See How She Runs (The Chronicles of Izzy #1)(53)

A deep look of concentration passed over his brow. He looked as though he was straining, and I remembered my wards. I looked back into his eyes defiantly.

“What have you done? Take them down. Do it now," Xavier said with more heat than I thought possible for him.

“Sorry, I don’t know how," I said flippantly. I was really glad my pants did not catch fire and give me away immediately. The way the day had turned out though, I would not have been surprised if they had.

“You are telling me you warded your head but you don’t know how to undo it? Kennan is far too anal to have let that happen," Xavier said, trying to pry the truth from me.

“Well, before I could learn to undo them, I had to learn to do them. I was still working on the first part you see, so we didn’t quite make it there. Pity, huh?" I said, just before he struck me.

Well, it was just a banner day for me. I was riding in a limo for the very first time. I had been hit by a man for the first time in my life, well, if I didn’t count Ian’s training. Oh, and I had been kidnapped. But that was more of a repeating theme for me, so I was not sure it counted. I sat there numb, but grateful to have my mind to myself.

He could torture me or any other number of things. He would not use my head to screw with people’s lives. He would have to kill me first. I looked over at him, filled with more rage than I ever thought imaginable. I could not help myself. I wanted this man to suffer like I had never wanted anything before.

“So, how did your latest insurance scheme work out, buddy?" I asked, remembering that today would have been the bridge collapse.

Xavier looked at me confused at first and then pulled his phone out to make a call. He spoke in Gaelic like Ian and Kennan did when they didn’t want me to hear what was being said. By the time he ended his phone conversation he was seething.

He shot out with his arm out and gripped me around the throat once more, pinning me to the seat. I could barely breathe. I probably should not have pushed him, but quite honestly, I just wanted to piss him off.

I looked him in the eyes defiantly and smiled. I knew then and there that I was made of stronger stuff than I had ever imagined. He could take everyone I ever loved. Heck, he could kill me. But like Mel Gibson said in Braveheart, “He could never take my freedom." I knew that was the truth. I was my own person, and I would fight until my last breath to keep that freedom.

“What’s the matter?" I croaked running out of air. “Did somebody foil the evil villain's plan?"

He shoved my head to the side, against the window. I heard a crack before everything went dark, sinking me, once more, into oblivion.





**********





TWENTY TWO





When I awoke, we were on some sort of plane. I sat up and looked around, trying to get my bearings. This was no mere plane, it was a private jet. Just add that to the list of firsts for the day. I had never flown before this and I had quite frankly never wanted to. I sat there, trying to control my breathing. I would not let him know how this small space affected me. I could not imagine what he would do with that sort of information. I looked around and tried to twist in the seat, only to find myself practically immobilized.

I looked down at my hands that were cuffed to the seat. Personally, I thought it was a bit overkill. I mean, I was on a plane, flying through the air. Just where did they think I was going? I wasn’t dumb enough to jump out of the plane. Although, I was desperate enough to just crash the whole thing and kill us all. I guessed the handcuffs made sense after all.

My throat was on fire and my head was pounding. I wondered if they kept some of those magic pills Kennan stocked. As I was pining for some sort of relief, Xavier lowered himself into the seat directly in front of me. He looked at me with an expression that I assumed he meant to be soothing. He approached me like I was some sort of wild caged animal and I reveled in it.

I raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“Izzy, it really is unseemly for you to act out in front of my associates. So I am going to ask you nicely to lower your wards. I will only ask this once more," Xavier said calmly.

“Sorry, don’t know how to help you," I said, my voice strained and sounding like someone driving over an old gravel road. Well, that was new. I wondered if the affectation would be a permanent one.

“Now, be reasonable. I can make your life very easy, or I can make it very uncomfortable. Your mother gave me too many problems and chose the latter for herself. Will you be smarter than she was? Sorry for your loss by the way," he said flippantly.

I raged against my confines. I wanted so badly to wrap my hands around his stupid throat and squeeze until his face resembled a blueberry. I had never hated anyone before, never wanted to in fact. Yet there I was. I wanted nothing more than to destroy the man. I yearned to see him burn for all he had done to my family and even his own. I pulled as far forward in my seat as I could.

“I need you to listen very closely, Xavier. You will kill me before you ever get me to submit to you. I will fight you every second I am breathing. Make no mistake, my mother may have come to you willingly, but I did not. The funny thing really is I am damn near useless with all of these wards up," I said, nodding my head back. “So, good luck with that," I snarled before he shoved me back in my seat pressing hard against my breast bone.

He towered over me. Rage burned in his eyes and I could tell that it had been a very long time since Xavier had been denied any request. It really was a pity no one ever taught him to play nicely. Someone should have been put in a time out a long time ago.