#10 The Game Has Changed

I immediately focused my attention on the Paladins surrounding them. Most were faces I didn't recognize, but some were friends of Dad's that I'd seen on one or two occasions. Not that it mattered – recognition wouldn't stop them from killing me. I lifted my chin high and faked it, smirking around at them as though I was so unafraid. The fast tempo of my heart contradicted my smug expression.

Then the group of Paladins parted and I saw him marching towards me. Jules must have been really important and really high up in the Paladin social hierarchy. I smiled and tried to pretend like nothing was wrong.

"Hey, Jules. How's it going?"

Jules's eyes glittered as he stopped right in front of me. I mean, hello, personal space? I noticed that he was heavily armed. If I even tried to use the tactics Griffin had taught me, I'd be pulverized. He didn't look very happy right now.

"Open the Jump Scar, Bec."

I gave him my sweetest smile. "Not a chance in hell."

Jules shrugged as if that didn't matter. "You'll change your mind soon enough."

He grabbed me none too gently, marching determinedly down a maze of corridors with my arm in a bruising grip. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this made me annoyed. I was here, alone, with a group of Paladins I didn't know. They didn't care who I was. To them, I was associated with Jumpers – and therefore, I would die.

"I'm Aaron Carlyle's daughter," I snapped at Jules, playing the last card I had, "You'll never get away with this."

Jules laughed harshly. "Your dad's dead, sweetheart. Those Jumpers killed him. Now do you know whose side you're really on?"

I gritted my teeth and struggled in his grasp. Jules opened a door and practically shoved me into a room. It was small and white and smelled like a hospital. A shiver ran down my spine and I already knew that I hated the place.

"Why don't you sit down, Bec? There's a lot we need to talk about."

I frowned and folded my arms. "I'd rather stand."

Jules's eyes narrowed threateningly. "Sit down."

I rolled my eyes, but headed over to grab a seat anyway. Jeez, there was really no need to be so bossy. It's not like I was majorly resisting or anything.

"Okay, here's the deal." Jules slicked back his blond hair. "All you have to do is tell us the co-ordinates to Griffin O'Connor's little hideout. He's number one on our Most Wanted list."

I sat there, fidgeting uncomfortably. Then Jules did the unexpected – he reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, clearly trying to be sympathetic. I looked up and suddenly his eyes weren't angry anymore…they were sad.

"I know you're upset that your father's dead…"

"You said you'd put a knife through my heart." I couldn't stop the words from spilling out of my mouth. Dammit, why couldn't I ever keep it shut? "You told me if I got in the way of you getting to Griffin, you'd kill me."

Jules looked astonished. "Well…I was mad, Bec. People say a lot of things they don't mean when they're mad."

I shrugged his grip off me. He'd threatened to kill me. I didn't care if he'd been furious, he'd still done it. So he couldn't just sit here now and act like it was all okay. Because he could play the sympathetic card all he wanted – I wasn't buying it.

"I won't do it, Jules."

He dropped the sympathetic act like a hot donut. Instead he lunged forward, roughly grabbing my chin and turned my head so I was looking at him.

"Tell me where Griffin is, or I'll hurt you, Bec."

I managed a hoarse laugh. "Are you still saying things you don't mean?"

Jules's eyes flashed with anger and I winced as his grip on my chin tightened.

"Don't test me. I will torture you if you don't tell me. I can make you bleed. Trust me, you don't want that."

I wrenched my chin from his grasp, folding my arms across my chest and glaring at him.

"What if I was to say I honestly don't know?"

That was actually the truth. Jules might not believe me, but I truthfully didn't have a clue of the location of Griffin's lair. It was in a desert…apart from that, I knew nothing. Jules couldn't torture out of me what I didn't know. I could feel my hands becoming sweaty even at the notion of torture. I wasn't as strong and defiant as Griffin. I would break. I would scream. I would beg for mercy. I would humiliate myself.

Jules raised one eyebrow, something I'd always wanted to be able to do.

"You expect me to believe that?" he scoffed.

My eyes narrowed. "It's the truth."

Jules sighed heavily. All the remorse was gone from his eyes, making him look almost…empty.

"We'll see about that, won't we?"

I began to panic. "I can't tell you what I don't know!"

Jules stood up, folding his arms across his chest. For a moment I flinched back, scared he would hit me…but then I saw the triumphant gleam in his eyes and my stomach sank. This was even worse. I had the horrible feeling that he knew something he shouldn't.

"I get it now." Jules's voice was quiet. "I knew it. You love him, don't you, Bec? You're in love with Griffin O'Connor."

"What?" I cried, "No! No way!"

But somewhere deep down inside, there was a flicker of doubt in my own words – which I quickly extinguished. My little outburst had done nothing except convince Jules that he was right. He stood over me looking victorious.

"How's that going to go down, a Shade and a Jumper? You going to try and make that work?"

His voice was taunting.

"Shut up, Jules," I snarled at him, losing my cool, "Now you're just being a prick."

The grin slid off Jules's face as if it had been wind-screen wiped.

"We'll just see how things really are, won't we?"

Jules lunged forward and grabbed me by the arm then, pulling me across the room to what looked like a bed – but I started fighting when I saw the metal cuffs that clearly fastened around the ankles and wrists. But Jules was a Paladin with a lot more fighting experience than me. He just laughed and forced me down, calling in the others as I struggled like a wild animal.

He shoved me and fastened the cuffs around my ankles and wrists. I didn't give up the whole time. I just flailed and kicked. Everything Griffin had taught me had been thrown out of the window, because we'd never trained for the possibility of being captured by Paladins.

"Jules, please." My voice was soft now. "Don't do this. Why can't you just stop?"

"You don't get it." His tone was nasty. "It doesn't stop. That's the only thing we and the Jumpers agree on: this war doesn't end."

Then my eyes widened as another Paladin moved forward with the most massive syringe I'd ever seen.

Griffin's POV

I gripped my hair in my hands as I watched Bec close the Jump Scar behind her. I couldn't get through it now. I wasn't a Shade…dammit, why did she do this? Then I focused my anger on Lance. He was the one who was responsible for this. I'd heard what he'd said to Bec.

"What have you done?" I demanded as I stalked towards him, "Lance, what the fuck have you done?"

He looked taken aback and he held up his hands in protest. The bloody coward. Always thinking about himself and his own. He couldn't be angry at me for leaving Alice to die when he'd done this to Bec.

"I'm sorry, Griffin! I didn't know she'd close the Jump Scar behind her!"

Now I had to make a decision – shit, I was bad at doing that. Normally it was fight or flight, but this time it was different. I could try and save Bec and be killed by Paladins – or I could leave her to die, knowing that it was my fault. It struck me then, as hard as one of the Paladin's whips: why did I care so much?

"Well, how about you tell me what I can do, huh?" I snapped at Lance.

He shook his head slowly. "That's up to you, mate. It's your choice."

Fuck. Lance had already guessed about my feelings for Bec…wait, what? Did I seriously just even…no. That girl was a mouthy, stubborn brat. How could I possibly have feelings for her? The only problem was, the harder I fought to deny it, the more I just proved it to myself. I did care about Bec, although in what way was still a muddle. I was a pretty messed-up person. Caring about people hadn't gone well for me before. It was easier just to let them go. Because the last time I'd cared, things got pretty fucked up.

But people had died then and unless I didn't do something, people would die again now. I didn't think I was willing to let my whole life get screwed over again. I had the chance to do something, to change. I knew what people always saw me as – bitter, vengeful Griffin O'Connor, a man who thought about no one but himself. I was determined to prove them wrong. I could be different. I could save Bec.

"You know what?" Lance watched me as I stalked across the room. "Fuck this. I saw where the Jump Scar opened. I can Jump there now."

Lance looked amazed. "You mean…you're going to get her back."

I felt my cheeks flaming. This didn't mean anything. Just because I was going to save Bec…Christ, why did people always assume things?

"It's…I'm tired of being predictable." Never mind that that wasn't the problem at all. Lance's eyes were wide, but I shook my head vigorously. "Don't think you're getting out of this. You put us in this shit in the first place. You're coming with me, Lance."

Bec's POV

There was a commotion in the corridor. The Paladin with the syringe paused and Jules looked over his shoulder, frowning. I started struggling in the metal cuffs again, but it was no use. Only when the shouting started did I realize that things were bigger than I'd first thought.

"See what's going on," snapped Jules, jabbing a finger towards the corridor.

He turned his attention on me, but I just spat in his face. Jules angrily wiped the spit from his face and opened his mouth as if to say something…but then the door slammed open and the Paladins who had been about to move out jumped out of the way.

Then Bec smiled because it was Griffin standing in the doorway, looking like some kind of avenging angel – if angels had flamethrowers in their hands and fire in their eyes. He was grinning wildly as he glanced at Jules, whose eyes had widened.

"Boo," he whispered.

Jules threw himself out of the way, landing heavily on the ground. The flames just missed him. Griffin lowered the flamethrower and headed over towards me, undoing the metal cuffs around my ankles and wrists. I tried to meet his eyes, but he was deliberately not looking at me. I felt a surge of guilt. Was this because of what I'd done?

Then as he was undoing my last wrist cuff, Jules appeared behind him with a look of murderous rage across his face. His hair was smoking slightly and despite my urge to laugh, I was also terrified.

"Griffin, watch out!"

Too late. As Griffin whipped around, I watched with horror as Jules punched him in the face. I struggled with my last cuff as Griffin bared his teeth and swung at Jules. I threw the metal link off and jumped to my feet. By this time, both young men were smashing at each other for all they were worth. Their eyes were full of loathing and I could tell that they really did want to kill each other with their bare hands.

"Stop!" I screamed, even though I knew I had no control over the situation. But I could see how Griffin's fist slammed repeatedly into Jules's nose, how Jules's hands grasped for Griffin's throat. I needed to stop this somehow. I leaned down and grabbed Griffin by the back of his leather jacket, attempting to drag him off Jules. I managed to roll him off, but that turned out to be a huge mistake.

Jules shot up from the ground, his eyes flashing with glee. Before I'd realized what was going on, Jules had pressed my back against his chest and a knife was at my throat. Wow, this seemed oddly familiar, like, let's think…when Griffin had first kidnapped me.

I was disgusted at how Jules had used my assistance against me. I struggled in his grasp, but the cold steel only dug further into my throat. Griffin had picked himself up off his feet, gritting his teeth – only to freeze when he realized that Jules held me hostage. God, I was so sick of this damsel in distress crap! Griffin's eyes were wide and he just stood there, not knowing what to do for once.

"Let's see if we can find out the truth," Jules sounded delighted, "If you love her at all, you'll give yourself in…"

"No!" I cried, but then I felt a trickle of blood from underneath the knife and I fell silent.

"…or you could let her die for you, as I'm sure so many others have."

Griffin gulped and just stood there and I realized that I was here, watching, while he made the hardest decision of his life.