Sixteen years later

 

Jared Cooper had only one thought as the intruder slammed him against the kitchen cabinets, a thought he often had growing up trying to make it through life alone on the streets.

 

Survive.

 

The guy got one solid hit to Jared's solar plexus, knocking the wind from his lungs and rendering Jared motionless for one second too long. He wrenched Jared’s arms painfully behind his back before shoving him into one of the wooden kitchen chairs. Jared shuddered at the stroke of the man’s fingers along his forearms as he secured Jared's wrists together with a plastic zip tie.

 

“This is lovely,” the man purred, right into Jared's ear. Jared flinched as his captor ran cold fingers underneath the leather cuff that Jared wore around his left wrist, pulling it painfully against his skin.

 

“Don’t,” Jared gritted out.

 

“Don't what, love?” The man gave a hard yank, undoing the two thick snaps that held the cuff closed safely around Jared's scarred flesh. “Oops.” He let out a wondrous whistle at the sight he had revealed. “That’s one hell of a mark you've got there.”

 

“Not marked anymore,” Jared muttered, earning himself a quick backhand across his cheek.

 

“Quiet,” his captor commanded. “If it is not a mark, or the sloppy leavings of one, then I suppose you won’t mind if I do this?” The man- an Agent, Jared knew- drove the metal barrel of his gun against Jared's puffy, inflamed skin, and Jared bit his lip to keep from giving this man the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.

 

His captor rounded the chair, twirling Jared's leather cuff in rapid circles on two fingers. “Just as I thought. You’re a filthy ditchbreed.” He bent low, speaking into Jared's ear. “But you’re so pretty.” Jared turned away from the Agent’s dirty breath, as far as his restraints would allow.

 

The Agent yanked Jared's chin upwards, forcing Jared to look into his cold, dark eyes. His lips curled into a twisted smile. "Shh, we can do this the easy way, love. No one has to get hurt."

 

Jared worked his jaw where it had cracked against the cabinet. "Yeah, because that hit felt great." He kicked a leg out towards the Agent’s knee, but in his seated position with his upper body restrained Jared didn't have enough leverage to do much damage.

 

He earned himself another sharp backhand across his cheek before the Agent secured Jared's ankles to the chair. The man stepped backward and casually pulled a gun halfway out of his suit jacket. "You try that again, and you'll have two very bloody, very painful kneecaps. Understood?" He grinned, a disgusting upwards curve of his mouth that had Jared cringing. "Though I do enjoy when they've got a bit of fight in them," he said almost wistfully. Taking Jared's silence for understanding he tossed Jared's bracelet aside before making his way upstairs. The ceiling above Jared creaked as his captor made his way efficiently from room to room.

 

Jared’s heart raced, air pulsing in and out of his lungs in short stuttered gasps. He forced himself to take several long breaths through his nose, tamping down the panic that would render him useless. He tugged on his zip ties and looked about the kitchen, trying to find something that could aid in his escape. Jared pressed the toes of his shoes into the floor, slowly inching his chair closer to the table. He had left a knife out from making a sandwich earlier, if he could just get his fingers around it...

 

Jared ceased his movements when the Agent came jogging back down the stairs. Fixing Jared with an icy stare, he demanded, "Tell me where-" He whirled around at the sound of a lock turning in the front door. Jared's heart pounded, first in relief of possibly being rescued and then in fear for whomever was about to walk in. The Agent pressed himself flat against the wall just inside the door, holding a finger against his lips and wagging his gun in a silent threat to stay quiet before fixing his gaze on the entrance. Jared's chair was hidden just inside the kitchen, diagonally across the entryway from the door, and at the man's momentary distraction Jared yanked hard on his bound wrists, to no avail.

 

"Hey Jare, you home? I forgot my-" His sister’s words were cut short by her sharp gasp when the Agent pinned her against the wall, his gun digging into her side. "No sudden movements, or you will slowly bleed out from a very painful stomach wound as you watch your brother die." He nodded his head towards Jared.

 

Jared jerked at his ties again, fuming at the sight of the cold metal barrel touching Rae's crisp, white shirt. He'd seen her take down a man twice her size, but that didn’t change how frighteningly small she looked, held within this man’s grip.  When her eyes darted over to Jared’s, taking in his bound limbs and what was sure to be an already darkening bruise on his jaw, Rae did as the Agent asked and stayed still. 

 

The Agent threw Rae down into the chair next to Jared's and efficiently tied her wrists behind her in the same manner he had tied Jared. "Good thing I always come prepared." He smirked and walked back to the front door, peering out the window to make sure no one else was coming in behind Rae.

 

Rae immediately turned to Jared. "Are you okay?” she whispered. She quickly went to work on wedging her thumbnail into the locking mechanism of her zip ties, both of them glad that their captor hadn't made the effort to bind her legs the way he had Jared's.

 

"So far." Jared resigned himself to watching Rae get free, and tried not to think about how long this would have taken had she not shown up. “He’s an Agent.”

 

“I figured.” Johnathan Cooper had trained them well, darkly predicting that a day like this would come.

 

Jared was far from helpless, but he wasn't so proud that he couldn't admit that having Rae there with him would make their escape a whole lot faster. He made as much movement and noise as he could when the Agent came back towards them, hoping to keep their captor's focus on himself.

 

"Where is it?" the Agent ground out, his eyes flashing daggers at Jared.

 

Jared glared back. "Where is what?" The resounding smack across his face made Jared cry out as the man's thick silver ring cracked across Jared's cheekbone. "You know what."

 

Jared drew in a breath, forcing himself to stay centered. Panic rose in his chest, but he did his best to push it down. "Give me a hint."

 

The Agent stepped back and shot his cuffs, as if he had to put himself back together after touching someone like Jared. Straightening his tie, he raked his icy blue eyes up and down Jared's body. "Playing games. I can do that." His composure was back, and it was the quick change to cool and collected that made Jared start to worry.

 

Jared could deal with straight psycho, or straight calm. The combination, and the speed in which the man could flip from one to the other, scared the hell out of Jared in its unpredictability. "Cool," Jared said casually, tightly curling his hands into fists to stop their shaking. "Then let's play 'how long will it be until our brother comes back and pops your ass'?" The words stuck in Jared's throat, because Declan was gone, left this morning on a job that would take him two states over.

 

But this guy didn't need to know that.

 

The Agent barked out a laugh. "’Brother’?" He glanced at Rae, who immediately ceased her movements. That crazy look was swirling in the guy's eyes once more and Jared tensed, ready to draw the heat away from Rae again. But the man made no movement to hurt her, only tipping her chin up and asking her, "You really let this marked up street scum refer to him as 'brother'?"

 

"Only street scum I see around here is you," Rae retorted. "And you should probably be more worried about what he just said, because Declan will be here any minute." She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he won't really be that mad to see the two of us tied up." Rae winked at him, and Jared was flooded with admiration at her cool.  "We’re pretty tight though, so I'm going to wager he will. Are you a betting man, mister...?"

 

"Ah yes. Stories about the disgustingly close knit Cooper family have made their way around our little Agent circle.” He bent down low, crowding Rae’s space, and she winced at the sour whiff of his breath. "Starting with your dear old Dad...seriously, you let a ditchbreed like him call him that?" He waved a hand. "Whatever. Declan isn't coming back for days yet. You think we aren’t aware of our favorite Renegade’s movements? Vivienne has been courting your brother for months." He chuckled at them both. "I do believe you two are stuck with me."

 

"Hooray for us," Rae snapped.

 

The Agent looked over to Jared, an evil glint in his icy eyes. "Your sister has quite the mouth on her," he remarked casually. He ran a finger over Jared’s lips. "But something tells me yours is more my style." His gaze dropped to Jared’s wrist. “How you managed to erase it…well, no matter. The filth remains. But in such a pretty package.” The Agent caught Jared's chin in a painful grip when Jared craned his neck to distance himself from the Agent’s oily touch. He smiled maniacally when Jared spit into his face. "That's it, love, fight it. It will make things much more fun for me." He clamped a hand down onto Jared's shoulder.

 

"What the hell do you want?" Rae demanded.

 

Jared tried to work his wrists against his ties, tried to move his ankles to loosen the bonds trapping his legs, but he was starting to shake, and he was sweating, and his muscles wouldn't work right and he couldn't breathe and he was back there, back in that crate where Johnathan had first found him, scared and dirty and bleeding, at the mercy of being found by Agents like this.

 

His breath sped up until it was coming so fast it threatened to choke him. No, he screamed at himself. He could not afford to get lost inside a panic attack.

 

"What kind of man needs to tie people up to get what he wants?" Rae continued, trying to keep the focus off Jared. "Afraid it wouldn't be a fair fight?"

 

Jared glanced over at Rae to see her sneering at their captor. He concentrated on the sound of Rae’s voice to get his breathing back under control, to keep the flashbacks from pulling him under.

 

The Agent's lip curved in a mix of amusement and irritation as he straightened, though his hand remained on Jared's shoulder. "A delightful challenge it would be, girlie, I am certain. In fact," he gave Jared's well-defined bicep a squeeze, "I daresay he is stronger than half my own men. Your father taught you well." The note of approval sounded sick, coming from this snake of a man.

 

Jared used the rush of anger to calm his panic, rhythmically clenching and unclenching his fists. He looked sideways at Rae, her confidence giving him the strength he needed to keep himself focused. She met his gaze, and he nodded at Rae's silent communication. Almost there.

 

Jared's eyes slanted down towards Rae's wrists. Her thumbnail had finally found purchase underneath the locking mechanism of her ties. After years of living together, he could practically hear her voice in his head. Stay with me, Jare. Jared took in a long, determined breath, and on the exhale found his calm once more.

 

"Hey, jerkoff." Jared called out when their captor had turned away to check the window for any unwanted company. Only Rae would be able to pick up on the slight shake in his voice. "Why don't you tell us what you want? Seems only fair, as you already have the upper hand." Jared gestured with his chin towards his bound limbs.

 

"Maybe I just think you look pretty that way," the Agent taunted.

 

Jared's stomach rolled with disgust, but his face was the picture of tentative coyness. "You should see me when I actually try." Jared flipped his head to the side, letting a few strands of hair fall down over his eyes.

 

The Agent licked his lips and took a step forward.

 

Jared looked up at him beneath thick black lashes.

 

And Rae, now free, lunged.

 

Jared cheered inwardly as Rae took advantage of the Agent’s surprise and went right for his gun, skillfully sliding it from his suit and twisting out of his reach. "Freeze, asshole." She grinned at Jared. "Always wanted to say that."

 

"Gloat later, yeah?" Jared took the pocket knife from Rae that she had used to quickly slice through his wrist ties and went to work on freeing his legs. He spun around and braced for another fight when he heard the front door burst open again.

 

Jared relaxed his fists at the sight of his brother filling the doorway. "Declan." Jared closed his eyes in relief. "How-"

 

Declan strode the length of the kitchen and grabbed Jared's chin, turning it side to side, though much more gently than the Agent had. "You okay?" Declan swore, not waiting for Jared's answer.

 

Jared swiped his brother's hand away. "I'm fine."

 

"Hello!" Rae called. "Holding a psycho at gunpoint in here!"

 

Declan turned his gaze on the Agent. His eyes darkened, his body vibrating with anger. “William Kingsley,” he spat.

 

"Declan Cooper. I’ve heard way too much about you. Do you have any idea how much Vivenne talks about you?” The Agent looked between the three of them. “I'm so delighted I could be a part of this loving family reunion." He looked entirely too unbothered for someone being held at gunpoint.

 

Jared’s skin prickled. It was the same unsettling sensation that he had felt many times at the rescue shelter where he worked, just before it got raided. “Declan. We should go.”

 

The Agent looked at Jared, his eyes glinting with a filthy admiration. “Learned how to read danger after all those years on the street, did you? You’re pretty and you have a brain in your head.” He looked at the pink puffy flesh of Jared’s wrist. “Still, there is no denying what you are. It will forever be a black mark on my record with the Agency, that at the same time I killed your father, I couldn’t also get to his ditchbreed son.”

 

Rae let out a cry of shock. William took advantage of her distraction and landed a strong kick to Rae’s kidney, sending her crumpling to the ground. Recovering his gun, he smoothed down his jacket. “No one wants to see another Ravaging, am I right? And that ditchbreed brother of yours just has it in him.”

 

Declan cupped a palm around the hand holding his gun, pointing it straight at William’s heart. “You son of a bitch.”

 

William smirked, raising his pistol. “Ah yes, the prodigal son. I’ve seen some of your work, in fact it has rather started to get in our way. You are highly skilled, Declan, I will give you that. I can see why Vivienne wants you as an Agent, though I would so detest working alongside a Cooper.” He swung his gun straight at Jared.

 

“Get that gun the hell off my brother,” Declan seethed, stepping in front of Jared. 

 

"Endearing, really, the way you claim that stain as one of your own." William taunted. "He's real pretty though, so I can't say as I blame you."

 

Jared's stomach rolled again, and he was glad for the warmth of Rae's hand when she slid it into his and squeezed.

 

Declan didn’t take the bait, though his jaw was locked so tightly Jared could see his temples twitch. “Jared. Rae. Get our go bags and wait for me in the truck.”

 

"No," Rae argued. "We aren't leaving you-"

 

“Don’t make me say it again.” Declan kept his hard eyes on William. “Now, RaeLynn.”

 

Jared tugged on Rae's hand and ran up the stairs, pulling her behind him.

 

"Unbelievable." Rae huffed, though she grabbed her bag, as well as their emergency pack. "Who the hell does he think held that bastard at gunpoint before he showed up? Huh? Like Declan's is the only one who can-"

 

"Shut up!" Jared hissed. "You know Declan trusts you. Let someone else help for a change, and let's do our part to make sure we all get out of here, okay?" Jared grabbed his own duffle, as well as Declan’s. 

 

"Getting real fucking tired of you guys interrupting me," Rae muttered, preceding him back down the stairs.

 

“You’ve been following us,” Declan was saying to William.

 

“Following you,” the Agent corrected. “Vivenne tasked me with the job of shadowing one of the best Renegades out there. So kudos to you, Declan. You warranted your very own security detail.” He nodded towards Rae and Jared, where they stood at the bottom of the stairs. “The ditchbreed I would just as soon kill. She would have just been collateral damage, although I’m noticing that she’s almost as skilled as you are.”

 

Declan smirked. “She’s better, actually.” His voice was laced with icy steel. “But make one move to come after her, and I’ll put you in the ground so far not even the rodents will find you. And Vivienne Knox should know better than to ever think that I would become an Agent.”

 

“Vivienne is an optimist. She’s hoping you will see the light, that we should be putting ditchbreeds down, not trying to reform them.”

 

“They have nothing to reform from, except for the hell that society puts them through." Declan countered. He gestured behind his back for Jared and Rae to get out of the house, but Jared had his hands full just keeping the death grip on Rae’s wrist that was stopping her from running right back into the kitchen to face down the Agent again.

 

"You admit it, then," William sneered. “To wanting to save them, turn them into good little rescues and let them live amongst the pure. You’re going against everything our government believes in.”

 

"The number of people that side with the Renegades is larger than you dicks would like to think. They agree with us that we should be helping people, not exploiting or killing them."

 

“Ditchbreeds are not people!” William spat, his eyes suddenly wild with hate. “They aren’t worthy to be around the rest of us.” It was then that Jared heard the loudening buzz of several Agent vehicles, like a swarm of angry hornets.

 

"Declan. We need to go." Jared urged.

 

Declan seethed, rage emanating off of him in waves, when William turned an interested gaze back at Jared. “How many? How many more rescues will you kill, before you understand that they aren’t hurting anyone?”

 

William’s face twisted into an evil grin. He licked his lips and looked Jared up and down. “Who says I was only going to kill him?”

 

Jared shuddered beneath his gaze, fighting the urge to throw up.

 

“Bastard.” Declan swore, fingers tightening on his gun. “Dammit, guys, get in the truck. I’ll be right behind you. Make one move with that trigger finger, and I’ll take you out.” he warned William.

 

Jared tugged on Rae’s hand, making their way towards the front door. He muscled her outside, a duffle bag hooked over either shoulder. Halfway to the truck, he heard two rapid gunshots. His heart leapt into his throat.

 

“No,” Rae whispered, ripping herself from Jared’s grip.

 

They both sagged in relief when Declan came jogging out the front door. He took their bags and tossed them into the bed of the truck. “Get in.” The sound of approaching cars was growing louder.

 

Declan started the engine and slammed his foot onto the gas, whipping them out of the driveway.

 

“Who the hell was that?” Rae demanded.

 

“William Kingsley.” Declan jerked the wheel, narrowly avoiding a collision with an Agent sedan as he floored it out of their winding drive. Declan’s grip on the wheel was so tight Jared wondered how it didn’t crack. “The Agent who killed Dad.”

 

Rae slammed her hands angrily onto the dashboard. Jared swallowed convulsively, bile crawling up his throat as he took in Declan’s words.

 

“Take one last look,” Declan said as he drove them off of the Cooper property. “Because now that they found our home, we will never see it again.”

 

It was the first time Jared had ever felt genuine anger towards his brother, for sounding so cold and detached while speaking of forever turning away from their house, and from any connection left that they had of their father. His hands curled into fists, though it didn’t stop them from shaking. Through blurred vision he did as Declan said, and watched as the only real home he had ever known faded away through the back window of the truck.

 

“You killed him, didn’t you?”

 

Declan didn't answer. A few minutes later, Jared tried again. "At least tell us where we’re going.”

 

Nothing.

 

Jared sighed, looking over to check on Rae. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wet and swollen. She stared resolutely out the window, her body turned away from Declan. Jared reached over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but he doubted the touch even registered through her veil of anger.

 

After several tense moments, Declan finally responded. "Somewhere we haven't been in a very long time." An uneasy feeling settled over Jared. He rubbed his naked left wrist, his bracelet left behind along with his home. His chest tightened at the eerily calm tone of Declan's voice, one that hinted that nothing would ever be the same again.