by Sarah Bailey
“Look in his photos… the ones in the cloud,” I said.
She stepped back and fiddled with it.
“You like to keep evidence, don’t you? To remind you of the shit you’ve done. At first, I thought I’d need it so the mafia could deal with you, but the thing is, you already work for them, don’t you? You ran their drugs out of the garage.”
AJ stiffened.
“No, I don’t, I didn’t,” he said, his voice going up an octave.
“Yes, yes you fucking did. The whole business was a fucking front. Tell me the truth, AJ, who put you up to it? Who made you ruin my life?”
He shook his head. I needed him to say it. Needed to hear the fucking truth from his mouth even though I already knew everything. I’d figured it all out. It finally fell into place two months ago. That’s why I was back. To end this once and for all.
“No one.”
Meredith held out the phone, almost shoving it in AJ’s face.
“No? Maybe this will remind you,” she hissed.
It was a photo of him with another man’s arm wrapped around him. They looked close.
“Or maybe this?”
She flicked to the next one, showing the same man only much younger holding a baby in his arms.
“Who is that, AJ?” I asked. “I mean, I don’t strictly need you to tell me, but admitting the truth will make this go a whole lot easier on you.”
AJ stared at the phone for a long moment.
“My father,” he said, sounding almost resigned.
“His name, AJ, tell me his name.”
“Demetri Turgenev.”
And there we had it. The reason why AJ had tried to destroy me. It wasn’t because he had a vendetta, but his father. The man who’d lied to me when he told me I had to go on the run. The man who’d ruined my fucking life. His son carried out his plan. And his son was going to die for it. I didn’t care if that made me crazy. Life had got so fucked up. I was more like my parents than I wanted to admit. Ruthless and protective. I would fucking kill and die for those I loved.
“It took me a while to work it out, you know, since you took after your mother and not him. Magda has no idea who you are, does she?”
AJ shook his head. Demetri’s wife had no idea what kind of man her husband really was.
“You did this out of loyalty to him. That’s why you ruined my life. So, I’m going to ruin both of yours.”
My eyes flicked up to Meredith. She had a grim expression on her face.
“Little queen, close your eyes and turn around. I don’t want you to see this.”
I’d made up my mind what I would do to AJ when I saw him again regardless of the fact it was his father who instigated this. AJ had terrorised me. He didn’t fucking deserve mercy.
Meredith stared at me for a long moment as if she realised what I was about to do. Then she did as I asked, closing her eyes and turning around. She kept AJ’s phone gripped in her hand. We’d need that to finish this shit for good.
“Have you got any last words?” I whispered in AJ’s ear.
“Fuck. You.”
“The only one who’s fucked right now… is you.”
I dragged the knife across his throat, not caring about the mess it would make. Not giving a single fuck about anything other than ending it. I could feel the sticky, hot blood flowing down from the wound and coating my hand, but I kept digging, making sure to cut deep.
I released AJ and stepped back. His body jerked a few times before it slumped in the chair and his head fell forward. Not stopping to look at the blood, I walked around him, grabbed a handful of his t-shirt, wiping the knife off. Then I cleaned my hand as best I could before ripping the other knife from his thigh, wiping that blade on his trousers. I slid both knives into my pocket and approached Meredith, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s over, little queen.”
She didn’t move so I walked around her. Meredith opened her eyes. They immediately fell on my hands.
“You…”
“I had to.”
She nodded slowly.
“Can we get out of here?”
I reached out and took her hand, pulling her away towards the door. As we walked into the corridor I’d entered by, the man I’d knocked out was still on the floor, but this time I knew he was dead. There were four other bodies along the floor, all with bullet holes in the back of their heads. I put a hand over Meredith’s eyes, not wanting her to see them. I took her out of the warehouse, dropping my hand when I saw two people leaning against the warehouse doors.
“You’ve been busy,” I said with a smile.
“Those fuckers?” Xav said with a shrug. “Well, they didn’t want to be quiet so we had to silence them. Besides, we couldn’t let them identify you, now could we?”
I shook my head. He and Dad shoved off the wall and came over to us. Xav handed me a packet of wipes from the bag he was holding so I could clean my hands properly. No doubt they’d thought of everything. Once I’d got rid of the blood, I turned to Meredith who looked a little pale. It’s not like I wanted to her to see this side of me, but she didn’t want me to hide anything from her again. No more secrets. No more lies. Just the two of us forever.
“I need to get to the garage to finish this. Will you stay with them?”
She reached up, stroking my face with her fingertips.
“Don’t get yourself killed, okay?” she whispered.
“Never.”
She handed me AJ’s phone.
“I removed the need for a fingerprint so you can unlock it easily. End this for us… please.”
I leant down and kissed her.
“I promise. I’m going to give us our future.”
She smiled when I pulled back.
“I love you.”
“Love you too, little queen.”
I spent a few minutes talking to Xav and Dad who I’d texted before I’d left Aurora’s. They knew I wanted to deal with most of this alone, but we still needed to make sure I didn’t get caught considering I’d just killed a man. Plus someone needed to take care of my girl. I wasn’t sure how she felt about what I’d done, but we could discuss it later.
When I was done, I got on my Ducati and rode away.
It was time I dealt with Demetri and his double-crossing bullshit. Then I could finally say I had reached the end of the fucked up path I was on so Meredith and I could travel down a new one together.
Chapter Fifty Four
Present time
Demetri stared at me for a long time as if he didn’t believe me. He should, considering he’d underestimated me before.
“Dead?”
“Yes. I mean, not strictly by my hand, but they’re dead all the same,” I shrugged. “It’s how this world works, doesn’t it? All those who were loyal to you are gone. Funny that. Your bosses didn’t take too kindly to being double-crossed.”
His eyes narrowed and his hand went to his side again.
“What did you do?”
I took a step away from him and dipped my head to my chest.
“Merely told the truth, something you’ve had trouble doing. Don’t you know karma is a bitch? Especially when you’ve dug yourself too deep and you can’t get out. This is justice for me.”
I watched him out of the corner of his eye, his hand sliding under his coat and curling around the handle of a small pistol. I knew he wouldn’t come here unarmed. I didn’t do guns, but I wasn’t scared he’d shoot me. Hell, he could fucking try. He’d be sorry if he did.
“Justice? Is that what you want?” he all but spat.
“Well, you and AJ did steal five years of my life, I think it’s only fair.”
He drew the pistol out and left it hanging by his side.
“You should be fucking grateful I didn’t kill you.”
I almost laughed. It wasn’t funny, but honestly, if he really thought I’d be grateful, he was fucking stupid. Why would
I ever feel that way about someone who’d forced me to leave the love of my life and my family behind?
You’re a piece of shit, Demetri.
“Grateful? Ha, as if you didn’t try to do so multiple times over the past five years. I’m not stupid. I know it was you who sent them after me. I know everything, so you can just drop the act now.” I raised my head, meeting his eyes. “I know this is all about money and pride. My grandfather hurt your fucking pride, didn’t he? He made you feel small and insignificant when you asked him for help after you knocked up a woman who wasn’t your wife. He wouldn’t give you the time of day after all the things you’d done for him and Gregor when he was alive. That’s why you wanted to ruin him, but you couldn’t. So you picked on me instead.”
Demetri took a step back as if my words had actually wounded him.
“That’s right, Demetri, the truth always has a habit of coming out. He was all too pleased to tell me what really happened when I asked him. That’s how I found out who AJ is to you.”
I dug AJ’s phone out of his pocket and opened it up to the photos from before. Then I waved it at Demetri. His eyes widened.
“Your son blindly followed you out of loyalty. He did all of this because you asked him to. It’s a crying fucking shame, you know, that none of it panned out the way you thought it would.”
I threw the phone down on the desk and walked towards the door, stopping a few feet away. My head turned in time to see Demetri raise his weapon and point it at my back. I merely smiled at him.
“You knew he was running drugs out of here. You knew because you wanted more than the mafia was giving to you. So you sold under their noses. This was all a fucking front. And you thought it was fate when I landed on your doorstep, didn’t you?”
I shook my head. None of this had really been about me. I was just a pawn in his games. He made a mistake when he picked on me. He had no idea what kind of boy my parents had raised me to be nor the man who’d come back after five years to destroy everything Demetri had built.
“Took your time to plan it. To work out how to use me against Viktor and it all fell into place when I turned eighteen. I bet you were so fucking pleased with yourself for getting one up on him. For getting one up on everyone who left you in the dirt. Such a fucking pity it’s all coming back to bite you, isn’t it?”
“Shut up,” he ground out, cocking the gun.
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Well, it’s going to hurt some more.”
The door in front of me opened. I stepped out of the way as my grandfather walked in. He might be in his seventies, but he was still formidable, nevertheless. No one messed with Viktor Bykov and got away with it.
“Hello, Demetri,” he said with unnerving calm.
“You,” Demetri growled.
I walked towards the door, knowing this wasn’t between me and Demetri any longer. I’d got my revenge already having taken out AJ. This was Viktor’s fight. Putting my hand on the doorframe, I turned back slightly.
“Before I go, you might want to know something.” I looked Demetri in the eyes. “I killed your son.”
I walked away before he could say a word, shutting the door behind me. I could hear terse Russian which grew quieter as I made my way down the hallway towards the exit. I’d just reached the outside door when the sound of a gunshot rang out. My body tensed up at the noise. I’d never liked the way they sounded. It’s why I never used them, preferring up close, hand to hand methods.
I walked out into the night air, turning my head up to the sky and breathed in. A sense of peace washed over me. It was done. Yes, we had a few loose ends to tie up with the mafia, but the threat against my life was dealt with. I no longer had to live in fear.
Five years of it had drained me. It was only when I’d seen my girl again, my world was filled with colour. I was brought back to fucking life. Meredith was the person I’d fought so hard for. She is why I stayed breathing this whole time. The possibility of coming home and claiming what I’d lost all those years ago drove me.
A minute later, the door behind me opened. I didn’t turn around, just waited until the man came to stand next to me.
“It’s over now.”
I nodded, digging my hand into my pocket and pulling out what I’d taken from Demetri’s drawer. I offered it to him. My grandfather took it, turning over the lighter in his hand and looking at the inscription.
Anthony Jason, one day this kingdom will belong to you, Demetri.
It was the last piece of evidence we needed to prove to the mafia who AJ was. I’d seen AJ with the lighter all those years ago, but I’d never read the full inscription until today. Only the last word. Demetri. I’d wondered why AJ had it. And now I knew.
“It’s a pity it ended this way.”
“Guess so,” I replied, shrugging.
Viktor slid the lighter into his pocket.
“I must apologise. My decisions brought this on you. I suppose we never know the true repercussions until much later in our lives. You’ll learn that one day.”
I smiled and leant against his shoulder.
“I already did.”
My grandfather wrapped an arm around me, giving me a squeeze. Then he looked up at me since I was taller than him.
“Did she say yes?”
I nodded.
“You’re lucky, Cole, to find the right one so young. Life has brought me many challenges, but the biggest one of all was discovering I had a daughter. Your mother is my pride and joy, as are you children. Never forget where you came from even if it’s brought you hardships.”
I inclined my head again.
“I won’t.”
He gave me one last squeeze before he walked over to a car idling nearby with his man, André leaning up against it. I turned and walked over to my Ducati, sliding on my helmet and straddling it.
It was time I got back and talked to my wife-to-be. We were free, but it had come at a cost. I just hoped she wouldn’t hate me for it in the end.
Chapter Fifty Five
Xav and Rory made me sit in the car whilst they cleaned up the scene at the warehouse. Not that I had objected. Having seen the blood on Cole’s hands, I knew what he’d done. It’s not as if he’d kept his intentions from me either when he told me the whole story.
Did it bother me the man I was going to marry had killed someone?
Honestly, I didn’t know the answer to that question. It probably should, but I’d known since I was eighteen what kind of life Cole had come from. What his parents had done to survive. So really, it didn’t come as a shock to the system when Cole told me what he wanted to do to AJ. How he wanted to take him out.
Cole explained to me how their world didn’t work like the normal one. It wasn’t cut and dry, or black and white. It would probably bother a lot of people, but not me. I loved Cole despite all his faults and flaws. Love didn’t come with conditions. You loved someone for who they were or not at all. Besides, I’d made up my mind about Cole Carter a long time ago. He was the one who made my world go around. He’d loved me unconditionally since the moment he laid eyes on me. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for me. I was going to do the same for him. I accepted his decision and wouldn’t hold it against him. It had guaranteed our safety and future so what could I really say about it anyway.
“You okay there, Mer?” Xav asked me as he and Rory got in the car.
I shrugged, staring down at my hands. The ones I’d used to stab a man with. Strangely, it didn’t affect me in the way I thought it might. AJ had destroyed Cole’s life. I did it to protect Cole and make sure he could carry out his plan.
“I know what you just went through wasn’t easy.”
“No,” I all but whispered. “It wasn’t, but… I did it for him.”
Xav hadn’t set off yet. He turned in the driver’s seat and leant back, putting a hand on my knee and giving it a squeeze.
“We all do fucked up shit for the people we love.”
/>
“Yeah, I guess we do. Just didn’t think I would be stabbing guys in the leg.”
Xav chuckled and shook his head.
“You did get involved with our crazy family, comes with the territory.”
He let me go and turned back in his seat, starting up the engine and pulling away. Rory looked back at me with sympathy in his eyes. His eyes fell on my hands. I’d not taken off my engagement ring. It made me feel sick to part with it when it symbolised everything Cole and I had to fight for. It’s then I remembered Rory was the one who’d got this for Cole.
His eyes raised back to mine and he smiled at me in a knowing way. We hadn’t told Cole’s parents about it yet, but considering nothing got by Cole’s dad, him knowing before everyone else didn’t bother me.
I covered the ring with my other hand, biting my lip as I tried not to smile too hard. It didn’t seem right given what had just occurred. But how could I not be happy? Cole and I were going to get married. That was something to celebrate.
Xav and Rory spoke in low tones for the journey whilst I stared out of the window watching the streets of London go by. It almost didn’t seem real. That this shit was over. That Cole and I could be free of all the fucking heartache and pain we’d gone through together. We’d never done anything to deliberately hurt each other. It’d never been about the way we loved. It was always the outside world trying to rip us apart. It hadn’t succeeded. Perhaps at one point, it had when Cole had been stolen away from me, from the life we’d wanted to build five years ago. But even that hadn’t stuck. Hadn’t become permanent. He and I were fucking well permanently bound to each other. We couldn’t be split up forever.
“So, we’ll see you at lunch on Sunday then?” Xav asked as they pulled up outside my building.
“Yeah, I look forward to it,” I replied with a smile. “Um, thank you for dropping me home.”
“My pleasure. Just don’t give our son too much of a hard time, hey? He’s been through a lot.”
It only made me smile wider.