JADE

JADE POV

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Marion signal Ryland. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in dread. Marion was a fucking bastard.

But It came as no surprise, I'd been feeling a bit skeptical about the whole meeting since I heard about the exchange. I had also underestimated Ryland and this was what it led to. He'd been suspicious on different occasions but I'd been so busy with my father's test that I had paid him no mind. Big fucking mistake.

Marion reached for his gun and I grabbed one of his men closest to me, and in time too because he was suddenly firing at me and in such close range that the bullet went through the man I was using as my shield and grazed my skin. The soldiers started firing at each other as I pulled out my gun, aiming at the man that tried to kill me after countless years of doing business together.

I fired two times, but he managed to duck out of the way in time. Pushing the dead body off me, I fired sporadically and ran into the woods as gunshots rang and flew past me in a near hit. Marion had brought a lot of manpower for this very purpose so that they could overwhelm my men, but I wasn't going to die here. I wasn't going to give Ryland the satisfaction and talking of the devil, I could see him and the men following the trail I'd left with my boots from where I was crouched against. I reared up, pulling out my darts. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, listened to the crunch of twigs under their heavy shoes, opened my eyes, and let the darts fly. Ryland's cry of pain rent the air and I smiled, my chest heaving as I got up from where I was perched against. A trail of bullets chased after me, one or two swishing past my head.

The rain started to pour around me as I ran, the sound of thunder and the trees howling blocking out the voices of the men chasing after me. Checking to see what progress I'd made, I tripped down the slope before I even saw it. My gun skidded out of my hold as mud splashed at me, the twigs scratching at my skin as I tried to stop my fall by grabbing onto them.

My descent stopped once I hit the big ass tree standing in the center of the freaking forest, that is, if it was even the center.

Trying to catch my breath took way more effort than I was used to even after a vigorous fight. My hair was a mess, little cuts marred my skin, my nails were caked in mud and I wondered how'd I'd even begin to climb up the slope I'd fallen into with the torrent of rain that poured relentlessly over me. At least it got the mud off. Half of it.

If I couldn't go up, maybe I could go around, I reasoned as I stood up from under the tree. My rib smacked from the pain of being flung, but I could deal with a few broken ribs. I also hoped I got Ryland, it didn't matter tho, because I was going to finish what he started once I got out of the fucking shit hole I was in. No wonder people were told to stay away from Etral forest, the place was a fucking maze. I could see acres and acres of trees with no end.

Water guzzled beneath my feet from the rain as I made my way away from the tree, following a trail that looked like it had been formed by a human, or was it an animal?

"I can't believe this. Fucking dickhead Ryland. You're going to fucking pay for this." I shouted, the thunder blocking out my voice.

I didn't even know where my gun was. What if I ran into a bear or a fucking lion. Etral forest was said to house some very aggressive breeds of wildlife.

"I just need to get out of here before the sun goes down," I told myself as I kept walking, making marks on trees with the last weapon I had on me; my precious little dagger.

I walked endlessly for hours until I got back to the trees I'd marked when I started out. I cursed in frustration as everywhere started getting dark. The stupid rain was relenting, but it still kept drizzling and I was starting to feel the chill.

"How much longer do I have to fucking stay here" I yelled at the trees, feeling drained of all the patience I possessed.

I caught a movement from the corner of my eyes and tensed up. Did they come after me all the way down the hilly slope? It was doubtful, but Ryland had proved to be a fucking psychopath so, I didn't put anything past him.

I wanted him to come at me tho, so I could finish him off if the dart I threw at him didn't hit a major organ of his as I'd meant it to.

Clutching my dagger, I glanced around my vicinity, the rain making everything blurry.

Someone whistled. It was their mistake because I knew exactly where it came from and I let my dagger fly.

A pained groan and cursing filled my ears but I didn't give him a reprieve as I rushed at the man with a flying punch that sent him to the floor unconscious. I pulled out the dagger as more whistling reached my ear. Counting by their footsteps as they approached, they were probably more than six. Just my fucking luck.

The rain started lessening but I still couldn't see shit from the water that dripped from my hair into my eyes.

"A fucking firecracker. That was a fucking show sweet stuff" a voice called out of the void.

"She took Micah out with a fucking punch! And here I was thinking we were going to have a boring night after all that rain" another voice chuckled.

I took a stance, my dagger clutched in my fist as I prepared myself for a fight that would either end with me killing them all or me outrunning them. There was no third option.

"Drop your dagger and we'll go easy on you dollface".

I smirked, then laughed before hardening my voice. "How about you all go fuck yourself".

More laughter reached my ears and a footstep directly behind me had me whipping around, my dagger slashing through the burly guy's neck before he even had a chance to grab me. He gasped in shock, blood spurting out of his mouth as he clutched his throat. Blood spilled over his fingers, and any hint of the sign of life slowly drained from his eyes.

"Fucking bitch!" He gurgled out, then fell to the floor with a rough thud. These were not Marion or Ryland men. Who the fuck were they? No one laughed or commented and I knew it was the calm before the storm.

Whoosh! That was the only warning I got. But I don't dodge in time. The rod smacked against me like a wrecking ball, knocking the air out of my lungs. Pain racked through my back and I fell onto the floor, before I was roughly grabbed, my hair pulled until my scalp stung as I was forced to stare into the menacing eyes of a man who was surely their leader judging from his stance.

"You fucking killed two of my men" he roared in my face.

"They were not very nice men" I grinned and his hand struck against my cheek, so hard, that my teeth sunk into my skin and I couldn't feel half my face. Blood pooled in my mouth.

"Shut your fucking trap wench".

I spat the blood in my mouth onto his face and his face squeezed shut in disgust. I knew I was asking for death but I didn't care.

The first punch to my stomach knocked the breath out of my lung but I welcomed the sting and the pain with a smile. Another punch made me feel like throwing up my guts, then it was followed by another, then another until my eyes darkened around the edges and all I could see was the hazy red of blood.

"Boss, enough! You shouldn't kill her yet. Why don't we have some fun with her? It would be a waste to let all these delicious-looking curves die" one of the men that were holding me suggested as he sniffed my hair, his grip on them tightening until I grunted. "She makes pretty noises too".

I couldn't get enough air into my lungs but the rage that hurtled up my chest as their boss grabbed my chin to inspect my face made me feel like committing murder.

"You touch me and you're dead" I got out steadily, my voice a rough whisper, even tho I meant it to sound fierce.

"That's cute, the cat's making a threat, but all I can hear is some meowing".

I laughed, the effort causing me to wince in pain. "You're just a bunch of pussycats who can't come at me one on one. Fucking cowards, three to one doesn't exactly make you powerful, pussy!" I spat, my vision clearing a bit.

The man's face clouded with pure undiluted rage, his grip on my chin tightening until I felt he was going to break my jaw. "Is that what you think dollface?" he asked, his rough voice grating on my nerves.

"It's what I know, frog face" I retorted and the guy that held my hair yanked on it.

"Watch your fucking mouth bitch" he snapped and I forced my mouth to remain shut as my scalp smarted in pain.

Their boss stepped closer to me, his build blocking out the view of the moon that was peeking through the cloud.

"Fine! You'll fight each of us, and make no mistake about it, once you lose a fight, we're all going to have you, and after we're done, we're going to rip you to shreds and feed you to the vultures, what do you say doll face, think you can take us on" he asked with a leering smile.

"Why don't you let me go and find out".