I held my head in my hands. Celeste patted me on the back. "I'm sorry, Raiyne. Now we know for a fact he's going to get at least five more cuts. I'm so sorry. I know how much Hunter means to you. And now, because of me, he's going to get hurt." She was close to crying. I was too, if I had any tears left to spare. But I didn't. Not with the amount of crying I did in the past twelve hours.

I closed my eyes, the image of the pain in his eyes flashing on my eyelids. I choked out a dry sob, burying my face in the pillows again. i heard the door open and close, and lifted my head up. Celeste had walked out.

My phone started ringing, and I looked at it, noticing the unknown number. Furrowing my eyebrows, I picked it up, answering.

"Raiyne, I would like you to know that Hunter will receive five more cuts, starting now." In the background, I heard Hunter groaning in pain. I whimpered slightly as the groans turned into screams of agony. I hung up, hugging a pillow to my chest as the screams echoed through my head. The ELA was doing that to Hunter. I got up, making my way to the garage.

I got in my truck, making my way to the bank. I withdrew one thousand dollars. I wasn't going to let them keep harming Hunter. I called the unknown number back as soon as I got in my truck. "I have your thousand. Have a representative bring Hunter anywhere you please. I'll meet them there."

∞--X--∞

A restaurant. They wanted me to meet them at a freaking restaurant. I walked in, asking for a table for three, under my name, as requested. I sat down, ordering an iced sweet tea. Glancing through the menu, my every sense screaming Trap, I ignored it. My tea came, and I felt presences behind me.

"Raiyne." Of course they sent Jonah as the rep. I stood up to face him, fake smile plastered onto my face. Which faltered when I saw Hunter. His skin was split and bruised, a few of the cuts on his forearms bleeding. His lip was split and bleeding, and he was grimacing in pain. I carefully wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his chest.

I heard Jonah clear his throat and I turned toward him. "Let's eat, shall we?" I asked, gesturing to the table, where I sat. Hunter sat on my right, Jonah on my left.

∞--X--∞

Needless to say, it was a tense meal. I paid with my credit card, and we walked out. We walked outside, to where our vehicles were parked. Hunter got in the truck, and I handed Jonah the thousand.

"There was another small price not mentioned in the video," he said.

"What's that?" I asked. Before I knew what was happening, Jonah was kissing me. I pulled back, slapping him in the face. "What was that?" I shrieked.

"The other price for Hunter," he said, smiling. I rolled my eyes, getting in the truck. i backed out of the parking spot, getting on the road. I was muttering, one hand on the wheel, one on the gearshift on the console. I kept mumbling about how Jonah was quite possibly one of the most moronic, stupidest ELA agent i'd encountered. I shook my head, slamming the palm of my hand against the edge of the steering wheel, clenching it until my knuckles turned white. I felt Hunter's hand cover mine on the gearshift, and I looked over at him. I smiled, turning back to the road.

∞--X--∞

"What happened out there?" Hunter asked, the first he'd spoken since the restaurant. I flopped on my bed, rubbing my hands over my face.

"Out where?" I asked, knowing perfectly well what he meant.

"Outside the restaurant." I popped to my feet and went to my bathroom to get some isopropyl alcohol and gauze to clean his wounds with. I walked back out, using my free hand to push him into a sitting position on my bed. I started tending to the wounds on his left arm first. "Raiyne. What happened? Why was Jonah kissing you?" I sighed, rolling my eyes and shaking my head.

"He said it was another small payment to ransom for you." I clenched my jaw, huffing out a breath. "And it's not really something I'd like to remember." I moved on to his other arm, tending to the wounds before walking back to the bathroom to put away the alcohol. i turned around only to be embraced by Hunter in a hug. "Uhm, Hunter?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Hugging my girlfriend. Is that a problem?"

"Maybe."

He stepped back, hands on my shoulders. "Rai, what is it?" I shook my head, pushing past him and going to sit in a corner of the room. I pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them and leaning into the walls. Hunter crouched down in front of me, using two of his fingers to tilt my chin up to look at him.