Arden spat blood from his mouth, it landed squarely in the detective's blond beard. The detective's red face almost turned to the shade of Arden's blood, as his face contorted.

"He ain't talkin'," the detective jeered over his shoulder. His partner re-entered the room, his fists ugly and bruised.

"Miss Ward has requested a private talk with the prisoner," he flexed his hands, eyeing Arden who was tied to a chair. Bruises coated Arden's body, and blood leaked down his red-stained suit. It had been two days since he had spoken, two days with no food or water. Two days of constant interrogation, and being beaten to a bloody pulp.

Yet when Miss Ward walked through that door, it all fell away as he beheld the beautiful redhead with green eyes with gold flakes. Her raspberry smell taunting him from where he sat tied up.

"Veronica," he chuckled darkly. "Have you come to ask me how I could be so cruel, and all the other petty crap you girls like to say?"

Veronica leaned down and tilted Arden's chin up so he looked her in the eyes, her lips curling into a secretive smile. "On the contrary, I was still hoping we could start where we left off. I'm sure I could work around the binds. I have no fear of getting a little messy." She traced her hand down his cheek, wetting it in his dark red blood.

"I'm sure the police would love to watch us," he jerked his head up towards the cameras that loomed at him from above.

"Oh don't fret, the cameras are having some... technical difficulties." She reached her hand over and started to curl one of his strands of hair around her finger. Arden tilted his head observing the girl he had kissed in a dark hallway.

"Who are you, Veronica Ward?" He speculated, leaning as far forward in his chair as he could. Stopping only inches away from her face, she smirked down at him.

"I'm a client of yours. In fact, I'm the client that so kindly offered you four million if you got a job done for me. Too bad you were caught." She leaned in closer to him, bringing her face a few millimeters away from his. "Though this distance does remind me of our fun, perhaps we could-."

"You set me up," Arden leaned back away from Veronica. Her soft lips forming a small circle, a look of innocence. "From the moment I walked in you were there, I smelled your perfume. You knew exactly who I was and what was going to happen to me."
"You can't be serious... of course, I knew who you were. I hired you." Veronica crossed her arms and fluttered her eyelashes innocently, still refusing to budge.

"The guards that detained me knew exactly where I was, they went right for me. They didn't hesitate, they didn't even need to double-check that it was me. You set me up."

"I didn't set you up, you just got caught." She placed her hand on Arden's broad shoulder, "look I could get you out. Now that the mayor is gone I'm going to win the election, and I can pull a few strings... as long as you stick with me of course." Arden snarled at her, and Veronica flinched back slightly.

"The guards knew I was a hitman. They could have arrested me before I did it. But the guards weren't the mayor's guards. No. They were personal guards, I saw the symbol." Arden nodded towards her bracelet that was shaped like an unsettling eye, Veronica clutched her bracelet, her face paling. "They were your personal guards, you can't deny that." Veronica's pale face hardened and she sneered down at him.

"I didn't know you would be... the way you are. I was just cutting a loose end, but I don't have to. You could stay with me, work with me, and much much more." Veronica started to lean towards him again, her eyes on his lips.

"I could tell everyone that you hired me to kill the mayor." Veronica froze at that, her nostrils flaring.

"You don't want to start this Arden, just come with me."

"The police will walk in that door and I could easily just tell them you hired me, what would you do then Veronica?" Arden smirked up at her cold face. She pinched her lips.

"Stop playing around with that idea, just come with me." Arden bared his teeth at her, "who do you think they would believe Arden? The future mayor or a hitman that set the mayor on fire."

"I should have set you on fire the moment you stepped in here," he tilted his head watching her expression. She took a step back, eyeing him. Trying to decipher if he could actually do that even while tied up.

"You can't do that in your binds," she stated but she shifted on her feet. Arden just chuckled darkly, his eyes clouded.

"Test your luck then."

Veronica sucked in a small breath of air, her eyes darting to the door. "Fine, I hope you are pleased with your choice Arden. You chose that hell hole of a prison over me, and once I am mayor they won't be known as rehabilitation centers anymore." Veronica stormed towards the doors and flung it open, sending one last furious look back at Arden.

An hour later Arden was shoved into an armored transport van, the blood from his injuries dripping down on the athratos metal chains that held him down. A single guard was in the transport with him, and their gun trained on him the whole way.

Arden wasn't sure why he felt so calm, he supposed he always knew that he would be thrown into a prison eventually.

The van stopped sharply causing him to sway with the sudden motion. The last thing he remembered was the doors being flung open and a syringe being plunged into his neck. Then everything went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Published: June 5, 2020, 8:04 PM

Words: 1010

So sorry for the cliff hanger, but we have to keep you, readers, on your toes somehow!- RiSaWa