Later in the Night...

Mariana felt someone vigorously shaking her sides. She turned to see with her sleepy eyes and Micah was stood there with a smile.

"Hey, Mariana."

"Hey."

"Are you ready to get out of here?"

"Is it time already?" Mariana blinked in confusion as her eyes were still adjusting to the light.

"Yeah, this is the time where my shift ends and in around 30 minutes, someone will come and put you in a deep sleep."

"Oh, then we better get moving!" she quickly flung the covers over to get out.

"Yeah, but are you still in pain?" He asked with concern laced in his voice.

"A little."

"Okay, you can lean on me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well...okay."

Micah took hold of her arms and helped her up. She hissed in pain but tried not to cry as she felt the strain in her muscles burn. "It hurts..."

"Sorry, Mariana," He managed to put Mariana in an upright position. Mariana's fingers convulsed against the bedsheets. She breathed in rapidly as her back ached like it had been stabbed.

Micah turned her carefully, and as soon as Mariana's feet contacted the ground, her toes immediately curled up due to the sudden coldness.

She then realized she's been bedridden for way too long, it was going to take some time for her to be able to walk without falling or tripping.

"Are you ready?" Micah asked, putting her arm around his body.

Mariana sucked in a deep breath before replying with a "Yes."

Micah slowly counted to three then heaved her off the bed. She tried to balance herself, but her legs were still unstable and wobbled everywhere like jelly. This caused her to fall flat on top of his back.

"Sorry," She flushed.

"It's okay, don't worry about it."

Mariana's lips curved into a small smile as she leaned herself onto him. Together, they sauntered towards the door.

"Why are you helping me by the way?" She questioned.

"Well, when I saw you and your family, I felt really sorry for you guys. I wasn't actually supposed to be there, but I heard the commotion, and I was curious, so I hid in the shadows."

"Plus, it's just the way I was raised. My parents always taught us to help people in need, especially those less fortunate than us and, my mother, especially, didn't want us to grow up feeling entitled just because we were wealthy," he added.

"Oh wow, that's really good..." Mariana looked up at him and then looked back down to the black and white marble floor.

"Honestly, I really wanted to do something about it, but I couldn't out of fear of the boss."

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

He just shrugged and supported her steps. Seeing her limp, made him feel guilty about being too scared to try and help.

Once they were at the door, Mariana rested her back against it while Micah peeked open the blinds.

Mariana heard her heart as it slowly palpitated in her chest. Perspiration dripped down her temples as the fear of them getting caught made her nervous. Who knows what Xavier will do if he finds them?

"Okay nobody is walking by which is good, but we better hurry," Micah finally said.

He opened the door, trying to make as little sound as possible. He put an arm around Mariana as they stepped out into the well-lit corridor.

They walked the sandy tiles of the floor which had a single light shining down on each. Mariana couldn't help but get nervous even though she was with Micah. He seemed so nice, unlike the other people that were here.

"You know what's ironic?" He spoke.

"What?"

"I'm supposed to make sure you don't escape when I'm helping you to."

"Oh yeah that's true," Mariana said as a small laugh escaped her lips.

They suddenly stopped at a door which had MICAH PÉREZ written in bold letters. Micah looked from side to side before he unlocked the door and held it open for her.

"Thank you," Mariana said as she sauntered in.

He came in and quietly shut the door. There wasn't much light, but Mariana managed to make out some boxes that laid around and a table that was filled with documents.

He went behind the table and pulled out a black hoodie.

"Wear this," He threw it at her.

She quickly slipped it on and tightened the hood around her face.

When Micah opened a closet that was filled with guns, Mariana's went from being vibrant to pallid as she was startled by their presence and took a few steps back as they made her extremely nervous. Micah took out one and shot her a look of concern.

"It's for if anyone tries to attack us."

She nodded slowly, still not fully convinced, so he gave her the one in his hand if that was going to make her feel better.

They exited his office and resumed their walk down the silent hallway.

Suddenly, they heard some whispers from the corner.

Mariana's whole body and spirit shook out of terror and hid behind Micah for support. He guarded an arm protectively in front of her.

Eventually, two men appeared, and they seemed to be deep in their conversation.

"Hey what do you think of the young girl the boss kept?" One of them said.

"She's pretty hot, I wouldn't mind keeping her for the night after the boss is finished with her."

Mariana let out a low scowl. The way they talked about her made her stomach churn in sickness. They were talking as if she were just a toy to be thrown about.

"Hey Micah," She heard one of them say.

Mariana made sure to stay behind Micah's back out of sight. She held her palm over her mouth to keep herself from screaming in panic.

"Hey David, how's it going?" Micah said.

"Just going to get my stuff and then go out for a drink, care to join?" David asked.

"Not today sorry, I'm a bit occupied tonight."

"How's babysitting the new girl going?" The other voice spoke.

"It's okay, she's mainly been sleeping."

"Have you tried lifting up her gown? How does her underwear look?" David asked.

Even though Mariana couldn't risk revealing herself, she really wanted to comment on how they were talking about her.

"Of course not," Micah said.

The two men chuckled, and she noticed their shadows walking away.

"See you tomorrow Micah," David said.

"See you guys," Micah replied.

Once their footsteps dissipated into thin air, she came out of Micah's shadow.

"That was a close one," He said.

"Yeah."

"Sorry for my colleague's behavior by the way."

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're not like them."

He smiled brightly, showing off his pearly white teeth that just increased his handsomeness.

"Come on, we better get going," He said, gently taking hold of my hand.

"Okay!"

They headed towards the elevator, where Mariana was guessing was going to lead them to an exit.

"How did you end up working for my uncle by the way?" She suddenly asked.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story. My siblings and I were eating out at this restaurant and we were in sat in a booth that's specifically reserved for us. We were all good until Xavier came with a few of his men and demanded the booth, but the workers said no, so he threatened the life of my youngest sister unless one of us came to work for him, so I volunteered."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry that happened to you and your sister."

"It's okay, I mean, this still shouldn't have happened because when we got home, I told my dad what happened and if he can put Xavier and his men in prison, but he refused and said that I deserved what was coming to me for defying him, even though it included the death of his youngest daughter, but oh well."

"That is horrible, why would he say something like that?"

"Well, we don't exactly see eye to eye on things. If it was my older brother who did what I did, then sure, he would comply."

Oh dear, that sounds so harsh and unfair, how can you have that much favoritism for one person over the other?

"Um Micah, I want to ask you another question."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"How come you don't carry around a gun like the others?" Her eyes looked up as she had one arm behind her.

"I don't like using them and also, Xavier doesn't trust me since I tried to shoot with my eyes closed once."

Mariana's body stiffened in alarm. "You did what?"

"We were doing practice runs and I accidentally shot at a target with my eyes closed." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"You know what, I'm glad you don't like the guns," she said with her voice shaking a little.

Finally, they reached the elevator.

Micah pushed the button and they waited for it to open.

For every minute they waited, Mariana vibrated like crazy. She continuously bit down her nails as this was a habit she did when she was always nervous; A bitter, nauseous taste seeped into her mouth, making her feel like she was going to vomit.

On top of all that, she had no idea where Xavier was. He could be anywhere, and they would be in huge trouble if he caught them trying to escape.

After what felt like an eternity, the doors finally opened. Mariana immediately ran inside, and Micah also got in. He pressed for the ground floor and the elevator slowly closed its metal doors.

As they moved down, the lights suddenly flickered as there was a sudden jerk.

There was an ominous silence between Micah and Mariana. None of them said a word and none made a flinch. They just stared mindlessly at their blank, expressionless reflection.

She ended up sliding down and sitting on the floor. She glanced towards Micah who was stood opposite and typing on his phone. His beard hid his pinkish lips well, but she couldn't help but worry if he was texting one of the other agents or not.

"Um... Micah, c—can I see your phone?" She stuttered out. She was desperate need of help and so didn't want to get betrayed so easily.

"I'm just texting my mom letting her know I'll be home soon." He tried to reassure her, but from the way her eyes were firmly fixed on him, he could tell she wasn't convinced and looked terrified.

"You can have a look if you want." He crouched down and slid the phone over to her.

Mariana gazed over the chat and she saw 'Mom❤️' written at the top. But apart from the current messages, she went up a little to make sure it was really her and it looked like it was.

"Okay." She sighed with a little bit of relief.

A whole minute passed, and the elevator came to a halt. Mariana took in a deep breath and the doors parted ways as if being pulled by magnets.

When they peeked out, there was no one around so they got out.

Mariana took a good look around and the place was deserted. There was a staircase just above the elevator going up.

"Wow, this place really is empty," Mariana commented.

"I know, these stairs are rarely used."

"Where's the exit?"

"Just there," Micah pointed down the hall where there was a big neon green exit sign.

Freedom! She shrieked inside her head. "Let's go!" Mariana then proceeded to run as fast as her legs would take her.

"Stop right there!"

Mariana ceased her steps and slowly turned around.

Xavier was on the stairs with a vial in his hand and he had a grave glare plastered on his face.

"Where do you think you're going, Mariana?" He asked in a slightly sadistic tone.

"Stay away from me Xavier!" Mariana shouted.

"And you," Xavier said, turning to Micah. "You're helping her?"

Micah didn't say anything but looked down as if he was ashamed.

Xavier let out an evil chuckle as he slowly walked down. His heavy thumping boots were making the stairs shake and quake.

"You really think you could escape me?" He whispered.

Mariana kept walking back towards the door as he took each step, never taking her eyes off him.

"And you Micah," Xavier said, looking at Micah with a huge smirk. "You decide to disobey my orders and keep her for yourself eh?"

"I would never treat Mariana the way you did last night," He mumbled.

His words made her smile, but they earned a scoff from Xavier.

"I'll deal with you later but first; I have to take care of my niece..." His gaze was on Mariana now, slowly undressing her with his eyes and devouring her as if she was his prey.

Mariana finally managed to grab hold of the handle and slowly turn it.

"You're not going anywhere..."

Xavier was about to pounce but Micah jumped on top of him and pinned him to the ground.

"Go, I'll catch up!"

As her hand was still on the handle, she found herself unable to move as tears welled up in her eyes. She already lost my family; she didn't want to lose him too...

Micah gave her a look as she was still stood there still like a statue. Through his struggle of keeping Xavier down, he got something out of his pocket and threw it at her.

"That will lead you to my car now go!"

Mariana nodded and quickly opened the door, ready to make a run for her life.

A/N: By the way if anyone is confused on what Micah's motive is on wanting to help Mariana, here are the reasons:

1. He feels sorry for what happened to her and her family, and he feels guilty for not being able to help her against Xavier

2. In chapter 2 he mentions how he was forced into the mafia by Xavier and uses this opportunity to get out himself.

3. He was raised to help people out in need.