"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature."

~Jane Austen~

rage flooding through his body as Kace dragged him into a room full of strangers.

Once upon a time, he would have walked in here willingly. He wouldn't have seen a room full of strangers, but instead, a room full of friends. Full of family. He would have talked and joked with people he thought he could trust with his life.

But that was before. Now? Now he didn't even know who they were anymore.

Kace let go of his shirt unexpectedly, making Falcon stumble forward before regaining his balance as his brother went and joined the rest of the men who stared at him with mixed emotions. The room was silent for a long moment as Falcon steeled his face, crossing his arms over his chest as he took in the all too familiar faces.

It was only when a boy around his age moved forward, catching Falcon's eye, that he felt a physical crack in his emotionless facade. The boy moved out of the crowd, his brow creased in concern and confusion.

"Falcon?" It was a useless question. Both Falcon and the boy knew that it was indeed him.

Falcon clenched his jaw, desperately reminding himself that he had been a part of it. He had betrayed him in the worst way possible along with the rest of them. He couldn't let him get to him.

After the boy spoke, the room slowly began humming to life again. Falcon watched from the corner of his eye as Kace settled against the far wall, watching Falcon as people moved around him.

It was as if people didn't know how to act around Falcon. Some tried to approach, but when he pinned them with his eyes, they quickly drew back. They had too much respect and fear for the leader's younger brother. Others avoided him completely; they kept their eyes down, some leaving the room while others occupied themselves by speaking to others.

The only one that didn't shrink away from Falcon's gaze was that boy. The one Falcon prayed didn't dare come any closer, but of course, when had any of his prayers ever been answered.

The boy took quick, successive steps forward until he was an arm's length away from Falcon. He seemed lost for words as they stared at each other, the boy's mouth opening and closing a few times.

"You've grown," Was the only thing he could come up with.

Falcon raised a sarcastic eyebrow, his mouth curling down in discomfort.

"No shit," His voice was deep and gravelly, barely audible over the chatter in the room.

Movement near the wall caught Falcon's attention and he turned his head slightly, watching as Kace said something to who Falcon knew was one of his tech guys. His eyes narrowed into slits as they nodded to each other, the tech guy taking out his phone before walking out of the room.

Kace never bothered speaking to people like that unless he wanted to find out something and the fact that he knew that Freya existed - though he didn't know her name - still weighed heavily on his chest. The interaction left a bitter taste in his mouth as he turned back to who used to be his best friend.

The boy's mouth was turned down in a frown as he caught sight of Falcon's unguarded expression before it disappeared.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked.

Falcon's jaw clenched. He could come up with a whole, damn list of things that were currently 'wrong.' One of them included the boy in front of him.

"You don't get to care, Ryder," Falcon gritted.

Ryder's brow creased further in confusion as Falcon turned his back on him, walking to where Kace stood at the back of the room. Falcon stormed up to his older brother who had already noticed his state and offered a smirk at his expense.

"Take me back," Falcon growled, knowing the only way out of here was by Kace escorting him back to the dark basement he had been held in.

Kace smiled lazily, leaning further against the wall as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"But I was just beginning to enjoy myself," He grinned. "I love a good family reunion."

Falcon's fists clenched at his sides as he glared at Kace, rage bubbling up from his stomach.

"Fuck your reunions," He snarled. "I'm never becoming one of you again. You can stick whatever idiotic plan you have next up your god damn ass. Nothing is going to make me come back."

Kace's expression grew smug which only served to fuel the rage in Falcon's body. He was seconds away from throwing a fist when Kace finally sighed and pushed himself off the wall.

"We'll see about that," He said before motioning for Falcon to lead the way.

His stomach twisted uncomfortably as he processed his brother's words. As much as Falcon hated him, Kace wasn't stupid. He knew Falcon was serious when he said nothing would ever make him come back. Except for one thing and Falcon had a feeling his brother knew what it was.

If they got Freya, it was game over.

Freya had been banned from joining her father and the police to retrieve Falcon. Though she understood why she was still restless and upset at the fact that she could do nothing more than sit around and wait for complete strangers to bring her Falcon back.

It was the early morning. Freya's father had wasted no time calling the police, pulling a few strings in order for them to dispatch a rescue unit straight away instead of waiting until morning. Seconds after ending the call, he had set his eyes on Freya and demanded she stayed behind, knowing she had wanted to come.

Freya was now situated on the edge of her bed, her hands anxiously pulling at the loose threads in her bunny's fur. Her heart hadn't settled down since she had received the texts, leaving her wide awake and paranoid. She was scared they wouldn't get to him in time. That someone would find out he had sent the messages and then hurt him.

She had convinced herself numerous times that she had to trust the police to do their job, but something inside her told her that it was all about to go oh-so-very wrong.

Lost in her thoughts, Freya barely heard a car making its way up the driveway. It wasn't the chime of the doorbell rang through the quiet house that her head snapped up in attention. She wasted no time getting up from the bed and rushing out of her room.

She didn't think of the fact that it had barely been an hour since her father had left with the police. Nor of the fact that her father had a key to the house and had no need to use the doorbell if he needed to come in. Her mind simply focused on the possibility that Falcon was behind that front door.

Freya's tiny feet scampered across the hall until the door was within in reach and without any hesitation, she ripped it open, her face hopeful. Her expression fell, however, when the face that greeted her was not one she recognised. Nor was he wearing any kind of uniform.

The man gave her a charming smile and Freya felt herself freeze before her brain finally realised where she had seen that expression before.

"Hello, sweetheart," The man said, stuffing her hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

"Ca-can I help you?" She spoke with a quiet voice.

It unnerved her that he had the same smile she loved so much. The man gave a chuckle, his eyes averting to the ground as his lips twitched smugly.

"Well, come to think of it, yes," His gaze snapped back to hers with a blink, eyes glowing with intent. "You can try not to scream."

Freya barely had a second to register what he had said when two burly arms wrapped around her from behind. One hand over her mouth while the other grabbed her hands and locked them behind her back in a bruising hold. She screamed, though the sound was muffled by the man's thick hand and wouldn't have been enough to wake up anyone else in the house.

She thrashed in her attacker's hold, the man in front of her smiling as he took out a vial of liquid from his coat pocket along with a handkerchief. He began stepping forward as he unscrewed the vial, pouring out the measured contents onto the piece of cloth.

Freya's eyes watched him fearfully, her eyes darting from his face to the slowly soaking handkerchief. She whimpered into the other man's hand, tears beginning to pool in the corner of her eyes.

Once the man had emptied the vial, he tossed it carelessly on the ground before taking the last step towards her. The man behind her suddenly released her mouth, but before she had a chance to scream, the rag was forced over her mouth and the man behind her resumed his hold over her mouth. She had no choice but to breathe in sweet-scent of whatever it was the man had soaked the cloth in.

She continued struggling but after a few seconds, her constant thrashes began to make her dizzy. She gave a few more half-hearted tugs at the hands that held her in place before giving up as her body slowly became too sluggish to move. Freya moved her gaze back to the man in front of her who watched on, smile still intact.

After another minute, her breathing had slowed as she sagged in her captor's arms. Tears had begun escaping down the sides of her cheeks and collected on the man's hand and arm, but he didn't react. The man in front of her checked his watch, his smile cracking slightly as annoyance pierced through his features for a moment.

When his eyes returned to hers, his smile was back in place.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," He said as Freya's eyes began closing on their own accord. "As long as your little boyfriend does as he's told, you're gonna be just fine."

Freya's mind finally began to shut down, her legs giving out beneath her before the man behind her swooped her up and carried her out the door. The last thing she felt was worn leather against her back before her body shut off and she gave in to the looming darkness.

It had seemed like hours since Kace had led Falcon back down to the basement. A meal had been brought in and left at the base of the steps and there it had remained. Falcon didn't dare touch the food they offered; mostly out of spite but he didn't put it past his brother to have drugged the food.

A bitter feeling in his stomach had been plaguing him since he had witnessed the interaction between Kace and his tech guy. He tried to convince himself it had nothing to do with Freya, but something told him she was exactly what their conversation had been about. Falcon could do nothing but wait and see what would happen, and that did not sit well with him.

His instinct screamed for him to protect her, even though he had no way of doing so. His worrying only worked to churn his stomach uncomfortably to the point where he felt sick. The lack of food for the past few days did nothing to ease the sensation.

Falcon chewed the inside of his cheeks anxiously, his fists clenching and unclenching until the muscles in his forearms grew tired and sore from the constant tension. He hated this. Hated being out of control, having no sense of what was happening around him. His brain worked overtime, working himself up before calming down and then doing the cycle over and over again.

Chills covered his body as his leg shook and his hands twitched. He needed to know what was going on. He needed to know if she was okay. He needed to kick his god damn brother's ass to hell. But he couldn't do any of it. He just had to sit and wait and sit and wait some more.

Falcon jumped up from the floor, his feet beginning to pace along the floor without him realising. He was going crazy. He held his head in his hands as he leaned his back against the wall. His hands trembled along with his rib cage as his heart painfully beat against it. He was going mad.

His breathing came out in short bursts as panic flooded through his body, starting from the pit of his stomach and zapping to the ends of his fingers. His fists clenched with the need to hit something.

Unable to hold back, he turned his body to the side, letting his fist collide with the wall harshly. He did it again, adding two more with his other fist before his breathing finally slowed and his panic receded back to the bottom of his stomach.

The door at the top of the stairs suddenly opened, the harsh light leaving Falcon momentarily blinded as heavy footsteps made their way down the stairs. Falcon brought a hand up to shield his eyes, squinting through the light to see who his visitor was.

The smug face of his brother brought back Falcon's rage with a vengeance, but everything in him soon fell as his eyes adjusted and he saw what he carried in his arms.

More like who.

Like a fallen angel, Freya laid splayed in Kace's arms, her auburn hair hanging over his arm. Falcon couldn't breathe. He was frozen, his eyes stinging with tears as he felt his knees began to buckle.

When he finally snapped out of his shock, his anger filled every inch of his body like it never had before.

"What the fuck did you do to her!?" Falcon roared.

Within a second, he was in front of Kace's grinning face and snatching Freya out of his arms as if he had tainted her with his touch. In Falcon's mind, he had. He cradled her to his chest, revelling in the even breaths that came from her tiny body. He gave her a quick once over for any obvious injuries before setting his eyes back on Kace.

If Freya hadn't been in his arms and he had felt safe enough to put her down, Falcon knew without a doubt that he would have had his brother on the ground, screaming. But his arms refused to release her, so he stared the smug bastard down, keeping his girl safely tucked in his arms.

"Don't worry, brother," Kace said nonchalantly. "She's just knocked out. She'll wake up in a bit."

Falcon felt his body shake, his lip pulling up in a snarl as a feral feeling filled his gut.

"You have until then," Kace began walking back up the stairs, knowing Falcon was ready to crack at any second. "You have until then to think about your answer. You know what's at stake now."

Kace shut the door firmly behind him, leaving Falcon in the pitch dark once again. Now that his brother had left, all his anger rushed out of his body with one look at Freya's angelic features. He felt his tears returning as he back up to the wall and slid down it with Freya still in his arms.

What a great fucking boyfriend he made. He couldn't even protect the one person that meant more to him than anything. Now her life was at stake and it was all his god damn fault. As it always had been. Every time she had gotten scared, every time she had gotten hurt, it had been because of him.

Falcon was beginning to think she really would be better off without him after all. At least then she'd be safe.