Ruined By Your Blood

Chapter 3: The Shadow and Target

The black armored SUV shook hard as it drove past the rusty borders of the city's poor areas. Sienna pressed the gas pedal down hard, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. Next to her, the passenger was very quiet.

Luther finally let go of the door handle. He leaned back and looked at her face with intense curiosity. His small smile was gone.

"You drive too fast, Sienna," Luther said in a low, rough voice. "Where did my father find you? Security workers do not drive like that."

Sienna did not dare look at him. If she did, the intense hatred in her eyes would reveal her three years of careful planning. "The global tactical academy, sir," she lied easily, using a steady voice to hide her anger. "I am paid to get you to your destination alive. How I do that is my business."

Luther laughed in a cold, mocking way. "Another person lying for the Vaughans. Great."

Sienna turned the large vehicle sharply left, the tires making a loud noise as they arrived at the destination: an old, broken legal aid clinic located between bright signs and dark alleys. The building was a decaying part of the poor district, with metal mesh covering its windows.

This was Luther's area—the place where he fought his father's ways.

"We are here," Sienna said coldly, putting the car in park. She left the engine on and looked at the dark parts of the street. "What is today's case, Mr. Vaughan?"

Luther unbuckled his seatbelt, looking serious. "A fake company is illegally kicking out a local tenants' group. The company's security guards are throwing families onto the street and ignoring gangs using the empty buildings to drop drugs. The same men who own these buildings are paying for my father's campaign."

He looked at her with a challenging look. "So, my quiet shadow, will you protect me from my father's money, or are you going to report me?"

Before she could speak, the loud sound of breaking glass came from the front of the clinic. Through the wet windshield, Sienna saw three large men with iron pipes kick through the glass door. They wore thick jackets like local gang members.

Luther didn't hesitate. He felt ready to fight, tightened his jaw, and opened his door. "Stay in the car, Sienna. I will handle this."

Sienna stepped out of the SUV, and the wet, metal smell of the low city hit her. The heavy door slammed shut. Rain fell on her dark jacket, but she did not move. She followed Luther into the broken clinic, stepping over broken glass that made loud noises under her boots.

Inside, three gang members were already throwing metal cabinets around, searching for papers. The leader, a man with a scar and a rusty crowbar, turned around when he heard Luther's heavy steps.

"Well, well. The Senator's boy," the leader said with a mean look, spitting on the floor. "Your father paid us to clear out this dirty place. You're making a habit of standing in the wrong place, kid."

Sienna's hand moved toward the Glock 19 pistol hidden under her jacket. In only three seconds, she checked how far away they were, what weapons they had, and where the exits were. But before she could pull the gun, Luther stepped in front of her, using his wide shoulders to block her view.

"This clinic is legally rented," Luther said in a low, scary voice. "Put the pipes down and leave, or I will hurt you myself instead of calling the police."

"You and what?" the leader laughed, holding up the metal bar.

Luther didn't wait for an answer. He moved first.

Sienna was truly surprised because he did not move like a clumsy, spoiled politician's son. He moved smoothly and dangerously like a trained left-handed boxer. He tightened his jaw, watched the weapon, and hit the leader's nose with two very fast punches.

The loud sound of breaking bone filled the room. The leader fell back, screaming in pain as blood flowed from his face.

Before the other two men could move, Luther stepped forward and hit the leader hard in the ribs with his left hand. The man fell to his knees, struggling to breathe.

'He's good,' Sienna thought. 'He is not just exercising in a fancy gym. He knows how to fight.'

But the last two gang members would not fight fairly. Seeing their leader fall, they attacked at the same time. One man swung a heavy metal pipe at Luther's side, while the other man pulled a sharp knife from his pocket and ran toward Luther's back.

Luther moved out of the way of the iron pipe, stepped to the side, and hit the second man with a hard right punch that knocked him into a wooden desk. However, the force of the hit moved Luther forward, leaving his back unprotected.

The third attacker smiled and lifted his knife, aiming for the space between Luther's shoulder blades. Luther tried to turn, but he slipped on the wet glass on the floor.

"Mr. Vaughan, drop!" Sienna shouted.

The calm bodyguard disappeared. Sienna moved fast and silently. Before Luther could even fall, she was already next to him. She did not use her gun—she did not need to.

She caught the attacker's falling wrist with a very strong grip. She twisted it quickly and sharply, forcing it upward. The knife fell to the ground without hurting anyone. Before the man could scream, Sienna kicked him hard in the knee with her heavy boot.

A loud pop sounded in the clinic. The man screamed and fell to the floor, holding his broken leg.

The room became quiet, except for the heavy rain outside and Luther's rough breathing.

Luther stood up from the floor, wiping sweat and rain from his forehead. His grey eyes looked at the men moaning on the floor and then up at Sienna. She stood straight and breathed calmly, fixing her jacket sleeves as if she had just finished a normal meeting.

His usual mean smile was gone. Instead, he looked shocked, excited, and strangely interested in a dark way.

"You..." Luther said softly, looking directly into her eyes. "You are more than just a bodyguard."

Sienna looked into his eyes without showing any emotion, even though she felt very angry and nervous. She walked over the fallen leader and looked through the broken window to see if anyone else was coming, then she looked back at him.

"I am exactly what your father paid for, Mr. Vaughan," Sienna said quietly, using a sarcastic tone he did not notice. "I protect the assets. And right now, you are the only asset that matters."

Luther clenched his jaw. He was used to being the most dangerous person there. Now, he knew the biggest threat in his life was the quiet person his father forced him to stay with.

"Pack up the files, Mr. Vaughan," she commanded. "We are leaving. More of them are coming."

Sienna and Luther took the legal files, but when they pushed open the clinic's back door to avoid the street, they saw the alley was totally blocked.

Arthur Vaughan did not just send small criminals; he hired professional soldiers to make sure Luther was taken back to the Vaughan house by force. Four men in smooth, grey combat clothes stepped out from the dark, holding guns with silencers.

"Mr. Vaughan," the lead operative said coldly. "Your father wants to see you. Your small project is over now. Step away from the female guard."

Luther did not move away. He stood in front of Sienna again, using his big body to hide her. He reached behind him and quietly took a heavy iron pipe from a rusty ladder. "Tell my father that if he wants to talk to me, he can come down here and fight like everyone else."

The man's group moved, and this time, Luther and Sienna fought perfectly together.

The main guard shot. Luther jumped forward and hit the guard's arm hard with an iron pipe, breaking it and making the gun fall into the water. At that same moment, Sienna crouched down and tripped a second shooter.

Luther did not check on Sienna because he knew she had his back. He grabbed a third agent by the throat and slammed him hard against the alley wall. He used strong punches to break the man's helmet and knock him out.

Next to him, Sienna worked with great speed and accuracy. She went past the last man's body armor, used advanced hand-to-hand combat to take his knife, threw him over her shoulder, and held him down on the wet road with her knee on his throat.

The alley was quiet. Four well-armed, professional soldiers lay hurt in the mud.

Luther stood in the rain, breathing hard. His expensive shirt was torn at the shoulder, showing his strong muscles. Water ran down his face. He dropped the metal pipe, and it made a loud noise on the ground.

He did not look at the hired soldiers. He looked only at Sienna.

He walked quickly toward her, full of energy. He grabbed her jacket and pulled her close until they hit each other. His eyes looked wild and showed a sudden, dangerous anger.

"Who the hell are you?" Luther demanded, his grip tightening on her suit."No school teaches that. You didn't just protect me—you knew every move I would make. You fight like you know me. You fight like you hate my family as much as I do."

Sienna looked up at him. He held her tightly against his large chest. She felt the warm, solid body of the man whose father had killed her family. She grabbed his wrists and squeezed them hard to try and push him away. But she could not move him. He was too strong.

Her heart beat fast from extreme sadness, deadly anger, and a sudden, wrong feeling of excitement that made her body go numb.

"Let go of me, Mr. Vaughan," she said quietly, looking into his eyes with a strong but shaking gaze. "I am here to protect you. Nothing more."

Luther didn't let go. He looked at her lips, then back at her eyes. A strong, intense feeling grew between them in the rain. "You're a liar, Sienna Nilsson," he whispered harshly. "And I'm going to find out exactly what you're hiding."