Chapter 24

<Gavin Forrester>

"Ugh, this is so damn frustrating! It has been two weeks; what if she's already dead?" I shout and continue pacing around the living room, my glare focused on an exhausted Ainsley who's sitting at the kitchen table.

"I'm doing all I can, Gavin. I swear if you tell me how frustrated you are one more time, I will duct tape your mouth shut and leave you outside during hurricane season." Ainsley rubs her temple and then lays her head down in her arms, her hands covering her face from view.

"How kind...Meanwhile, Victoria is trapped in Talon's playhouse while he does God knows what to her!" I run my fingers angrily through my hair and march over to Ainsley's hunched figure. "Get up; we have to figure this out!"

"I haven't slept in three days, asshole and we're no closer to figuring out how to save her than scientists are to proving there's life on Pluto!" Ainsley sits up with a start and glares at me.

"I can't sleep until Victoria is back and Talon is dead." I state in a low, menacing tone.

"I know, Gavin, I know." Ainsley whispers tiredly and straightens her back, turning on her computer as she does so.

She rubs her eyes, accentuating the dark circles that have been there for at least a week.

"Where are your contacts?" I ask quietly and sit down next to her.

"I told you, they'll call me when they have everything they need. All we can do until then is wait." Ainsley whispers, her voice aching with tired.

"I can't just sit here on my ass and wait for them to come back." I snap and bury my face in my hands.

"You don't have another choice and I'm sorry about that." Ainsley rubs my shoulder lightly and then stands up to walk out to the kitchen.

She comes back a few minutes later with two mugs of dark, black coffee. I accept my mug gratefully and then we sip our drinks in silence for a few minutes.

"How is it that we still don't have a plan? We know where Talon is, we know he has Victoria and we have weapons; what more could we possibly need?" I sip my coffee and stare at her.

"Gavin, we can't just march in there with a gun and make Talon give her back. As we've already seen, Talon has some heavily armed guards of his own." Ainsley sighs heavily and stares at the empty living room I'd been pacing a few minutes ago. "We have to take something from him so we can negotiate..."

"We'll never be able to negotiate and all this sitting and waiting isn't working for me." I mutter, finishing my coffee while waiting for her to respond.

"You think this is what I want to do? Do you think I'm just making you sit here for my own amusement? I want her back just as much as you do and it's not fair of you to treat me like the bad guy. All I'm doing is making sure you don't do anything stupid to get yourself or Victoria killed." Ainsley snaps, causing me to feel taken aback by her harsh tone.

"I'm sorry...I'm just really on edge." I say, drawing in a deep breath to halt the string of profanities that are threatening to leave my angry mouth.

"I just want you to know that I'm not doing this because I want to; I'm doing it because I have to. I'm not going to let you lose your head and completely self-destruct." Ainsley pats my shoulder gently as silence ensues once again.

"We have to fix this; I can't even imagine what he's doing to her...I don't want to imagine it." I whisper and then shudder, terrible thoughts racing around in my head.

"You won't have to imagine it for much longer; we're gonna take this bastard out." Ainsley reassures in the same tired, achy voice from before.

"Thank you, for everything." I mutter quietly and turn to face her.

"You're welcome." She replies sincerely.

~~~~~

A few hours after my pacing session, there's a pounding knock on the door. I stand up immediately and race towards it. I yank open the door with all the force I can muster and it practically flies off its hinges. The person standing on the front porch is mangled and tired-looking. Their hair is matted and their sweaty as if they've been running to get away from something. When they look up at me, I suddenly recognize them.

"Gavin, we need to talk, now." Carter mutters gruffly and steps over the threshold, slamming the door behind him.

"Okay," I reply with slight disappointment. "We can talk in the kitchen."

Before we even go into the kitchen, Carter makes sure that every window is closed, every blind is drawn and that all doors are locked. Once he finishes his through search and lockdown of the house, he takes a seat at the kitchen table. Ainsley gets him a mug of coffee and then sits down next to me and across from Carter.

"It's about, Victoria." He states simply as he takes a swig from his mug.

My heartbeat speeds up and suddenly I'm at a loss for words.

"Do you know something about her kidnapping?" Ainsley narrows her eyes at him and I silently thank her for saying something.

"Know something? Honey, I've met her. I've sat with her, talked with her. I know what Talon has done to her for two weeks straight...I know everything and that's why I'm here." Carter's expression hardens when he says the word 'Talon' as if it's some sort of curse word. Not that that's very far off from the truth...

"Tell me everything." I snap, my teeth gritted and my fists clenched.

"They brought her in the day there was that tropical storm. I overheard some guards talking about how the town was deserted and she was just sitting there all alone; they said it was almost too easy." Carter begins and then looks over to me, most likely to gauge my reaction and see if he should continue.

I never should've let her leave; I never should've let her walk out that door.

"When they brought her in, her hands were bound together and her mouth was duct taped shut. Talon and her mother taunted her a little and then took her down to the basement, if that's what you even want to call it."

"Torture chamber more like it..." I grimace, my voice coming out pained but calm.

"Yes, torture chamber. Well, he took her down there with Jeffrey and all her captors and they..." Carter looks apprehensive as his eyes meet mine. "Talon made them take off her clothes...With a knife."

I practically jump out of my chair. My hands are gripping the side of the table tightly, causing my knuckles to turn white. I'm going to find him and I'm going to kill him. I'm going to break every bone in his body and then I'm going to put some bullets through his limbs; he's going to suffer, he's going to be in so much pain he will be begging for mercy, for me to kill him.

Anger courses through my veins and I begin to shake with all my pent up fury. I march straight out to the kitchen, seething, and grab the largest, most breakable thing in the room. I throw it onto the ground with a satisfying crash. It shatters into a million pieces and suddenly everyone is in the kitchen, wondering what's wrong with me.

"Has he completely lost his mind?" Slick whispers feverishly.

"No, I think for once he may have all of his sanity." Ainsley says, not a trace of insincerity.

Blaze comes in a few seconds later, a horrified expression crossing his face for a split second before he joins in. He grabs all the mugs from the cabinet and drops them one by one onto the floor. The linoleum floor is now showered with broken glass from all the dinnerware and cups in the kitchen. Once everything is thoroughly broken and I've calmed down a considerable bit, Carter continues his story as if nothing happened. He doesn't want to cross me now or even acknowledge what happened; he just hopes I won't do something like that to him.

"He let them touch her," Carter says quietly, most likely to not provoke me.

"Go on, I'm a big boy; I can take this." I mutter, annoyed that he won't just spit it out.

"They were biting her neck and you know trying to uh," Carter rubs the back of his neck, hoping I'll catch on. "Victoria fought back, hard; one of the guys had their hands all over her and she drove her knee straight through his groin." Carter bites his lip and stares down at the broken glass on the ground.

That's my girl.

"That didn't make Talon very happy and so he made the men go away and then he beat her with a baseball bat until she was black and blue. Once she could barely move, he gave her a tranquilizer and left her chained up in the basement like an animal. The next morning, her mother brought her down food, bread and water, but Victoria wouldn't eat or drink. After that they left her alone for a few hours and then Talon came down with his cronies and let the torture commence again; he let them assault her and then he decided to throw knives at her just for kicks." Carter looks disgusted at the fact that he knows this information.

He's going to be in so much pain when I get my hands on him.

"He's been playing these games with her for the last fourteen days; it's always something new except for the baseball bat, he always ends her daily torture with a beating from the bat. She has so many purple bruises and probably a few bruised ribs and broken limbs but she never complains about the pain, she just takes it; Victoria is a fighter."

"I knew that." I brush a few tears from my eyes and breathe in deeply.

"A couple of times I brought her a real meal and she'd wolf it down as if she hadn't ever seen real food in her life." Carter looks sadly at his hands before continuing. "I saw her yesterday and I told her that I was going to go get you so we could rescue her..."

"You saw her yesterday and you left her there? How could you do that?" I roar, my tone cracking with agony.

"I never would've made it out with her alive. Talon has guards standing around all over his hideout; I wouldn't've made it a few feet before they caught me." Carter responds calmly with a tone of slight indignation.

I let out a fuming breath and then allow him to continue on.

"Her mother came down and caught me talking to Victoria. I beat her to a pulp and then escaped through the back door before driving here. I told her I'd get her out and I intend to keep that promise. I'm here to help you in any way I can." Carter finishes and stuffs his hands in his pockets.

"How do you know all of this? Were you there? In the background? Or were you one of the tormentors?" Ainsley questions with suspicion.

"Talon has video cameras down there and while he was punishing me for bringing her real food, he made me watch all the footage." Carter bites his lip, a horrified expression in his features. "I brought all the footage with me, if you guys feel brave enough to watch it; it gets pretty gruesome as the days go on...I thought maybe it would help us figure out how to save her."

"Go. Get. It. Now." I say each word individually, heightening the effect.

Carter nods and slowly makes his way back to the front door. He opens the door quietly, slips out and comes back bearing a large laptop case. He sets it up at the kitchen table and logs in. I watch him fervently, his fingers shaking as he brings up the video software. He has a file marked with all the footage and the minute he opens it, a blood-curdling scream pierces my ears.

I pull up a chair and stare at the screen intently as Victoria's half-naked body comes into view. She's surrounded by a group of men including Talon and Jeffrey. Talon is standing off to the side while the men rub themselves against my girlfriend. I feel my insides writhe with the longing to break all of those men clean in half, to make them suffer my wrath. My fists clench in my lap but my eyes remain glued to the screen, like if I watch this footage hard enough I'll be able to stop these things from happening to her.

For the next few hours, the three of us sit at the kitchen table and re-watch all fourteen days' worth of video footage. The very last few minutes of the footage almost broke my heart; Victoria was so weak and frail but Talon still beat her senseless and when he was done, I was surprised she could move at all, let alone break his nose.

I was very proud while watching her punch him in the nose but that feeling fleeted suddenly when I saw her after he left. She broke down and hugged herself with her eyes closed; it looked almost as if Victoria was hugging someone back. I knew she was going crazy most likely but it was the most touching thing I've ever seen. She looked calm and the prayer that came out of her mouth was short and sweet but it changed me.

It made me realize that if she could have this much faith even in such a desperate time, than I should have faith too; faith that she'll be saved. Tears ran down my face as I watched Victoria lie her precious head on the dirt covered floor and smile, a small, half-hearted smile that made her look insane and at peace at the same time. After Carter paused the video, I bowed my head and did something that I haven't done in years.

Dear God,

I'm an awful person and I can't take back all that I've done but you believe in forgiveness and that's what I'm asking you for right now. I need you to change me, to help me to be a better person; please take control of my life because I can't do this on my own. Things in my life are really tough right now and I know that I haven't always been the most faithful person, God but I'm turning to you because I've realized that there are some things you can't get through without faith.

God, you gave me the opportunity to fall in love and I took that for granted. I love her with all my heart but I let my pride get the best of me and now Victoria's trapped in more ways than one. She's being tortured and abused by Talon and she doesn't deserve that. I know I have no right to ask you for anything after all that I've done but please protect her; please don't let her die down there. I'd give anything to see her breathing again. Lord, I want her out of that awful place so badly but not for me, not so I can have her back but for her, so she can live her life. Victoria has so much life left to live, God, and she's worth so much more than what Talon's doing to her. I'm begging you, please don't take her away before her time.

I'm so thankful for everything you've given to me including a woman like Victoria. She is the best thing that's ever happened to me and she's one of the main reasons I'm praying today. She taught me that having faith can carry you through the darkest days; it will carry you even when you have no will left to move forward.

She shouldn't have to go like this, please don't let her go like this. Please let me save her; please help me to get her out of that awful place. In the end, I know you're the only one who can decide these things but I'm going to hold onto faith, God, faith that you won't let her suffer anymore; it's the only thing keep me alive. Amen...

I open my eyes and feel tears wet my cheeks. Carter and Ainsley are hunched over the computer, Ainsley is taking notes on a yellow legal pad as Carter scrolls through the video feed. They're muttering in low voices, hoping to not interrupt my quiet time. I grunt to alert them to my presence; they jump a little and then gesture for me to join in.

"I can't watch that again." I screw my eyes shut and shake my head, heartache filling every crevice in my body.

I hear Ainsley drop the notepad and then I feel a pair of arms wrap tightly around my neck. Startled but grateful, I embrace her and hold her body close to me. Her sobs are muffled by my neck but I can feel her tears wetting my skin. She smooths the hair on the back of my head as she continues to cry.

"I'm so sorry about all of this, Gavin. We'll get her back; nothing is going to stand in the way this time. I don't care what we have to do, we'll do it and get her out, alive. Nobody should have to be put through this kind of hell, nobody." She shudders and takes in a deep breath.

"I know." I whisper soothingly, which is an exact opposite of what I feel inside.

My insides are actually bubbling with anger, disgust and some well-placed violent tendencies. I really need to calm down before I do something stupid...

~~~~~

Three days, thirty mugs of coffee and absolutely no sleep has led to us coming up with a full-proof plan to take down Talon Tenebris. Ainsley is passed out on the couch, a mug of coffee sitting, rejected, on the floor. She crashed at about three o'clock this morning after her most recent cup of coffee had worn off; she'd been shaking pretty badly and seemed really disoriented so we just let her go off to bed. Thankfully, we'd finished our plan before we lost her to sleep so Carter and I were free to rest easy for the first time in days.

At about seven o'clock in the evening, we all wake up, with bloodshot eyes and shaking hands from the amount of caffeine that we're still working out of our bloodstreams. I go to the kitchen and get a big bottle of water. There's no cups left in the house that aren't in pieces so I'm forced to drink straight from the bottle. The water refreshes me and makes me feel more awake than the coffee ever did. I hear someone stumbling around and then Ainsley makes her way slowly into the kitchen. She glares at me and gestures for the water bottle. An amused smile crosses my lips as I take another long swig before giving it to her.

We both sit down at the dinner table in silence and continue to pass the bottle back and forth until it's gone. Carter comes in, his hair still matted and his eyes spider-webbed with red lines of blood. He scratches the back of his neck and then goes to look for something other than coffee to drink. He sits down with us a few minutes later, a bottle of cold water pressed to his lips.

"My contacts are going to come tomorrow for their briefing and assignment. Will everything be ready by then?" Ainsley asks, an edge of exhaustion in her voice.

"Yeah, the weapons, explosives and the other materials come in tomorrow." Carter murmurs as he finishes off his water.

"I'm still not convinced that this whole 'blowing up his headquarters' thing will work..." I tap my chin with my index finger and frown.

This was the most flawed part of the plan; blowing up Talon's crack house- turned-headquarters. It's how we plan on getting the upper-hand, by taking away something that's vital to him. If he doesn't have his information center than he doesn't have his business anymore and he'll be more willing to negotiate , especially if we tell him that we have copies of his files hidden somewhere else...Or he'll just beg for us to not give him the same fate. I mean if all goes well, we'll practically control him but if things go wrong...I don't really want to think what would happen.

"Why not?" Carter mutters, his tone exasperated.

"What if he kills Victoria after he finds out what we did?" I look at him solemnly, fighting to keep the emotion away from my voice.

"He won't," Ainsley jumps in quickly, fully confident of her belief.

"We can't know that for sure..." I retort, my eyes narrowing.

"Gavin," Ainsley sighs like she's tired of having this conversation again. "She is the only thing he has to hold over your head; she's the only thing you fear losing. He can't threaten you with jail because losing your freedom doesn't bother you; he can't threaten you with death because you don't care but losing Victoria is one fear he can always count on. Anyway, I don't think his intent was ever to kill her; it was to torture you because you are the only person who is his equal. 

He can't control you and that scares him but now he knows the one thing that scares you and he won't let that go until you are standing right in front of him. Talon wants power over you, Gavin and if he kills Victoria than he has nothing to control you with, no reason for you to come back. Killing her would mean that you'd have nothing left to lose, you'd be invincible. Your love for her is the only thing keeping her alive..."

The atmosphere goes quiet, the only sounds being that of nervous breathing. My fists clench as I think about how what Ainsley just said is completely true; Talon is putting her through hell because he can't get to me. She's suffering because I can't pull myself together long enough to save her. I stand up angrily and stalk off to the bedroom I used to share with her. It still smells like her perfume and the room is much the same as we left it the last time we were here together.

Her clothes are strewn on the floor from when she was angry, her duffle bag is still unzipped in the corner and on the side table next to her side of the bed is the necklace I bought her during our first few months here. I pick it up and run my thumb gently over the design on the front of the pendant. My lungs expand with a deep breath and I feel my heart break slowly. 

I sink down onto the bed and hold the locket right next to my heart, just so that I can feel close to her again. Victoria, some way, somehow, I'm going to get you out of this. I kiss the front of the locket and then slip it into my pocket, along with the picture I had of her from her file in Talon's office. My head lays back on the pillows and I try to relax. I don't come out from the bedroom and instead fall into another deep sleep.

~~~~~

I'm awoken by an abrupt knock at the door sometime early evening the next day. The knocking grows louder as I come out of the bedroom. Ainsley is already making her way to the door by the time I'm in the kitchen. She has a nine millimeter clutched tightly in her hands as she turns the knob.

"State your name and business..." She barks even though she knows that it's her contact friend at the door.

"It's Jack. I brought everyone else, we're ready whenever you are." A gruff man mutters from the door frame.

Ainsley nods and lets him, along with his fifty other friends, in the door. They congregate in the living room, hands shoved in pockets, with apprehensive looks on their faces. I pull Ainsley into the kitchen and give her a look of worry.

"Are the supplies going to be here soon?" I ask, rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably.

"Carter went to go pick everything up; Blaze is with him." Ainsley shrugs and walks back over to the ex-assassins standing in the living room.

I grudgingly follow her and help sort the men into groups. We don't want to send all our manpower in at once and since the plan has various parts, we need different groups to execute it. After about fifteen minutes, Carter comes through the door carting a heavy looking cardboard box. I follow him out to the kitchen where he grabs a knife and slits the tape on the top of the box.

"This is the bulletproof vests." Carter mutters as he unpacks the heavy vests from the boxes. "I need to go down and get the guns and extra bullets. You and Ainsley can start handing these out."

I nod and watch the pair of them walk back to the front door. I snap out of my daze when I hear Ainsley's impatient foot-tapping behind me.

"Let's get a move on." She claps and fills her arms up with vests.

I do the same and walk out into the living room where the men are trying to make two couches and some armchairs fit fifty people. I hand out vests to everyone in reach and we get through about half of the men before running out of vests. Carter brings in one more box and within five minutes, everyone is dressed in bulletproof vests. 

Ainsley slips hers over her long-sleeve black t-shirt and then goes to help Carter with the guns. I pull mine on too and stand in the door-frame between the living room and the kitchen, my expression a mixture of moody apprehension. I'm still not convinced this is going to work but I guess it's all we've got...

The sound of a magazine being inserted into a gun with a satisfying snap draws me out of my nervousness and calms me in an odd way. It relaxes me to know that in a few hours, all of my pent-up frustration with Talon will be gone and hopefully so will he. I hear some footsteps next to me, turning, I find Ainsley standing next to me with a loaded gun. Her expression is solemn but her eyes are shining with determination, like she's been waiting to get rid of Talon her whole life. My hand touches the barrel of the gun and then I carefully remove it from her clutches.

"It's going to work out, Gavin, Talon isn't going to get away this time." Ainsley says from the side of her mouth as she goes back to the kitchen to get more guns for our new colleagues.

I breathe deeply and hold the gun close to me. It feels familiar and reminds me that I'm skilled at getting rid of people; they don't escape me once I have them in my sights. As awful as it sounds, I'm trained to shoot and kill; people never get away and Talon won't be any different, he won't get away with his poor, miserable life.

The cold, new metal of the gun molds into my hands effortlessly and it's a few minutes before I realize that the gun is poised in my hands, ready to shoot. Ainsley gives me a worried look and then pushes the barrel of the gun down with the heel of her hand.

"Let's all go to the backyard for the briefing; I don't like being in an enclosed space with a bunch of loaded guns." Ainsley bites her lip and motions for everyone to follow her out the front door and down the steps.

I make sure every last person is out before bringing up the rear. I stop on the last step and sling the gun strap across my body, positioning the gun so it's in the middle of my back thus leaving my hands free. My feet carry me onto the ground and over to Ainsley who is nervously wringing her hands while waiting for everyone to be quiet.

"Shut the hell up." I shout angrily at all the men, whose lips stop moving immediately. "You all know why you're here...to get rid of Talon Tenebris. You are not here to catch up with old friends; this ain't no tea party, this is a take-down operation. Now listen to the lady before you all go get yourselves or your team killed."

I cross my arms and glare harshly at them. Ainsley coughs to clear her throat before beginning the briefing.

"This plan is split up into parts...One part is a hostage rescue and the other is destruction. Half of you will be going with Gavin to Talon's house where he's holding Victoria Grayson hostage in his torture chamber."

"Isn't she the daughter of some police chief?" A guy shouts form the back of the group.

"I'm glad you can put two and two together, Captain Obvious, but it doesn't matter whose daughter she is, it matters that we rescue her." I clench my fists and narrow my eyes at the group.

"Now onto the destruction..." Ainsley continues as if she wasn't interrupted at all. "Talon has a headquarters about an hour away from his house where he has weapons, drugs and a whole floor of computers filled with vital information; it's basically the brain of his operation."

"What are we going to do with it?" Jack, the gruff man who brought everyone here, asks in the same tight voice as before.

"We're going to blow it up." Ainsley answers simply and a wave of excitement rumbles through the crowd. "I have the explosives already, we just have to go there and set it all up. Now, those of you stamped in green are going with me and Slick; those stamped in red will be going with Gavin and Blaze."

She points everyone to their proper leaders and then gives me a slight nod before going off to explain the explosives to her miniature army. I stand awkwardly in front of my group and then gather up all of my easy-going confidence to address them.

"In my opinion you are in the more important part of the mission." I narrow my eyes at each of them before continuing. "We're rescuing the hostage; we have a human life on our hands, an innocent, precious human being. With the explosives, they only have to deal with Talon's guards but we, we have to deal with the devil himself. We have to face him head-on, along with his strongest guards. It's not going to be easy, we may not all make it out alive, but in the end, we are the ones who will be ridding the world of Talon Tenebris."

"Quite a pep talk." A man mumbles to his friend in the front row.

"I'm not here to sugarcoat anything; you all know what you signed up for. Not everyone is going to make it out alive but that's a price we're all going to have to pay. We all knew facing Talon wasn't going to be easy and there's no use pretending it will be. Underestimating Talon's power is one of the dumbest things a person can do." I grip my gun strap and glare at the sarcastic man in the front row.

"Sounds like you're defending him..." The man snorts and doesn't meet my now burning gaze.

I stalk over to him and grab him by the front of his vest. I lift him a few inches off the ground and force him to make eye contact with him.

"I will never defend that bastard but you're not doing yourself any favors by thinking he'll let us all out alive." I hiss and drop him sloppily back onto the ground. "Get yourselves together, we leave as soon as the sun goes down."

~~~~~

The sky is the red-orange mixture of twilight, signaling our group that it's time to go. I pull a black bandanna out from my back pocket and tie it around the lower half of my face. My brown eyes narrow as I watch from the top of the staircase while everyone piles into their cars. Ainsley shuffles next to me and hands me an earpiece.

"So we can communicate." She smiles weakly as she puts hers into her ear.

I nod and do the same, my stomach plummeting with nerves. What if this is the last time I see her or Blaze or Slick?

"Gavin, I won't let this plan go wrong." She whispers in a choked up voice.

The way her voice cracks during that sentence makes me realize that as much as I want to see Talon with a bullet through his brain, I'd rather see my friends alive.

"Ainsley, that's not what's most important." My hands untie the bandana so it won't obstruct my ability to talk. "I want to see Talon dead just as much as the next person but I'd rather you make it out alive. You've risked so much for me and I don't want you to die like this..." I pull her close to me and wrap my arms around her tightly.

"If I die tonight, than at least I'll die doing what's right...I'll die with an even score." Ainsley murmurs in my ear and then buries her face in my neck.

"You've done so much for me, I won't let you die like this." I reiterate, more to remind myself than to reassure her.

"You don't control that." I hear Ainsley mutter, tears suddenly wetting my neck.

"I wish I did. Before we go, there's something I have to tell you..." I pull her away from me and hold her at arm's length. "I'm really sorry for putting you through all of this. If we both make it out alive tonight with Victoria, I swear I'll do anything I can to make it up to you."

"You don't have to do that, Gavin. I wanted to do this and I knew exactly what I was getting myself into; I've known it since the day I met you." She laughs and then begins to cry again, causing me to pull her into my embrace.

"It's going to be okay..." I exhale softly and rub her back comfortingly.

"I wish it was, Gavin but this whole plan is just a disaster waiting to happen. How could I have ever thought that a few dozen people could take down the infamous Talon Tenebris?" Ainsley's voice cracks again and suddenly I feel her shaking.

"Ainsley, don't you dare start doubting yourself now. This plan is going to work, it has to." I whisper the last part and hold her closer.

"Why, because it's all we got?" Ainsley laughs half-heartedly and then lets go of me. "Damn, I'm such a mess."

"We all are, some of us are just better at hiding it." A smile crosses my lip as Ainsley punches me lightly on the arm.

"Aren't you scared at all?" She asks, a glint of humor in her tear-stained eyes.

"No," I answer immediately. "I've been waiting for this moment for a while and I'm not going to be scared to give Talon a taste of his own medicine."

"Being scared is perfectly natural, you know. You don't have to pretend; we're all in the same boat..." Ainsley looks at me with concern, the corners of her mouth turned down in a slight frown.

"I'm not scared at all; being scared is a weakness and weakness isn't going to save Victoria." I lock my jaw and stare down at our small group of vigilantes.

"You're the farthest thing from weak, Gavin Forrester. You don't need to lie about being scared." Ainsley gives me a sincere look and then loops her arm through mine.

"Eventually, if you lie to yourself long enough, the lines will blur and what were once lies will become the truth." I stare at her blankly, my chest rising slowly with a deep breath.

"Well, I'm not going to lie to myself or you, I'm scared out of my mind." Ainsley admits and then bites her lip nervously.

Silence taints the atmosphere after her admission and in that silence, I decide that there's no time like the present to be honest with her and with myself.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I am too. I wish I wasn't but I haven't been this scared since Victoria's final run-in with Talon back in New York. Ainsley, we're going into a war-zone and I'm dead-scared that I won't come out alive." My voice cracks, revealing the fear I've been holding inside for so long.

"I guess we can't afford to think like that." She muses and rub my forearm in an attempt to comfort me.

"I don't want any of these people to die for me; this is my battle to fight. I don't need any more blood on my hands than what's already there." I stare intently at her but she just shakes her head.

"You aren't going to even try to do this alone. Maybe this plan won't work perfectly but it'll do a damn lot better than you trying to kill Talon on your own. You can't control what other people choose to lay their lives down for." She glares at me, the tone of her voice determined.

"You've done so much for me and I don't think I've ever properly thanked you for that. You didn't have to do any of this, you could've just walked away a million times but you stuck by me and I'm eternally grateful for that. Honestly, I probably would've done something stupid and be dead right now if you'd gone away." I chuckle and watch as a smile breaks out across Ainsley's lips.

"I'm glad I stayed then. Also, I know how you can make it up to me." She gives me a small smile and waits for my response.

"How?" I ask, an amused gleam in my eyes.

"Promise me we'll both be in a better place after tonight." She holds out her hand and I grasp it tightly.

"Promise." I affirm, hoping that this won't be the last time I make a promise to her.

"We should get going." Her voice trails off as her eyes meet mine. "Be safe tonight."

"You too." I say and walk closer to her, placing my lips lightly on her forehead. "A better place, no matter what."

Ainsley drops her hand and walks off, wiping tears from her eyes. I retie my bandanna around my mouth and follow her down the steep staircase for what very well may be the last time.