“How much does she owe you, Demetri?”
“Thirteen-thousand dollars,” he answered with a wicked grin and shifted his eyes to Aubry.
“Here’s fifteen-thousand. Take it, and get out of her life,” I said as I placed the brown bag of money on the sliding tray to the side of him. He looked at me skeptically as he picked up the bag.
“No, but I—” Aubry began.
She stopped talking when I held my hand up to her in a sign to stop.
“It’s just the money you were going to win for the fight. I was going to stick to what I had told you a while back, I wasn’t going to fight you. I couldn’t have fought you.”
She looked at me in bewilderment as tears came to her eyes. “T-Thank you,” she whispered.
“Yes, thank you,” Demetri said with a smirk. “Hmm, interesting. Where did you get the money from if the tournament couldn’t take place?” Demetri asked in a sly voice.
“None of your business. You got the money, now leave,” I said with my teeth gritted and fist clenched.
“Hm, I’m just thinking out loud here. Would you have anything to do with Trey’s latest ICU visit? They said that he was lucky to be alive. Truthfully, I don’t believe it was luck, I believe whoever did that to him left him alive on purpose.” He paused, gauging my reaction.
“He wouldn’t tell us who it was, not that I cared either way. I mean, who beats him up is his concern. I was just concerned about the business. So, tell me Aiden, did you steal the fifteen thousand from me?” he asked in a dark tone.
I stood up and took a few steps towards him to show him that I wasn’t scared of him. “No, I didn’t steal from you. If those guys hadn’t attacked Aubry, then she would have won the money. Either way, one of us owed the money. Technically, I won by default, so I got it, and just for the record, Trey and I made a deal that if he gave me the money willingly, then I’d leave him alive instead of killing him to find the money myself. So, no, I didn’t steal it. It was a smart decision on his part since he was extremely close to death anyways. It would have taken just a few more punches.” I paused and sneered at the thought of Trey.
“He knew that Daniel was planning something. He even gave him his set of keys to lock the door! I saw Trey’s familiar keychains on the ring in that fucker’s hands. So, if you ask me, fifteen thousand is the least that Trey owed Aubry.”
Demetri faltered for a second as he looked at Aubry, who was obviously fretting like crazy. “I suppose he is right. It was supposed to be spent anyways. I’ll allow it.”
He turned his attention back to me. “Well, I like the way you think, kid. That was a smart move to help the girl that you love.” I stayed silent and waited to see where he was going with this rant. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but that ‘fucker’ as you called him, Daniel, is actually my brother and business partner.”
My eyes widened in shock. I mean, I knew he was connected to him, but I didn’t realize he was his brother. I wiped the shocked look off my face and stared blankly at him.
“What’s your point?” I asked.
“Nothing really, just a statement,” he answered with a smirk. “I’ll tell you what kid, I like you. I mean, you stopped two professionally-trained fighters from hurting her! Although, my brother and best dealer are in jail now. That, I’m not too thrilled about. However, Daniel was becoming a pain in my ass with wanting more and more profits with higher positions. Plus, they deserved it for not seeing the treasure that our little Aubry is. I like how you handle things, though. I mean, how you protected this little one, how you ensured her safety after that fact, how you’re standing here talking to me with no fear. I’m looking for a new partner now, are you interested?”
I was taken aback by his offer. That was definitely not something I had expected.
“Um, I’m sorry, what? You want me to be your partner?” I asked just to be clear.
He nodded his head once.
I looked at him skeptically and then to Aubry who was quietly watching our exchange. The heart monitor was beating quite frantically, showing her anxiety at the situation. She had a look of horror on her face.
“Are you giving me a choice?” I asked, looking back to Demetri.
“What? Yes, of course I’m giving you a choice,” he said breezily.
“Are you really? If I say ‘no,’ you won’t set out to ruin my or anyone else’s life to get back at me?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You really would make a great second-in-command, but no I’m not that vengeful. The only people I harm are the people who harm my business. You, Mr. Clark, haven’t technically ruined anything of mine. Plus, Aubry is now debt-free. I understand that this life isn’t for everyone. I’m a reasonable man.”
“Okay, well then —-” I was trying to answer, but he stopped me with words.
“I will tell you, though. If you deny the job, then I might be forced to get my brother out of jail to continue working with me. Maybe I’ll get that other boy too . . . Ronnie,” he said nonchalantly.
“What? No, absolutely not! Screw it, I’ll take—” I began, fully prepared to keep them behind bars forever.
“If you say you will take the job . . . I swear to God, Aiden, I will get up out of this bed and beat the shit out of you!” Aubry spoke finally.
“What? But they have to stay away in jail! If they get out, then they will probably come for you, or Bri, or me, or all of us and—”
She held her hand up to me in a stop motion. It was so nice and relieving to seeing her gain more movement in her arms. However, at that moment, I was annoyed at her.
“Demetri, if you get Daniel out, will you make him stay away from all of us?” she asked politely.
“Aubry, we all know that my brother is a vengeful man. I don’t know if he’ll listen to me,” he answered her, giving his undivided attention.
“Then why would you want him as your partner?” she asked with a confused look. “I mean, honestly, you tried to explain to him before that he should learn to appreciate people. That obviously completely backfired. He even tried to kill me before the deadline was even up, disobeying your direct orders. Honestly, if people weren’t so scared of you when I was young and someone tried to attack me, I don’t think he would have cared. He probably would have let someone do it, regardless of what you told him.
“Honestly, Demetri, he’s a horrible brother who doesn’t know how to listen. He overall harms your business. Plus, he always talked shit about you whenever I was with him. So, I’m sure that means that he talked shit about you to everyone. He always said that you were too soft and understanding. He never understood that is what makes you so good at your job, though. He is too brash and a psycho.”
I looked at Demetri’s face as she spoke. He was so angry. I just hoped that it wasn’t at her.
“If I were you, I’d make sure he gets a really harsh sentence as punishment for going against your direct orders. Not to mention, talking against you when you were the one feeding and clothing him. He was so ungrateful. Why don’t you find someone who will actually care about your business, money, and values? All Daniel did was bring everyone around him down and harm. I don’t believe that’s the type of person needed for the job,” she finally finished and shrugged.
“But I mean, what do I know? I’m just a little girl who has been around this almost my whole life. Besides, I’m just speaking on what my mother had said when she was alive. Then again, she always hated Daniel. However, according to him, she really didn’t matter anyways.”
“Your mother said that?” he asked with a weird gleam in his eyes.
“Oh yeah, all the time. She always said that you were the brains. She really couldn’t understand why you always let Daniel ruin your reputation.”
“Hmm . . . Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s time for a new era in my life, one without Daniel.” He paused and looked around the room.
“I’m sorry that Daniel was the cause of all of this, he’s an idiot,” Demetri stat
ed calmly, but you could see the anger swimming in his eyes.
“You’ve given me much to think over, little one. You’ve always been a smart one. I wont even offer you a job because you deserve more than that. I’ll be around if needed, little Aubry. I’m glad that we didn’t have to kill you, it would have been quite painful to see Jenny dead once again.” He patted her head and studied her face.
“You look just like her. . . .” he said and kissed her cheek for far too long making both of us uncomfortable.
“My door is always open to you if you need me, or want your old gig back. Aiden, the offer still stands. You would be an asset. Goodbye, Aubry. Please be better than me, your mother, and Frank.” He kissed her forehead with actual care in his eyes, then left the room with his men all following him out.
Aubry let out a pent-up breath with a small giggle. “I’m free, I’m finally free!” she exclaimed and sank into her bed a little bit.
I went back to my chair, sat down, and looked at her excited face. She looked so beautiful with the radiant smile on her face. I let her celebrate in silence with herself for a minute.
“Don’t worry, I will pay you back every cent!” she said after few moments of silence.
“Absolutely not! That was your money. You would have won it if Daniel and Ronnie . . .” I trailed off, not wanting to think about them. “If you give me any money whatsoever, I will take it and put it in a savings account just for you. I’d just be like your personal bank,” I said seriously.
She looked at me with her lips pursed.
“I’m serious, I’m not taking any money from you,” I said, challenging her.
“Well then, I’ll have to make it up to you in other ways then,” she said with a sly smirk.
My face immediately got heated as my mind went to places. It certainly shouldn’t have gone to while she was still laying in a hospital bed.
“U-Um, you don’t have to make it up to me at all, Aub . . .” I stuttered out while trying to get the inappropriate thoughts out of my mind.
“I know,” she whispered and ran her fingers on the back of my hand. It was a small gesture due to her limited mobility, but it spoke volumes to me. She was very appreciative of her freedom.
I lifted her back up slightly to meet me easier and kissed her lips gently. I felt her smile as she kissed back fiercely.
After just a few seconds, I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead against hers. Oh, how I missed her kisses! They lit a fire inside of me that was inexplicable.
We were both panting even though it was just a quick kiss. It was breathtaking, though. She was breathtaking.
“Thank you,” she whispered against my lips and stole another quick kiss before settling back into her bed.
“Thank you for saving me again. I don’t know what I would do without you,” she said quickly and avoided looking into my eyes.
I smiled at her cute awkwardness and inability to show her feelings.
I simply just grabbed her hand again. “So, were all those things you said about Daniel true?” I asked thoughtfully. If they weren’t, then she was a wonderful actress.
“For the most part, yes. I may have exaggerated a tiny bit, and I stroked his ego. I added my mother in there because I know that she is his weakness. However, she really did hate Daniel . . . everyone does. He also truly did directly disobey Demetri’s orders when he tried to kill me a few weeks ago. Plus, when he was assigned to protect me, he definitely couldn’t have cared less about me. So, yeah most of that was true.”
“Protect you? What was he supposed to protect you from?” I asked extremely confused.
Her eyes got big and she bit her lip. After a few moments of contemplation, she finally sighed.
“I think it’s time I told you everything. All of you. Could you call your family back in?” She paused and sighed again. “I guess my sister too, she should probably know too.”
She sighed as she saw that I was about to ask her if she was actually ready to delve into that. “Everyone deserves to know what went on. I really don’t want any more secrets, it destroyed us before. You are my family. I want you to know so you can finally understand,” she said and squeezed my hand as much as she could.
“I love you,” I said involuntarily. Her eyes lit up as I pecked her lips softly.
“I love you so much,” she said with a smile. “I think I’m ready.”
I wanted to understand . . . finally.
Chapter Sixty-One
Free
Aubry
I took a moment to catch my breath as Aiden went to go get everyone. Holy crap, I was actually free from the promise of death looming over me. The feeling I was feeling was completely euphoric. I had been under that control for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to be free.
Demetri wasn’t the worst person ever. The fact that he even helped me in the first place was enough proof. Plus, he walked out of the hospital without even trying to hurt me. Hell, he even gave me time to get the money together when I screwed him over completely. In fact, he had helped me in pretty much every reasonable way that he could. He was actually quite nice if you thought of it that way.
Still, he was a drug lord first and foremost. That meant that he and his crew had done some terrible, horrible things to people. I should know, I had witnessed quite a few of those awful things. He wasn’t as bad as some people, but he certainly wasn’t a saint. Still, I couldn’t help but to feel a little sad that he was out of my life for good, though.
However, it truly was an amazing feeling to know that I was no longer under the control of anyone. I was so happy! Thanks to Aiden, I was free. Thanks to Aiden, I could do whatever I wanted. That was kind of ironic because all I wanted to do was love Aiden and my family.
I was no longer under the control of Demetri. I no longer had to look over my shoulder for Daniel or Ronnie. I was no longer living in fear of my father, or Sunny because I knew that I could take care of myself. It was amazing how many things were actually coming together. All I had to focus on was getting better and getting out of the hospital.
Was this it? Could I actually be happy? I wanted it so badly that I could almost taste it.
At that moment, the reality of what I was about to do hit me. I was about to tell everyone everything. All of my dark past, all of my secrets, and all of my pain. It was intense, to say the least.
They needed to know, though. They needed to understand. I knew that Aiden said that it didn’t matter to him, but I knew eventually I was going to have to tell him anyways. If I didn’t, then it would eat both of us alive and destroy us again. I needed him to know everything, I needed them to understand me completely. I loved them all, and I hoped that they loved me enough to understand.
After a few more moments alone, Aiden finally came back with my family, including my sister and brother-in-law minus Cece, following him. The monitor immediately showed how nervous I was with the rapid beeps triggered by my heart rate.
I needed to calm down, but it was nerve wracking to tell everyone my awful past.
“Aubry, chill out. It’ll be fine . . . they’ll understand,” Brandon said easily as he plopped into a chair and pulled Bri affectionately onto his lap. “We’re all here for you.”
The heart rate did not slow down.
“Aubry, my love, it’s okay to wait to tell us,” Aiden said softly to me and stroked my hair.
His touch immediately made me feel better. “No, I have to do it now. It’s time, it’s way past time. I should have told you ages ago,” I said while looking into his deep blue eyes.
As I looked into them, I could see all of the love and care he had for me. That love and care gave me confidence to move forward. He had to know to understand what happened. He had a right to know, all of them did. I just prayed that they’d still love me and be able to look at me the same after I told them all of my story. The story of my pathetic life.
With a long deep breath, I began telling the story that I had told Brandon on the night
that I had tried to kill myself. That was it, the point of no return.
***
Aiden
As soon as she began, my heart clenched in my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was out of anger, hurt, or despair—it was most likely all of the above. Everything she had gone through was being laid out on a table for me to know. It was sickening, the things she was telling us happened to her.
She told us about when her parents first started using drugs. She told us about Kelsey taking care of her. She told us about finding her mother dead. Then she got to the part where several different men used to beat the shit out of her and her sister. I had to bite my tongue and dig my nails into my only free palm to control my anger at the things that had been done to her. Luckily, I was able to keep the hand that was holding Aubry’s relaxed as I ran my finger over the back of her hand soothingly.
All the while, though, I had a mental war going on with those guys. Whoever this Sunny guy was, I was gonna beat the hell out of him. I was going to make him regret hurting her and her sister!
I mean, I knew that she had been hit. However, hearing the gory details and everything was far more gruesome than I had ever imagined. What kind of sick people could do those things to little kids? What kind of people could do that to anyone?
My poor little Aub. I couldn’t imagine how awful and scared she must have felt as a child.
She made it all the way to when her sister left before she had a real breakdown. She was sobbing uncontrollably at that part, along with her sister.
As she continued, saying everything that had happened to her being alone, I felt my irritation at Kelsey’s choice to leave rise. How could she leave her baby sister there alone? She had to fend for herself and pay the bills all on her own while getting beat. I was trying to be understanding, but I just hated what happened to Aubry so much.
Fighting For Life Page 72
