This is the final Chapter of the first book.

The second book will be posted with chapter one and potentially 2, within a couple days.

I truly hope you've enjoyed and take a read into the second one as well.

It's been a journey.

PLEASE let me know what you've thought of everything. If you've enjoyed. What you think will happen. If you will even continue reading.

Thank you for your patience. Thank you for coming along this far.

Lack of breath never bothered me. It was a small invitation on what dying really felt like; What the other side looked like. I never fully understood why being on the brink of death made me feel more alive than I ever did. Maybe it was the satisfaction that this would finally be over.

I scanned the room, patiently impatient.

I set my drink down. "You," I said in his direction. He looked over to me and revealed his nametag, Ryland. "Come here," I demanded.

The boy nervously walked up to me and put on a smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes," I said. "I need you to do something very important for me."

He frowned and nodded. I motioned him to lean in a little closer.

"I'm here on business, but I need you to relay a message for me," I said calmly.

The young man tilted his head and nodded. "Oh-Okay."

"Take this," I looked around the empty lobby to be certain it was only the two of us here besides the bartender. I handed him a room pass and five grand. "And tell the gentleman inside room 814 that Joey needs possession of number two and to drop off to this room."

His eyes widened at the items I put in his hand. "I-I don't know," He mumbled and tried to give it back to me.

I glared at him. "I need you to do this. And once he accepts, you need to exit the building immediately."

He shook his head. "What is he dropping off? Is it dangerous?"

I smiled reassuringly to calm his nerves. "The only thing you need to remember is number two. The man will know what to do from there. If he objects, tell him more money will be coming to him. Then leave."

"Sir, with all due respect-"

"I will make sure this is the only thing you're involved in, Ryland," I whispered and took out an extra five hundred dollars from my wallet. "Keep this as a gift for my gratitude." I gave him the money.

Ryland looked at the cash in his hands and I eyed him momentarily. He looked at me and I raised an eyebrow. "O-Oh," He stammered and swiftly put the money in his pockets.

"Don't fuck this up Ryland, I wouldn't want you to get hurt," I subtly warned and got up from my seat. "I expect this to be done in exactly an hour from now."

I left the bar with fate in some college kids hands, hopeful but not counting on a smooth delivery.

An hour felt like a year. I didn't even care if I was being dramatic, this whole situation was dramatic. I still couldn't fathom the way my life was turning out. It was nerve wracking to think that my fate could end up just like Alex's within any moment. I had to execute this perfectly to buy my time.

When I purchased the extra hotel room, I insisted that I had two key cards and only have the room for a couple of hours. They still charged me for a full night but that only meant the maid service had plenty of time to clean up after I left, dead or alive.

One key was in the hands of some kid who worked here, while the other was with me. It was a task to convince the staff to let me have a room on a completely different floor than the other rooms my business associates were on. Money can really take you places.

I glanced at my phone for what felt like the tenth time in two minutes. It was fucking late - or was it early? Almost five in the morning and I haven't slept quite yet. The bags in my eyes were going to be a clear indicator, but then again, I often didn't sleep much anymore.

Blow and depression did that to you.

I used to never find it odd that I had a black screen saver, who cared about images to display it to the world? But when I smashed my phone and got a new one, I made sure to change the image of me and her, to simply black all over again. I'd never admit that it felt empty.

I glanced around the hotel room, which was relatively large for its purpose. The whole building was fancy which I suppose couldn't be surprising. This hotel was for criminals whether the staff knew it or not. Fancy wall colors and furniture to add Feng shui and style, who fucking cared. I certainly didn't.

I narrowed my eyes. The only way I wouldn't be spotted when my buyout was dropped off was if I hid in the bathroom. I felt pathetic doing so, but if my face were to be seen, I'd already be dead.

I sighed a shaky breath. Since when was I ever nervous? Maybe I was just coming down from my high.

The sound of the key pass beeping approval had my heart in my throat. Fucking hell, Eli, get your paranoia under control.

The door slowly opened, then swiftly shut. It was disturbingly quiet, to the point where I had goosebumps starting to form on my arms, but my senses told me I wasn't alone any longer.

A familiar feeling of PTSD arises but I attempted to suppress it from creeping into full swing.

My hands shook aggressively to expel the sweat from my palms as I stepped quietly in view of the rest of the hotel room and my suspicions were correct. A young girl whom I'd already seen before, was standing in the middle of the room with her thumb to her lips, where she was biting on her nail.

She looked different from the last time I saw her. Which was more than relieving.

I cleared my throat and stepped confidently into the room. "Hello," I said but the clearing of my throat was enough to have her jumping out of her skin.

Fuck. Whoops.

She looked at me with terror, but she never directly looked into my eyes, instead she stared at my shoulder. I didn't blame her.

She was shaking, and her stance was slightly hunched over. She looked like a helpless chihuahua without the bark. It was sad.

I scratched the back of my head. What the fuck was I supposed to do with this?

As if a lightbulb flickered on above my head, I turned around towards the blinds. The sun would be coming up soon. "I suppose we should shut these," I murmured while fixating the curtains across the glass.

I turned around to face her. "Ah, fucking shit," I blurted out and averted my eyes from her body. My hand flew up a couple inches away from my face to hide the view from my peripherals. "Put your fucking shirt back on," I said in a hidden panic while keeping my eyes on anything else they could focus on. "Fuck," I muttered.

I gave her a few moments, then peaked through my fingers hesitantly and afraid at what I would find. Relief struck me when I saw her clothed again.

I sighed.

I probably shouldn't have shut the drapes without explaining myself.

"Sit," I ordered. "Make yourself comfortable." I motioned towards the bed. "Better yet, Take this," I took off my grey sweater and threw it at her gently. I didn't want to look at the bruises on her arms anymore. I didn't want to risk her trying to take her clothes off again. I didn't like the look of her ratty clothes that seemed to have seen years on her body.

"Is your name Avery Mathews?" I asked, calm.

She put the sweater on and I could instantly see her limbs relax ever so slightly. She looked away from me. Her face displayed pain and she tried to hide it. "No," She firmly said.

I narrowed my eyes and walked across the room.

Well that was a load of shit.

I stared at her. She was the exact face in the photo. I could see through her lies quite easily; She was scared.

I leaned against the desk in the room and stared down at her, who was looking elsewhere but picking at the dirt under her fingernails.

"Is your name Avery Matthews?" I asked again.

She shook her head. "No."

This was the one time I couldn't act scary towards the public and I couldn't help but glare at her with a stone cold face. I didn't feel like a softie today; That part of me left a while ago.

I sighed. "Listen, buying and raping girls isn't really my forte. I think that's clear by the reaction to your lack of clothing and actually covering you up instead," I said with a sharp voice. "I know you don't want to trust me and frankly, I don't give a fuck whether you do or don't, but regardless, I'm running out of time which means your future of getting the fuck out of here is getting slim to none. So let me ask you again, is your name Avery Matthews?"

Her eyes lit up during my speech and finally, she turned to look at me. "Getting out?" She asked with the most soft, innocent voice I've ever heard.

I nodded slowly. "So?"

She tilted her head.

My eyes drooped and my shoulders slouched. "...Your name?"

"Oh," She perked. A tear slipped from her face but she attempted to remain still.

"You can tell me."

She stared at me. "No." Her eyes watered further as she let a tear slip down her lightly freckled cheek. "Y-yes..." She mumbled out ever so quietly.

"How drugged up are you?" I asked a question that was meant to stay in my head.

"Not very," She mumbled out again. So she was coherent. This was good.

I took out my phone. "Where are you from? Where do your parents live?" I asked into the screen.

"Am I really getting out?" Her voice cracked.

I looked up to her pained expression, all hope in her eyes brightening but fear taking over. She looked utterly broken.

"That's the plan," I nodded. "But you need to listen and follow everything I instruct you to. We don't have much time."

She stood up. "How could I get out? Is this really happening?" She bawled. "Wh-what are you going to do?"

I restrained the urge to lash out. I was stressed and in need of a cigarette. "Don't worry about it," I muttered.

While my eyes dipped back to my phone, I was startled by her fingers gripping my arms in desperation. "Am I getting out?" She cried. "Please get me out, please," She pleaded. "I'll do anything you want, I, I won't tell the cops. Just take me home, please!" She bawled into my chest.

I didn't do well with tears.

I sighed and peeled her off of me. "No, Avery. Tell the cops everything. You need to have your story told and this operation needs to be shut down. You tell them everything you know."

I wanted to convince myself that I was doing this solely because I was a good person. I was doing a good deed while using her for sabotage for later plans. What was the phrase... Two birds, one stone? Two birds stoned at once?

She nodded through her tears and stared at me. She looked like a hopeless dog, I hated it. I nudged her further away from me and looked her up and down. She was a mess.

"I tapped my phone before putting it in my back pocket. "We're running out of time," I muttered to myself.

A little past five in the morning. Nash and Marcus would have cleaned up that body by now, they'd be arriving soon.

I shuddered once again. Fuck, as if he's dead. Another body, shot and killed in front of me, I was starting to get the night sweats.

Joey... Joey had to have been with his wife by now. But he'd be up early to get his plans started. Vivian was a strong woman to put up with his hard working tendencies. She had wandering eyes, it was more than evident. But she was faithful.

"Okay," I said. "Put your hair behind your shoulders and put that hoodie up. Don't let your hair fall into view," I instructed.

I looked down at her legs. Exposed, bruised, malnourished. Bystanders would think I was the pedophile.

"How long have you been taken for?" I blurted. Fuck sakes, Eli. Don't ask personal questions.

"Maybe a little over two years," She murmured while stuffing her hair into the hood.

She's been here since she was fifteen. Fuck.

I looked outside. The sun was rising but the clouds were dark.

I instructed her to stay in the closet while I left the room for a short amount of time. I didn't waste time grabbing another sweater for myself and sweatpants for her. They were my favorite but I guess it didn't matter anymore.

When I arrived back to the room, I opened the closet door which only made her practically jump out of her skin. I had to stop doing that.

What else was I to do with a victim like this? There was no way to properly approach her. Unfortunately, her dead eyes were imprinted in my brain and I don't think they'll be leaving anytime soon.

I didn't watch her dress, I kept my eyes on the door of the hotel room. The sweatpants on her were practically falling down her hips. She had to tie them as tight as they could go just so they'd stay up. It'd keep her warm and discreet.

"Whatever you do, don't look up. I don't care if someone says something to you or to me, you keep your fucking head down," I ordered and grabbed her hand. Ah, I hated touching people.

I opened the door to the hotel and looked down the hallways. Satisfyingly empty. The sound of thunder clapping together and echoing against the walls of the hotel were making it all the more suspenseful to get this mission over with.

She followed behind me, our hands still clasped together. I kept my hood up too while I navigated her towards the elevator. Her hands were ice cold but clammy against my own. The trip through the hotel wasn't terrible. We were only stopped once and it was to tell me my shoe was untied. We kept walking anyway.

We walked hand in hand for a while outside. Too long it felt like.

I had a sense of familiarity by walking with her hand holding mine. I didn't like the reminder, it made me all the more sick.

I desperately needed a smoke.

The sun was nowhere to be found behind the thick dark clouds and it was already drizzling in rain. For how early it was in the morning, there were quite a few pedestrians on the streets. We collided through all of them, in a hurry.

She was starting to fall behind but I needed her to find her strength to keep going. After what seemed to be forty-five minutes of walking, I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned around and my hood flew off my head from a breeze of wind. Her blonde hair was starting to fly against the wind, escaping her hood.

I let the rain fall in my face, not caring about a hood anymore. Droplets stuck to my eyelashes as I spoke. I stared dead into her light green eyes. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

She reached towards my arm. "Where are you going?" She said in a panic.

I moved her towards the corner of the alleyway but still in sight of where I was going. "Stay here. Don't move," I muttered and with that I disappeared.

I was jittering from nerves, from exhaustion, from the cold. I was in need of a fix and a cigarette but I couldn't be rewarded just yet.

Grabbing what I needed from the store, I returned to the alleyway to see her nowhere in sight.

"Fuck," I muttered and made a circle around. She was nowhere.

I began down the alleyway where a small hand grasped my damp shoulder. "It's me," She whispered.

I turned towards her, anger washed over me. "What the hell happened to staying where I put you?" I hissed while backing her up against the wall.

"I got nervous being in the public," She mumbled in the shadows. "It's the first taste of freedom I've had in awhile..."

I sighed for what felt like the thousandth time. I guess I couldn't argue with her. "Here," I handed her five hundred dollars and a bus ticket. "The bus will be arriving in a couple of minutes," I said quietly. "And take this," I pulled out a phone that I bought at the convenient store just moments ago.

She delicately took the items but fear washed over her face.

"Do not make any calls or any texts until you get home, do you hear me?" I strictly demanded. "Do not. Call. Anyone."

"Wh-"

"There's a number programmed into it already. It's my burner phone. Call me when you're home."

"What's your name?" She asked when she noticed there was only a phone number in the contact.

"Don't contact me for an emergency, don't contact me for anything except to tell me you've made it home safe. If you run into any problem, call the cops, that's what they're there for. I'm not going to rescue you again, so contacting me would only cost you your life," I said in monotone. "You have a long trip ahead of you. Use that money on food and a change of clothes when they pit stop. Don't leave the bus long, and don't talk to anyone about anything. Just keep to yourself. And do not call anyone until you're home. It'll be safer this way."

She nodded swiftly and I motioned her towards the bus stop. Her bus arrived and few people were starting to board.

"You saw..." She said softly.

I stared but remained quiet.

"You saw me... In that room."

My stomach twisted. I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my head. "Get on the bus, Avery. Be safe."

"What's your name?" She asked while I nudged her towards the doors.

"Remember what I told you," I said again and turned her around.

She motioned her finger towards the bus driver to give her a moment and she turned around to face me again. "Thank you," She teared up but the rain masked it away. "For everything." She wrapped her arms around my neck for a quick moment, then released me. I didn't hug her back. I couldn't get attached.

She gave me for the first time since I've seen her, a small, genuine smile.

I nodded in response and twitched the corner of my lip.

I watched her walk on the bus, her legs almost giving out from the nerves. I didn't want to be a sap and watch her as the bus drove off, but I almost couldn't help myself.

When she was seated, she made quick eye contact with me, where I put my hood back up, and started to disappear into the crowd of people, in the opposite direction back to the hotel.

Sam and Billy were dead.

It was an odd thought to pop into my head but I couldn't help but reflect. I was a fool to think they'd be the biggest parts of my problems and it wouldn't boil down to having a connection to Nash.

I shuddered at the image of memory when I stared into their dying eyes, turning from life to nothing. Their chest moving up and down, to still and stiff. Internally panicking at the scene but keeping it together for the sake of charade.

My therapist would have her hands full with my new PTSD.

I lit my third smoke, frustrated when the rain wettened the stick.

I forced myself not to think about them often, but when a rushing businessman in a suit bumped into me on the sidewalk, instead of wanting to fight them, Tyler's face popped into my mind.

Him and his shortie, Lacey. I was supposed to be his best man, but instead I fucked off and left him in the dust. I wish I could tell him why, but it was best to keep them as out of it as they could be. Nash kept them over my head often.