by Hayley Smyth
She laughed, but it was a cold noise. “I don’t have to explain a goddamn thing to you. You see this?” She asked, pointing to her face. “Jozef nearly fucking killed me, thanks to you.”
“Ah, he found out, did he?”
“Don’t look so fucking smug, Carter, it distorts your features.” Reining in her temper, she regarded me for a moment, and the bitch I knew appeared once more. “You’re looking well; found a new pussy to fuck, have you?”
I couldn’t help myself. I flew towards her, grabbed her skinny throat, and slammed her against the wall. The child never looked up, not once. “I’d shut your damn mouth, if I were you, Marnie.”
Her eyes bulged, but still, she smiled, bony fingers clawing at my hands. “Fuck, y-you!” She spat.
“Where’s Jax? What does that door lead to?” I growled, pressing my body against hers to hold her in place.
“Carter,” Archie’s voice warned, “don’t do anything stupid, my boy.”
I ignored him, slamming Marnie against the wall. “Fucking answer me.”
She half laughed and half spluttered, I loosened my grip just enough to let her talk. “Do this to Amy, did you? Throw her around? Put your hands around her neck?”
“Don’t you say her name, don’t you fucking dare, Marnie, just give me answers and I’ll let you go.”
She cackled now; the noise made my eyes squint. “For Christ sake, Carter, she’s alive.”
All the air around me froze, my ears buzzed, and my entire body became solid. Had I fucking heard her correctly? “Don’t play games with, Marnie.” I squeezed her throat harder, watching as her face turned bright red.
She was scared now, her lips making a P shape as she tried to beg.
Loosening my grip again, I raised my eyebrow and waited for her to stop coughing to talk. “I-I’m not playing games; Amy. She’s alive. They planned the whole thing.”
“Stop fucking lying!” I cracked her head against the wall, and this time the child did look my way, her bottom lip wobbling at the sudden outburst of a strange and angry voice, but she remained on the couch.
Marnie slumped to the floor, her eyes rolling around her head, but I wasn’t finished.
I took the gun from its holster, pulled her to her feet, and held the barrel to her stomach, pressing deeply, anger made my hands shake.
“Carter, please, listen to me, alright? I’ll tell you everything.”
Her hands held my hand, the one holding the gun, and I shook my head. “I’m not moving this until you quit being vague and give me answers.”
“Okay, okay,” she tried to appease me, and then she was taking huge gulping breaths, shaking her, no doubt, pounding head. “Amy and Vlad were having an affair. Once she found out about us, she went straight to Vlad and told him.”
My brow pulled together. “Amy planned her death because I fucked you? That’s a bit fucking dramatic, don’t you think?”
She continued to gulp down air, huffing and puffing, cheeks flushed, and blood trickling down her neck from a wound I couldn’t see. “Carter, there’s so much to this story, it’s not as black and white as you think. So many fucking lies.” She gasped, my hold on her remained tight. “The baby, Carter…Oh, fuck.”
For the first time in all the time I’d known her, Marnie looked human. She looked as though she genuinely gave a fuck, and whatever she was about to tell me was going to hurt her to say. “She’s pregnant, that much was true, but…”
“But fucking what?” I yelled now. The child cried out and scurried from the couch, throwing her tiny body beneath her crib, teddy clutched to her chest.
“Fuck, Carter,” she cried. “The baby, it’s Vladimir’s.”
“You’re lying!” I screamed, spittle flying from my lips on to her face.
“Carter, my boy, please.” Archie’s voice came, but it sounded so damn far away.
“Why the fuck should I believe you?”
A bitter noise left her lips. “What do I gain from lying? I’ve already lost you.”
All at once, the last few months were vivid across my vision. The pregnancy stick, Marnie naked in the warehouse sucking my dick, Jax leaving, the funeral, the grief, and the despair I’d felt. The shame and anger. The woman I loved hung up with rope, her beautiful flesh carved and peeled away. The blood. The nightmares.
And all this goddamn time…
I couldn’t fucking breathe. The pain in my chest was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, I went deaf, watching Marnie’s lips move some more, but I couldn’t listen to it. The lies. So many fucking lies.
I cried out as my heart finally broke beyond repair, the agony it sent through-out my body consumed me, and I screamed.
I pressed my forehead against Marnie’s and screamed until my voice cracked.
And then, I pulled the trigger.
“Carter, no!” Archie shouted through the earpiece, but it was too late.
Marnie didn’t make a noise. Releasing her, I watched as her body slumped to the floor, a pool of red liquid pouring from her stomach, her lips parted, the color draining from her face, her tiny hands pressing against the hole I’d created.
Sarka screamed.
I cried.
And then the world turned black.
If I were to survive this, I knew I’d never be the same again.
Chapter Thirty Two
Jax.
The last thing I wanted to do was get ready for a dinner with people I despised and who despised me, not that I had much of a choice. So, with great reluctance, I dragged myself to the shower and spent as long as I could underneath the fierce stream of hot water. I tried to enjoy my moment of quiet, but my mind was a mess, theories of the night ahead bombarding me, and fuck, I missed Ella. I refused to believe she was anything other than alive, there had been plenty of times she had disappeared since I arrived, and I clung to the hope that this is what was happening now. My Ella was locked away somewhere. I hoped that, wherever she was, she was able to remind herself of everything I had promised her; promises I intended to keep until my last goddamn breath.
As I stepped from the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist, I heard my phone ring. I hurried back into the room and my heart sunk when I saw my father’s name flashing across the screen; I don’t know why I felt so apprehensive, perhaps it was the anxiety of everything coming together.
“Yeah?”
My father was stressed. “Jax! Oh, thank Christ. It’s Carter.”
I froze. “What?”
“He’s okay, well, he’s alive. Look, I can’t explain everything right now, I don’t have much time, but we found her, son. Ella’s daughter. Her name’s Sarka.”
“Fuck,” I should have felt happy, but I was waiting for the blow.
“Marnie had been looking after her; she arrived back with the toddler when Carter was there…Jax, he killed Marnie. He shot her. She said Amy planned the whole thing and that the baby is Vlad’s. He took Sarka and fled, and I have no goddamn fucking clue where he’s gone.”
“What?” I couldn’t control the volume of my voice. “Well, find him! He can’t just have disappeared!”
My dad blew out air, sighing heavily. I imagined him running a hand through his graying hair. “He left through the door Marnie had come from; a door we had no fucking clue existed. We knew that they’d have access from somewhere, but that’s something Carter was going to check out. I’m doing what I can, Jax, but the plan’s gone to complete shit, and I’m worried about him. He’s never killed anybody, let alone a woman.” My dad choked on a sob, and my skin crawled, the image of Carter shooting Marnie making me shudder.
“What the fuck do we do? I’m expected downstairs for a welcome back dinner.” I didn’t wait for him to reply. “The plan still stands. Whatever happens, tomorrow is the best opportunity we’re going to get for a while. He can’t have got far, not with a child in his arms. You get men out searching for him, and you and Graham do what Carter was supposed to.”
“Alright, my boy,
keep in touch, okay? And I’ll update you as soon as I have any new information.”
We hung up, and a whole new kind of dread embraced me.
Walking into the dining room, which was transformed in preparation for tomorrow’s party, several pairs of eyes met me. It seemed I was the last to arrive at my own special dinner.
Vladimir and Jozef were seated at the far end of the table, Benny to the left who looked uncharacteristically nervous, there was an empty chair next to him, and on the opposite side of the table were several other men I’d seen lurking around.
Quiet music played through unseen speakers, and I adjusted my tie and suit jacket as I took a seat; the atmosphere was toxic.
The table was covered with a red cloth, plates were already out, and the men each had a drink. Benny poured me a glass and gave me a brief smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes as he passed me my drink.
“Jaxon,” Vlad beamed, fingers on each hand pressing together. “Thank you for joining us.” He raised his glass, and we all reciprocated the action. Each man took a polite sip, yet I knocked my drink back. My body was hyper-alert of the glances between the others, the tension in Benny’s thick shoulders, the silence aside from the clatter of glass.
“Good to be back, sir,” I said, sounding far more confident than I felt. Mine and Vlad’s last conversation played over in my mind as we waited for our host to continue.
The silence stretched for a beat or two longer, and then the doors that connected the dining room to the kitchen open, and Edith appeared, frail hands pushing a silver cart with several dishes of food, the steam rose from them, and the smell hit me as she got closer. Any other time I’d have enjoyed a decent meal and a decent drink, hell, I may have even enjoyed Benny’s company if the circumstances were different, but I felt sick. I was itching to find Ella, I was scared for my friend, and I already knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach a mouthful of this delicious food.
Did Vlad and Jozef know Marnie was dead?
I swallowed hard as a starter of soup was placed in front of me, unbuttoning the top button of my shirt.
“How are the arrangements for the party coming along, sir?” Benny asked, his voice jovial with an undercurrent of nerves. The silence was too much for him, as well, it seemed.
Vlad slurped on his soup, wiping his mouth with a black handkerchief. “Everything is ready, Benjamin. We’re going to have some important names here tomorrow, so I’m expecting things to go without a hitch.” He raised a questioning eyebrow to the team of men around him, which they all responded with yeses and nods of their hands.
I poured myself another drink.
“Jax, you’re quiet,” Vlad asked as Edith finished serving everyone’s starter, and then hurrying off to the kitchen again.
All eyes were on me, waiting for me to explain this observation. “I’m fine, sir, still in pain, is all.”
“Edith declared you fit for work - you’re not going to be a liability tomorrow, are you?”
I shook my head. “Of course not, sir. Will take more than a busted nose and broken ribs to keep me down.” I said, before I could reign back the belligerent tone in which the words were delivered.
Vladimir smirked, his spoon clanging as he continued to inhale the red soup.
“Watch your tone, Murdoch,” Jozef growled.
I held my hands up. “No harm meant, I assure you.”
Vladimir placed a hand on his right-hand man’s forearm to placate him. “Before Edith brings the next dish out, I’m afraid there is something we all need to discuss, there’s an elephant, as you American’s say, in the room and it’s about time we address it.”
Benny choked on the bread roll he was chewing on, and I frowned, patting him on the back.
Vladimir rose, pushing back from his chair and addressed us. “I won’t bore you with history too much, but I feel as though, with the younger generations coming in, you may not all be aware of the story, the infamous tale of the Chrobak’s and Murdoch’s.” He took a sip of his drink and clasped his hands together, he had the stage now, and we were all listening.
“It’s true what they say, New Mexico, Santa Fe in particular, was Murdoch territory when my great-great-grandfather arrived here, with little more than a dollar to his name, broken English, and a new wife. He didn’t flee from a war-torn, savage country where people were little more than domesticated animals, no, but he was a very tortured soul, and as soon as the opportunity arose for him to leave, he did. Murdoch’s welcomed him with open arms just months after he arrived, their business was collapsing, rival gangs were fighting back and growing stronger, and it was my grandfather who changed all of it. He brought fear and respect back to the streets, Archibald Murdoch’s grandfather was a weak man, I’m sorry, Jaxon, but it’s true, and before long, the Chrobak name was as well known as the Murdoch’s, maybe even more so. They were aliens to the people on the streets, fighting over weapons and cocaine and, eventually, women. People don’t like aliens; it means it’s something they don’t understand. The war taught my grandfather a great deal about strategic planning, leading groups of men, thinking logically, and little outside the box. When he passed away, the men of his family, the sons he had, knew they had to continue his legacy.”
I had to hand it to the prick; he could tell a good story. You could see the conviction he felt in the words he spoke, his accent growing heavier, his accent which, now, I wondered if was also part of his act. The man was born and raised in New Mexico. Delusional men were terrifying men, and even more so when they had money, status, and power. I fought the urge to argue back, speak up for my family’s name, but there was no reasoning with men like Vladimir.
“It was my father who birthed Purgatory. Why stop at keeping junkie’s high, huh? When there was a world of girls out there who could bring in top dollar. Girls no-one would ever miss. Girls so goddamn tragic it was astounding as to why the Murdoch’s never thought of it before.”
The room was deathly quiet now, just the sound of Vlad’s feet pounding the wooden floor as he walked around the table as though he was a lecturer at college, giving us a history lesson.
I downed another drink, watching with only my eyes as Vlad stalked behind each man.
He stopped dead behind the guy opposite me, rested his hand on his shoulders, and black eyes focused on me and only me. “Girls like your Mindy’s sweet daughter, Jax.”
“Motherfucker,” I leaped to my feet, the chair falling with a bang behind me, but what I hadn’t noticed was Benny and two other guys leaving their seats, and so before I could jump across the table and pummel Vlad’s face, hands were holding me back.
“Benny? What the fuck are you doing?” I asked, pulling against my human restraints.
Jozef slid up beside Vlad, and I looked around at everyone’s faces. They looked on with expressions that told me they all knew this was going to happen, and I’d walked right into it.
“Sit him back down, gentleman,” Vlad ordered.
Once I’d been forced back into my seat, arms still keeping me hostage, anger pouring from me, Vlad waited for the room to fall silent once more.
He gave a slow, calculated laugh. “Jaxon Murdoch, you are going to regret ever crossing me.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
He clicked his fingers towards idle guards standing on the sidelines. “Bring the cage.” He then looked towards Benny, who was standing behind me. “Strip him.”
Ella.
The sound of a gunshot was unmistakable. And it sounded close, but I had no idea where I was, let alone where the shot had been fired.
My bladder was now screaming, my weak body still tied to the chair, and the emotions I felt changed so rapidly I was feeling dizzy. One moment I felt nothing but terror, grief for my child, and Jax. Anger at how I didn’t fight back or do something to defend myself or prevent myself from being trapped like a caged animal, and the inability to know whether it was morning, noon or night was beginning to drive me mad.
The room was pitch
black, and while my eyes had grown accustomed to it, meaning if I concentrated hard enough, I could make out the brickwork in front of me, there wasn’t much else to see. The silence was crippling, too. There was no way of telling whether I was below ground, although I assumed I was. I’d experienced quiet before, but this was unlike anything I’d ever known.
So, when the sounds of voices growing nearer once more, and the clunk of metal and laughter became louder, it felt as though my ears might bleed.
Several people surrounded me. Light behind me illuminated all their faces, one of whom was Benny, his mouth set in a thin line. Jozef was crouching down in front of me, rough hands grabbing at my flesh to unlock the chains keeping me in place. Two other men stood to the side, hands held in front of them, guns slung over their backs.
“What’s going on?” I croaked. “Benny, please.”
Benny ignored me, his eyes looking anywhere but at my face, and Jozef answered instead. “Boss man wants you,” he sneered, moving to untie my wrists. Once I was free, Jozef pulled me to my feet and shoved me towards Benny. My legs were numb, violent tingles made my feet useless, and Benny had to catch me to stop me from falling. Everything inside my body felt rocked, and it took a strength I didn’t know I possessed not to wet myself.
“I trust you can get the bitch ready?” Jozef asked.
Benny nodded; he looked a pale shade of green.
“Good. She’s got half an hour. I’ll send Amy down here if you’re not ready by then, and believe me, she’s the last person you want to upset tonight.”
A man I didn’t recognize placed a gray dress into Benny’s arms, and we stood together in silence as they left the room, this time though, they didn’t lock or bolt the door, and from where I stood I could see outside. It didn’t look familiar; a long, dimly lit hallway, and at the end I could see steps leading upwards.
“Benny, please tell me what’s happening. Where’s Jax? Is he okay?” I pleaded, turning to him.
A face that had once been so friendly and kind now looked void of any emotion, no, that wasn’t true. There was something on his face, and it reminded me of sincere regret.