Disclaimer: SM owns all.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The view depicted in this story on Iran and Iraq is in no way how I actually see these countries. Please understand that the view of Iran, and Iraq, and their people are not my opinion, I do not wish to offend, and if I have, I am truly and deeply sorry. See AN after Chapter 5 to read full explanation
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Edward POV
This morning I woke up with my limbs tangled up with Jasper's, my head on his stomach. His soft snores made my head tremble on his chest and my nose to itch. I chuckled, and slid up his body. I snuggled back into him and sighed. My movement must have woken him because the next thing I knew, his eyes had opened and he smiled.
"Morning," he murmured.
"Mmmm . . . morning," I smiled up at him. He stretched his neck forward enough so he could place a small but meaningful kiss on my forehead and his knuckles stroked my cheek. I snuggled myself back into his chest, feeling ridiculously happy with that simple, adoring gesture. Jasper chuckled and buried his face into my mess of hair, which probably looked worse than usual from sleep, inhaling the scent of my hair while he wrapped his arms around me, tight, and squeezed. We continued to lay like that for several long minutes before we decided that it was time to get up and get dressed for the day. Jasper suggested that we shower together to -- in his words, not mine -- "conserve water and save the environment," and I just threw my head back and laughed, then told him that he didn't need to make up excuses to get me naked, which surprised the hell out of me once those words left my mouth. One look at my face and it was Jasper's turn to throw his own head back and laugh.
Needless to say, all this teasing was building up so much sexual tension, it was beginning to become unbearable, but I wasn't quite ready to advance to that step of our relationship just yet.
After we finished with our shower, Jasper turned off the water and stepped out to grab a couple towels and tossed one in my direction so I could dry myself off, then we made our back into his bedroom to get dressed for the day.
Just as we were heading out of the door to his apartment, voices rang out and the next thing I knew . . . something pierced my chest.
With a groan, I felt myself fall forward toward the ground, Jasper's shout barely registering to my brain. I was able to look down to where I felt the hit and realized that I had a dart poking out from my chest. Who uses darts these days, I thought to myself, but before I could get my answer, I felt hands grab me and pull me back inside of the house.
That's all I remember before everything went dark.
***
Jasper POV
Jesus Christ! Where the fuck had they even come from and who the fuck were they? What the fuck do they want? Questions pounded inside my head, none of them staying long enough for me to find an answer. I managed to get Edward back inside my apartment, with little effort. God. His foot wasn't even on the step yet, and still, he was hit with a dart to his chest and went down pretty quick. I slammed the front door after getting him back inside, and hit the lockdown code.
I hastily dug my phone out from my pocket and dialed Emmett's number. There was no answer.
I tried Bella next. She picked up after the fourth ring.
"Bella! Edward and I are under attack!" I got out in a loud rush. Just then some loud boom shot off beside the house and I watched my kitchen wall crumble. I dropped my phone, listening to Bella yell on the other end, and grabbed for Edward again. I pulled the dart from his chest and slung him over my shoulder. I ran toward the panic room, but was deterred by some guy making a grab for me. I hit the floor, dropping Edward and watched in horror as he slid hard into the corner of the couch.
There was a sting in the back of my leg as I felt something being jabbed into it. The sting was so intense, I cried out, kicking the man or whoever that was behind me. I scrambled my way towards Edward, wishing with everything that I am that I could get us into the panic room. My head started to spin, but I pushed on. I heard several guns being cocked and voices shout out behind me. I slid across the floor and covered Edward with my body, in a vain attempt to protect him from whatever else should happen. I pulled him into my arms and whispered to him that everything was going to be all right, even if I didn't believe the words myself. It was the only thing I could think of to say to comfort him. I watched as someone stepped up to us, then there was a hard kick straight to my back, and the immense pain caused everything to become dim, to go dark.
***
Edward POV
Everywhere on my body hurt.
I could hear plane engines. They were loud, and roaring in my ears.
My eyes hurt too much to open.
I was just . . . weak. Couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't see.
I groaned, and it must have been out loud because then I heard something shuffle toward me, felt another stab in my arm, and blackness overcame me once again.
***
Jasper POV
I awoke to the sound of Edward groaning out loud behind me. My eyes were covered with something, leaving me in complete and utter darkness, and my hands were bound to the cold, metal chair that I was seated on. I could feel Edward's hands so close to mine, that spark between us alerting me to where he was, and I scooted my chair closer to his. Taking his hand into mine as best I could, I started to hum.
"Jasper?" came Edward's soft whisper.
"Yeah, it's me, baby. It's me. I'm right here." I cooed. I so badly wanted to hold him and soothe him and comfort him and to tell him that everything was going to be all right again, but I still didn't believe that for one second, and the restraints on my wrists prevented me from doing anything else besides holding his hands.
He sighed quietly, and then started to breakdown in silent sobs.
"Edward?" I questioned. What was he crying for?
"I . . . I should have looked," he stuttered, his voice quiet and filled with what I could only assume was shame. "I felt it, heard them. But . . . but . . . I froze. I was stunned and just . . . stood there, stupidly."
"Shhhh," I tried to soothe and calm him, "I don't know if I would have done anything different."
Just as I had finished that last sentence, I heard the door open, and two sets of feet entering through. Someone shouted out in Arabic, and then in English.
"Do you know why you here?" The man asked in broken English. Because my eyes were still covered, my other senses had heightened and I could tell that the guy who had been talking was the one circling us. I gripped Edward's hands tighter, but didn't answer the question asked. Then, I felt Edward's chair jerk, him letting out a grunt.
"Tell me, Colonel Whitlock, why you are here?" he demanded.
"I don't know," I replied, trying my best to keep my tone flat and unemotional. The man's fist slammed into my chest hard, and knocked the wind right out of me.
I felt Edward being dragged from behind me. He tried to grip my hands tighter to keep us together, but one of the men broke our hands apart with the barrel of his shotgun. Edward was begging them and then I heard the crack of a whip. I cringed and noticed I was begging them not to hurt him. I couldn't -- wouldn't -- live with myself if something happened to Edward. Not if I had the chance to stop it.
When I heard the scream that ripped through Edward's throat, I cried harder, begging louder to be heard over my tears.
"Please! I . . . I don't understand. Please, don't hurt him. Please!" I sobbed.
"Think hard, Whitlock! What happened in Iran!" he bellowed into my face, his putrid breath making me gag. I felt his gun crack against my cheek, and my head snapped to my left with the force of it.
And then it hit me. "The . . . The Kingpin?" I stuttered. What did that son of a bitch have to do with all this?
"Aha. It would seem that this boy has figured it out!" the man snickered.
I was confused.
"I still don't . . . understand?" It came out as a question rather than a statement.
Suddenly, I felt my hands being untied and my body being jerked up by my hair. I cringed as the guy fisted his hand into my hair, nearly pulling strands out by the roots. The drugs in my system still managed to slow my movements significantly, effectively rendering me unable to fight. I felt my hands being tied behind my back, my shoulders straining, and something was shoved into my mouth and tied around my head. Then I felt the man's shotgun barrel slide down my body.
I heard Edward's screams again for a few more minutes as my clothes were being cut from my body. I felt the whip come across my chest and my skin split instantaneously. I cried out from the pain, but was relieved that they had at least stopped hitting Edward for now. There were about fifteen strikes -- I lost count -- before they stopped. My knees had buckled back at around the fourth hit, but I was held up with whatever was in my mouth. They said something to each other in Arabic again, and I felt my blind fold slip from my eyes. The room was dark, illuminated only by the two red lights right above Edward and me.
I saw that he was standing, a bag gag attached to a chain keeping us both up. The door shut and I looked him over critically. He was physically exhausted, his head wrenched up due to his short height.
"Hmm!" I hummed loud enough to get his attention. He looked at me down his nose, and I started to walk. I walked the length the chain would give me, then turned around and walked back. I looked at Edward and repeated the move. Imploring him with my eyes to keep moving. It was going to hurt after awhile, but he had to keep moving, keep the blood flow going to keep him standing. I could feel the chain cutting into my cheeks, and I could see the blood and spit and tears on Edward's face. I looked at him trying to convey my feelings for him.
***
Edward POV
I heard Jasper's screams ring out. I cringed every single time, hating the way he cried out in pain, the sounds getting more and more anguished as they went. The chain was cutting into my mouth horribly, and I was in a lot of pain. I tried not to focus so much on that and instead tried to focus on Jasper and listening to his screams. I wanted to cry out in pain with him. No one should have to endure such rigorous torture. No one. But there wasn't a damn thing that either of us could do about it.
Eventually they stopped and our blind folds were removed. I could finally see what was holding me up. When I looked up, the chain shortened on a pulley, and I really didn't have the strength within me to pull my head back.
"Hmm!" a loud hum came from Jasper and I looked up the best I could to see him. His chest was cut because of the continuous cracks of the whip, and blood was trickling down, making my tears fall again, harder. He walked as far as the length of chain would let him, then back. He looked at me and did it again. I knew what he wanted, but I just wanted to let this chain hold me up. My knees ended up buckling then, and the chain allowed me to fall just so my knees were about four inches away from the ground.
Jasper started making desperate sounds and walked as close to me as he could. Using his hands he made a stand gesture frantically. I lifted my useless feeling arms, pulling on the chain to help me to stand up. I cried out as my hands slid down the chain, but I managed to get myself up. I walked as close to Jasper as I could get and reached out for him. We were about a foot apart now, and he reached for my hand. He brought his other hand up to wipe at my face. We both stood there, naked, and a mess of cuts, blood, and tears. I couldn't reach his face but I could reach a piece of his shirt. So I slid my hand from his and reached out for it. The chain had hit its max, unfortunately, just as I bent down to pick up the piece of cloth. It yanked me back with such force that I slid into the wall, hard, and I felt the chain cut into my cheek just before everything went black.
***
Jasper POV
I watched him being slammed into the wall, thanks to his shortened chain, and felt even more powerless to do something. His head slumped forward, his chin coming to a rest against his bare chest. I started screaming at him to wake up, to please wake up, but he just wouldn't budge.
I fought hard against the stupid gag in my mouth, with its chains cutting into my cheeks painfully. When I reached around there was a large, padded key lock. I looked around for something to help get this off of me with because I knew I couldn't just pull it off without breaking my nose and tearing up my face. In this place, I knew they'd just kill me, and that I couldn't help Edward. Not if it's me they wanted, and he was here because of me.
I was helpless. I could do nothing to help the man I love.
So I just screamed and yelled and cried at him while I did my best to pace back and forth.
It was all that I could think to do . . . until he awoke.
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Hi Everyone!
Ok once again I've gotta thank my beta Princess HarleyHeaven. There will never be enough words or gestures to how much I heart her! You're amazing skills have helped my chapters and stories to be the best they can be.