by Ivy Knight
"If you're done awing, we have some training to do," Alec says walking towards the back.
"What are we doing today?" I ask as I catch up to him.
"Cardio," he replies.
My eyebrows knit in confusion.
"Haven't we come to terms about my cardio? I did finish that maze in less time than you."
"Nope," Alec grins. Something tells me he has something worse in mind for today. We keep walking until we stop at a glass cage. The walls of the cage are about ten feet high. Inside of it, is a bar hanging down from the top that I could reach if I jumped high enough, and the floor is a treadmill about three by five feet.
"Let me guess, you want me to get in and you get to control the speed of the floor," I watch as Alec's lips take the shape of a sinister smirk.
"The floor doesn't stop until I make it and you don't get out until I let you out. You can take a break whenever you want by hanging from the bar," he states.
"And what if I say, I won't do this?"
"You can say goodbye to any freedom you have."
With a heavy sigh, I open the small door, built into one of the walls, and stand inside. I watch as Alec locks the tiny door with me stuck inside.
"There's air holes in the glass so I can guarantee that you won't die," Alec says before disappearing up a flight of stairs. I look above at the glassed windows until he comes in sight. He looks down at something and the floor starts moving.
My legs move at a suitable pace in sync with the speed of the treadmill. I can't help but feel like a mouse being experimented on. I'm helpless. I'm too far in. The speed starts increasing and I can feel my legs starting to ware down.
"Alec slow it down."
I try to keep myself from stopping by mentally encouraging myself, but I know the speed is getting too fast for me.
"Alec. Alec," my voice is full of panic knowing I'm going to fall or stop at any second. So without hesitation, I take a leap and my hands barely catch the bar hanging above. I look down. Catching a sight of the treadmill moving at what looks like seventy kilometers an hour. Anger builds up inside of me.
"Are fucking psychotic! No one can run that fast!" I yell catching my breath at the end. My whole body full of sweat. Worst of all, my heads are sweaty making me slip. My breath isn't normal and the ground is still running at the same speed.
If Alec isn't going to let me out, then I will have to do it myself. I readjust my grip on the metal bar and start kicking the glass walls with all the strength in my legs. One hit, nothing. Two hits, nothing. Three hits, it starts to shake. At four, I can feel the whole box being impacted.
On the seventh kick, the wall cracks. With a few more, the wall shatters and I jump out. I land heavily on my feet and my legs feel the impact. I don't get the chance to recover, because as soon I lift my head, I'm blinded with a strong fist to my left eyes.
Where the fuck did he come from?!
My body falls back, but my hands catch the sharp edge of the glass wall. The glass pierces through the thick layer of skin dressing my hand. Even though it hurts, I don't let it go. Instead, I use my grip on it as support to pull myself up.
With my functioning eye, I spot Alec ready to hit me again but I move out of his way just in time.
"What... the fuck... is... wrong.. with you?!"
He doesn't reply. His right fist lifts again ready to meet a spot on my body, but I block it. My forearms take the beating as I keep blocking his forceful hits. At the same time, he keeps moving forward making me move back. A few more steps back, and I will be cornered against the wall.
Physically, I haven't always been the strongest, but if I plan out my moves first, I can win any combat fight so as I block his punches and kicks, my eye roam the room trying to find a way out of this fight.
In the corner of my eye, I spot a bunch of fighting equipment hung on the wall. My favourite, the fighting chains, are a part of the showcase as well. With a block of another punch, I decide to attack back with a kick to his ribs. He stumbles back giving me the opportunity to run and grab what I need.
As my fingers curl around the chains, the cuts and bruises on my arm appear in sight. I can't feel any of them. The blood rush has stopped any physical pain from running through my body. It's pleasing at the moment, but the pain that will come later, won't be.
At any given moment, Alec can come at me so instantly, I pull the chains off of the wall and turn around. The chains are heavy in my hands, but I try not to show it even though my face is probably contoured that way.
"You don't know how to use them," Alec grins confidently.
I don't reply. I simply wrap the chains around my hands waiting for Alec to come my way. He is much bigger than me and beating him with no weapon is almost impossible, so when he acts like the fish to my bate, I start reeling the cord. When Alec starts attacking, I block him using the chain. This is useless until I attack back.
He turns to the side to dodge the whipping chain. With his back towards me, I kick the back of his knee. He falls to the ground and I wrap the chains around his neck. He struggles to breath and tries to loosen the chains but when he figures out it's useless, his hands go up in surrender. As soon as I spot them, I loosen my grip and step back.
As he turns over to lie on his back, I fall down on my knees. The whole room starts spinning. My whole body starts to feel the pain and I fold up in a ball. My hands tightly press the sides of my head trying to stop the spinning. If I had eaten anything heavier for breakfast, I would be puking right now.
A few silent moments pass before everything stops spinning. My head lifts up and I find Alec is still on the ground. The organ inside of chest bulges against my ribs. I wouldn't be surprised if it bursts killing me. I've never experienced so much surprise and adrenaline in my life before. Needless to say, it's an eye opener. Clearly, I've been training wrong this whole time. This feeling of adrenaline is amazing.
This is the kind of adrenaline I was born with. The kind of adrenaline I grew up with, but fifty times better. Even though the life I live is empty and cold, this feeling is still another one of my addictions. This feeling is one that no other life could have provided for me.
Alec sits up facing me. His chest rises and deflates mimicking his breathing. The shirt he's wearing clings to his body, devoured in sweat.
"You look like shit," he breathes out.
"You're welcome for not killing you," I deadpan. Why didn't I kill him?
"Where'd you learn how to use the chains?" he questions.
"You don't get to question my abilities. I have them, that should be good enough for you." I wipe off the sweat covering my forehead. I curse when I realize that I just stained my forehead with blood. "Are we done for today?"
"We're done. We'll train properly tomorrow. I just wanted to see how you react to the unknown."
"Whatever, but you get to carry me to the car. I don't have e-nough... energy t-to wa...lk," I say as I start to lose conscious. My eyes blur but just before I fully lose all feeling, I feel myself effortlessly being lifted.
Chapter 17
"Summer? Summer," a male voice comes in sound. Pain is all I can feel as I try to peel my eyes open. My left eye doesn't even budge, but my right eye opens to reveal Alec.
An imprint of the chains is left around his neck creating a smile on my face.
"Someone seems to be in a good mood."
I help myself into a sitting position and rest my back against the headboard of my bed. With my working eye, I look around to find that I'm in my room. Alec sits on the edge of the bed next to me.
"That imprint around your neck proves my win for today."
"It was just a small win, Summer. But believe me when I say, if it were a real fight, I would've beaten you."
"We'll see about that," I reply. Alec's just a sore loser. He doesn't say anything for a while until he remembers, "We need to start cooking for dinner."
I look down at my arms. Both of them feel numb, heavy with bruises. "I literally can't s
ee out of my left eye and both my arms are bruised black and blue. You still want me to cook... for everyone?"
"Yup."
"Well then," I exaggerate. Alec gets up from the side of the bed letting me climb out. My legs sore, I know I'll be walking oddly for the next few days. When I touch my arms, I feel nothing.
"Lilly came by to check you out, she gave you some painkillers and removed your stitches," Alec informs. My lips pull on a small smile thanking him.
"I'm going to shower and meet you down in fifteen."
"Okay. Oh, and the designers dropped by. Your closet is now fully stocked," he mentions, just before heading out.
My hand brushes through my long hair, pushing it back as I walk over to the closest. I open it and I'm left mesmerized by all the expensive clothes, jewelry, handbags and shoes that are organized inside. Even though my adoptive parents were rich, I never let them spoil me as much as Kai is.
As I walk in, I notice myself in the full-length mirror on the wall directly opposite of me. My hair looks like it has been washed with oil, my left eye is much bigger than my right and my arm's look like they have been fried in a deep fryer. I'm used to seeing myself like this, physically broken.
I ignore the raw feeling inside of me and grab a long shirt off of the hanger along with a matching black, netted bra and underwear. With the clothes in hand, I walk into the bathroom and draw myself a cold shower.
I strip out of my gym clothes and climb in. The cold-water washes over me resting the burning bruises around my body. As I clean my body using the Dove body wash, random thoughts run through my mind.
What's next? I'm here, working to be a part of their gang. What happens after? I need information on Nick and the only one who can provide it is Kai. How am I going to get close to him? He's too smart for me to deceive him easily, so whatever I'm going to do, needs to be convincing in every way possible.
Ending my thoughts, I wash out the conditioner in my hair and head out of the shower. Cold air mixed with my damp skin causes goosebumps around my whole body and I start to shake. I quickly dry myself and put on my clothes. I'm still chilly, but I'm not in the mood to wear anything heavy because my body is getting too much for me to handle.
It feels like my upper body has gained weight instead of losing any. On my way out of the bathroom, I throw the dirty clothes into the laundry basket. Heading out of my room, I remind myself to grab my box on the way back.
When I enter the kitchen, I notice Alec crouched down under the shelf. I walk over to him. Silently, I watch him take out some pots. When I get bored of watching him search, I ask, "What are we making?"
"A nacho salad with spicy grilled chicken."
"Sounds delicious."
"I know," he says. After getting all the pots he needed, he starts gathering the ingredients. We both wash our hands before starting. "So we're cooking enough for four, but I doubt Kai and Cole will show up tonight."
"Where are they?" I ask.
"Out, dealing with some business. Let's start by cutting the chicken breasts."
He takes out a cutting board and knife. He sets the chicken on it and cuts the chicken breasts into thinner strips.
I stand next to him as he does so. A few seconds pass, before he notices my careless expression. I really don't care what he's cooking and how. All I can think of is how long my left eye will be disabled for. All of a sudden, Alec drops the knife onto the counter and goes over to the freezer. He takes out an ice pack, then hands it to me. I press the cold pack against my eye.
We then continue to cook. Alec explains everything as he goes. It takes almost an hour and half before we actually sit down to eat the food. Cooking is a skill I can never master, because whatever Alec taught me, went through one ear and out the other. I don't even remember what seasoning he used or how long he put the chicken in the oven for.
Did he bake or broil? I will never know.
The food is actually good, but I'm not all that surprised because I didn't even touch the food. If I had to do anything, I knew I would've messed it up.
"I've gotta say, you have some great skills."
"Thanks," Alec supports a genuine smile. He sits across from me eating his meal. As I eat, my mind drifts off to tomorrow.
"What are we doing tomorrow?" I question.
"Shooting range, thought I'd go a little easier on you considering what happened today," he says. "But there's still cardio involved."
"So I'm guessing I'll be a part-time target tomorrow," I say, hoping that it's not true.
"You catch on quick," he says with a devilish smirk.
"You're just cruel," I state. He lets out a small chuckle before taking a sip of his red wine. I, on the other hand, have to suffice with water because I'm not of 'age'. Apparently, as long as I'm here, I have to stay away from drugs. Since they don't know me that well, they don't know that, that's one rule I will never stay under. Drugs are a forced habit. No matter how hard I try, I can't stay away from them.
The rest of the dinner goes by quietly. Neither of us try to communicate in anyway, unless we needed the other person to pass the box of napkins. When I'm done eating, I take my empty dishes over to the sink. Alec follows behind and does the same. Just when he's about to exit the kitchen, his phone rings.
He picks it up.
"What? Didn't Cole check the path over?" Frustration visible through his voice, "Okay."
Alec ends the call and faces me, I don't try to hide the fact that I was eavesdropping on his call, "Get dressed, we're going out."
"Where?" I question. Funny how I thought I would actually get an answer because I don't.
Instead, he says, "You'll find out."
I let out a sigh of frustration and head up into my room. I quickly change into a pair of dark blue jeans, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket. I slip on a pair of all black Nike runners.
When Alec sees me coming, he starts his way down another hallway. I quickly catch up. His posture has changed. His whole body is tenser than before telling me whatever happened, is serious. We reach a door at the end of the hall. He taps the numbers one, nine, six, zero; allowing the door to open.
The doors lead to an elevator. Once we get in, Alec presses the button that says 'P1'. Thirty seconds later, the door opens to reveal a parking lot. Alec steps out with me in his footsteps. We keep walking until we reach a motorcycle. It isn't just any motorcycle, though. It is a Kawasaki Ninja H2R latest model, all black with green outlines. This is one of the fastest motorcycles in existence. Rare and expensive. Whoever wanted one of these, needed not just the money, but the connections as well.
Alec quickly gets on. He puts on his helmet before passing me one. I take it and slip it on over my head. I then take a seat behind Alec. I wrap my arms around his waist as the roar of the engine indicates the start of the bike. In a split second, we're riding across the lot, towards an opening doorway.
The adrenaline rush is crazy. I've never liked motorcycles. The feeling that your life is in the hands of another person doesn't suit me well. It's the vulnerability that follows along with it that I hate. When we get out of the parking, I look back at the house. We are almost miles away in under seconds.
Alec is going fast.
Wherever we're going, I just hope it doesn't involve me. Few minutes into the drive, Alec slows down. He lifts up his right hand and I spot something an earpiece on it. I take off my helmet. My hair scatters everywhere as I take the chip into my hands. The light on the side is red, telling me it's on call.
When I put it into my ear, I hear, "Alec, they're only fifteen minutes away from their headquarters. Hurry up."
"We're almost there," Alec replies, speeding up. One last turn reveals two other men on identical motorcycles and at least fifteen FBI cars surrounding a white semi-truck carrying cargo.
"You brought Summer along?!" Cole's voice is rough.
"She's going to help," Alec defends.
"With what exactly, because I wasn't really given a memo?" I try to
keep the sassiness to a low, but I can't help myself.
"Our shipment dropped this evening and the FBI somehow got notice. They managed to successfully raid the truck while it was going to base camp. Now we're taking back what's ours," Kai informs.
He's acting on impulsive; blinded by money and winning a competition that has no other prize. With fifteen FBI cars and who knows how many officers, we are definitely outnumbered. Even if we manage to get his supply back, there's no doubt we'll be the FBI's number one priority after tonight.
No matter how hard I try, Kai will never listen to what I have to say about this. The best thing I can do is go along with his plan, so that's what I do.
"What's the plan?" I question. I've been doing a lot of that lately because I literally know nothing.
"Cole and I are going to take out as many cars as possible while Alec gets you close to the truck. You have to get into the driver's seat and take a new route to the local lake which is about an hour away from here. There's a GPS inside of the truck so use it," Kai explains. "And we have to do this all in under nine minutes."
I'm not given a chance to reply seeing as Cole and Kai both speed up taking out their guns.
Well then, I'm fucked.
I watch as they start firing. Kai gets one of the tires and the car skids back behind us. Cole takes down another before the others realize they're being attacked. Once they do, they start shooting back. Driving gets more reckless and the beat of my heart increases. I'm at a disadvantage being unarmed.
"Alec. Alec give my your gun!" I yell.
"Left side, inside of my jacket," he informs.
I stand up and reach over his shoulder. With a solid grip around the metal, I pull it out. I pull off the safety and aim. Cole and Kai have managed to take down six cars leaving nine. Alec speeds up driving next to one of the cars. They shoot at us making Alec jerk away. I almost fall back, but grab onto Alec's shirt. Without another thought, I shoot towards the driver of the car. The officer dies instantly, and the car falls behind blocking the way of another.
