No Sanctuary For Old Men [18+] |Negan| ✔️ Complete

LII • Fire and Ice

When Negan surfaced from the cell block twenty minutes later, he was spattered with blood, amber eyes maniacal. Lucille hung from a red slicked fist, dressed in crimson like her master.

The Angel of Death strolled into the courtyard, a whistle on his lips.

Arat, Simon and Regina stood in front of the prepared Jeeps, waiting patiently for their boss to lose his shit.

"Gigi, you hold down the fuckin' fort," he said jovially, tone a stark contrast to the wild streak in his gaze. The Amazonian lieutenant put a hand on his shoulder and placed a sweet kiss on his temple that was miraculously clear of blood.

"You got it, boss," she assured him.

"Keep our Alexandrian fuckin' princess on lockdown," he added, and she nodded firmly. Since Daryl's escape, they'd had a twenty four hour security detail put on the infirmary, much to Carson's annoyance.

"They want to trade her for Daphne," Arat spoke up, though she knew that information didn't matter. Letty had already told the kidnappers that there was no negotiation.

There would be no negotiating in this situation.

Negan's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Well, that's too fuckin' bad."

Daphne dozed a little, or at least as much as she was able while bouncing upside down. They hadn't stopped to sleep, figuring Letty wouldn't, and the lieutenant knew they were right.

She wondered if the scouts were on foot or horseback. Ezekiel had been very generous with the Saviors, and likely would have allowed Letty a steed for her rescue mission. It wouldn't have taken much for the scout to have figured out she was tracking horses.

In any case, they had enough of a lead that if they kept moving, Letty wouldn't catch up. But they would have to stop sometime. Daphne assumed Hilltop or Alexandria, which were stupid but predictable choices. She'd just have to wait and see.

There was a crackle as her radio made noise. Daryl dug it out of the saddlebag and turned it up.

"You out there, my little lost fuckin' puppy?" Negan's voice was low and menacing and Daphne shivered at the husk of it, suddenly wide awake. She hadn't realized just how much she missed the sound of him these last few days, the look of him, feel of him, the taste...

"You got Maggie?" Daryl rasped into the receiver, and got a drawn out chuckle in return.

"Ah, bulldog, here's how it's gonna fuckin' go," Negan drawled, and then his tone hardened, each word deliberately enunciated. "When I get to Hilltop, I'm going to start fucking killing people. And if you don't bring my fucking lieutenant to me alive and unharmed before every fucking citizen meets my barbed wire bitch? Then I'll head the fuck on over to Alexandria and start the whole motherfucking circus all over again."

Daphne's heart skipped a beat. His totalitarian voice set her on fire, and her throat constricted. She blinked rapidly, and fought to steady her breathing as Daryl shoved the radio back into his pack.

"This is our chance," Jesus said, and hopped down from the horse. He pulled his captive after him, but her legs buckled as soon as her feet hit the ground from underuse. He caught her easily around the waist and shoved her against Daryl as soon as the redneck dismounted.

"I was joking about the threesome," she grunted, laughing to cover up her worry. If Jesus was seeing a chance at Negan, could Daphne be the weak point in his armor?

"Hunker down somewhere nearby," Jesus continued, "I'll take the horses to Hilltop and evacuate everyone that can't fight. Once Negan is inside, take one of the Savior vehicles and get to Alexandria. If we don't get him, it's up to you."

"This is stupid, are you seriously—" Daphne began, but Daryl covered her mouth with his hand. She screamed in frustration, panic gripping her chest with icy fingers.

She lifted her thighs and kicked out at Jesus, adrenaline giving strength to her previously numb limbs. He grabbed her ankles and tore a thick strip from her skirt, handing it to Daryl. The shaggy haired Alexandrian secured it around her mouth, muffling her cries without risk of getting his fingers bitten off.

"Go," Jesus pointed, and then darted off into the trees, tugging the reins of the horses behind him.

Daphne struggled with all her might against Daryl's strong grip, hoping to cause enough of a scuffle that Letty could track them. He bent and threw her over his shoulder and jogged on, jostling her around on his back.

She twisted back and forth, anything to slow his progress. She had to do something; Negan was heading right into a trap. What had he been thinking, telling them where he was going? Did he have enough Saviors with him to thwart an attack? Or maybe he'd done it on purpose, to throw them off a different plan entirely.

She clung to that hope.

Eventually Daryl dumped her on the forest floor without an ounce of gentleness, and collapsed next to her himself. He double checked her bonds, and then wound a length of rope between her knees and around a nearby tree, effectively leashing her.

She scowled through her gag as he tightened the knot, cocked his gun, and then laid down to sleep just out of her reach.

At some point Daphne dozed, because she woke to the feeling of dirt rubbing up her back. when she deduced she was being dragged, her eyes flew open and she started to wriggle.

In the moonlight filtering through the trees, she made out long hair, and wondered why the hell Jesus had come back. But then he smirked and she caught a glimpse of a douchey gaze and realized who it was.

"Hey there, bitch," Jared gave her body one last jerk and then sat down hard on her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

"Where's Letty?" Daphne asked, muffled by her gag, eyes darting around. No way this asshole would be her sole rescuer.

"Oh, she's gonna wake up with one hell of a goose egg," he said with a sneer, and realization came crashing down on her like a flash flood.

All of Daphne's earlier panic and fear exploded, and she jolted her forehead up into his face, aiming blindly, eliciting a sick crunch and grunt of pain.

She twisted hard, and he backhanded her with his gun. Stars exploded behind her eyes and she was vaguely aware of being flipped over onto her stomach.

"I owe you, for all the embarrassment you caused me," Jared growled, and started to dig in her skirts.

Daphne's heart started to pound and she thrashed, throwing her body weight around as hard as she could to get him off of her. He laughed, fist connecting with her right side twice. As she instinctively curled into the blows, he tore the front of her dress.

She shrieked into the gag, skin crawling beneath his touch, continuing to struggle with all her might. The cold reality of what this fucker was going to do sank through her, freezing every nerve ending in its wake.