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"This is a lot," Nova said as she stared at the boxes in front of her. The entire apartment had boxes all over, blocking their paths. "Are you sure there aren't things that need to be thrown out?"

Her brother, Grayson, poked his head into the bedroom and grinned. "Everything in there is valuable, Nova, so don't even attempt to throw anything out."

She rolled her eyes and kicked the empty box blocking her way. "That would mean I'd have to go through every box and that could take me the whole day," she retorted, leaning down to open the box in front of her. There was an old jersey and some junk inside. "This should be labeled with 'throw away'. Jesus, Gray. Why do you have so much stuff?"

"You know me, I have a hard time throwing things away. Now help me pick up some boxes." He carried two boxes in his arms and walked out of the room.

Nova sighed before she picked up the box she had criticized and held it between her hands, stalking out of the room. Her brother was officially moving out. He was moving to DC to enroll in a police academy. She couldn't say she wasn't proud. Two years ago, her brother woke up. He got better. He was alive, and she couldn't have asked for anything else.

She stalked out of his apartment—his old apartment and carried the box with her outside. They were loading more boxes into the U-Haul truck. She and Grayson went back into the apartment to get more boxes.

"Why don't you come with me?" Grayson said, staring at her in contemplation. "I know we've talked about this, but I'm still asking. I've got another extra room in my apartment for you. What is it that's still holding you back here?"

Nova stilled from picking up another box. Grayson's words rang in the room, tensing up her shoulders. Her mind raced. What is it that's still holding you back here? Him. He was the one holding her back. Two and half years later, she still couldn't forget. She refused to move on. She was still waiting.

"You know, people...friends," she replied, holding the box in her arms.

"What friends?"

"Okay, that's hurtful. I told you I can't go. I wish I could, Gray, but I have to stay here."

He studied her carefully. "I don't know what's going on with you, but I wish you would tell me," he said. "Don't think I haven't noticed that you don't smile very often and you stare into space sometimes. Nova." Grayson took the box from her arms and put it down on the floor, grabbing her shoulders to hold her in place. "Is it because of Keenan?" He stared her down. "Is it because he ran off without telling us anything? I don't know why he did that, but I guess he has stuff to figure out."

That was the lie she decided to tell him. That Keenan had left them. It would be too painful for Grayson to know what Keenan had done and why he wasn't here. When Grayson woke up, she thought he would know the truth, but he hadn't. He had asked for Keenan, wondering why he didn't come to visit, and she knew her brother was still in the dark with what had happened. Both she and Keenan had thought he knew the truth, but he didn't.

When she decided not to tell the truth, she was looking out for her brother. He had just woken up. He had just gotten better and she hadn't wanted to unpack that load on him. She wanted to tell him afterward—after he was better. But when he got better, she couldn't find it in her heart to tell him the truth, so she lied and told him Keenan had left them because he was dealing with something. It was easier for Grayson to deal with that than the loss of his best friend. Than his best friend's betrayal.

"Cheer up, sis." He shook her shoulders, emitting a smile from her. "When you need a vacation, you can at least come to DC. I will have a room ready for you."

"Oh, I will miss you." She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. "I will definitely come to visit."

He pulled away. "And if some dickhead messes with you, you tell them your brother's a police officer who won't hesitate to shoot him."

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "I can take care of myself, but that's sweet. I'd make sure to tell them I have a gun and you taught me how to shoot too."

Grayson tapped her head. "No, you're better off with the taser I got you. I don't need you holding a gun, baby sis. I will do the shooting and you can keep your innocent heart. You can't even hurt a fly." He shook his head with a chuckle as he strode out of the room.

Nova was left staring at his back.

Yeah, I can't hurt a fly.

After all the boxes and everything got loaded, Nova stood in the empty apartment. Grayson was outside talking to the driver while she stood in the living room. It reminded her so much of that day. The emptiness she had felt was the emptiness she felt now. The wind from the window slipped in and brushed through her, whipping her hair back.

Vicious.

Where are you?

"Hey, you ready to head out?"

She turned and faced her brother before nodding. Grayson locked up the apartment and gave the keys back to the landlord.

"Are you sure you don't want me to give you a ride?" he asked as they stood beside his car.

"Go," she shooed, pocketing her hands in her coat. "It's a nice day." She glanced up at the clear, blue sky. "I think I want to walk. Besides, I want to know what it feels like to walk in a city my clingy brother doesn't live in. The air kinda smells different too."

He flipped her off. "Ha, ha."

Smiling, she waved him off as he walked around to open the driver's door. Grayson paused, his hand holding the door. "I will call you when I get there."

With a nod, he got inside the car and shut the door. Nova was left standing on the sidewalk as he drove away.

With Grayson gone, another hole opened in her heart. Nova thought she could live with it. After all, she had lived with the giant hole her heart was left with. She would survive. If she remained here, where everything started, she could survive with all the memories. If she stayed back in a place that didn't feel like home anymore, she could live her life through the memories of the man she couldn't forget.

Vicious.

His name hurt. His memories hurt, but his love hurt more. Two and half years later, she still loved him. It was hard not to. Hard not to forget him. He left her in a cruel way. Left her with more answers. Lost and confused. He had been there beside her on her hospital bed, so why did she wake up with him gone? Why was it goodbye before they could have one? If cruelty was his aim, if he aimed to torture her, he had won.

Nova walked down on the sidewalk, her eyes cast down and her steps light. Her phone pinged in her pocket and she fished it out. It was a notification. She had another work. A year ago, she became a freelancer, helping out and earning a few bucks in the process. It wasn't a stable job, but it fed and clothed her. Ever since Vicious, she found that she couldn't work. Her mind couldn't pay attention to it. She had taken a break, and from that break came the desire not to work again. It wasn't a permanent thing. But right now, she preferred working at home in the comfort of her pajamas and bed.

She cut through a shortcut, walking down an empty alley. That was when it happened. There was no warning. She was about to cross the road when the black van swept in. It startled her. There was no time to think or react before the doors of the van opened at once. Two men in black clothes stepped out the moment she tried to turn back and run. They caught her, grabbing her arms while she kicked and screamed. They pulled her to the van and shoved her inside. She was sitting in the middle with both of them blocking each side. One of the guys tapped the van before the driver pulled off into the road.

Her mouth was duct-taped before she could scream. A bag was thrown over her face before she could take notice of where they were. Adrenaline raced through her. The drive was a freaking long one, but in reality, it could be no more than a thirty minutes drive. The van came to a stop. Her heart sped up. The door was opened and she caught a glimpse of sunlight before her ass was hurled out of the van. Her arms were caught in a hold. She could see nothing in front of her or around her.

"Where are we?" she called out, twisting against the hand holding her. "Let me go!"

No answer.

Fear trickled through her, expanding to her toes as she was guided in a direction. Nova could hear doors opening, long walks, and voices she couldn't place. She was pushed inside the last door to open, then walked a few feet before her ass was shoved into a chair. Her hands were tied around the back of the chair and her ankles were secured tightly on each leg.

It wasn't long before they took off the bag from her head and she blinked. She was in someplace dark with glowing lights flickering above her. There was someone present in the room, standing behind her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, keeping her voice cool. "What do you want from me?"

Something screeched on the floor, like metal was being dragged along the cemented floor. Nova tried to angle her head to look back, but she couldn't make any movement. She was bounded in her chair.

"If you don't let me go, my brother will come to get me and you would not want to be around when he gets here. He tracks my every movement, you know? When I don't call him back, he will know something happened." She was lying. Grayson was still on a drive to DC. He wouldn't call her until he got there. He doesn't track any of her movements, but whatever to stay alive.

The metal screeched again. The sound was annoying and bothersome.

"Are you trying to scare me? It won't work, asshole. Let me go and I will forget this ever happened," she hissed.

Screech. Screech. Screech.

"Would you stop that!"

The sound stopped. She breathed in relief, but then the sound of light footsteps came. A large shadowed frame came into her view as he stepped into the light. His black leather gloves were tight on his large hands. He wore a black mask and a three-piece tailored suit that hugged all of his muscles. He stood in her line of sight, carefully studying her as he cocked his head.

Nova stared at him, and immediately, her heart began to speed the longer she kept staring at him—at his eyes. His familiar eyes. His familiar presence. She swallowed a gasp. She choked on it. His name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't utter it. Slowly, a smirk curved the corner of his mouth as if he knew she had figured out who he was. Nova was panting now. She watched as he yanked the mask off his face, throwing it across the room.

Vicious.

Shock and terror crept through her veins. Disbelief matched her expression. Vicious stood in his glory. More sinful. More deadly. He had a buzz cut. Tattoos went all the way to the back of his neck. Nova fought against the bound. She wriggled and pulled. To do what? Touch him? Hug him? Kiss him? It's been two and half years since she had seen him. She gaped at him. Was this real? Was this him?

He looked like an avenging angel. Scary and beautiful. And Vicious. He was all Vicious. Mean. Rude. Crazy. Killer.

"Vicious." It was the first time in two years she had brought herself to say that name. When he left her, she could barely think about him without wanting to burst into tears. It became so hard to say his name. So hard to think about him. And yet, here he was, sharper and deadlier. He looked good. Better than the last time she saw him.

He was living well, opposed to her who had been haunted by his memories and broken by his love.

She was suddenly pissed. How dare he appears in her life again after what he did? How dare he think he could come and go as he saw fit? All the anger she had felt about his absence returned and wrapped up in a ball, forming a lump in her throat.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she lashed out. The tension in the air went up a notch. It was hard to breathe. He had sucked the air out of the room. Nova pinned him with a glare. "Why would you have them kidnap me? What, the phone doesn't work wherever you crawled from?"

With a grin, he lowered himself into the chair across from her. "You still haven't changed," he observed. "Still feisty as ever."

She didn't like the storm inside her. She was all over the place—feeling angry, happy, love, and heated.

"What do you expect me to do in this situation?" she demanded, her voice betraying her. She sounded out of breath and needy. Excited. "You kidnapped me, Vic! Made me think I was taken by some bad guy. I'm sorry I'm not reacting the way kidnapped victims should act!"

"I'm offended you don't consider me a bad guy. I could be just as bad as the others."

"No, you are not," she instantly said fiercely, then a shade of pink appeared on her cheeks. How embarrassing. Why couldn't she keep her feelings to herself?

He stared at her deeply and intensely for a long moment to feel what she felt. Then, he chuckled. There was something off about him. Something different. He didn't sound like the Vicious she knew. Her Vicious, despite how scary he had been had some air of amusement and lightness about him. The man standing in front of her was different. He seemed cold and grumpy. Detached.

What happened to him?

"Why are you different?"

The question didn't surprise him, but it made him quirk a brow and smile. Even his smile was different. "Life happened," he retorted. End of. He didn't want to say more.

"Okay. Can you let me go now?" She licked her lips and wiggled in her chair. His eyes watched her tongue. "It's starting to get really uncomfortable."

"So you can punch me?"

His response made her laugh. "I won't, I promise." She was lying. Nova wanted to punch him straight in his perfect face. She had the right to hit him. He had left her alone when she woke up, when he should have been there. He left her to deal with everything alone. He deserved more than a punch.

Vicious shook his head lightly. "Two years apart still won't make me trust you, Nova."

Ouch. So he was still holding a grudge.

"I thought we were even since I slipped off the edge of a building and almost fucking died." She controlled her emotions. "I can say I paid more than I hurt you. Remember?"

Something dark flashed across his face, an unnamed emotion there. "It's hard not to remember," he replied, agitated.

"Is it?" She could barely catch her breath when she asked. "Do you also remember leaving me on a hospital bed fighting for my life?" Her eyes almost blinked with tears when she remembered that day and the pain she had been in.

Vicious bent his head and huskily said, "You were going to wake up. You were okay."

Her voice low, she muttered, "But what if I hadn't been? What if I never managed to wake up? Would you have regretted then, you asshole?" Her eyes darkened emotionally. "You left me! You left me alone wondering where you were." A lump rose in her throat and she added croakily, "You fucking left me to pick up the pieces."

He flashed her a derisive glance. "And what about what you did?" His mouth tightened.

Angered, Nova lifted her chin and snapped, "I paid for it! Jesus, Vic, you were there. You saw what happened. Keenan lied to me and I almost died. If you still haven't forgiven me, why are you here? Why did you get me kidnapped? I would have been better off without you."

"You're lying."

"What?"

"You wouldn't have been better off without me," he began in a soft, dangerous drawl, "You couldn't even go back to your normal life, Nova." He chuckled mirthlessly.

"And how the hell do you know what I could or could not do?"

"Because I've been watching you."

She gasped. She almost sprang out of her chair. "You son of a bitch." Disbelief etched her face. He had been watching her? Seeing what she was going through, but not helping her? Not easing her pain and worry? He just let her continue living a ghost life?

Vicious smiled, not fazed by her outburst. "You couldn't go back to your normal life. You feel an emptiness in your life, don't you? There's no excitement in it anymore."

"What are you insinuating?" Her voice shook slightly.

"You're addicted to the life I gave you. Normal life isn't cut out for you anymore, and you know that. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't be here."

"So, you didn't just come back to see me?"

The question startled him, but he had enough restrained to look composed. "I came back to see if you wanna come back. Turns out that I need you and you need me. You need the life I gave you. You need that thrill and spark. You enjoyed it before. You will enjoy it again."

She laughed harshly. "You came back to drag me back to your crime life?" Her bottom lip quivered slightly and she blinked back the tears his words brought to her eyes. "Wow, Vic, and I thought you couldn't be much more than an asshole," she said with calmness. "Why on earth would I ever agree to any of this? Yes, my life sucks at the moment, but I won't ever be dragged down that path again. Take your offer and shove it up to your ass." Her eyes pinned him unflinchingly.

"The problem is, Nova, I don't believe you. Your heart is already racing thinking about it. You remember the power you felt, don't you?" A perfect smile graced his lips. "Do you wanna feel that again? I gave you the key to my kingdom before. I'm going to give it to you again."

Nova studied his stony face, stunned by the feeling of pain that knotted in her chest, but puzzled and shocked he was trying to pull her back into a life he forced her to leave. "I thought you didn't trust me."

"You will learn. You will learn to be loyal. A lot of people did too."

"No, thank you."

"You are making a mistake," his voice was clipped.

Nova flashed him a look full of fire, and her eyes dark and stormy, said fiercely. "No, I'm not. If you had come back to tell me you missed me and wanted me, then I would have considered it." Her heartbeat skyrocketed. Her palms were sweaty.

Vicious expelled a ragged breath. "Nova..."

"No, forget it." She shook her head, turning away. She couldn't look at him. It hurt to look at him. "I didn't expect anything from you. Just untie me and I will be on my way." The words wrung out of her.

"What do you want from me?" His voice was gentler than it had ever been. More vulnerable.

She looked at him. Her mouth parted. Her throat constricted. She wanted him. It filled her so completely that it stopped her from talking for a second. Vicious waited for her to speak. His eyes were heated, smoldering. A tingling spread through her, starting at the base of her neck. Nova felt like she was falling over the edge again. Her chest heaved.

"Anything besides the asshole sitting in front of me. I want the one who loves me. Why are you shutting down on me? Aren't you happy to see me, Vic?" Her voice became soft, softer than he had been. More weak and heartbreaking. Like someone desperate to be loved. "Don't you want to hold me? Kiss me? How many times have I wished you were here? Now that you are, why do you want to be so cruel?"