A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! Greatly appreciated. We are just getting started! I plan on posting every Tuesday, just so you all know. Enjoy!
Chapter One
The Beginning
She was running. Not for the first time in her nineteen year existence, Felicity Smoak was running.
She weaved through bodies on the crowded downtown street. The market-goers around her were ruffled as she shoved her way between them. She glanced over her shoulder anxiously, knowing that he was behind her but unable to locate him in the crowd. Her heart raced as fear and panic and adrenaline raged within her. The strap of her bag cut across her shoulder, the weight of it thumping against her thighs as she moved.
Ducking between two vendors, Felicity slowed her pace and lowered her head.
If he was still following her, he'd expect her to use the crowd for cover. The market was doing good business early on a Saturday morning, plenty of patrons filling the streets, which was why she had chosen that direction for her escape. And an escape it had been. From another lousy relationship that had – for a short time – seemed like a fairytale. Until the asshole's easy-going attitude had given way to a violent possessiveness that had left her with more than one bruise. Felicity wouldn't let yet another guy beat on her, not again. So she'd grabbed what little she owned, stolen a handful of cash from his wallet, and made a break for it.
Which is how she'd ended up on the sidewalk, in the middle of the city, out of breath and scanning the faces around her cautiously. When she caught a glimpse of him between two stalls, she jumped back and side-stepped into the doorway of the closest building.
She stood there for what felt like an eternity, her satchel clutched tightly to her side, and held her breath. She couldn't be sure that he hadn't seen her. If he had, if Cooper followed her, she was dead. She knew that he'd kill her, or at least try, and she wouldn't be a victim. Not again.
The door at her back opened suddenly and Felicity barely contained a startled yelp as she tipped backwards. Two strong arms were there suddenly, halting her descent, and she found herself looking up into the face of a man she wasn't likely to forget. He stared back at her, the hard line of his mouth showing only a slight hint of amusement but she could tell he was trying not to laugh at her.
"Anyone ever tell you you shouldn't linger in random doorways?"
His gentle voice caused the fine hair on her arms to rise and she struggled to right herself. He released her, stepping away and giving her a full-length view of his body. And it was the type of body that she knew would get her in trouble. Of that, she had no doubt.
"You okay, kid?"
She rolled her eyes at the unintentional dig and straightened her bag. She met his gaze for the first time and a rush of air left her. His charming grin made her stomach swoop.
"Fine, thanks. And kid is a little derogatory, don't you think?"
One dark eyebrow quirked at her tone.
"You're what? Sixteen? Seventeen?"
Felicity scoffed, "Not that it's any of your damn business, but I'm nineteen. Not a kid."
A burst of male laughter from behind her rescuer caused her ears to perk up.
"Kid's got attitude, huh, Tommy?"
Tommy turned slightly and the movement gave her an unimpeded view of yet another gorgeous man. She was either the luckiest girl in the world or she'd actually fallen and given herself a concussion. It was very possible that she was dreaming.
"We're late, Oliver. Again. Get your ass in gear."
Felicity couldn't seem to withdraw her gaze from the man Tommy had just identified as Oliver. She thought the name matched the man perfectly. And while she'd thought Tommy's warm brown eyes had been stunning, she was surprised to find that Oliver's eyes had left her a little breathless. He was tall, towering over her even at a distance, and his broad shoulders moved fluidly beneath a fitted t-shirt. She couldn't be sure of his age but, if she had to guess, she would've placed him in his late twenties. He had slight laugh lines around his eyes and a shadow of stubble along his jaw. Yep, she thought, straight out of a romance novel.
Tommy and Oliver moved at the same time, both of them closing in on her, and it took her a moment to realize that she was blocking their exit. Stepping back onto the sidewalk, she didn't think to look before moving. It wasn't until she heard him call her name that she remembered why she'd been hiding in their doorway in the first place.
"Shit."
"Felicity! You little bitch, get back here!"
She didn't hesitate. The moment she spotted Cooper coming toward her, she turned and bolted in the opposite direction.
This time, she didn't look back. She cut left at the first intersection she reached, immersing herself once again in the flow of shoppers until she could slide between two more booths and emerge on the opposite side of the street. She doubled back, hoping he wouldn't be smart enough to anticipate the move, and when she dashed into an alley to cut over a block, she slammed into the solid wall of a male chest. Large calloused hands closed around her upper arms and she jerked in response, her first instinct being to run.
"Calm down, kid, we aren't going to hurt you."
She froze, glancing up into the second pair of beautiful eyes she'd encountered that day. Oliver was staring down at her with a scowl on his scruffy face. He looked pissed and it took longer than it should've for Felicity to realize that his anger was directed at her.
"What the hell do you want? Let me go!"
He released her immediately and she stumbled back a step. She glowered at him and he glowered right back. She wasn't surprised by the urge that coursed through her. She was ready to pick a fight.
Glancing past Oliver, she noticed Tommy resting casually against the side of one of the buildings. He was eyeing them with an amused grin turning up one corner of his mouth. He remained silent even as she sent a glare in his direction.
She didn't know either of these men from Adam and they were hindering her chance to escape.
"What are you running from? Or, I should say, who? Who the hell was that guy?"
She shook her head, "No one. Now, if you don't mind, I'd really like to get out of here."
Oliver took a step around her and glanced up and down the sidewalk. He turned back to her, still frowning, and she wondered briefly if he ever really smiled. She also wondered why he thought that her life was any of his damn business. They'd met – rather briefly – only a few minutes earlier. He didn't know anything about her.
"This isn't any of our concern, Ollie," Tommy muttered finally, "We're late. You know how much they hate it when we're late. Leave it. She looks like she can fend for herself. She doesn't need a guardian angel."
She didn't miss the weighted look that Oliver threw at his friend. When she tossed another glance in Tommy's direction, his amused smirk was still firmly in place.
"Listen to him, Oliver. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."
The man in front of her studied her for a long moment before he sighed and stepped out of her way. He swung out his arm in a 'go ahead' type gesture. But Felicity didn't want to go that way. She wasn't heading back into the market. She was heading for the other end of the alley. She could catch a bus on the next block and put some much needed distance between herself and Cooper. She took a step in that direction only to have Oliver put himself in her path again. She groaned.
"Jesus, will you get the hell out of my way!"
He shook his head ruefully and she heard a muffled chuckle coming from Tommy's direction. She felt her face flush.
"Go back into the market, Felicity. He'll be waiting at the bus stop. You'll be safer if you head up a few blocks and go west from there. Plenty of bus stops over on Harvard."
Her mouth opened to protest but something in her gut told her to listen to him. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that he'd used her name for the first time since she'd met him or if it was something else. Whatever it was, she sighed and resigned herself to the fact that she would take his advice. She hitched her bag closer to her side and stepped out onto the sidewalk again. Casting a weary glance in either direction, she saw no sign of Cooper.
Turning back to Oliver, she asked, "How do you –"
Felicity blinked and whirled around. The alley behind her was empty. A chill raced down her spine and before she could really delve into where they had gone, she shook off the feeling and dissolved once again into the crowd.
"I shouldn't have to tell you that that wasn't a good idea."
He sighed but didn't turn to face the man beside him. Oliver kept his eyes trained on the young woman threading her way through the throng of people three stories below. He had seen her before. Her golden blonde hair – streaked through with pink - and cool blue eyes had haunted his dreams for months. He hadn't shared that with Tommy and he didn't think he ever would. His brother didn't need to know that he had fallen in love with a woman he had never met.
"He would've killed her if he caught up with her," Oliver explained with as much detachment as he could manage, "It isn't her time."
"You sure about that, Ollie?"
He cast a sidelong glance at his brother.
"You know damn well that I'm sure. I haven't been wrong yet, have I?"
Tommy shrugged, "There's a first time for everything. Look, I'm not going to come between you and your… pet project but we have a job to do. One that we are now incredibly late for. We need to get going."
He remained frozen at the roof's edge for another few moments until she was out of sight. Felicity Smoak wasn't set to die, not today at least. He had done his job and he had kept her out of harm's way. If there had been a slightly personal motivation behind his interference, he wasn't ready to admit it. When he knew that she was safe, he turned to his brother.
They left the rooftop without another word.
After three days on a bus headed east, Felicity disembarked in a city she'd never visited. She had less than five hundred dollars to her name but she found a decent hotel in a neighborhood – she hoped – was safe enough and paid for three nights in advance. She had a routine any time she started over. And she started over a lot.
She took a quick shower, washing the bus grime from her body, and dressed in the last pair of clean shorts she had. She pulled a t-shirt over her head and loaded her dirty clothes into her satchel. Gathering enough money for the Laundromat and a sandwich, she tucked the rest into the bible in the nightstand drawer. It would be safe there.
She asked at the front desk for directions and set off on foot.
It had been almost four months since she'd run. Phoenix had seemed like a nice place. It was hotter than hell in the summer but it was the kind of heat that she could handle. She'd had a steady job waiting tables at a little family-owned place and she'd been lucky enough to find a decent roommate. Things had been going well in Arizona. At least until she'd invited trouble into her life in the form of Cooper.
Felicity sighed and pulled her thick curls away from her face, restraining them in a low ponytail.
She was tired of running. Five years had lapsed since the first time she'd felt the need to put distance between herself and a bad situation. She'd covered a lot of ground in that time and she'd never bothered looking back. But she was tired now. She felt much older than nineteen. She'd lived through more than anyone else she knew and she really was just a kid.
She scoffed at the thought, remembering the way that Tommy and Oliver had addressed her as kid. She knew she looked younger than she was but no kid should have the memories that she had. No kid would've survived her experiences.
Felicity loaded her clothes into one of the many available washers and started the load. Thankfully the place was pretty much empty and she didn't think she'd have to worry too much about anyone stealing her scant belongings. The timer on the machine said she had forty minutes. That would be enough time to grab lunch from the bar she'd passed on the way and possibly inquire about a job.
She left with her near empty satchel slung across her body. The bar was only a block away from the Laundromat and Felicity moved casually, casting her eyes all around to take in as much of this new location as she could. There were several restaurants lining the other side of the street, mixed here and there with clothing stores, a hardware store and a salon. If the bar wasn't hiring, at least she'd have options.
She was two steps from the entrance toThe Little Cantina when a glimpse of a reflection caught her attention. Her stride faltered and Felicity turned on her heel. She scanned the sidewalk on the other side of the road but the only occupants where a young couple pushing a stroller between them. He wasn't there.
She shook her head.
It wasn't the first time since their impromptu meeting that her mind had played this particular trick on her. Just the day before, when her bus had stopped at a truck stop to get refreshments and use the facilities, she would've sworn that she had seen him getting into a large black pickup truck at the opposite end of the parking lot. But when she had looked back, both Oliver and the truck were gone.
Felicity remained frozen on the sidewalk until the door at her back opened and the noise of the bar filtered out to greet her. She stepped inside.
"Hola, I'm Rosa. Just grab a table and I'll be right with you."
She smiled politely at the somewhat flustered waitress who fluttered from table to table quickly. She slid into a booth near the front window and glanced around at the crowded dining room. The Little Cantina was a busy place at mid-day on a Thursday. Rosa seemed to be the only server on the floor but the other patrons didn't seem to mind. It was obviously a local place. Conversations carried between tables, not just between the occupants of a single table, and everyone seemed to know everyone. It was exactly the type of place that Felicity loved. A place where she could blend in. A place that could eventually feel like home.
When Rosa finally made it to her table, she was still smiling.
"Hi there. What can I get you, chica?"
Felicity returned her smile.
"Can I just have a glass of water and the number three combo, please?" she asked kindly.
"Sure thing. Pretty sure I haven't seen you around. Are you new to town?"
She nodded, "Just came in this morning. I'm thinking of sticking around for a while, seems like a nice quiet place. Do you know if anyone is hiring in the area? I've got some experience."
It turned out – not for the first time – to be that easy. She wasn't sure if it was just her luck or if something else had a hand in it, but wherever it was she ended up, Felicity had never had trouble finding work.
As it turned out, Rosa and her husband, Jorge, were the owners and operators of The Little Cantina and had been trying to find a new waitress after their daughter had gone off to college.
"If you want to wait until after the lunch rush dies down, I will introduce you to Jorge and we can come up with a schedule."
Felicity nodded, "Sounds great. I need to run over and switch some clothes around at the Laundromat, but I'll come right back."
Rosa agreed and moved away to continue serving the other customers. While she ate, Felicity scanned the room again and memorized the layout. She had been waiting tables since she was fourteen – often off the books – so she was familiar with the routine. She was almost positive she could do it in her sleep.
Leaving cash on the table to cover her meal and a tip for Rosa, she headed up the road to move her laundry into a dryer before making her way back to her new place of employment.
She lingered out in front of the bar for a few minutes, letting the afternoon sun warm her face as she stared at the storefront across the street. He would've had to have stood just there for his reflection to show up in the cantina's window as it had. The sidewalk was empty, as it had been before lunch, but a chill ran down her spine and Felicity was surprised by the goose bumps on her arms.
She blinked dazedly and stepped back into The Little Cantina.
He knew it was reckless, letting her see him the way he had. He should've kept his distance. He should've ignored her altogether and simply gone back to his life as normal. But it wasn't that simple. It never would be again. He had seen it, a quick glance when he'd caught her coming into the alley that day, and some carnal need for her rose within him and he hadn't been able to stomp it out. She bore the Mark, the same one that marred his own flesh, and he of all people knew what it meant.
They weren't supposed to be Marked, his kind. It was unheard of. He had never considered what it meant, the scar on his back, until he had begun dreaming about her. About a girl with honey blonde hair and eyes the color of the Caribbean. He hadn't once allowed himself to believe that the small symbol meant that he was Marked. That he was bound to a mortal. The Mark changed everything.
Oliver leaned against the window at his back and continued to watch her as she wiped down a table in the restaurant where she now worked. She'd been in town for all of twenty-four hours and she'd secured employment and was working on finding a place to live. He was impressed. He had expected that she would need his help with one thing or the other but it seemed that Felicity had done all of this before.
She looked up suddenly, her eyes immediately finding him where he stood outside of the hardware store. She must have felt as if she was being watched – which she was – because there was no way for her to see him. Not this time. After a long moment, she shook her head and went back to work.
He stepped out of the shadow of the awning. His shoulders itched, the tell-tale burn a sign of the power he wielded, and then he was rising into the night sky with very little effort. She would never know that he had been there.
Rosa slid onto the barstool beside her.
"Felicity, mi hija, you are a godsend! I don't know if I've mentioned that today, but I thought it was time you hear it!"
Felicity laughed, sipping at the glass of water in front of her. It was a little after one in the morning and they'd finally managed to clear out the dining room. Saturday nights seemed to be a popular night at the cantina.
"I'm just glad I found you guys," she told the older woman, "First thing I do when I move somewhere new is look for a job and this one is perfect for me. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to step in."
Rosa gave her a brief hug and slid a wad of cash across the bar. Her half of the tips.
"You came highly recommended! I talked to Mr. Washburn back in Phoenix and even though he was sad to see you go, he gave you great praise. Said I wouldn't find a better employee."
Felicity flushed under the compliment and pocketed the money. She stood, stretching up onto her tips toes, and barely covered a yawn. It was certainly time for her to head back to the hotel and the bed awaiting her there. She had two apartments to look at in the morning and the prospect of getting at least six solid hours of sleep was a pleasant one.
She said goodnight to Rosa and called out a goodbye to Jorge. With her tip money tucked into her wallet inside of her satchel, Felicity headed toward her temporary home.
Walking at a brisk pace with one hand around the can of pepper spray she kept in her bag and the other tucked into the pocket of her jeans, she kept her eyes open and remained alert. She knew walking in an unfamiliar area after dark was a risk. She had been mugged before, more than once, but a car was a luxury she couldn't afford and the small town that she had settled in didn't offer anything in the way of public transportation. She could've asked Jorge or Rosa to drive her home but she refused to put either of them out. They lived in a small two bedroom apartment above the cantina, driving her the mile and a half out of town to her hotel wouldn't have taken long but it would've been an inconvenience.
A cold gust of air pushed at her back and she shivered. It was the end of August in south Texas. Air that cold didn't come out of nowhere, not here and certainly not this time of year.
Fear spiked inside of her, causing her heart to race and her breath to hitch. She kept walking, hoping her quickened pace didn't give away the thoughts running rampant in her mind. She would fight back. She had before and she wasn't weak. She had her pepper spray and she could throw a pretty decent punch if she had to. But running was easier than fighting and definitely less painful. And she was small and quick. Depending on the build of the person threatening her, her petite frame could be her advantage.
A crack in the sidewalk caused her to lose her balance as she caught the toe of her shoe. She gasped, the fall startling her, but as she braced herself for the impact, a strong arm slid around her waist and hauled her onto her feet. A warm body was at her back then and Felicity struggled to get away. As soon as she was free, she whirled to face the man who had both saved and terrified her.
"Ol – Oliver?"
He stared down at her with bright eyes and a scowl on his face. His hands were clenched at his sides, the anger rolling off of him palpable, and she took a reflexive step back.
"How did you find me? What the hell are you doing here? Did you – did you follow me?"
The fear she'd felt earlier was quickly replaced with outrage. There was no way he could've known that this is where she would end up. She hadn't even known when she'd boarded the bus in Phoenix five days prior. It all made sense then. She had seen him at the truck stop and again outside of the cantina that first day. He'd followed her over fifteen hundred miles.
She took another step back, fear returning, and caught her heel on the same crack in the sidewalk. Oliver's hand shot out and caught her before she could fall on her backside.
"Will you please be more careful," he snapped.
She jerked her arm free from his grasp.
"Answer my questions, damn you, or I'm calling the police. Are you following me? How'd you find me here?"
He sighed, "It doesn't matter how. I'm not here to hurt you, kid."
She rolled her eyes and scoffed at the name but it didn't stop her face from flaming. She wasn't sure why it bothered her that he called her that.
"Then why the hell are you here?"
He caught her arm again and jerked her forward a step. There was very little space left between them when his thumb brushed across the raised spot of flesh on the inside of her right wrist.
"This is why I'm here."
She glanced at him incredulously and shook her head in disbelief. She withdrew from his hold with more gentleness than before and retreated again. She didn't feel comfortable being so close to him.
"My stupid birthmark? That's really why you came all this way?" she asked.
Oliver shoved a hand into his hair and the action accentuated the thick muscle in his arm. He was frightening in a way, intense and obviously dangerous, but she also found a beauty in the hard lines of his body and the chiseled features of his face. He wasn't traditionally handsome, not like the pretty men she saw on television and in fashion spreads. His beauty was in the strength and masculinity that he seemed to exude with every breath he took.
"It's not a birthmark. You don't feel it? You can't – you don't know what it means, do you?"
She felt a jolt of anxiety in the pit of her stomach and considered running. He wasn't threatening her. At least, she thought, it didn't feel like a threat. But it was all beginning to feel very much like a romance novel to her. A mysterious stranger coming out of nowhere to rescue her, not once, but three times. And, of course, there had to be some tangled-web of a reason for his sudden appearance in her life.
"Enlighten me."
He shook his head, "Not here."
She looked around at the otherwise empty street.
"Um, okay… where do you propose?"
Oliver's gaze was locked on something over her shoulder but when she turned, Felicity saw nothing but a handful of cars parked on the street.
"Your hotel isn't far, right?"
She made a noise of protest and crossed her arms over her chest. There was no way she was taking him to her hotel. She wasn't stupid.
"Not a chance in hell. Either we talk here, now, or you can meet me somewhere for coffee in the morning."
He sighed again, the sound as close to a growl as she'd ever heard, and she ignored the way heat raced through her because of it.
"Fine. It isn't a birthmark, Felicity. It's a Mark."
She waited for a more explanative explanation but when he remained silent, she glanced down at the faint white arrow on her wrist. She'd had it for as long as she could remember. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about it beyond the fact that she wasn't sure how it had come to be there. Her mother had always explained it away as a birthmark and even though it looked nothing like the birthmarks she'd seen on other people, she'd had no reason not to believe her mom.
"Felicity, do you understand what I'm telling you? It is a Mark."
When realization hit her, it hit her hard. She swayed on the spot and had it not been for him, she would've ended up in a heap on the ground.
She had heard of the Marked. She knew the stories. They were rare, so much so that she had never met anyone in her travels who was Marked. At least, no one who admitted to it openly. And she had never considered for a second that the faint lines on her wrist that formed a tiny arrow meant anything so extreme. She was Marked. They were Marked. She was bound to this man in a way she didn't actually understand.
"You're wrong."
The words left her unbidden and she knew the moment she spoke that it was a lie. She'd known when she'd met him on the street in Phoenix. She'd felt it the second he'd touched her in that alley. It was why she had seen him. She had been unconsciously looking for him. Waiting for him to find her.
"Felicity –"
She shook her head and turned away from him. She started up the sidewalk again.
"Goodbye, Oliver."
She was doing the only thing she could do. The thing she did best. She was running. What she couldn't have known was that Oliver wouldn't let her get far.
