Her Gift

Betrayed

"What do you mean you want Hayden?" Terror grips me; he wants to hurt Hayden, destroy him maybe... the worst things I can imagine are of course the first things my mind jumps to.

"I mean exactly that. I want Hayden, I want him to work for me. I want all the information he's been given off Killian to be handed to me. I know he won't give it to me willingly, which is where you come in. As human as Hayden wants to be, he still has to obey the main rule of an Android and that means he can't harm me." He looks me over guiltily again and I wonder how badly he wants this information. He's obviously doing something he doesn't want to do by taking me.

"He can't harm me," he repeats. "But I can harm you... and he'd do anything to avoid that, even betraying his father figure and company to a rival company. My rival company."

"I used to work with Killian you see, I helped him start everything and then what does he do? He shuts me out. All that intelligence and he uses it on one robot and then hides it all for himself. It's selfish."

I am taken back to the first time I met Killian and remember him mentioning a fellow partner that had tried to steal his work and that had been why he'd left Hayden and his old job.

Obviously Liam held grudges.

"Liam," I say softly, hoping to appeal to the side of him that feels guilt. "Is hurting me really worth all this? I know you don't want to hurt me. I'm sure your company thrives even without Killian's work."

This must have been the worst thing I could have said.

Liams eyes narrow dangerously and for the first time I see real evil project from him.

"Thrives. My company is pitiful, laughable compared to Killian's. He's gone further than anyone in our field has ever even dreamed of and he keeps it to himself like the selfish bastard he always was. I was there when he was nothing. When he was laughed at for his ideas. Now he hides from me, hides his work. Not anymore. I will be better than him. Bigger than him. I'll take his work and make it more!"

I wasn't sure what more he could to improve the work Killian poured his heart and soul into; creating artificial organs to help save lives was pretty amazing and I didn't think Liam would improve the work for the better.

He was obviously unhinged and fuelled with anger and hatred which was clouding his better judgment. I needed to try to rationalise his crazy side so he didn't do anything to hurt me or Hayden.

"I get it. You were left behind and betrayed... I know the feeling of being left... but can't you see this isn't the right thing to do? Hurting someone just to gain what? Money? Recognition? Have you really thought this through. Liam, please, just let me go." I kept my voice calm even though I wanted to shout at him for what he'd done to me.

"You don't get it!" He seethed and I leaned back in fear. "Behind dumped isn't the same as the betrayal I felt... Of being shut out and discarded as if I were nothing. Killian will feel the same when his company crumbles and mine rises." The deranged smile on his face while he pictured his dream scared me more than anything he'd done up to now.

He was too far gone to be reasoned with.

I needed a new plan but first I needed to know how long he intended to keep me before Hayden was to come.

"How do you think Hayden is going to find me? It's not like we keep tabs on each other. I haven't seen him in weeks."

"You might not have seen him, but he's definitely seen you. Hayden can't seem to stay away unless he's at work, which meant I had to time everything perfectly to make sure he wouldn't be there when I grabbed you. Don't worry though, when he can't sense you in your apartment he'll trace your steps and find your abandoned car with the note I left for him."

Liam stands and lifts me up with him. I comply with him for the time being and follow him into the kitchen where he sits me down on a wooden chair.

When he grabs a thick rope though I no longer sit back and let him take the lead. Standing quickly I kick at his leg automatically which knocks him backwards through shock and I rush back though the house heading for the front door.

My body is flung to the ground and my head smacks sickeningly against the hardwood as Liam lifts his weight off me to grab my arms and tighten them against my back. Using them to lift me up I cry out at both the pain radiating from my head and my shoulders that are bent in an uncomfortable position.

"You brought this on yourself." He says as if justifying his actions. I watch us get closer to the kitchen through watery and fuzzy eyes and get pushed back into the wooden chair. Not letting go of me this time I feel the thick rope tighten over my torso and around the chair.

I struggle weakly against the bindings knowing I wouldn't be able to escape them without the aid of something sharp, that or I would just have to wait for Hayden to get here.

I feel my eyes flutter closed against the pain in my head and don't try to fight the blackness.

Hurry Hayden.