Sorry it took me longer than usual to update. This chapter was kind of hard to write because it has details of Layia's past. Rough stuff and emotions ensue. I wanted to keep things balanced and not overdo it. –fingers crossed that it was successful-

From every wound there is a scar, and every scars tells a story. A story that says I survived.

Billy's childhood was fucked up but Layia's officially took the gold medal in fucked up lives. His jaw clenched as her story replayed in his mind.

"That's my sister."

"Your sister?" Joe repeated, obviously shocked by the revelation.

Layia sighed and nodded. "Kalila." She hadn't said that name out loud for a year, using it still stung like a fresh wound. Moisture began to form in Layia's eyes making her avert her gaze away from the computer screen and temporarily away from the Darleys. Walking over to the one window the bedroom held she looked out and contemplated what to say.

"That bastard has her." She tightened her grip on the towel she was wearing, already not sure about spilling her guts and walking down memory lane.

"What bastard?" Billy questioned, voice serious and his blue eyes hard.

Layia took a few deep breaths, keeping herself calm and collected. "Hayes."

Billy looked at her incredulously. "Dante Hayes? The fuckin' Ghost of Boston?"

"The one and only." Layia replied while crossing her arms over her chest.

Billy had heard about Hayes. He was a coldblooded prick who made up his own rules with territory in Dorchester. Billy remembered hearing that he was always right out in the open. According to the stories some prick would go into a bar asking for Hayes. Like magic Hayes would appear with one hand open for the money you were going to give him and the other holding a gun in case you tried to fuck him over. But when Billy was eighteen Hayes switched tactics and left the 'limelight'. That's when he got the name Ghost of Boston, still running shit but keeping in the shadows. Billy could never live in the shadows. He loved seeing the fear he evoked, the way women flocked to him and how men were envious of him. Billy loved the power his presence held too much.

"Why is there a fuckin' video of your sister being beat to hell?" Billy demanded harshly, the anger in his voice clearly meant for Hayes.

She exhaled loudly, the words catching in her throat before they broke free. "He's using her to get ta me."

"I figured that. Why?" Billy's blue hues were boring into her hazel ones, as though he was trying to look deeper inside her. Looking for the answers he knew Layia wouldn't verbally give.

"Pride. He wants the one that got away." That was part of the truth, the part that mattered at the moment.

Her answers were just bringing up more questions for Billy and Joe. "Care to elaborate?" Billy firmly pressed.

Joe who'd remained silent up to this point joined in. "Ya gotta tell us what's going on sweetheart cuz that…" He motioned to the video. "Is fucked up."

Layia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was about to tell them what she had never told another living soul. "Hayes took my sister and me when I was eleven. Killed our parents." Layia paused then scoffed. Apparently underage prostitution was quite lucrative, the younger and the better. Hayes thought that Layia and her sister were perfect, a fact that still made Layia nauseous.

"Took us to some warehouse." Layia paused, swallowing hard before continuing. She could vividly remember how terrified her sister was. Kalila wouldn't stop crying. Just ten years old and dealt one of the worst hands fate could give her.

"Threw us on the ground like we were cheap toys." Her voice was wavering, just barely but it was. "Kept us virgins but had fun breaking us in." Virgins fetched a pretty penny. A lot of sick fucks out there would pay for that. But the men weren't going to ignore two fresh, young girls.

Layia was becoming rawer with each word she uttered. But she kept up a layer of her shell, preventing herself from unraveling completely. Instinctively keeping part of herself protected. Billy's fingers coiled into tight fists and Joe felt his own blood boil. They didn't need vivid details to know what Hayes did to Layia and her sister.

She shook her head in a mixture of disbelief and disgust before resuming. "Went for my sister first. Did everything I could to get them to take me instead." A single tear fell from her eyes and she averted her gaze back to the window.

Truthfully Layia had been scared like her sister. She'd have to be made out of ice to not feel afraid. But the second realization struck about what they were going to do to Kalila something snapped in Layia. The fear left her and was replaced with raging anger. She'd stopped crying and starting fighting, desperate for the men to leave her sister alone. Kalila was all that mattered. 'Like they were gonna listen to a little girl' Layia bitterly thought.

The nightmare Billy and Joe had been witness to now made perfect sense. Layia's desperate pleas that she uttered in her distressed state were for her sister. Billy also knew why she ran out of his apartment that night, why she stopped him. Why he actually saw fear in her usually strong eyes. That was an emotion Billy never expected to see in Layia.

"Then it was my turn." She closed her eyelids, blocking out the light as if that would lessen the intensity but it only amplified what she was feeling. Those bastards had made her watch as they defiled her sister. Throughout the whole ordeal they were laughing and carrying on like it was fucking Christmas for them. The pain had become numbing after awhile and when the men finally stopped neither girl could move. Layia and Kalila were thrown into a small, cold room with the door locked behind them.

Billy was a ruthless motherfucker. There weren't many lines that he wouldn't cross, wasn't a lot of room for that in his world. Hell, Billy could count what he wouldn't do on one hand. But what happened to Layia crossed one of the few lines he had, building fury inside him.

"Sold me to the highest bidder for one night." They knew what that meant. Hayes had let some asshole rape away Layia's virginity when she was just a child. Layia finally looked back at Billy and Joe. Both Darley's were staring intently at her. They looked ready to kill someone but there was a softness in their storming eyes that was directed towards Layia. Her own personal dark knights. She gave them a sad smile before looking to the window again. Layia seemed so human in that moment, not like the super woman they were used to. It didn't shock Joe that much but Billy was rather bewildered by this side of Layia.

Joe hesitated but asked a burning question. "How…? How can you be so strong after that?" He'd never heard of a rape victim that had so much vigor and wrath inside her. All the ones he'd known of were too physiologically scarred to feel that kind of emotion. Of course Layia would be the exception.

Layia looked at him and shrugged slowly. "Better to die on your feet than live on your knees. It was a choice between them and me." Joe's facial expression told her he understood. Hell that phrase about dying on your feet was scrawled across his chest in dark onyx ink. Layia could have lied down and just took it. That was true. Most people would have. But Layia saw another choice, give them hell and that's exactly what she did. If Layia hadn't fought those men every step of the way and just let them do that shit to her she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

She was trying to tell them enough of her past to satisfy their inquiries without revealing everything. Reliving her former anguish didn't make her very comfortable. Layia was exposed, not entirely, but emotionally exposed nonetheless. Last time it consumed her, nearly took the very life out of her. Back then the onlookers had been the general world, people going through their daily lives and not paying much attention to the once resilient woman and her current torment. Now she had a connection with the audience, it was more personal.

"I took everything I could in place of my sister." No further explanation was needed. The somber and resentful look in Layia's eyes said it all. Joe and Billy easily figured out that meant Layia took beatings, abuse and rapes to spare her sister the horrors. A few tears gathered in her lower lids and Layia looked away again. Crying was a weakness, a vulnerability that Layia was struggling with baring to the men in the room.

Layia did what she had to so her sister could sleep at night without crying, without wanting to die. She wasn't able to prevent everything from happening to Kalila but it could have been a lot worse. As horrible as it had been for Layia she would do it over again if it meant protecting her sister. Kalila was the most important person in the world to her.

In that moment Billy realized just how deep their similarities ran. He'd protected Joe from Bones. He took all the shit their father could dish out so Joe wouldn't have to deal with it. The second he saw Bones starting to wail on his little brother Billy stepped in, drew the rage onto himself. Every beating, every verbal abuse, every drunken fit fell on Billy's shoulders so Joe would be safe. Billy put his brother before himself, he always would. Layia had done the same for her little sister, but she'd taken a lot more than beatings. And pain, the scars on their bodies were proof of the anguish they shared. The very things that drove Billy to leave behind the boy he once was drove Layia to become the woman she was.

Billy drew in a deep breath, trying to clear his clouded head. He was conflicted. Billy hadn't been this conflicted since he had to make a decision regarding Joe years ago. He could keep his little brother in this life or he could push him out of it. Billy knew how much Joe admired him, that he wanted to be just like his older brother. Joe never hid that fact. He was always following Billy around, watching all his actions and listening to all his words like it was a how-to guide. But this life wasn't all power, money and respect. It was an inevitable death sentence. Billy had been selfish. He couldn't stand the thought of not having Joe in his life so he pulled his little brother closer instead of sending him away. Joe was thrilled. He would have never looked at Billy the same if he'd kicked Joe out, even if it was for good reasons.

Now Billy felt that familiar, disgusting knot in his gut. Layia wasn't just a beautiful spitfire. She came with a dark, deep past and a vendetta to fulfill. This had already gone beyond the possibility of it being a good night or two of fucking. How much further did Billy want to take this? Should he shove her away, let her handle her own problems and get back to his life the way he was used to? Or should he help her, keep her in his life and deal with the consequences? Billy's mind was screaming to walk out right now, be smart, and stick with what he knew. But his gut…his gut and something else kept his feet glued to the floor.

Layia sniffed, briefly closing her eyes. Hayes had wanted to break her with a fiery passion but he never could. Layia just got worse and worse, she wasn't the only one with scars from those years. That's something she was proud of, that she'd been able to harm fully grown men when she was just a child.

She didn't know how much more sharing she could take. She'd barely said anything but those sentences that had left her mouth were enough. "I was 14 when I got lucky, knocked one of the pricks out." The burly man had come into Layia's room for some after hours fun. She struggled and fought like always but this time fortune was smiling on her, the man fell off the bed and hit his head on the cement. Layia still wasn't sure if he was just knocked out or dead, she never stuck around to find out.

By now the veins in Billy's neck and head looked like they were about to pop, straining against his skin. Joe's nostrils were flaring, his hands now curled into the same tight fists as his brother's. Joe and Billy had quickly developed a raw, seething hatred for Hayes. Both Darley's wanted blood and Billy officially made his decision. He was going to be selfish again.

"Took his gun and broke out as many girls as I could, including my sister." Hayes hadn't been prepared for his 'prize girl' to be running around. In fact he kept his inner workings rather relaxed. He was that confident and Layia used his arrogance to her advantage. Layia had never shot a gun or killed a man before that day. But she had to learn and learn fast. Now Layia was unrepentant about the men she killed. Why should she feel remorse about putting a bullet in someone that wanted to shove her back in hell and rape her? But it hadn't been easy that first time, brutal was a more accurate description.

She took a deep breath and swallowed hard, the last line regarding this tale was about to pass through her lips. "Last year I came back where Kalila and I were staying to find my sister gone and one of the other girls beat to shit. Hayes's men found us and took my sister." She hissed, her solemn demeanor being replaced with anger. Kalila was back there because of her, that knowledge made guilt sweep over Layia. She'd been so good at keeping her sister safe, checking on the girls once in awhile, and taking care of whatever men Hayes sent. Layia had gotten sloppy and her sister paid the price. She would never forgive herself for that.

"I'm so sorry…" The sympathy in Joe's eyes was so intense it made her look away. She swallowed the lump in her throat and inhaled through her nose. "Thank you." Two words that shouldn't be hard to say felt like pulling teeth to Layia. Joe nodded and looked over at his brother. That's when he noticed Billy was about to snap.

Billy was seeing red. His hands had become iron fists at his side. He could hear Joe yelling at him, but it took him a few moments to register the words. "Billy… Billy calm down." Joe motioned with his head towards Layia and Billy took a calming breath. She was sitting at the edge of the bed, towel wrapped tightly around her frame as she looked out the window. Layia wasn't sobbing, she wasn't even crying. She was just looking, her body barely moving with the quiet breaths she took. Billy sighed, she was trying to hold it together. Billy understood that telling them hadn't been easy. Reliving that reality had brought back feelings of being defenseless and scared to her, just like being around Bones did to Billy. That's why she was silent. Layia was fighting them off, regaining her strength.

Normally Billy was firm believer in keeping your problems inside and dealing with them on your own. As far as he was concerned if you didn't have enough might to do that you couldn't survive this life nor did you have any right to stand by Billy. But the demons Layia was fighting were an exception. There was too much, to many layers of rage and anguish mixed with the incredibly difficult task of trying to take a madman down alone. Layia's only chance of complete success came from revealing her predicament.

Billy's nostrils started flaring, his chest heaving up and down. He was picturing what she'd gone through making his temper was getting the better of him. The only person he wanted to kill more than Hayes was his own fucking father. "Billy… Billy…" There was Joe's voice again, breaking through the haze. "Billy, fly off the handle later. She doesn't need that shit." Billy looked at Layia again and knew Joe was right. A simple nod of his head motioned for Joe to leave. The younger Darley gazed compassionately at Layia before finally exiting the room.

The air was completely still, as though it was scared to move and interrupt what was taking place. Billy shrugged his jacket off his broad shoulders and sat down on the mattress next to Layia. He draped the warm leather around her smaller frame before carefully pulling her body to his. She'd given him the bullet point version of her past, Billy knew that and he hadn't expected anything else. Opening up wasn't anywhere on their skill's list.

Layia rested her head against Billy's firm pecks, taking slow deep breaths. She'd been afraid to let them in, to take this beyond what it had already developed into. Even as the words unveiling the truth passed through her lips Layia struggled with that fear. What if she was turning these relationships into something she couldn't handle? Neither she nor Billy said anything. The only sound she could hear was the steady beating of Billy's heart underneath the thin cotton material. Billy wasn't shushing her to comfort her and he wasn't prodding her to hear more details. He was just being what she needed him to be. Billy was there.

Billy walked into the living room to see his brother pacing with a cigarette dangling between his lips. Joe hissed out a puff of smoke as he looked at his older brother. "She alright?" Billy gave a slight nod. Leaning against the wall by the couch Billy plucked a cigarette from his pack and lit it as he perched it between his lips. "I didn't know it would be that bad." Joe muttered, his mind still processing everything that they heard. This time Billy's response came in the form of a grunt.

Silence settled into the air as both men took long inhales on their smokes. Joe finally stopped pacing and looked towards her bedroom door before flicking his gaze to Billy. "What are we gonna do?" Billy's brows furrowed together, scenarios running through his mind.

"We aren't gonna do anything. I'm gonna kill him." Both men turned to see Layia walking down the hall. She was back to being dressed in her usual attire, her hair pulled into a messy bun. That same steadfast determination and confidence was back in her eyes. It practically oozed out of her pores. With resolute steps she strolled right over to Billy and plucked the cigarette from his lips then brought it her own mouth and took a calming drag.

Billy narrowed his eyes at her. "Ya expect us to just let you do your own thing after hearing that shit?" Hero didn't exist on his resume but the gang lord wasn't letting this one go.

"I didn't tell ya that shit to get your help, I told ya because I owed ya both an explanation." Billy started rubbing his temples, trying to relieve the tension that was already building.

"Why ya gotta be so damn difficult? What's the big fuckin' deal with getting some help?" Joe groaned as he looked between Billy and Layia. Here we go. It was like combining a hurricane and a tornado.

She sighed in aggravation. Her and Billy had gone from having a moment to fighting… again. He drove her crazy. One minute she wanted to jump his bones, throw inhibition to the wind and the next she wanted to slap him upside the head. "I ain't asking for your help." Internally there was no denying that she wanted it. But last time someone insisted on aiding her they ended up breathing their last breath.

"I ain't offering it." He retorted with the same frustration. "I'm telling ya."

Layia shook her head in disagreement. "This is my fight." Joe had nearly been on the receiving end of a bullet once for her. Layia didn't want anything of the sort happening again.

Billy huffed loudly, annoyed. "You're talking about taking on Dante Hayes, ya really think ya can do it all by yourself?"

She averted her gaze from Billy's face that was covered with irritation, to a random spot on the wall. Her eyes closed while she sucked on the smoke, taking a bigger lungful in than last time. "Do ya want to get your sister back or not?" Billy challenged.

Layia sharply turned on her heel, casting Billy a heated glare. "Too fuckin' far Darley." She snapped as she thrust his cigarette in the makeshift ashtray on the nearby table before stalking towards the door in a huff. Billy was on her before she could reach the welcoming night air.

"Don't fuckin' walk away from me when I'm talking to ya Layia." He growled while preventing her from moving away with his massive frame.

"How could you even ask me that?" Anger and hurt swirled in her hazel hues. Kalila was the only reason Layia hadn't wished for death many times over the years. Saving her sister was the fuel for Layia's fire, the strength that drove Layia's fist and kept her from breaking.

Billy shut his own blue eyes, willing himself to calm down. Most of his agitation was coming from the choice he'd made regarding the women in front of him. The logical part of his brain was still screaming at him to walk away. "I know you want her back Layia." He eventually murmured while casting a quick glance behind them to make sure Joe wasn't listening. "Think about it. Do ya have a better chance of rescuing her by yourself or with extra manpower?"

He saw the fight slowly leaving her eyes as she recognized that he was right. It was a suicide mission to go in alone. She knew that from the start but all she cared about was getting Kalila out. "Alright, just answer one question for me."

She saw a flicker of uncertainty pass over his features, like he wasn't sure if agreeing would be a good idea. But eventually Billy gave a short nod. "Why are you doing this?"

There it was. The question he'd been dreading because he couldn't answer. Layia could feel the warmth emanating from Billy's body as he mulled over what he was going to say, what reason he could give that didn't incriminate him. "I don't like the motherfucker." He finally stated. Layia could pick up more meaning behind that sentence but she didn't say anything about it.

"He dies by my hand no one else's." That was nonnegotiable. Billy could tell by the tone of her voice and he wasn't going to argue that point. Anyone hurt Joe and it was Billy's right to kill him. "And his men?" Billy inquired with a smirk. He had a feeling he was going to be amused by her answer.

"Make them your bitches if ya want, or just kill 'em." A sinister grin had formed on Layia's lips. As long as none of Hayes's men came out unscathed she would be content.

"I got enough bitches darlin'. Kill 'em it is." Billy replied with a vulgar smile. Layia and Billy exchanged knowing glances before chuckling darkly.

Layia leaned against the front of the house, a newly lit cigarette from her own pack perched between her lips. She and Billy were on the same page...for now. Her finger's darted over the small buttons, dialing the number without even thinking about it. Just like before Natalie's voice came on after the second ring.

"Layia… What's going on?" Nat obviously hadn't been expecting Layia to call.

Layia sighed and hissed out a puff of smoke. "You find him?" Natalie asked. That's the only reason she could think of for Layia to call. To say she was taking Hayes out tomorrow and that Natalie could finally come home.

"Working on it." She'd come up with a plan while telling the boys what had happened. It wouldn't be easy but it would be foolproof… theoretically at least.

"What's…" Natalie started.

"Fuckin' prick sent me a video of Kali." Layia didn't notice but Billy had opened the front door and was leaning against the dark wood frame listening to her.

"HE WHAT?" Natalie practically screamed into the phone. "Is she...?"

"He worked her over pretty good but she's alive… He won't kill her." Layia took another drag.

"How can you be sure?" Natalie cautiously questioned.

"He thinks that if he kills her I won't have any motive to go back." Layia sighed. She'd been planning on dealing him the death card since she escaped. Her sister being back there just moved up the time frame. "But the second I walk through that door he has no reason to keep her alive." The truth of those words made them taste like bile in Layia's mouth.

Natalia sighed, she had to say something and she knew Layia wasn't going to like hearing it, she never did. "You should let someone know."

"What are you talking about? I told ya…" Layia pushed herself off the wall of the house and moved to sit down on the porch.

"Not the cops, someone actually useful." If only Natalie knew that Layia had just opened her mouth to the very handsome and very lethal Darley brothers.

Layia was silent for a few moments. Usually she just let Natalie have it when she mentioned telling someone.

"Nat…" Layia began but was cut off.

"You told someone." Natalie exclaimed. The girl was too damn smart for her own good.

"The fuck you on about?" Layia snapped, wanting Natalie to drop it.

"Who did you tell?" Natalie pressed and Layia had to take a couple of long drags before answering.

"It's doesn't matter." Layia calmly declared. "They're insisting on helping." She eventually added. Billy was right about more man power upping her chances. Layia just didn't want anything to happen to those two crazy bastards. She smirked, they might be crazy bastards but she liked them.

Natalie started screaming again and Layia had to hold the phone away to spare her ears. "SOMEONE WANTS TO HELP? YOU BETTER TAKE THEM UP ON THAT." Layia blew out more smoke, grimacing at Natalie's shouting.

Meanwhile Billy was listening to every word. He wasn't smirking, wasn't grinning, he was just staring at her, smoke hissing out of his mouth.

"You've done everything for us." Nat continued, not even giving Layia a chance to reply. Layia sighed. Every now and then Natalie would go on one of these rants. "You barely think about yourself. It's a miracle you aren't dead by now with some of the shit you pulled. You can finally kill this fucker and someone is offering to help you. How could you pass that up?"

"Relying on someone else tends to backfire. You remember the last fuckin' time." Layia growled with every word. "But I... I accepted" Her voice became quieter at the end.

"You did?" Natalie stated in disbelief. "Yeah I did." Layia softly murmured.

"Why is it so hard for you?" Natalie couldn't help it. The question left her mouth before she could think to stop it, but she already knew the answer.

"Don't want anyone else dying because of me." Layia replied quickly. She had no qualms about killing whoever she had to survive, to protect her sister. But Layia wasn't alright with innocent people getting killed because of her. It wasn't their fault that she'd suffered so why should they pay the price for it?

"No one's dying besides that motherfucker. I thought we already covered that." Layia took a deep breath and turned to see Billy standing there. Internally she was wondering how long Billy been situated in that spot, so close to her, and if he'd heard the entire conversation between her and Natalia, Layia's side of it anyway. Whether he did or not there was nothing Layia could do about it.

Natalie's voice came through the mobile device again. "Is that who you told? He sounds so ho…" Layia snapped the cell closed with a loud huff. Girl talk wasn't her thing.

Billy bent his knees, sitting down on the porch next to her and stared into the street, looking at nothing in particular. "You had help before." He affirmed. His voice remained neutral, as if the information didn't affect him at all.

Layia nodded shortly. "He died." Silence hung in the air, only the occasional sound of a dog barking or a car driving by echoed in the night. Billy shifted, resting his forearms on his thighs.

"He wasn't raised in this life. Couldn't handle it." She explained. He'd been a nice enough guy. He just never understood the gravity of what he was dealing with, how dangerous the men he was going up against were. But he'd developed a school boy crush on Kalila, wanted to swoop in and be the hero. "He wasn't hard enough." Whatever that man lacked Billy Darley had tenfold. He was the epitome of being raised in this reality and able to handle it.

Billy chuckled dryly and nodded before hissing out a puff of smoke through his parted lips. He knew exactly what he was getting into, he was prepared.

If Hayes wasn't shaking in his tacky boots and scared shitless already he should be. He didn't just have Layia coming after him he now had Boston's most ruthless gang out for blood as well.

Love to my faithfuls: Hoppnhorn, Sparkly Blue Eyes, Sunstar234, GarrettsGirl and Leeseelee. XD