by J. L. Beck
I feel like I’m losing her, and that has me more on edge than the fact that Zeke and a team of my best men are attacking Romero tonight.
“Our marriage is a lie…” I can hear the words in my mind still as if she said them right this instant. My need to make her father pay has cost me the last important thing in my life: her.
I thought having Marie back would help things, lighten the mood for when the shit hit the fan, but it seems Elena has closed in on herself further, and I’m not sure how to reach her. She’s fading every day, pulling away from me, sinking into the sand.
It’s maddening what her silence does to me, and I’m even considering letting her father live to prove to her that things have changed, that I do love her, and that our marriage is real.
At first, revenge was the driving force behind me wanting her, but it hasn’t been for a long time. Since almost losing her, I’ve only wanted her father dead. Not only for revenge but also to protect her. To ensure that neither of us would ever have to look over our shoulders and wonder if something was going to happen. Now, I only have to make Elena believe me.
She’s been hiding in the library, I know she doesn’t want to be anywhere near me, but I’m done pretending like there isn’t an elephant sitting on top of our marriage.
“I want you to stay posted outside every room that she goes in and comes out of, regardless of whether I’m inside it,” I say before heading to the library.
“Yes, sir,” Lucca responds. He’s done well as my second in command, but if I’m honest, I can’t wait for Markus to return. I can’t wait until everything goes back to normal.
I’ve tried my best to give Elena some space, but it’s hard letting her out of my sight while knowing Romero and Lev’s family are working together and after us. Hopefully, that will end tonight, in the meantime, I will be on high alert. Especially today, when I only have a few men guarding the house. Call it paranoia if you want… I call it protecting what is mine.
The Volcove compound is well fortified, and it’s going to take a lot of men to take them down. I wanted to be there, but I decided it is more important to stay with Elena.
When I step into the large library, I find my wife sitting in the windowsill. Her attention is drawn to the book in her lap while mine is drawn to the way her hair shines in the sunlight. She’s beautiful as sin, and I should’ve known the day I forced her name on the dotted line that she would become my demise.
“Did you have a good day?” I ask when she finally looks up from the book in her hand.
“Mhhh.” She nods her head and closes the book.
She won’t even look at me, let alone talk.
“Let’s go to dinner, I want to talk to you about something.”
She gets up from the windowsill and lays her book face down as if she is going to come back to read it later, walking over to me, she stops right in front of me.
Her eyes are lowered, cast down at my chest. I know she is doing this because she’s hurt, but two days of this behavior is all she is going to get. I’ve had enough. My guilt is being drowned out by my ever-rising anger, and her dismissiveness is not helping. I want my wife back, hurt feelings, or not.
“Look at me,” I order, but she shakes her head in defiance like a small child refusing to follow directions.
Grabbing her by the chin, I force her head upward, so she has no other option but to face me. She glares at me like she is about to lash out, maybe scratch me again, but as I wait to give her a chance to do so, she doesn’t make a move.
“Enough of your pouting. I don’t like how you’ve been acting lately.”
“Really?” She scoffs and crosses her dainty arms over her chest. “Does me not loving you not go along with your revenge plan? Poor you…” She patronizes, and even though I admire her bravery, I will not stand for it. I don’t let my men or anyone talk to me like that. I will not let my wife do so either.
“Your behavior is unacceptable,” I snap, tightening my grip on her chin. “I’ve already told you things have changed. It’s time for you to remember your place… which is by my side as my wife. Now, let’s have dinner on the terrace, so we can talk some more.”
She nods her head as much as she can while still in my grip, and I release her. Taking her hand, I start our descent down the stairs. She doesn’t hold onto me in return, refusing to wrap her fingers around mine. Her slender hand just lies flaccid in my larger one.
I feel like a volcano that is ready to erupt. She is my wife, and yet, she acts as if she is disgusted by my very presence.
We walk in silence, and I use that time to let what I’m planning to say marinate in my head. I know I’m taking a leap of faith here, but if that’s what it takes to keep her by my side and happy, I’m willing to do it… ready to say the words I haven’t since I was a little boy.
Arriving on the terrace, I pull out a chair, and Elena sits down in it almost immediately. An image of Elena in her wedding dress flashes before my eyes as I look over at the spot where our wedding arch stood only a few days ago. I wish I could go back to that day.
“What is it you want to talk about?” Elena asks, her cold demeanor cracking slightly as I hear a touch of defeat in her voice.
“Elena, you are my wife because I want you to be. I didn’t lie to you, not really. When I saw you at the funeral, I knew the instant I laid eyes on you that I had to have you. Yes, I told myself that it was for revenge, and maybe that was part of it, but it wasn’t the sole reason. And now, revenge has nothing to do with me wanting you. I want you because of you. Because you’re the most important thing to me.”
“If that was true, then you wouldn’t still want to kill my father.”
“And I wouldn’t if he wasn’t actively trying to kill me and take you from me. What do you think would happen to you if I was gone? There are others, far worse than I. He sold you to me. I imagine he would sell you to someone else if I were gone. Someone like Lev.”
Just like that, the mask of anger and defiance Elena had carefully placed over her face slips away. Leaving behind nothing but acidic fear and grief.
“I don’t want you to die,” she admits, and the dread I’ve felt since that phone call finally starts to lessen. “I don’t want anyone to die.”
“You are my wife, and I will protect you at any cost. Even if that means doing something you don’t like. I will never stop making sure you are safe, and as long as your father is out there, you are not safe. He doesn’t care about you. What about when we have children? Do you think he is going to stop trying to come after me?”
“I just don’t understand.” She shakes her head, still not ready to admit her father’s fault.
“Elena, I…” The words are on the tip of my tongue. I love you.
Before I can find the courage to speak the words out loud, I hear glass shattering off in the distance. I’m up and out of my seat before I hear the first shots ring through the air. The chair clanks against the ground, and my insides twist at the sound.
Fuck! Where the hell is Lucca? Where are the guards?
I grab my gun from my holster and pull Elena up with my free hand, tugging her behind me. In that instant, my only thought is her. I need to get her somewhere safe. On the patio, we’re out in the open, and in the worst spot when under attack. Fuck!
“Stay close!” I bark over my shoulder and start walking inside.
Elena fists the fabric of my shirt as if she is afraid, her body’s close to mine as we make our way back into the house. I need to get her to my office. It doubles as a safe room, it’s fire, and bulletproof. I just need to get her inside–
We don’t even make it to the bottom of the stairs before the explosion hits, rocking us right off our axis. One second we are heading to the stairs, and the next, we are thrown to the ground from the shockwave of the explosion.
My ears ring, my head throbs, and my lungs burn, but all I can think about is Elena as I frantically try to regain my bearings. Searching around me, I’m desperate to
find her, to hold her, but she isn’t there. I can’t reach her.
Where is my wife?
I can’t lose her too.
I have to save her.
43
Elena
Complete and utter chaos ensues around me. Before I know what’s happening, I’m thrown to the ground, unable to keep my grip on Julian. My hands reach for him but grasp nothing but air. I’m reeling, trying to get my bearings, but it’s like being on a boat, my body swaying back and forth with the ocean waves.
Then there is a tug on my arm, and I’m being pulled to stand. I immediately know it’s not Julian, simply by how the man’s fingers dig into my skin painfully and the way he carelessly jerks me around, not caring if I get hurt.
It takes me a moment to regain my bearings, shake away the ringing in my ear, and be stable on my legs. When the dust around us settles, and the room becomes visible again, I realize this is even worse than I could’ve imagined.
Julian is on the ground just now pushing himself up to his feet. My father is standing on the opposite side of the room, his eyes trained on Julian.
My gaze swings around the room, I don’t know most of the men, but all of them have their guns out and pointed at my husband, which tells me they’re the enemy. I twist around to look at the man who has a death grip on my arm, which sure enough will leave a lingering bruise. I’ve never seen this man either, but he looks at me like he knows who I am, almost like we have unfinished business.
“You’ll pay for what your husband did to my brother. I’ll make you pay, and I’ll make your pitiful excuse of a husband watch.” He chuckles, but it’s anything but a joyous laugh, and I know who he is—Lev’s brother.
My instincts kick in, and I tug my arm back to get away from him. I recoil just from his touch alone. Dread swirls like an impending storm above my head. I want to get away, but his grip just tightens to near pain, and the reality of the situation slams into me.
“Daddy,” I try to get my father’s attention. “Please, stop this.” My pleading falls on deaf ears, and the ground beneath my feet trembles.
“You can have her. Consider it as a gift. A life for a life. She is no longer useful to me.” My father dismisses me without a single look. I hear his words, but I don’t understand their meaning. My brain can’t comprehend what he is saying. Only when the man holding me starts pulling me away, does everything begin to sink in and make sense.
“What do you mean I’m no longer useful to you?” The words rip from my throat, and it’s like he’s shot an arrow into my chest.
He doesn’t even look at me as he speaks, he looks at the spot beside me, but not into my eyes. Coward. “I don’t need you anymore. I’ve got Julian right where I want him. You were merely a pawn to keep him in place.”
Curling my hand into a tight fist, I want to slug him.
“You weren’t supposed to fall in love, but you did. I thought you were stronger than that, more resilient.” The bitter laugh that he emits makes me want to lunge at him. “You did this to yourself.”
Julian was right. This whole time, he was right. I was just too stupid and naive to see it. My father was playing his own games, and I was just a pawn. Another piece on his chessboard that he could move exactly where he needed and sacrifice when the time came.
“Thanks, Romero, I’ll have a lot of fun with this one.”
“No!” Julian’s voice booms through the room with an authority that has everyone stopping in their tracks. All eyes are on him, including my own. “Don’t fucking touch her!”
Julian lunges toward us, and everything after that happens in slow motion. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my father lift his gun and fire the first shot without hesitation.
“No!” I scream, but no one is listening to my pleas. It’s as if no one can hear me, and I’m tired of it. Tired of being in a cage, tired of being shoved around, and tired of not having control of my own life.
Julian drops to his knees, clasping his shoulder with one hand. His white shirt soaks with blood in seconds, and all I want to do is run to him and tend to his needs, but instead of getting closer, I’m only being pulled away further.
I struggle as much as I can, kick, scream, and scratch like my life depends on it because it does. If I don’t break free and get away, I might as well put a bullet between my eyes. My father no longer cares for me—his words. The only person in the world that matters now is the man on his knees.
Suddenly, I’m free. Cruel hands disappear from my body. Twisting on my heels, I find Marie on the man’s back, her slim arms are wrapped around his neck, and it looks like she’s trying to choke him.
I know what I have to do before I even realize it. Reaching for his gun, I spin around with it in my hand and pull the trigger.
Time slows down. I can almost see the bullet flying through the air and entering my father’s chest.
For the first time tonight, his eyes find mine, and he actually looks at me. I don’t know what I expected to see when our eyes finally met. Maybe guilt, sadness, fear? I don’t find either. All I see is shock. Like he can’t believe I shot him and that this is how his life will end. Not at the hands of his enemy, but at the hands of his own daughter.
I keep staring into his eyes, unable to look away, I watch as the life leaves him. I watch until the eyes so similar to mine go blank. His body drops to the floor, and my mind clears.
This is not over.
I reposition myself and point the gun toward one of the other men. My hands are shaking and fear like I’ve never felt before blooms in my chest. I could die, but I’d much rather die than be taken from the man I love.
Everyone else moves with me, pointing their guns at me instead of Julian. Julian uses that to his advantage and grabs my father’s gun off the ground. Two more shots are fired, and then it’s all over.
All the men who were threatening our lives are on the ground, dead… including my father.
I glance to where Marie was struggling with Lev’s brother and find him on the ground while Marie and Celeste are standing over him. Celeste is holding a bloody knife in her hand.
She looks at me and smiles, literally smiles.
“No one messes with my family.”
I want to go hug her and tell her how much I love her, but Julian is all I can think about. I hurry to his side and start applying pressure to his wound. He groans and clenches his teeth, pulling out his phone.
“We need to call an ambulance,” I say, hoping that’s what he’s doing.
“No, I’ll have one of our doctors come and stitch me up. We can’t go to the hospital for a gun wound. Too many questions.”
“Okay.” I nod. I don’t like it, but I understand. “Where are all the guards?” My eyes dart around the room as if they will appear out of thin air.
“I don’t know,” he grits out while dialing the number for the doctor.
“Hello?” A deep voice I recognize comes through the receiver.
“Doc, I need you now. Got shot.”
“On my way…”
As soon as the line goes dead, Julian calls Lucca. It rings for a really long time. So long that I don’t think he’ll answer. If I wasn’t so consumed with worry for Julian, I’d probably be worried about Lucca.
“Hello,” he finally answers.
“Where the fuck are you?” Julian screams into the phone.
“I’m sorry… I had no choice.”
“You fucking betrayed me! You let them in, didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry,” Lucca repeats. “They have someone I love.”
“That’s no fucking excuse! You vowed to protect this family. You vowed to protect Elena with your fucking life! You took an oath, Lucca, a fucking oath.”
“Long before that, I vowed to protect someone else–” The line goes dead, and Julian throws his phone across the room. The device collides with the wall and shatters into pieces.
“That bastard is going to pay for this. I will kill him for betraying us, for endangeri
ng you.”
“It’s okay. You’ll be okay,” I whisper low into his ear, my voice trembling as I keep my hands pressed to his shoulder.
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Julian shakes his head. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His eyes scan over my face and then slowly drop down to the rest of my body.
“I’m fine. You’re the one who got shot.”
“It went straight through. Clean shot. I’ll be back to normal in a few days. I’m only worried about you,” Julian confesses, and for the first time since the night he took me, I believe him wholeheartedly.
Celeste appears next to us with clean towels and a first aid kit. I look up expecting Marie to be here too, but I don’t see her anywhere.
“Marie is waiting at the door for the doctor,” Celeste explains. “If it’s okay, I’ll go and wait with her.”
“Yes, go ahead. I’ve got this,” I tell her, and she sprints toward the door.
Using the towels she brought, I cover up the wound and apply as much pressure as I can. I glance over to where my father’s dead body is sprawled out on the floor.
“I wish you hadn’t done that,” Julian confesses, and I know what he is saying. He didn’t want me to kill my father. Part of me thinks maybe because he just wanted to do it himself while the other part thinks he might be worried about the guilt I may feel someday.
“I thought you wanted him dead?”
“I did, and I’m glad he is gone, but I didn’t want you to be the one to pull the trigger. I’ve never wanted you to have to kill someone, especially not someone you loved. I didn’t want you to carry that kind of guilt around.”
I think about his words and what I’ve done.
Maybe it’s because I’m in shock, but right at this moment, I don’t feel guilt. I don’t feel guilty about killing the man who sold me, treated me like cattle, and discarded me like trash in the very end. I don’t feel guilty about killing the man who was supposed to love me and instead cared about nothing but himself.