THIRTY-NINE

THIRTY-NINE

Link

His thoughts were quick to become overcrowded which explained why Link could never work for Lucian as he'd want to. One way or the other, Link would find something that occupied his mind to no end.

And for the past few weeks, it's been Orianna. Everything about her lured him in and he was done trying to pretend nothing was happening. He saw no good end to what he started but he was slowly pulling back. His own version of what he thought would be revenge was falling apart and it only lead to him falling for the one person he had learned to loathe.

He let out a deep sigh as he dropped his head back into the wall. Link was leaning against the wall adjacent to the bathroom. "Mum you've been in there for hours," Link grunted out and followed it by another fist knock to the door.

"I swear if you do that again, you'll see a completely different side of me." Link's mother warned from behind the door.

Link heard the running of the water come to a stop minutes ago and she still hadn't come out. Link had somewhere to be. He had a few things to do and before he could see to them, he had to look human enough for them. And that required a hot shower which right now, was prevented by his mother from happening.

"I have somewhere to be," Link grunted back at his mother.

"Tough." Was her simple reply.

He took the few steps to the bathroom door and carried on waiting, banging his head back on the door occasionally - each time regretting it because he knew his mother would do something to him the moment she would step out.

He didn't hear the doorbell. He didn't know someone was at the door until it was too late.

"Hello there," he heard his sister's chirpy voice come from downstairs softly.

He didn't react to it quicker. It took a minute for him to realise that his sister opened the door to an unexpected guest. Alarm bells rung loudly in his ears and he jumped away from the wall as if it burned him. In one leap, he came to the end of the hallway and ran his way down the stairs, his feet colliding on the dark wood loudly.

The front door was right at the bottom of the stairs and he could already see, before he came to the landing, the all too familiar blonde waves. He stopped himself just as he rammed into his sister back and heard her say something. He didn't quite catch what she said as he watched Orianna stumble away, clear horror etched across her whole face.

The moment their eyes met, Link felt worse than he ever did. Seeing the disbelief, the fear and the clear pain lashed across her face, his heart ached. He wanted to shout, then and there, everything he had been meaning to tell her the last few weeks. How he had an explanation. How his own hurt masked him from what was right and wrong. How he had stopped tormenting her but fell into another form of torment of his own when trying to tell her the truth.

His sister had turned around to say something to him but nothing registered. He felt her hands shake his arm, trying to make him do something but all sense of movement had been taken away from him.

He watched, as she slowly but at the same time as quick as he ever seen her move, as she bolted. Like something snapped in him, he quickly slipped on his shoes by the door and ran after her. He heard his sister shout his name after him but he paid her no attention still.

Orianna was fast, extremely so and had already gained a good distance between the two. And she was using the neighbourhoods odd paths to her advantage, by taking every turn she could see.

Soon after, Link lost sight of her.

He slowed down his feet, ignoring his hard breathing and thumping heart. He couldn't see her anymore, as he tried and tried to catch any glimpse of her.

He didn't know why he ran after, since he knew no explanation could possibly make things better. But he had to try at least. Try to make her understand where he came from, why he did what he did.

Link started to move again. "Fuck," he cursed out, jogging around the streets. It was all too quiet for him, until he heard some distinct shuffling.

He followed the sounds and what he saw next felt surreal to him. It felt like it belonged to a movie with fake events and fake blood. What he saw made his heart clench tightly behind his ribs and he held back the need to retch out loudly.

Brandon was dragging a bloody, unconscious Orianna off the streets and into this dark car.

"Fucker!" Link yelled after Brandon as he started sprinting towards him, seeing red. Brandon turned his head over his shoulder and saw Link running towards him so he sped up his actions and managed to get Orianna in the car and drive off long before Link could reach them.

"Fuck!" Link spat out, racing after the car which within seconds went out of sight.

Link stopped running, cursing everything and anything that came to mind. He should have done something long before it escalated to this. He knew it was Brandon that started tormenting Orianna half way through. He knew Brandon was watching her. He knew Brandon trying to get close to her. He should have known that Brandon was out to get revenge rather than trying to win her back.

He had the chance to protect her but didn't do anything about it. Link had stepped back and allowed all of this to happen.

"Fuck." He spat out again, his hands finding root in his hair and tugging on until he dulled every pain.

****

He barged in through the doors leading to the office.

"You have to fucking help me." Link demanded, his whole body shaking with anger.

"I have to?" Lucian drew out, looking up from his pile of paperwork on his desk.

All the way down to Lucian's office, Link had been holding himself back, trying to calm himself down enough to have a clear mind and get Orianna back. But he would lose all sense of calm when he was faced with that fucker.

Link stepped in further inside and didn't stop until his fist collided with the table. "He fucking took her." He said in a low, frightening voice.

Lucian knew who he was talking about instantly. He pushed himself up off the chair and away from the table. He pressed on some button on his voice and started clipping out orders.

"Everyone. Now." He didn't have to specify what was happening and the importance of the situation but all his men came piling inside the room within seconds.

Errol, by far the biggest guy Link has ever come across leaned against the wall and waited for his boss to say what was happening. Mace, a good friend of Link's came to stand next to him, looking all serious as he was most of the time. Jared, Quan, Alec and a few others were inside as well.

Lucian turned to Link and gave him a nod. Link didn't say much. Just enough to get all these dangerous men want to go out for blood.

"Brandon took Orianna into some dark car. She was unconscious and all bloody."

He felt rather than saw the tension ride up in the room. All these men were real men. They took care of the fuckers out there to make sure everyone was somehow safe, especially the women and the children. And most specially the women since they were the only thing that could keep them calm.

"Alec and Reece. I want every CCTV camera on the streets watched. You all know how that fucker looks like."

Two of the guys Link wasn't entirely close with gave out straight nods and walked out the room.

"Jared, go to his house now and see if he's there. Do go empty handed."

"Wasn't planning to." Jared walked out.

"Mace, Errol and Quan. Get ready, the guys are going to find something soon."

The men walked out the room, probably getting all their weapons ready. And just like that, Lucian was in control of the whole situation.

Link waited for Lucian to give him orders but they didn't come.

"I'm going to get ready myself," Link muttered, walking away from the table and towards the door.

"You're not going."

Link snapped his head back to Lucian. "Why the fuck not."

"You're too close to her."

"So fucking what?" Link was fuming right now. The thought of sitting here waiting duck as the other men went to get his woman sickened him. He wanted to be there for her and wrap his arms around her. "You haven't seen the fucking condition she is in. She was bleeding and unconscious and god knows what that fucker has done to her by now."

"You're too close to her and you'll compromise the mission." Lucian replied calmly.

"Who is she going to see when she wakes up? Mace? Errol? They would scare her."

"She'll see me. She knows me." Lucian put in.

Link wasn't having it. "I'm going and you can't stop me." Link wasn't about to sit and wait for other men to get Orianna. He was going to get her himself and make sure she's alright himself. And then he's going to take her home and take care of her. After he planned on taking care of someone else.

"And when I see that fucker, don't stop me either."

Link stormed out the room, making sure to slam the door loud behind him.

////

>sorry guys. Next update within days I promise.