"Episode 10 - They have my family."  

I elbowed Nathan in the rib, like Gabe taught me. Breaking free, I grabbed for Gabe. He fell back on the wooden floor with a loud thud, imitating the beat of my heart. It felt like a ball was clogged in my throat. I couldn't speak or breathe. I felt dizzy.

"GABE!" I screamed, lunging for him. "GABRIEL!" Putting my hands on his chest, I tried to find the bleeder. Hoping to make it stop but when I saw no blood, I paused, perplexed. Blood rushed to my ears, buzzing it's way to my head. It felt like I was dying.

"It's a tranquilliser." Nathan said from behind. "I don't want to kill either of you. I'm so sorry." Taking off the dart that was sticking out of his chest, I got on my knees to take his face in my hands. His beard scratched my palm. Seeing his lulled state clawed my chest.

"I'm so sorry baby. I love you okay. I fucking love you." I needed him to know that. When I wiped my face, I realised I was crying. My whole body shook.

A shadow came over me, turning, I found Nathan standing over me. Fire ignited in my belly.

"No." I pushed him, away from Gabe. I was too emotional to think about the strategies that Gabe taught me. "What do you want?"

"I need insurance. I'm sorry. They have my family." He sounded distraught and I didn't understand what he meant by insurance.

"What about my family?" I finally stood, facing him with all the braveness I could muster. Fear was there simmering underneath the surface.

"I'm sorry."

Anger pulsed inside me. It gave me a surge of confidence to push him away, away from Gabe's body. I trusted Nathan t one point. He was supposed to be my friend but I guess Gabe picked up on it quicker than I did. I was happy to see him and he took that away in one second. I allowed this to happen and I hated myself for that. No. Not any more. I wasn't going to rely on anyone other than Gabe.

Taking Nathan by surprised I attacked him. His hooded eyes widened, when I kicked him in the balls. His mouth popped open but he was still in control. Gabe was like that. No matter how many hits he took, he was always in control unless he was conciousness. Nathan was ex military, he was strained to endure pan.

I tried to punch him. He blocked it by ducking under and when I kicked, he grabbed a hold on my leg, not letting go. "I'm sorry Elena. They have my family."

"AHH!" I screamed, tried to reach for him when he pulled a syringe from his pocket and pushed the milky white content into my leg.

"Fuck."

He was a former marine and I didn't take my training seriously. It was my fault. I screamed but I didn't feel my mouth open. Everything around me blurred, my senses declined and suddenly everything blank.

Fuck.

My mouth felt dry. My lips tingled, brain banged against my skull, throbbing Something was really wrong here. My whole body ached, like something was wrapped around my body. I was on a chair.

Gabriel.

That was my first thought before an image of him lying on the ground, unconscious, flashed before my eyes. My heart jumped to my throat.

Oh Lord. No. Oh God. No.

That's when I realised I was tied to a chair. My legs and hands were tied to the chair with duct tapes and a thick rope circle around my body like a long snake. I was tied to the back of the chair.

"The fuck." I jerked my shoulders trying to free myself but the bastard had wrapped me in a way that there was no fucking way out.

I screamed. On the top of my lungs.

My eyes went towards the floor where Gabriel was supposed to be but he was missing. It was an empty space of wooden flooring. I screamed once more. I needed to get out of there. I didn't understand what Nathan meant by insurance. Jude wanted me, I didn't understand why he took Gabe.

My Gabe.

Who put himself on the line for me. "FUCK. FUCK."

Gabe was gone, I was tied and there was no way out. I didn't know what the hell to do. Rope bunt my exposed flesh on my arms and neck but I carried on, tried my best to get out of them but nothing was happening.

My heart broke.

Tears streamed out of my eyes like waterfall. Gabe's absence choked me. He was in danger or maybe dead.

"Ah!" Pain sliced my heart in two, eyes closed shut.

It was dark outside. The golden lights around the room probably was the only thing visible from miles. Darkness surrounded me and I was scared. Every second that passed, a vice squeezed my heart.

What if someone was hurting Gabe?

What if...

What if he was dead?

I gasped. Thinking that I might not be able to see him again. Hear his voice or feel his touch again. He was my everything and I took him for granted the last couple of weeks. I was so depressed, my empty emotions were affecting my behaviour towards him and he'd picked up on that.

"Oh!" It hurt. My chest ripped in two.

I couldn't lose him too. I lost everyone I'd ever known, I couldn't lose him too. I made a mistake. I should have shown him how much he meant to me before Nathan arrived.

It fucking hurt.

Nathan knew what he was doing. He'd tied me in a way that I couldn't get out. My whole upper body was tied to the chair with my arms inside the rings of ropes. The night trickled by. Every second agonising than the previous one.

I screamed.

I begged to a God that had abandoned me years ago.

I prayed to anyone who'd listen.

I called onto the dead family I had, begged them to have mercy on me.

Blood started to drip down my exposed arms. The scratches became full blown cuts, the ropes dug into my skin.

In the winter, the sun usually came up around 8 and considering the darkness that lasted for what seemed like days, finally brightened. It was around 9 when Nathan came last night and from the brightness seeping through the curtains, I presumed it was around 8 in the morning. I was tried up for nearly 11 hours. So much could have happened in those damn hours.

My arms were on fire. The rough rope was touching exposed flesh. Every time I moved, it tugged raw nerves making me scream bloody murder. I wanted out. I needed to save Gabe.

A soft crunch of the snow stole my attention. It dragged out, the sound getting louder and louder. I clamped my mouth shut, trying my best to not make a sound. Fear engulfed me with the cold. Someone was driving up to the lodge and I was terrified that it was who ever Nathan took Gabe to.

I kept silent, knowing my end was coming soon.

The snow crunched under someone's boots. It sounded like two people. Low mummers reached confused me. It sounded like a normal conversation instead of some thugs trying to break into the house. The silence that I endured throughout the night and the morning was finally broken. There weren't any birds around or even any wind that rustled the leaves on the trees.

Everything was dead silent. Like the atmosphere knew something was wrong.

I moved again, winching when my arms and chest burned like they were on fire.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

The fuck?

What kind of a thug knocks?

I tried not to breathe. Tried not to whimper in pain.

"Maybe they are still sleeping?" My fear ebbed. Hope bloomed from the darkest of despair.

"Yeah. I might have been-"

"XAVIER." I screamed, crying out in relief. "HELP ME!" I didn't let him finish. It was Xavier. He was a friend or maybe I was trusting to quickly again. No.

The wooden door splintered into pieces. Xavier and another man came rushing inside with guns blazing.

"Lucia?" Xavier didn't call me by Mia, neither did he know about the name Elena.

Horror filled their faces.

Their eyes landed on the blood streaming down my blood.

"Oh my God." Xavier eyes widened like he'd seen a ghost. The other man paled.

"Fuck." The man exclaimed.

"Check the perimeter. Call it in. We're taking her to the hospital." Xavier ranted off absently as he holstered his gun to aid to the bind.

"Lucia, what the hell happened?" My heart thudded in my chest as Xavier unzipped his coat, pulled out a knife from inside and started to cut the rope carelessly.

"AH!" I screamed.

"SHIT." He jumped back like he'd been burned. "Oh Fuck. This is really going to hurt." He went around, started cutting from behind.

"Xavier. They have Gabe." I panted. No matter how hard he tried, I felt each slice.

"I figured. You're going to be okay. I promise." I stroked my hair from behind, like a father comforting his child. He was good at that considering had a boy and one was on the way. I nodded my head, bursting into tear at his kindness. I made a mistake of trusting Nathan and I didn't want to trust Xavier but I was scared and alone. Hurt to the bones and I just needed someone to help me.

I just needed someone to be on my side for once.

My heart hurt.

I saw the other man come back into the room through my tears. I couldn't stop crying. Everything hurt. My throat itched, the dryness closing it shut. I was weak to the core. My stomach hurt. The guy knelt down before me, cut off the tape that bound my legs to the chair. My bones felt like melted mutter.

It hurts.

"I know. I know. Help is on the way." This man's voice was softer but he had bulk over Xavier. He was defiantly an enforcer. He was probably the bodyguard that Xavier was talking about. I didn't know. Nothing made sense.

"AH!" I screeched like a banshee.

"Sorry sorry." Xavier sounded distraught. "The rope's cut into her skin. What do we do?" He asked the new guy sitting in front of me. My hands were free but I couldn't move them. They were weak and immobile.

"I think when the paramedics come, they will sedate her and then take it off or she will be in insane amount of pain." I tried not to breathe while the man spoke. Xavier just grumbled behind me.

"Who did this to you?" Xavier asked.

"Nathan. The FBI guy who helped us to escape. Jude has his family." I panted like a starved dog. "You need to get your family away.

"I'll get some water." The man said.

Xavier finally came around, knelt down before asking. "Don't worry. They have protection. Leo is sending more men. We'll be going back to Chicago." He paused, gently rested his hand on my shoulder. "We all will."

I cried even harder. The tiredness finally caught up to me. My head sagged forward, Xavier's palm on my forehead blocked me from hitting my chest with my chin.

"You have to help him." I whispered before the other man held the glass to my lips. The cool water felt heavenly against my chapped lips. Xavier held my neck, helped me empty the glass. The overhead light suddenly blinded me. I didn't remember them turning it on.

A small flash back swept across my vision.

It was an image of a young Xavier, wearing shorts and a t-shirt playing video games in the upstairs lounge of the house I used to live in with my real parents. The Miami heat trickled down my back.

I didn't know how to turn the AC on in my room and I got too carried away playing with my new Barbie house. My parents were downstairs with Aunt Irina and Aunt Zachary De La Cruz. Santiago was living with us now but he was usually very busy. It meant daddy got to stay home and play princess with me.

But he had guests and I didn't want to disturb.

Entering the lounge, I went over to Xavier, basking in the cool air. He was playing a zombie game. All my brothers played it. Xavier paused the game, turned to me with a kind smile.

"Were you playing outside, Lucia?" I twisted on the balls of my bare feet.

"No. I don't know how to turn the A.C. on. Can you do it for me, please?" I smiled big. My mother taught be to be kind and told a smile always got you what you wanted. I showed him my teeth. Well, except the two missing front ones. Xavier laughed at the sight of it

"You should have asked me earlier, come on." He lead the to my room, used the remote to set something and suddenly the A.C. was blasting icy air.

"Thank you, Xavier." I smiled again. "Do you want to play princess?" I pointed towards my three story pink doll house with all kinds of colourful furniture.

"Uhhh!" Xavier looked incredibly awkward. "I don't know how to."

"Here..." I took his hand, dragged him to the house nearly as tall as me. "... I'll teach you." Pulling him down so he sat crossed legged next to me. I handed him another doll with brown hair where as I had the blonde one. "Yay." I clapped my hands.

"Okay, fine." He finally relaxed. "But you have to promise me, not to tell your brothers that I played with dolls." He held up the doll in front of me.

"That's okay." I placed both of them on the second floor. "They all ask me to do the same thing any ways." I halted, horrified, like I'd been caught sneaking cookies from the kitchen. He stared at me, an amused smile on his face. "Opps!" I giggled "I wasn't supposed to say that."

Xavier threw his head and laughed on the top of his lungs.

A beeping noise tore through the fog. I felt groggy and weak but this time, I was lying down something comfortable. My limbs ached but at least I was lying down this time.

Gabe.

I woke with a start. "Gabe."

"Hey, hey." Xavier's face was the first thing I saw. I wanted it to be Gabe. I needed it to be him. "You passed out. The paramedics came and now we're in the hospital. My men are looking for Gabe. The are scouring the whole state. You need to stay calm." He stroked my hair back. My arms was bandaged. Cold ointment slathered across my chest.

"What... what?"

"You needed stitches. I don't know how you endured it. When they pulled the ropes away, your skin was ripped in places. So you needed nearly two hundred stitches. You were dehydrated but they gave you an I.V. You have to eat though. What do you want? I'll send one of the guards." He rambling. I looked at him, thought of the kid who was in my dream. A memory.

"Where's your family?" I wondered. Nathan sacrificed Gabe for his family, why didn't Xavier do that too?

"They are safe. Anna desperately wanted to see you but they are on the way to Chicago right now. Once we find Gabe, we're going back to my home town. Capone's won't be able to touch us there. Any ways, it's time to come back. Don't you think?" He promised.

I didn't understand why he would put himself at risk for me.

"Why?" My voice was groggy when I asked.

"You really don't remember, do you?" He was truly surprised when he helped me gulp down a glass of cold water.

"Not much." I told him about the two distinct memory I remembered, the later one made him laugh.

"You were so cute with no teeth." He laughed harder. "Once, Santiago, you and I were in the lounge, playing video games and having some snacks and drinks. You got yourself a straw and put the between the gap and tried to drink your milkshake like that. Santiago and I died laughing." He clutched his stomach at the memory.

Even though I was terrified for Gabe, the image of that pulled a smile from me. Suddenly, tears stung my eyes. I wanted to remember them. It sounded like I was loved. I had a happy life.

Now, I get tied up by someone who I thought was a friend.

"Is there any news?" I asked again.

"No, sorry. No sign of Gabe." He shook his head, disappointed.

"Okay. Can you do me a favour?" I asked, slowly pulling myself up into a sitting position with his help.

"Yes, of course." He was overly eager.

"Can you find out where Nathan Ross's family is? I know they were also taken by Jude but..." I looked him dead in the eye. "...If we can't find Gabe, let's find the man who took him by using his weakness. His family."

Nathan took my family, I wouldn't hesitate one second to take his from him.