Redemption

by Jennifer Bene

  “I don’t need money! I don’t need any of this shit.”

  “So, you’re not keeping your precious family heirloom that’s worth whateverthefuck?” he asked, already shaking his head because he knew the answer.

  Stifling a frustrated scream, Lianna balled her fists at her sides. “It was a birthday gift! That doesn’t mean I need any of this!”

  “Oh! So, you weren’t seriously thinking about taking the job in Lyon just so you could be closer to your adoring family?”

  “I didn’t say yes to it!” she argued, and he took a step closer to her.

  “But you didn’t say no.” He pointed at her as he stopped a few feet away. “Admit it. You want it.”

  “Of course I do!” Lianna shouted, shoving her hands in her hair as she turned away from him for a second before she lowered her voice again. “I went to school for it, David. I studied for this, and that job would be amazing, but even if I looked into it, I would never come alone. You would come with me, and the fact that you—”

  “Why the fuck would I come here?” He could barely even process the bullshit coming out of her mouth, and didn’t bother to hide his disgust. “You think I want to spend more time with these corrupt assholes? In a country where I can’t even speak the goddamn language? How the fuck would I get a job, Lianna?”

  “You wouldn’t need a fucking job!” she snapped, and he felt a fresh rage burning low in his chest as he stared at her.

  His voice was dangerously soft as he finally understood how she saw him. “Oh, so I’m supposed to be your little house boy?”

  “I DIDN’T SAY THAT!” she shouted, but he just waved a hand at her as he walked deeper into the room.

  “No, but this is what you want,” he said, twirling a finger in the air as he took another large drink. “All this shit. The fancy houses, the clothes, the cars, the money. You don’t want me. You don’t want me to be a part of that, ’cause I’ll never be able to give you this.”

  “That’s bullshit, David, and you know it.” She moved closer but froze when he turned to stare at her. “How can you even say that to me? Of course I want you in my life. I chose you! Even after all the bullshit you put me through, even after you’ve fought me every inch of the way to meeting these people! I always choose you, David!”

  “And the first chance you had to see the truth about them since you got here, you told me to shut up and sit down.” He pointed at her, trying to contain his rage as he clenched his jaw and forced a deep breath. “You told me you recognized Marc. You saw that they were lying to you, recognized that he and your fucking father were working together, and your response is to ignore it? Brush it off and tell me to shut up and drop it.”

  “We don’t know any of that for sure. It could have been anything.”

  “What the fuck else were they doing, Lianna?” he asked, laughing as he pushed his hair off his forehead. “He obviously isn’t interested in getting to know his niece. Shit, your father didn’t even introduce him by his real fucking name!”

  “Can you please lower your fucking voice?” Lianna growled, rubbing at the center of her forehead. “You’ve already made an ass out of yourself tonight, I really don’t need them listening to every word of this.”

  Bowing deeply, David poured every ounce of sarcasm he could into his voice. “Oh, of course, Princess Faure! We’re all just here to entertain you. Please tell me what to do next.”

  “Fuck you, David!” she shouted, and he could see the walls coming down behind her eyes, but his anger was on a roll.

  “Shh, I thought we were supposed to be quiet, princess.”

  Lianna flipped him off, and her glare could have cut him if she hadn’t already spat in his face tonight. “I told you never to call me that again.”

  “What? Princess?” He shook his head. “I’m not the one planning out how to cash in on her daddy’s name to take a position in the Faure crime family.”

  “I’m fucking done,” Lianna said, throwing her hands up as she headed toward the door. “I’m going to hang out with Emilie tonight while you sleep it off.”

  “SLEEP WELL!” he shouted just before she slammed the door shut behind her. Fuming, he emptied the glass in his hand, and wished he’d thought far enough ahead to grab the fucking bottle before he’d stormed out of the room. At least then he could numb the rage and the dull ache hiding underneath it that felt strangely like a knife in his back... or a bullet.

  Flipping off the lights, he left the glass in the bathroom and lay down on the bed, trying to slow the constant slam of his heart. He’d given Lianna everything she wanted, he’d even come to this fucking place and played nice with her cousins, and the first opportunity she got to abandon their life in New York... she was basically salivating.

  Turning over, he grabbed one of the pillows and punched it until he felt less like breaking every expensive piece of shit in the room. When he finally settled, he couldn’t think of anything except how fucking empty his life would be when she chose the Faures over him.

  The pounding of a fist on the door ripped him out of sleep, and he sat up too fast, the room spinning slightly as he groaned. Looking down, he realized he’d fallen asleep in his clothes, on top of the covers. Another round of knocks almost took the door off its hinges, and he rubbed at his head as he moved toward it. Expecting Lianna to be back to renew the argument, or come back to bed, but when he opened it there were two men in suits on the other side.

  “What do you want?” he asked, his voice rough.

  “Monsieur Faure wants you downstairs,” the goon on the right said, deadpan, and David rubbed his face.

  “Tell him I’ll talk to him in the morning.” David tried to shut the door, but the goon on the left caught it with his hand.

  “No. Now.”

  “I’m guessing this isn’t optional?” he asked, but the two men just stared at him, the asshole on the left pushed the door all the way open and stepped forward to keep it there. Sighing, he moved to the chair to put his shoes back on, muttering curses under his breath the entire time.

  Jean-Luc had probably heard their argument and wanted to lecture him about it, flexing his power in the process. As if David didn’t understand exactly who the fuck the man was. It was Lianna who was confused, not him.

  “Come now,” the goon on the right said, and he flipped him off, shaking out his watch to check the time.

  Two AM? What the actual fuck?

  “Now,” the other asshole added, taking a step toward him, and David stood up, raising his hands.

  “Fine, I’m coming. Just don’t touch me.”

  The walk downstairs was silent, but he wasn’t surprised when they took him to a fancy office where Jean-Luc sat behind a massive desk. He was trying to look nonchalant, glancing through papers on his desk as the goons shut the doors behind him and stood guard. No exit, great. This was just another power play, and David had no interest in playing into Jean-Luc’s bullshit.

  “What was so important that you had to get me out of bed at two o’clock in the morning, Jean-Luc?” he asked, and the man looked up at him with a steely gaze.

  “You know, David... as long as my niece was happy with you, I was fine to have you in my home, despite your history. But seeing how you treated her this evening?” Jean-Luc spread his hands. “I think we’re past that, and it’s time for you to go.”

  “Fuck you! I’m not going anywhere without her!” he shouted, feeling his muscles tense as he realized how trapped he was. No other exit except the one guarded by a pair of assholes who would do whatever Jean-Luc told them. It was his worst fucking nightmare, and he couldn’t see an escape route.

  “That is not your choice.” Jean-Luc’s reply was cold, calm, but it only fueled David’s rage further.

  “If you think I’m leaving her here with your corrupt fucking family, you’re fucking crazy.”

  “We are her family. You are a monster,” Jean-Luc said, standing up to brace his hands on the desk as the first hints of Jean-Luc’s an
ger pierced through. “I’ve known exactly who you were from the first moment we met. Before you laid eyes on me, I’d already heard about every horrifying thing you did to Lianna... but I had also been informed that you saved her life. For that reason, and that reason alone, I tolerated you.”

  David’s stomach turned, and he felt the blood drain from his face. “H-how?”

  “We don’t abandon our own, David. The first thing I did when I arrived in New York was visit Joseph Blanc in prison. I believe you know him as Michael Turner? Well, he had so much to tell me.” Shaking his head, Jean-Luc tapped the desk for a moment before drawing a deep breath. “If I were not working so hard to change this family, you would be leaving this house the old-fashioned way.”

  Opening a drawer, Jean-Luc pulled out a gun, setting it on the papers in front of him as a chill ran down David’s spine.

  “But, since you saved Lianna’s life, I will let you leave this house alive. However, I will not allow you to continue to abuse her in my house.”

  “Abuse her?” he repeated, trying to push through the vague thrum of panic in his veins. “What the fuck are you talking about? I love her! Why else would I come here?”

  “I saw the mark on her shoulder, David, and I know for a fact that’s not the only time you’ve hurt her.” Jean-Luc dropped his gaze, his jaw tight. “And I know that it’s nowhere near the worst thing you’ve ever done to her.”

  A mark? Head spinning, he tried to figure out what the hell the man could be referring to — and then it clicked. There was a bruise from where he’d bit her. Just high enough on her shoulder to peek out of the neckline of her sweater. Fuck.

  “That was consensual, we—”

  “Bullshit!” Jean-Luc snapped, his voice finally losing the cool edge as he looked up from the desk. “Joseph told me everything you did to Lianna. You’re lucky I don’t have them kill you slowly for what you’ve done to her.” Taking a breath, Jean-Luc tugged his suit jacket down and regained control. “Now, I’m aware of how confused my niece is about you, but that is where family steps in to help.”

  “She’s going to hate you if you do this,” he whispered, a pit opening in his stomach where all the lingering guilt squatted, just waiting for him to let it in. But it didn’t matter if killing him would be right in some ways, he couldn’t leave Lianna here. Not with them. Not alone. The only problem was... he had no idea how to stop it.

  “She won’t hate us. She may have been confused for a while, because she thought she was alone, but she’s not anymore. She has a family she can count on now. La famille avant tout, et tu n’es pas sa famille.”

  “I don’t fucking speak French!” David shouted, rage and panic making his hands shake.

  The edge of Jean-Luc’s mouth twitched upward. “All you need to know is that you’re not her family, and while Alain may have failed to protect her, I will not.”

  “That’s bullshit. You pretend to be the good guy, but we both know you’re just as corrupt as Alain, and in the end, you’ll put everything else before your family, including Lianna. Just like he did.”

  “You don’t know me at all,” Jean-Luc replied, the hint of a smile spreading. “And it doesn’t matter—”

  “I know you, all of you, a hell of a lot better than Lianna does, and as soon as she realizes what you’ve done… she’ll see it too,” he spat, taking a step closer to the desk, knowing he had no hope of getting his hands around Jean-Luc’s neck, but he wanted the man to hear him, to listen. Unfortunately, the asshole didn’t seem concerned at all.

  “I think you’re the one she’s finally seen the true colors of, David.” With a snap of his fingers, Jean-Luc sat back down in his chair just as the two goons grabbed his arms. Twisting, David tried to throw them off, but they only dug their fingers in harder.

  “Wait!” he shouted as the men tried to pull him toward the door. “I can’t leave without telling her goodbye, and I need my bag.”

  Jean-Luc glanced up at him again like he’d momentarily forgotten he was still in the room, once again calm and in control. “She’s sleeping, and I don’t think we need to disturb her. It’s time for you to go.” Waving his fingers, the two goons put their weight into forcing him away from Jean-Luc’s desk.

  “This is bullshit! You can’t just shove me on a plane back to NYC without anything.” Before he’d even finished the sentence, one of the goons dug in a pocket and smacked him in the chest with his passport. “NO! You’re not going to make me leave her. I won’t let you!”

  Throwing himself to one side, he knocked one of the assholes off balance and got his arm free. David managed to land a punch on the other goon, but it wasn’t hard enough for the man to let him go, and a second later a fist to his stomach took all the air out of his lungs. Choking, he tried to headbutt the idiot who moved in front of him, but the other guy yanked him backward, and then there was nothing but pain.

  Gasping for air, he realized he was on the floor and the bastard above him was holding a goddamn taser. “Fuck you,” he groaned, pushing himself onto his hands and knees. “I won’t leave without Lianna.”

  “You’re already on your way,” Jean-Luc said, not even looking up from his papers as the two men grabbed David’s arms, lifting him enough to start dragging him into the hall.

  A third goon was waiting for them, and as the tiles passed underneath him, David waited until they were in the large foyer by the stairs before he pulled in as much air as he could to shout, “LIANNA!”

  Another wave of pain turned his muscles to electric fire, but this time it didn’t stop until the darkness swallowed him whole.

  When consciousness finally started to return, David could barely breathe. Everything hurt. His joints felt too tight, and his head was pounding, which definitely wasn’t a hangover. Someone had hit him, or his head had hit something, and based on the dry mouth it seemed pretty likely he’d been sedated. Twisting, he blinked his eyes a few times, but the metal digging into his wrists told him there was no way he’d have the use of his hands anytime soon.

  Lifting his head, he looked around the small space, and for a minute his brain just wouldn’t process it. He was on a plane. A fucking private plane.

  Someone had dumped him on the floor of the cabin, even though there were plenty of comfortable-looking seats, including what looked like a goddamn couch. Clearing his throat, he shouted toward the front of the plane. “HEY! Let me out of these fucking cuffs!”

  “Shut the hell up,” someone shouted back, and he growled, leaning his forehead against the floor as the situation slowly settled over him.

  He was alive, which wasn’t something he would have expected with the kind of knowledge Jean-Luc Faure had about him now... but he’d lost her. The last conversation they’d had was just about the worst one to leave on, and now he wouldn’t get the chance to tell her he was sorry for being such a goddamn idiot. Again. Jean-Luc could make up any lie he wanted, and he’d be thousands of miles away, unable to defend himself unless he could get her to take his call.

  Fuck, he didn’t even know if she’d answer, much less believe him.

  Getting tossed on a private plane and flown across the Atlantic wasn’t exactly something that happened very often. Unless one was the head of an evil crime family. Knocking his head into the floor over and over, he didn’t even care that it made the headache throb, he deserved the pain. He’d lost his temper, pushed her away, and just like he’d predicted, Jean-Luc had been waiting in the wings to drive them apart.

  He practically handed her over to them on a silver platter, but he wasn’t going to give up.

  If Jean-Luc wanted to keep him away from Lianna, he should have killed him.

  Twelve

  Lianna

  “Lianna?” Emilie’s voice broke through the hazy remnants of sleep, and she groaned, turning over as her cousin gently nudged her shoulder. “We slept really late. Do you want to go down and have some breakfast?”

  “Not really,” she mumbled, and Emilie sighed. Lianna fel
t the bed dip, knowing the girl had sat down next to her.

  “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Like hell.” Forcing herself to sit up, she rubbed at her eyes, realizing just how swollen they felt from all the crying. Emilie had been incredibly understanding when she’d found her in her bedroom, already crying into a wad of toilet paper. They’d stayed up talking, but Lianna couldn’t bring herself to explain exactly what she’d argued with David about. She’d kept it vague, and her cousin had been the perfect friend. She didn’t push to learn more, she just called him an idiot, blamed the alcohol, and welcomed her to crash in her bed.

  Unfortunately, that meant the whole family probably knew what a mess she and David were. He’d already made an ass of himself in front of them, but this would remove all doubt.

  “Okay, how about this. I’ve got a new toothbrush you can use, and we’re almost the same shade, so I think my make-up will work. We’ll make sure you look fucking amazing before you go downstairs, and David will have no idea you were ever upset.” Emilie grinned, patting her leg through the covers. “Let him think it didn’t bother you at all. He’ll stew over it all day while we hang out together. Let him suffer for a while.”

  “I like that idea,” she answered, laughing a little as Emilie bounced up to her feet.

  “Then let’s get it done!”

  With Emilie’s help, Lianna looked human again in way less time than it would have taken her to do it on her own. Her cousin even let her borrow clothes, and although she was shorter than Lianna — which meant pants were out of the question — the skirt and blouse Emilie picked out looked nice.

  She felt almost prepared to see David face to face again, but when they walked into the dining room it wasn’t even necessary. He wasn’t at the table. Not like that should have surprised her as much as he’d complained about attending the family meals. He was probably sulking up in the room, dealing with the hunger just to make a point.