"YEE-HAW!" Jacob hollers as soon as we burst through the gates.

I clutch the sides of the car and grimace. This ain't doing much for my wounds. I shoot him multiple dirty looks.

He notices. "Live a little!"

"Right." I lift my top and show him my reopened wounds.

"Oh..." His grin tones down. "Could be worse?" He sheepishly says.

I just stare at him.

"Sheesh, I'll try to go a bit more easy, but baby this car is just so fine." I can almost imagine his eyes becoming starry-eyed.

"Look in your rear view mirror." I point out. Every single bump in the car makes the ride too unpleasant for me to care about the sweet ride I'm in.

"Well, shit." Jacob's face twists into an excited grin.

His face becomes expressionless as soon as I glare at him.

"What?" Jacob says. "It's just a couple cars trailing after us."

"With guns pointed at us." I add. "They're also shooting at us still."

"Well, you are fine. I'm an amazing driver." His words are supposed to be reassuring but it's not working.

"You know, most people who say that tend to be the exact opposite." I laugh, which is the stupidest decision ever. I end in a fit of coughs, which only add to my misery. I try to remain calm as once again I see the blood on my hands from my coughs. This is not looking good.

"You're fine. Just rest up and we will be out of here in no time." He steps on the gas pedal and I'm once again hanging on for dear life.

There's also the fact that the car is banged up with bullet holes. Also, a bullet zoomed an inch past by head.

Fun.

"HANG ON!" He shouts as he zooms all over the place. This is beginning to look like a Fast and Furious action scene. It always looked cool in those movies.

"HOW MANY LEFT?" He shouts over the ruckus. All the side windows have now been officially shattered to pieces.

"7!" I scream back. I peek over my chair and count.

Holy shit. I gulp as I see we hit the freeway.

We are going in the opposite direction.

"Jacob? JACOB!" I shriek as he dodges the cars skillfully while he loses the other cars.

"HOW MANY NOW?"

"10!" I say.

"HOW DID IT INCREASE?" He shoots a few look behind his shoulder. I freak out as some more bullets pelt us.

"EYES ON THE ROAD AND I DUNNO WHY! WHY DONT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DAMN DRIVING!" I say in frustration. By now, there's so much adrenaline pumping inside me I feel invincible. Well, I don't really feel my banged up body. I'm not looking forward to when my adrenaline ends and all the pain comes crashing back.

"SEARCH THE CAR!" Jacob glances at me briefly.

"WHY?" I say confused.

"FOR A WEAPON, YOU IDJIT!"

"SHEESH. BE NICE TO THE CRIPPLE!" I huff. I start rummaging around. It doesn't take long for me to find weapons if you eliminate the time spent trying to not be thrown out of the car. In fact, I end up with more than I expect.

I recognize most of the guns I take out. Most of them are just small handguns which should be fine for now.

"HERE! YOU SHOOT, I DRIVE!" I bring the weapons next to me.

"HELL NO. AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!" He huffs.

"I SUCK AT SHOOTING!" I sigh.

"LIFE AND DEATH HERE." He hollers once more as we narrowly dodge two trucks. He is crazy.

I give up on arguing with him. Taking a deep breath, I think back to what my brothers have taught me. I'm a good shoot when I'm not moving at a hundred miles per hour while being shot at. I can shoot moving objects, but not at this speed while I'm struggling to stay balanced and alive.

I peek out from my seat and look for the shooters, which is easy to spot. I glance through the shattered back window and pray that I will live through this.

Jacob will probably kill me, if not now then later. I don't trust him one bit, but my life is in his hands.

I steady the gun in both my hands and aim at the car closest to us. My heart wavers as I think about the act I'm about to.

I close my eyes. Opening them, I calm down and shoot.

The first couple bullets miss completely. Then, one hits the wheel of the first car.

I don't expect it to be so destructive. The car flips over and rolls multiple times. Then, the cars behind it screech to a half but crash into the car with a bang. I see a cluster of cars steaming with smoke behind us. Men crawl out of the sides.

An explosion occurs. I gulp once more.

I did that. I did that with my own hands. I stare at the gun between my hands.

I can't stand the sight of it. Without hesitation, I chuck it outside the window.

"Damn!" Jacob gasps in shock. "You-you...I-I...damn!" He stutters as he looks behind us.

"There are still two behind us." I slouch back into my seats.

"I'll lose them." Jacob says confidently.

He does.

****** "How long was I asleep?" I wake up in shock. It has been a while since I have fall asleep. I wake up hot and in pain. I realize I'm the back seat lying down.

"One hour more or less." He shrugs.

"Cool." I grit through my teeth as the pain comes back in waves.

"I have no idea where the hell I'm going. Do you recognize the place?" Jacob squints outside as he drives.

"No." I glance at the unfamiliar surrounding. "When did we switch cars?"

"A while back." I stare at the black Chevy truck we are in.

"You moved me?" I'm a little upset. I'm more upset I did not wake up when it happened.

He drums his fingers against the wheel and sighs. "Yes. We needed to switch the car."

"Hey! You okay?" He glances at me worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I say, but this time it's more of a pant.

He places his hand on my forehead. He lets out a small exclamation before saying," You're burning up!"

"Oh." That must be why it has been feeling hot.

"We need to get you to a hospital."

"You know why we can't." I groan.

"Go to the Riccas. We need to go back there." I gasp as I cough violently.

"Shit." Jacob makes a very illegal U-turn. "How long have you been coughing blood?"

"Not long."

He sees through my lie.

"This morning?" I wipe the sweat off my face.

"You've got to be kidding me." He pulls over to a convenience store. "Stay here. I'll be back."

"Where else...can...I..go?" I have never felt this tired in my life. I just want to go to sleep.

"Stay awake!" He snaps.

I watch him leave in a hurry. I don't know how long it takes, but he comes back with a lot of bags. Silently, he starts driving.

My clothes are all sticky with sweat and I just want to go home. Everything is hurting.

The car stops. Jacob gets out. Then, a few minutes past before opening the door to the back seat.

"What are you..." I begin to say before he hushes me. He carries me into a building. The place is air conditioned and it feels nice for a change.

"I...doctor! She's..." I think I hear Jacob screaming. His voice sounds muffled as if I'm underwater. I feel myself being taken away. What is going on? I turn my head and see a group of people taking Jacob away too.

The next thing I know I am on a bed and a bunch of people are shouting. Someone placed something on my mouth, which makes me breathe so much more easily.

Is this the hospital? We can't be at a hospital. The hospital isn't safe.

"I got to go!" I say as I weakly push the hands away from me. It's no use. A bright light is shown in my eyes. I feel myself slip off into unconsciousness.

***** "Jacob?" His name comes out of my lips as soon as I open my eyes. "Jacob?"

"I'm right next to you." The curtain is whipped open as I see Jacob wave at me.

"We--" I begin.

"--need to go. Yes." He finishes for me. "The only problem is that I have a cast around my leg and arm. Also, you're a mummy."

I stare at him. He has bandages across his torso and arms. His head is wrapped up. "You look like a mummy too."

"You should see yourself! Really. You look like a genuine mummy!" He lifts up a mirror to prove a point.

I do. I'm bandaged from head to toe. My face is visible though, which does not look remotely attractive. Before all these hospitilization occur, I though I was pleasantly attractive. Now? Not so much.

"Right now we are a Jane and John Doe. We should skidaddle before they find out who we are." Jacob says. "I called someone at the store. They should be coming soon."

"Who? What?"

"It's an old friend."

"Named who...?" I narrow my eyes.

"Nobody you know." He smirks. Ah, there is the Jacob I have started to miss. Not. 'You're going to have to do a little something something if you want the details."

"Yeah, no. I'm going to just be patient and let the guy show up."

"Shucks. What a party pooper. You are absolutely no fun ever." He closes the curtains that divides us.

"Hello? Just because I don't see you doesn't mean you're not there." I call out. He's such a child sometimes.

"LALALALA!" He hums to block out my voice. "I'm too hot (hot damn) / Say my name you know who I am / I'm too hot (hot damn) / Am I bad 'bout that money, break it down"

"Ugh," I groan and get the pillow to block out his awful singing voice. He sounds pretty bad. He is intentionally sounding like a dying cat, and this song actually was my favorite song.

Luckily, someone comes in and interrupts Jacob. "Still can't sing, huh?" He has a clear voice with a tinge of a British accent. I strain to see the person, but all I can see are his feet near Jacob's bed.

"I can sing more lovely than you could ever. Thank you very much." Jacob retorts. "That took you long enough. Any longer and I was pretty sure you were either dead or ...dead."

"You're still as stupid as ever. Hey, I'm here. You're wasting my time. We going to go or what? I don't mind leaving you to die." The guy replies. I like him. He takes no shit from Jacob.

"You're the princess huh?" My curtain is whipped open suddenly.

"Whoa!" I stare at him. "I could be naked or something. Sheesh."

"Wait...i've seen you before." I pause and stare at his familiar face. He's pale and lean. His emerald eyes flash at me with a bored expression. The moon shaped scar around his left eye rings a bell. "You're the dude who broke into Jacob's room like a long long time ago."

"Why you pointing fingers at me?" He raises his eyebrows before staring back at Jacob. "You didn't tell her about me?"

"Nope." Jacob grins, relishing the moment. He just likes to see me confused and lost.

"How the hell am I supposed to bring her along when she looks like a damn mummy?" The dude openly stares at me.

"Well, you're a nice fellow huh?" I say sarcastically. "I'm sure people love you as much as they love Jacob. Anyways, since we totally skipped the introductions. Hi, I am Shay. What is your name?"

"JJ." He nods. "Jacob, get your ass of bed and help me with her. You want to get out of here? THen, help me fool."

JJ suddenly seems like he thinks of an idea. He runs outside before coming back in with an empty bed thing. I'm sure there's a name to it, but it has totally slipped my mind. He and Jacob lift me gently and put me onto the bed.

"As soon as I pull the tubes out, the nurses will come running. I took care of some of them already," Jacob raises his eyebrows at JJ, who clarifies, "They're not dead. Anyways, more will come running so get ready." I pull them off myself and the machines start beeping.

"Go." JJ and Jacob push me until we reach a side exit door. Jacob doesn't help much with his broken arm and leg. He hobbles after us with a pair of crutches.

The door opens and we see a large white van. "You're still driving these vans?" Jacob laughs briefly and shakes his head to some inside joke.

"Oh shut up, you twat." JJ flips him off and gets into the driver's seat as soon as I am wheeled inside the van.

The whole thing went rather smoothly.

"So, JJ..." I start to say.

JJ looks at me annoyed. I shut my lips. He's kind of scary, a quiet scary.

"You also in the same field as Jacob? Or was."

"No." He clips.

"What do you do?" I ask. "Besides breaking into people's rooms?"

Jacob and JJ exchange glances. They seem to be in good enough terms.

"I find people." JJ shrugs.

"Cool." I nod.

"I also kill people." JJ flashes a grin.

"Not cool." I nod. "Jacob, this is the type of friends you hang out with?"

"How are your wounds?" Jacob says. He leans over and grabs the chart near my bed. "No idea what this says, but I think you had a couple surgeries. You in pain?"

"I think I'm still on my meds. I feel nothing." I shrug. "And you are not changing the topic. What is this shady relationship you two are in?"

JJ doesn't even bother responding. Jacob says,"He owes me a favor."

"Owed." JJ corrects.

I know there is some type of background story to them two, but I guess it's impolite to ask too many questions. My momma taught me better than that. Oh shit. I haven't talked to my mom in months. Whoops. I should really contact her when I can...

I snap back and realize I hadn't asked the most important question. "Hey guys? Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Jacob gives me that annoying knowing smile.

"You're so annoying." I frown. "can't you ever answer a single question?"

"Yes." He states. "See?"

I blink. I choose to ignore him. "JJ do you happen to have a cell phone?"

"Here." He chucks one at me. I'm surprised it was so simple. He just handed it right over. That must mean something.

"Thanks." I dial Dante's number. The ring keeps going. Nobody answers. I leave a voice message letting him know I'm fine.

This time I try Leo and Tony's number. Again, no one picks up. I leave another message.

"How odd." I stare at the phone. I would think they would we on their phone constantly monitoring it in the hope I call.

Finally, I call my dad. He picks up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Dad. It's me."

"Viviana." He sighs. "Where are you? How are you?"

"I don't know where I am, but I'm well. How are they?" He knows who I am referring to.

"Ah. Those stupid boys charged right into the Acerbi household. We are now enemies of the Acerbis and all their allies. At least we know where Alfredo is."

"I thought you were always enemies?"

"No. We have tolerated each other. We are now at war."

"War." It sounds so strange.

"It's a battlefield here. You must not come back."

"I'm not leaving you guys to die."

"What could one person do?"he says harshly. "We have connections that will be able to hold them at bay for now."

I try not to let his words hurt. "I have the key." I glance at Jacob and JJ. "it will help."

"It's too late now. What can we do with the information stored in the place?"

"Don't underestimate its power." I say this time. "I'm coming home." This time I strengthen my voice. I don't care if I'm going against his words.

"Be safe. I shall see you soon." His voice softens.

I look up and stare at JJ and Jacob."You guys are going to bring me home, aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?" Jacob looks over his shoulder.

"Gut feeling." I say. "There's something you need from us."

JJ and Jacob exchange looks once more.

"Oh my god. Are you guys telepathic or something? What's up with the looks?" I sigh.

"What if we are?" Jacob grins mischievously.

"Put a sock in it." I reply.

________________________

A/N

Thank you for all the responses from the last chapter!

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