by Ivy Knight
"You just don't fucking die," Kai runs up to Nick and throws his strongest punch sending him onto his back.
Getting on top of Nick, I watch Kai hit him over and over and over again. After fifteen hits, Nick turns his head to the side spitting out blood and lets out a small laugh.
"That's the best you got little bro? I thought I taught you better. You can't kill me, can you? Because if you could, it would've happened by now."
Kai throws another punch before climbing off Nick and pulling out his gun.
"Kai, no!" I stop him. "It's not worth it. He'll die today, but not from our hands. Please, Kai."
"She's not yours Kai, don't listen to her. Do what needs to be done."
"Kai, pl-"
I'm cut off by three gun shots and loud screams of agony. Nick's legs bleeding, he squirms in pain.
"You deserve worse. Nick, you should be glad you're getting death," Kai spits on Nick before he walks over to me.
I take his hand and get up. Taking one last look at my brother, Kai and I both run to the edge and jump into the cold numbing water just before the ship blows up.
Chapter 63
"Hey, Kai wanted me to give you guys the tickets and tell you that we'll meet you guys at the hotel. We're deciding to visit the home in Chicago before we head to vacation."
"Oh, okay," Amelia smiles. "Are you sure? We can come along too."
"No, it's fine. We just wanna grab a few things from there," I inform.
"Okay then, I guess we'll see you at the hotel then?"
"Yup," I smile back giving Amelia a long hug. I sigh heavily feeling her warmth.
"You okay?" she asks.
"Yeah," I reply breaking the hug. "Just soaking in the love."
"Okay," she laughs eyeing me skeptically.
"See you there," Dakota says.
"Take care," Alec says.
"Hasta la vista," Cole laughs.
"Bye," I smile waving.
"They're not coming with us?" Kai calls from behind me. I turn around to find him holding Luke in his arms.
"Uh- no, they said they'll take the early flight."
"Okay, I guess we should get going too then," Kai says.
"Yeah, let’s go," I smile. Both of us head down to the car. Once Kai buckles Luke into his seat, Kai takes the wheel driving us to the airport.
The last three months haven't been easy.
I called off the engagement with Alessio and he left after Dean's funeral. Anthony refused to say a word to me or even look in my direction and so he left the house the second he could with Zoe.
My father and Kai were left alone taking care of the black market.
Everyone else has been about, but my memories aren't clear enough for details as I spent most of the time alone trying to rebuild myself.
From speech therapy to physical therapy, I've been working on how to act normal.
Counselling has helped me deal with the mental and emotional trauma. I don't speak much, but I've made progress.
There was a time when all I did was look and say nothing at all.
...♛...
"Did you grab what you needed?" Kai questions.
"Yeah," I reply as I play with Luke on Kai's bed.
"Ma-ma," Luke says as he claps his hands.
"Summer?" Kai starts.
"Yeah?"
"I know you don't wanna talk about it, but can we?"
"Kai, please. We're going on vacation now and I can't talk about it. You already know everything. You see the scars, don't you?"
"I see the scars, but it's the ones on the inside that matter to me. You say you love me, but in the last three months, we've shared more silence than words."
"I'm not doing this right now, Kai. Stop."
"No, I've been so patient with you. Three months, Summer. How much more time do you need?"
"As long as I live, that's how long. I don't wanna talk about it. But if you must know. I let Nick kidnap me, I let him rape me and torture me until I could have the chance to take out the chip. Whatever happened, happened because I wanted it to. Let's just say it's an experience I'll never forget."
"How can you be like this?"
"Please, Kai. Just, please. Not right now. We have to go."
"Fine," his lips form a thin line. "I just have to grab a few more things."
I watch Kai disappear into his walk-in closet. Looking at Luke play with his toy, I hear my phone ding. Picking it up, I read the message.
Everything's set, send him down.
I reply with a simple okay and wait for Kai to return.
"Okay, let's go," Kai says.
"You go, I'll bring Luke. I just remembered I need to grab one more thing from my room."
"Oh, okay. I'll be in the car," he informs.
"Kai?"
"Yeah?" he questions as he stops under the door frame.
His eyes, lighter than ever, he watches me carefully waiting for me to talk.
He's been everything and more to me in the past three months.
He loves me and made sure to show it profusely. There isn't an inch in my body that questions his love for me.
He is my everything.
But he wasn't always that man.
And I wasn't always the woman he loved.
"Nothing, sorry," I shake my head.
"Uh- okay. I love you."
"I love you," I reply before he leaves.
I exit the room as well walking into mine. The air cold, I feel goosebumps rise on my body as I open my dresser and take out the small piece of paper I left in here months ago.
Tucking it into my pocket, I head back into Kai's room and grab my phone. Getting on my knees, I look Luke in the eyes.
My eyes watering.
Get it together, Summer.
Taking a deep breath, I call my father.
"Can you send someone to pick up Luke?"
"Of course," he replies before ending it.
Getting onto my feet, I straighten my shoulders broadening them. As I walk out of the room and down the hall, every memory in my mind from the day I met Kai plays in my mind.
From the start, he had that dominant aura following him. He reeked of darkness, drenched with blood and a dangerous past, but hid under his intoxicating cologne.
He blinded me with his rare kindness, but I can still see past that.
His mistakes won't go unnoticed just because I love him.
If I hadn't met him, Alice would still be alive. Michael and Melissa would still be alive. Lucy might've still been here. Dean wouldn't have died. Anthony would still be walking.
If I hadn't met Kai, I'd still be in hiding.
I'd still be running from the past.
But I'm not running anymore.
We're here.
The people I cared most about, are gone.
Nick is dead.
That is our past now and today is our present.
Tomorrow will be my future.
Standing at the top of the stairs, I find Kai on his knees with his hands cuffed behind his back surrounded by men dressed in FBI uniforms.
Blood drips from the corner of his lip and light reflects on the forming bruise under his right eye.
His eyes meet mine.
My mind blurs for a second as my heart skips a beat. For a second, it feels like it's not going to regain it's rhythm, but it does.
"What? Not into talking anymore?" I taunt as I make my way down the stairs towards him.
One last act won't hurt anyone, but a few.
"You made your choice."
"Actually, there never was a choice. I always knew what had to be done."
"Betraying me?"
"Now see that's where you're wrong. I didn't betray you, I'm simply finishing a game that you started. You wanted to know me? Didn't you, Kai Black?"
"I love you," he says. He watches intently to find a hint of emotion in me, but I don't flinch.
I love him.
I do.
But I'm not going to prove it to him.
>
I'm not going to let him be content knowing that this is causing me just as much pain as it will him.
"Oh, I know you do. Trust me, I know because I made you fall in love with me. You were my puppet, Kai and you can't say that I didn't warn you. The day you burned my family without a single remorse and made me watch, I told you I would ruin you in ways nobody could even dream of. Tell me, how does it feel to watch it all fall apart?"
"You always did what had to be done. Setting aside your personal feelings, you've always been great at that. Even today."
"I had to convince you that I loved you, so what better way than to actually do it?"
"You'll miss me," Kai smirks. He might not show in his words or stance, but I can see it in eyes.
He's truly broken.
No father.
No mother.
No brother
No son.
No love.
"I know. You'll serve your sentence behind bars and I'll serve it out here, but all I know is mine will be longer than yours. You have a minute do your worse," I instruct the officers.
"Summer," Kai groans.
I take a step back as I watch the officers beat Kai to a pulp. In the end, he slithers on the floor groaning in pain. His face full of blood and bruises, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
He did this to himself.
"Take off the cuffs," I order. One of the officers does as he's told and steps aside.
Getting onto his front, Kai's eyes share a sense of dark amusement as they shimmer under the fluorescent lights. The corner of his lip busted, he still manages to stretch it into his signature smirk.
"You like the view?" I question as he brings his eyes up from my feet. Squatting down to his level, I hide my emotions beneath a cold stare.
"You, Kai Black, did this to yourself the day you wanted to know me. I'd kill you right now, but a wise man once told me that living is worse than death for most. You're gonna live wanting to die every day. Not seeing your child grow up and knowing that the woman you love turned on you, will be your only accomplice inside the four walls of a cell."
"Summer, Luciano needs me, don't you dare-"
"He doesn't need you, Kai. He needs a father and he'll get one that won't hand him a knife at the age of two. He'll know you Kai, I promise you, he will know who are and he will have the choice to either love or hate you, but know that his choice will be based off of everything you ever did."
"This is so fucked," Kai shakes his head. "Because after all this, I still wouldn't change a thing."
I smile.
Neither would I.
"You felt the warmth of Summer, but you forgot that winter comes after. Goodbye, Kai," I stand up and nod giving my father the go.
He doesn't struggle.
He doesn't say a word.
I don't know what's more depressing, me turning on him or him not even fighting for anything.
He gave up so easily.
I don't look at him.
Instead, I walk past him and exit the house that it all started in.
Finally, I leave the past where it should be.
In the past.
Epilogue
Taking the shot off the table, I devour it like it's the last one I'll ever take, even though I know it's not.
"Summer?"
I freeze at the sound of the voice, but it finally feels like I'm breathing again.
I turn around.
Dressed in a maroon bomber jacket with a grey t-shirt and black pants, Jayce looks almost the same as the last time I saw him except now he's not supporting any fresh wounds.
Climbing off the seat, I walk over to him. Just as tall as I remember, I tilt my head up as my finger caresses the scar on his left cheekbone.
"You came."
"I did," Jayce replies.
"Fuck."
Bringing my hand down, every horrible thing I've ever done flashes before my eyes consuming my mind.
"You shouldn't have come, this was a mistake. I'm sorry," I turn around walking back to the bar. I drop some cash on the counter before heading out.
"Summer, hold up!" Jayce yells. I don't stop. I keep walking until Jayce finally catches up and grabs my arm bringing me to a stop.
"Jayce, please."
"You know a simple: long time no see, how are you? Would've sufficed."
"I did terrible things, Jayce."
"Oh, I know. I've been watching the news, for the past two years, following Kai's case. I know everything."
"That was Kai's case, Jayce and literally twenty percent of the things he did came up, not even. I didn't have a case."
When he stands there silently examining me, I sigh heavily as my tongue darts out moisturizing my lips.
"Jayce, why'd you come?"
"Because you asked me to. You need me, I know you do. No one flies to a different country for no reason."
He waits for a reply, but I remain silent.
"Okay, if you don't want to talk about it now, why don't we go back to my place and I'll make you some dinner? We can talk about anything and everything you want to then."
"Jayce...-"
"Please, Summer, just dinner."
"Okay."
"Thank you," his lips stretch into a genuine smile. "This way milady."
...♛...
"You're a really good cook, Jayce. That food was amazing," I compliment as I put the dishes away into the sink.
"Thanks, I had to learn how to make my own food when I moved out. Not really in the mood to die of starvation."
"Mm-hm," I reply as I walk around his apartment. I stop in front of a wall littered with pictures of Jayce, his friends and family. Pictures with his parents, his sister, him holding up a trophy, his teammates and more makes me realize that he has a life.
A life that is calm and collected.
Perfected to the way society applauds.
His life us exceptional.
"Summer?"
"Yeah?" I turn around.
"You wanna go on the balcony? There's a great view of the city."
"Sure," I bob my head displaying a small smile. Jayce holds the balcony door open for me as I step out into the cold air of fall. Leaning on the edge of the railing, I watch as the cars rush through the streets below.
The lights more luminous in the gloomy sky, make the city even more beautiful during the night.
"You can ask, you know?" I acknowledge when I find Jayce eyeing the scars on my hands. Even though I spent most of time getting rid of the scars sculpted into my skin, I left a few. Removing them felt more painful than keeping them as a reminder of what I've been through.
"I have a feeling I don't have to," he says.
"Jayce, I keep asking myself why I came here. To be honest, I don't really know, but I know that I need something and you're the only one I trust. I need you to listen to the truth, not half-truths, but the whole truth. Because I'm twenty today, and I don't think there has ever been a day in the last twenty years, where I haven't lied."
"You can trust me, Summer."
I take in a minute of silence before I start.
"After you left, lots happened and Kai realized I wasn't who I claimed to be. He hated me, but I needed to go home and I bribed him to come with me by saying that if he did, my family would help him kill his brother Nicholas Black. You already know about the feud and everything, so I won't waste time explaining it."
"Things clearly weren't the same when I got home. There was a lot of tension and unspoken words, but the one thing that didn't seem right, was the fact that my father was so easily persuaded into believing it was me. It took a lot longer for my brothers to believe it, but it took nearly no convincing for my father to believe who I was. Once I told my family what happened in the three years I was gone, my father asked me to meet with him in his office alone. I didn't know what to expect, so I went in there with a blank mind ready for anything."
"But I was wrong, I wasn't ready for what he had to say and what he had t
o offer. He told me something I knew for a long time, but I decided to never believe it until the words came out of his mouth. He told me that Vincent White, my oldest brother, sold me to Nick. Xavier, my father, never really knew the reason, but it was assumed that Vincent always loathed me because our mother died giving birth to me. That wasn't really a surprise to me. I always knew someone worked with Nick and in the back of my mind, I always had a feeling it was Vince."
"Though, the things that he said after, took me by complete surprise."
I take a few seconds to breathe and close my eyes. I imagine the day in his office that he told me everything. Calm, I stood in front of him not giving him a single reaction, but today, I let myself feel it all.
My eyes open.
"He said he knew I was alive the whole three years I stayed away from them. Said that he... he followed and kept track of everything I did and made sure that I was safe. He did it all through the FBI. My father gave up the whole business to save my life, but Nick went back on their deal and that day, my father not only lost his only daughter and the business that he shed blood for, but he had also lost his oldest son. Devastated by the betrayal, my father decided that he was going to end it all once and for all, and went to work for the FBI."
"He laid out a plan for me. Live a normal life, he said: go to school, go on missions and train. Live as if the last three years never existed. Clearly, that was too vague and went on with an offer he knew I wouldn't refuse. We both wanted Nick dead and the best way to do that was to lure him in by planning a fake wedding. I didn't want to put more lives in risk and refused, but he still had more to offer."
"Xavier noticed that Kai had a weak spot for me. He said that if I exploited that, I would not only be able to hurt Nick, but Kai as well. Two birds with one stone. I took the deal willing to lose whatever I had and god, do I wish I hadn't. I ended up losing all my brothers, the man that I loved and my goddamn sanity."
"We ended up killing Nick, but in the end, I couldn't go through with the deal I made with my father. Upfront, The Black Killers and The White Dragon's united with Kai owning fifty-five percent of the business and my father owning forty-five. That was only said out loud. In the contract that was signed by Kai, it said that he solely owned the whole business. The plan was, once Nick was killed, I was supposed to turn on Kai. I was supposed to get him arrested and make sure that he received a lifetime in jail without a chance of parole."
