ALONG THE WAY

CHAPTER 21

"I'm coming up. Hurt her and I'll kill you last."

Razor's smile widens. He knew it. This girl has already changed him. That explains them lying low for a couple of months now.

"That's the spirit. Welcome back, Steel."

Then the monitor shuts off. Leaving them in the dark.

"Havoc and Dark" tango niya sa dalawa bagay na tinanguan pabalik ng dalawa at mabilis na hinila papunta sa sasakyan ang mga kasama na walang balak umalis nang hindi kasama si Steel.

They knew him. He's not that dumb. That's why he successfully established his own group at a young age. That makes him the youngest gang chairman in the world.

As Steel walks back toward the fortress, his crew escapes into the night with Sam, watching their leader disappear into the shadows alone—trading freedom for love.

Steel then made his way towards Razor's group not really minding the fact that he's digging his own grave by making his way towards the hungry tigers' den.

On the other hand, Eiliethyia was in a room, alone. The room suffocating in its stillness — pitch black, silent, and ice-cold. Eiliethyia sat on the rough floor, her wrists raw and bound tightly behind her back, legs folded awkwardly beneath her. A blindfold pressed against her eyes, and a strip of cloth filled her mouth, silencing the cries that never stood a chance.

Her breathing was shallow, ragged. Panic trembled through her chest like a trapped bird beating against its cage. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know why she was here.

The only thing she knew was fear.

Tears slid silently beneath the blindfold as her mind raced for answers. Samantha Reyes — the first girl — made sense. Samantha was rich. Popular. The kind of girl people would pay to get back. But Eiliethyia? She was no one. No trust fund. No flashy name. Just a regular girl trying to stay invisible.

So why her?

The thought clanged in her mind like a broken bell. Why her?

Every creak, every echo of distant movement sent a fresh wave of dread rolling through her spine. Were they coming back? Were they watching? Was this just a mistake... or something worse?

She had no idea who had taken her.

But deep down, Eiliethyia feared one thing more than anything else.

They hadn't taken her by accident.

Steel didn't know how long it had been since they started beating him.

Time had turned into a blur of fists, bats, and blood. Every blow was a reminder of the choice he made — the deal he sealed with the Golden Lions in the name of the only girl who ever made him feel unworthy.

He laughs on the back of his head. That girl has always been nothing but grumpy and feisty towards him pero hindi man lang 'yon sapat na rason para pabayaan niya ito. At some point, that girl, holds a special place in his heart, in his life.

Eiliethyia.

He saw her face in the darkness between each punch — bruised in memory, but soft in spirit. The girl who shouldn't have been dragged into the fire he lived in. The girl who somehow, despite everything, chose to stay and let them be her friends.

So he chose for her this time.

He'd walked through the Golden Lions' gates with hands up, unarmed, unflinching. Their leader had smiled like a wolf spotting a wounded deer — Steel still remembered that smile. The terms were simple: him for her. They get the gang leader they've hunted for years, and he gets the promise that they let her go.