#everybyte studio

After leaving the city, we drove for several hours until we finally stopped in some old areas near the forest. Jake leaned back, pulling out his leather pouch, and I kinda was surprised when he opened it and pulled out a gun.

"You will have to listen to me, and if I tell you to run, you will run. Do you understand?" He said as he turned to me, a serious tone lacing his voice. I quickly nodded, knowing that it was a lie and I wouldn't run if I knew that he was in danger.

"I'm serious, baby."

"I know, and I promise to listen." I hummed quietly, knowing it was a lie because I won't listen to him.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have sensed it. I quickly connected our lips to make the lie convincing, and when I pulled back, I got a look that it didn't work because he knew what was going on in my head.

"Don't test me and listen to what I said." He sighed.

It was a warning. I knew when he's demanding or when he's warning. When we finally stopped in front of some old building. It took me a few seconds to realize that this was our destination, so I quickly turned to Jake.

"Shouldn't we sneak in or something?"

"Baby, I like when they greet me." He laughed, the corner of his lips lifted as we moved to the door, and after climbing a few steps, we stopped in front of a metal door with a large lock.

"I doubt that someone will meet us, I mean, they're government agents, Jake. We shouldn't expect them to just come in your hands." I said once I noticed the lock on the old door was broken and that there was nothing inside.

"You will be surprised to see how welcomed I am here." He laughed while pulling out a gun that had a silencer on it, and I didn't have time to say anything when he shot through the broken lock. I watched as he knocked on the door several times and turned around, looking around his surroundings.

"Who greets their guests like that?" He mumbled as he looked around the large room, which was empty and went to the side towards the corridor.

"Why do they always want to go the hard way." He growled, looking around.

The room suddenly became silent, and I heard my breathing only. I felt anxious inside as I took a step toward him, but I got a look that made me freeze. He raised his hand, pointing at the ceiling with his index finger, and turned towards the corridor with a dog whistle. I stood there waiting for something to happen. And then we just heard a soft hum behind the wall, which was like a sign for Jake.

"A room on the second floor?"

He nodded in response, and he came closer, holding my hand. His steps were big and sure as he walked down the hall, and as he reached the door, he raised his gun, firing several shots that left holes in the wooden door. I didn't realize what was happening until he opened the door, and I saw two men with black masks on the floor writhing in pain.

"Fucker." One of them cursed as Jake raised his weapon and promptly blew his brains out while also finishing off his friend who was still writhing.

"I said that we would be greeted." He smirked and moved forward, trying not to get into a pool of blood, and I tried to look at him only so that I wouldn't see the bodies that were lying around us.

"How did you know they were outside the door?" I felt stupid for asking such a thing, but I don't understand how he did manage to figure it out.

"This is their typical step, baby, rats are always hiding in obvious places."

The sound outside the door was soon heard, and another shot got fired. I looked up to see another man on the ground in a pool of blood. I don't know why and how he had such a quick reaction, but it made me grip his hand tighter.

After passing another body, I saw a brick staircase, which, after climbing it, opened into an office-like room. On the left side, there were many old wooden tables with booths whose walls were halfway up, and on the right, a long corridor with many doors.

"What's next?" I asked when Jake looked around, looking at the windows.

"I thought you were here to help me find a room." He smiled, turning to me, and I understood that now it was my turn, so I let go of his hand as I stepped forward.

I approached the fourth door and boldly opened it as I stepped into the long corridor, but before I could step forward, I felt a hand on my waist. Jake walked past me, running his palm across my torso and stopping me at the door I was approaching.

After he opened the door, I went into the room, which was empty, and in front of me was a wall behind which the room was supposed to be hidden.

"How are you going to get into it?" Jake asked me as he looked up, so my eyes followed at what he was looking to.

"You must be joking," I growled when I saw the ventilation hole because now I understood why he was measuring me earlier.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" He snorted as he stuck the gun in the waistband of his pants, and without warning, he came closer, grabbing me by the hip and lifting me. I flinched and grabbed his shoulders, and when I got to the opening, I reached out to try to remove the bars.

"They don't open," I grumbled and flinched again when he abruptly lowered me to my feet.

"Try to put it in."

He pulled out his knife from his pocket and handed it to me again. I bent the knife and stuck it behind the edge of the grill and used force to peel one side behind which I put my fingers to peel off the grill. I folded the knife into my jacket pocket and lowered my eyes to Jake, immediately meeting his gaze.

"There will be a safe in the room, and I need what's inside it."

"How am I supposed to open the fucking safe?"

"Forty, thirty- five, and fifty."

I understood that it had to be a code, and I didn't have time to answer anything when he moved me toward the opening.

"I hate you," I growled as I grabbed the iron edge with my hands. When he moved me higher, I felt his hands on my ass and he slightly squeezed it to show his dislike to my words.

"We'll talk about it later." He mumbled, and I crawled forward until I couldn't feel his hands anymore.

I was halfway inside the metal square pipe. I felt like I was short of air because of how tight it was since I couldn't even raise my head normally while lying on my stomach like that.

Wasting no time, I began to crawl forward until I reached the next opening and slammed it open. I poked my head into a small room, which was the size of a shower with some kind of metal chest of drawers. I looked at the distance between me and the floor, realizing that I hadn't planned how to get down.

It took a few seconds for me to look around as I slipped back into the opening and crawled forward until the ends of my legs were at the exit. I put my feet in and started crawling back. Suddenly, I flinched when something hit the pipe I was in. This hastened my movements, and before I could catch the edge with my fingers, I fell straight onto the sub.

"I swear I will kill him when we leave this shithole," I growled, standing up and grabbing the phone. I went to the chest of drawers, checking the first drawer, which had some papers. I looked through the others, which were just as full of papers, and then I closed my eyes, getting annoyed by all of this. I looked around the room with gray walls and looked at the floor, but there was nothing.

"Shit."I pushed the metal dresser to look behind it, but there was nothing as well. Have we been tricked?

"Jake?!" I screamed towards the opening through which I entered and fell silent as if my life depended on it.

"What?!" He screamed as if I was doing something that made him distract himself from something he was doing.

"There's nothing here!" I screamed and flinched when something hit the wall next to me. I pulled back because I knew what would happen if this wall was torn down.

"There has to be something!"

"But there's nothing!" I screamed so loud that I knew that the whole building heard me doing so.

"Mc-" He growled as if he was going to strangle me for yelling this loud, and a second later, a shot was heard, causing the phone to fall out of my hands. I bent down, picking up the phone, and my eyes immediately caught the white concrete floor, which had a crack, and when I looked up at the phone, it was just fine.

"What the fuck?" I knelt down to check it and only now I did see that it was not concrete, but plaster that was like chalk. Without waiting for anything, I pulled out Jake's knife and hit the net with the other end, making a hole.

I didn't stop until I saw a small black safe that was lying under the floor. Someone really doesn't want us to find it if they put that much effort into hiding it.

I found the safe, and I know the combination, but the problem is that I have never opened the safe, so I don't know how it works. I blew the air to remove the white dust from the black iron doors and turned the wheel, seeing the numbers that allowed me to understand what to do. After turning the first combination, someone hit the wall next to me again, and I rushed with the whole safe thing until I finally unlocked it.

I opened the door to see a large envelope and immediately took it, opening it to see what was inside. I shook the envelope to see pictures of Jake with a small black USB drive falling out. I put the USB in my pocket and just now saw that among the photos, there were some sheets with his name on them.

I knew I shouldn't read, and I should hurry, but I ran my eyes over the notes that mentioned his crimes. There were pictures with red arrows, question marks, and some numbers. I don't know what it is, but I knew I had to take it, so I put everything in an envelope and tucked it behind my shirt. I looked up at the iron chest of drawers and went over to open the first drawer, pulling out papers. I opened another drawer until I finally got to the last one and found another folder, which I immediately tucked behind my shirt.

I felt my heart pounding as I felt scared from not knowing what was going on there with Jake, and quickly I climbed on top of the dresser to reach the opening. I jumped a few times, hooking halfway, and I felt pain in my hips, but I didn't stop until I was in the hole.

I crept to the exit and looked down to just see several bodies, but Jake wasn't there. I crawled forward and hit the exit with my feet, and then moved back. I held on to the edges slowly, lowering my body until I felt a hand grab my torso, which made me flinch and try to free myself.

"And what do we have here?" I heard an unknown man's voice, and I didn't have time to answer anything when he jerked me down, but it only made me hold on to the edges more.

"Let go." I grunted as I moved my legs, and he jerked once more, making me scream in an unnatural voice as I felt the pain in my ribs, which rested on the edge of the opening.

"Come here bitch."

I don't know where I hit my legs, but I kicked something that made the man slap me on the ass.

"Hey!" It was Jake's voice, and I stopped in my tracks as my heart started beating like crazy. I didn't realize that my hands were shaking, my legs no longer supporting my body, and I fell when the attacker hesitated to hold me, he didn't catch me and just forced me to fall to the floor. I quickly turned around to see Jake taking big steps towards a man who pointed a gun at him.

My body was working faster than my brain as I pulled out Jake's knife and stabbed the man straight in the leg, drawing his attention to me.

"Bitch!"

That was enough for Jake to close in, grabbing his gun and shooting the man through the chest. The shot echoed throughout the building, making me flinch, and as if that wasn't enough, I felt drops of blood run down my face.

"Are you okay, baby?" Jakes voice made me come back to reality, and only now did I see that his face was also bloody.

"Yes." I nodded, not knowing if this was the right answer, and Jake leaned forward, grabbing me by the torso to get me up.

"I found the safe. I wanted you to know that."

"Really?" He smiled softly and pecked my head as he unzipped my hoodie pocket, taking out a new gun clip. I just nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Good girl." He mumbled, relieved tone lacing his voice. His breathing was as heavy as mine. Probably while I was busy with my own business, he had something to do as well.

"What happened while I was gone?"

"Someone wanted my head." He changed the gun's holster and quickly turned towards the door because he heard some knocking. I don't know why, but he looked like he wasn't here with me because he didn't look me in the eye and acted like he was still in the gunfight.

"Jake?"

"Not now, baby." He panted out and reached into his pocket.

"I can't get distracted. Otherwise, we'll both end up without a head." He warned as if he knew that I could feel his change, and I quickly nodded, knowing that he was right.

"Stay behind me." He ordered moving towards the door and boldly left by turning to the side and firing several shots. I saw four bodies, and two of them were new because he had just killed them.

How many government agents wanted his head?

The question hung in the air as we went down the stairs and walked down the corridor that was stained with blood, and it made me rush to grab his hand. Jake didn't react as he pushed open the door to go outside but stopped in an instant, causing me to crash into his back.

"What?"

I panicked when he turned to me and looked behind me. A man was standing at the end of the corridor aiming a gun directly at me, and I didn't have time to react, when after a shot was heard, Jake suddenly turned us around so that I was behind him. I hit the door behind me with my back as Jake walked towards me, slamming the door with his palm behind me.

"Fucking idiot." He growled meeting my gaze and my instinct worked faster than I could think. He shot Jake. He fucking shot him.

I quickly grabbed the gun from Jake's hand and walked past him towards the man, emptying the entire clip into his chest. I felt anger rushing out of me like water from an overflowing glass, and when the bullets ran out, I stopped in front of the body.

I slowly lowered my gun hand and tried to slow down my rapid breathing, which made my chest move like crazy.

I watched the blood run from his body to my shoes, and I took a step back to come back to reality. I slowly turned to Jake, who was watching me, and looked as surprised as I was.

"He put you and me in anger." I mumbled, running closer to him, and I grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it up to see where the wound was, but I only saw a black vest.

"I'm fine." After he spoke, I raised my eyes to meet his gaze.

"I panicked, I thought he shot you, I couldn't think straight." My words were incoherent, and I wanted to make sure that Jake was really okay. I slowly lifted his shirt even tigher, touching the hard black vest with my palm.

"Baby, I'm fine." His voice became softer. Forcing me to believe his words. I sighed in relief and pulled his shirt down to hide his vest.

"Everything is fine, baby, let's go before more of them will come." He whispered, and after kissing me, he took my hand, dragging me behind him to leave the building.

After getting into the car, I realized that I was still holding the gun with which I had just killed a person. I just killed a man. I fucking killed someone for Jake.

I wanted to feel guilty, but I didn't because I did it out of an instinct that told me to protect Jake. Everything happened so fast that I didn't have time to realize what was happening. All I knew was that he shot Jake, so he had to die for it.

"I killed a man." I spoke quietly, afraid to look at Jake, and instead, I just looked at the road in front of us.

"I know." He answered with a serious voice, so I turned to look at him with a worried face.

"I emptied the entire clip." I spoke quietly again, confirming to myself that I really did it, and Jake turned to look at me. His eyes landed on the gun in my trembling hands, and he slowly reached out to grab it. As he dropped it at the backseat. He took my hand in his and interlocked our fingers slowly.

"You did what was necessary." He assured me, looking at the road, and I nodded in agreement, but at the same time, I didn't know if it was really necessary. I mean, he shot Jake. I knew inside that it was necessary because no one touches Jake while I'm around him.

~

After entering the apartment, I immediately went to the bedroom and threw off my leather jacket. I pulled out the t- shirt that was tucked into my jeans and took out the papers I had tucked inside my shirt, letting them fall onto the bed. I lifted my jacket, taking out the USB that was in my pocket, and turned towards the door when I saw Jake entering the room.

"There was an envelope with this USB in the safe." I mumbled and lifted the envelope, handing it to him.

Jake walked towards me, grabbing the envelope and dropping it on the bed before suddenly cupping my cheeks in his hands.

"Is everything alright?" His eyes ran over my face looking for answers, and I quickly smiled.

"Yes."

I lied because I couldn't get the fact that I killed a person out of my head. I took someone's life and I can't forget it so easily. I was disturbed by the fact that I did it so easily and because I don't feel any guilt like something is really wrong with my mind.

"There was a metal chest of drawers in the room, and I found papers with your name there." I said as I got out of his arms turning towards the bed, and I picked up the papers, opening them immediately.

"I thought they were also important, so I took them." I said, and he slowly unfolded the papers. I lifted the envelope that was lying on the bed and handed it to him. He didn't answer anything, so I gave him the USB, too, wanting him to be happy with me and say something, but he was silent.

"Well then, I need to take a shower."

I passed by him towards the bathroom and closed the door once I entered it. I went straight to the mirror, looking at my image, seeing some drops of blood on my cheeks. I turned on the water, quickly wetting my hands and wiping off the blood, but I still felt like that man's blood was on my body.

"Mc, get a grip." My voice sounded quiet as I stepped away from the sink and took off my shirt, dropping it on the floor. I unbuttoned my pants, sliding them my legs down, followed by my panties. I unbuttoned my bra, throwing it with all my clothes, and entered the shower.

I turned on the water, which was cold. I hesitated when I was changing the water to warmer, and only when it started to get warmer. I realized that cold water helped me better, so I turned on cold water again.

I closed my eyes as I stood under the cold stream of water and tried to understand why it was so easy to kill someone. I wanted Jake to tell me the reason he could do this without feeling like he had an excuse to actually kill someone.

I had to get into my head what Jake said to me in the car that I had no choice, and it was necessary because I was doing it to protect both of us. I did it for Jake. That guy shot him, so he deserved to die, right?

I heard the shower door open, and a second later, I felt warm hands on my torso. Jake's naked body pressed against mine, providing warmth that the cold water took away.

"Mc."

After he whispered my name, I immediately opened my eyes to see how his hand reached the water handle and the way he changed the temperature of the water to warm.

"You did it because you love me as much as I love you." After he whispered these words, everything just disappeared like the water that ran through my body washed away all the worries I had inside my head.

He was right. I did it because I love him, and I have to admit to myself that I would do it again. The feelings I feel for Jake are so strong that it can make me do things I would never have dared to do, and it didn't scare me at all. I wanted to be strong so I could protect both of us, and this was the first step I had to take sooner or later.

It seemed like I only now realized that he always did this for me, to keep me safe. Jake was the one who was ready to sacrifice everything for me, and it seemed that I only now understood the reason why he always mentioned that I was like him. He knew that I would be determined to do the same for him, and this only made me understand that the love I feel for him has no end.

"I love you." He whispered again letting me hear the words I adored and I didn't think I would hear him saying it a second time because he always warned me not to repeat these words and leave them for special moments. He knew that this was exactly what I needed, as if he was sensing that these words would warm my frozen body.

Maybe the love I feel for Jake would appear unhealthy and toxic to others, but for us, it was perfect because we were both something different.

I slowly turned around with my palms touching his bare wet chest and raised my eyes to meet his gaze. I grabbed his neck with my hand and pulled him closer, connecting our lips, and then I took a step back, hitting the wall with my back. He was the first to pull back, but I didn't let him pull back too far, I brought our foreheads together.

"I would do it again for you." I admitted, opening my eyes to look at his lips.

"I would sacrifice everything for the love of my life. For you." I admitted raising my eyes to meet his gaze, and suddenly, without a word, he connected our lips. I kissed him back as I felt his hands on my torso slide down to my ass and squeeze it to elicit a moan.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his torso as he rose me up. His lips moved down to my neck, biting my skin, eliciting a moan that mixed with the water from the shower.

I gripped his back with my nails, feeling him go full length into me, pinning me against the wall even harder. He didn't wait for anything as he moved pretty fast. I rolled my eyes to back, grabbing his hair with my fingers and pulling the ends of them so that I could get a growl from him that I adored.

I felt the excitement go through my body, making me pull harder on his hair. Jake nibbled on the skin of my neck as he was thrusting into me at a quicker pace and whispered that I belonged to him.

I heard his voice and the way he kept repeating that I would always belong only to him, and I couldn't hold back the orgasm that made me shake with a moan that rang throughout the shower.

Jake didn't stop when his strong hands gripped my body so hard that I stopped breathing for a second as I felt him filling me fully. I opened my eyes to meet his gaze, and I immediately bent down to connect our lips in a kiss that we wanted so much to finish the orgasm we had achieved.

~

I woke up, and when I reached out to the other side of bed, I didn't feel another body that should have been lying next to me. I was lying on my stomach, so I lifted my body off the bed with my elbows to see that Jake's side of the bed was empty. For some reason, I had a bad feeling that crossed my heart for an unknown reason.

"Jake?" I called out and looked towards the door. Without getting the answer, I quickly sat down and got up from the bed, throwing on his shirt, which was lying next to the bed, and walked to the table, opening the drawers. It was empty, so that only meant that he had found what he was looking for.

I nervously ran a hand through my hair as I walked out of the room into the living room and looked towards the door where Jake's shoes were gone. For several minutes, I just stood looking at the door and biting my lower lip from the bad feeling I had in my chest.

I went back to the room with my phone and dialed his number, but when I heard the signal, I heard his phone ringing from the bed. I quickly walked to bed and lifted his pillow to see his phone. I sighed and quickly rejected the call. I don't like the idea that he left his phone and disappeared without saying anything.

I changed as quickly as possible without bothering to do my hair and walking to the door of the apartment, taking out my shoes from the closet. I quickly put it on without bothering to tie it and just tucked the laces behind the edges. I grabbed the car keys, feeling my heart pounding with anxiety and unlocking the door, but before I could open it, it opened by itself. My eyes suddenly met with Jake's, and the anxiety I felt made my body tremble.

"Where did you get ready for?" He asked with his eyebrows furrowed when he looked at my outfit, which was just black jeans and his shirt, which I just buttoned without bothering to put on a bra. I was in a hurry, not knowing where I was going, so my hair was still tangled, which showed that I had recently woken up.

"What the hell, Jake?!" I don't know why I screamed, but probably because I was panicked for his sudden disappearance and anxiety I felt. "Where were you?"

"At the Lilly's motel."

"Why did you leave without informing me?! I woke up alone and like it's not enough. I can't call you because you left the phone!"

"Why are you yelling at me?" He looked at me confused. His tone was calm. Too calm for my liking.

"Because you disappeared without telling anything."

"I always disappear without telling anyone anything."

"Yes, but now I have this bad feeling, so you can't just disappear. Not after what happened, Jake. I got scared..." I whispered, trying to calm down my breathing. His face softened as he came closer, grabbing my hand and pulling me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

"Baby I-" I cut him off almost immediately.

"Promise that you will be careful, Jake."

"I'm always careful. Besides, why are you worrying so much now?" He pulled back, holding my cheeks with his hands.

"I have this bad feeling that won't go away, and I'm afraid that something bad will happen to you." I said as I looked up at him. A gentle smile appeared on his face, with which he always showed that I should not worry.

"Nothing will happen to me, so stop talking about it. I've got it under my control."

"Promise me." I pressed him to promise because I didn't like how I had that feeling. I killed a government agent. He killed many of them, too. It's obvious that they will be looking for us now more than ever.

"Mc."

Why doesn't he promise? After all, I did not ask him to call out for my name, but I needed him to promise me that he would not disappear anywhere and would protect himself.

"Then promise that you won't disappear anywhere and you will protect yourself." I stared at him hopefully. He was silent for a long minute before a long sigh escaped his lips.

"I promise."

For a few minutes, we were both just silent, looking into each other's eyes.

Looking into his eyes, I tried to see if he promised me that only to stop my pressing, but I could not see anything. I could only curse at the fact that I couldn't see through the lies because Jake's eyes were professional when it came to hiding the truth. I could see the love he felt for me in them, but other emotions were hidden, preventing me from understanding him.

"Come on." He reached out to grab my wrist. I didn't resist letting my body move towards him. I melted into his embrace and closed my eyes, inhaling his perfume that calmed me down.

Both of us slept pretty uncomfortable that night. Jake couldn't move at all. Every time he did try to move, low grumbles left his mouth. Grumbles that made their way straight to my ears every time he let them out, causing me to wake up every twenty or thirty minutes.

I had tried to comfort him to get him to sleep easier, but nothing seemed to work. I had tried cooling the bruises in the middle of the night, massaging his sore spots, and even tried singing to him to get him back to sleep. The latest only put on an act of less than ten seconds before he shut me up and told me to stop this nonsense.

The sleep was still heavily present in both of our eyes when the guards decided to wake us up for the morning routine. The morning routine Jake was in no way able to complete. The guy could barely stand on his own, let alone complete a whole routine without any help from me.

With Jake's arm draped over my shoulder, I struggled to get to the front of our cell. Just like yesterday, I put Jake against the bars and my own body to provide him with some sort of support. Jake's bodyweight pressed itself completely against mine, and I had to put up a struggle myself to stay upright and not fall over with Jake right on top of him.

"Jake, you need to stand on your own for a few minutes." I whispered while I pushed the guy a little more on his own feet, a soft grumble of displeasure left Jake's mouth. The guard was slowly making his way over towards Jake and me.

My heartbeat increased more and more with each step the man took. There was no way this was going to end well, and I could only hope that the guard would show some mercy towards Jake.

"Estrada and Dalton, back up on your feet, I see?"

I quickly looked up at the sound of the guard's voice right in front of me, my eyes big and my heartbeat beating at an incredible speed. The same guard from last night stood with an evil smirk in front of us. The same guard that showed no mercy at all towards Jake and within an instant all the hope I had left my body.

We were doomed. There was no possibility that this man was gonna go easy on us after what he had done last night. This man took pleasure in seeing Jake suffer, and I was sure that that was exactly what was gonna happen in the next few moments. An evil laugh left the man's mouth at seeing the distressed face of my and the broken of Jake's.

"It didn't take you much to fall asleep last night, did it Dalton?"

Jake didn't answer the man. He only gave him an angry glare through his eyelashes, knowing perfectly well that he was in no way able to take the man on for a fight right now. The guard pushed up on his eyebrows, and the evil smirk made his way back on his face.

"I give the both of you five seconds to complete the routine. If not, you both know what's gonna follow next..."

I immediately stood up right, hands in front of me and my head low. I felt how Jake tried to lift himself completely from my shoulder to complete the routine but failed miserably. Every time the male was somewhat loose from my shoulder, he fell back immediately, his knees shaking and and his muscles tensing up with every move.

My heartbeat increased even more at the counting, and with a soft push from my shoulder, I managed to get Jake to stand up somewhat right. Jake's head already hung low, but his hands were gripping the bars like there was no tomorrow. His fingers turned white from the harsh grip he had on the bars. There was no doubt that if Jake would let go of the bars, he would tumble down to the ground immediately.

Jake's body was shaking so much that I could hear his bones cracking every now and then. Jake tried to remove one of his hands from the bars, but his body started to fall down the moment he let go. With a quick movement of his hand. Jake grabbed the bars again to being able prevent his whole body from going down.

"Time's up, Dalton. It looks like you really enjoy these beatings, don't you?" The guard laughed with an evil smirk still plastered on his face.

The man removed his baton from his belt, and before both of us could register what was happening, Jake was already thrown on his knees in the middle of the floor. I looked with huge eyes at the scenario that was taking place before me, I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest.

My hands became clammy, and sweat made the way out of my forehead and back. The guard readied his baton, and before I could fully register what was happening, the words had already left my mouth.

"I will take his hits!"

The guard slowly lowered his baton and turned towards me. My whole body started to feel like ice, my blood leaving my face and my courage leaving my whole body. I looked paler than Jake's brother, who came to visit him in the first week that I had arrived at the prison. My knees started to buckle, and my mouth became dry.

"What did you say, Estrada?" The guard smirked and started to make his way over towards me.

"I will take his hits." I whispered back, almost inaudible. The guard lifted his eyebrow, and within a second, I sat down on my knees next to Jake.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Jake grumbled towards me but I only gave him an apologetic smile before the first hit came crashing down on my side. A hard cry left my mouth and I placed my hands on the floor to steady myself a little.

"You're lucky this time, Dalton. Since this idiot insisted on taking your hits, you won't receive any right now. Don't get your hopes up, though. It's a one-time only thing. Next time, both you and your lover girl will get hit. This isn't a charity!" The guard spoke while he crashed his baton against my shoulder.

Another cry left my mouth, and it was immediately followed by another hit towards my stomach. Small tears started to form in my eyes, and the pain was almost unbearable. My whole body felt like it had been run over by a truck, and I only had had three hits.

I didn't know how Jake could receive so many hits without him showing any form of pain. I felt like shit and didn't even receive half of the hits he normally got. Another hit made its way towards my side. A deep cry left my mouth, and tears started to fall down my cheeks.

"I think that's enough to make you understand that acting like a hero for loverboy isn't gonna get you anywhere in here, Estrada. Now get up and go to breakfast!" The guard yelled at the both of us, and with a huge struggle, both of us managed to get up and make our way towards the breakfast room.

Fat tears kept rolling down my cheeks, and my breaths came out in small little puffs to decrease the pain on my ribs as much as possible. Both of us sat down without getting any food. I was pretty sure I couldn't eat at all, I felt like I could throw up at any moment.

Jake didn't have the strength to get up and get breakfast for the both of us. The short walk towards the room had already drained us enough from our energy.

.

Jake focus.

.

"Why the fuck did you do that." I grumbled angry at Mc. To say that I was happy with what the girl did for me was a complete misunderstanding. I hated it when other people started to fight my battles for me, if it was my battle it stayed my battle and everyone needed to stay out of it.

Besides that. I found it utmost stupid that Mc had offered to take my hits. The girl had the strength of a chicken and was in no way able to handle the hits that I got on a regular basis.

"You...Couldn't t-take them anymore, Jake... You were gonna pass out again if you t-took them." Mc answered through her tears and sobs. I shook my head at Mc remark. I knew she was right, but that didn't mean that I agreed with Mc's way of solving that problem.

"You're stupid, you know that? Never do this shit again, you idiot."

Mc stayed silent, and with a soft sigh. I reached over towards the crying girl. With a soft stroke of my fingers, I removed her tears from her face.

"Stop crying, Mc, it's gonna be okay." I whispered with a soft, caring tone at her.

"It...h-hurts so much...h-how do you do t-this every day?" Mc sobbed while I kept removing the tears from her face.

"I grew up with it. My body is used to it. Yours isn't. Promise me that you will never do this again."

Mc gave me a short nod, already knowing that she could never make it through another round of beatings without her body giving up on her. She wasn't made for it, and I was glad that both Mc and I agreed on that fact.

.

Mc focus.

.

A week passed, a week in which Jake's and my bodies slowly started to heal. Both of us were able to complete the routine on our own for short amounts of time, and the beatings stayed away for the rest of the week. I had cooled both my own and Jake's bruises every night, and the once black bruises now slowly started to turn a greenish yellow.

Most of the pain was gone for both of us, only an occasional grumble leaving our mouths when we moved too fast or too sudden.

It had been the fifth week that I stayed at the prison, and apart from the beating I had received last week, I was getting pretty used to the prison life. It was an easy life, a life that didn't require much thinking or cleverness. Every day was practically the same, and in some way, the predictable routine was also comforting to me.

I knew what was gonna happen, and there were no sudden surprises. Sunday had rolled around, and both of us sat on Jake's bed in our shared cell. We had just returned from breakfast, and due to the heavy rain that fell outside, we weren't allowed to get out for our usual sunday morning stroll around the courtyard.

I kept rambling about random topics while Jake nodded or hummed once in a while to let me know that he was listening but not really engaging in the conversation.

Both of us look up from soft clinking against the metal bars of our cell. A small brunette man clothed in full black with a little white square close to his throat stood in front of our cell, a small necklace with a cross dangling from his neck and a bible in his hand.

"Good morning, since one of you is new here, I wanted to ask if you were willing to join us for our sunday church service we provide once in the six weeks."

My eyes lit up at the invitation, and I immediately gave the man a short nod, accepting his invitation. I wasn't a church girl at all but I was excited that there was still something I could do at this rainy sunday morning, even if it was going to a church I normally didn't go to.

"Let's go together, Jake, it's gonna be fun!" A huge smile fell on my face, and I turned around to face Jake, my smile immediately falling at the scowl he was giving me.

"I will not go to that fake friendly worshipping nonsense. Leave me out of it!" Jake grumbled at me while he placed himself down on his back on his mattress. My eyes widened shortly at the sharp tone that left Jake's mouth, making me wonder why he was so against it but at the same time also knowing that asking him about it right now wasn't a good plan at all.

"So, just one?" I heard the man behind me speak. I turned back around and gave him a short nod.

"I will ask the guard to open your door, and I will see you shortly. You can find us in the room across from the laundry room, and we will start at eleven." I gave the man another nod, and thirty minutes later, I was indeed released from my cell and on my way to the mentioned room.

~

With a bright smile on my face, I left the room with two bibles in my hands and some encouraging words from the man in black in my head.

The guard that had walked with me opened the cell for me and with a little in my step I walked inside my cell, my eyes immediately widening at Jake who sat on his bed supporting a black eye that wasn't there when I left for church.

"Please tell me that that is make-up on your face."

A deep chuckle left Jake's mouth, and a small smirk started to form on his face.

"I wish. I might have pissed a guard off when you were away to your little cult."

My mouth fell open, and the two bibles I had fell to the ground in an instant.

"Why? I leave you alone for an hour and I come back to this. What did you do?"

"Rather, what did he do. He called you a pussy for going to church, I didn't like the comment so I might have punched him through the bars." Jake shrugged nonchalantly.

"I- What?" I stuttered while I tried to wrap my head around the comment he had just made. He defended me?

"Never mind. Next time you will come with me to church, this won't happen another time. It's really nice-"

Jake got up from his bed, and within a second, he was in front of me, making me shut up in an instant.

"I. Will. Not. Go. To. That. Fucking. Cult. thing." Jake grumbled really low, his eyes filled with anger and fire.

I took a step back to get out of his personal space, I had never been really scared of Jake, but I definitely was now. I didn't know what Jake's deal was with the church, but judging from his reaction, it wasn't good.

"Jake, I-"

"Never suggest it again, Mc. Never and when I mean never, I mean never do I want to be found with those people. I don't wanna be a part of that fake show. It's all lies, and you can't trust those people for one second. Leave. Me. Out. Of. It." Jake demanded, and I could only nod at his words, not daring to go against the pissed off male.

"And these..." Jake picked up the two bibles I had brought inside the cell. "Keep them out of my sight, or I will drown them both."

I gave him another nod, and Jake threw the two bibles on my bed to get them out of his own sight. Jake slowly turned back around and placed himself down on the mattress. A deep breath I didn't know I was holding left my mouth, my eyes traveling over to the third bible that lay in our cell.

The bible that was on our desk, the bible I had seen Jake writing in when I had just arrived at the prison. The bible who was clearly used for a whole different purpose than what it was originally for. My eyes traveled back to Jake.

He was softly touching his face, and with a deep sigh, I started to walk to my own bed. My legs were slightly trembling, and my hands had become clammy. I grabbed my blanket from my bed, wetting it in the toilet once again.

"D-did you c-cool it?"

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Jake focus.

.

My eyes traveled back up to Mc, and my eyes softened a little at the shaking brunette who sat in front of the toilet, already wetting the blanket again. I didn't know why, but I hated the fact that she looked so fragile because of me.

"No." A deep sigh left my mouth. "I'm sorry, Mc. It wasn't my intention to make you scared of me. You just really pissed me off."

Mc gave me a short nod, her hands still slightly trembling while she made her way over to me.

"It's okay." She sat down on my bed again, and she gently pushed the blanket against my eye. The cold feeling immediately stopped some of the pounding the bruise provided me with.

A soft smile fell on my face seeing her so concentrated with her job as a nurse. She's really good at this. My hand reached up slowly, wiping Mc's bangs out of her face to see her eyes even better and clear her vision. I softly placed my hand against Mc's cheek, and our eyes locked for a short moment.

"It's not Mc... It's not okay." A soft whisper left my mouth.

.

Mc focus.

.

I slowly opened my eyes. Both of us had once again slept in the same bed after I tended to Jake's bruises last night. A small smile formed on my face as soon as my eyes fell on the male in front of me. Jake, who was still sleeping, looked like he was in peace. His eyes were lightly shut, his mouth hung open, and soft mumbles left his lips once in a while.

Despite the bruise on his eye, he looked amazing to me. His honey tinted skin stood out beautiful against the white pillow. A few small scars were visible on his skin, but they made him even more beautiful, in my opinion. Jake's scars displayed his personality perfectly. Rough but smooth at the same time.

I had the urge to reach out and stroke Jake's cheek softly, but something in me told me to fight that urge away and keep still. I didn't know if he would appreciate the gesture, and I wasn't willing to take the risk and find out.

A soft grumble left Jake's mouth, and at a sudden moment, he tightened his grip on my waist. It made me look down. My eyes widened at the sight, and my breath stuck in my throat. Holy shit. Jake's arm was wrapped securely over my waist, making the two of us almost cuddle into each other.

Jake's hand hung loosely against my back, and our legs cuddled against each other. The only parts that weren't attached were our hips, chests, and heads, but those weren't far from being attached, too. Now that I came to think about it, Jake had indeed been a lot closer to my face than he normally was.

Today was a little different than our normal day routine, though. Every prisoner was permitted one free day each month with the possibility to increase that number if your behavior was right. Since both Jake and I had gotten in trouble multiple times last month, both of us only had one day.

I had always been able to see his smooth skin, but I had never been able to see the small scars that were also on there. My heartbeat picked up rapidly, and my face slowly started to turn a bright red color. I didn't know why, but I liked the closeness we were having right now...

Closeness, I was sure Jake would immediately regret when he was going to wake up. With a soft nudge, I pushed Jake's arms from my own body and left our shared bed to prepare for our upcoming morning routine.

Without much thinking, we had decided to use it on the same day, so we were able to spend it together, and none of us needed to be in the laundry room by ourselves.

An hour later, both of us had indeed completed our usual morning routine, followed by some breakfast and the decision to spend our day outside. I never mentioned the event of that morning to Jake, and I felt at peace with that choice, I wasn't willing to ruin the friendship I had created with Jake over such a small thing.

Both of us walked to the courtyard, and Jake immediately started to make a beeline for the sports fields. I wasn't surprised that he wanted to play sports at all. Jake was able to withstand all those beating so his body must be pretty strong and healthy, making it perfect for playing sports.

I looked towards the basketball field Jake had walked on and instantly decided not to join the game at all. The guys and girls that stood on the field all looked like they were ready to murder me on the spot. All of them had more muscles than I would ever have, huge tattoos were painted on their bodies, and multiple piercings hung from different body parts. I wouldn't stand a chance at all against these people, and I was perfectly aware of that fact.

"Mc, you want to join?" Jake yelled from a little away, and I immediately shook my head. "You sure?" I nodded at Jake and sat down on one of the benches that stood around the field.

Jake and all the other prisoners divided the group into two teams, and not much later, all of them were engaged in a somewhat friendly game of basketball. I loved the sight in front of me. Everybody was at peace with each other, and it made me feel like I was back in school for a short moment instead of the hell hole I liked to call the prison.

There was one person who stood out completely to me, though. I couldn't rip my eyes off Jake for one moment. Just as expected, he was really good at playing sports, even when his body wasn't healthy, completely just yet. His body moved easily over the field, his muscles flexed with every move he made, and a small smile was displayed on his face. A smile that grew a little wider every time he and I made eye contact.

Jake was shorter compared to the other guys but he was without a doubt one of the best players that was on the field at the moment. I felt proud every time Jake scored another point, and I would give him a little thumbs up with a wide small after each one, encouraging him to try even harder than before.

He was a huge show off but I liked it in some kind of way, I even made sure to trigger him every now and then so Jake would run just a little faster or move his body just a little smoother. Both of us kept making eye contact throughout the whole game, small smiles and winks being thrown back and forth between us, constantly checking if we were still holding the other's attention.

A hard buzzer sounded in the air, and with one last throw, one of the guys ended the game temporarily to go to the dinner hall for their lunch break. Jake immediately jogged over to me, telling me to keep seated and let him grab our lunches from inside.

With my eyebrow raised a little, I agreed to his idea, and not much later, Jake walked back out with two trays in his hands. He sat down next to me and placed our trays in between the two of us. A small smile formed on my face, and I turned my body, so I was facing Jake.

"Thanks, you're really good at sports, Jake."

Jake chewed his food and gave me a short nod.

"It's a thing we do quite often where I come from. It helps me to get my mind off things. Do you like seeing me play?" A cocky smirk was displayed on his face, making me chuckle.

"You're such a show off, you know that, but yes, I do. You look really happy when you play." I answered while I took another bite of my bread with egg.

"Why don't you wanna play?" Jake suddenly asked, and I stopped eating for a short moment.

"I'm not really good at the whole sports thing. I'm more of a book stuff kind of girl than the physical activities. My body isn't built for it, I guess." I mumbled while I looked down in shame a little. Jake gave me a small smile that I never noticed, and before I could register fully what was happening, Jake had dragged me on the field.

"W-what are you doing?"

A small smirk fell on Jake's lips, and he threw the ball towards me that I was barely able to catch it.

"I'm going to teach you the basics. There's nobody here, so nothing to be afraid of."

I gave him a questioning look and threw the ball back at him.

"Good luck, show off, I'm a lost cause."

Jake slowly started to show me the basics of the game, and I wasn't wrong when I told him I wasn't made for sports at all. Every time Jake told me to do a certain move, my body was in no way able to recreate that move in the slightest.

The ball kept falling from my hands, and after more than twenty tries to get the ball in the basket, I had been able to score just one point. Jake kept trying to reposition my body, but every time he let me go, I moved my body back in a position that looked nothing like the one Jake had demonstrated. A soft chuckle left Jake's mouth after another lost shot, and he made his way over to me.

"Let me help you." Jake placed himself behind me and wrapped his arms around my body to get a hold of the ball. "Place your hands on mine."

I did what Jake asked of me, and he felt how Jake pressed himself against my back. I was able to feel his breathing on my neck, and the feeling made me think back of this morning. Jake's warmth started to spread through my body, and my body wanted to react to the touch, so freaking badly. A soft red color started to spread on my face, and before I knew it, I looked redder than a tomato.

"If you place your hands-" Jake's voice shook me back out of my own thoughts. "I'm gonna throw it, and you only need to follow my movements, okay?"

I gave Jake a short nod, not trusting my own voice right now. With the help of Jake, I was indeed able to throw the ball in the basket, and a small smile fell on my lips. His body was still against my own, and our hands were still somewhat entwined. None of us felt the urge to break the contact, and silence fell over us...

Another buzzer sounded over the courtyard, indicating that lunch break was over and Jake broke away from me instantly. The cold immediately took over my body, and I already hated the fact that Jake had let me go.

"I will bring the trays inside. Stay here, okay?" Jake said while he walked back inside with the trays in his hands. A deep sigh left my mouth, and I walked back towards the bench we had been sitting on. That freaking buzzer...

Thirty minutes later, the prisoners were back playing basketball while I kept watching them, making eye contact whenever I could with Jake. Jake, who had already been a show off before their break, had increased his level of showing off by at least twenty at this moment and I kept giving him small smiles and little thumbs up to increase it even more.

Both of us were clearly trying to keep each other's attention, and the moment Jake mouthed, watch this at me. I knew that Jake's level of showing off couldn't get much higher. As promised, Jake ran across the whole field with the ball bouncing on the ground, made a highly unnecessary 360, and threw the ball in the basket.

-years ago-

A panicked look was visible as Isabella Dalton pushed yet another door open while running as fast as she could. The sound of footsteps chasing her became louder and louder, and a panicked sound left her mouth. There was no way she would be able to escape from him. Once he had decided something, he would literally do anything to make it happen.

The only thing that roamed through her mind was the cute faces of her sons. Jake and Kaden was her whole life and the main reason why she hadn't left this miserable life of hers already. Just a little smile of her sons could lift up her whole mood. She would never be able to leave them behind.

The longer the young woman was running, the harder it became to breathe for her. Isabella was not used to a lot of running and knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. In a split second, she decided that she would head for the roof, hoping that the man chasing her wouldn't see it. Maybe the roof would give her an escape from him.

Quickly, the young woman began to run up the stairs as quickly as she could and pushed the door to the outside open. Immediately, she inhaled sharply as the cold wind of the outside world hit her face. A soft red blush started to form on her cheeks, and she walked a bit further on the roof while softly closing her eyes. If he would find her now, Isabella would be trapped, and she was well aware of that fact. There was no way left to run.

Soon, the woman had reached the edge of the roof and looked down. It was a long way down from up here, and if she would fall, that would surely be the end of her. There was no way the woman would be able to escape from the roof. She was like a mouse trapped in a cage. Isabella slowly closed her eyes, and a soft sigh left her mouth as she heard someone open to the door of the roof. So he had found her.

"You've changed Isabella." Diego Dalton said while slowly taking a few steps closer towards his wife. The tone in which the man was speaking was an amused yet annoyed one. Lately, the woman had been annoying him constantly, and he hadn't trusted her for one bit. She wasn't the same woman he had once married. The beautiful woman slowly turned around before looking at her sons father, right in the eyes, a small smile on her face.

"I have, haven't I?" She answered him, a defeated look clearly visible on her face. "I like to think that I've finally seen the light."

"Shut the fuck up with that stupid religion of yours, it's not real!" Diego screamed back at her, an angry look visible on his face. Quickly the man took a few steps closer towards his wife. A nervous feeling immediately began to form inside Isabella's chest and she quickly looked behind herself. One more step and she would be falling of the roof.

"That's your opinion, Diego." The woman answered her husband. "It made me realize that I don't want this life anymore. Not for me or for Jake and Kaden." Isabella spoke, confidence clearly lacing her voice.

Ever since she had stumbled upon a small church deep in the woods, her life had never been the same. While she used to think that all the illegal things Diego did were really cool, she now saw them for what they really were, sins. Killing, torturing, and blackmailing were just a few small examples of everything her husband had done. She didn't want this life for Jake and Kaden. She wanted them to be free of all sins. She wished for them to remain as pure as possible.

A small smile slowly began to form onto the young woman's face at the thought of her sons. Diego wanted Jake and Kaden to grow up as a rutheless monsters who would run the gang once he retired. He wanted to turn the small boys into killing machines who would care about nothing but money.

Slowly, Isabella began to shake her head. She couldn't let this happen. Not while she was still alive. Jake and Kaden were her baby boys, and they deserved better than to grow up in an environment like this with a monster as a dad.

"Please let me and my sons go." The woman calmly asked, already knowing Diego would refuse to let them leave. Jake and Kaden were the man's sons. Of course, he wouldn't let them go without putting up a fight. This man wouldn't let anyone tell him what to do, not even his own wife.

Looking back, their relationship had always been pretty one-sided. It had always been Isabella, who had loved Diego and Diego, who had taken advantage of that fact. The man had always used the excuse that she would be a weak spot to him if he began to love her, but to Isabella, that was just straight-up bullshit.

Looking back, it had always been Isabella on the giving end and Diego on the receiving end. He had never loved her. He had only liked the fact that she would be able to provide him kids. Another sick way to increase the money the gang earned.

"Never will I let a whore like you take my sons away." The man answered his wife while he became visibly more angry by every word that left her mouth.

Slowly, the man was taking a few steps closer to where his wife was standing. The woman looked fragile in the cold and dark night. Like she could be broken by just a small touch of his finger. Diego had always known that Isabella was naive. However, he was truly shocked by her betrayal. Never had she gone against him like this, and the man would make sure that she would regret that she ever did.

"Tell me, Isabella, are you willing to die for your sons?" Diego suddenly asked, an evil smirk slowly forming on his face. The woman standing in front of him clearly stiffened upon hearing the question her husband had just asked her. She quickly regained her confident posture, however, and looked Diego straight in his eyes.

"I am, I'd do anything for my little Jake and Kaden." She answered confidently, not once looking away from the piercing gaze she got from her husband. The man was now standing only two steps away from her, and an evil smile was still present on his face.

"In that case, enjoy the fall down." Diego spoke before taking another step towards Isabella, followed by a big push. As expected, the small woman immediately lost her balance, and before she knew it, she fell off the roof. Within a few seconds, she would hit the ground and be death. She had lost.

Tears began to stream down the young woman's face, yet no sound left her mouth. She had failed to protect her sons. They would grow up believing all the lies his father would tell them. Slowly the small cute faces of Jake and Kaden appeared in front of Isabella's face and a small smile began to form onto her face, happy that her thoughts had allowed her to see their faces one more time.

"I love you, and I'm sorry, be strong, my children."

-present time-

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Jake focus.

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Tears were streaming down my face. Anyone who would have the chance to meet me would never describe me as a crybaby, and yet here I was. Fat tears were streaming down my cheeks, and it didn't seem like I would be able to stop soon.

"She didn't leave us." I softly whispered while thinking of the horrible fate my mother had suffered.

Isabella Dalton had been the only person expect Kaden who looked out for me when I had been younger, and I had loved the woman with all my heart. Of course I had always questioned the fact why she suddenly had abandoned me and when my father had told me at the young age that my mother had commited suicide a pained yet hollow feeling had been all that my mother had left me.

The fact that I had just learned that she didn't leave me and Kaden after all and that she even tried to get us out of the shithole we were raised in somehow warmed my heart and yet a sharp pain also was present. All these years, I had hated my mother for what she had done. I had been absolutely disgusted by everything that reminded me of her.

Religion had always been something I hated so much just because my father had told me that my mother had been religious. Oh, how I wanted to say sorry now. I regretted every bad word, bad thought, and bad actions I had ever said, thought or done now. My mother had never been a heartless woman who only cared about herself. The very reason why she had died the way she did was because she was anything but selfless. My mother had cared about me and Kaden more than her own life.

"Anyone who dares to go against me will face the consequences." My father spoke loudly through the room.

Even though the story he had just told about his wife's murder was completely true, he had mainly told it to show everyone not to mess with him. Of course he couldn't let any of the people present in this room live now, but if he got rid of his pathetic excuse of a son now he would surely be killed by one of the other gunmen in the room.

The merciless man wasn't crazy he had trained these people himself. Hell, he had chosen them to be at the top of his gang himself. Kaden, Asher and Jake were all very precise when it came to firing bullets, he knew that and while two of those men were currently not able to do anything against him, one of them was still lurking somewhere.

Asher had always been the one who had been the sneakiest. The guy was like a damn shadow, and he was very quick. As long as he was still somewhere in this room, there was no way Mr. Dalton would kill the only thing he could use against these people.

"I killed Sina Estrada for it, even my own wife." My father spoke loudly again, his booming voice sounding through the whole room. A nervous yet angry look was visible on the man's face, and he pressed the gun he was holding against my head a bit harder against my temple.

"And I would even kill my own son for it." The man finished in a whisper close to my ear. Shivers ran down my spine upon hearing the cold tone in my father's voice. The man who had raised me had been nothing but a liar who cared about no one but himself. My whole life, I had thought that my mother had been the selfish one of my parents, and it turns out it was the other way around.

Slowly, the tears that were rolling down my face stopped, and anger started to boil within my chest. I was angry, super angry. Angry because my father had lied about the death of my mother all these years. Angry because my father had killed my mother all those years ago. Angry because my father had tried to kill Mc, the one person whom I cared for more than anyone. Angry because my father had been responsible for all the misery in my life. It had always been my father, I had just been too blind to see it.

.

Mc focus.

.

Meanwhile, I was still hiding behind the table while watching Lex. My friend was now barely breathing. Only soft and irregular breaths left her mouth once in a while, and the future didn't look bright for her. Someone had to do something quick. However, the problem was that there was literally no one who could do anything.

As I slowly looked over the flipped table, I saw how Jake was still captured by his father, Kaden was still bleeding heavily, and the others except Asher were in direct eyesight of Mr. Dalton. However, I knew that as soon as Mr. Dalton would spot Asher he would shoot Jake, so relying on him wasn't a possibility either. This whole situation was horrible, and I felt like there was no way we could win this anymore.

However, Asher himself clearly wasn't ready to accept their defeat yet. He was quick, and even though he still hadn't fully recovered from his injuries, that would not stop him. Like a pro, the guy slowly was crawling closer to Mr. Dalton, his black gun still in his hand. The merciless man clearly hadn't noticed him yet, and thus, the man didn't really expect it when Asher suddenly popped up from behind a wall and started to shoot some bullets at both Jake and Mr. Dalton. Asher was one of the best shooters in the gang. He knew he wouldn't hit Jake.

However Mr. Dalton was quick to now notice him and briefly took the gun of Jake's temple before wrapping his hand around the guy's neck and choking him. Immediately, Jake began to gasp for air, and his sight began to become blurry. However Mr. Dalton didn't react at his son's actions at all and aimed his gun at Asher before shooting some bullets at him.

A statisfied smirk crossed the man's face as he suddenly saw Asher's gun fly through the room. He had hit it. The weapon was now completely useless, and while Asher himself wasn't hit, he hid again quickly, now completely defenseless.

"Everyone kick your guns my way, or I'll shoot Jake!" Mr. Dalton shouted through the room before aiming his gun at his son once again and releasing the pressure he was putting on his neck. Immediately, Jake began to cough loudly before gasping for air. Red finger marks were clearly visible on his neck, and an evil smirk was visible on his father's face.

Immediately, everyone kicked their guns in Mr. Dalton's way, not wanting to risk their friend's life. They had known the man longer than today, and if he said something, he meant it. Disobeying him now would be a very stupid idea.

Tears started to stream down my face upon thinking about my friend's deaths. There was no way any of them would be able to escape now that they were defenseless. Lex would die right on the spot without medical attention as well as Kaden.

Jake would be next as he would get shot by his dad and knowing Mr. Dalton he would probably go after Asher next since he was the biggest threat of the remaining people. After that, it would be like roulette for the merciless man. He would kill anyone he saw before leaving with that sadistic smirk of his on his face.

Quickly, I balled my fists and gritted my teeth. There's no way I could let that happen. Slowly, I stood up from the table I was hiding behind and quickly began to look around, searching for anything I could use to help my friends. I may be a damn nurse, but I wouldn't go down without a fight. These people were my family, and I would never be able to let them down. Mr. Dalton was standing with his back towards me, and thus, the man had completely missed my sudden appearance.

Jessy, however, had not missed it. A shocked look immediately became visible upon her face once she noticed me standing up from behind Mr. Dalton. However, her face quickly returned to a neutral expression again, and she looked away from where I was standing.

If Jessy had kept looking at her, Mr. Dalton would surely notice it and know that someone was standing behind him. Even though Mc was probably one of the purest souls in this room she was the groups only chance at getting everyone out of here alive and thus Jessy had no choice but to look away and trust whatever it was that Mc was doing.

Quickly, I began to look around myself and began to slowly walk forward once I noticed one of Mr. Dalton's dead men near the table. Even though the man had been dead for a while, judging by the enormous puddle of dark red blood surrounding him, he was still holding his gun. As quiet as I could, I walked closer to the man and kneeled once I had reached him.

Suddenly, I began to feel sick upon staring at the enormous shot wound the man had in his head. Blood was pouring out of it, and the scene looked like it came straight out of a horrormovie. However quickly, I regained my posture and began to pick up the gun. The weapon was cold and felt heavy to me and looked like the one I had used back when I was still training with Kaden.

A simple black gun who could do so much harm, now in my possession. Nervousness began to creep inside my whole body, and I slowly stood up again before walking a bit closer to Mr. Dalton and raising the gun. The sound of a gun loading immediately made Mr. Dalton turned around while keeping Jake right in front of him.

"Drop the gun, Mr. Dalton." I said once Mr. Dalton had turned around and was now facing me, nervousness laced my voice. Immediately all eyes in the room were fixed on me as I was now aiming the gun I was holding at my own boyfriend since Jake was standing directly in front of his father, the old man keeping him in place with the gun that he was pressing against his head.

Even though I had tried to sound as confident as possible, anyone who had eyes and knew how to use them could see how nervous I was. The gun I was holding was shaking, and I was completely pale. My heart felt like it was bursting out of my chest, and my sight had become somewhat blurred. There was no way this was going to end well.

"Oh please, as if you know how to use a gun." Mr. Dalton answered me before he began to laugh loudly. Amusement was clearly lacing the man's voice, and a big smirk was visible on his face.

"The chance that you will hit Jake is about 90%." He continued before locking eyes with me as I was aiming a gun at both him and his son. The merciless man narrowed his eyes to slits before giving me a challenging look.

"I'd like to see you try."

Suddenly, someone from behind Mr. Dalton began to talk, trying to talk some confidence in me.

"You can do this crying, baby. We've practiced this, remember?" Kaden spoke, pain evident in his voice. I switched my focus from Jake and Mr. Dalton to the guy who had been shot and immediately some confidence made its way into my body.

"Breathe, aim, and pull the trigger." Kaden spoke as soon as he noticed that he got my attention. Immediately, I softly nodded before looking at my boyfriend and Mr. Dalton once again.

A deep breath filled my lungs, I aimed as precise as I could, and without thinking twice, I pulled the trigger of the weapon I was holding. A loud booming sound immediately sounded through the room, followed by the sight of blood, lots of blood.

A loud scream sounded through the whole room. The kind of scream which would raise the hairs on your arm. The moment I had fired the bullet, both Jake and Mr. Dalton fell down to the ground. My heart began to beat loudly in my chest, and before I knew it, I was running full speed towards the two men on the ground.

If I had hit Jake, he needed help immediately, I didn't care that Mr. Dalton would probably kill me if the man was still alive. Immediately, I sank to my knees once I saw my boyfriend laying on the ground with both his eyes closed.

"Baby?" I softly whispered while hoping to get a reaction from him. Immediately, my eyes fell upon his cheek. A nasty scratch was covering the side of it, and blood was slowly pouring out of it. I had hit Jake.

However, the damage on his cheek wasn't half as bad as the gaping wound in Mr. Dalton's head. I had managed to shoot the man underneath his right eye, and while Jake's wound would only need a few stiches. Diego Dalton's wound killed him immediately. The old man was laying lifeless on the floor, his eyes still big and shocked because of me actually firing the bullet at them.

As soon as I reached for Jake's cheek in order to inspect how bad the wound was, he opened his eyes again before immediately hugging me once he saw me.

"You saved me." He exclaimed, a proud tone lacing his voice. Never in a million years would anyone have thought that I would be capable of killing someone. However, the lives of everyone I cared about had been on the line, and drastic situations call for drastic actions. I didn't have a choice if I wanted everyone to survive.

"W-well done, crying baby." Kaden managed to bring out before he closed his eyes for the last time before falling unconscious.

Immediately, Jake sprung up from his place and ran over to his brother. Kaden had lost a lot of blood and needed medical attention, right fucking now. Immediately Jake began to put pressure on Kaden's wound once again in order to not let any more blood pour out of it.

"Get Lex and Kaden in vehicle now! They both need surgery!" Jessy suddenly screamed, her inner surgeon taking over and bossing everyone around. Everyone was quick to do exactly as the girl had told them to.

Jake immediately picked up Kaden as carefully as possible while I ran over to put pressure on his wound while Jake carried him. Immediately, Jessy herself ran over towards where Lex was lying on the floor before a concerned look made its way onto her face. Immediately, Jessy picked up Lex as carefully as possible before quickly following the rest of us towards the cars.

Both Lex and Kaden needed surgery, or else they would surely die, and Jessy couldn't do both at the same time. Slowly, tears began to form into her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. This decision was like choosing between her two children, how the hell can you ever make a decision like that. However suddenly something clicked inside her head and she quickened the pace in which she was running towards the car even more. There was a way she could save them both.

As Jake and I were making our way out of the room while making sure that Kaden lost as little blood as possible, I decided to turn around one last time. I was immediately met with the lifeless eyes of Mr. Dalton stared at me. This man had tried to ruin my whole life. Mr Dalton had been the person who had been responsible for Sina's death, Isabella Dalton's death, and probably many more.

The man was nothing but a heartless monster, and thus, it did not pain me to look into the eyes of the one who I had killed. The man deserved death, more than anyone else on this planet. Not once will I cry because I killed someone that someone had it coming anyway.

It didn't take long for all of us to reach the hospital wing. We had driven there as fast as we could, and once we had arrived in the gang, Jake had arranged some of the members to wait for us with two stretchers. Immediately, both injured lovers had been placed on the stretchers as carefully as possible before Jessy had ordered the members to bring them to the operation room.

I immediately sprung into nurse mode as soon as we had entered the building. I was more than ready to assist Jessy in both surgeries, and I walked after Jessy as fast as I could. However, a concerned look slowly began to form on my face. Who the fuck would we operate first? Both lovers needed surgery as soon as possible and Jessy and I couldn't do both at the same time.

"Who are we operating first?" I asked, concern clearly lacing my voice. All the others were currently walking into the hospitalwing, and immediately Jessy turned around while an idiotic weird grin was covering her face.

"Listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you, Mc." She began to speak while her grin slowly disappeared and a serious look took over.

"Both Lex and Kaden need surgery right now." She said, and I softly nodded, not understanding where she was going with this conversation. Suddenly, Jessy placed both her hands on my shoulders and gripped them firmly.

"We're gonna have to split up if we want to save them both." She said, a serious tone lacing her voice. Immediately, a confused look became visible on my face. How would splitting up help? I am not a surgeon... I can't do stuff like that, right?

"Jessy, I can't-" I began to speak while uncertainty was lacing my voice. However, I immediately got cut off by Jessy.

"Yes, you can." She said, confidence lacing her voice. Slowly, she turned around while gesturing at Kaden. He was still lying unconscious on the stretcher while Sam was putting pressure on the wound.

"Kaden has been shot in his shoulder." Jessy spoke towards me. I nodded in response.

"He needs a surgery you've done before, the one on Jake." She spoke very clearly while making sure I knew exactly what it was that she was talking about.

"Remember?"

Immediately, I nodded. Of course, I remembered the surgery Jessy and I had performed on Jake. Those moments had been one of the scariest in my life. The thought of losing Jake had absolutely terrified me.

"You can do that one yourself. You've done it before." Jessy spoke before walking over towards the stretcher Lex was laying on. The smaller girl clearly needed a much more complicated surgery, which is exactly the reason why Jessy had to do that one herself.

That morning, I woke up to a pleasant smell filling my nose and a warm blanket covering my body. It had been that moment that I knew how grateful I had been of my life before the prison. This night had made me realise how lucky I am that I have a roof above my head and a blanket covering me at night. It clearly wasn't a common thing for everybody.

With a soft grumble, I turned around, expecting to find Jake beside me. Only to realise that he wasn't in bed with me anymore. I rubbed my eyes to make sure Jake wasn't really there, frowning when he still didn't show up before me after I opened my eyes again. I slowly pushed myself up on my elbows, hearing soft music coming from downstairs and the smell hitting me even harder.

With small movements I managed to get out of the way too comfortable bed and I dressed myself in the set of clothes Jake had provided for me last night, the black t-shirt and tight shorts were comfortable on my body. I put on the black boots Jake had also provided me with, and with a small ruffle of my hand through my hair, I walked downstairs to inspect the source of the music and the pleasant smell.

With small steps, I walked down the staircase, seeing nobody in the living room, so assuming that whoever was providing the music and smell was in the kitchen. I made my way in the kitchen, immediately seeing Jake with his back turned to me in front of the stove.

He was cooking some kind of breakfast while softly humming along to the music that was playing from the radio. I softly coughed to make my presence known, and Jake instantly turned around, a small smile falling on his face at seeing at seeing me before him.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Jake still smiled while he motioned me to take a seat at the dinner table. I slowly walked over to the table, sitting down on it while a smile also started to form on my own face.

"I did. Your bed is really comfortable. Thanks for sharing it. You didn't have to do that."

A soft chuckle left Jake's mouth, and he turned back to the stove to go on with whatever he was cooking.

"I didn't have to, but I wanted to. I'm glad you slept well, Mc." Jake answered while he grabbed two plates from the cupboard above him. He divided the food he had just prepared between the two plates, walking over to me with the small smile still on his face.

"I hope you like eggs and toast, enjoy your breakfast." Jake placed a plate filled with fresh baked eggs and french toast before me while placing his own across from me. "Coffee?"

I gave him a soft nod, and two minutes later, both of us were sitting across from each other at the dinner table while enjoying our breakfast and coffee. I had expected a lot when I came downstairs that morning, but this definitely wasn't on the list.

I had never thought that Jake, I now knew as the country's biggest gang leader, would let me sleep in and cook breakfast for me. A really great breakfast, not forgetting to mention Jake definitely knew how to cook. Besides, I was pretty sure that almost everything would have tasted as heaven to me after the prison food I had been forced to eat in the last couple of months.

"Jessy asked me to bring you to the hospital wing this morning. She wanted to make you familiar with everything now that there aren't any seriously ill or wounded patients. This way, you would be prepared when duty calls." Jake mumbled while biting another piece of his toast that he later swallowed with some coffee.

I nodded in agreement, and before I knew it, both of us stood before the doors of the hospital wing. Jake pushed them open with some force. Loud music surrounded us instantly. A wide grin immediately made its way up on both of our faces at the sight before us. Jessy was dancing enthusiastically to the song that was way too loudly playing through the room, clearly not aware of her visitors.

"Jessica." Jake softly said, trying to get the girl's attention but without success. Jessy kept on dancing, her eyes closed and her body moving to the rhythm of the song.

"Jessica." Jake tried again, a little louder this time but again without any success. A soft chuckle left my lips, and Jake grinned shortly at me before he yelled out Jessy's name again.

"Jessica!"

Within a second, the girl had turned herself around, her eyes big and her hand on her heart. With a few quick steps, she had made her way over to the radio, turning it off instantly.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jake now full on laughed behind his hand, trying to cover it somewhat up. Jessy threw a glare at him while she made her way over to us.

"Don't you have anything better to do, Jake? Dan's waiting for you."

A still laughing Jake left the room after giving me a small pat on my shoulder while Jessy mumbled something in the lines of 'that fucker.' I heard how the door fell shut behind me and looked back over to Jessy.

She squinted her eyes one last time at Jake, who had already disappeared before she turned towards me. Her whole demeanor changed in an instant, a huge smile fell on her face and her eyes shining with pleasure.

"Follow me, please." Jessy motioned with her hand towards her desk. She made her way over to it while I followed her slowly, starting my first day as a nurse at the hospital wing of Jake's gang.

To say my day was exciting was a complete misunderstanding. Jessy had mentioned something about 'learning the basics' before I got to the real stuff in the first five minutes, but I hadn't paid much attention to it. I had been pretty sure that by basics, Jessy meant the basics of gang related stuff, only to find out that by basics, she had literally meant the basics of nursing in general.

So here I had been cleaning tools, changing bed sheets, and reading files while Jessy explained everything I had already learned in school at me again. 'Just to be sure, I really did understand everything.' She had told me multiple times that day, promising me that we would do more exciting stuff once she had explained to me all there was.

I left that night with a bored and useless feeling. Sure, I liked the bonding time I got with Jessy, but my needs as a nurse in training hadn't been fulfilled at all. Besides that, nobody had shown their face at the ward at all. It had been Jessy and I the whole time, just the two of us in an empty ward. With a soft sigh, I walked inside Jake's apartment.

He had provided me with the key for the door before he had dropped me off at the ward, making sure that I always had access to the room if I needed it. Besides the fact that I hadn't done that much today, I was still exhausted.

The prison had clearly taken a toll on my condition and it wasn't much later that I found myself dozing off on the couch in the living room, falling into a peaceful slumber right before Jake came back home from his own day of work.

.

Jake focus.

.

A small smile fell on my face at the sight of the girl on the couch. I didn't know what it was that made me feel like I did, but I always felt calm and happy around her. Over the small span of time we had spent in the prison, I had come to trust her.

Mc had become someone who I liked to spend time with and who I loved having around. It wasn't something I was familiar with at all, though. Sure, I liked my other friends. They meant the world to me, and they were like family, but I would never want to share an apartment with them or sleep in the same bed. Mc was just different.

I softly walked over to the sleeping girl, grabbing a blanket from the side of the couch on my way there. An unfamiliar feeling, making me feel all warm and happy, spread through my body, and my smile grew slightly bigger seeing her sleep so calm and peaceful before me.

I carefully placed the blanket over Mc's body, making sure she was tucked in everywhere so she wouldn't be cold. I let my hand rest on her shoulder while I wiped some of Mc's hairs away from her face.

"Sleep well, Mc." I whispered before I walked off to the kitchen to prepare our dinner. The unfamiliar but pleasant feeling still soared through my body.

.

Mc focus.

.

I slowly became aware of my senses. A pleasant smell was filling my nose, and a more than welcome warmth was surrounding my body. I slowly opened my eyes, and the once sun filled and lit up room had become semi dark while I had slept. The sun had gone down, and the curtains had been closed. The only light that shone through the room came from a few dimly lit lights that stood spread throughout the whole living room and the fire in the fireplace.

I brought my hand towards my face, getting tangled up in the blanket that laid over me. I pushed the blanket of while wondering when I had grabbed it, I couldn't remember going to sleep with a blanket on top of me.

My eyes wandered through the room, my eyes falling on the brightly lit kitchen. The pleasant smell filled my nose again, and I slowly began to make my way over to the kitchen.

Jake stood once again with his back turned towards me in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled really good, in my opinion. With a soft cough, I entered the kitchen, making my way over to him to see what it was that smelled so good.

"Hey, had a good nap?" Jake chuckled, seeing my sleepy face and ruffled up hair. I gave him a soft nod, my vision still on the pans that stood on the stove.

"Hungry?" He chuckled again, removing one of the lids to stir whatever it was that was in the pan. I gave him another nod, my mouth practically watering from the smell that came from the pan Jake had just opened.

"Does tomato soup as a starter, with pasta as the main course and pudding as dessert sound good?" Jake smiled while he put the lit back on the pan. I averted my eyes towards Jake, giving him a third nod. With a soft laugh, Jake motioned me towards the table that he had already prepared for our dinner together.

"Take a seat, Mc, I'm almost done."

I walked over to the table and sat down while Jake finished up.

"How was your first day? Did Jessy treat you well?" Jake spoke with his back, still turned towards me.

A deep sigh left my lips, and not even ten seconds later, I was rambling about how my day had been super boring, I didn't do anything, and Jessy gave me only boring tasks to do. Jake laughed every once in a while.

Soon he brought all the pans over to the table in the meantime, serving the first course to us both while I kept telling him that Jessy was way too careful and that I was capable of way more than Jessy let me do. With a laugh, Jake had told me to enjoy my dinner, and both of us started to eat.

"Was Jessy nice to you, apart from the fact that she only let you do the boring stuff?" Jake asked, bringing a spoon filled with soup to his mouth.

"She was. She's a really nice girl." I answered while I also ate some more from the tomato soup. "It's really delicious Jake, thank you for this."

Jake gave me a reassuring smile while he kept eating from his soup. We kept talking while we finished our soup and started with the pasta. Jake provided both of us with a plate full of it, and while he took his seat again, his whole demeanor changed.

He looked at me with a serious expression, and I instantly stopped eating, thinking I had done something seriously wrong for Jake to change demeanor that fast.

"Can I ask you something, Mc?" He started, his tone cleared from all excitement or happiness.

I kept completely still. The Jake that was sitting before me was exactly the Jake I had come to know in my first week at the prison. Unpredictable and scary. This wasn't the Jake I had gotten to known in the last few weeks. This version of Jake wasn't friendly or caring at all, and I didn't like it at all. I gave him a small nod, anxiety starting to fill up my veins.

"Why did you tell them that you killed your sister? I know you didn't do it, you know."

"I don't know." I whispered, my head hung low, and my eyes closed. A soft sigh left Jake's mouth. He took a deep breath, and with a soft look in his eyes, he looked over at me.

"Mc, look at me. I'm sorry, I just wanted to know about it. Nothing more, there's nothing to be scared of."

I slowly lifted my head, and my eyes crossed with Jake's. He gave me a soft, reassuring smile and motioned for me to go on with my food.

"I asked you about it because I did some research. I've let Lex look through your case. She hacked your file, and I've read it all." Jake started again, this time a lot softer and less serious. I stilled again, my eyes growing big and my hand frozen mid-air.

"You did what?"

"I've investigated your case, and I'm pretty sure that you didn't do it. They do have a solid case against you, though. If I hadn't known you, I would have thought that you had done it too, just based on that file." Jake got on while he kept eating his pasta.

"Why?" Was the only word I could get out of my mouth, still in shock about the fact that Jake had done research about me and my case.

"Well... Everything basically points at you, but I know you didn't do it. As Kaden said, you aren't able to kill a fly. You aren't your sister's killer, Mc, I'm sure of it." Jake spoke again while he still kept eating his food.

"Your pasta is getting cold, and besides, I knew your sister, and there is no way that you were strong enough to have killed her." He stated, my fork now falling from my fingers at the fact that he had known my sister.

"Y-you knew my s-sister?" I stuttered, my eyes now as big as saucers.

I had always known that my sister hung out with 'bad' people, but I hadn't expected her to know any gang members. Sure, Jake wasn't that scary once you got to know him, but I just didn't see my little sister being all friendly with Jake at all.

"I did, we weren't friends, though. Your sister used to be a member of this gang. She was pretty good at hiding it, so that's why you never knew about it. Your sister sold our drugs on the streets, and she was pretty good at it, too." My mouth slowly started to fall open while Jake continued with his story.

"She decided to betray us, though. She went to the police and told them everything. She made a deal with them to catch some gang members, including me. A deal that worked and resulted in the fact that I and a few others ended up behind bars. Your sister was the reason I ended up in that prison in the first place."

"I-I'm sorry." I stuttered, my face now as pale as snow. Jake looked back up at me.

"It wasn't your fault, don't worry about it. I have nothing against you. You aren't your sister, I'm glad she's dead, though. I won't sugarcoat that for you. She betrayed me, and karma served her right." I gave Jake a soft nod, not knowing if I could trust him fully on his word.

Sure, I wasn't my sister, but I was a family of the person who put Jake behind bars. There was a link between me and the person Jake liked, having dead, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Do you know who killed her?"

Jake shook his head at my question.

"I don't, but I'm working on it. What I do know is that the person who killed your sister and the person who framed you are the same person. What I also do know is that it had to be someone inside the gang because they had access to information that we only share inside these walls."

Jake serious expression came back, and he looked at me.

"Don't trust anyone, someone's is out there to get you Mc and that somebody lives inside this gang."

I could only gulp at Jake's statement and pray that he wasn't right.

~

Last night had been terrible for me. I couldn't sleep at all and kept thinking about Jake's warning. Not only had I found out that Jake knew my sister, but I had also found out that my sister had been part of an illegal gang all along without me knowing or suspecting anything at all.

Of course, I knew that I hadn't killed my own sister, but finding out that the person who did was way closer than I thought wasn't a great feeling at all. To know that someone who could be really close to me right now was responsible for not only the killing of my sister but also for the fact that I had ended up in prison made me anxious and restless.

I didn't know these people well enough to say they didn't do it, and for all I knew, one of those five people in the van could be the person who did it.

Kaden would fit in the picture. He could explode out of nowhere. He looked angry most of the time and would do anything to protect Lex, including murdering someone to protect the cute little girl. I could see him do it, but on the other hand, Kaden wasn't someone to frame somebody else. That just didn't go with him. If he did something, he would own up to it instead of framing somebody else.

Lex was completely out of the question. The girl was great with computers, but I couldn't see her murder someone.

Dan, on the other hand, was a possible candidate. I hadn't had the chance to speak with him one on one yet, but I knew he was capable of more than he showed. Dan didn't speak much when I was around, but he observed continuously. I could see Dan scanning the room and analyzing everything constantly. I was pretty sure that Dan was capable of way more than he led on.

Sam and Jessy were both out of the question. Sam was way too friendly and sweet to be capable of both murdering and framing someone to have done it, sure he kept on eye on me on the way to their headquarters but I didn't see him do more than just that.

Jessy, on the other hand, would know how to kill someone, but I didn't get a murderer vibe around her. There was no way Jessy would frame me and speak to me a while later like nothing ever happened. It just wasn't an option with the whole motherly vibe she gave off.

My last option had been Jake, but I was sure he hadn't done it. There was just no way.

Of course, it could also be someone I hadn't met yet, but I didn't believe that was the case. Judging by the fact that Jake had been really serious about it. I just didn't believe that he would make such a big fuss over it if it was just a member of the gang.

He could remove that person easily without anyone knowing, and everything would be forgotten. The only problem was that Jake did make a big fuss over it, making me believe it had to be someone close to him, and I didn't like that fact at all.

After much tossing and turning, I had finally been able to fall asleep, only to wake up in an empty bed a few hours later. After waking up, I believed that Jake would be downstairs in the kitchen once again, only to find it empty except from a box of cereal, an empty bowl, and a note on the counter.

Something came up, and I will be back late. You will be picked up at ten, and your clothes are on the couch. You can find milk in the fridge, see you tonight. -J.D:)

Suspecting Jessy to be the one who would pick me up I started my breakfast, dressed myself and waited for the clock to strike ten while reading a random book I found on one of Jake's shelves filled with books.

One about a kidnapped girl's mystery to be precise, oh the irony. The book itself wasn't that good, to be honest, but it kept me occupied for the time being.

When the clock struck ten o'clock, someone did indeed knock on Jake's front door. With some caution, I walked up to it and peeped my head around the corner before I opened the door fully. In front of me didn't stand Jessy as I had suspected but Kaden.

Kaden, the guy who was a possible candidate for the murder of my sister and my own framing. I had no idea why the guy was out here to pick me up, but I didn't like it one bit. Kaden was scary and unpredictable, two things I wasn't very fond of. My eyes grew big, and all color drained from my face.

"Where's Jessy?"

"She's obviously not here, is she? Jake messaged me this morning to come and get you." Kaden mumbled, annoyed, never making any eye contact with me.

"W-what for?" I stuttered softly, my voice wavering a little. Kaden looked up at me with an annoyed scowl on his face while his voice sounded like an angry grumble.

"The idiot wants me to show you how to handle a gun, he has completely lost his fucking mind."

My eyes almost rolled out of their sockets, and my mouth fell open. This had to be a joke. There was no way I would be able to handle a gun. I didn't even dare to get close to one, let alone shoot it.

"I don't think this is such a great idea..." I started, but before I could finish, Kaden grabbed my arm and started to drag me away from the door.

"I know. We all know. This is a terrible idea, but Jake wants it, so it's going to happen if you like it or not." Kaden spoke while he dragged me behind him, scoffing every few steps.

After much struggle and attempts to get out of the idea, both of us reached what looked like a training area located in the cellar of the building to me. Wooden boards carved out like humans with targets on them stood in what looked like a field. Different guns were lined up on a table in the corner, and empty bullets lay all over the place.

I immediately stopped walking once we entered the area, Kaden was already on his way to the table filled with guns. Still thinking that this was a terrible idea, I looked around myself. The whole area gave a cold and angry vibe off, something I didn't find pleasing at all. Where were the sunshines and rainbows when you needed them? Suddenly, Kaden's voice sounded through the room, getting my attention instantly.

"Hey, catch!"

Before I could protest, Kaden tossed one of the guns towards me. My breath stocked in my throat, my whole body erupted in full panic mode, and I started to scream while I tried to catch the gun. I saw the gun getting closer to my face while my hands slowly reached towards it, catching it barely on its handle and preventing it from going off.

I sighed loudly, my eyes closed while my heart raced in my body. A soft laugh sounded from the other side of the room, and I slowly opened my eyes again. I lifted them up towards Kaden, and he started to laugh even harder.

"Chill, crying baby. It wasn't even loaded."

With a scoff, I walked over towards Kaden and placed the gun on the table. Kaden immediately picked it back up and moved his whole body towards me.

"Let me show you how this works, Jake will kill me if I haven't shown you anything at all." Kaden started to explain everything to me about guns. He showed me how to hold a gun, reload a gun, shoot a gun, and clean a gun.

To make a long story short, I was shit in all of the above. I couldn't hold the gun properly, I placed the bullets in backward, wasn't able to hit anything beside walls, and instead of cleaning the gun, I dirtied it even more.

Kaden had been close to giving up almost every five minutes, but what Jake wants Jake gets, so he kept trying and trying for almost three hours without any success.

After another round of terrible shootings from me that got paired with high-pitched screaming every time I fired a bullet, both of us looked up from a deep buzzing sound that suddenly sounded through the whole building.

"Shit, follow me!" Kaden yelled out of nowhere. He grabbed the gun from my hands, wrapped his hand around my wrist, and started to run out of the cellar while dragging me with him. Both of us run up the stairs like there was no tomorrow, I had no idea what was happening at all.

Without any warning, Kaden ran around a corner, both of us coming face to face with a crying Lex. Kaden immediately let go of my arm, placing his hands around Lex's face while repeatedly asking her what was going on. I kept looking between both of them until after what felt like forever. Lex was finally able to stutter out two words.

"Jake..."

"Shot..."

I looked around myself, I knew my life was over the moment the judge in court told me that I would be sent off to prison for killing my sister. One day, I was following my lectures to become a nurse, and the next thing I was in this small police van with six other people who were going to jail. I had no idea who they were or what they did, I only knew that they looked a lot scarier than I did.

My clothes were always ironed, and my homework was always done. My grades were good, and I never caused any trouble. At least, that's what everyone always thought. It was a big shocker for everyone that the always so perfect girl was capable of a crime that bad. I had killed my sister, and now I would face a life in prison.

I looked around myself again, handcuffs that were put around my wrists dig painfully in my skin. My wrists were red and swollen from the heavy metal that was way too tight around them, and my fingers slowly started to feel numb. My eyes scanned the six people around me. Four men and two girls, all of them looking like they came straight out of some action movie.

Tattoos lingered their arms and neck, heavy scowls plastered their faces, and scars lingered their bodies. I was nothing like these people, I didn't have tattoos or scars lingering my body. I definitely didn't have the scowl on my face they had. Quite the opposite was true.

My face was filled with sadness, tears heavy in my eyes, while my lower lip softly trembled. My life was over, and I was more than aware of it. I would never see my friends or family again outside of the prison. I would never get married and be able to give birth to some beautiful children and adopt two dogs. I wouldn't be able to do any of that, and I was more than aware of it.

The whole ride, nobody said anything. The silence was a depressing one. Everything about the whole ride almost literally screamed. Jump out of the car and kill yourself. Your life is over. The only problem with that was that I could never do that, I knew my life was over, but I could never take that final step so that it was really over. Of course, the fact that there were two officers next to me and my hands and feet were cuffed together also made that whole plan quite impossible.

"5 minutes, get ready, everybody. Welcome to your new home!" The man behind the wheel suddenly screamed. My heart started to beat heavy in my chest, and my throat suddenly felt a lot dryer than a few seconds ago. I wasn't ready for this, I didn't want this.

I just wanted to go home and cuddle up in my comfortable bed. I wanted to study and become the nurse I always wanted to be. I wanted to be everywhere except this place...

The van kept driving for a good five minutes until it came to an abrupt stop. The doors swung open, and all of us were forcefully pulled out of the car. I immediately closed my eyes due to the bright sunlight. The long car ride in the dark van hadn't done my eyes any good, and the sunlight hit me with full force.

All seven of us got pushed in a tight line behind each other. Our handcuffs got tied together, and we were forced to walk inside the big iron gate that was in front of us. I could already hear the screams and whistles of the other inmates inside the gates. Fresh meat would be served to them, and as it sounded, they were more than ready for it. This prison was for everyone, which meant I might get a male as my cellmate, and it scared the shit out of me.

"Come on, walk!" The officer on the back of the row screamed while he pushed the latest prisoner. The man stumbled a little 'causing the whole line to get out of balance, and I almost tripped over. The man in the back of the row started to scream against the officer who pushed him and before I could register it the man was getting loosened of the row and not even a minute later he was laying on the ground holding his chest in pain.

Blood dripped from his nose, and a big blue bruise was starting to form on his cheek. My heart started to beat even heavier in my chest, and my eyes grew as big as saucers. To say I was scared was a big understatement, I wasn't scared... I was terrified.

"Listen, you piece of shits! Take this as an example! While you are in this prison, you do as you get told. This is what happens if you step out of your line." The man screamed again at us, and he forced the row to walk again, leaving the bleeding man for his colleagues to take care of.

Quietly, all of us did as the man told, and we walked up to the big iron gate. The gate opened, and what I feared most was becoming reality right before my eyes. Hundreds of inmates lined the two big fences that separated them from the path I was on. Hundreds of inmates screamed and whistled at us, all of them being big guys and just a few girls that were tougher than me.

I was indeed fresh meat for these guys. The way they looked at me said it all. They saw me as an easy target. I would become a prey in this prison, I wouldn't even last two days.

"Keep walking! Once you're inside, you will change inside your new fashionable outfits, and you will be brought to your cell." The man in front of us shouted while he opened a door. All of us kept walking while the screams and whistles from the other inmates kept going. It sounded like a straight-up mental asylum combined with a metal concert. It was total madness.

The six of us walked inside the building, I was now feeling like I could throw up at any moment. Within ten minutes, I was stripped of all my clothing, checked for anything illegal, and put on a prison suit. It was the most humiliating thing I ever had to do, and the tears were now even more permanent in my eyes. I didn't know how much longer I could keep them in. Everything was becoming way too much.

"Good, now that you all are changed, I'm gonna tell you your ward and cell number and the name of your roommate. After that all of you will be taken to your cell and you will stay there until we come and get you again. Do you all get that?!" The same officer as before shouted out again, and all of us gave him a soft nod.

I didn't wanna know what my number would be, I didn't wanna know who my cellmate was. I didn't wanna be here. The man started to shout out the names one by one, my heart leaping once my name was called.

"Mc Estrada, ward B cell 199, your cellmate is Jake Dalton!" The man blared out.

Before I could even register it, I was grabbed hardly by my arm, and I was being dragged off to another part of the prison. The long brown haired man dragged me behind him through multiple hallways and up two sets of stairs. In front of us were two big rows filled with prison cells. Both walls were covered in them, and even more inmates started to scream at me once they got a sight of me.

"Fresh meat, guys!"

"This one is a lot prettier than the last one..."

"I bet she's still a virgin."

"Baby's gonna cry!"

Heavy laughs filled the hallway, and I was being dragged inside the hallway again. The officer stopped in front of a cell, took out his keys, and opened the cell for me. Without any warning, he pushed me behind the bars, closing them the second I was inside the cell.

"Fresh meat, Dalton. Try to keep this one alive this time." The officer laughed heavenly as he walked away, leaving a panicked me behind. I hated the screams and whistles the other inmates gave me, but that statement freaked me out even more. They made me share a cell with someone who killed his last cellmate. They made me share a cell with a murderer.

Slowly, I turned around, and my eyes immediately crossed with the blue ones of my cellmate. The guy was around my age. He had dark black hair, and his body was covered in heavy muscles. This wasn't a guy you would want to fight with. This was a guy you would run away from.

I swallowed heavy, and I took a slow step back, my back hitting the bars of my cell. The guy on the other side of the cell gave me a sly smirk, and I pressed myself even further in the bars. I was sure of it now. My life was over.

The boy I now knew as Jake Dalton had only shaken his head at my previous actions. Without giving me another glimpse, he had laid down on his bed and had started to read some kind of magazine.

"You can move, you know, you're blocking my view." The male said, and without thinking, I had practically ran to the beds. I climbed on the upper bed and laid down. Heavy tears started to flow from my eyes, and stoft sobs made their way out of my mouth.

I grabbed the thin blanket and covered myself as much with it as possible. My mattress was a lot harder than the one I had at home. My pillow felt like a stone, and the blanket wasn't even long enough to cover my whole body. At home, my bed brought me comfort when I was sad, but this bed did anything apart from that. This bed wasn't comfortable, nothing about it was good or lovely. It was cold and hard.

My tears slowly started to stain my pillow, making it even more uncomfortable than it already was. I wanted to go home. I wanted to leave this place. My cellmate freaked me out to the bone, my bed was uncomfortable, and the room was cold. The other inmates saw me as a piece of meat, and everybody looked way tougher than I was.

I didn't belong here. I belonged in my perfect and carefree life, not in this hell hole of a prison. More tears escaped my eyes, and even more sobs left my mouth. I couldn't control them anymore. All the build-up tension and angst started to leave my body.

"Oh hell no, not this fucking shit again." Jake heavenly sighed. He threw his magazine across the room and stood up. He walked up to the bars, grabbing them harshly and giving them a hard shake. A loud sound erupted from the shaking bars, making me shake even more than I already did.

"Hey, officer!" Jake called while he shook the bars again. I lifted my knees up to my chest, trying to make myself as small as possible. I had no idea why Jake started to call the officers, but it scared me. I had no idea what Jake was capable of or why he was behind prison bars.

"Officer!" Jake called again, still shaking the bars hardly. I hated the sound. It was hard and cold. It made me even more aware of where I was.

"What do you want, Dalton!?" Another voice sounded from down below. It was clear in the others' voice that he was in no way happy with the commotion Jake was causing at the moment.

"Get me another cellmate!" Jake demanded, and a heavy laugh emerged from the other voice.

"Keep dreaming, Dalton, it's not gonna happen. It's not my problem. You decided to kill the last one and get this one in return. You should have thought about that before you stabbed that guy to death last month." The officer said while an evil laugh left his mouth. Footsteps could be heard again, and I guessed that the officer had left their cell to go on with whatever he was doing before.

I wished I had never heard the conversation, I knew the man was scary, but now it was also more than clear that he didn't want anything to do with me. He stabbed his last cellmate, I didn't wanna be stabbed to death. I wasn't ready to die, I was way too young for dying. I didn't even know if I wanted to be buried or cremated, I had nothing arranged for my death. I was definitely not ready to die.

"Hey, kid!" Jake yelled from the other side of the cell. I completely stilled at the other's voice. Maybe if I would ignore him, the other would stop with whatever he was going to do. I wasn't that lucky, though. Jake wasn't easily fooled, and the fact that my rapid and uneven breaths could be heard on the other side of the cell also didn't help at all.

"Don't try to fool me, kid! Stop your annoying crying and shut up. You're in freaking prison!" He blurted out while he plopped down on his bed again. I didn't answer him, I didn't dare to say a word to the male.

One wrong word, and I was sure I would never see the daylight ever again. This guy wasn't someone to fool with, so I tried my hardest to keep my sobs in. I pressed my face against my pillow to muffle the few sobs that did find their way out of my mouth, and silence fell over the prison cell.

"Thank the lord." A barely hearable and soft sigh left Jake's mouth at the silence that had now fallen over both of us. I didn't dare to move a muscle after that, I was way too scared to end up being killed by the male below me.

What would my parents think of me when they got the phone call that their daughter ended up dead? They had already lost their youngest daughter and had their other daughter sent to prison. I knew my mother was heartbroken by both acts, but I was sure that my mother could not handle it if I ended up dead, too. I could already see the headlines that would cover the papers in front of my eyes, and that scared me even more.

"Female prisoner killed by her new cellmate named Jake Dalton. Cause of death: Stabbed in the chest due to endless crying."

I didn't know for how long my thoughts kept occupying my head but I knew that it had been long since there was a new officer at our cell door screaming at both of us to get up and go the canteen for dinner.

"Both of you in front of your cell, hands in front of you, and heads down!" The man called at us, and I immediately scurried out of my bed. I stepped out of the cell and did exactly as the man had told me. Jake, on the other hand, slowly walked out of the cell, leaned against the bars of our cell, and crossed his arms in front of them. His head up and his eyebrows lifted as if asking the officer. 'What are you gonna do about it?'

"You really wanna do this again, Dalton? I'm gonna give you one warning. If I come back to you two, you are standing exactly as I just asked. If not, you know what will happen." The officer warned Jake, and he walked away to open the other cells.

The man yelled the same orders over and over again. It didn't take him long to have all the inmates in front of their cells. All of them heads. down and hands in front of them. All of them except Jake. He was still sloughed against the bars of the cell, not caring about the orders he was supposed to follow at all.

The officer slowly started to walk back to Jake and me. My heart started to beat heavenly in my chest, and I started to shake softly. I had no idea why the other was being rebellious, but I knew that I didn't like it at all. I didn't want any problems, but there was a pretty big chance that I was really close to the troubles right now. If Jake didn't change his posture in the next ten seconds. I was sure things wouldn't end on a good note for the man next to me.

Jake didn't seem to care about that, though. He didn't even try to change his posture, and a small smirk formed on his face. The officer reached my and Jake's cell, and he stopped right in front of the latter. I didn't even dare to look their way, the shaking of my body increasing even more. This wasn't good.

"You really want to play this game again, don't you, Dalton?" The man smirked, and without any warning, he grabbed his baton and swung it at Jake, hitting the male in his left flank. Jake flinched at the blow, but apart from that, no emotion was visible on his face.

The officer swung the baton again, this time hitting Jake on his left hip. Again, the male only flinched at the hit, taking them with great pride. A third strike hit him on his flank again, making him twitch his eye a little. The last one must have hurt him since he reacted more to it than to the other two. I still didn't dare to look at the two men beside me. I hated that my cellmate was the one who caused problems on purpose.

"Let this be a warning, Dalton. I won't be so easy on you next time." The man whispered dangerously low to the male next to me.

"All of you to the canteen!" The man yelled through the hallway, and everybody slowly started to walk behind each other to what probably was the canteen. I followed them, my legs still shaking, and my mind filled with negative thoughts. I could only hope that this wasn't a regular thing and my cellmate just had a bad day. I wasn't here to get in trouble, I had done that enough already 'causing me to end up in this place. I heard how the other inmates around me started to whisper about me again.

"Wanna bet who gets her first?"

"She's looking really good for fresh meat."

"I can't wait to ruin that perfect face."

I bowed my head down even more, trying to drown out all the comments but failing miserably at it. I heard every single one of them, and every single one of them made me even more scared. I could only hope that at least the food was good in here.

I was very wrong, though. The food was terrible. It was without a second thought the worst food I had ever had. The structure was non existent, it looked and tasted like baby food, and the smell was even worse. If they told me that someone had vomited and they had served that to me, I would have believed it. It was that bad.

I didn't know how the people around me could eat it. I couldn't even look at it without having the urge to throw up. What surprised me even more was that there were inmates that did get good food, Jake being one of them. I sat on the left side of the canteen with some random inmates who kept whistling at me every now and then.

Jake was on the right side of the canteen with four other inmates. The five of them had way different food than the other inmates. It looked decent and good. It looked eatable. I looked at it with hungry eyes. I wanted what they were having, too.

"Hey princess, you gonna eat that?" One of the inmates that shared the table with me shook me out of my thoughts with his sudden tone of voice. I softly shook my head without looking at the other inmate.

"That's a shame princess, I like to fuck girls with a little meat on their bones." The inmate laughed and snatched my plate away. I completely stilled at the remark, my heart started to beat faster, and the color drained from my face.

"What's up, princess? Scared to get fucked by a guy like me?" The man laughed again and I bowed my head down even further.

I tried to drown the sounds out, but it was of no use. I heard everything the man said to me and I hated every second of it. They treated me like I was a pig ready to get fucked right before slaughter. I was ready for everything but  for that kind of behavior. Tears started to form in my eyes, but luckily, the dinner break was over, and all of us were escorted back to our cells.

I made a straight line for my bed and, without another word, crawled in it. The way too small blanket covering my body again and my head on the hard pillow. Images of my sister funeral started to flood my head, and before I knew it, my thoughts were flooded with everything that happened a few weeks prior.

I had been sitting in class like a normal student when two officers had stormed through the door and handcuffed me. At that point I had no idea what was happening, but it all became pretty clear once they told me that my sister was stabbed to death and they had found the murder weapon and a set of my clothes covered in my sister's blood inside my home.

Even if I had wanted to prove my innocence, it would have been of no use. Everything pointed at me as the killer. I had spent a few weeks inside a small cell inside the local police station until I was brought in front of the judge to hear my sentence. My mother had visited me every day, telling me about my sister's funeral.

She kept me updated about everything that was happening outside in the world, alle because she refused to believe that her dear daughter killed her other daughter. I was glad she did it though, it made me feel less alone at that time but as soon as my mother left me things started to go fucked up inside my head again.

I had never been able to say properly goodbye to my sister, I wasn't allowed to go to the funeral, and I already missed her more than anything. I could still remember the completely broken look on my parents' faces once the judge told me that I would be sent off to prison for the rest of my life. A few hours later, I had been in the police van on my way to the place I was currently staying at.

Without noticing it, tears had started to leave my eyes again, and soft sobs had emerged from my throat once again. My whole life was a big mess, and the worst thing about it was that I knew that I would never be able to leave the mess.

There was no chance that I would be released from prison. I was sentenced to life without possibility to be released earlier. I would be here forever without any chance of fixing the mess I was in. Soft sobs kept filling the small cell I was in, and a hard heavy sigh sounded from below.

"For fucks sake, not this shit again! Listen kid if you wanna cry do it somewhere else. I just wanna sleep without your stupid sounds keeping me up!" Jake said with his voice filled with anger. I had immediately shut up at the sound of the other man in my cell.

I had been so drowned in my own thoughts that I had completely forgotten about the other and the high possibility of ending up dead if I kept annoying the male. So I did that night what was safest for me and pushed my head into my pillow again to muffle any future sobs that would leave my mouth.

To say that I had a good night was a completely wrong statement. My first night was hell, I didn't sleep at all. There were constantly sounds around me coming from the hallway. Sounds like I didn't want to hear.

People screaming, sobbing, and the worst of them moaning. I heard all of it, resulting in the fact that I had at it's most two hours of sleep before one of the officers stood at our cell again to wake us up for the day, at 6am that is.

"Wake up! Get out of your cell, head down, and hands in front of you." The man called, and I sprinted out of my bed, practically running outside to complete the routine. With my head down and my hands in front of me, I again witnessed how Jake got beaten up for disobeying the routine once again.

I had no idea why my cellmate decided to disobey it once again, but I knew I hated the fact that I was close to the commotion again.

"Prisoner Estrada, you are expected at the work office after breakfast. A guard will escort you there once you've finished your breakfast." The officer spoke directly to me. The morning routine that followed was simple but humiliating. All of us got exactly 15 minutes to shower after 15 minutes of exercise to start the day, brush our teeth, do our hair, and change into different clothes. To make a long story short, showering happened in groups of ten, as for the rest of the routine.

I couldn't feel more humiliated. PE class in high school was bad, but this was even worse. I got stared up and down the whole time, and I swore that I felt a hand brushing against my skin when I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair. I at least hoped it was a hand and not something else. The comments about my body didn't stop either. The other inmates still saw me as fresh meat and still wanted to do things to me. I didn't wanna think about it.

After the cleaning up routine, we were escorted to the canteen to eat our breakfast, and once again. I skipped my food. Breakfast looked even worse than dinner, and I started to get concerned about what lunch would look like. After breakfast, I was escorted to the work office, where I got a lecture about the rules of the prison.

I learned that visitors were permitted to once a week for thirty minutes, I could make two phone calls a week, and I would get a job at the laundry where I would start tomorrow. The rules were pretty simple. Do what you are told and don't cause commotions. I had always been someone to follow the rules and almost never caused commotion, so those were pretty easy for me.

The rest of the day was filled with a tour around the prison by one of the guards, lunch, thirty minutes of going outside, dinner, and retreating back to our cells. Lunch was slightly better than dinner and breakfast, so I managed to eat a little bit this time.

I was sure that if I had some fat on my bones, it would be gone within the week. There was no way that my body was getting enough food at the moment. Jake got two other beatings that I witnessed that day. The guy just refused to follow the routine, and he always ended up getting beaten up for it. He didn't seem to be bothered by it at all, though, making me wonder why he was even in here.

One thing was for sure I didn't hear those two words wrong.

One moment, I was trying to shoot targets in a basement with Kaden, and the next moment, we were running towards the hospital wing. Lex was a crying mess at this point, only able to stutter out random words like 'Sorry, fault, me and dying.'

Kaden, on the other hand, had gone completely mad, yelling out questions towards Lex, who wasn't able to answer him at all.

"How the fuck did this happen!? You guys go on one mission without me and this is what happens!?" Kaden yelled while he kept running with me and Lex behind him.

My whole body started to feel numb the moment I realized Lex's words were real, and Jake had indeed been shot on their mission. It was a mission just for revenge, a stupid and useless mission as I saw it.

While Kaden taught me how to handle a gun, he had explained to me where Jake and the others were and why they had left without Kaden. Turned out that they all had been dying to put some other gang in their place. While Jake had been in prison, the guys from the other gang had tried to steal stuff from within Jake's gang, and to make a long story short, Jake and the others had wanted revenge on them.

Besides that, Jake had been dying for some action again, or as Kaden liked to state it 'He needed to relieve some stress.' Kaden had been the one who was left behind to keep an eye on me and teach me how to handle a gun, something he wasn't very fond of doing as Kaden kept mentioning the whole time we were together.

Kaden had mentioned multiple times that he should have been with Jake instead of teaching me how to shoot something I would never be able to master anyway. Sure, I didn't understand the basic gang rules, but what I did understand was that this whole revenge plan had sounded useless and stupid.

"For fucks sake sake, Lex answer me?!" Kaden yelled again, but again without any response from Lex.

All three of us kept running through the long silent halls, our footsteps, and heavy breathing. The only sounds to be heard. I saw how Kaden turned the corner towards the hospital wing, a loud fuck sounding from him followed by the quickening of his footsteps.

Panic started to rise in my body, and with great speed, I also turned the corner, only to come to a halt immediately at the sight before me. I completely stopped breathing. My whole body became stiff, blood drained from my face, and my mind became empty.

There he was, Jake. The guy who I had grown to care about, the guy who I had feelings for I didn't understand at all. The guy who saved me from the prison, the guy who I had been so scared of, but I had grown to like so much.

Jake hung between Sam and Dan, his arms on their shoulders and his body completely lifeless. Small puddles of blood lay on different places on the hallway floor, and while Dan and Sam dragged him inside the hospital wing, Jessy kept screaming things at them.

Things I didn't understand at all, not because I didn't know the words but because my brain couldn't process them anymore. The whole scene before me felt like one big blurry nightmare. It didn't feel real. It couldn't be real. Jake couldn't leave me like this, right? He wouldn't do that to me.

I saw how Kaden ran up to the two struggling guys who kept Jake up and started to help them drag Jake inside the doors of the hospital wing. Lex, who had been behind me all this time, had finally been able to close in on the now frozen me.

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me down the hall towards the surgery room. I still wasn't able to process anything clearly and just stumbled behind a still crying Lex. I couldn't lose Jake. He was all that I had left. More panic took over my body, and tears slowly started to form in my eyes. Lex threw the doors to the surgery room open, and immediately, all eyes were on us.

"Mc! I need your help right now!" Jessy screamed from behind the surgery table, her eyes locking with mine.

I slowly looked over at her, my eyes instantly falling on Jake. He had been placed on top of the surgery table, his clothes soaked in blood, and his face drained from all color. He looked more dead than alive at this point.

Jake's whole body was limp, and the only thing that confirmed that he was indeed still alive were the heavy breaths that left his body in an unsteady pattern.

"Mc, now!" Jessy screamed again, and before I could fully process what Jessy had been screaming at me, Kaden had already grabbed me by my arm while he literally shoved me towards Jessy.

"Prove yourself crying baby for fucks sake! This is not a moment for blacking out!" Kaden yelled while panic and worry both laced his voice.

My eyes fell once again on Jake on the table, my eyes getting even more blurry with tears. A stinging pain soared through my whole chest while soft sobs started to make its way out of my mouth.

I heard how Jessy screamed some orders at the others surrounding her, and not even a second later, I felt two hands on my shoulders who turned me around, making me come face to face with Jessy.

"Breathe." She ordered in a soft tone, the panic still visible in her eyes but not in her voice. "Come on, Mc, you need to calm down for me. I need your help, okay?" Jessy continued while she kept making eye contact with me.

"We need to help Jake. Can you please calm down for me and for him?"

I slowly took a deep breath, blinking rapidly with my eyes to shake the blurry feeling off of me.

"That's it. Keep breathing. We need your help right now, okay? Jake and I need you." I took another deep breath, and I slowly became fully aware of what was surrounding me.

"You okay?" She asked softly, and I lifted my eyes up to meet hers.

I slowly gave Jessy a soft nod, and within a second, the whole situation made a complete 180. Jessy's calm state was gone, and with a rough tug on my arm, both of us were back next to Jake.

"I need you to do a little more than just the basics, just do as I tell you, and you're gonna be alright!" Jessy blurted out, giving me a pair of operation gloves while putting on a pair herself.

I didn't know when, but somewhere in the meantime, Jake had been stripped of his upper body clothes. The wound had already been located by the others, while Sam kept putting pressure on it with some towels. I looked at the situation once more, and as if a switch in my head turned over, my whole body and mind turned into full nursing modus.

Before I knew it, I was sterilising the wound, followed by me assisting Jessy to remove the bullet from Jake's shoulder. Jessy blurted out order after order, and I followed them all flawlessly.

"I need you to put immediate pressure on the wound once I remove the bullet, okay?" Jessy ordered, and I gave her a short nod.

With some difficulty, Jessy was able to remove the bullet from Jake's shoulder, and I immediately started to put pressure on the wound.

"Kaden switch places with Mc! Mc, I need you to sterilise the wound again so I can stitch it up." Jessy ordered again, and we all did instantly what we were told.

Kaden took the towels from my hands, I sterilised the wound again, and Jessy stitched it up a moment later, followed by another order at me.

"Mc? Can you bandage him up for me? I need to check his vitals again."

I instantly got back to work again, and minutes later, Jake was all bandaged up while Jessy still checked his vitals, expectant and panicked eyes from all of us in the room.

"His breathing is a little unsteady, and his blood pressure is a little low, but I think he's gonna make it. The wound was pretty clear. He's been lucky." Jessy sighed, followed by all the others.

I looked back at Jake, and all my emotions I had been able to keep inside of me hit me all at once. Tears started to stream down my face, and deep sobs left my mouth. My knees began to feel weak, and I slowly fell down on them. Heavy breaths left my body, and a dizzy feeling took over my brain.

"Dan, please get Mc a glass of water." I heard Jessy's voice say, and I saw how she walked over to me.

"You've done great. It's okay now. There's nothing to be worried about anymore. Jake's gonna make it. We know how he is. He's not letting go that easy."

Jessy calmed me while she helped me to get rid of my gloves and dirty clothes, giving me the glass of water Dan had provided a few minutes later to steady my breathing and calm me somewhat down.

She slowly guided me to a chair and made me sit on it, grabbing a blanket from one of the beds and wrapping me up in it. I saw how Kaden, Sam, and Dan moved Jake in a more comfortable bed in the meantime, and just when I thought that everything would be alright.

The hell broke loose again. Kaden started to scream at the others out of nowhere, and within a minute, the whole room erupted in yells from basically everybody except from me and a still crying Lex.

"How did this happen?!" Kaden yelled at the other two, his face red with anger and his hands balled into fists.

"Can't you do anything without me?! Do you have any idea how bad this is!?"

Both Dan and Sam looked down, glaring a little at Lex.

"Of course we do."

Kaden looked from one to another, his eyes squinted into splits and his mouth a firm line.

"He's gonna kill us! How the fuck do we explain this to my fucking dad, you fucking idiots!?" Kaden yelled again his voice taking on a more sarcastic tone.

"Hey dad, your younger son is out of prison, but he's been shot already, and we don't know if he will make it... does that sound right to you two fuckers?!"

Sam and Dan both looked up at the pissed Kaden once again.

"We..." Dan started, but before he could finish his sentence, Lex stepped in front of them, tears still flowing down her face. With a look full of regret, Lex looked at her boyfriend.

"I-I it was my fault, I-I let my guard down... The bullet was a-aimed for me... J-Jake jumped in front of me to save me..."

All eyes turned towards Lex, and before anyone could react, Lex blurted out a 'I'm sorry' and sprinted out of the room with heavy sobs coming from her mouth. Silence fell over the room, everybody looking at each other before Dan finally broke the silence.

"We need to talk, Mc go and search for Lex."

I looked up at Dan, my eyes big, not understanding why I was the one being told to look for the short girl.

"Oh fuck no! Lex's my girlfriend, if anyone is-" Kaden started but got cut off by Dan instantly.

"You're not! We need to talk right now! Mc, go and get her!" Dan yelled, now completely done with the whole situation and being accused of something he didn't do. Jessy slowly walked over towards Dan, grabbing him by his arm and calming him down.

"Calm down, you're scaring Mc. Let me talk to her, okay?" Dan took a deep breath and gave her a soft nod. Jessy slowly walked over towards me, kneeling down before me with a small smile on her face.

"Mc? Can you search Lex for me? She needs someone right now, and since everybody here is pretty pissed off, it's best if you go look for her. Can you do that for us?"

I shortly looked at her.

"B-but Jake...?"

"I will look after him, I promise you that when you come back with Lex, you can stay with Jake as long as you want, okay?" Jessy promised me.

I looked around the room once again, deciding that it was indeed better if I left for a short moment, there was no way I would wanna be part of whatever was gonna be happen between the others.

With a soft sigh I gave Jessy a soft nod, walking out of the room on my search for Lex while leaving the guy, who I cared for even more after everything that had just happened, behind.

I walked through the long hallways, not knowing where to go or where to look for the smaller girl. I didn't know Lex that well, but I knew she did something with computers, so that's exactly what I've been looking for. The only problem with that was that I had no idea where the computers were or where she was for that matter.

It had been ten minutes since I had left Jake and the others, and I found myself to be completely lost inside the building. I didn't know why I chose to wander off to the left side of the building, the side I hadn't been to yet, but somehow my gut told me Lex would be there.

Well, I couldn't find Lex at all, and now I also didn't know where I was. Instead of only one problem, I now had two, and I wasn't pleased with that at all. I didn't know how I could get back to the others, and I also didn't know where to look for Lex.

With a deep sigh, I turned another corner, hoping to see something that could tell me where she was. That wasn't the case, though. More white and empty walls lay before me. Panic slowly started to rise in my body. What if I never found my way back? What if they had to go look for me too? What if I ended up dying in these walls. My breath fastened, and I started to run through the hallways, hoping to find a way out of this maze of white empty hallways.

A sob started to make its way up in my throat until my eyes fell on something on my right. Huge cables lay on the floor in another hallway on my right. Cables with all sorts of coloured lights on them, cables in different colours and two thick grey ones...

I walked over to the hallway, following the cables through the building. I didn't know much about this high-tech technology stuff, but even I could understand that this wasn't leading to a normal television or computer. I slowly walked through the long hallways, hoping to find Lex at the end of the cables. My search suddenly had become a whole lot easier, and I slowly started to calm down while still walking alongside the thick and coloured cables.

I turned two more corners, ending up in a hallway with just one door. A door with a huge hole in the bottom to let the cables through. My eyes flickered over the door, slowly making my way over to it and not knowing if I should knock or not. I couldn't enter such a room right away, right?

With slight hesitation, I lifted up my arm, knocking softly on the door. Silence fell over the hallway, not a sound coming from inside the room. My eyes roamed through the hallway and over the door once again before I knocked a second time.

"Lex? Are you in there?"

Again, it became completely silent inside the hallway. I walked a little closer to the door, putting my ear against it to hear if there was any sound inside. At first, I could only hear the buzzing and little beeps coming from what I guessed were the computers inside, but after a few seconds, I believed I heard a soft sob coming from behind the door.

"Lex?" I tried again, but again, there was no reaction. I pressed my ear yet again against the door, trying to make out another sound that could be Lex, and after a few seconds, I was met with another sob coming from behind the door.

"Lex, it's Mc."

I took a small step backward, considering if I should just try to open the door since Lex was clearly not opening it for me. Deciding that opening it myself was my best option for now, I reached over to the door handle. I placed my fingers on top of it, pushing softly on it and hoping that Lex hadn't locked the door.

A huge sigh of relief left my body the moment the door easily opened before me. With a soft push, I pushed the door away from me, getting a clear view of the room behind it. My eyes immediately widened at the sight before me, and the whole room was packed with computers and everything that belonged to them. Lights flickered everywhere, and cables filled the whole floor.

In the corner of the room stood one small desk with a chair before it. A chair that was currently occupied by a crying Lex. A soft sigh left my mouth, happy that I had found the smaller girl.

"Lex..." I whispered softly. The girl slowly looked up at me, a deep sob leaving her mouth and big tears streaming down her face. Without thinking, I walked over to the small girl, wrapping my arms around her while pushing Lex's head against my chest.

"Shh, it's okay."

Lex's hands immediately grabbed my shirt while she pushed her head even harder against my chest.

"It's okay, Lex. I'm here." I tried again, hoping to calm her somewhat down. Deep sobs left Lex's mouth while her tears started to soak my shirt.

"I-It's all m-my fault."

I lifted one of my hands, bringing it towards Lex's head. I softly began to stroke her through her hair, knowing it was a way to calm most people down.

"It's not, Jake took that bullet for you. He didn't have to, but he still did it. It's not your fault, Lex."

"No! Y-you don't understand..." Lex sobbed again, clearly stressed out by the whole situation.

My eyes wandered over to Lex in my arms, not knowing how to calm her down. With a soft sigh, I decided to keep quiet for a moment, hoping that my presence only was enough to calm Lex down.

Much to my delight, it did prove to be enough. Almost twenty minutes later, Lex had somewhat calmed down. She had removed herself from my hug, thanking me for the support while wiping the last of her tears from her face. I had given Lex a small nod while placing myself on the desk before her.

"It is my fault, you know." Lex whispered without looking at me. I immediately reached my hand out for Lex.

"It's-" But before I could finish my sentence, Lex had me cut off already.

"It is, Mc. Jake might have taken that bullet willingly, but it's still my fault that he got shot..." Lex's lip started to quiver again, and tears started to flood her eyes.

"Kaden is right, you know... Mister Dalton is going to be so mad w-when he finds out." Lex softly sobbed while trying to wipe the tears away with the back of her hand. I placed my hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down again.

"Why would Jake be mad at you?"

Lex looked back up at me, a questioning look in her eyes. Why would Lex suddenly start calling Jake, mister? On the other hand, I had no idea what was going on inside the gang. Lex softly shook her head, sniffling a lit before she spoke again.

"Not Jake, mister Dalton is Jake's and Kaden's father. That man made this gang. He built it up from the ground, and he's probably the coldest person you're ever going to meet. That is, if you ever get the chance to meet him."

I gave her a questioning look, still not getting on fully. A soft sigh left Lex's mouth.

"Their dad is not a nice person, Mc. He's heartless, willing to kill everyone who fucks shit up or is useless. Jake runs this gang when mister Dalton is away, but mister Dalton is the actual boss here."

I removed my hand slowly from Lex's shoulder. Jake had never told me much about his dad, and I had never felt the urge to question him about the man either. Lex stood up from her chair, pacing around in the room while still wiping away the last of her tears, her breathing now somewhat normal.

"Before you ask, no, their mother is not involved. She's not even alive anymore, to be honest. Rumor said that Mister Dalton drove her to such madness that she killed herself a few years back. Kaden or Jake doesn't really speak about it, so I don't know the full story, I only know that she's not in this world anymore."

I fell completely silent at that statement, Jake had never spoken much to me about his parents and to hear that one of them was scary as hell and the other was dead wasn't a pleasant thing to hear. My own parents weren't on good terms with me right now, but compared to Jake's parents, my problems were nothing.

Sure, I didn't speak to my parents right now, but they were still alive. I still had the chance to set things right with them, and Jake, on the other hand, didn't. With another sigh, Lex walked over to the door, opening it and motioning me to follow her.

"Let's go back. They must be worried."

Ten minutes later, both of us arrived back at the hospital ward. Kaden immediately walked over to Lex, apologizing for his outburst while Lex kept mumbling that it was okay to him. They exchanged a few hugs and kisses while Sam fake gagged behind them, clearly not fond of the cute scene that was taking place between the two of them.

A soft mumbling from behind startled all of us a few seconds later, Jake tossed a little in his bed while he mumbled something inaudible. Not even two seconds later, everyone stood around Jake's bed, six pairs of worried eyes looking at him. Jake slowly started to open his eyes, squinting them a little to adjust to the bright lighting above him.

By now, Lex and Kaden had completely abandoned their cute scene, their complete focus on Jake. Jessy became so happy that Jake was able to open his eyes that she almost tackled him in a bear hug. Hadn't it been for Dan holding her back.

Sam stood a little back, observing the scene from a little away with a small smile on his face.

I slowly walked over to Jake's bed, my eyes focused on his face and tears pooling in my own. He didn't leave me. He stayed.

"How are you feeling?" Dan softly asked, grabbing Jake's attention. A small smirk formed on Jake's mouth.

"Like I've jumped of a building."

I opened my eyes with difficulty when I saw that I was sitting in a car. Not remembering a thing I blinked a few times. Suddenly feeling a bad headache and a strange taste in my mouth as my eyes traveled over the black leather interior of the car.

I slowly turned my head to see a person who made me instantly open my eyes wider. Jake was leaning on the door with his elbow and was watching news on his phone. He felt that I was looking at him and turned to look at me with a look that seemed to see right through me to the depths of my soul. He reached out to turn on the small light above us and his pupils dilated making his icy blue eyes a little darker. I watched as he leaned towards my thighs, slowly stopping my breath. He just opened the storage box and took out some kind of box, sparing me a weird look.

"Drink it." He ordered softly, making me lower my eyes to him. Seeing some kind of pill between his fingers.

"What is this for?" My words were slow and only now I realized that whatever that shitbag put in my drink were still working on me. Remembering the club and Jessy. We drank pretty much and just how I simply blacked out nearby the exit, called me back to reality.

"Painkillers." He parted my lips slowly, soon I felt the pill on my tongue. I looked up at him. His eyes didn't leave me when I slowly drank it with water.

"You will blackout again soon, that's why I'm taking you home." He looked at me for a short second, sensing my discomfort.

"Not funny." I rolled my eyes at him, but he just snorted. He turned the steering wheel with one hand, allowing the car to move.

I watched his amused smile that didn't leave his lips and swallowed while licking my lips. My eyes traveled from his sharp jawline to his lips again, his smile had faded. I saw him stop at the street, he shortly peeked at his phone and turned the steering wheel sharply with one hand in a U-turn, pressing the accelerator as if he was in a hurry...

I don't know when I managed to blackout. But I opened my eyes when I felt that the car had stopped. I turned my head, feeling that I had regained my strength and was just slightly intoxicated with alcohol. The passenger door opened and I saw Jake, who leaned over to unbuckle my seat belt and let me inhale the male perfume he was drenched in.

"The painkillers should have worked already." He peeked at his phone again as waiting for something. I swallowed trying to calm down but it didn't help and when he looked up I was caught watching him. He didn't say anything and grabbed me by the torso with one hand, and the other by the legs. Lifting me from the seat. My heart started beating even faster from being so close to him and feeling his hands on my body. I was addicted to him. It was hard to breathe from the lack of air from the feeling I felt being so close to his body. I swallowed while watching him from the side and when he turned to look at me I quickly looked away seeing that we were at the door of my apartment.

"Thank you, Jake." It was the first time I felt so shy around him.

I raised my eyes to meet his gaze and held my breath when he put me on my feet, while running his palm over my torso. I closed my eyes afraid to meet his burning gaze which made me feel weak. I turned towards the door and found myself touching the post above the door where the spare key should have been.

I still felt weak from what I had drank and a little drunk from the alcohol. I straightened, searching for the key with my fingers. I stopped breathing when I felt his body behind me and my fingers meeting his. I raised my eyes to see that he took the key. I quickly turned to meet his gaze. His intense gaze itendangered my sanity which I was trying to collect.

"I can do it myself, I'm sure you have more important things to do." I mumbled quietly and he simply held out the key to me. I quickly took it and turned towards the door, unlocking and pushing it. But it didn't move. I cursed silently, bumping it with my shoulder. But for my bad luck it still didn't move. I felt humiliated because Jake was standing behind me. Making me feel things just with his presence. I courageously turned to him.

"Why are you still here?" I asked leaning agaisnt the door. He simply ignored the question and took a step closer, putting one palm on the door. I gasped quietly trying to catch my breath, looking at his face. Seeing how he raised his eyes to look at the door behind me and then lowered them to meet my gaze. I swallowed the saliva that I didn't even feel was accumulating and I couldn't stop myself when my eyes landed on his lips. I realized that I was staring when one corner of his lips barely visibly lifted and I quickly raised my eyes to meet his gaze.

"Mc, didn't I mention that you wouldn't come here in the duskwood?" he asked calmy. I bit my lip trying to hold back the urge to touch him. I don't know why I had such a strong reaction to him in particular, but the way he calls me by my name just drives me crazy.

I swallowed as his fingers touched my jaw and his thumb released my lower lip. It was the last straw that made me lose my sanity. I grabbed the material of his shirt, bringing our lips together abruptly. As soon as I felt his lips, a wave of excitement passed through my body. But when he did not respond to the kiss, I slowly pulled back. Narrowing my eyes at him. Feeling confused inside as his fingers trailed from my jaw to my neck. My breathing sped up as I didn't have time to open my lips when he pushed me with a sudden movement, forcing me to hit the door with my back. His hand squeezed my neck, but not so hard that I ran out of air. But hard enough that my heart no longer knew what was happening, trying to escape from my chest.

"Are you trying to bribe me with this?" His voice was deep and barely audible.

"Maybe I am." Silent words left my lips by themselves and I didn't have time to close my lips, when he suddenly connected them with his own. I responded to the kiss. Which was greedy and I couldn't seem to keep up with his pace. Jake was like a hungry tiger. His body pressed me closer to the door, I placed my hand behind my back and bent the handle to open the door. I was surprised that they opened as if they had never been stuck and I staggered into the apartment, separating our lips.

I breathed in the air I was running out of and managed to open my eyes only for a second to see him approaching me like a prey, and then his lips connected with mine again. Strong hands wrapped around my waist and squeezed it, making me gasp for air.