by Amaya Black
Catching up to him as fast as my legs would allow, the pain began to sting in them. He moved like shadows fleeing from the touch of light. Grabbing at his coat, he stopped to face me again.
“I was just a game?”
“Nothing more and nothing less. Did you think that this was some fucking fairytale, Simone…that I’d fall in love with you just because we were fucking?” Lucien’s eyes never met mine. There was no way to determine if he was lying or if he was telling the truth. He tugged away from me then.
His words stung.
A lot.
“I’ll get my things and go…”
“It’s for the best.”
The wind began to whipped up around me as I watched him climb the steps. A feeling welled up inside my chest. He had used me as a way to get back at my father and my brother. I had no idea why and I didn’t care. The men in my life were assholes. They always had been. Taking a deep breath, I followed behind him. The only thing I needed to do was grab my car keys. This nightmare was finally fucking over.
Chapter 19- Lucien
That shit with Simone had fucked me up but I didn’t have time to worry about it. Gabriel was missing and therefore a lot of the planning for my mother’s funeral had fallen on me.
Climbing the stairs, I whipped my phone out once more and tried to reach him. It started to ring and then…
“Leave a message at the beep,” Gabriel’s voice said.
I’d called him fifteen times in the last few days. Each time I’d been met with voicemail. Finally, I’d caved and left a message about our mom but even that hadn’t been enough to get a response.
My shoes made a clicking sound on the floors of St. Sophia’s Catholic Church. It almost seemed to ring up into the rafters like music. Father Matthew was speaking with a young couple ahead of me sitting in the pews. Looking about, and knowing I was going to have to wait, I sat down in the pews. A bible poked out from where I could see but I dared not touch it.
God had stopped listening to me a long time ago. Instead, I pulled out my phone and began looking over the emails from Liam’s assistant. He had kindly volunteered her to help me with planning and I’d taken him up on the offer.
Her latest email was about flowers. I replied that she had loved pink lilies and purple orchids before hitting send. Within moments she had replied back but by then Father Matthew had tapped me on the shoulder.
“Sorry about that, we were discussing details on their pending nuptials,” he stated. “Mind if I join you?”
I scooted over some on the wooden pew, which creaked under both our wait.
“I was sorry to hear of Miriam’s passing.”
My eyes were facing forward and I could tell that he was doing the same. I focused on taking in the cross in the very front of the church where Jesus Christ himself was hanging. His wounds seemed to be so very life like that a shudder ran through me.
“Yes, her health was declining for a long time,” I finally turned to view the priest.
“Does something trouble you, my son?”
“No. I just want to make sure that my mother’s service goes off without a hitch. I’ll have someone send over an itinerary.”
The old priest gave a slight cough and clapped himself on the chest. Starring at him while he recovered, I took him in. Father Matthew was getting on up there in years. My mother had been coming to St. Sophia’s for ages and Father Matthew had always been here guiding his flock. When Gabriel and I had been boys, Father Matthew’s hair had just started to turn salt and pepper, now it was completely white.
“I believe something other than just the passing of your mother bothers you.”
He gave me another look and then stood.
“The confessional is always open, Lucien. It was good to see you. Don’t be a stranger, God will always welcome you into His house.”
He patted my shoulder before leaving. Watching him go, I relaxed into the pew and stayed for a few moments longer. Thinking his words over, I wondered if with everything I’d done, would I truly be welcome in God’s house.
Saying a silent prayer, I stood up and left. Upon exiting, my phone began to ring and I found Gabriel was finally calling back.
“Brother.”
“Don’t give me that shit,” I heard him sigh.
“I suppose you got my messages.”
“I did,” he sighed again. “She’s really gone?”
“Yes, brother.”
His voice cracked when he spoke again. “I’ve been getting myself clean, Lucien. I’m tired of feeling how I feel. I’ve been detoxing with Carson’s help.”
“Who?”
“The nurse,” he said.
“Oh…the pretty one…”
I knew exactly who he was talking about.
“It’s not like that. She made it very clear that she was simply there to help me. But that’s why I couldn’t be reached.”
“Well good. I feel better now that I know.”
Getting into the car, my phone connected to the Bluetooth, and I drove away from St. Sophia’s quickly. For some unknown reason, I drove into a section of the city I shouldn’t have.
“Liam and Val have been on me to find out more about these overdoses.”
Reaching my destination, I pulled over into a waiting spot in between two other cars. I parked across the street from Tainted Ink and waited. For what? I couldn’t tell myself why I was here. Why was I looking for Simone.
I had told her to leave.
God, I'm fucked up.
“I’m not sure where it came from…”
“You can’t remember who you bought off of?”
“No…but the blonde, she knows who the dealer is,” Gabriel stated.
“Blonde?”
“The girl you were fucking around with that night…the bottle girl or whatever… Jasmine?”
“Yasmine?”
He paused and my head started to ache.
Fucking Yasmine.
I should have figured she was always the type to insert herself in the middle of things. She would know if no one else did.
“Brother, I’ll call you back.”
Not even giving him time to say goodbye I hung up. Simone had emerged from the shop with a red scarf wrapped around her neck and no coat in sight. Her arms were bare and even from where I was sitting I could see the ink she wore on her arms like a badge of honor; the black unshaded but familiar lines seemed to call to me. I was about to hop out and ask her why she didn’t have a coat on, but I stayed put. She had to have been freezing but then some large Hispanic looking motherfucker came darting outside to her rescue.
She flashed him the largest smile I’d ever seen her give and he helped her put her coat on before she headed off.
She’s happy, what did you expect? She’s free of you.
Not bothering to follow her and my curiosity sated, I peeled away. Yasmine needed to be talked to so I could find out who was selling bad drugs on my territory.
Chapter 20- Simone
The sky was a perfect blue and not a cloud was in sight. When I’d received the call a few days ago, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed hearing from Max. Grabbing my cup of coffee and locking up my car, I practically skipped into the park.
I saw him feeding the ducks off all things. He tried to act as though he weren’t when I approached.
“Don’t stop on my account, Old Man,” I laughed.
He tried to hold onto his stern look but it collapsed and he smiled.
“Mona Lisa,” he pulled me into a fatherly hug.
“It’s been months,” I smiled. “How is everything?”
We sat down on the white bench near the small duck pond and began chatting. I tugged my red scarf a little closer and we chatted. Max was my father’s right-hand man and had been closer to me than him. He’d also been my handler in the Thieve's Guild.
“I called you here today because I feel you need to know about this,” he took a breath.
Frowning, I watched as he
pulled some papers out of his pocket. They looked well worn and had turned slightly brown with age.
“What is this?”
“For many years,” Max said softly. “I watched as your father ruined every good thing in his life. Your mother…”
My breath hitched in my throat. Everything seemed so bright and loud all of a sudden. Max hardly ever mention my mother and often I wondered if it was because he’d held some sort of hidden affection for her.
He couldn’t finish his sentence and handed over the papers to me.
“I couldn’t always save the women in his life, but this woman. I helped her to get away from his clutches.”
Max looked off into the distance, his eyes following the nearest ducks. They had started to quack up a storm. I realized that daffodils were starting to peak up around us. Signs of an early spring awakening were appearing.
Looking back to the papers in my hands, I realized that I was holding two birth certificates. These were two brand new lifelines.
“The mother?” I asked.
“She’s deceased.”
The paper felt like weights in my hands. A sinking feeling noted in my stomach.
“Damn.”
Max turned to me. “You’ve always been like the daughter I never had, Mona Lisa. I should have fought harder for you to go off and pursue your dreams. The guild should have never been part of your dreams.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
Max’s brown eyes, wisened with time closed briefly. When he opened them, I saw a life time of pain that couldn’t be erased.
“I couldn’t leave you alone in the world.”
“What?”
He patted my knee. “They’ve found stage three cancer. Pancreas.”
“Oh my God, Max.”
“Hey,” he looked at me. “I’m not dead, yet. And I’m going fight, but there was no way I could let you go on thinking that piece of shit brother was the only sibling you had left in the world. Their other sister…Nova.”
My eyes went wide. “Nova..as in Nova Safaryan. Ex thief turned mafia queen?”
He nodded. “Yeah, that one shocked me too. She was a decent thief. Her attachments to the children were what held her back.”
“Holy fuck! I have another brother and a sister.”
Disbelief was flooding me. It was grounding me. My mother had always wanted other children, but once she’d stopped letting my father pimp her out, she had decided that one child would make due.
“They have been well taken care of,” Max assured me.
“He can never know about them,” I turned to eye Max. “Never.”
“For all the evil that man created, the best thing that he ever did was to have you for a daughter.”
Max stood then and gave a slight stretch. He was getting older and it made me realize that while some of the men in my life had been complete and utter assholes, Max hadn’t. Flashes of my seventh birthday flashed in my head.
I could see it so clearly as he wheeled a bike with rainbow-colored streamers into the apartment I shared with my mom. I had jumped up and down with glee. Max, had wrapped his arm around my mother and they had watched me fawn over the object.
“Let me walk you to your car.”
Max reached for my hand and I accepted.
“Thanks.”
Dusting off the back of my pants, we gave the ducks one last glance. I took the photocopied birth certificates and pushed them deep into my pockets. I wondered how Nova would feel about me showing up on her doorstep. We’d only trained together briefly and sparred a few times but I hadn’t been the nicest person. Simone Delaflur hadn’t done “nice.” Or at least that version of me hadn’t. I’d been a brat trying to win over my father. It never worked. I was just an instrument for his criminal organization.
“Do you have Nova’s number?”
Turning suddenly to Max, I realized I’d never taken time to get her contact info all those years ago.
“I’ll text it to you.”
Max pulled me into another one of his fatherly hugs and as always he smelled like a cinnamon roll. I’d forgotten how much I missed his scent.
“I won’t be a stranger,” I told him.
He opened the door to my car and I got behind the wheel.
“Mona Lisa, you look like your mother more and more. I know she’s as proud of you as I am.”
Max waved me off then and I drove away. True to his word, he sent me a text with Nova’s phone number. Maneuvering through traffic, I cautiously dialed her and waited for it to connect.
“Hello?”
Nova sounded shy and probably thought I was some "rando" telemarketer. Clearing my throat I spoke.
“Nova…hi. This is Simone Delaflur.”
There was a tense pause.
“Hi, Simone…can I help you?”
“I was hoping I could meet with you in person.”
“About?”
Biting my lip, I froze. How could I tell her that we shared siblings? This needed to be a face to face conversation.
“It's about Yara and Desmond…I’m contacting you concerning their father.”
My car came to a stop at a red light. A few cars honked around me and caused me to look around but they weren’t hitting their horn at me. Instead, some asshole was trying to cut across another lane up ahead.
The car was filled with silence until Nova spoke again.
“Can you meet me at the Safaryan mansion?”
We made plans to meet up within forty-five minutes. A feeling of dread still had itself wedged in my stomach but I wasn’t going to let it take me over. The prospect of having an extension of myself…other siblings. Siblings that weren’t Albie. Maybe I could help guide them on a better path than I’d been shown.
Chapter 21- Lucien
Vodka on ice.
I stared at the glass and then glanced at the couch that was in the corner of my office. I’d been sleeping at the club and hadn’t been home in two days. Ms. Porter had called and said Fedor had trapped a few of the guards for almost twenty minutes. That had made me laugh because they knew not to fuck with my wolf. She had also inquired about the whereabouts of Simone. That had stung me a little as she was also the reason I was currently at the club. I didn’t want to face that empty ass house once I’d gotten used to her presence.
You thought you could keep her for forever?
“She’s moved home,” I’d told the old woman.
Earlier today, I had buried my mother. Members of the Safaryan Brotherhood had shown up to pay their respects. People from St. Sophia’s congregation had came and told me about how much they had adored my mother. How much she had meant to them…but I hadn’t heard a word.
I’d gone numb again.
Gabriel had managed to pull it together. He’d been clean-shaven and his eyes had been clear. Towards the end, as they were lowering our mother’s coffin into the ground, he’d broken down hard.
My hand had gone to his shoulder. He’d brought the pretty nurse, Carson along. She’d helped him to his knees and they’d left together. I wasn’t sure if they had a thing but I had to admit seeing Gabriel with someone was nice.
Simone could have been there for you, you fucking fool…
CRUNCH!
I’d thrown my glass against the wall and it had shattered upon meeting the sheet-rock. Making no moves to clean it up, I let out a frustrated growl.
Simone haunted a lot of my waking thoughts. I would think I could see her out of the corner of my eye but then it’d be an illusion. She wasn’t there and another piece of hope would die. What exactly was I hoping for? I couldn’t exactly pinpoint it but it’d linger for a while.
A knock came on my office door. I knew exactly who was knocking. Yasmine’s soft raps were answered with a soft voice. Even with the anger surging through me, I had no desire to scare her off before I could get the answer to my question.
“Come in,” I called and stood up and went around the desk to meet her.
&nbs
p; She swaggered in, another black dress barely clinging to her body and her Genie ponytail swishing about, our eyes met.
“You wanted to see me, Boss?”
Yasmine smiled, the white of her teeth showing against the blood-red lipstick that had been smoothed onto her mouth. Once upon a time, I would have found myself itching to smear the lipstick while she gagged and asked for mercy.
I gave her a soft smile. “Yeah, come in and have a seat.”
She gave a slight nod of her head, and I took the moment to lock the door behind her. Didn’t want or need her running away just yet. I leaned against the door and watched as she put on a production of sitting down. The dress riding further up her thighs than needed.
“So what’s up?”
You could practically hear the sexual aggression oozing from her pores. She looked me up and down. She was making my skin crawl but I would just have to grin and bear it.
“I’m looking for someone,” I said simply.
Coming up behind her, my hands went to her shoulders. She felt warm under my touch; she was probably cold from her revealing clothing. Yasmine glance over up at me before melting into my touch.
“How can I help with that?”
“You know everyone,” I shrugged.
“Depends on what I’ll get out of it,” she stilled her movements and waited.
It was like catching someone in a honey trap. Yasmine was only out for herself and what she could get.
“You haven’t heard who I’m looking for yet?”
“Well, who?”
I leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I want to party. And I’m looking for the best stuff money can buy.”
“Really?”
The words that came from between her lips were almost a whisper. I leaned in closer our lips almost meeting.
“Yes.”
Playfully, she smiled and her eyes went to my lips.
“I’m connected enough. Your brother has gotten a taste a few times.”
“Is that right?”
“It is,” she licked her lips.
I leaned in a little closer.
“And what was it that you wanted?”