...Sienna POV...It's been three months since I first started coming to the club. I was growing tired and impatient. What else could I do? I've done everything I could think of to contact Hunter, but for whatever reason, I know he's keeping his distance from me. The question is, why?Ace has become a good friend during these months. Even though I know he doesn't want me doing this, he doesn't say anything about it. He's there to help me when I need him. Since I was coming to the club practically every day now, Ace and I had begun a sort of routine. We would go out for food then he would help me train at the gym located on the upper floor of the club. After, I would beat the crap out of all the contenders, and then Ace would take me to Hunter's house. I spent my nights there, desperately attempting to feel closer to him.I hated that I felt like this. I hated that Hunter had made me into the type of girl I had despised. I hated the girls that longed for their boyfriends, that acted as
...Ace POV......Six Hours Later...I could see something was wrong. Ever since this afternoon, Sienna's been off her game. Her first fight was against a novice fighter. He hadn't heard about her reputation and had severely underestimated her abilities. Sienna would easily be able to take him out in a matter of seconds. So call me surprised when he managed to get a hit on her.I wasn't the only one surprised. The entire crowd grew silent. What was going on? The infamous Firecracker was just hit. It seemed like an impossibility. Sienna was a seasoned fighter. Not only that, but I had been training her as well. She was already a master in multiple forms of mixed martial arts, but I was training her to improve her abilities. No one with her skill set should ever take a hit from a novice. She was much better than that. So what was going on?I watched on in eagerness to see how the rest of the fight played out. For all I know, the guy may have just landed a lucky hit. Caught her unaware. S
...Sienna POV...With my big fight coming up, I had planned to train earlier in the day, then head back to Hunter's place to get ready and to help calm me down. I had practically moved into his house without his knowledge. I couldn't explain why I did it. It just felt right. From the moment I walked through the entranceway with Ace, it felt as though I had been wrapped in comfort. Like a sort of safety blanket was placed on me. For the first time in nearly a year, I felt at peace. I moved into his room to feel closer to him. The room still smelled like him. At night, I would wear one of his shirts as I cuddled his pillow, desperately wishing it was him instead. But each morning, I would wake up to disappointment. As per my usual routine, I went to the gym and trained with Ace. However, my head wasn't quite in it. Which wasn't a good thing, considering I was to go up against the fiercest competitor in my life in a matter of hours. I could see the emotions running across Ace's face. H
"What the hell are you doing?!" Ace shouted at me, visibly p*ssed that I was allowing myself to get injured."It helps with the pain." I say silently, as I look down towards the ground, unable to meet his gaze. I know how upset he is at me, but I can't see him look at me like that. Like I'm letting him down.However, Ace surprises me as he moves from his spot in front of me, to sit on the bed next to me. He gathers me in his arms, pulling my head to rest on his chest as he runs his hand down my back in a calming manner."I know it does. But this isn't the way. You can't do this with Deathstroke. It will only get you killed. Deathstroke never shows mercy. So if you're not up for it, then you can claim defeat. We can go home now." Ace comments, hoping to encourage me against competing tonight. I look at the clock and see that we have ten minutes before the fight is about to take place. I sigh, unsure of what to do. Ace is right. I'm in no position to go up against Deathstroke right now
...Ace POV..."NO! NO! NO! NO!" This can't be happening! I was absolutely petrified. Sienna was in no shape to go against Deathstroke. She would surely be killed. A fate of which I was sure she was more than aware, considering her last words to me.I hear my name being called and look toward my security team, and gesture for my men to approach. "I don't care what you have to do or how you go about doing it, but you need to get this fight stopped. I won't let her kill herself." I shout at them. The roars of chants from the crowd around us indicate that no one was the wiser about my intentions. I couldn't even care less if Hunter fired me after this or closed the club indefinitely. Sienna was far more important than any of that. While I know she never saw me as anything more than a close friend or brother, I would never allow her to go through with this.My men all nod in response and quickly disperse. I looked back at the fight, only to see that it was less of a fight and more of a ma
However, Deathstroke wouldn't stand down. He ran backwards, slamming her into the wires. He jumped backwards, slamming Sienna into the mat. Her release on him dropped as her back made contact with the mat. Deathstroke grabbed onto the lower wire and pushed it down over her throat. I could see her face turn blue from the lack of oxygen. She tried her best to push back on the wire, but she wasn't in the best position to fight off his advance. I watched on in horror as her arms slowly drooped and her eyes began to close."FIRECRACKER!" I screamed, terrified by what I was seeing. I wanted so badly to come to her aid, but I knew I couldn't. I watched as her face paled. However, Deathstroke didn't seem to care. It was clear this was why he had come here. He wanted his title and was willing to do anything for it, even if it meant decapitating her.To make matters worse, Deathstroke looked in my direction and continued to stare at me with a wicked and delighted grin on his face. He knew that
...Hunter POV...I was a mess. There was no other way to look at it. Ever since Sienna had the bomb strapped to her, I knew that if we managed to survive this, I would need to keep my distance from her. After all, it was one of my men that had done this to her. I know her family's history with Kevin. But at the end of the day, it was Silvio that was the worst of the villains. A villain that shouldn't have ever been a threat to her. But I had let my guard down. I had put her in danger. I ignored the flags and nearly got her killed. If that wasn't bad enough, I tortured her. I couldn't look at her knowing what I had done to her and allowed others to do to her. I had hoped that if I created distance between us, she would be able to move on. But it was clear my plan wasn't working. Sienna was too hard-headed and stubborn to do that. I hadn't heard anything for months. But then suddenly she started coming back to the club. I didn't want to give in to her. She deserved way better than som
...Hunter POV......Flashback...I was pacing my office. Staying away from Sienna was proving more and more difficult. I wanted nothing more than to run to her and hold her in my arms, hoping with everything in me she would forgive all of my indiscretions. Buy I knew I wasn't that lucky. No one could ever forgive what I had done. I deserved everything she was giving to me and so much more. While the distance was painful, it was nothing compared to what my mind would create. In my mind, I saw her hating me. Yelling at me for everything I had put her through. I saw her move on from me to a man that would be so much better for her than I ever could be. I saw her hating me. Out of everything my mind conjured up, that was by far the worst. I could deal with her wrath. But I would never be able to look in her eyes to see her despise me. That would be far worse than any fate she could give me. So, I felt the best solution was to stay away from her. I was no catch. There was no reason for he
Once the plane landed, the men on the plane escorted us outside to some waiting all-terrain vehicles that were well-equipped to handle the rough and snowy climate. My heart practically stopped as we stepped out of the plane. The cold temperature was no joke. It was in the mild twenties when we left LA. From the harsh breeze hitting my skin, I would have to guess that it was closer to negative twenty here. With the wind chill, it easily felt as though it was close to negative forty out. This meant there was no chance of survival if we tried to escape. I didn't waste any time getting myself and Sienna into the enclosed vehicles. It was far too cold outside, and we weren't dressed for the harsh climate. Sienna was still out like a light, making her more susceptible to the harsh conditions. I could feel her body grow cold in my grasp, encouraging me to hold her firmly in my embrace in hopes of transferring some of my heat to her.A while later, we were escorted into a hidden building. Th
...Asher POV...I couldn't believe I had let us get caught. I was mad at myself more than anything. I should've planned for something like this. Eli and I went through the same training, yet he was a step ahead of me. I hated him for that. But mostly, I hated myself for getting us in this position. I hated that Sienna was hurt, and it was all my fault.Thankfully, her injuries weren't substantial. As she guessed, the bullet wound was a quick in and out, which meant that she would heal fine. If the bullet were still inside or an inch left or right, the injury would've been more substantial. But I can tell from her injury that Eli never planned on killing her. Rather he just wanted to subdue her. It was no secret that Sienna was highly trained. Eli probably even trained her as well at some point. So he would know that she was a capable fighter, and her instincts would be to fight back. Shooting her would be the quickest way to get a reaction from her, as it would be the last thing she
...Sienna POV...My eyes slowly began to flutter open. It felt like I had been run over by a train. I tried to keep my head in an upright position, but it was as though it was weighted down with lead. My stomach began to twist as I tried to keep my head upright, to the point that I had to stop for fear of throwing up all over myself."Good. You're awake." I hear someone call out. However, I can't seem to make out the voice. It sort of sounds familiar, yet not at the same time. My head was pounding so hard that it felt as though someone was beating a drum directly beside my ears. My instincts were to cover my ears, but my arms wouldn't move when I tried. I tried not to panic, but it was growing increasingly difficult. I couldn't remember what was going on or where I was.What happened? I wanted to know, but no words would come out. I tried once more to straighten my head, only to be met with a brutal force, snapping my head to the side. I knew my vision was blurred without even atte
...Jace POV...The next hour was pure madness. The moment Damian informed me that he believed something was wrong, I couldn't help but think the same. I had explicitly instructed Asher not to get involved in this. He was supposed to be with Sienna. Taking some much-needed time off from work. Not dwelling further into this case. I don't know what p*ssed me off the most. The fact that Asher had gone behind my back, or the fact that he had dragged Sienna into this as well. Damian was going to blow a gasket the next time I saw him. Damian has always been more protective over Sienna than his sons. It wasn't because he was sexist or believed Sienna to be weak. But rather, he's nearly lost her too many times in the past. It was nothing short of a miracle she wasn't killed when Chase managed to trap Haley and Damian in Zane's apartment. Haley sustained numerous bullet wounds and nearly died. In fact, she technically did. The doctors pulled the plug on her as they realized that no medical int
...Damian POV...After hanging up the phone with Hunter, I couldn't deny the worrying feeling he gave me. Something was off. First, Zach told me that he saw Sienna at Stone Johnson, of all places. I knew she was more involved with the medical side of the business. But she was supposed to be in England. As much as I wanted to assign her a guard, I knew she wouldn't go for it. Asher was the only one she actually took to. But even still, she found a way to escape him. Sienna is far more independent than I would like. Then as if that wasn't bad enough, I get a phone call from Hunter, of all people claiming that he received a notification from Stone Johnson. It didn't take a scientist to determine that the two instances couldn't be just a mere coincidence. Something had definitely happened. I just wasn't sure what. It also seemed as though Hunter was withholding information from me. Call it my paternal instincts, but I could tell something was up. Hunter wouldn't call me if nothing were
...Asher POV...I wasn't sure what to make of what was happening. But I could tell from Everett's words that he was being sincere. Why else would he have woken me up? He had drugged me, rendering me unconscious. He had ample opportunity to kill me. He didn't have to wake me up, but he did, which meant that he was trying to help us. While I may not fully comprehend what was happening, I could tell Everett was nothing more than a pawn trapped in Silvio's plan. Until I knew what had happened to Sienna, I couldn't risk being found out. Everett had helped me by waking me up. At least this way, I could potentially form a plan. But most importantly, I needed to find out where Sienna was. I desperately hoped that she had managed to escape. But something inside me knew that wasn't the case. I just hoped they hadn't hurt her.I was practically kicking myself for allowing us to get caught in all of this. I was sure we had covered all of our bases. But we had forgotten about one important detail
...Everett POV..."F*CK!" I shouted once Asher passed out before me.I couldn't believe what was happening. This was becoming so complicated. I never wanted anyone else to be involved with this. But the moment Sienna and Asher came here, I knew things were going to become drastically worse. I just hope there's something that can be done. I've been around Eli and Cole long enough to know that they won't allow anyone to mess up their plans.On the contrary, what they failed to realize was that they couldn't involve the Stone's without there being some form of retribution. I'm sure Damian has already been made aware of Sienna's presence at the facility if he didn't already know. He'll be the first one on our backs if Sienna goes missing. Damian is ruthless when it comes to business. He wouldn't hesitate to pull his funding and completely ruin everything I've spent decades working on. What I had told Asher was the truth. I started this business as a way to help my mom. People always say
...Hunter's POV...I had been on edge all day. The problem, though, was I had no idea why, but for some reason, I couldn't shake this feeling that something was wrong."¿Patron?" Javier calls out, grabbing my attention.I turn around to look at him, crossing my arms over my chest in hopes of steadying my heartbeat. It wasn't that his presence made me nervous, only that I felt as though I was walking on pins and needles, afraid that I would take the wrong step and trigger something. I couldn't explain why I was so on edge. I've been feeling like this for over a week now. But why? Nothing out of the ordinary was taking place here. Rather, it had been rather silent. I had already reclaimed my title, so no one even dared so much as talk out of turn. I made it painfully clear what I do to traitors. I eliminated every single person that had gone against me in one way or another. I even went as far as eliminating the families of all those involved, wiping out anyone that dared to cross my p
"What? Nothing to say?" Everett asks, walking towards me to guide me out of his office. I feel his hand on my elbow, gently guiding me towards the door, which makes me realize I need to get it together. We've come too far to give up now. I can't just walk out empty-handed while Sienna is in with Eli."Wait." I call out, firming my feet along to the floor, preventing Everett from pushing me further."What is it? What could you possibly have to say that would change my mind? Are you going to add a sob story on Damian's behalf? Or perhaps your grandfather forced you to do this?" Everett asks with a curious brow as he awaits my possible excuse.I huff out in annoyance, knowing I no longer have any other options. Either I come clean now or risk never finding Silvio.I quickly reach into the waistband of my pants and grab my gun. I raise it quickly, preventing him from moving. However, to my surprise, Everett simply crosses his arms over his chest as if he was bored."I think it's time we h