Chapter 2

The room was filled with a stunned silence. The first man was stunned to realise he had kidnapped the wrong girl and Scarlet was stunned to realise her captor was no other than Gethin Ryan. Suddenly the room was filled with laughter as the second man fell to the floor in a fit. Gethin swore loudly and kicked him.

"This isn't funny, Evens. What do we do with her? We can't let her go. She knows who we are."

 Evens sat up.

"Actually it is funny. You had all this revenge buisness then you messed it up."

Gethin swore again.

 "Me? I didn't mess it up. You did. You told me we were at number 8!"

Evens shrugged.

 "3 and 8 looke the same to me, especially in the dark."

He rose to his feet and began circling Scarlett as if she was his prey. He reached up and gently stroked a lock of her hair.

 "What a shame" he murmured in a bone chilling voice. "She is so pretty. Ah well, I'm sure we'll find another one day."

He pulled out his knife and lunged at her. Scarlett screamed as she ducked and tried to run away. Her life flew past her eyes as the knife was slashed at her again. The blow never came. Gethin had sprung up and wrenched the knife from Evens's hand. Scarlett whimpered and cried softly as her legs collapsed from beneath her. She was frightened. She flinched as a hand brushed the hair from her face.

"Did he hurt you?" asked a gruff voice.

Scarlett didn't answer. She was shaking and gasping for breath. The owner of the voice shook her slightly.

"Answer me, girl! Did he hurt you?"

"It's not a big deal, Garvan. She's just had a fright."

The second voice had been Gethin's. The words made Scarlett flush with anger. So it hadn't been a big deal that she had nearly been stabbed by a maniac. Obviously the man agreed because he let go of Scarlett's shoulders and stood up.

 "That was a big deal, Gethin. I agreed to help you because of the friendship I had with your father. The agreement was no killing. I will have nothing to do with murder."

 He walked over to where Evens was cowering. "And you my boy, if I ever catch you near her again, you'll wish you had never been born."

Evens nodded. "Yes sir."

Garvan took the knife from Gethin and walked out of the room. Evens watched then walked straight over to Scarlett. She immediently scrambled out of the way.

"You'll catch it, Evens. If Garvan comes back you are dead meat."

Evens laughed. "I ain't going to hurt her. I never was to start with. She's just so scared and puny. It's just like teasing a kitten."

The word kitten gave Scarlett an idea. If you tease a kitten to much it could grow into a tiger. As Evens tried to pull her hair, she sprang forward and clawed at his face. Evens gave an unmanly scream and pulled back. Gethin laughed and Scarlett felt triumphant. She could get through this, that she knew now. She wouldn't let these men bully and push her around. Being a woman doesn't make you weak and Scarlett knew that. Her thoughts were interruptered when Evens rose from the ground and threw himself upon her. She tried to scratch him again but he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her. Scarlett yelped as he twisted her arm to the breaking point. She couldn't move now for fear of breaking her arm. The pain was agonizing and she screamed. Evens quickly let go but not fast enough. Garvan was standing in the doorway. He strode over and bashed Evens in the stomach. Evens groaned and would have fallen backwards except Garvan had a strong grip on his upper arm.

"Seems like you weren't listening, Tristan. So you and I will discuss this outside."

He strode out the door, jerking Evens along behind him. Scarlett turned and found herself face to face with Gethin Ryan. She tried to look brave but inwardly she was quaking. Gethin grabbed her hand roughly and lead her upstairs and into a room. Scarlett was now terrified. Why was he leading her up here? Gethin shoved her into a chair and turned to face her.

 "There was a mistake. We don't want you. We wanted another girl by the name of Eleanor."

Scarlett tried not to roll her eyes. I already knew that, Captain Obvious, she thought.

"But" continued Gethin. "We can not let you go because you know who we are and what our mission is. We haven't decided what to do with you but be assured we will not kill you."

 Scarlett blinked at him and wished she could slap him hard. "Well, that is comforting to know. But seriously, the other guy just tried to kill me."

Gethin sighed and wiped his face across his sleeve.

 "Ah yes, so he did. He may have only being trying to scare you. But he could also have been quite serious. I guess we will never know."

 Scarlett was now using all her strenght to remain in the chair. "So he could have been? What is wrong with him anyway?"

 Gethin watched her through narrowed eyes. "He's had a bad life. He was mixed up with gangs and drugs at a very early age. If I remember correctly, he was both drinking and smoking before 18."

 Scarlett dropped her head in her hands. "Just my luck."

Gethin looked slightly amused. "It's not at all that bad" he said, chuckling as he left the room.

Tears tricked from Scarlett's eyes but she quickly wiped them away. No, she wouldn't cry. Why, this might even turn out to be a ticket to her freedom. Only time could tell.