~ Thanks for an amazing review and for finding my sense of humour funny XD Appreciate the support you've given my book ~

April 4th, 4:07 PM - Unknown Location - Chicago, IL Azura's POV

***********

No matter the number of times she had gone through the stimulations, nothing ever came close to producing the real emotions and feelings one had after being knocked out. By a car. 

Her limbs felt like jello, as she could barely move them. All she knew was that they were still attached to her, and something was holding them down. 

Her eyelids were heavy with drowsiness, but her instincts continued to force them open. As she blinked lazily, she took several minutes to regain focus until her surroundings became clear. Taking a slow scout of the room she was in, she noticed that she was in what could easily be a bedroom. It was furnished with the bare minimum, and the walls were coated with an earl gray hue. 

What a nice change from the usually abandoned and gross factory. This capture is off to a great start. 

From the light smell that lingered of fresh paint and pristine white moulding, she could tell that this place was new and yet to be inhabited. Slowly, sensation tingled in the tips of her fingers. The feeling eventually seeped through her entire body. 

Shivering from the momentary sensory overload, she had but a second to process before a throbbing pain shot through her leg as she flexed. 

No longer under the numbing spell offered by her unconsciousness, she felt everything, especially which body parts of hers ached from the brute hits she had received.  She gritted her teeth to stop a disgruntled cry from her mouth as glared at the dark red stain that presented itself through her light-washed jeans. 

Great, so not only am I bleeding from my lady parts by from this stupid gash too. Just how much blood am I going to be losing? 

Let out quick short breathes, she quickly checked the rest of herself and relaxed when she found no new wounds. Her body was sore from being manhandled after the knockout and she shifted in the seat she was bound to. 

Her hands were duct-taped to the arms of the metal chair arm, along with her legs. This method was quick and efficient, but cheap, telling her they weren't exactly prepared to keep her hostage. 

It acted as comfort knowing that she may still have the element of surprise if and when she got out of these restraints. 

If I just swing my hand in a diagonal motion with enough force I can probably get out...

Interrupting her thoughts, the door to the room opened, and her entire body stiffened in response. Her steel gaze was glued to the door as she anticipated her captor to come into view. 

Instead, a dishevelled Rosa was shoved inside by none other than Enzo, who roughly held her by the arm. Azura stalked him as he pushed Rosa towards one side of the room before taking a stand behind her. 

Azura took in the sunken face, the fresh bruise on her cheek and the pouted lips that seemed to tremble. Her hands clenched into fists as she thought about what happened to the older woman and she wanted to break every finger of the man who touched her. 

And as if on cue, another figure swaggered inside, this one sporting a menacing smirk. The slit eyebrow, the arms decorated with tattoos and single ear piercing was enough to  ID him as the notorious man behind the planned shoot out and the father of her target.

He finally stopped in front of her, staring at her with a glint of curiosity. 

"Someone's finally awake. You were a hard woman to catch, let alone find." 

He continued to boast about her combat skills as she quietly stared him down, searching for any hidden weapons on him.  "And you managed to take out 5 men, twice your size with nothing but your fists! You sure you're getting a degree in business and not martial arts, Ms. Azura Kim Jun?" 

A humourless laugh left her lips at the tease and name drop. He wasn't lying, after all, she had managed to take out the first set of men that had come into the student residence complex. But apparently, those weren't the only ones he had sent. As she tried to escape the next wave of attackers, she was cornered and almost run over. At that point, everything had gone black. 

"How do you know my name? Who are you and what do you want?" she asked, playing dumb. 

He laughed, making himself comfortable as he leaned against the wall. "Come on now, don't be like that. You know my name so it's only fair that I know yours. And all I want is information. Answers. And confirmation." 

She tilted her head a small pout forming. "On what? I don't understand. What's going on?" 

Looking away for a second scoffing, she watched as the veins in his neck tensed. The smirk he gave her was forced and it was a dead give away that he was getting annoyed. "Really? You're going to play the dumb card?"

Of course. You're not getting anything out of me bud. 

"What do you mean? I'm just a university student trying to get a degree, as you said," she answered back in the same tone which would surely become irritating like nails on a chalkboard. 

 "So it's going to go like this, huh?" He paused, a thoughtful look on his face before he dragged a nearby chair and placed it in front of her. He took a seat, relaxed in his posture. "Alright, you're a University student. What else do you...Azura?" 

She fired an answer right back, not hesitating in the slightest. "I work part-time at a salon as a stylist." Pausing she glanced over at Rosa, speaking with her eyes deadset on the woman, waiting for her reaction. "And she's one of my clients." 

"Is that so? Just a client?" he fired back, not at all convinced. 

Rosa finally shakily lifted her head to peek at her through her tattered hair. Her eyes were brimming with tears, which almost made her lose her cool. Hastily looking away she focused on the man in front of her. 

"Yes." 

"Hmm, okay. What's your second job."

She eventually shifted her gaze back to the man who expectantly waited for her reply. "I don't have one."

"Oh, but you do chica," he insisted as he leaned forward in his chair.  "I know you do because everything up and till this very moment has proved that you are not just some student hustling to pay tuition.  So, tell me who it is that you work for." 

She wondered when he would soon realize that this method of interrogation would get him nowhere.  "I told you, I don't work a second job. I am just a University student paying her bills. Nothing more, nothing less." 

The chair he was sitting on flew back as he shot out of his seat. His hand snatching her throat in a nasty hold. His fingers flexed around her slender neck and she could feel her windpipe slowly getting a crush. But the fighter in her, the trained agent in her remained calm.

"There isn't a sliver of fear in your eyes, why's that, huh? Aren't you scared?" 

They were close. Very close. Close enough for Azura to tilt her head a little higher so that as she spat at him, it landed right on his face. The action slackened his hold on her for a second and then released all together as he backed away laughing. 

He gingerly touched the wet residue on his face, before wiping it off with the back of his hand. "Student my ass."

Turning to Enzo, he nodded. The man responded back before pulling a fist back and raming it into Rosa's abdomen. The woman groaned as she crumpled to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. 

Azura's entire body responded as she jerked forward on instinct, ready to go and protect her from the next hit. But she was still stuck, still bound to the chair. 

"Oh, you don't like it when I hit your client? Damn, you must be one hell of a stylist for you to get this agitated over a client," he mocked not even flinching when his girlfriend continued to howl in pain. 

Azura spat back in rage, the level-headed composure of her's long gone. "You fucking sicko. How can you let her get punches like this, and you say you love her." 

"Oh, I love her," he paused, and added cheekily, "most of the time." It made her blood boil as she strained against the restraints holding her back from suck punching the disgusting man. 

 "Besides, I know your type. You've been through it all haven't you? You're prepared to keep the facts to yourself and take it to hell. But when the hits, the torture, is directed to someone else...well, people like you break. Especially women like you, empathetic to a fault."

He grinned with the same sickly sweet amusement as he came next to Rosa's side. He crouched caressing her face gently. "She knows the consequence of disloyalty. This is a small price to pay. I already know she's the one who gave you the information. But what I don't know is why and for what. So, you can stop this. You can help her if you tell me what I want to hear." 

He stood up again, leaving enough room for Enzo to deliver another gut-wrenching kick to her abdomen. As Azura watched the woman give a hacking cough in response,  she broke. 

"Stop! Fucking stop and I'll tell you." 

Word count: 1654 

Hey hey! Hope you guys are doing well. For those of you in school right now and have exams like me, hang in there kid, you're almost there. For those of you who are chilling, damn lucky. 

This Chapter was almost 5000 words long and let me tell you - it was crazy hard to break down but I managed and I separated things up. Hope you guys enjoy it (though it's a bit violent this chapter so bare with me).

Before I leave, I just wanted to give a shout out to:

@LeInkPen for the review she did in on my book. You can find it in her book "Inked Reviews" (In my reading list - REVIEWS). It was awesome and meant a lot - so if you need to convince a friend to check this story out tell em to head over there and they just may be convinced. 

Again, a huge thank you to my readers. The comments, the votes, the simple addition to your reading list all do wonders for my motivation.  As we're reaching the end, for some reason, it's getting a lot harder for me to write XD (maybe because now that I know people are actually looking forward to chapters, I don't want to disappoint haha) BUT I'm working on it and if all goes well this completed book will be a Xmas present to all. 

SO yeah, thank you, I appreciate it, sorry for the long and random author's note. Hope everyone's staying safe and see ya on the flip side. 

- Johnny