A/N: This is my second time reposting this story up. Unlike the last time, I now have a wonderful Beta, Becky, who took her time to proof read through the chapter. As I stated before, constructive criticism is appreciated and flames are not. So please read & review if you can. Hope you enjoy the reading!
Chapter One
After stumbling into the cold night, Isabel quickly regained her footing. The pain still throbbed through the right side of her arm where she had thrown her body against the door. She had expected it to open easily, but she didn't account for the fact that the door was being held closed from the outside.
The cold night's air that greeted her on the other side was refreshing compared to the cramped room she had escaped from. She was now in an alley, which was just as dark as the cloud covered sky. She had no destination to get to but her main goal was to get as far away as she possibly could without being caught. Sprinting toward the street, she turned left.
Her heart was ready to burst out of her chest after running three blocks without stopping. Her legs have been screaming at her to stop. She didn't want to stop but she had no other choice. Panting, she leaned against a brick wall. Looking up at the sky, she wished that she could see the stars. They were a sight she had once admired so long ago.
She did not want to stay in the open, so she quickly jogged into an alley that was next to the building where she had stopped to catch her breath. Unlike the alley she had just left, this one had lights although they were dimmed by the grime that covered the lightbulbs. She had no idea where she was, but she didn't care. She knew she'd resolve that fact later on.
Just when she reached the middle of the semi-darkened alley, she saw the faint outline of a person at the other end. She was about to turn around and run when she heard a familiar click.
"You thought you could easily get away from us that easily, didn't you, princess?"
She didn't respond, quickly putting her hand in the front pocket of her jeans. The rings where still there, buried safely deep inside. That's all she needed; all she could take from them. It was nothing compared to what they had taken away from her.
"Make one move and I'll shoot," he voiced, "Tony will understand, especially when you have taken what does not belong to you."
Antonio, she thought. Even the mention of that name made her sick. She couldn't believe that God, if there was one, would let such a foul monster live. But He did and He did not exist.
"Although Gordo is a fat ass, it does not mean he's useless."
Such ominous words could only mean one thing, quickly turning around, she came face to face with the man she had sneaked past earlier. Such an awful grin on his large face made her extremely uncomfortable.
"Hola," he said right before she was pistol-whipped on the side of her forehead, knocking her out.
.-.-.-.-.-.
A throbbing pain at the side of her head woke her up. It was only then a powerful headache reared its ugly head. She reached toward the source of the throbbing only to feel what was apparently a bandage. That was something that hadn't been there before. Quickly, she opened her eyes to yet another world of darkness.
She realized then that she was laying in a bed. That could only mean one thing. She slowly sat up, not wanting to make her headache worsen by getting up too quickly. Her hope soon disappeared as she realized that she was not in a hospital room.
Her heart started to speed up once more, realizing that those men had been the last people she'd seen and that they had obviously brought her back to the hell hole she had failed to escape from. If they had, why wasn't she tied up? If she wasn't, then that only meant that they were right outside. An uneasy feeling started rising in the pit of her stomach. This was not good, not good at all.
She got up and walked toward the door. She had been thrown inside and kept in a dark room (except during the day when the sunlight streamed in), so she knew where everything was. Instead of feeling the door as she expected, she felt a wall. That must mean that she was taken into another part of the house or moved into another building.
Fumbling around the wall, she tried to feel around for the light switch. When she finally found, she switched it on. The whole room was illuminated in the bright light that originated from the naked bulb that was hanging from the ceiling. What she saw was nothing she had expected.
There were two small unkempt beds across from where she was standing. She did not have any idea which one she had woken up on but she was thankful that she didn't bump into any of the furniture that was around, not that there was a lot. Besides the night tables next to each bed, there was nothing of real interest in the room. No decorations whatsoever. At least until her eyes fell upon a hanging rosary. There was nothing special about it, it was much like the many rosaries she had seen before all the shit she had went through. Turning away from it, she looked toward the door.
Unless Tony had made one of his men lock her in one of their sleeping quarters, everything looked unimportant. The door was likely locked but she had to know. The knob easily turned, followed shortly by a soft click. Her hand let go of the knob as if a current had shocked her. A sign that should have given her hope, just made her nervous. Hope had failed her several times and she was not going to start believing in it again.
She heard whispers coming from outside. The voices were low, which was not surprising, but she couldn't understand what the people were talking about. Placing her ear next to the keyhole, she managed to distinguish two voices.
"You're tha one who saw the fuckin' car!" one of them exclaimed in earnest.
"I didn' get a clear view of it." The other replied, his voice much calmer than the other's.
"Tha girl must know," the first one said, his voice taking on a softer tone.
Isabel pulled away from the keyhole, staring at it as if it she was seeing if for the first time in her life. They were talking about them. They are assuming she knows them. She knows them alright. The monsters that had destroyed her life. Now those guys out there wanted her help in finding them? Not even under the orders of God himself would she ever return there. Quickly, she ran toward the light switch, turning it off and letting her world become bathed in the darkness she had awoken to.
She had expected light to spill in from the outside from the crack where she had left the door open, but there was nothing. She still wasn't sure where she was but she assumed that those who were speaking where either in an open space or farther down the hall.
Although those people outside were not Tony's men (she had never heard any of his men speak in the accent that the other two obviously had), she still could not trust them nor her surroundings. For all she knew they could be the enemies of those she had run away from. Although it didn't explain why they would tend to her injuries. It didn't matter, they still were not to be trusted.
Walking over to the door once more, she waited to hear them speak again. Silence was her only answer. Could they possibly have left; leaving her behind with a way for her to escape? Either they were not the smartest people, or she was in a much more dangerous environment. Opening the door, she quietly slipped out.
Her eyes had already adjusted to the dark, so she could easily see the faint outline of another door across from where she was standing. The door was ajar but nothing was coming from inside. It must be another room, Isabel thought as her hand felt the small bulge the rings made in her pocket. At least they didn't take away the only thing she needed to survive, monetarily speaking.
After walking down the hall, if that's what you could call it, she came upon a large wide open area. If this was the living room, then that could mean she was only a few feet away from her escape. Though this time she did not have an idea where that damned door could be.
"I thought ye'd be in bed, with that headache I'm sure ye have."
She stopped and quickly turned towards the direction of the voice. There was the soft click of a lamp being turned on and she was once again covered in light. Blinking, her eyes tried to adjust themselves to the new surroundings.
There was not much to see. The room was partially empty, except for the two men who were occupying the only seating in the room. The lighter haired one, although not blonde exactly, was laying on the sofa. An arm was resting over his eyes, obviously shielding them from the light of the lamp that was near him. The one who turned on the lamp, the one whose hair was a bit darker than the other, watched her.
"I've had worse, thank you." she said, looking over both of them.
"Have you now?" the one in the sofa asked whilst propping himself up into a seated position.
That was one of the things Isabel did not expect to be asked. Usually the guys would make a smart-ass comment before taking care of business. These two, they were another deal altogether. Plus, having them stare at her did not made her at all comfortable.
"You are asking as if you are expecting an answer," she told him, feeling the wall pressed up against her back.
The two of them exchanged a glance before one spoke, "Ye already did answer, ya know."
She scoffed, "I do not know who you two are, but I do not need to be here."
"I'm Connor," the one on the sofa said, "and that's Murphy." Motioning to the only other man in the room. "I'm sorry to say, but ye won't be able to leave." he stated nonchalantly.
"'Specially so with what happened back in the alley." Murphy continued, as he pushed himself off his seat. "Now if ye don' mind, I'll be getting meself to bed."
Isabel was dumbfounded as she watched Murphy walk by. It was as if they just had finished having a consensual meeting between themselves. She knew she wasn't dealing with the same people she had escaped from, but she hadn't expected them to be as laid-back as they were.
Who were they?
It finally dawned on Isabel that these two had not only saved her, if that's what you could call it, but they also must have killed her captors or she couldn't possibly be here. They weren't ordinary people, they were something entirely different and she wasn't exactly calmed down by that idea.