There's still a leak somewhere in this shitty room I'm renting, but I'm too lazy to fix it. And it's not like I'll be staying here for much longer.

I walk over to the table filled with pictures, post-its, maps, and a bunch of other shit, and stare at it again.

There has to be something I missed because there's no way Hunter Steel got her locked up.

I know her location, but I have no clue when it's safe to go in.

If I'm going in there at night, I need to know what room I'm breaking into exactly in order to get it right.

I can't have another accident.

Nothing can go wrong this time.

And I know that I should call Adriano for reinforcement, but I can't risk it leaking and leading back to Hunter.

Because I heard about his plan to keep Cataleya.

The girl my brother fell in love with. The girl that always cares.

The girl that I led into the devil's den.

Someone knocks on the door and I freeze, trying to listen to whispers or footsteps. Something that will indicate how many people are on the other side. 'Room service!' Shit.

I knew I should've packed and left as soon as I woke up, but I just had to look at everything one more time.

'Room service, mister Curzio!' A too high-pitched voice chimes, making me roll my eyes.

I quickly throw everything in a bag and head for the window.

'Curzio, we know you're in there! Open the door!' Idiots.

When has that ever worked?

They start slamming against the door again and I quickly peek outside.

This is why I pick a room next to a roof outside...

I climb through the window, but halfway through, the door bursts open and I make it just in time for them to see me.

The people on the street are too focused on everything else to even notice me as I run over the roof, jumping from one to the other until I'm far enough to catch my breath, unable to go anywhere else.

And they stopped following me already.

I climb down onto a lower rooftop and jump onto one of those big containers, before landing on the ground in the middle of an alley.

An alley that reminds me of the alley Cataleya followed me in. I saw Hunter drive after her and knew that he was following her, but I should've just risked it and ran with her.

Maybe then she would be back already.

And all of this shit would be over.

Fucking hell... I stumble back onto the main road and try to blend into the crowd.

Most of the people are headed to the station and I just follow them onto the train, headed wherever the fuck it's going.

I drop next to a homeless guy and sigh deeply, making him chuckle.

'That hard, huh?' He asks, his voice raspy as hell. As if he smokes five packs of cigarettes a day.

'You wouldn't even understand.' He smiles at me, his broken teeth on display, and starts talking to me about how good his life used to be.

'I used to have a big house, a son, and a lovely wife.' He mumbles as people all take a seat around him, leaving enough empty seats between themselves and the man. 'Really?'

I don't know why I'm even talking to him at this point, but he's just a human. He doesn't deserve to be ignored because he doesn't look or smell the nicest.

'I would give my life for them, you know.' He says, turning to me entirely.

I can feel everyone's eyes on me, but I simply focus on the old man.

'What happened to them?' Two more stops and I have to hop off again. 'They left me.' He mutters as tears swell in his eyes. Oh god... He cannot cry right now.

'Now why would they do that?' I ask, looking through my shit to see if I can give him something to wipe his tears with.

'I couldn't afford the riches they required.' Would the girls leave us if we didn't have money?

No, because they don't want our money in the first place.

The man starts crying and I notice people moving even further away from him because of it. Dear god...

I find a napkin and hand it to him, smiling as he wipes his face with it. 'Thank you, you have a kind soul, my friend.'

'I'm not so sure about that,' I mumble, looking out the window for a second. Just one more stop and I'm off. 'But thank you.'

'I'm so sorry for bothering you.' He says as soon as he stops wiping his tears. 'Don't worry, it's fine.'

I go through my wallet and grab a stash of cash, before handing it to him. 'Here you go, stay at a motel somewhere, okay?'

He shakes his head in disbelief and tries to hand it back to me. It might just be a hundred pounds, but I won't be needing a lot of money anymore.

I get up and head to the door, getting out of there before he follows me, and walk up the stairs when my phone starts buzzing.

𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚛 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐

To the bar it is...

It takes less than ten minutes for me to enter the establishment and I instantly walk over to the bar.

'You got here faster than I expected.' Newton chimes, cleaning some glasses with a rag he draped over his shoulder. 'I was around, mainly because I had to run.'

'You look like shit.' He states, making me roll my eyes. 'It's because I feel like shit.'

I haven't slept longer than three ours in days and I never stay at a place long enough to eat a good meal either, so yes. I feel like shit.

'They're still on your ass?' He asks as he pours a bunch of beers for some guys on the other side of the bar. 'When are they not on my ass, Newt?'

He chuckles as he turns back to me again, shaking his head at the fact that I'm used to this shit.

I just wish everything could go back to the way it used to be. Before this war started with the Steels. Or restarted.

We've always been at war, but them taking Neveah rekindled something. It made it worse. And then I handed Leya over and made it even worse...

'Are you even listening?' Apparently, Newt was talking to me. 'No, what did you say?'

'Jesus, Leon... People washing up dead out of nowhere and they all have a link to your enemy.'

Someone walks over to the bar and orders a beer before Newt turns back to me. 'So?'

'So?' He mocks, pouring that beer for the fellow next to me, 'So? Aren't you curious about the details?'

I shrug and grab my phone again, going to the gallery to stare at some pictures again. I need to remind myself of the reason I'm doing this again.

Leya, because I promised her I would get her back, Adriano, because he will kill me if I don't and I want him to be happy, and Neveah... Because I messed it up.

I hate that I didn't want to take pictures with her all the time, because now I need those goddamn pictures more than anything in the goddamn world. Fuck...

'And you're not listening again...' Newt mumbles as he starts mixing a couple of drinks for a group of girls that just walked in. 'I was just-' 'Who is that?' He asks, apparently staring at my phone.

I sigh deeply and look at the gorgeous woman in the picture. A woman that would've been mine, had I not messed up this badly.

'My reason for this hunt.' He takes the phone out of my hands and looks at the picture of me and Neveah for a few seconds.

Inspecting it from different angles, even though it looks just the same.

'Damn, she's hot!' I frown at my friend and feel some people turn their heads out of curiosity, because of his loud voice.

I shrug and take my phone back, looking at the picture for one last time. It was on a date and we were out for diner in Barletta.

She insisted on taking a selfie to capture the moment, but I didn't want any of it back then. God... If I get the chance to take it all back, I would.

'And taken... By you of course.' I sigh deeply and finally put my phone away as he pours some of the mixes he made in three cocktail glasses. 'I'm not so sure about that anymore.'

'Are you saying I should shoot my shot?' I roll my eyes, unable to keep that little spark of anger from growing, even though I know that Newt wouldn't start shit with her. 'I'll kill you if you even-'

'Calm down, Leon, I would never.' He garnishes the drinks with some berries and heads over to the girls.

They are staring at me in awe and act like they haven't been doing it when I lock eyes with one of them.

They're young. Way too young to be here.

'Shouldn't you ask for their IDs?' I ask when he walks back to the bar. 'They're the daughters of some of the big guys here, so I can't really do that.' Really?

'Okay, enough bullshit. You said something about someone knowing something?' I say as I take a seat on one of the chairs.

'Did you hear about the Northern Curse?' He asks, before sliding a beer bottle my way.

I absolutely hate beer. But he gives it to me for free.

'The what?'

Newton simply nods and smiles, before pouring some men a few drinks and turning back to me.

'Your cousin and the mystery girl he works with.' Neveah? 'What about them?'

He raises an eyebrow at me. I've never really paid attention to anything he said, but this time I am.

I was too busy lurking around the room, trying to find someone that looked like Brooke Steel. I know she would be around here at some point.

'They've been killing people in England.' They have? The fact that I have not heard about this until now, shocks me.

I'm supposed to be up to date about everything going on.

'People call them the Nothern Curse'

She called Adriano Curse before. That one time when he was debating about selling Celine to the Santos and when Leya had that nightmare.

It feels like ages ago.

'What, you didn't know they were out there killing people?' I shake my head and take a sip of the disgusting beer, before glancing around the room again.

The three girls from earlier are still looking at me.

'Mike over there knows more about all of it, so I thought I should tell you.' Newton says, leaning on the bar so he can keep his voice down. 'He's the one with the silver hair, glasses, and god knows why, but a cane.'

I search the place for someone that fits his description and stop when I see him. 'Is he willing to talk?'

'Not sure, he walked away before I could ask.' I nod and grab the bottle of beer, before taking a big sip. Here goes nothing...

I walk over to his table and take a seat across from him. 'Leonardo Curzio, I heard you were in town.'

'I heard you have some info that might come in handy for me.' I don't even act surprised that he knows I'm here. I know that a lot of people know I'm here, I bet Hunter knows it too.

'I don't know anything you don't know already,' He says, taking a sip from his bottle. It's beer as well, 'but I do know someone who does.'

I look at him for a second, trying to see if I recognize him from somewhere, but I have never seen this man before. Not even in this bar.

Meaning he was sent to tell me this.

Meaning it could be a trap.

'You better not be wasting my time right now.' Not that I have any other option right now... 'Tell me where to find this person.'

'He works as a guard at the Steel estate, so he knows plenty.'

I tilt my head a little, feeling the anger grow by the second. He's talking in riddles. I hate when people talk in riddles.

'I'm giving you two seconds to tell me where to find this guy.' I start counting in my head and await his answer.

He quickly looks around and leans closer, while I keep my eyes on him just in case he tries to pull something strange.

'Do you know about the Downridge deal?' Yes. I know that Downridge is one of the biggest deals to be ever made. It's an annual thing and it's always between two parties. One of them is the Russians while the other is different every year.

It's a mystery most of the time and only the best of the best get to be part of it. Adriano said that we were invited, but I doubt he's going through with it now that all of this shit is going on.

But that's not what I asked of him. What the fuck is he doing? 'You're wasting my time here-' 'There's an abandoned mansion just outside of the city where someone is going to hack and see who the other one on the list is, that's where you'll find the guy you're looking for.'

'And how do I know that this is not a trap?' I can hear the door open on the other side of this place and glance at the people coming in. Shit...

One of Hunter's dogs enters the bar, greeting people here and there. 'It's not.'

'What's his name?' I ask, moving to the side so that I can get out of here. Because the guy is looking around as well.

As if he's searching for someone.

Searching for me...

'Hugo Rivers.' I nod and slip out of my seat, heading for the door.

But when Hunter's dog turns around, I do the same, heading back to another table.

'Hello, ladies.' They all stare at each other, before looking at me, moving to the edge of their seats. 'Can we help you?'

Out of all the tables, this is the one I end up at? With the too young teens that are drooling over me?

'You just might.' I whisper into one of their ears. She's barely able to keep a squeal in and I'm tempted to just get up and get out of here.

But I need to make sure that Hunter's dog is not looking at me.

'Tell us where you want us and we'll-' 'I need you to move closer.' They don't even blink twice and scooch over to me, almost sitting on my lap.

'Anything else?' One of the girls places their hand on my thigh and I fight to urge to shove her off and lean closer.

They are way too young for this shit. 'How old are you?'

'Doesn't matter.' She leans in, almost kissing me, and I step away. The girl falls off her seat and grunts when she looks up at me.

Her friends laugh at her and keep their eyes on me. 'She's not old enough, but we are.' Gross...

'You fake ass bitches!' The one on the ground shouts, making everyone turn to us. Great...

I look at the guy that works for Hunter and realize that he's looking at me as well. 'Are you-'

Before I can hear what he has to say, I run out of the bar, barely making it since most of the people in there work together.

'Do not let him escape!' I hear a heavy voice beam as I run across the road.

And so a new chase starts.

One where I'm the one being hunted again.

For fuck's sake...

I run as fast as I can and head into the mall not so far away from the bar, hoping I'll be able to lose them in here somewhere.

The group that was running after me became bigger and they're trying to push others out of their way, just to get to me.

I have to get to the abandoned mansion to talk to that Hugo guy before it gets dark.

Because tonight is the night.

I'm getting Cataleya out of there.

I get to the exit on the other side and continue to run down the street.

The mansion is at the end of the main road.

That guy better be there...

I take the route through the forest, just in case they were following me, and stop to catch my breath.

If I get caught here, I'm done for. I'm dead and they would probably send my head over to Adriano.

But I need to know about the shifts. I need to know which way is the way in without catching too much attention.

The closer I get, the more I'm starting to think that this is a bad idea.

But I head for the backdoor anyway.

Because this will be my last resort.

The backdoor is unlocked and when I open it just a little bit, a rat runs out, startling me a little.

I walk into the kitchen and look around, trying to hear how many people are in this house, but so far I only hear one person talking on the phone.

'Tell him I'm working on it!' He sneers. I follow the voice and walk up the crooked stairs. It looks like it could collapse any second. I take a quick look at my watch and notice that I have at least four more hours until dark.

So I have four hours until I have to get to Whitegate Manor. And it takes at least an hour from here. So I should-

'I know, just calm down!' The man shouts, throwing something across the room. I reach for my gun and place my bag on the floor.

It will slow me down if I keep it on me.

'Just tell Hunter I'll be done with it by tomorrow.' The man continues.

He's inside one of the rooms.

I slowly make my way to the door, watching my step since there are some holes in the floor.

'Yes, alright. I'll be done tomorrow. Goodbye.' I hope he hung up the phone and stay silent to listen. 'God fucking dammit. He's too demanding.'

I slightly open the door and aim my gun at the man in the room. He instantly turns around to face me and drops everything. 'What are you doing here?'

'You're Hugo, right?' He stumbles back with every step I take and I can see the sweat dripping down his face. 'Are you?'

'Yes! Yes- I'm- Please don't kill me! I'm Hugo.' Good. So at least he didn't lie about that.

'Tell me what's with the guard shifts at Whitegate Manor.' He stumbles back, almost reaching the window. 'Get away from that window.'

And he does. He runs over to me, slamming me onto the ground before I can even blink.

He runs out of the room and I quickly get up and run after him, noticing him falling down the stairs because of the holes.

I almost fly down the stairs to catch up with him and kick him from behind to keep him on the floor. 'Son of a-' 'You thought you could run, didn't you?'

'They'll kill you!' I grab the back of his collar and pull him up a little. 'Not if I kill them first.'

He chuckles but stops as soon as I drop him, and rolls onto his back.

'You think-' He coughs, trying to sit up straight again, 'You think you can defeat them on your own?'

He slowly stands back up and rubs his arm. Wincing a little. 'Who says I'm on my own?'

I need to stay alert. I can't let something like earlier happen again. He cannot catch me by surprise again.

'What do you want from me?' He asks a little distant, which is completely understandable. 'Answers. And you're going to help me.'

He tries to get past me again, but I slam the back of my gun against his face to knock him out, and watch as his body drops to the ground.

He's going to keep running and I'm not here to chase him around the house.

I drag his body to the kitchen and tie him to one of the chairs with the rope I left in my bag, before throwing some water in his face.

He wakes up and looks around as if thinking it was all a dream. 'Good thing you're not dead yet.'

He glares at me and spits my way, but it barely reaches my shoe.

'I'm going to ask you again,' I say as I step closer, making him lean back, 'What is going on with the shifts?'

'You don't scare me, Leonardo.' He says, trying to get out of the ropes I tied around him. 'Are you sure about that?' I ask as I grab a knife out of my bag.

He looks at it and gulps when I wipe it off on my shirt. 'Because you look pretty scared to me?'

Hugo shakes his head and looks me dead in the eye, trying to hide the fact that he's scared to death.

A death he'll soon meet if he won't answer my fucking questions.

I mean, he obviously knows something, otherwise, he wouldn't be acting so tough.

'You're alone, so you're vulnerable.' What? 'Yes, everyone knows about the tear between the Curzio's.' Shit. I want to cut the grin off his stupid face.

'There's no tear, trust me.' I say, moving closer with the knife in hand. 'You're all alone in unknown territory.'

It might be unknown territory to Adriano, but it's not to me. I know a lot more about England than he does.

'They'll kill you when they find out you're here.' I press the knife into his leg, slightly cutting his trousers and the skin underneath it. 'They already know I'm here.'

He tries to move away again, leaning back as far as he can, but I keep the knife on his leg, pressing it harder the further he leans back, and cut his leg even more.

Blood drips down his leg and I listen to it as it drops onto the floor. 'You piece of-' I make the wound even bigger by pulling the knife back, cutting a line down his thigh.

'Fuck!' He groans, trying to kick me. But it's impossible. I tied him up perfectly.

'They will make you suffer!' He shouts, trying to break free again. 'Really?' 'They will kill that stupid girlfriend of yours!' What?

He leans back again, smiling when he realizes he caught me off guard with that one. 'If you're talking about the one they're holding hostage, I know they won't-' 'Not Cataleya Velez.' So he knows who she is...

'I'm talking about Neveah North.' What?

It's like a switch flips in my mind, making me want to cut him a billion times just for him to slowly bleed to death, but I need answers first.

'They put out a search for her. Hunter knows she's behind the murders as well.' No... He won't get to her. 'Bullshit.'

I stab him in his other leg and slowly pull the knife out again, hearing him scream out of pain.

I just hope that no one's around to hear him.

'That's not what I'm here for.' He leans against the back of the chair, his blood dripping onto the floor like water. 'And you should hurry before you bleed to death.'

'Go to hell.' He groans in pain. I sigh and step closer, ready to stab him again.

'Tell me.' 'I don't-t know!' I step closer, pressing the knife against his stomach. If he moves now, he's dead. 'You do.'

He even holds his breath as he tries to keep his eyes on me and the knife at the same time.

He trembles and starts rambling about his life, 'Please, I have kids! Please- I- I can't die!'

'Answer the question.' I have a hard time not just killing him right now, but I need answers first.

I press the knife a little harder into his stomach, almost cutting him.

'After midnight there's a gap between the shifts!' He shouts, making me pull the knife back just a little. 'What else?'

There's more. I know there's more.

'Only half of them are qualified to guard the place and they're always an hour later around midnight.'

'Always?' He nods and groans when he slightly moves his leg to see if it will help with the pain. But it won't. It only makes it worse.

'Yes!' He shouts when his pain starts getting worse and worse. He'll bleed to death.

A slow and painful death if no one comes in to help him.

'They always come in late! Always.'

So I need to get in through the window at Leya's room, get her out and run away from this place.

We might need to hide at the hotel for a few days, but as soon as we're in the clear, we'll go. We'll go back to Adriano and he won't separate me from Neveah.

All of this will be over.

'Please, just let me go.' a chuckle leaves my lips at his words and I roll my eyes at him. 'Tell me more about her friend.'

'You mean your girlfriend?' He asks, smirking at me. I should just kill him right here and now, I mean, I have the answers I need.

But I need to know more about their deal with Neveah.

'She's not my girlfriend.' He tilts his head a little, still groaning because of the wounds. 'But you love her.'

I drop the knife and grab my gun, instantly pointing it at his big head. 'I also love protecting the people I love.'

'Wait-' I pull the trigger and watch as his body flops down, still on the chair, and step back a little.

I need a car. That way we'll be faster. A quick in and out.

I leave Hugo's body in the kitchen and head out through the back door again, walking back to the crowded city.

There has to be a car dealer here somewhere, but can I risk going in there?

No.

I can't.

So I head back to the bar again, waiting at the back this time, and text Newt:

𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛🚗

𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔, 𝚙𝚕𝚜

It takes a few minutes until he read the messages, but even after reading, he doesn't respond. Fucking hell...

I wait another five minutes and the door swings open.

'Why do you need my car?' Newton asks with his keys in hand. 'Why question my needs?'

'I'm allowed to question your needs if it involves my car.'

I sigh and take a look around, scoping to see if there's someone else.

'I need the car to escape.' He frowns and starts shaking his head as soon as he understands what's going on. 'No way, I worked my ass off for this car. I am not giving it to you.'

'I'll buy you a new one as soon as it's safe for me to spend that amount of money.'

'And when will that be?' He asks, crossing his arms as he walks down the three steps. 'I don't know.'

'How am I supposed to get to work in the meantime?' God... I get that he needs to work, but I've been waiting for almost three months for an opportunity like this. 'Public transport.'

'Are you kidding me?' He asks, a little shocked that I'm even suggesting. 'I'll get you your dream car, I promise.'

'So you'll get me-' 'I'll get you a Porsche Cayman, just give me the damn keys.' It's starting to get dark and I need to set camp before I go in.

'Fine.' He mutters, throwing the keys my way. 'Thank you.'

'Don't crash it please!' I roll my eyes as I head out the alley, 'You'll get a new one soon!'

I head to the parked Hyundai up front and climb behind the wheel. The inside is a mess, there are papers everywhere. Mostly bills. Water bills and some tickets he hasn't paid yet.

What's all this? I quickly scan through a few bills and put them all in the little cabinet on the other seat. I'll pay them...

I owe him at least that much.

After adjusting everything, I start the car. The radio starts blasting immediately and I turn it down, before driving off.

Whitegate Manor.

I stop at the main road, the only road leading up to the house, and drive onto the field. Newt's car might not have been the best car for this ride, but it will have to do.

I stop near a big tree and park the car, before taking a deep breath.

I have to wait another hour, but that gives me time to think.

Three steps. Go to Leya's room, get her to come with me, and get out before anyone finds out.

Simple.

We'll be fine.

It's so simple.

I check my bag and refill the ammo for my gun, before putting some knives on me as well.

I grab an extra one, just in case she might need it, and put it in my pocket.

When I look at my watch, I notice that I have ten more minutes to get to the house.

So I get out and make my way to the house, out in the open field, with nowhere to hide.

Dear God, please protect me and give me the strength to finish this once and for all...

I look through the bushes surrounding the manor and watch as some of the guards are laughing about something.

Exactly at midnight, they all head out, leaving the door unprotected and open.

Now...

I run towards the house, keeping an eye out for any cameras or people that might catch me. But there are none.

Just like Hugo said.

A bunch of fools guarding this place.

I climb up the edge, straight to Leya's room, and silently pray that it's still her room.

When I reach the window, I peek inside and almost fall as I try to take a closer look. I quickly grab onto the ledge and pull myself up, trying to open the window a little.

It opens all the way and almost breaks, waking up whoever was sleeping in the bed. Because apparently someone was sleeping in the bed.

'What-' Thank god... I jump inside and rush over to the bed, pressing my hand against her mouth as her eyes widen. 'Don't make a sound, okay?'

Cataleya is here. She's actually here. Jesus Christ... She doesn't look injured at all. She looks good, maybe a little sleep-deprived, but good.

She nods and stays silent when I slowly remove my hand again. 'Okay, we have to get going.'

'Is this a dream?' She whispers as she climbs out of the bed. 'This is not a dream Cataleya, we have to go.'

I reach out for her arm and watch as she flinches at my touch.

'You- You're here?' I nod and keep my eyes on her, while trying to get her to follow me out the window. 'We have to go, we don't have-' She runs over to me, almost tackling me as she wraps her arms around my waist.

I want to hug her back so badly, but we don't have time for this. Not right now.

'Cataleya, can we please do this when we're out of this place?' She lets go of me and nods, looking around the room, before ending at me. 'Let's go.'

'Wait.' I turn back to her and fight the urge to just drag her out of here and go. 'What?'

'I'm not leaving without Isabelle.' She says, heading to the door.

I walk past her, reaching the door first, and shake my head. 'This is no rescue party, I'm just here for you.'

'Leon, I am not leaving without her.' I forgot how small she was. She barely reaches my shoulder. 'Dio mio.. Cataleya, we don't have time for-' 'They're raping her.' What?

'She needs to get out of here too.' She says, trying to move me out of her way, without making too much sound. 'Cataleya... We really don't-' 'Please?'

I take a deep breath and look into her eyes. They're the same color as before, but they tell a different story now. Just like Neveah's did.

As if the Steels are breaking our women to get to us.

But deep down she's still the same kindhearted girl that I met. She's still my best friend, despite me sending her over here and not getting her back immediately as we promised.

'Where is her room?' A smile forms on her lips and I step aside, following her down the long creepy hall. It looks like an abandoned museum with all the old paintings hanging on the walls.

And instead of lights, they use candles.

'This way.' She whispers as she leads the way towards the other side of this mansion. 'Quick.'

I stay close to her, gun in hand just in case, and keep my eyes out for anything suspicious.

When she stops at a bedroom door, I look around one more time, before heading in myself.

'Isabelle.' I stay by the door while Leya tries to wake the girl up, and grab a knife instead of my gun. It will make less sound if I need to use it at any point.

'What's going on?' Isabelle asks, still half asleep. 'We have to go, come on.' Leya helps the girl out of bed and as soon as she sees me, her eyes widen.

'Who are you?!' Fucking hell... Leya presses her hand against Isabelle's mouth and shakes her head. 'Shut up, he's here to get us out.'

Isabelle looks at Leya, before looking me up and down. 'Are you going to stay silent?'

She nods and keeps her eyes on me while Leya removes her hand. 'Come on, we have to go before they notice.'

Isabelle and Leya take the lead, walking back down the long hall. I hear footsteps coming from the other side and pull on Leya's arm. 'Wait.'

The footsteps are coming from the stairs. We have to pass it to get back to Leya's room. Fuck.

'We'll be fine.' Leya whispers, trying to keep going. But I know we won't.

This was a bad idea. I should've gone when I had the chance. With just Leya. And we would've come back later for Isabelle.

Shit.

'Come on.' Isabelle follows Leya past the stairs and I quickly follow behind.

When we reach the door leading to Leya's bedroom, someone clears their throat behind us. Shit.

We all slowly turn around and the girls step in front of me. 'What's going on?' The guy asks curiously, glaring at me, before focusing on the girls.

I know him. I mean, I haven't met him, but I know who he is. And I can tell he knows who I am as well.

'Noah, please... We can't stay here.' Leya says, keeping her voice as delicate as possible. 'You're leaving?'

'We have to... We can't-' I hear another set of footsteps behind them and reach for my gun, just in case. 'Woah!'

Noah stumbles back and raises his hand, making me roll my eyes. 'We have to go.'

'Leon put the gun away.' Leya demands, making me shake my head. No way that I'm doing that. Especially if backup is on the way. 'He won't hurt us.'

I can tell he won't hurt them. But that doesn't mean I can trust him.

'But he'll hurt me.' I state, hating the sound of more footsteps downstairs, 'We have to go, now.'

'Please don't tell anyone.' Isabelle whispers, looking at Noah. 'You can't just leave.'

'We have to.' Leya says, still keeping her on him. 'He'll come after you.' He answers with pain in his eyes.

'We'll handle it later, we have to go.' I say, grabbing Leya's arm to pull her with me so that we can get out of here.

'What the fuck is going on here?' A new voice asks. I turn back around and aim immediately at the new guy standing behind Noah. Shit...

'Don't move or I'll shoot.' He raises his hands and stays right at the top of the stairs. 'Noah, please cover for us.' Isabelle begs, grabbing Leya's hand.

'Please.' Noah says desperately, 'Don't leave me.'

Oh no... Oh God no...

I know that desperation all too well.

He loves her. He's in love with Isabelle.

'I can't stay, Noah.' Isabelle whispers, stepping closer to Noah again, 'I'll die if I stay.'

Noah reaches for his back pocket and I swiftly grab one of those pocket knives and throw it at his leg, stabbing him.

'Noah!' 'Leon, what the fuck?' Leya says, a little disappointed. The guy behind them runs back down the stairs, probably getting more people.

'He was reaching for something.'

Noah falls to his knees, trying to pull out the knife and stay stable at the same time.

Isabelle helps him towards a wall and presses her hands onto the wound, her hands covered in blood. 'We have to stop the bleeding.'

'You piece of shit.' Noah groans, glaring at me while he slowly bleeds. 'Shut up, we have to go.'

Leya looks between me and Noah, before stepping over to me. 'Isabelle, we have to go.'

'He's bleeding, we have to do something!' That's it. I grab Leya's hand and head back to her room, but she slips out and moves closer to Isabelle. 'Isabelle, we have to go, now.'

'I'm not-' 'Jordan went to get help. If you want to go, go now.' Noah says, grabbing Isabelle's hand.

'I can't just leave you like this.' Isabelle cries, shaking her head as she tries to keep Noah from bleeding even more.

'I'll be fine.' He groans, trying to push her our way, 'This might be your only way out.'

'Leya...' I warn, moving closer to her again. I just have to grab her and make sure she doesn't slip again. 'Isabelle, he's right.'

Isabelle gets up and wipes her face, leaving blood on her cheeks, before nodding. 'Alright.'

I grab Leya's arm again, 'I'm not taking risks anymore, we have to go.'

'They're up there!' Are you fucking kidding me...

----

A/N: .....

Don't forget to vote and comment and let me know what you think. (DON'T KILL ME BECAUSE I WON'T BE ABLE TO FINISH THE STORY OKAY!)

I hope to see you all in the next chapter, have a great day/night!