Welcome to the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!


It wasn't until the afternoon that Lia realized she was being followed. She'd seen the man that morning at the dance studio, but had dismissed him as a father of a kid. But now he was outside the cafe and had been sitting there for the past half hour and the coffee shop was closing.

"Hey Kim, do you think you and Jake can lock up together?" Lia asked, signing as she did. Kim nodded and continued working, wiping down the counters. Lia made her way outside, texting Kate as she went, letting her know what was happening.

Lia walked down the street then turned into an alley, knowing the man was following her. Unfortunately, it was getting darker out, but the street lights hadn't turned on yet. Or maybe it was fortune, Lia considered as she ducked into some shadows.

"We know you're here." His voice echoed through the alley. There were more footsteps as other people joined him.

Hurry up, Kate. Lia hoped, silently pulling out her knife. She typically didn't bring weapons with her during the day, but she wasn't stupid enough to walk around unarmed. This was New York after all.

The people started searching the alley, looking in each hiding spot. Lia knew she didn't have much choice as they got closer to her spot. One spotted her and went to shout out, but Lia grabbed him, covering his mouth as she twisted him around, using him as a shield, though no one else had spotted her. She put her knife against this throat threateningly and he stilled his erratic movement.

"Stay quiet, and you will live through this." She whispered menacingly in his ear. He went quiet, and she knocked him out with the handle of the knife. It took only a few moments before the others realized they were down a man. They turned to her hiding spot, and Lia knew there was no chance of staying in her spot.

She threw herself forward, catching the first man off guard. He fell backwards and didn't even notice as Lia stole his gun from his holster. She rolled to the side and stood up, aiming for the next guy. She got off a single shot before they recovered and started shooting at her.

Unfortunately, it only nicked a guy's leg, so he was still shooting at her. Lia ducked to the side and took another few shots, not having the chance to look at where they were. It was at this point when Lia missed her bow. She could aim that well and hit men without looking, but she wasn't as good at aiming a gun.

There was a light beeping, and Lia's attention was brought to an arrow that had landed in the center of the group. Reacting on instinct, Lia ducked away and covered her eyes. She could still see the flash of light behind her eyelids. She opened her eyes to see a few of them stumbling around, blinded.

The ones who couldn't see were soon pinned to the walls around them as Kate shot their arrows. Lia moved forward, knocking out who she could while they were still disoriented. There were more than expected, and Lia suspected that more people kept joining, because the fight seemed endless.

Kate's arrows paused, and Lia realized that they hadn't had a chance to restock their arrows. Kate landed beside Lia, tossing her a red jacket. One of their makeshift suits. Lia paused to put it on, glad for the little protection and heat it provided. She shoved her hand in a pocket and pulled out a spare gun. She fired again at another man, getting his stomach this time. Lia tried not to fatally injure any of them, but it was either her or them, so she wasn't guilt ridden when one fell silent.

"Hey, how'd you run into these guys?" Kate asked, throwing a knife at a man.

"They were following me. I don't know why." Lia explained.

Kate paused, panting. "How many are there?"

Lia pulled them down as one guy shot at them. "I don't know, it feels like they just keep popping back up."

One man fell forward, and suddenly the fighting stopped. Standing in his place was a man with a sword out, blood dripping off the tip. He had a dark hood covering his face and a black suit.

Lia realized who this was. Ronin.

It seemed like the men knew who this was too, because they all started to try to leave the alley, but he was blocking the entrance. Lia took advantage of the chaos and got a few more shots in, downing a few men. Kate was still staring at Ronin, who was taking down men with his sword with ease.

Before she knew it, the fight was over and Lia was standing in the middle of an alley, gun in hand and men lying all around her. And there was Ronin. Standing at the entrance of the alley, blocking the twins' only way out.


Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions! Hope you have a wonderful day! - Crystal :)