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Chapter Eight

Sweaty palms? Check.

Pounding heart? Check.

Anxiety attack? Check.

I really had no idea why I was so nervous about meeting the rest of Kings. I was already a part of the gang, and I currently am living with the three most dangerous people in it.

Why, why was I nervous?

"You look as if you're about to piss your pants."

I turned to face Mason, who was standing just outside of my doorway, an amused look crossing his features.

"Leave me alone," I snapped, walking over to my drawers and flinging them open. I attempted to busy myself by sifting through all of my clothes, hoping to find a way to distract myself.

"A simple dress would suffice." He called out from behind me.

I shifted my body so that I was now facing him. "This okay?" I held up a plain black dress, which was far different from the revealing clothes I normally wore. Mason looked it over, before smiling.

"I'm sure Sebastian will love it." I nodded, before his words settled in, and my features quickly morphed into disgust.

"Proper dick, you are." I muttered, ignoring his laughter. I entered the bathroom and changed, a smile lifting the corners of my mouth as I admired myself in the mirror.

"You know," Mason spoke as soon as I exited the bathroom, "you're lucky I'm not quite as temperamental as Sebastian. He would have put you in your place for saying such things."

Mason must have been referring to my comment earlier, and the thought of Sebastian 'putting me in my place' sent a wave of butterflies mixed with annoyance over me.

"And what is my place?" I asked, my hands curling into fists. The slight pain in my left wrist reminded me that I would soon have to put the brace back on.

"You respect Mason. Callum, and most importantly, me. You will obey our orders and enough with your attitude, Miss Summers." Sebastian was now standing outside of my room, where Mason had been only minutes ago.

Did everyone just feel the need to come to my room?

I glowered at Sebastian, my jaw clenching and my features contorting into one of irritation.

"I'm lower ranked than you." I stated, not bothering to hide the vexation from my tone.

Sebastian merely smirked and openly let his eyes trail over my body. "Course you are. And, you're going to just have to get used to it." I scowled as he turned to leave, and watched as he paused, looking back at me once more.

"By the way," his eyes were lit deviously, "you look beautiful."

A blush rose on my cheeks and I immediately scoffed and turned away, stomping back into the bathroom. Mason didn't hesitate to start teasing me; his eyes bright like a young child's.

I swear, if he and Nate had met under different circumstances, they would have been the best of friends.

"You know, Sebastian is really not that bad of a person." Mason told me, watching as I applied a light layer of makeup.

"I find that hard to believe." I replied shortly.

"No really!" Mason insisted, now leaning against the counter, his eyes still on me. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his statement. I found utterly absurd that Mason was now trying to convince me that Sebastian could possibly be a good person.

"Do you know how I met Sebastian?" He asked.

I was now facing him, my makeup done and put away. "No, Callum only told me how he met him."

Mason's eyes widened and a grin broke out across his face, he grabbed my arm, pulling me back into my room and onto my bed.

"Okay, calm down..." I muttered, adjusting my dress and fixing my tousled hair. Mason was bouncing up and down; eager to tell me all about how he met the great Sebastian King.

That was sarcasm, in case you haven't realized yet.

"I'm sure Sebastian has already told you about how I am the gang's tracker. I can find anyone in a matter of hours, no matter how much of a head start they have had or wherever their hiding place may be."

My thoughts drifted off to the first time I met Sebastian, when he specifically warned me that Mason would be able to track me down if I ever tried to escape.

"I'm also quite good at finding out information about gangs, down to even the last detail."

"Basically, you're a genius?" I offered, watching as a pleased look crossed his face.

"Basically." He shot back. His playful expression then morphed to one of seriousness, and he began talking again. "You see, when Kings first started, I paid no attention to them. Actually, I had no idea Kings existed, for I was just a small town boy who knew nothing of gangs."

That surprised me. From the way Mason was with Callum and Sebastian, you would have assumed that the gang life was something he had always been a part of, not something he joined.

"When I moved to London, I was sixteen. I had just recently run away from home, and I had no where to go."

A twinge of sympathy washed over me, but I held the pity away from my expression, knowing that it would be the last thing Mason would want to see.

"I found out about the gang activity in London through the papers. There was this one article where it talked about how Kings and other gangs stored their information on files, and how the government and police force were yet to find a way to break through their barriers and get the information."

A thought went through my head, and my lips parted in surprise. "So you decided to try to break through their barriers."

Mason smirked and shook his head slightly. "Try? I didn't try? I did."

I could help but let my jaw drop and the shock to take over my features. "You hacked Kings?"

Mason's prideful grin told me everything, and I found myself suddenly sharing his excitement. I was practically jumping up and down on my bed, enthusiastic to hear more about how he did it.

"And you were only sixteen?" I asked, my eyes wide as saucers. I was blown away by this newfound information.

"Yep." He replied, popping the 'p'.

I shook my head in disbelief. "That's insane."

"But, it didn't exactly go as planned," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "You see, using a spare computer at a local library, I was able to hack into their files, and have complete access to all their stored information. This included their previous activities, and ones they had planned for the future. Kings was alerted the second I got through, meaning that I became their number one target in a matter of a week being here."

I leaned forward in anticipation, urging him to continue.

"Callum was recruited to join Kings, where as I was captured by a couple of lower rankers, and sent straight to Sebastian King himself. At that time, I assumed that he was some middle-aged man who was going to have me killed without a second thought. Instead, I met a boy, only two years older than I was, who was offering me a job."

"He offered you a job?" I gasped.

Mason laughed, shrugging. "Well, he didn't have me killed, that's for sure. No, he actually praised me, applauding me for being the only one to ever hack into their system. He then gave me a choice; join the gang or be brutally tortured than murdered."

Classic, I thought to myself.

"Sebastian has helped me so much, and I think you shouldn't automatically dislike him due to his reputation."

"His reputation that is one hundred percent true! He is violent, uncaring, and a-"

"A gang leader." Mason cut me off. "He has to be that way."

I stubbornly looked away, refusing to listen to anymore of this idiotic nonsense that Mason was preaching to me.

"Wait," I spoke, "if Sebastian is two years older than you, that makes you only nineteen years old."

Mason nodded, looking slightly confused. "Yeah, and?"

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water. "You're so young!" I finally exclaimed, my eyes now fully looking him over. Now that I was really looking at him, his age didn't seem that surprising. Mason could be intimidating, dark, and quite horrifying when he wanted to be, but right now, he looked young, with boyish features.

His light green, blue eyes were filled with a light. The light was one I recognized, one that I was familiar with.

I was had that light in my eyes. That is, until I was consumed by darkness.

"I'm older than you, Evie." Mason said, laughing at me. I pouted when I realized this, a little embarrassed by my recent outburst over his age.

"Einstein." I muttered when I simply could not think of snarky response. Mason only laughed at me, now standing up from my bed. He held his hand out, which I took, and let him pull me upright.

"We should be going now," he told me, looking at his watch. I nodded my head in agreement and grabbed a pair of heels, slipping them on carefully. Sebastian and Callum seemed to be in a deep conversation when we got downstairs, and didn't take any notice to us until Mason spoke up.

"Come on ladies, you can gossip later."

Yeah, that got their attention.

"Can someone help me with this?" I asked, preventing the playful banter that was about to break out. I held up the brace and motioned to my wrist.

"Course, doll." Sebastian said, "You guys go out to the car, I need to talk to Evie about something."

After he secured the brace around my wrist, he started talking. "Okay, so tonight, I'm going to need to be respectful towards everyone."

I rolled my eyes, and as a result, Sebastian firmly grabbed my chin with his hand, forcing me to look him directly in the eyes.

"I'm being serious, love. I will not let you disrespect anyone, or I will be forced to punish you. This is a chance for you to get to meet everyone in the gang, and it's also a time to relax and have fun, which is a rarity here. You will be working a lot now that you're a part of Kings, and so you might as well have as much fun as you can now."

Punish me?

Biting my tongue, I nodded stiffly, my hand rubbing my jaw the second he released it.

The club we went to wasn't the same one as before, but looked much more fancier.

"I own this club. Only members of the gang and specific others are allowed here." Sebastian informed me as we skipped the line and entered. Instead of fearful stares, we were met with respectful nods and polite smiles. Men stared at me with desire, while the girls were licking their lips hungrily, their eyes undressing Sebastian.

The smirk on his face made it evident that he was well aware of the lustful stares from the other girls in the club, but he continued to walk into a private area, his arm wrapped around my waist.

I guess that I should have felt safe and relaxed in his arms, but on the contrary, I felt uncomfortable. My body almost shied away from his touch, and my eyes refused to look at him.

"Oi, King! Who might that lovely bird be? She isn't yours, eh?" A man seated in the private room decided to break the silence, and gather everyone's attention towards me. I made myself remain still, and not pull away from Sebastian like I so badly wanted to.

"Watch it, Harrison." Sebastian growled. "Boys, this is Evelyn Summers-"

Audible gasps and whispers could be heard throughout the room, and I couldn't help but smirk a little.

"She is now a part of Kings." Sebastian finished.

The vulture like men now gave me deferential looks and smiles, silently welcoming me to the gang. I returned them all with a small smile of my own, hoping that it would be enough to please Sebastian.

"She's the one who helped us take out Chuck Forrest!" Mason piped up, a grin gracing his lips.

I was met with applause and roars of approval, which helped me relax a little bit.

"Go have fun, Evie." Sebastian whispered, his lips brushing against my ear.

I nodded and stepped out of his grasp, me eyes scanning the room. It was mainly filled with men, although a few had women on their laps. I felt myself let out a breath of air when I saw a girl leaning against the wall, her eyes focused on the ground. I shuffled past groups of people, making my way to her.

"Hi," I said, offering up a warm smile. Her eyes widened and she paled slightly before giving me a weak smile.

"Hi." Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper. She had short strawberry blonde hair, and a youthful look to her. I felt almost bad for her, being in a place that made her seem miserable.

"I'm Evie," I said, hoping to stir some kind of conversation out of her.

"Sarah." Her answers were short, and almost as if they pained her. I frowned and shifted awkwardly on my feet.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked bluntly. My question came as a surprise to her, and she parted her lips, uttering no words.

"Well? You look really unhappy, and it's damn obvious that you don't want to be here, so why are you? Surely you aren't part of the gang. Are you dating one of the men?" I asked, gesturing to the considerably less crowded room. Other than a few lingering people, most of the people were either drinking at the bar or now on the dance floor.

"I-I am a part of one of the camps."

My body froze and I swear to God my heart faltered. I choked on air as I stared at her in horror, a sickeningly nauseous feeling washing over my stomach.

This couldn't possibly be. There was absolutely no way that Sebastian would condone his gang to have trafficking camps.

I always knew about certain gangs having camps as their main source of income, but since London's Eyes didn't have any, I don't know, I just never thought that Kings would.

Turns out I was wrong.

"Why are you here then?" I whispered. It all made sense now. Her fearful looks, her bony structure, not to mention the numbers tattooed onto her skin that she desperately tried to hide with a limp sweater.

"I was picked out by one of the men, for tonight." Her voice cracked, and I saw the horror that her blue eyes held.

"How old are you?" I asked, knowing that the answer would only further disgust me.

"Fifteen."

I stumbled backwards, a shaky hand now covering my mouth. I felt as if I was going to be sick, and tears pricked my eyes. This girl was so young, so innocent, and so broken.

She had been abused mentally and physically, and it was probably all she knew now.

Images of sickly girls huddled together filled my mind. Their dirty bodies pressed together in a futile attempt to produce some kind of heat. I wanted to let out a scream of revulsion, to let the world know about the wrongdoings.

My eyes flickered back to the bar, where Sebastian was now seated, listening to some blonde bimbo talk.

I've always been a girl to act on impulse.

That would never change.

Fueled by an overwhelming amount of hatred and anger, I marched away from Sarah, my body roughly slamming into others as I made my way to Sebastian. His dark brown eyes met mine, and instantly he smirking, oblivious to the rage that was brewing within me.

"You sick bastard!" My voice was high and shrill, catching the attention of many close by. Sebastian's features morphed into irritation, and he quickly stood up.

"Evie, don't you dare cause a scene." He spoke quietly, the underlying threat backing up his words.

"Fuck you." My hand flew up, and hit Sebastian with such force, that his head snapped to the side.

I saw it coming, but I did nothing to stop his hand from connecting to my face, and allowed my body to fall to the side, only to be caught with his opposite hand. The numbing pain set over my face, but I could care less.

"What did I tell you?" Sebastian hissed, he hand tightening around my arm. The music was still echoing around the room, although now almost no one was dancing.

Blood was mixed with saliva in my mouth, and I felt tears sting in my eyes, but I refused to tell them fall.

"You're a monster." I had intended for my voice to remain hard and cold, but instead it came out as shaky and weak.

Sebastian looked confused, and opened his mouth to say something back, when a scream sounded. The blonde girl Sebastian had been talking to was now pointing and screaming at something by the entrance.

Men in black were filling the room, and next to follow, were the gunshots. Sebastian pushed me down to the ground, his body shielding mine. He whipped out his gun, a dark look taking over him.

"Stay here." He warned, placing an extra gun on my lap.

My eyes widened at the sight of it, and before I could say anything, he was gone. All around me men were fighting, gunshots going off, and people fleeing for safety.

Sarah.

I looking towards the private room, where Sarah was sobbing uncontrollably, not huddled in the corner. I stood up, not caring about the bullets flying past me. With the gun firmly in my hand, and ran towards Sarah.

"Evie no!"

I turned around just as the bullet came straight towards me.

The sound of a body collapsing made me whirl around, my eyes now meeting Sarah's lifeless ones.

So young, so innocent, so broken- and now she is dead.

The gunshots had ceased, signaling that the threat had been taken care of. The silence was deafening, only the thing is, it wasn't silent. People were moving around. The injured were being taken outside, along with the dead.

But I didn't hear a thing.

I was numb, blocking everything out. I struggled to breathe, and my vision was fading, black spots invading my sight. My body was cold and I felt as if the only thing I could focus on was the bloodied body of the young girl.

The bullet had pierced her right through her heart. Her death was instantaneous and painless, but that didn't offer me any comfort knowing that.

Everything was coming back to me at once. My vision was returning to me, and I felt air fill my lungs. It was almost like I had died, and was coming back to life. My heart pounded within my chest, and I felt myself crumble down.

A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and held me from falling down to the floor. A cry left my lips, and just like that, noise came back to me. Orders flew around, and men were cleaning up the area.

My body was turned, and I tore my eyes off of Sarah, and was met with Mason's light blue ones. They held the slightest bit of sympathy, but his expression was sullen and he had a dark look about him.

"We need to get you out of here." He muttered, holding me close as he guided us out of club. As we exited, I noticed Callum giving a large group of men orders, his hand loosely holding his gun. My eyes flickered around the room, unable to find Sebastian anywhere.

Why are you looking for Sebastian? I asked myself, overwhelmed by the emotions washing over me.

I got in the car without a word. It was clear that I was in a state of shock, incapable of even forming a sentence.

Mason was trying telling me something, but once again, I had iced everything out. A pain was spreading throughout me, and I couldn't find a source to it. I hadn't been physically hurt. Not one bullet even grazed my skin, but I felt as if I had been shot hundreds of times.

The pain was unbearable.

Mason had his gun out as he led me into the house. He was looking around, his eyes thoroughly searching the area before he opened the door, and gently pushed me in.

I was brought over to a couch, where Mason wrapped a large blanket around my violently shaking body. It was only then that I heard the whimpers and cries that escaped my trembling lips. My eyes were flooded with tears, but I refused to let a sob out. I held in my cries, and merely let the tears fall.

"Hey, hey," Mason whispered, his hands holding either side of my face. "Please don't cry. Please."

My heart ached at his words, and all I could think about was Sarah.

The door flew open with a bang, and in entered Sebastian followed by Callum. Callum shut the door quietly, and his eyes immediately met mine, a pained expression crossed over his features when he saw the state I was suffering in.

"Who the fuck-" Sebastian slammed his hands down on the table, "do they think they are? Breaking into my club? Challenging my gang? Trying to threaten me?" He kicked the table with such force, that the sound of splitting wood echoed in the room.

"Mate," Callum hissed, his eyes darting from Sebastian back to me. Sebastian ignored Callum and continued his rant, and his assault on the table. As chunks of wood flew up around me, I let out a small scream, and covered my face.

Sebastian froze, his bloody fist about to make contact with the remains of the table.

"Evie," he whispered, a flash of regret going through his eyes.

"N-No..." I whimpered, covering my eyes once again. I heard the sounds of retreating footsteps, and looked up. Much to my dismay, I found myself watching Sebastian pace back and forth in the living room, the occasion crunch of wood sounding every now and then.

"Why are you upset?" He finally asked, his eyes meeting mine.

I gaped at him in shock.

Did he actually just ask that?

"No, Evie," Sebastian sighed, crouching in front of me. "I'm not saying that you don't have a reason to be upset. Why are you upset?"

A choking noise escaped my mouth, and I angrily wiped at the tears that were steadily streaming down my face.

"Y-You own camps! You actually t-traffic p-people! Those poor, defenseless girls who-who..."

Have you ever been so distraught to the point where you couldn't even speak correctly? Your breath keeps catching, the tears keep flowing, and you have this painful headache begin to spread?

Sebastian's eyes softened, and he stepped away from me. "Camps are a main source of income-"

"Bullshit!" I shrieked, standing up much too quickly. I instantly felt lightheaded and nearly collapsed, which I would have, if it weren't for Sebastian catching me just in time.

"Let go of me!" I cried out, struggling to break free. My arms were tangled in the blanket that was wrapped around me, but I was determined to not give up.

"Evelyn, please." Sebastian pleaded, his arms firmly wrapped around me.

"Kings doesn't need the camps and you know it!" I was now screaming, thrashing about in his arms.

Mason ran into the room, and moments later, Callum did the same. Their eyes flickered from me to Sebastian.

"Stop it right this instant." Sebastian warned me, his tone warning.

"What? Are you going to hit me again?"

A frustrated growl left Sebastian's lips and he pushed away from me, his hands entangling in his hair. He seemed to be focused on trying to calm down, and without warning, turned back to face me.

"Listen carefully Evelyn; I will not apologize for hitting you. I was putting you in your place for your unnecessary outburst, and you of all people should know not to dare hit me to begin with. I understand you are upset with the camps, but you have yet to grasp the fact that you no longer hold the ranking you once had. You are under my orders and I demand respect." His voice was stiff and tight, and his expression was cold.

I felt the tears sticking to my to my face, making me feel overheated. My head was throbbing and I hated myself for the way my lips were sinking into a frown, small whimpers escaping me every now and then.

"For the love of God, stop crying." He whispered, his head in his hands.

I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear it, but I did, and promptly bit my lip, holding in my whimpers and cries.

Sebastian's head lifted, and his eyes met my tear filled ones.

"It's wrong. You shouldn't do that to those girls." I spoke softly.  

There was a moment of silence that settled around the room, and Sebastian never once tore his eyes away from mine.

To me, and anyone else that could see Sebastian right now, he looked emotionless. His dark eyes acted as barriers, shielding us all away from the inner turmoil that was taking place within him.

"I'm a gang leader, Evie." He stated. "I do what I have to, to keep this gang where it is."

So that's it. To Sebastian, it didn't matter that the innocence of young girls was being torn from their grasps. As long as he was leading the number one gang in London- It just didn't matter.

He didn't care.

"Monster." I had spoken the word so quietly, that even I struggled to hear it.

But from the way Sebastian's eyes flickered with hurt and pain, I was sure that he had heard me.

No longer able to stand there, in the looming presence of Sebastian, I found myself moving towards the stairs. No one tried to stop me, but I didn't see why anyone would. Just before I walked up the stairs, I allowed myself to look back to Mason, my eyes meeting his.

I gave a slight shake of my head, knowing perfectly well that he was aware of what I meant by it. Leaving silently, I felt the tears dry up, my threatening sobs disappear, and the numbing sensation take place.

Sebastian was right. This was not London's Eyes, where I could be my stubborn, defiant self.

This was Kings.

I had to be submissive in order to survive.

As I wrapped my blankets around my body, now sheltered on my bed, my eyelids fluttered shut, and I thought about everything that happened today.

"You know, Sebastian is really not that bad of a person."

"I find that hard to believe."

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