by Sarah Bailey
“Not only am I sure I want to know, but I want to help you… you don’t have to do any of this alone any longer.”
He frowned.
“I’m not going to put you in danger.”
I pulled my hand out of his and gripped his chin.
“You listen to me, and you listen good. I’m not letting you go running off on your own again. You’re not going to shut me out, Cole. Let me help you. You saved me so it’s high fucking time I return the favour. I’m not fragile nor am I going to let anyone get to my husband-to-be. This time, I’m fucking well making sure you stick around because I plan to walk down the aisle and vow to love you forever as your wife. Am I making myself clear?”
Cole’s lip was caught between his teeth during my little speech. He released it and smiled at me.
“Crystal, little queen.”
“Good. Now, how are we going to get the mafia off your back?”
He turned on his side and reached out, curling his fingers into my hair.
“Well…”
And for the rest of the night, Cole explained exactly what went down five years ago, not leaving anything out. Together, we decided on a course of action. We weren’t going to rely on outside help or anyone else. It was the two of us against the fucking world. Just as it should have been before everything went to hell and Cole went on the run.
Chapter Fifty Two
The silence was oppressive and foreboding as I walked along the hallway of the building I’d just broken into. Sometimes you had to resort to doing shit you’d never consider otherwise. I reminded myself who I was doing this for. Why I was putting everything on the line.
My future. My happiness. My love.
It was time I ended this.
There was a light underneath a doorway up ahead. I let out a breath, clutching the knife hidden behind my palm tighter.
I’d thought long and hard about what path to take. Which way to go about this. And even though my parents had given me a solid plan, I had my own ideas. So what if it was dangerous and risky as fuck? I’d done nothing but get myself into dangerous situations for the past five years. Not that it was strictly on purpose. Sometimes you had to improvise when you had the mafia after you. Like the time I’d almost got caught out whilst crossing a border. It’d been a close fucking call involving me having to smuggle myself across rather than do it by legal means. That wasn’t the sort of shit I enjoyed doing, entering another country illegally. It fucked up my plans royally. That’s the kind of thing you dealt with on the run. It wasn’t an easy life, but I’d survived. It made me tougher. Stronger. More resilient. It taught me how to rely solely on myself.
It was different now I’d come home. I had my support network who could drag me out of a sticky situation if necessary. Except I’d lived alone for too long. Always running. Always hiding. Now it was time to take a stand.
One way or another, I was going to destroy the man who forced me into leaving and everything he’d built. The fucker had only got stronger over the past five years. Moved up in the ranks to become the king. I almost scoffed. The king in his castle. More like the viper hidden in a nest of wolves, spewing his venom everywhere. Pity for him really. I might have been eighteen the last time we saw each other, but I’d grown up since then. I’d learnt how to be ruthless and smarter than my enemies.
I opened the door with the light underneath it. The room was empty as I stepped in. I smiled to myself, shaking my head. This guy clearly thought he was going to catch me out.
Stupid fucker.
I strolled towards the desk and sat down behind it, opening up the laptop sitting there. It took two minutes for me to hack in and less than thirty seconds to run the program I needed to execute my plan. Having one father who knew this shit inside out made this part easier. I leant down, picking the lock on the bottom drawer of the desk. Then I pulled it out, checking the contents.
Definitely a stupid fucker.
I barely looked up when I heard footsteps, palming what I needed and sliding it into my pocket. Closing the drawer, I sat up straight in the desk chair.
“Well, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“I’d say so,” I replied, my eyes flicking up to the man who’d come to a standstill in front of the desk.
“I have wondered whether you would realise the truth or not.”
I smiled. I don’t think he realised how much he’d underestimated me.
“I knew the moment I opened the file on the plane when I left. You didn’t think I was stupid, did you?”
He laughed, shaking his head as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
“No, I did not. You let me use you.”
“You didn’t exactly leave me with a choice. I had people to protect.”
He tapped his fingers against the desk.
“Yes, that little girlfriend of yours. I wasn’t really going to kill her. After all, she’s an innocent just like you were. But you’re not so innocent now, are you, Cole?”
I shrugged.
“You do know who my family is. The last thing you could call any of us is innocent.”
I watched the screen of the laptop, knowing I had to stall him a little longer for this to work.
“Ah, but you were only a boy then. A man now, I see. All grown up and yet, still so reckless. If you were smart, you wouldn’t have come alone. It’s a shame it has to end like this, but I can’t have you ruining everything.”
“Ruining everything, am I? Is that why you decided to lure me back here? So you could take me out, hmm? Was I getting too close to discovering the truth?”
I rose to my feet, smiling down at the screen for a moment as it flashed for a moment to let me know the funds had been transferred. Taking back what we’d given him all those years ago and a little extra for the inconvenience of it all. Then I stepped out from behind the desk and cocked my head to the side. The man’s eyes narrowed.
“You see, Demetri, I knew exactly what would happen this evening. I planned it all so meticulously. You should have known that considering who my fathers are.”
His hand went to his side. I tutted and shook my head.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you. You could try to run, of course, but you wouldn’t get very far. You see, I asked myself for a long time why you would double-cross the mafia in this way. Why would you go to all this trouble?”
I put my finger to my lip, stroking my thumb down the knife hidden within my palm.
“It all seemed so convoluted and unnecessary, but then I remembered a conversation we had a long time ago. One where you told me my grandfather saved you once and I thought to myself, did he? Did he really? Because the Viktor I know has only ever cared about his daughter and her children. Everyone else is… expendable. Even his own brother.”
I’d never met my grandfather’s brother for good reason. He’d died not long after I was born in a hail of gunfire. It was only when my parents explained their past, I learnt the true nature of his death. He’d betrayed his brother and that was unforgivable in my grandfather’s eyes.
“He never saved you. He abandoned you. That’s why you did this to us. You wanted revenge so you used me to force him to cut his ties with the mafia and then you climbed up the ranks without him standing in the way. He knew you were a snake.”
I scoffed and eyed him with disgust.
“It must have been nice for you to live in luxury all this time thanks to my parents.”
Demetri stared at me with a sort of newfound respect in his eyes. The man had tried to double-cross everyone and used those around him for his own ends. He’d made a grave error in judgement when it came to my family. A fucking huge error.
We didn’t let people walk all over us. And we didn’t fucking well allow anyone to take us down.
“You can try to call your men, but they won’t be coming and you want to know why?”
Demetri dropped his hand.
“Why?”
&nbs
p; “Because, Demetri… they’re dead.”
Chapter Fifty Three
Two hours earlier
My phone rang as I sat at my sister’s dining table with my laptop and a snack beside me. Aurora and Logan were both at work and would be back later. None of my family knew I’d got engaged yet. I planned on telling them at our family Sunday dinner next week. Then all this bullshit with the mafia might have died down and we could celebrate properly.
I looked down at the caller display, smiling a little.
“Hello, little queen.”
“Cole,” came her frantic voice.
I dropped my hand on the table, my nerves going into high alert immediately.
“What’s wrong?”
“You need to help me.”
“What happened?”
I heard a muffled noise followed by Meredith making a noise of protest.
“Hello, Cole,” came a voice which chilled me to my very core. “It seems you and I need a little talk, don’t you say?”
I clenched my fist and stood up.
Don’t rise to it. Remain calm. You’ve got this.
“What do you want?”
“Well, you’re back when you shouldn’t be for starters and clearly, you haven’t forgotten what I did. If you want to see your little stunner alive, you’ll meet me. I’ll text you the address.”
The phone went dead the next moment. I took a deep breath, summoning all my self-control. It would not do me any favours if I lost it right now. I had to remain calm and focused. My phone buzzed a moment later, telling me where they were. I stuffed it back in my pocket after firing off a message to someone else and made my way upstairs to the bedroom I was staying in. Methodically, I collected everything I needed before taking the stairs two by two and leaving the house.
The whole way over to the location, I reminded myself this was all going to be okay. He wasn’t going to hurt Meredith. No one was going to hurt her. I had her back and she had mine. We were a team. Nothing would break us apart again. After all, she kept reminding me that we were engaged now. We had to stay alive so we could get married.
Yeah, it was probably crazy of us to get back together and engaged within a week of me returning to the UK. But when you know, you know. And we knew. Meredith and I had always been it for each other. It’s not as if I’d wanted to leave her behind or fuck things up between us. None of what happened was really my fault. I’d been as much of a victim to other people’s bullshit as she had. But I wasn’t going to be a victim any longer. I was going to make sure we never had to be in fear again.
All Meredith and I wanted now was a normal life where both of us worked hard and had our own home together. That’s it. A simple fucking life without shit like this hanging over us.
Today, I was ending this once and for all. I had no other option. It was time.
I parked up my Ducati, slid my helmet off and rested it on the seat. Two men were standing outside the warehouse. I cracked my neck before I walked towards them.
“Before you get all suspicious, I’m here to see your boss. He’s expecting me.”
Both men eyed me for a long moment as I came to a standstill in front of them.
“This way,” one grunted.
The other opened a door to their left and I walked in. The first man followed me. We walked down a corridor but he stopped me at the end.
“Got to make sure you don’t have anything on you.”
I gave him a smile and put my arms out. The moment he reached for me, I grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall. The crack of his skull connecting with it rang through the corridor. He looked dazed as his head snapped back, so I did it again. Then he fell to the floor, completely out cold. I stepped over his body and opened the door in front of me, walking out into the warehouse. Only a few metres ahead was the man who’d decided to kidnap my fiancée. Meredith was sitting next to him in a chair, her hands tied behind her back.
I approached them with casual steps, not showing any fear. Because really… I wasn’t scared of him or what he’d do.
“So, you have me here,” I said, flicking a hand out.
I watched AJ’s hands curl into fists at his sides. Three other men were standing nearby at various vantage points, watching me as I made my way over to them. My eyes fell on Meredith who just smiled at me. I didn’t react when her face dropped and instead, fear showed through.
“Cole Carter. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” AJ said, venom dripping from his words.
“To you, perhaps.”
AJ looked behind me as if expecting to see his man. His eyes narrowed when he realised I was alone.
“You should be dead.”
I grinned at him. There’d been several attempts on my life over the years, but none of them were successful.
“Should I? Too bad for you, isn’t it? That I’m not.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
I spread my hands as I stopped a few feet away.
Calm. Stay calm. You cannot lose your shit with him.
“It means you should have taken me out five years ago, AJ, when you had the chance.”
He looked around at his men before scoffing.
“Didn’t need you dead then, just gone.”
I rolled my shoulders, sliding the knife under my sleeve into my palm.
“No, but you were just following orders, weren’t you?”
AJ’s eyes widened a fraction as if my response surprised him.
“I don’t take orders from anyone.”
I looked at Meredith again. She was eying AJ with disgust. He probably thought I’d run in here all frantic with worry over her. AJ was a fool. He had no fucking clue.
“Hmm, okay, you tell yourself that, but you can drop the act, you know, I’m aware of the truth.”
AJ took a step towards Meredith as if he was going to do something to her.
“I ain’t lying. And this isn’t how this shit is going to go, Cole. I’m not letting this bitch go.”
His hand enclosed over her shoulder, making Meredith flinch. I could see her shoulders working slightly as if she wanted him away from her.
“How what is going to go?”
AJ gave me a look, his eyes darkening.
“Why, don’t you know? Both of you will die. Right here. Right now.”
His hand slid from her shoulder to her neck. I clenched a fist. AJ had no fucking right to touch her like that.
Stop it. Breathe. Just breathe.
“Is that what you think? Oh, AJ, you were always the simple man. No wonder he used you for his own ends.”
AJ’s fingers tightened around Meredith’s neck, causing her eyes to widen. I gave her an almost imperceptible nod.
“No one gave me fucking orders!”
He waved at his men, indicating me with his hands. Two of them started towards me, but before they could even get close, the ropes holding Meredith dropped to the floor. Less than thirty seconds later, AJ let out a howl of pain as my fierce little queen stabbed him in the thigh with a knife she’d kept hidden.
“Fuck, what the—?”
She was out of her chair and kicked him in the balls, making him fall to his knees and groan in pain.
The two guys reached me. I stepped back as one swung at me. It set him off balance. I took advantage of it, grabbing him and throwing him into the other man. They both grunted as they went down in a tangle of limbs. I darted away from them as the other guy in the room tried to come for me as well.
Meredith had run from the scene, I saw her red hair disappear behind some shelves. I’d told her to hide when she’d played her part. The girl was fucking determined to help me. Even though I hadn’t wanted to put her in danger, her idea of playing bait had worked perfectly. AJ had fallen hook, line and fucking sinker. He couldn’t resist the allure of taking me out by stealing her.
Idiot.
AJ was still groaning in pain, holding his l
eg as blood started to seep through his trousers from where Meredith had stabbed him. I reached him, hauling him up against my chest and facing the other men. I put the knife to AJ’s throat.
“I suggest you back the fuck off unless you want me to kill him,” I ground out.
The three men put their hands up, backing away from me slightly. The two who had fallen over were now on their feet.
“What are you doing?” AJ choked out. “Get him off me.”
I dug the knife into AJ’s neck until blood trickled down.
“I’m not fucking around,” I said. “This is between me and him. I suggest you turn around and walk away.”
“Get the girl!”
The knife dug in more, making AJ choke out a gasp.
“Do not fucking touch her, you hear me? I will end all of you if you go near her.”
The men looked at AJ and then at me. I could see the conflict in their expressions.
“Walk away or you die alongside him.”
“This shit ain’t worth it,” one of them said, glancing at the others.
“What the fuck? Where’s your loyalty?” AJ practically screeched as the other two started to agree with the first guy.
One looked AJ up and down before pulling a face.
“You ain’t worth shit, fam. Let’s go.”
“Hey, hey, Kel, get back here. All of you, get the fuck back here!”
I almost laughed as his men walked towards the doors, shaking their heads. They were as stupid as AJ. I dragged him towards the chair, keeping the knife at his throat.
“You and I need a little chat.” I pressed him down into it and leant over him. “Just you, me and her now, AJ. And, you see, she knows what you did.”
Meredith came out from her hiding place, walking towards us with a deadly expression on her face.
“You stole five years of our lives from us. I don’t think you understand what you cost me.”
Meredith reached us and dug her hand into AJ’s pocket, pulling out his phone as she pressed her other hand against the knife handle sticking out of his leg. AJ let out a yelp and his hand went to the knife. She gripped one of his hands and forced him to unlock the phone with his fingerprint.