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Auriella Everleigh Soleil

One thing I had mastered was running in heels. I spent a lot of my everyday life wearing them and in turn, I had accomplished a talent that was very valuable in my line of work.

Xander and I had unwillingly split up but we needed to cover as much ground as possible.

Seconds after the lights were off the doors locked remotely, Xander and I had to get out as quickly as possible but also undetected. It was a struggle but we made it. Now I was running around the deserted halls like a damn runaway princess since I was clad in a fancy ball gown.

My Cinderella moment though was interrupted by the chatter coming through my earpiece.

"How far are you Ella?" Tessa asks.

"One more minute." I head through the halls as quickly as I can, the faster we could get through this the higher chance of us succeeding. I pull out my phone from the garter on my thigh when I stop at a door, my finger type quickly and with accuracy a code to use to get through the door, I had it memorised by now so it wouldn't fail but I couldn't have done it remotely, the reason why I was here tonight.

I was the only person with the skillset, hacking was my forte and I had developed it to such a standard that no one else could fill my position.

"What's the hold-up, Ella?" Levin asks when I was taking longer than they thought I would.

"You all seem to forget I cannot spell," I mutter, the beep sounds and I open the door. Julian, Demetrius and Leandro enter the room. The four of us raced down the hall to the back of the stage.

Xander was waiting with Lorenzo, Kaeso and Ahmed, the three of them dressed in server uniforms. They had already started untying the girls and helping them out the door into a line so we could get them out of there seamlessly.

The eight of us work seamlessly, we pass out hoodies so they are all covered and warm to the now-dropping temperature. My team works to get the girls ready to go out and the other team works on getting the girls to the transportation.

"Guys we have an issue," Molly announces, the four siblings of the sigma team had been alerting us of any changes and so far all the criminals had been locked in the ballrooms.

The FBI should have already started raiding and locking up all those disgusting humans.

"What is it now?" Julian asks hints of panic, exhaustion and desperation mixed in his tone.

"The Nox's left the room," Elin informed us, her voice grim. "They're heading your way and they are all armed.

I surveyed the room, there were still over a dozen girls in there. I couldn't traumatise them more, so after helping the last girl I stood up and headed to the door.

"I'll handle them," I announce.

"Auriella." Xander's sharp voice sounds. "Not by yourself."

I pause by the door and look back at him, he was helping a teenage girl about our age. I caught his eyes and there was unadulterated rampant terror and fear in them. I smiled at him and instantly his eyes softened but the panic was still there.

No one knew how utterly despicable the Nox's were like the two of us, but no one trusted and believed in me more like the man in front of me. I rubbed my chest over my heart and drew a line with my fingers down the middle of my torso. He knew what I was saying, I loved him and to trust me. I knew what to do.

With fierce eyes, all I received was a single head nod. "Five minutes and then I'm coming to you," he says softly, but I heard it over the earpiece. Everyone did and I could feel the apprehension and anticipation over the line.

No one knew my plan and I could hear them grumbling as I turned off my communication. I could hear them but they couldn't hear me, the only person who could hear me was Xander and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Whenever eight of us were wearing comms it was always open communication, no blocks unless both parties signed off on it and there was no way I was getting his consent right now.

While I was on my phone blocking everyone I switched off the tech in my contacts that was making my eyes green leaving them their normal blue. Four large bodies were barreling down the hall, I stopped right in the centre and they all looked surprised that I was there waiting for them.

They paused cautiously, these people raised me so they knew exactly what I had been capable of back then and like they assumed I was so much more advanced now.

"This isn't a hologram right?" Verus asked, he reached out his finger to poke me but I gripped it and twisted it, hard. "So no, not a hologram."

"Why would I be a hologram?" I deadpanned, I would not be having this exchange with them if I wasn't here to divert their attention.

"So the tech genius is telling me she doesn't know how to build a hologram?" he teases.

"Of course, I know how to build a hologram." I drawl like he was an idiot. "But why would I be one, I'm not a little bitch that would face you that way. I know how to stand up to my small grievances, unlike some people."

The three other brothers growl at being called small grievances and Verus takes offence to me mentioning he cannot stand up for himself.

Some people need to learn how to take the truth better.

I tilt my head to the side like a doll and stare at them innocently. That was exactly what Ceren tried to turn me into, a doll, well a doll that could murder someone with a snap of their fingers.

I take in the man in question, he had aged since the last time I saw him almost a decade ago. The man was no longer in his twenties and now was in his late thirties, his hair was greying and wrinkles on his what used to be a perfect face now had appeared.

"Everleigh." Ceren greets, a charming grin on his face. The way he said my name just made me remember why I had it changed, it made me jittery like I needed a long, hot shower.

"Ceren." The discomfort I was feeling never showed on my face.

"How are you, doll? It's been a while." The feeling of revulsion I was feeling was amplified by a million.

"I was so much better before I had to see you." I fired back and immediately their demeanour changed like they had failed to remember why we were all gathered here.

"I'm almost there, Amore," Xander said quietly, hearing the change in the atmosphere. That fact just released all the alarm in my body and I was once again calm even though I was faced with four seething men.

Gileon steps forward, he was slightly taller than me usually but I was in heels so we were equal height, he was burly though. Gileon Nox was a fighter therefore his body was pure muscle. It should scare me but right now my body was thriving off of the adrenaline and my brain wasn't comprehending the warning bells it was meant to be receiving.

Dark eyes stare through me, a staring competition perhaps, I don't look away but instead, I keep my eyes trained on him. Neither of us looks away until he does, Gileon Nox, the man who tortured a child for five years looks away from my gaze first. That automatically makes its way to near the top of my list of achievements. This was the man who lashed me and beat me, the man who scarred my body.

I scanned the other three brothers. Timon had always been the quietest so I wasn't surprised he hadn't spoken, instead he had hidden behind his brothers. If it came down to it he physically was the weakest link, he might have been the smartest academically but he was lanky and had never taken an interest in physical training.

Even Ceren who disguised himself behind his little dogs was stronger than Timon.

I let out a soft click with my tongue, an action unnoticed by all the brothers but it was heard over the comms.

"Thirty seconds, Ella," Xander replied. All the kids had been moved so this was the time for me to get away, the only issue was I wasn't sure how to. I didn't have a choice though, the Nox's were sore losers and Gileon didn't take the show of feebleness he exhibited lightly. He was mortified and that's why the thirty-something-year-old man attacked me, a sixteen-year-old girl.

I met him blow for blow, allowing him to attack but never hit me but I never fought back. I had studied Gileon's training intensively when I was a child, he was the best fighter I knew back then and I wanted to be better so I studied him and in turn learnt his weaknesses.

I let him attack, if he was anything like he was a decade ago he got tired fast, and he used up all his energy. So I just watch his blows and defend myself not reciprocating the attacks. When his fist was about to connect with my face, a hand that wasn't mine gripped the fist. Gileon's dark eyes flick up to the person pressing up behind me.

Gileon's fist was let go but not with a push so he was now back in line with his brothers.

I hadn't fought back as that would show that he agitated me and right now I wanted to show that these men were nothing but pests to me.

I didn't have to look back to know the person behind me was Xander. His body was flush against my back until he moved to my right so we were side by side. Gileon's heavy breathing was the only sound in the hall.

"Where are the products?" Ceren grits out. Once again disgust fills me, those girls are not products. "You two are costing me a lot of money tonight."

So he was the one who set this all up. I guess he got back into the trafficking game after we had him busted the first time. He is a vile human being.

"You aren't getting them." Xander answers. "They've already been removed and are off the property."

The brothers got angry again but they were stopped from attacking us by the sounds of multiple guns being cocked from behind us. Xander and I followed suit, both of us reaching for the guns we had pointed on hand and pointing it at the brothers.

I was pointed exactly at Ceren and Xander was aimed at Gileon, I'm guessing that had to do with him attacking me.

"Run." They looked at me in confusion, but I repeated it. "Run."

They had two options, stay here and get locked out for the rest of their pathetic lives or run, they took that latter and the four of them left not looking back.

"Well, that was the wrong choice." I scoff rolling my eyes and putting my gun away. "Are the girls okay?"

"They're fine," Lorenzo confirms. All six boys were standing behind us looking murderous. "You guys need to get home, you have a curfew now don't you."

He was teasing us, and with all the emotions and adrenaline running through me all I could do was laugh. I needed a long hot shower and I was about to fall asleep on my feet. Xander's arm circles my waist, holding me to him.

I tossed one of the hoodies before we went outside, I just pulled it over my dress keeping the hood up so I could block out some of the lights and sounds and also keep from being recognised. My outfit didn't match, making me cringe a little but I had to do what I had to do.

Stepping outside was once again overwhelming. I have never gotten used to the chaos that was a raid, especially at night. There were the flashing blue and red lights from the cop cars and lots of shouting and just an overall electric buzz in the air.

I grip Xander's hand tightly, he too had on a hoodie over his suit with a hood up, the fewer people that saw us here the better especially since we were so close to the biological town. The only time I looked up was when Xander nudged me, looking up I saw Cody standing with his team we had met at the gym. They all knew what our role was tonight, he raised his hand in greeting which the two of us responded with a head nod, before slipping into our car.

I sank into the chair, pulling the hoodie back since the windows were tinted. My eyes close on instinct. A hand rubs small circles on my arm.

"Go to sleep love, I'll wake you up later."

So I listen to the wise words of my boyfriend and fall fast asleep.

<><><>

When I open the bathroom door a large puff of steam trails after me. Xander is sitting on the bed typing away on his laptop, probably typing up his report, something I will have to do sometime in the next twenty-four hours. I walk over to him and pick up his laptop, setting it on the side table and replacing the spot on his lap with my body.

"Hi, my love." He whispers, I tilt my head up and I see the tiredness in his body. I had rested a bit but it was his turn. But first, we needed to get back to the house. We both had a nice long shower and changed into a sweatsuit we could just sleep in when we got back since we were both exhausted and wouldn't want to change again.

"Hi," I whisper back, enjoying our little bubble. Despite everything that happened this evening all I felt right now was a relief, all the girls were safe, no one got hurt and I had trackers on every single one of the Nox's, something I hadn't had before.

We could have taken them in, we could have locked them up but the Nox's were the leaders of NITE, they had people to step up for them if they were taken down. This was an organisation that was spread out internationally and if we wanted to make a difference in the world we needed not to think about small victories, sure I would be ecstatic to take in the people who abused me for years but what difference would it have made in the world to take in these people tonight, their dogs still would be taking unsuspecting people and selling them for human trafficking or doing what they did to us, breaking us into pieces and building us into weapons.

All I was feeling right now was relief but tomorrow was when all the emotions would be hitting, tonight I was too tired to feel anything but Alexander and I both had therapy appointments set up and hopefully, we could get away with little to no interaction from the family members.

I'm not sure how tomorrow will go. I had never been living with people who didn't know what I did, people who expected my interaction rather than letting me recuperate for a day in a dark room. But I didn't have the energy to worry about that now.

Xander stood up with me still hooked around me.

"Xander put me down," I tell him, but he doesn't listen. He grabs my slides and puts them onto my feet for me before putting them on.

"Why?" he asked me.

"Because you're exhausted," I told him, he didn't need to be carrying me around.

"I might get tired, Amore. But having you in my arms makes me happy and after the night we had all we needed to be happy."

I melted, he had a way of always making me feel like the most important person on earth. "Fine, but I'm driving back."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

So what do you guys think? I don't think I have ever written a chapter so fast. From the time I started it it took me under a day to write.  Who knew I liked writing violence.

I have a question, let's say if I ever published my books would you buy them? I'm seriously considering dropping out of school and becoming an author, I do not need that type of stress in my life.

Next chapter is a Grayson POV if I'm not mistaken so look out for that.

Follow me on TikTok and Instagram if you want updates and a couple sneak peaks, or even if you want to be friends. Please vote and comment and I will see you next chapter

Ara <3 


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