Scars From The Past

all the good girls go to hell

"Standing there, killing time
Can't commit to anything but a crime
Peter's on vacation, an open invitation
Animals, evidence
Pearly Gates look more like a picket fence
Once you get inside 'em
Got friends but can't invite them

Hills burn in California
My turn to ignore ya
Don't say I didn't warn ya

All the good girls go to Hell
'Cause even God herself has enemies
And once the water starts to rise
And Heaven's out of sight
She'll want the Devil on her team

My Lucifer is lonely"

-Rhine's POV-
"Do you regret it?" I ask out of the blue.
"What?" Raoul asks, throwing me a sideway glance. I had been silent for over an hour, that one question plaguing my mind the entire time.
"Killing her. Do you regret it?"
He remains silent for a moment, seeming lost in thoughts for a moment.
"It felt like the only way out." He eventually explains, making me nod.
"But it hurts, doesn't it?"
"Yes." He mutters, rather quietly. Then, he turns the music louder, and I take it as my cue to shut up.

After 30 minutes of awkward silence, I'm getting bored. I shift in my seat, and turn to look outside, but there's literally nothing but the road and green fields. When I let out a sigh, Raoul glances over towards me for a second, then looks back at the road.
"Look underneath your seat." He suddenly speaks up.
"What?" I ask, confused, but bend over anyway. For a moment, I search, until my hand grabs hold of something. When I pull it up, I look at it in surprise. It's a book, a Spanish title surrounded by red on the cover, but when I open the book it's written in English.
"Read it." Raoul adds casually, and I look at him with a puzzled look. Still, I open the book and begin to read, soon enough getting lost in the story. It tells a story about a boy and girl who fall in love without realizing it, rather similar to Romeo and Juliet, but not as dramatic and more realistic. I love it.
"Rhine." Raoul's voice snaps me out of the story, making me look up at him in surprise.
"Where are we?" I ask, looking around. It appears to be that we are in a rather busy city.
"Manchester." He says, surprising me even more by actually telling me.
"Cool." I bring out, trying to hide my surprise. Why the hell were we back in England?

Raoul drives into an underground parking lot and parks the car. He gets out and somehow manages to reach my door in time to open it for me. I wonder how he keeps on doing that. I just got out of the car, when he stops me from moving by trapping me in between his body and the car. For a moment, my eyes drift down towards his lips, but I quickly refocus on his eyes, trying not to get distracted.
"We're in a busy, dangerous city. Follow me and never leave my sight, understood?" He asks, voice serious.
"Yeah, sure." I answer, rather skeptical. Was he really stupid enough to bring me to a city as big as this one?
"I have more enemies than friends here. Once they've seen you with me, they won't hesitate to kill you, especially when you're not around me." His eyes are more serious than ever, making me nod. Well, that changed things. Now wouldn't be a good time to escape, apparently.
"Come." He motions for me to move, closing the car door behind me and locking it. As we're walking next to each other, Raoul grabs my hand. Automatically, I intertwine my fingers with his, and I smile up at him when he looks down at me in surprise. I take note of how small my hand seems in his large one, and how they seem to fit perfectly. He has the hands of a warrior, strong and calloused, but with long, slender fingers. We take the elevator in silence. Once out of the underground parking, I let Raoul lead me through the city as I look around.

Eventually, Raoul walks into a hotel that's a lot fancier than any of the previous. Surprised, I admire the golden detailing and fluffy red carpets in the lobby. At the desk, I leave it to Raoul to check in. While he's talking, he wraps an arm around my waist, holding me close. The feeling of his hand on my hip makes a strange sensation rush through me, and I'm momentarily distracted by it. We get a key in seconds, but when I look at the woman behind the desk, the look in her eyes gives away the fact that she fully realizes who Raoul is. Thinking about it as Raoul leads me to an elevator, I realize that if he's willing to take the risk of staying in a fancy hotel where people recognized him, this place must be very dangerous indeed. We stop at the top floor, a door in the middle of the hallway, Raoul unlocking it with the key. Walking inside, my jaw drops.

The room is huge. The wall opposite of the door is entirely made of glass, resulting in a spectacular view over the city. On the left side stands a dark, wooden canopy bed with translucent white curtains hanging around it, the sheets a rich red. In the right wall is another door, that leads through a modern bathroom with a walk in shower, dark tiles covering the floor. When I walk back into the bedroom, I look up at Raoul, awe visible in my eyes.
"This. Is awesome." I bring out, a big grin on my face. He chuckles at it, dropping his bag next to the left side of the bed, his usual sleeping spot. Then, he pulls out something from it, and lays it onto the bed.
"Put that on." He orders gently. When he sees my confused look, a smile spreads across his face, dark brown eyes warming slightly
"We're going to have dinner."

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An hour later, I'm ready. Raoul had gotten me a long, black dress. It's tight fitting, has a split in the left leg and I look stunning in it. He also got me a pair of black heels, new underwear, and even a bit of makeup. It had been kind of him, but at the same time it was yet another sign that it was important to look dangerous and rich here. It made me a bit nervous, but it also could've been the fact that I was going to have dinner with Raoul, one that consisted of a bit more than Chinese take-away. Walking out of the bathroom, I find Raoul standing by the glass wall, looking out across the city. He's dressed in a dark blue tux, the top button of his white dress shirt open, no tie, and when he turns, my stomach does a backflip. He looks incredibly sexy like this. When he sees me, he freezes up as well, eyes taking in my appearance, going up and down my body before meeting my eyes.
"You look gorgeous." Raoul says, eyes slightly darker as he walks over to me.
"You look... well, great." I force myself to bring out, still a bit dazzled by his appearance. Smiling at it, he opens the bedroom door, leading me into the hall.

"Shall we?" He asks charmingly, extending an arm. I nod and take his arm, smiling as we walk towards the elevator. Inside, he doesn't let go of me, and when the doors open again he leads me out of the hotel. We walk through the night, street lights illuminating our path. There are still a lot of people on the streets, more than one of them staring.
"People are staring at us." I mutter to Raoul, a bit uneasy without my gun.
"They're wondering how you can be this beautiful." He whispers with a smirk, not a single worry readable from his face. I scoff at it, looking back in front of me. The walk doesn't take too long. We stop at a fancy looking restaurant called 'Phillipe's', and Raoul guides me inside. The restaurant is filled with warmth and soft classical music, the interior very intricate and elegant. A waiter walks over to us.

"Mr. Silva." He greets Raoul and leads the way to a table at the back. I'm not even surprised by it anymore, but it does let my mind drift off to last night. He had told me that his real name was Tiago. I'd known that already, but it shocked me that he had told me himself. I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Raoul pulls out a chair for me. Smiling at him, I sit down, and so does he. The waiter hands both of us menus, and I start to read through it. All the names are Spanish, but there's luckily a description of each dish in English as well. After a while, the waiter returns, and I still haven't been able to decide.
"Would you like anything to drink?" He asks, looking at Raoul. I slowly began to realize that my opinion didn't really matter here.
"What would you like to drink?" Raoul asks me pointedly, a smile on his face.
"You can choose." I say with a shrug.
"Red wine?" He suggests, making me nod.
"That would be great."
"A bottle of the best red wine you have, please." Raoul says to the waiter, who nods and walks away.
"Do you already know what you want to eat?" Raoul asks me when the waiter leaves.
"I have no idea, there's simply too much to choose from." I admit with a deep sigh.
"Do you know what's good here?" I ask him, a bit unsure.
"I come here every time I come to this city." He says, surprising me.
"Would you mind ordering something for me?" I ask.
"Of course not." Raoul answers, smiling at me. When the waiter returns with a bottle of wine, he names two dishes in Spanish. I have no clue what he's saying, but my heart skips a beat at the language and the way the words sound so exotic coming from his lips.

"Do you come to Manchester a lot?" I ask curiously while Raoul is pouring the wine into our glasses. He hands me mine, and we raise our glasses to each other, before I cautiously take a sip. It' delicious, even though I'm usually not one for wine.
"Yes, mostly for business. Have you been here before?" He answers, rich brown eyes studying me.
"Never. Now's my first time." I admit, smiling at him.
"Why do you have so many enemies here?" I ask after a moment.
"Well, sometimes business is rough. I might've hacked a millionaire or two here and betrayed about 4 others, one of them the head of the Russian mob in this town." Raoul explains, shocking me.
"The head of the Russian mob?!" I whisper/yell in shock, luckily managing to keep my voice quiet. He chuckles at it, an amused look in his eyes, mixed with a tinge of pride.
"And a few others." He says with a shrug, making me laugh as well. Right then, the waiter arrives with our food, which is surprisingly fast if you ask me. Raoul has a dish with lamb that looks delicious. For me, he had ordered paella, and it tastes like it came straight from heaven.
"Hmm, this is delicious." I say after taking a few large bites. Raoul smiles at that.
"I figured you'd want something not too spicy." He notes, warm eyes looking into mine.
"I don't really like spicy food." I admit with a grin, making him laugh.
"Most Britains don't."

"Are you originally from Spain?" I ask curiously, continuing to eat. He nods at that, slight pride in his eyes. It was rather adorable.
"Then how did you end up at MI6?"
"Well, I decided to move to England when I was 16. The first day I arrived there, I almost immediately stepped back onto that plane. It was way colder here than back where I came from." He explains. I laugh at that.
"I actually wanted to become a soldier. But then M took note of my hacking skills, and worked for her from that day on." He continues. His voice turns slightly darker at the mentioning of her, but it disappears when he looks up into my eyes.
"Don't you miss your family?" I ask.
"I try to visit them as often as I can." He answers, smiling at the thought.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" I ask curiously, the idea of him with siblings a bit strange for me. He came across to me as a bit of a loner.
"I have 3 brothers." He admits with a grin.
"Three?!" I exclaim in surprise, making him chuckle.
"Mother always says we're a handful." He says, making me snicker. I wonder if she knows what her son has been up to lately, but decide not to ask.

"What about you?" Raoul asks after a moment, a curious look in his eyes.
"There's not much to tell. I don't have any siblings." I admit, chuckling lightly.
"What about your parents?" He persists.
"They're both agents. They were sent on a mission together a long time ago, and fell in love. When they got me, I spent nearly every day at MI6." I explain, seeing him laugh amusedly at it.
"I should've guessed." He mutters, making me chuckle. When he remains silent, I realize I'm not done talking yet.
"I still practically live there, although I'm not an agent yet. When I'm not there, I'm at home by myself." I say.
"You don't go to school?"
"Well, no. I graduated early." I answer, shrugging.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?" Raoul asks. It's only then I notice how late it had gotten, the huge clock that's hanging on the wall showing we had been here for nearly 3 hours.
"Yeah, sure." I answer, starting to feel a bit tired. Raoul quickly pays the bill, then leads me out of the restaurant. Once more, I take the arm he offers me, and walk a bit closer to him than earlier, as it's rather cold right now. There aren't many people left on the street, which is why both of us notice it when 5 men step out of an alley a while ahead of us. They're all dressed in suits, something about them screaming 'danger' towards me. Raoul looks at them as well, then tenses slightly, only enough for me to feel it.

"Friends of yours?" I mutter.
"Not exactly. Do you know Belikov?" He answers, equally quiet.
"You mean the Russian drug lord who stands on the list of most dangerous men in England? Yes, I do." I sneer, trying to hide my fear.
"Well, I might have backstabbed him a few years ago." Raoul mutters casually.
"What?!" I hiss, and it takes all I have not to start to yell at him.
"Yeah..."
"You do realize that Belikov is known for killing all the secret agents we've sent after him so far?!" I whisper/yell.
"Yes, I am aware of that, thank you for reminding me." He notes dryly, and I can feel him smirk. The men, however, turn our way, getting closer by each step we take. They haven't seen us yet, however.
"What do we do now?" I ask, getting a bit distressed. When he doesn't answer, I turn to look at him, but he swiftly pushes me to the left. I nearly scream, but feel Raoul's hand covering my mouth.
"Shh." He whispers, and I open my eyes, having shut them in surprise. We're in some dirty alley, Raoul pinning me to the brick wall behind me. Our eyes meet, and my stomach does a backflip when I realize how close we are.

"Fuck." He mutters. Before I can ask, he closes the distance between us and kisses me. For a moment, I freeze up. Then, fireworks explode in my mind, and I kiss him back. His hands are holding my hips tightly, mine tangling in his hair. He growls as he pulls me flush against his body, backing me up against the wall. When his hands move to cup my cheeks, demanding access to my mouth with his tongue, I let out a tiny moan, unable to hold it back. His body reacts to it, moving even closer, and I gasp lightly when I feel his excitement press into my stomach. I faintly hear footsteps pass by the alley we're in, and then Raoul pulls back, almost as fast as it began. He'd done this as a way to prevent Belikov's men from recognizing him. It was basic spy knowledge, that people wouldn't really look at two people making out heavily. My head is spinning, and when I open my eyes he's smiling down at me. When I stand up on my toes and grab his collar, yanking him down to my height, I kiss him, shocking him. Soon, we're kissing once more, and I feel like this is where I want to be for eternity. After a while, I pull back, breathless.

"Why?" Raoul asks, breathless as well, resting his forehead against mine.
"Belikov always sends a man or 2 a bit after the main group." I whisper. He laughs at it, a true, genuine laugh that makes his body shake with laughter. I laugh along with him, letting all the adrenaline leave my body, before sighing.
When our eyes meet, I lean into him.
"You're the strangest kidnapper there is." I mutter, making him chuckle.
"And you're the strangest prisoner."

Somehow, we make it back to our hotel room without coming across more of Raoul's enemies. I slip off my heels and let out a relieved noise, rubbing my aching heels. Raoul chuckles at it, then disappears into the bathroom, leaving me in the bedroom on my own. Sighing, I retrieve Raoul's shirt that is temporarily mine, and quickly undress. My mind goes back to earlier, and my heart skips a beat. I let out a deep sigh. What was happening to me? We kissed. I liked it.
I'm lying on the right side of the bed, and turn to lie on my left side. Like that, I can look out of the glass wall. It also means I'm not facing Raoul's side of the bed. He's standing under the shower for a while, maybe 10 minutes, the peaceful sound of the water running calming me down slightly. Then, I can hear him turn it off, and after another few minutes I hear the door being opened. I pretend to be asleep, and hear him get in bed, turning off the lights first.
Everything's silent.
Then, I can feel him roll over, and I hold my breath when he wraps his arms around my waist. He pulls me closer, my back now resting against his bare chest, my cold legs warming up against his, one arm wrapped around my waist as the other lies underneath my head. Slowly, I let myself relax against him, and smile when I hear him sigh contently. Feeling safe, I fall asleep in his arms, the warmth of his body surrounding me.

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3rd POV
Gareth Mallory waited impatiently as the phone rang, tapping his foot against the wooden floor in his office.
"Bond." Finally, his call's answered, the familiar voice coming through.
"Did you find the cabin?" Mallory asks, figuring he'd know who was calling.
"I did." Gareth takes a sharp inhale at it, freezing up for a moment.
"They weren't there anymore. Silva must've figured out the doctor would call the police sooner or later. It seems like they've left a long time ago." Bond admits, and disappointment fills Gareth. He knows he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up, but he just wanted Rhine to be alright so badly. They knew nothing about what she was going through right now, and that frustrated him.
"Keep looking, Bond. There might be some clues lying in the cabin about where they could've gone now."
"I will."
Gareth ends the call, sighing deeply.