♡♡♡

After being cooped up on the farm for weeks, it feels amazing to be free. Well, almost free.

I wish that I didn't enjoy the feeling of my arms wrapped tightly around Hunter. I wish that I didn't blush every time I feel him laugh.

I've guessed that riding is also Hunter's favourite past time. It's suddenly like he doesn't have a fear in the world. That's what it feels like for me when I ride, too. Even now I feel it like that. I know that deep down, I don't really mind being with Hunter. I like this new side of him, too. So carefree for once.

I involuntarily rest my chin against Hunter's shoulder, closing my eyes. "You alright back there?" Hunter says.

"Yeah," I say, shouting over the engine as we enter town. "I'm fine."

Hunter doesn't say anything else but his muscles tense under my arms around his waist. We ride past the Wayhill sign, speeding by our high school.

Suddenly we are passing the main parts of town; the cinema, the supermarket, the local park and the library where I often do my homework after school with Carmen. Eventually, we start passing the houses on the outskirts of town, the ones that are more run-down. It sends a shiver down my spine, knowing where we are likely heading.

Ten minutes later, we pull up abruptly in front of an abandoned-looking factory. I realise with a shudder that I'd been correct. This is where I had been taken mere weeks ago by Marcos.

Hunter cuts the engine, taking off his helmet and shaking out his hair. His looks back over his shoulder, knocking on my helmet.

"Earth to Ellie," he says, smiling softly. "You can take the helmet off now. We're here."

I jump off the bike first, turning away from Hunter and then removing my helmet. I don't want him to see my expression.

"This is where I was taken," I suddenly blurt out, turning back to face Hunter.

Hunter swallows, gulping. "I know," he whispers, looking at his feet.

"You know?" I snap. "You know that I was taken from here and you didn't think to tell me where we'd be going?"

"I didn't think it would make it easier if I told you. I thought you would put up a fight and I needed you to cooperate. I needed you to come."

"You were right about that! Of course, I don't want to be here! But not telling me doesn't make it any easier. At least I would have had some warning! At least I could have prepared myself!"

I'm shaking with rage, annoyed that this is happening. I bet this is why Andy wanted me to come. He could have sent me off with any other Razor but he chose to send me along with Hunter.

"Look, El, I didn't have a choice, okay? I just wanted to make it easier on you, so I decided not to—"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," I snap. "Just go and do what you came here to do. The sooner we leave, the better."

I throw my helmet at him without warning but he catches it with one arm anyway. He places both the helmets on the ground next to the bike.

"I don't want to make this situation worse, but—"

"What?"

Hunter sighs, wracking a hand through his hair. "You need to come in with me."

I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Great," I mumble, trying not to show him how much it scares me to go inside.

My eyes involuntarily looked back at the building, looming down on me like my worst nightmare. It seems even worse than the last time I'd seen it. More windows seem to be smashed, more paint seems to be peeling.

"I'm—"

"Don't," I say, walking past him and hitting his shoulder on purpose. "And please stop apologising like an idiot. It's getting on my nerves."

"So you want me to stop?"

"Yes," I snap. "Now, stop talking to me. I'm mad at you."

"Ohhh," Hunter mocks. "You're mad, are you?"

I go to punch him in the shoulder, wanting to get rid of the smug smile gracing his lips. Before I can, the door swings open, bouncing against the wall. Paint chips off the door, fluttering to the ground. A small man with a buzz cut walks out. He wears a pissed off expression, but because of his tiny height, he doesn't seem intimidating at all.

"You're late, Haswell," the man snaps, his eyes turning into slits.

"Sorry, Bruce. Traffic," Hunter grins, showing off his perfectly white teeth.

"Sure, sure," the man says, stepping back from the door to let Hunter through.

For the first time, Bruce seems to notice me, raising an eyebrow. "And who must this be?"

"A Skull," Hunter says, dryly.

I look up at Hunter, trying to understand his mood change. Much like Noah, he's clearly shifted into business mode.

"Ah," Bruce says like he's realised something important. "This is Damon's daughter? The one that was taken from here a few weeks back? I remember her brother being frantic about that," he chuckles.

I glare at him. "You think it's funny?" I snap.

Hunter whirls to face me, suddenly seizing my wrist. "Sorry, Bruce, she's got a mouth on her, this one. Sometimes she just doesn't know when to shut up," he growls.

Bruce turns to Hunter, glaring at him again. "Keep the bitch in check, got it? I don't need no trouble around here."

If you don't want any trouble, I think, maybe you shouldn't buy drugs off gang members.

When Bruce walks ahead, huffing under his breath, Hunter pulls me to his side. He bends down slightly so that we are eye-to-eye.

"El," he whispers, placing my hair behind my shoulder. "Don't say anything when we go in there, alright? These guys—they're dangerous."

"Really? If they all look like Bruce, short and weak, I don't see—"

"Ellie," he snaps, placing both his hands on my shoulders. "Please don't say anything, okay? Please. You don't know what they're like. Bruce is the nicest out of all of them, and that's saying a lot."

I can tell by the way Hunter's eyes are boring into me that he's being completely serious. It unnerves me to think that Noah had to deal with these men, alone.

"Okay," I breath out. "I won't say anything."

Not liking our close proximity, I quickly step back, walking behind Hunter.

"If they ask you any questions, just answer politely. Don't use any of your normal snarkiness, promise?"

"I already said I would be on my best behaviour, didn't I? Let's just get this over with."

Before he turns around to walk again, he grabs my hand, placing it in his. I jump at the contact but find my composure just in time, as Hunter turns back to look at me.

"It's going to be fine," he says. "If we do everything they say, nothing will happen."

Before I can say anything else, Hunter opens a terribly painted door with his free hand, guiding me into a large open room. It's just as awful inside as it is outside. Maybe it's even worse in here. Most of the windows are boarded up, and the little sunlight that is seeping in through the windows hardly help the dingy, dark room at all.

"Hunter, please come forward," a man says, standing over by one of the cracked windows.

The floorboards creak under Hunter's weight as he walks forward, dropping my hand. I miss the warmth of his fingers as soon as they're gone. He looks back at me as if sensing my uneasiness, sending me a reassuring smile before pulling out a parcel he'd kept hidden in his back pocket.

It's wrapped in newspaper, several layers of it. Hunter walks forward tentatively, placing the package in the man's hand. He inspects the package and then hands Hunter his money.

Hunter frowns, looking down at the ward of cash in his hand. He examines it closely, counting each note before looking back at me and then at the man again. I notice him swallow and instantly know something is wrong.

"Um...sir, I don't mean to—"

The man sighs, turning away from the open window, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Yes?" he says, impatiently.

"I just," Hunter clears his throat before continuing, "my father is expecting ten thousand not seven."

The man laughs. "Well if he wanted ten grand, we would have needed at least another two kilos."

"But you said—"

The man gets up in Hunter's face and I instantly take a step closer to him, wanting to defuse this situation before it gets any worse.

The man turns to me, a glint in his eye. "And who might you be, beautiful?"

Hunter glares at him but the man doesn't seem to notice as he keeps staring at me. I look away first, feeling a shiver run down my spine. My stomach contracts, uneasiness settling in.

"Hey, I was talking to you," he snaps, stepping towards me.

"Ellie," I say, just wanting all of this to be over.

"Ellie," he drawls, touching my arm. I resist pulling away.

I look over at Hunter, scared to see his expression. I can tell it's taking everything in him not to punch this guy's lights out for coming near me.

"I'm okay," I mouth, focusing my eyes on him and only him.

The man pushes my hair behind my shoulder and I recoil, not even meaning to. It doesn't seem to phase him though as he just steps closer to me, his mouth inches from my face.

I keep my eyes on Hunter even though my vision is almost completely blocked by the asshole in front of me. I can feel his hot breath on my face as he cups my cheek in his hand.

"I think that's enough," Hunter snaps, reaching out to rest a hand on my shoulder. He can't reach past the man standing in front of me.

"Ah," the man drawls, snickering. "I see how it is. She's your girl?"

Before Hunter can even answer, the man's lips are on mine, parting them with his tongue. My eyes widen in horror, disgusted. Never in my life have I been this violated before. Not even at the farm. Getting punched in the face is nowhere near as bad as this.

Suddenly the man is jerked backwards, slamming forcefully into the floor. I can't breathe, I'm shaking too much. I wrap my arms around myself.

"Don't you ever," Hunter spits, "touch her again, you hear me?"

He's standing in front of me, his arm outstretched to keep me safe. I instinctively lean into his back, suddenly needing the support.

The man groans, rolling onto his side. Hunter continues to stare down at him before turning around to face me. "Fuck," he whispers, wrapping me into a hug. "I'm so sorry, let's get out of here. Screw how much money I have."

I can't look at him, scared that the tears are going to start pouring. "Look at me. Hey, look at me."

So I do. I look at him and my breathing almost stops. He is the most beautiful, handsome boy I have ever seen in my entire life and I can't have him.

I can never have him.

As if I haven't been punished enough. Why does Hunter have to be a Razor? Why does he have to be a kind and compassionate Razor?

"For what he just did to you," he closes his eyes, composing himself. "I want to kill him, I'm so ready to hurt him. But then I realised that..."

"That what? What Hunter?" I whisper, feeling my heart thumping in my chest.

"That I—if I hurt him, I would be no better than my father."

I bring my hand to his face. I can tell that he's hurting, that he doesn't like what just happened.

"I hate seeing you hurt. I hate seeing you with that look in your eye, the look of vulnerability that never used to be there, not when I saw you before, at school. I know that you've changed because of the Razors, because of me and I hate seeing you hurt or upset," he says, reaching out to brush my lips lightly. "All I ever want to do is protect you and it scares me because I don't understand why I feel like this."

"Hunter, I—"

"I was brought up to hate you, Ellie. But who could ever hate you? "

Everything around me disappears and Hunter comes into focus. All I know is that the last month doesn't matter anymore. That here — right now — he's saying all the right things and my stupid, unconditional, inevitable feelings for him are bubbling up again, breaking away my anger.

All I'm sure of is this moment. This one perfect moment in an abandoned factory.

An abandoned factory.

Reality comes back, slamming into me like a truck. "We should probably leave," I say, suddenly worried.

Hunter seems to realise where we are too. He takes my hand, leading me towards the doorway.

We're racing towards the door, not looking back to see if the man is still lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Suddenly there's a click and my blood runs cold. Hunter picks up his pace, obviously hearing the same sound as me. We both know exactly where the sound is coming from too.

A gun's safety switching off.

"Not so fast," a voice from behind us says. "Turn around, please. Slowly."

Hunter stops walking, dragging me to stand behind his shoulder. When we turn around, Bruce is standing next to the man who is on the floor. He's holding a gun and it's pointed at us.

Hunter instinctively puts his hands up in surrender and I do the same. I can feel the sweat dripping down my back.

"You can't have possibly thought that you could get away that easy," Bruce says, clucking his tongue.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," Hunter says. "We're just leaving."

"Leaving?" Bruce says, cocking his head to the side. "Who said you could just leave? Especially after knocking poor Thomas to the floor like that."

"Please, just let us go," I say.

Bruce and Thomas laugh like it's the funniest thing they've ever heard. "Silly girl," Thomas says, glaring at me. "Don't you understand anything?"

Before I can even comprehend what's coming next, Hunter suddenly shouts my name and it's like everything flashes before my eyes, like I'm living in slow motion.

The gun releases and the shot goes off.