taut as she faced them, “What the hell is going on?”
His head was beginning to spin. He was going to lose it.
“Where is she now?”
Kyle took forever to respond, making Angel mad in the brain. What was she thinking?
“I don’t know.” It seemed like the sincerest thing he’d ever said.
Angel ran a ruffled hand through his hair, suddenly confused and pissed off. More confused and pissed off at the way he was so affected by Ray’s stupid actions. He wondered how her brain worked, how she had fucking survived in this messed up world by holding up value that led her to this extent.
“Is she–” he couldn’t. Couldn’t ask it. So he changed it,
“Did she get what she wanted in the end?” Angel asked, knowing how dangerous it was. But Kyle didn’t seem like he was in the right mind as well, because he was running a ragged hand through his hair and was breathing out harshly ,
“Yeah, she did.”
Angel’s eyes closed, in annoyance or triumph, he did not know. Just knew that Raylene Walker had been one of his most confusing acquaintances of all time. He didn’t know why–
And then he got his answer.
All their eyes snapped to the sudden sounds of the splatter of water and faint footsteps as they opened the washroom door. A sudden roar started in the back of his mind. Fusing and merging with the ringing of his ears, he saw a girl, maybe fifteen years old, standing at the foot of the door.
“Fucking hell,” Jack cursed from behind him, but Angel’s eyes were on her. The girl, with her hair wet, her entire body bowed with pain and agony as she looked up at all of them. Stared with a dangerous glare in those young eyes.
Then Angel saw the bruise, angry and red and blue on the side of her face. Peeking through her long t-shirt over her shoulder, from the back of her neck–
He clenched his teeth so tightly that it hurt his jaw. This is what Ray had almost sacrificed her life for. He felt like such a fucking fool. Angel turned to face Kyle, his eyes wide in rage as he stared at the boy in a way he hadn’t dared to before,
“ This?” he snarled softly as saw Kyle’s brief flinch. Because Angel didn’t have to continue for him to hear his words. This is what your mother did?
This is what you are?
“Don’t kill me ,” the young voice rasped, drawing their attention once again. Angel looked her straight in her eyes, not flinching once as he willed her to understand ,
“That’s not why I’m here right now.” He said softly and saw those blueish-grey eyes glint in the sunlight. Angel’s chin tipped upwards, his eyes shining with a sort of conviction that was beginning to scare him,
“Nor was she. ” He said, his tone sharp with confidence. The girl’s breath loosened, her shoulders flopping down as he made sure she saw that determination, that truth in his words.
“When she gets back,” he continued, because there was no way in hell she wasn’t coming back, “Tell her your name.”
The girl’s eyes shone, a sudden sheen falling over like a curtain, and ducked her head. In exhaustion or relief, he did not know. So, Angel turned his head, his eyes dangerously dark as he looked at Kyle. A part of him recoiled at the sudden rage that had gripped him. Angel had always guessed at the reality of the Lions but looking at them now,
Looking at Kyle now, he knew his path was right.
Knew it with the same conviction that believed Raylene Walker.
“And she’ll remember it until the day she fucking dies.”