Author's note: Hello! It's been like eight or nine months since I posted a new chapter I think :\

If you didn't see the note I posted the other day which I've since deleted it basically said: I'm sorry for being away for so long, but I'm coming back now because I really want to get back into writing and finish this story. Innocent Illusions 2 and The Heartless Assassins are on hold for the moment, at least until I get back into the hang of writing.

I have started a new Finding Sky story though, under a different account. The story's called Devotion and my other penname is acourtofthornsandbooks. The first chapter's been posted, check it out if you want! :)

To make up for being away so long, here's the new chapter (and it's twice as long as what I used to aim for!).

Please forgive me for leaving. I hope people will still continue with the story and leave me reviews to let me know what you think.

This chapter is very family-driven and shows how Xav and Ireland are now coping without each other.

1st December 2013

Ireland Hawk had imagined that her first week without her soulfinder in her life would have been difficult.

And she had been right. It had been difficult.

Now that her mind was hers and hers alone she was open to feeling emotions, to letting her heart of ice thaw. She hadn't broken down fully crying, something she still refused to let herself do, but she sure did feel like doing so more than once. Xav was always in her thoughts, especially at night as she lay alone in bed struggling to sleep.

But being back in her father's hotel wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be, and that was surprisingly all down to her father himself. Oliver had been acting very differently towards her this week and she had to admit that she liked the new side of him.

Oliver had been so attentive towards her. Yes, he wanted her to get back to work and follow through with her new mission, but he'd given her this week to 'get over her terrible time with the Benedict family'. He had no idea that her mind was different now, probably thought that the darkness was still in control of her – she was sad to admit it, but she knew deep down that he was responsible for that but she was afraid of approaching the subject with him. Still though, he'd been nice to her all week: getting her anything she wanted, being so nice to her and telling her how happy he was to have her back.

He'd missed her, he'd told her.

Her whole life she had never been good enough for him. Evander was his only son, the heir to his business; Quinn was his youngest daughter, the most innocent and gentle. They'd always received more attention than Ireland, ensuring that she'd been looked over a hell of a lot. She'd always wanted his approval, had forced herself to fight when she was younger even when she didn't want to.

Now, finally, she felt like she was getting some recognition from him. It was like he'd finally realised she was loyal to him and was finally treating his daughter with love.

The thing was… Was she loyal to him? Even she wasn't quite sure about that.

She'd think about Xav and his family, about how they were actually good people. Sure, they'd been horrible to her but that was only because they'd been protecting their own. She would have acted the exact same if the situation was reversed. She wasn't naive enough to think that they weren't the good guys, she knew they were. And she thought that perhaps she could be one of the good guys too, if it meant she got to be with Xav. Her dad had abused her, manipulated her, messed with her mind – if he truly loved her, why would he do that?

But he was still her dad and she didn't want to give him up. He was the only family she had left. She'd never been close with her mother and Quinn, but she still missed them dearly every single day.

They were dead because the Benedict family had led the net to them. Victor Benedict had even been the one to put a bullet through her fourteen year old sister's head. She still wanted revenge, didn't she? They had to pay for those deaths. That was all her and Oliver had ever wanted. That was what they'd been working towards ever since it happened. That was what had led her to Xav in the first place.

Her dad scared and intimidated her, but she felt inclined to give him another chance. Besides, it's not like she could go back to Xav. That relationship would never work out. She'd end up in jail for the rest of her life, and that was only if she wasn't given the death penalty. Which was very likely.

Being with Oliver again was her best option and after he'd been so nice to her this last week, she wanted desperately to forgive him and believe he had changed his opinion of her.

Her whole life he had drilled into her head that family came before anything. She couldn't just wash that thought from her mind.

She would give him yet another chance, she would let him control her again. She would do as he asked.

When he finally made a move to kill one of the Benedicts, she didn't know what she would do. If he again asked her to kill Saul, she hoped she'd be able to convince him otherwise. But at the end of the day, she would only be doing what she had been trained to do.

She had been raised a killer.

She was her father's daughter, and like he said: family comes before anything.

Just like he had the month after he met Ireland, when he thought he would never see her again, Xav had turned to alcohol since her disappearance. He knew it wouldn't make him feel any better, but at least it numbed him enough that he could pass out. It was the only way he'd got any sleep all week.

He knew why Ireland had left. She'd felt trapped, like leaving was the only thing to do. She'd been a coward and she'd ran instead of facing the allegation of killing Carl Reynolds. He had no doubts about her innocence, and although he knew that she'd committed other crimes – something she'd admitted to him herself – she still might not have gone to jail. The net made exceptions for people all the time, they could have gone easy on her if she admitted what she'd done and told them about the personalities that had been put in her mind. Personalities which were just basically a long-term mind manipulation.

Why couldn't she just have been brave and stayed? For him?

Why did his brothers have to ruin things between him and his soulfinder when they were finally good?

He hated them, he hated the lot of them. Especially Victor, who had been obviously thrilled about turning up to arrest Ireland. At least Trace had looked miserable about having to do it.

Nursing a killer hangover, Xav dragged himself out of bed at three o'clock in the afternoon.

Walked past Uriel watching TV. Went into the kitchen, opened the fridge. Couldn't stomach any food. Grabbed an ice cold beer. Closed the fridge. Joined Uriel on the sofa. Opened the beer and took a sip.

Bliss.

Funny how a hangover could be forgotten about by drinking even more alcohol.

"That's not going to bring her back, you know," Uriel pointed out to him. His voice was soft, careful. Just like it had been all week. "You can't go on like this forever, Xav. Not going to class, not going in for your shifts at the hospital… You need to stop this."

"I didn't ask for your opinion." It had meant to come out rude, but instead it was a weak attempt at snapping a reply. "And I'm fully aware that it won't bring her back, you don't need to remind me God damn it."

Xav was saved from what would no doubt be an attempt at a therapeutic response from his brother by a knock at the door. Uriel heaved a sigh and left Xav alone so he could go and answer it. There was muffled conversation that Xav didn't bother to listen to. He didn't care who it was, he really didn't.

However when he heard his name being said, he stood up from the sofa and spun around to face their visitor. Victor stood there, looking grim and exhausted. He looked as bad as Xav felt but he knew that wasn't over guilt. No, Victor had been spending all of this week putting his full effort into finding the Hawks once and for all so he could take them down. No guilt for him.

He'd tried to come round a few times this week, as had other members of the family, but Xav had refused to speak to any of them. He'd even sent his mother away. He knew none of them had anything nice to say about Ireland, so he didn't want to hear what they had to say to him.

His lip curled as he took in the sight of his older brother. Bitterly he asked, "what's happened then? You found her? She in jail? She'll probably get the death sentence without our help, right? And that'll be down to you, bro."

"Xav-"

"I'll never forgive you for making me lose her. And you wanna know something else? All these years, where you and Trace have been worried that it was one of you that killed that fourteen year old girl… you were right. I saw it in Ireland's memories on dad's birthday. You killed that girl, Vick. Ireland could easily have killed you for that when she left, but she didn't. Doesn't that prove she's not who you think she is?!" His voice had gotten louder and stronger as he went on, to the point where he was eventually shouting at the end of his tirade.

Victor had looked grief-stricken at the news of Quinn Hawk, but that was quickly replaced by anger by the time Xav was finished. "She is exactly who I think she is! We all warned you not to get attached, Xav. We told you people like her don't change. She's a Hawk, it's in her blood to be our enemy. It wouldn't surprise me if it turned out that her coming to us was planned between her and Oliver, a scheme to get close to us. And you fell for it, you idiot."

"You don't know that!" Xav threw the beer bottle across the room. It smashed on the wall a few feet to Victor's left. "Even if that was the case, she was different after we helped her. She was on our side, I know it. We don't even know where she is right now, she might be in hiding on her own, for crying out loud."
Victor shook his head. When he spoke his voice was at a normal level again but still sounded strict and gruff. "We know for certain that she went back to Oliver Hawk."

"How the fuck do you know that." It didn't come as a question; it came out as an order.

"Early hours of this morning there was a commotion at the savant prison. The patrol guards found a prisoner missing, it looked like he'd just disappeared into thin air. His cell was empty, but the steel door was still bolted shut. The only way he'd have been able to get out was if he could walk through walls."

"What does that have to do with Ireland?" Xav asked, clenching his fists together and stepping around the sofa. He walked towards Victor.

"According to our files on the Hawk family, Ireland's savant power is to be able to walk through solid walls. A common power, one that usually enables the person to pull other people through walls too.

"We looked at CCTV recordings of the prison and what do you know? Ireland was there. It was blatantly clear that it was her. She walked straight through the front of the building and ten minutes later left through the back of the building, with the escaped prisoner holding her hand."

Xav's jaw twitched. He didn't want to believe it. All week he had been hoping and praying that Ireland hadn't gone running back to her dad, that she was lying low somewhere and would soon contact him so they could meet up. He'd promised himself that if that happened, he'd go on the run with her. He didn't even care anymore.

She was his soulfinder and it was too impossible to imagine a life without her. He knew that there was a good side to her. He believed in her. He needed her in his life, one way or another.

"That doesn't prove she's working for her dad again," he protested, still arguing her cause.

"Xav, the prisoner she broke out was Evander Hawk, her older brother. Oliver's a self-confessed 'family man', and now he's got what he always wanted. His family is back together and I can guarantee their next actions will be against us. Why the hell wouldn't they be?"

"Whatever," he shook his head. "You don't know her circumstances, you didn't see what she was like before her head was fucked with. I saw though, I saw in her memories. Even ask Uriel! Even after being brought up like she was, she didn't want to fight. She was forced to. Oliver's probably just forcing her to do all this again!"

"Have you heard yourself?" Victor was looking at Xav like he was crazy. Maybe he was. He sure felt like it. "I know she's your soulfinder but get real about this, Xav. She isn't good enough for you and she never will be. She'll never leave her father's side, she'll probably die working for him. You should've seen this coming. Stop sulking around and get on with your life, she's not worth it."

Xav saw red. Pulling his arm back, he punched Victor in the face with as much strength as he could muster. As Victor stepped back, covering a bloody nose and looking at Xav in disbelief, Xav got up to close to his brother. "How dare you," he hissed. "How dare you say that she isn't worth it. I wouldn't ever say that about Hazel! All these months I've kept quiet about you two, but let me tell you how I really feel.

"I think you and Hazel being together is disgusting. Uriel loved her for years before you even met her and I don't care what he says, he is not okay with it. You're a bastard for doing that to your own brother. And don't even get me started on Hazel! What kind of slut must she be to jump from one brother's bed to the next in a matter of months? Or is that what you like in her, eh? Is she a kinky slut in bed? Keep things exciting for you, does she?"

In the next second, Victor had forgotten about his bloody nose and tackled Xav to the floor, pinning him there. Face bright red with fury, he punched his brother in the jaw. There were clearly no words for what he was feeling. He wanted to his hit his brother and that's what he was doing. He hit Xav a second time.

Xav laughed loudly, enjoying the pain. It was waking him up, knocking the pounding headache of a hangover out of him.

Before Victor could hit him again, Uriel pulled the two brothers apart, standing between them. "That's enough!" He shouted. "What the hell would mom and dad say if they could see you both now? You're brothers, you shouldn't be fighting like this. Just stop.

"Victor, we all know how you feel about Ireland. Heck, we all agree with you that it's unlikely she'll change! But she's his soulfinder and you more than anyone else should know how hard it is to give your soulfinder up, even if the circumstances aren't ideal. You know that he's hurting like hell over this, you should know better than to wind him up by saying things like that."

He turned to face Xav as he shakily pulled himself to his feet. "And you. If you ever say anything like that about Hazel again, it won't be just Victor hitting you into oblivion. I am dealing with them two being together and that's what matters – yours, or anybody else's opinion isn't important. It's between the three of us, not you. I know you're hurting over Ireland. A part of me even misses her being around her for some reason. But you need to get your shit together. Stop drinking, get back to your work and studies, and stop pushing your family away. No matter what happens from this moment on with her, it will be us that will be there for you.

"Don't make me call dad over to talk some sense into you, you know he won't be as nice about this as I'm being."

Xav looked back and forth between his two brothers, silent. He was still angry, still wanted to punish Victor for what had been said. However he knew that he had taken things too far with the things he said about Hazel. Yeah, he wasn't fond that Victor was engaged to his brother's ex, but he actually liked Hazel and knew that she loved Uriel. He'd only said those things to get a reaction out of Victor.

What it all came down to was how let down he felt by Ireland that his faith in her had apparently been for nothing.

He didn't want to see his brothers anymore, didn't want to hear them say 'I told you so' any longer.

Turning around, he walked away from them and into Uriel's guest bedroom which had now become his own. He was moving on auto-pilot, not really paying attention to what he was doing, as he went into the en-suite bathroom and turned the shower on.

He adjusted the temperature dial so the water would be cold and stepped in fully clothed, sinking down so he was sat on the floor of the shower under the cold spray of water. He wasn't shivering, or at least he didn't think he was, and the water wasn't getting his heart racing. If anything, it was calming him down.

He felt like Ireland had betrayed him and he knew that Victor was right, that he should have seen this coming. Even when he was holding her at night, he'd wondered whether she was being real with him or not. He thought that she had been… Now that he knew the truth, he was devastated.

Sitting there in the shower, he cried for what he had lost: a soulfinder he could believe in.

He wasn't sure how long he was in there. When the water suddenly stopped raining down upon him, he looked up and through his blurry vision saw Victor stood there with pity written all over his face. He sat down next to his little brother and pulled him into his arms, seemingly not caring that he was getting soaked too.

Too tired to be angry anymore, Xav relaxed in Victor's arms. He didn't care that he was seeing him cry. The brothers had all seen each other cry more than once in their lifetime, why did it have to be a bad thing? It just showed they cared.

"I'm sorry," Victor broke the silence. He sounded genuine and sad. "Uriel was right, I shouldn't have said those things. I've just been trying to protect you from getting hurt this whole time Xav, that's all I've been doing. That's why I've been so unwilling to trust Ireland. I've been thinking and if I was in your place, and it was Hazel instead of Ireland, I wouldn't want to give up either.

"You and Ireland are linked, souls and minds. Even if you wanted to, now that you've had her around it'd be hard to move on. Maybe you're right and she's working with Oliver again because she's scared of him, maybe he managed to unravel your work on her mind and she's being controlled again. But maybe she isn't and she's doing this of her own free will. Do you really think that she wants to get out of that life?"

Xav paused for a moment before answering, face buried in Victor's chest. "I don't even know anymore," he mumbled, heart aching. "I'm losing faith in her."

"Okay. You're confused, that's understandable. How about this then? From now on in the investigation I'll keep an open mind about Ireland. I still don't like her, but I'll do this for you. Instead of going after her with guns blazing I'll give her a chance to surrender. I can't promise not to arrest her, I have to do that – it's my job. But for you, I'll go a little easier on her."

Xav knew that it must have taken a lot out of Victor to promise this considering how much he hated Ireland, how much he hated criminals in general. Thinking back to what Uriel said about his family being there for him, he let his anger at Victor fade. He didn't want to be angry at any of his family anymore, which he had been because of how they'd treated Ireland. His was sick of being angry at them and he wasn't going to let Ireland drive a wedge between him and his family ever again.

He pulled away from Victor and said, "I think I better go get dry and change my clothes. Then I'm going to call my tutor, chat to her about catching up with the work I missed this week."

"Good," Victor replied as they both stood up. "Sorry for hitting you by the way."

"Back at you," Xav cracked a smile. His first smile in a week. "I'm also sorry about the whole Hazel thing. I just wanted to hurt you, I don't really think that."

"I know. It's all forgiven, okay? Oh and you better call mom too. She's pretty mad at you for not talking to her. She's been mad at you since Ireland arrived I think, mainly because you didn't call her once."

"I was angry with how she treated Ireland but I'm over it now," Xav admitted.

He stepped out of the shower, knowing he had a lot of apologizing to do to his mother. To all of his family, really.

The last time Ireland had seen her brother, he had been on the floor in handcuffs and screaming in horror over seeing Quinn dead. Quinn, who had been his precious little sister and whom he'd loved way more than he'd ever loved Ireland.

The last almost-two years that he had been in jail had taken it's toll on him. He was only a few years older than Ireland, but he looked like he was in his early thirties already. His thick dark hair had disappeared, his head now shaved. His muscles were bigger now, making his frame look bulky and powerful. There was a haunted look in his amber eyes and no expression showed on his face at all. He looked like jail had broken him.

He hadn't had an opinion on her breaking him out of prison, nor had he looked thrilled when he'd been reunited with his dad. He hadn't said one word to anybody the whole time.

Sat in her father's office alone with Evan, Ireland couldn't stop staring at him. He just didn't look like the same brother Ireland had grown up with. The old Evan had been cruel and malicious, had hated the savant net almost more than Oliver, had always made his opinion known and fought to have things the way he wanted them to be.

She didn't think he'd ever been so still and quiet his entire life.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, gently. She felt like one wrong word might set him off, make him go into a fit of rage. "I'm glad that you're back, Evan. It's been weird it being just dad and me. You've missed a lot."

He finally lifted his head and met her eyes. "You didn't visit me. Neither of you."

Ireland frowned. "We couldn't. They were looking for us, they would have arrested us on the spot," she pointed out. "Besides, I didn't think you'd care if I went or not."

"Of course I'd care," he said. His voice was raspy, miserable. "You're my little sister, Ireland. I love you. Of course I'd want to see you."

She was taken aback. That was the first time in her entire life that she could remember him saying that he loved her. She'd become accustomed to never hearing it from him, thought that he hated her and had been ashamed that she was such a good fighter yet never wanted to go out and fight with them.

"I didn't think that," she replied honestly. "Are you sure you're okay, Evan? You don't seem like yourself."

"That's because I'm not the same person I was two years ago," he answered before standing up and leaving the room.