"Come here pretty girl." Josh purred after me, falling against the wall in the hallway.

His drunken state slowed him down some. But it wasn't enough. He was far from harmless. If anything, drinking made him more violent. The small amount of self-control that he had while sober was completely abolished now.

I tried to force myself to run. My legs and feet moved accordingly, but I couldn't create any more space between Josh and me, no matter how quickly I moved. I was running, but the world was keeping me suspended in the same spot as he drew nearer. I could only watch as his face twisted into a deranged smile while he gradually closed the distance between us. The blue in his eyes was glittering with a repulsive appearance of vile humor. This was all a game to him.

My attention was dragged down to the wet torso of his shirt. But the expensive shirt was not as it should've been. The once white fabric was now stained red and clinging to his chest, the blood still wet.

"J-Josh." I whimpered.

"Yes, baby girl, say my name." he growled back, grinning madly at me.

"Whose blood is that?" I whispered, my voice breaking with fear.

Josh paused, stopping his pursuit of me briefly. I tried to sprint while he was distracted and though my body obeyed the world around me didn't. But I could not distract him for long and his eyes snapped back up to my face all too soon.

"You want to know whose blood this is?" he asked, almost seeming surprised.

"Yes." I breathed back, "I want to know who you killed." But I wasn't sure I could handle the truth.

The wild glint in his eyes was back and his smile grew broader at my demands, like I had played into his game perfectly.

"It's yours, pet." He hissed out.

I automatically looked down at myself at his words. I was wearing the band tee shirt I had found for Alistair at the thrift store, which surprised me. There was a whole in the clothing right in the center of my chest. And, as I stared at it in horror, blood began to spill out, soaking the image on it.

I snapped awake from the awful nightmare. My heart was thundering away in my chest and I felt like I had to vomit, but I took slow, even breaths to calm myself down. I kept reminding myself that I was safe. I was in another continent with a different last name and a new identity. I had a team of people back in Canada covering up my tracks as best they could. Finding me was not impossible but it certainly was going to be quite the challenge.

In addition to this the nightmare had clearly not been a recollection of events that I had been trying to repress. This was a wild and unrealistic dream that had touches of the truth in it. That made it a little easier to handle. Still, there was no use trying to go back to sleep.

I used the sunlight streaming through the window as my guide when I fumbled out of my bed and into clothing. I know that I looked ridiculous in my thick sweater and thermal leggings, but it had snowed heavily for two days, so heavily that we hadn't been able to leave the house. But now that it had eased up Alistair was adamant that we were going to the castle I had chosen a couple days ago. I knew that he would want to leave right away, but I decided that it was time to tell him about one of my most repressed secrets.

My ex-fiancé was a murderer.

The twisted nightmare had reminded me of a hundred things that I would've preferred to forget, things that I was beginning to forget. I was going to marry a man who had killed someone because I had been a coward.

I had never come forward with the secret, even when I saw the newspaper the next morning stating that a man in the same sector as Josh had been murdered. A man that Josh loathed with his whole being. A man that happened to be at the same bar as Josh that night. But I hadn't uttered a word because I was terrified that he would do the same to me, that the justice system would fail and when my body turned up they would brush that aside too. I thought that I couldn't save anyone else, but I needed to try and spare myself. So that's what I had done. I had stayed with him and remained silent because I was terrified that I would be his next victim.

Unfortunately, this battle had gotten much larger than I had ever anticipated.

Alistair needed to know just how dangerous our opponent was. He should've known a long time ago but I had been unable to force myself to say such a thing back then. I hardly ever allowed the words to enter my brain, much less my mouth. But now, I felt I had to share this burden with someone. Ignorance may be bliss, but it certainly wouldn't keep anyone safe in this situation. Not anymore.

"Alistair, I need to tell-"

I abruptly stopped when I realized that the man in the kitchen was much too large to be Alistair.

"Good morning." Jasper greeted icily, casually leaning against the counter.

His dark attire and morbid attitude stood out starkly from the white kitchen. His muscular form that could be seen through his sports jacket seemed to be too harsh for such a delicate and modern home. I had an eerie feeling that he was going to be more similar to a bull in a china shop than I could handle.

"What are you doing here? Where's Alistair?" I spurted before I could control myself.

"Relax kid." Jasper said with a thick layer of annoyance. "The world isn't collapsing around you; I just had a week off work and wanted to check in on you guys again. Besides, this is just as much my home as it is his." He said, toying with a key in his hand.

I almost thought it was comical that this man was telling me to relax. The man that had shoved passed Alistair just so he could intimidate me. The whole purpose of his previous visit had been to get under my skin, even if he hadn't said it out loud.

"Everything is fine." I said hotly, wanting him to get out of the house as soon as possible.

Just because I knew who he was didn't mean that he couldn't hurt me. Alistair was certainly the softer and sweeter one of the two. He would see my side willingly while Jasper only cared about protecting his family and saw in black and white alone. It seemed to be a dangerous mix in this kind of circumstance.

Jasper's dark, intense eyes swept over me in one smooth motion. His angular features shifted into a look of confusion and he opened his mouth to say something, but we both heard the soft steps coming towards us from the hallway. Jasper snapped his mouth shut.

"You're always up so early. Ma chérie, you-" The words died on Alistair's lips as he progressed towards me. "Jasper?"

The muddled appearance shifted into a dark look. Jasper's eyes flashed with something that I wasn't even sure I wanted to decode and he took a subconscious step forward as his hands clenched into fists, his massive muscles flexing with the movement. He flashed us both a tight lipped smile.

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from whimpering out loud.

"Jesus Christ, have you learned nothing?" Jasper snarled out.

"I'm not having this conversation with you, Jasper." Alistair countered evenly.

"That's fine, your pretty little girlfriend was just going to tell me something very important."

I could feel my hands get clammy. I knew what I was going to so willingly blurt out in the kitchen before I realized that Jasper had taken Alistair's spot. But I couldn't reveal those words now. Not in front of jasper. It was almost impossible for me to tell Alistair, a man I knew well and trusted deeply. I couldn't say those things in front of a man who already thought the worst of me.

I just stared at Alistair pleadingly, hoping he wouldn't push me.

"That's what I thought." Jasper stated with a nod.

"If you're coming here to try and make me question my choices it's too late."

"I know it's too late. You already decided to put your family at risk and to jeopardize a lifetime of hard work. I know what it took for you to get here, A. She doesn't." Alistair visibly flinched at Jasper's cruel words. "But you're an adult; you can do what you want. I just wanted to spend some time with my brother and his girlfriend, is that so bad?"

"Don't patronize her." Alistair warned.

"I'm not. If anything, I should be congratulating her. She's just a random girl running from the American government. And somehow, she got in your head enough to make you use your privileges to help her on her illegal adventures. It's impressive really. An agent falling for it? Less impressive. But something that a young rookie would do."

I watched Alistair's teeth grit against one another and his hands also curled into fists. It was the same reaction he had when Smith made harsh remarks against his work.

"I saw that fancy camera that you bought her. You never bought something like that for any other girls. But, you haven't dated any other girls, so I guess it would be pretty easy to make you feel needed and wanted wouldn't it, Alistair? And let's be honest, our hormones get the best of us sometimes."

"What do you want?" Alistair hissed out.

"I see you're planning a trip to spišský hrad. It's a fantastic land mark. I'd love to come with you."

I thought Alistair would say no. I thought he would tell his older brother to leave us alone. I could tell that Jasper knew all of the right buttons to push to put Alistair right on the edge of snapping. It seemed like it would cause more damage than good to give in to a man like Jasper. But Alistair just let out a frustrated sigh and complied.

After a very tense and very silent train ride we were all milling through an astonishing castle.

I had never seen anything like it in my life. It was a completely amazing stone structure that was perfectly perched on top of a hill. It looked wildly impressive and proud from the road below and the slow, cold walk up the hill was worth it when I saw the castle close up. It was old and crumbling, but it was also grand and pompous. This absolutely massive piece of history refused to die and I found it to be utterly awe-inspiring.

I marveled at the stunning chapel that was tucked away inside. My eyes swept over the canons that were on display, the old armor, the kitchen tools. Everything was set up perfectly, reflecting the lifestyle that was had by the royals who lived in these magnificent castles at the time. It didn't seem like much now, but I knew that this was the absolute lap of luxury. It was even outfitted with its own torture chamber which fascinated me and terrified me all at once.

Every time I saw something that struck me as a weird or wonderful thing I would start to reach for Alistair. I was so used to just tugging on his sleeve and sharing a quick whisper that I didn't realize I was doing it until I would feel Jasper's dark eyes on me and my fingers would freeze half way to Alistair's jacket. I was always immediately saddened by the fact that, though I had two travel companions, I wasn't sharing this beautiful experience with either of them.

For the most part, Alistair stayed between the two of us, acting like a buffer. I was grateful for it, but I also knew that meant that he was getting the brute of the harsh glares and probably a few whispered comments that were less than pleasant. I also noticed that he never reached for me and I worried that Jasper's comments had gotten to him more than I had previously assumed.

At the end of our self-guided tour Alistair muttered something that I didn't quite catch, sounding furious and deeply annoyed. Jasper seemed slightly taken aback at whatever he said but quickly nodded. A second later Alistair pulled away from our little trio, leaving me with Jasper.

I was nervous to be left alone with a person who appeared to be more monster than man. But I was also angry. He had clearly upset Alistair and he had ruined my outing.

"Where is he going?" I demanded.

"To get food. Told me he wants to go alone." Jasper stated blankly.

"Why are you here? Why are you harassing me?" I snarled out.

Jasper finally turned his attention to me. I expected to see rage for my aggressive confrontation, but there was none. Buried deep in those haunted brown eyes I could see dread and fear.

"To keep Alistair away from you."

"Why are you afraid of me?"

That caused something to snap within Jasper. Dread and fear were chased away by anger and dominance. A twisted smirk yanked up the corners of his lips.

I unknowingly took a step back.

I knew that he wasn't Josh, but that expression was so similar to the one that I had seen in the dream. It made me sick.

"I could never be afraid of you Camila." He hissed out. "But I am fucking terrified of Josh Green."

"I'm not-"

"I know that Alistair can't save you from Josh. His connections and power run too deep. You're a lost cause. But I can save Alistair. And I don't care if that means I have to make him abandon you in the middle of this fucking mess."