34

Jay pinched the bridge of his nose. This was all turning into a real mess. No other city had ever made such resistent to their arrival than this one. The people would usually protest, but eventually they would give up and cooperate. But not this one. This one had a fierce cityleader who just wouldn't seem to give up. Jay had never met anyone to strongwilled as Ebony. But she was putting herself and everyone is great danger. Ram's patience was wearing thin and his stungunned hand was itching.

Sighing deeply he looked at the two idiots lying on the floor in the cellars. Of course Ebony and the others had escaped… And of course these two morons had failed to do their job. How they had escaped was a mystery to Jay. The bars and it's lock seemed to be intact. The only way they could have escaped was with help from the inside. But he would soon find out. All it took was a quick search in the computer data and he would see who's card had been used. And they would be punished.

The two guards stirred and slowly woke up. Jay kneeled down beside them to check if they were okay. Once he had made sure they were not hurt, he demanded, "What happened?"

They both scrambled to their feet and stammered their pathetic excuses.

"Both of you keep your mouth shut about this," Jay ordered. Best to investigate a bit further before letting Ram know. He would sent out men to get the prisoners back before Ram got the news of this. That way, his wrath would be smaller and less people were bound to get hurt.

It was still night time and the two guards had told Jay it was just past midnight when they had been attacked, so they couldn't have gotten very far.

Jay called a few of his men through his headset and ordered them to go search for the prisoners, no word to Ram until they had captured them. Then he made his way upstairs and into the computer room where he began his search for the inside traitor.

—

Later in the morning, Ved was sitting in one of the computer rooms, working. He had woken up euphoric, with Cloe still sleeping in his arms. He'd never imagined being this happy, couldn't describe the feeling Cloe sleeping in his arms gave him. And then the night they had spent together… It had been a beautiful experience, and it felt so right.

He believed her when she said she'd had nothing to do with Ebony's and K.C's break-in to Ram's computer. They must have done it on their own then.

There was a cracking sound in his headset and he touched it with his hand, "Yes?"

"Ved," his brother's voice came through and Ved rolled his eyes, "I need to speak with you. Now."

"I'm working," Ved said, not wanting Jay to ruin his perfect morning with his nagging.

"I wasn't asking!" came Jay's angry voice, "Get in here – NOW!"

"Alright, relax would you? Geeze," Ved said and cut the connection. He'd better get down there, or Jay would come yelling at him. Reluctantly he turned off the computer and made his way down to Jay's room, where he walked inside and threw himself down on Jay's bed, "I'm here. What's up your a-"

"Shut up!" Jay yelled and strode over to the bed. He looked down at Ved angrily.

"Hey!" Ved objected to his rudeness. Gesus! What was up with him? He was being more cross than usual.

"This is serious Ved," Jay snarled, "You're in big trouble!"

"What did I do?" Ved asked perplexed. He hadn't done anything that would piss off Jay lately – not that he could think off.

"The prisoners have escaped," Jay informed him.

Ved sat up, "What? How?"

"Someone set them free. Using your card."

What the hell! Ved sprang to his feet and put his hands into his pockets. He pulled up his card and looked at it, "I don't understand…"

Jay just glared at him, arms crossed. Ved looked up at him and then his eyes went wide, "Did you think that I-"

"No," Jay said curtly, "But I know who did. I saw her… on the hidden security cameras…"

Jay didn't even have to say her name. Ved knew who he meant. He couldn't say anything. His whole world was crumbling.

"No," he croaked out, not wanting to believe it. Jay let out an angry sigh and pressed a button on his computer. It sprang to life and showed a video of Cloe and Patsy freeing Ebony and the others in the dungeons, using a card. His card.

Ved stared at it with his mouth open. He couldn't believe it. She had tricked him. Used him. Lied to him. Anger and hurt burned in his chest at her betrayel. But then, another stronger feeling took over.

Fear.

He whipped his head up to look at Jay, "Does Ram know?"

"No, I haven't told anyone yet. I needed to talk to you first. To make sure you had nothing to do with it. Did you? I know you two are together…"

"No! I never noticed my card went missing…" He trailed off as it hit him, "It must have been last night. When we were sleeping. Or when I was sleeping. She must have taken my card and sneaked out…" He held a hand to his forehead.

Jay seemed to soften a bit, seeing his little brothers pain. He put a hand on Ved's shoulder, "Look, I know you're hurt…"

Automatically, Ved shrugged it off and snorted. He wouldn't let Jay see his pain. That was just too much.

"I am too," Jay said, looking at little hurt by the rejection, "That Ebony really had me fooled…"

Ved looked at him. He hadn't realised something was going on with those two, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Jay looked down at his feet, "I thought she… but then I found out she was only using me."

Ved could relate. It felt strange. The two of them had always been so different. It was weird that they finally had something in common. Of course it would be somthing negative.

"Please don't tell Ram!" Ved then said ugently.

"Ved…I have to. You know that."

"Please Jay!" Ved begged, now not caring if Jay saw his desperation, "I love her!"

Jay was surprised – pleasantly so, despite the circumstances. He'd known that his brother and Cloe had something going on, but to hear that Ved actually loved her – that was new. He had hoped Ved would find a girl that he could actually love, someone who could handle him. He was just sad that the girl ended up hurting him.

"Okay, I won't tell him. But we will have to come up with something to tell him – and fast!"

—

Cloe was lying on her bed, waiting anxiously for news. She prayed that Patsy and the others had gotten away. If they had got caught again, surely she would have heard, right?

Suddenly, the door flew open and Ved barged in. The fierce desperation in his eyes made the hairs on Cloe's neck stand up. She had never seen him like this before. He looked absolutely crazy.

"What the hell were you thinking!" he roared as soon as he had stormed into the room. Cloe knew he'd finally connected the dots and she braced herself for his fury.

"I know it was you, so don't you fucking dare lie to me! Not again!"

Cloe slowly sat up and took a deep breath to steady herself. She had known this would come. She knew Ved would eventually find out. And she knew it would hurt like hell.

Ved ran his hands through his hair and then linked his fingers behind his head as he began pacing back and forth.

"Listen-" Cloe began, but was interrupted.

"What you did was incredibly stupid!" Ved yelled and swung around to look at her wildly, "If he finds out, you have no idea what he is going to do to you!" He swung out his arm towards to door, meaning Ram.

Then he squinted at her, "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" He looked both mad and hurt, "You've been lying to me all along…"

Cloe's chest ached with pain. Not for her own, but for Ved's.

"Ved, I-" She trailed off, not knowing what to say. He was right of course. It was true what he was saying. It had been her plan all along, and she had been lying to him. Every step of the way.

"You've just been pretending…"

Cloe's heart stopped. What?

"This whole time…you and me…It was all part of your plan…I…"

With crushing dread it downed on Cloe that he thought she didn't love him. That that had been a lie too.

"Last night…You used me!" He sounded so hurt and so broken, that Cloe's heart shattered into a million pieces.

Then he turned around, grabbed the lamp on the nightstand og threw it against the wall, "Fuck!"

Cloe jumped as the lamp hit the wall and fell to the ground with a clank.

"Ved – I'm sorry!" she sobbed, tears spilling over and pouring down her cheeks. It absolutely killed her to see him hurt like this, "I'm sorry I lied to you!"

"So last night…It meant nothing to you!" He wouldn't look at her, just stood there and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

"It meant everything to me!" Cloe cried and felt a desperation so deep she thought it would drown her, "I know I betrayed you, but I love you! I swear!"

Ved's head snapped up, then he spun around to glare at her. He strode over to her and grabbed her upper arms and screamed in her face, "Stop LYING to me!"

"I'm not!" How was she ever going to make him believe that the one thing she had not been lying about was her feelings for him?

"I can't ever trust you again!" His eyes were glossy.

"Please Ved – don't say that…"

"I can't believe you…" He turned his head away, like he couldn't stand to look at her and Cloe felt her whole body turn cold.

"Ved, I swear my feelings for you are real!" Cloe cried, "It wasn't part of the plan to fall for you, but I did."

"Never mind all that!" Ved spat, dismissing her with a wave of the hand that stung Cloe's heart.

"I don't know how Ram's going to reacts to this," he then said and finally looked at her again, "He could do anything - the guy's screwed up in his head!"

"I know," Cloe said, "but I'm not scared of him. I'm not scared of what's gonna happen to me - the most important thing is that KC and Patsy and Ebony are safe."

Ved strode over to her with three long steps and grapped her upper arms again, "That is not what's most important! What's most important is what happens to you!" And then Cloe knew that even though she had betrayed him, lied to him, hurt him – he still loved her.

Ved let go of her and turned around while running a hand through his hair, mumbling frantically, "This is completely out of my hands..."

Then he stood for a while, just thinking in silence. Cloe just let him think, let him turn things over in his head. She watched his chest heave in and out with every angry breath, until it slowly slowed down and he became more calm. He stood in the middle of the room, his head hanging when he asked, "Why did you do it?"

"I had to do it Ved. They're my friends. My family. I couldn't just sit back and watch them die," Cloe said, trying somehow to explain, "Wouldn't you do the same thing if it was Jay?" She looked down at her hands, and then, a bit unsure, up at him through her lashes, "Or me?"

Ved leaned his head back, then sighed and simply said, "Yes."

"Then you know why I did it. Even though it meant betraying you…"

Once again Ved stood thinking for a while, then he turned his head to look at her, "You've put us both in danger, you know that right? Ram will know it was my card."

"Just tell him I tricked you. It's the truth after all."

"I'm not sure he cares. He just looking for someone to punish."

Oh. Cloe hadn't thought of that. The thought of Ram hurting Ved sent ice through her veins. Ved couldn't be hurt. She wouldn't let that happen.

"We have to run!" she suddenly burst out. She got off of the bed and went to stand right in front of him, looking him in the eye. He took a small step away from Cloe which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Come with me," she begged.

"No."

"You have to! If he hurts you…"

"Then that's how it'll be."

"Please Ved!"

"Why would I go with you?" He looked down at her with hard eyes.

"Because I love you. And you love me."

Ved snorted and looked away. Now Cloe's patience was wearing a little thin. Why was he so goddamn stubborn?

"Now you listen to me Ved!" she said firmly, grabbing his arms and staring him in the eyes, "I LOVE you. I know you don't think so, but I do! Why else would I still be here? I could have run with the others. But I chose to stay."

"Why?"

"Goddammit Ved! Because of you!"

He seemed to muse about this for a while, but then he said, "Doesn't matter. I can't come with you."

Cloe's heart fell, "Why not?"

"Because this is where I belong. This is my home."

"But you could get a new home – a new life – with me."

Ved twisted out of her grip and turned away, "No."

Ouch. Tears pressed behind Cloe's eyes and she tried to blink them away. She understood why he was distant and angry, but it still hurt like hell to be rejected like this.

"Come with us. Help us take down Ram. Ebony's been working on Jay. To get him on our side."

Ved spun around and snapped, "Like you've been working me?"

"I never planned for you to join us," Cloe admitted, trying with the truth, "But I'm hoping you will now. Join us. Be the man I think you are."

Then Ved exploded, "Who the fuck do you want me to be! This is me, Cloe! If I'm not here, I'm no one!"

"Yes you are – you would be someone good. Someone who doesn't kidnap people and rip families apart."

"No, I would be someone I'm not!"

"People can change."

"No they can't! Don't you get it? This will always be me!"

"I don't believe that. You always have a choise. To change. To be the best version of yourself."

"Enough!" He yelled and swung his hand out to draw a line, "Stop! Just stop!"

Cloe closed her mouth and obeyed. She'd pushed him too far. She could only hope he would change his mind and flee with her. In his own time.

"I need to go," he said abruptly and then he crossed the room and dissapeared out of the door, leaving Cloe heartbroken and scared.