Saved By The Rogues

1

*Photo is of Delilah*

16 YEARS LATER

"Come on boys, don't say you're giving up THAT easy? Gonna run back home knowing you were beaten by a GIRL." I taunt the two men circling me in the ring, I have a broken rib and a few bruises but I am totally winning which is seriously pissing them off. The crowd is roaring as bets are changed and scores are taken. I dodge a sloppy punch from the larger of the two, he is getting tired, so I quickly move low and kick him in the back, sending him flying towards the edge. He hits the bars awkwardly and by the sound of it, breaks a bone. He doesn't cry out in pain but winces silently, he's clearly over the fight and puts his hands up in surrender. The crowd roars again, a mix of celebratory and angry shouts of those trying to make money on the fight.

"You stupid bitch! Don't you know hat you've done?!" The smaller of the two men in the ring had stayed away from the fight until now, their tactic was clearly to send muscles over there in and he probably didn't lose much either, not against humans anyway.

"A girl's gotta eat." I shrug with a smirk on my face.

His steps are calculated, unlike his friends, he watches me as I do him, I'm not sure who'll make the first move but I can tell he's getting impatient. He steps forward and tries to knock me over with a kick but I step back just in time.

Suddenly arms grab me from behind and I turn to push them off when a sharp object enters my side. Looking down, the knife handle is poking out still. The two of them look satisfied but now guys are coming in with guns to their heads. This was a hands only fight, the only rule that was worth remembering.

"You'll never walk again you god damn whore!" The smaller one spits. Unfortunately for him, he has no idea I'll heal in just a few hours. As much as I'd love to rip his body limb from limb for cheating, I chose these particular brutes in the first place because I knew they would, and only that would get me an audience with the boss of this place.

The boss being Victor Chisti, known only as a club owner to some but under the surface he's a sadistic killer. A drug dealing narcissist that feels joy in making people miserable, his methods are known throughout the criminal world but no cops can touch him and thats why I'm here. 

A man approaches me slowly, kneeling down to my fallen self on the floor and wraps a bandage around my side, careful not to touch the blade itself. He looks slightly sorry for me to be honest, I hope I don't have to kill him. 

"Do you think you can move?" He asks. Staying in character as a human, I try but wince, I scrunch my face to make tears, hoping it convinces him t pick me up. The worse I look the more likely I get the audience I need. 

"I'm going to have to pick you up, it's going to hurt but we need to get you to our Doctor." He sounds so sorry for me, now I really hope I don't have to kill him. That's the downside of this job, I always try not to kill anyone I don't have to, they have homes to go back to, people that may miss them and I'm only paid to get the target. He puts his arms under my legs and waist and lifts me up to his chest. 

In the few minutes it takes to take me up the stairs, I look closely at his features, he has a strong jawline, a nose that has clearly been broken many times but luckily for him he had a great surgeon. His lips were thin and his suit was slightly to tight causing strain on his shoulders, clearly Mr Chisti didn't believe in supplying tailored suits. His eyes were light blue with yellow streaks like lightning bolts all through them, they were distant and tired, but he was clearly alert. 

The hallway turned into a set of doors and then into a medical room.  The man places me on the  table, it's cold but the cloth on it makes it bearable, my side is stinging but I have a great pain tolerance these days. I lie flat on my back and wince as he places a pillow under my head. 

"I'm going to have to put a painkiller in you, do you have any allergies?" The man leaning over me is clearly a doctor, he wears a plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows and jeans, his glasses are small but they are a large feature to his face, like no one would recognise him if he weren't wearing them. 

"I don't need painkillers." I grumble out. Painkillers make me dizzy, I prefer not to have them unless it's an emergency. 

The doctor smiles down at me, it's warm but stern. "You're in pain, you need something so I can work on you, surely you know I need to pull this out." He says, pointing to the blade handle still sticking out of my side. 

"I can't have painkillers, just do it, I'll survive." I whisper this time, but I give it some urgency. 

"I don't want to kill you with painkillers, what's your favourite colour?" He grips the blame handle ever do gently.

"What does my favour...." He pulls the blade out with swift accuracy, he's clearly done it before. 

"Ahhhhhhhh!" I scream out. It does hurt but not as much as I want them to think. The doctor moves quickly with the guard putting pressure on my wound and himself grabbing antiseptics along with the equipment to stitch me up. He cleans my side, which stings, that causes me to move, which stings even more. 

"You need to stay still for this bit." Putting the light to my side he gets to work. I can feel the needle as it punctures my skin, the cord he uses seems to scratch as well but I'll have it out sooner or later. He stitches up the hole in my side and tries not to look astonished that I'm not screaming in pain.

"I've been stitched up before by someone far less qualified, it hurt way more." I say through gritted teeth, can't have them thinking I'm too special. He does a quick nod without looking up, continuing his work, he snips off the end and places more bandage over  my side. 

"You're one tough girl, but you need to rest so your body can heal some, the boss will want to apologise himself." The guard says. "Do you want to to carry you to the bed?" He waits for my reply and I try to move myself. 

I could go by myself but then they might suspect something. "If that's okay." I try to give him my most angelic puppy eyes, it seems to work.

A little sleep and then the party can get started.