Chapter 13

--Harper--

I felt like I was under water. Everything was distorted and it was hard to catch my breath. I couldn't think clearly there was a fog that crowded my brain. There were two people arguing, I couldn't focus long enough to understand the words said. I picked my head up and the light over top of me threw everything into shadow. I looked towards the sounds of the voices and focused my eyes. It was a second after the fog cleared that pain enter my frame of mind. Something was wrong, I tried to shift to get a view of my right wing but I couldn't. I was tightly bound to a chair. Okay, making a mental check of my body I didn't have any broken bones. No broken fingers, my jaw was sore and it felt like my nose was going to fall off my face from them pushing the rag so hard, but all in all I was at least in one piece. I tried to move my wing and realized that not all was well. My right wing was badly dislocated and my left was sprained. Whoever took me must have dropped me at some point. The back of my head throbbed from the mixture of chemicals I breathed in and from the impact I more than likely took. I looked around me trying to see anything I could. Someone sat down in a chair in front of me.

"Well good morning sleeping beauty." I wanted nothing more than to attack this man. He was everything I hated in this moment. He turned my face towards the light, and I ripped my face away from his fingers, and a hard slap came from the man standing on my right I hadn't seen before. The pain worked in waves through my brain. Blood pooled in the back of my mouth from my nose and the man in the chair took a hold of my chin and I spit the blood at him. The man moved to hit me again, but the one in the chair held up a hand.

"I've had my eyes on your for awhile now, your father made things difficult, but I knew I would have you. You will make a very good addition to my collection, as soon as we break that stubborn streak in you." Break? What did he mean break? I'll be damned if he was going to break anything.

((Gabriel))

I sat in the office my head in my hands, trying in vain to find her mind. Her father was reaming my father out, he was supposed to stop this. He was being paid to protect her, but where was she? We had no idea. It was eating me inside, where was she. Were they hurting her? I would tear them apart if they were. Her father came and knelt in front of me.

"She spoke very highly of you, I think you should know in case..." He didn't want to say it, but everyone was thinking it. If we couldn't find her. I looked to my father and for the first time I put my hope in him.

"Find her Dad." His head snapped to me, and that was the first time I have called him Dad in a long time, since he lived with us. He turned and walked out of the room, and I felt his consciousness sweep across half the city. He was stronger mentally than I was, but she would reach for my mind. Her mind knew mine. I searched section I could reach, but she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere. I got up and followed my father out of the office, we took to the sky keeping a loose hold on each other so we didn't get lost. Where are you angel?

--Harper--

I looked at the brute and he was washing his hands of my blood. They had relocated my wing, not wanting it to heal poorly, they wanted me to be able to fly. He came back to me, and there was blood dripping from my nose, and mouth. Onto the dress, it was stained, torn and was not meant for what was happening.

"Now, you're going to go and you're going to hunt down Michael's son. Do you understand me? And just to make sure you're going to bring me back a piece of him." Gabe. No. Never. I would never be able to hurt him. I looked at the man. He would never get to harm Gabriel. He would have to kill me first. But if he was going to let me go, then I would pretend to do anything he wanted. He watched me, and nodded to the man behind me. Who came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my chest and the man in front of me held a kind of needle.

"This little thing is an invention of mine, takes control of the brain. Very useful," He moved forward and grabbed a hold of my hair pulling my head down. And stick the needle in just under my hairline.

"Don't struggle, wouldn't want to paralyze you now would we?" The pain from the needle exploded my mind. He let me go and turned to a computer, I could feel it. Like cold bands wrapping around my control. Pulling it to the back, no. This wouldn't allowed to happen, my breathing speed up as I tried to fight off the hold of the chip. It wrapped around me pulling me down into darkness. It felt lonely, the vast spaces of my own mind. Places I hadn't even known existed. It was like I was watching from behind a double pane of glass. I could see my body moving, but I couldn't stop myself. They let me up and I wanted to run. To fly away, but I just stood there. Letting them look me over, judge if my wounds were okay enough to fly. My dress was ruined, but that wasn't their problem.

"Go home," And it was like the words were running through my mind, and my body moved without me telling it to. I pounded against the glass, but it rippled. Not breaking or bending. I fought until I felt like I would pass out. I sat in my own mind, a prisoner to this chip. I flew home, stumbling in my shoes as I landed, but everyone came out of the house hugging me. And I screamed at them from inside my mind. Not one of them noticed I wasn't saying anything. They took me inside and rushed me up to my room. Why didn't they notice? Gabe would notice...no. Not Gabe. I got a shower, dressed myself. Braiding my hair and cleaning off most of the blood from my face. And I knew the moment he walked in the room. The chip went on high alert, and I fought for control harder than I ever would. And he knew the moment he stepped in the room because his mind rushed into mine and he backed away from me. His mind came up against the glass, and I looked at him. Just like when I was in a coma. And as my body attacked him. He was defending himself, he would never attack me. As he was avoiding my attacks, he put his hand flat against the glass and I came up against it. Trying to break it. He looked around it, and I felt his mind pull back. No, don't leave me. I wanted to cry, it felt like I was crying. One of my blows landed on his ribs, and everyone came funneling into the room, his father first. He started for me, and Gabriel yelled at him.

"No, don't touch her." He dropped to his knees and all I had to do was crush the delicate bones in in his nose, and I rose my hand. NO! And the glass broke, and I struggled for control. His mind washed over mine trying to find the point of trouble.

"She is going to kill you let me take her down." Michael was close to grabbing me from his son.

"She has a chip, in her neck. Below her hairline." I struggled with the chip, Gabriel got to his feet and his hands came up around my neck. Feeling for the bump under the skin, his fingers met it, and my hands came up around his throat, resting there. Not applying any pressure. He checked my mental strength. I would not allow this thing to hurt him. His father came over pushing my head gently down to Gabriel's shoulder.

"I need a small knife and a pair of tweezers." He spoke at my father who rushed to get him what he needed to help me. My hands tightened slightly around Gabriel's throat, but relaxed a moment later. He leaned his head down until his lips were right next to my ear.

"My angel, hold on. Just a few moments longer okay. We are going to take it out." It was a battle that exhausted me, I couldn't fight it for much longer. My hands slid up his neck and I wrestled for control.

"Hold her still Gabriel, or we could kill her." His hand latched onto my shoulders and pulled me closer. His lips still to my ear.

"You're stronger than this thing, you are so much stronger than this. Hold on my love." I would not hurt him, I would not hurt him. No. No. No. I refused to let these men take advantage of me. And then I felt the struggle stop, as the chip was removed I began to regain control of my body. Michael cradled the chip in his hand, and I removed my hands from his neck. I looked down at my hands and they began to tremble. I looked at him and his mind rushed to mine to comfort me. I looked into his green eyes and he stroked my hair away from my face. I felt tears fall from my eyes and Michael and my father walked out of the room. Gabriel stroked my chin and I cuddled myself into the safety of his arms. What the hell was my father doing to cause someone to want to kill someone else? What was Gabriel's father into that someone would want his son dead?