They have her somewhere in a warehouse, orders coming in to change her location every other week.
She's kept alive, fed three times a day, and watched by armed guards when she asks to stroll around the acres of land behind it.
Skylar no longer tries to bolt, having an ankle monitor on her ankle that tracks her with ease. She can't even cut it off, having been taken all materials that are sharp and could be a hazard to her.
Kira comes and visits her to her surprise. Sometimes it's Nick. They both update her on the outside world, letting her know that her job has placed her on permanent leave. But that she's not fired, as Riker owns the publishing company, his sister Reena the assistant.
Which for some reason doesn't surprise her as it should.
They never let Riker visit.
Nick is tight lipped about him, and only Kira talks about him in vague sentences.
"Why can't he visit me?" Skylar asked Kira, and her lips press together as if she's contemplating on what to say.
It's the third day of Skylar's capture. Kira and Sky are in her "room", Skylar laying in plain blue pajamas. Kira on the other hand is wearing a purple off shoulder mini dress that ends just at her top of thighs, a slit running along the side. She has her hair twisted up in a curly ponytail, her silver strapped shoes sparkling softly.
She looks like she's going to a party but Skylar has learned that this is how she dresses every day.
"They don't want us telling you anything because Riker is to marry me. And then the allyship truce that they want between my mafia and the yakuza can be secured." Kira explained softly, her Russian accent thickening.
Skylar said naught, staring at the beautiful redhead evenly.
"Do you even want to marry him?" she asked.
Kira is stiff, as her eyes land on Skylar's. The answer is there, and Skylar looks up to the ceiling.
"I'm going to have to cut our meeting short." Kira said, as she got up from the chair, smoothing down the sides of her dress.
"Why?" Skylar asked, sitting up.
"Riker messed up, and someone is going to come and..." Kira trailed off, and Skylar's stomach twists.
"Oh." Skylar replies, and Kira reaches over, squeezing her hand, before she leaves.
Sure enough, a random meaty man comes in, tattoos covering every corner of his skin, a piercing going through his nose bridge. Skylar backs up, but she's cornered, and there's no way she'll escape from here without facing even more repercussions.
The man says nothing as he cracks his neck, and then his knuckles, reaching for her.
Forty-five minutes later.
There are bruises on Skylar's face, her right eye swollen shut. A cut on her cheekbone bleeds, and her side aches.
She wanted to endure the beating in silence but that had made the man mad, so he had ripped out her pinkie finger's nail. It'd been horrible, a woman wearing a white lab coat stepping in, and treating Skylar's wounds.
Skylar just let her do it, not even saying anything. It was more than likely the woman couldn't speak English anyway.
When she was done wrapping Skylar up, the lady gave her a bottle of pills. It looked like it was baby ibuprofen, and Skylar took it, placing the bottle on her dresser. The lady left once it was time for Skylar to eat.
She ate the food quickly, feeling exhaustion tug her to the comfortable bed. Skylar didn't even know what time it was, settling under the covers as her eyes shut.
The last thing she remembered was the hope that she'd somehow make it out of here somewhat sane.
Her mother is singing as they stroll through the park. A familiar tune that carries out sweetly, her Spanish perfect and unblemished.
Sky listens, her small hand gripping her mother's tightly.
Past the park is where her new school is at and though her mother spoke about it to Skylar a lot, she still didn't feel prepared for it just yet.
Skylar struggled with English though. She couldn't speak it, write it, understand it, nor read it. And at six years old, she was embarrassed about that fact.
"There will be someone around you always to make sure you understand what's being said. But you really need to learn English, so they know you are not a little dummy. You are a smart, and capable girl." her mother told her in Spanish, and Skylar looked up to her and smiled so big.
"I will do my best, Mama." Skylar said with genuine determination dripping off her words. Her mother smiled and kissed her forehead, as they stopped in front of the school.
Skylar's Dad would be missing out on this moment, as he was at work, and Skylar's older brother Saul had already left to school. He would have the upper hand as he had been practicing his English to not look like a fool in middle school.
As a teacher's assistant came up, greeting Skylar with earnest, she could see a boy about her age being held by the arm. He looked angry, a scar on the side of his face, as he glared at the teacher and then met Skylar's gaze.
Skylar gave him a little wave, which he stuck his tongue out at her.
The teacher noticed and scolded the boy. Skylar struggled to understand, but all she caught was his name, Rhy.
The assistant leads Skylar into the school, and then-
Someone shaking her awake makes her groan. Her body aches still from the beating she endured...well she's not sure how long ago. It just really fucking hurts.
Blearily opening her eyes, she sees one of Juno's goons standing before her, an ice pack in his hand. He plops it on her lap, then motions for her to follow him.
She does, dragging her feet behind him, and they make their way into a tiny bathroom, the goon motioning for her to go in, handing her a plastic bag. She takes it without question, shutting the door on his face.
It's a small victory, but she can't help but smile at it.
She does her business first, before poking into the plastic bag. Her stomach drops, as she pulls out various boxes of hair dye.
"What the hell are these for?" she asks the goon.
"Boss wants you to change hair color. Chose a darker one to make you blend in more. Skin will still be giveaway though." he replied, and Skylar stared at him in disbelief.
"I don't want to change my hair color!" she snapped at him, and the goon rolled his eyes.
"It's either hair color change, or face surgery."
Skylar was fuming as she slammed the door on him, rubbing her temple. No way these fools wanted her to change her appearance. And for what? It's not like she was in anything anymore.
She was just a normal girl trying to live her life.
Skylar heaved a sigh as she began to wet her hair, and began to mix the products in a bowl, wrinkling her nose at the smell of it.
An hour later, she was drying her now dark brown hair, glaring at her reflection. She walked out the bathroom, shoving past the goon and back into her room.
Skylar knew she should sleep on a towel so the left-over dye wouldn't stain the pillows, but she didn't care, flopping on the bed, and passing out.
And when she woke up, and it was covered in brown dye, she smiled just a bit wider.
Skylar wasn't aware of time anymore.
She could tell that a week passed because they moved her from the warehouse to a different one. And when they made Kira help her bathe and look decent, Skylar wanted to lash out at her, but to be honest, Kira looked pretty terrifying in anything that she did or wore.
One day, when she was dressing up Skylar, Kira was braiding her hair. Skylar's well-kept caramel curls was now heavy and wavy, easier to form tangles. Kira was frowning as she yanked the comb through the tangles, Skylar wincing.
"They're letting him come and see you today." she murmured, braiding the sides of her hair with a careful grip.
"Why?" she replied, looking down at her hands. She felt like a little kid again, Kira braiding her hair like her mother once did not too long ago.
"To give him motivation to keep doing the work that he's doing." Kira replied, as she sprayed some hair spray into Skylar's hair. "You look beautiful."
"It's because of your handiwork." Skylar said, peeking at herself in the mirror, her eyes widening.
Having dyed her hair such a dark chocolate color made her skin look paler. Or maybe it was the fact that she was outside less than what she was use to. And Kira had also done her make-up, making Skylar's eyes pop, her lips glossed, and face welcoming.
Just as Kira had helped Skylar into a soft pink blouse, and dark washed jeans, one of Juno's goons stepped in, clearing his throat.
Kira and Skylar exchanged a look, and then Skylar followed right after the man.