Heretic: The Clans Book Ten

by Knox, Elizabeth

  That’s the one thing I didn’t account for. I forgot that I set Elena up to be stuck working with the traitors. Part of me thought that maybe she would just join them and let us all get blown up. Or maybe she would run and have nothing to do with me or them. But it sounds like she’s still doing the right thing. Even as fucked up as I made her, she’s trying to save us all.

  “Tell me fucking everything.”

  And he does. Stefan tells me about how Galina plans to blow up this event too. I guess she has some kind of fucking fetish for bombs. Stefan has this whole thing planned out, and I should be grateful to him, but it’s like he’s kind of stealing my thunder.

  I mean, I know I kind of set Elena in his direction. I’ll never admit to it, though, but I am glad Elena went to him and that he’s keeping her safe. The Badescu sisters could have found out by now that she was a liar and killed her, or even worse could’ve happened to her out there on the streets.

  The thing is, I really shouldn’t fucking care. I don’t have the kind of heart to care. I’ve always prided myself on being this strong man. Nothing at all like my brother Isaac. It’s why I thought it deserved to be me and clearly not him to lead the Ungurs. It turns out I’m just a big fucking baby. Especially when it comes to this one woman. The funny thing about it is, I want my wife back. I wanted her to actually be my wife. Which I didn’t exactly expect. I knew out of all the women, having watched Elena kill my brother in cold blood with her bare hands using that hairpin, that she was as close as I was ever going to get to some like my Mariana. She was close to someone who was going to worm her way into my heart, if I had one left at all.

  But the fact that I expected her to love me, was a fucking joke. It was to begin with, but now? Now, the idea is ridiculous and impossible. I have used and abused her. I have tricked her into believing that there’s no way in hell I have any feelings for her. She believes I still feel something for Mariana. And honestly, I don’t know if I do. I don’t know if I ever did, or if I just like the idea of the two of us.

  I think back to that day as kids, basically, and how she seemed to be convinced that I wanted to be with her because I wanted the power. I wanted to be the king of the Clans. Is that something I wanted to do? Maybe it really was. Maybe it was all about proving to my father that I was better than my brother. Proving to my mother that I was worth loving by somebody who mattered.

  Yeah, Mariana is hot. She was the closest to a best friend as I have ever had. But I was using her just the same that I’ve used every woman in my life. If I’m being honest, she was the first, not the first woman that I locked in that fucking cage. She is lucky that she never had to deal with me in that way.

  Right now, I’m a fool, and if I work with Stefan I can become the hero. I promise to be ready in London.

  As soon as I am off the phone, I call the party off. I send everybody home, and I even pay for the women to go home with the men that want to take them home. I mean, I’m still a good host. I still understand the need for that kind of thing.

  And then, I go find every pill in the house and I flush them down the toilet. Every last fucking one.

  I may never get Elena back. I may never get her to love me. But I want to show her I have the capability of being the hero that I wanted to be. I’m going to fucking help save the Clans… and her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ivana

  I can’t fucking believe this day is here.

  Ever since everything went down with Phillipe, and it became so clear that he was never going to want me and he was not the man I thought, I have been waiting for this. Waiting for revenge. And today’s the day.

  I reach behind me to tie the halter dress at the back of my neck and look at myself in the mirror.

  Galina and I have pulled out all the stops for tonight. Tonight is the night we celebrate the Clans going down and we could become the queens we were always meant to be.

  My dress is long, with silver sparkles that remind me of diamonds. I have worked so hard to make sure that my body is back in shape after having a baby, and I have done more than that. I like it better than I ever did before. My body is on point, my heels are high, and I don’t even look like myself anymore.

  In order for Galina and I to get into this event, we had to disguise ourselves in some way. If someone paid really close attention, I guess they could still figure out who we really are. But, let’s be honest, who would believe the Badescu sisters would show up blatantly at one of the planned Clan events?

  Fucking nobody.

  And the French Mafia clan that we hooked up with, they provided us with more than just one bomb and bomb expert. This is pretty much foolproof. In the end, they’re going to help us take over the world after this.

  First, it’s the United States and Romania, next is the entirety of Europe. It’s going to be ours. The three of us will have all the men, money, fame, and power that we want.

  I comb through my straight, dark red hair. Dyed that way so I looked different. And I have extensions that make it go all the way past my ass. I look glamorous.

  Galina went for the opposite. Something even more drastic. She chopped most of her hair off. She has a short pixie cut, bleach blonde. Which is crazy to see it that way.

  Her dress is just skimpy. Tight to the body and wrapped around her. It shows just how model skinny she is. Until recently I have always been a little bit jealous of her. But tonight, I feel fucking on point. I’m just as good she is.

  I glance at the expensive bottle of champagne that we have sitting on the bar. It’s waiting for us to celebrate after we blow the heads off of all the Clan members. See, we are in the hotel just right down the road. We’ll be able to see the explosion from here. We’ll be able to hear it. Just out of reach of the range of the bombs. So, we will know when it’s time to clean the glasses together and say hello to our future together. And make sure Elena is here to do that with us too.

  I can’t believe I found a soul sister for once. Galina is my biological sister, and she will always hold a place in my heart as that, but Galina and I have never quite seen eye-to-eye on everything. She doesn’t have the heart that I do, but Elena, she’s a hard-core bitch, but she has a heart too. And I’m so glad we get to be a threesome.

  We’re going to be fucking unstoppable.

  We get in a cab, and it takes us from the hotel straight to the event. We can hear the music blasting from outside, and I wonder how many city ordinances are being broken here they’re going to have to pay for tomorrow morning. Only, there will be no one to pay.

  The Clans only do things big. But I think my sister and I can do things bigger.

  I have a surprise for Galina when this is all said and done. I was able to find an old picture of our father, when he was younger and still the head of the Badescu Clan. He looks so fucking regal in it. I’m going to pull it out for a glass of champagne, and he is going to see his daughters succeed tonight.

  Finally.

  I immediately spot Elena in the crowd, and I don’t go up to her just yet. I hang back a little and see how she looks almost sad. She is eyeing Luca Ungur from across the room.

  These Clan marriages, from what I can tell, they don’t work out very well. Some of them are able to come to a good agreement so that both parties can be content behind closed doors. Some can handle living that kind of double life. But I doubt Elena is that kind of woman. She can’t handle being trapped, and that’s why we get along so well. In a few ways, I’m so glad things didn’t work with Philippe. I would’ve been just as trapped.

  But this seems like Elena’s heart might have got in some big fucking trouble here. Maybe she’s accidentally got her heart tangled up in this with Luca, or at least has a crush on the guy. And he’s not a good guy to feel that for. None of the Clan men are.

  I finally approach her, kissing her on each cheek and giving a hug.

  “I see you and Luca aren’t together. Trouble in paradise?”

  She scoffs, taking a sip from her glass
of champagne. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Not that it was ever fucking paradise. He just, couldn’t handle my independence. I guess he thought even though we were in this for some mutual agreement to take down the Clans that he would get me to be the first perfect fucking Romanian wife. Barefoot, pregnant, doing everything he says when he wants.”

  Elena rolls her eyes and takes a big swig of the champagne. She needs something stronger than that, but I doubt there’s anything like that hanging around here.

  Wouldn’t want anyone to lose her head.

  Haha. If only they knew.

  “That’s why men should be taken by the balls to make them do your bidding. It’s all right. When this is all over we’ll get you an annulment. You’ll never have to fuck with him again.”

  “Good,” Elena says, looking at me as she downs her champagne. “To be honest, I think he’s afraid of me. He’s afraid of what I could do if I was given free rein. And he probably should be. I mean, I did kill his brother right in front of him.” We both start laughing. What I wouldn’t give to have been there. That had to be fucking sick, in the best way.

  We clink glasses together, even though hers is empty. Then, I lean in close to whisper in her ear so she knows exactly what’s going to go down here tonight.

  “So, when the time comes, when you see us headed out, you need to get out too. Go your separate way, but you’ll see an address and room number for the hotel on your phone. Meet us there. Immediately. Don’t want you to get caught up in the aftermath here.”

  Elena nods, looking around at the people of the party as if she is just surveying the crowd like everyone else. “We’ve got champagne and everything we need to celebrate. This is full-on independence.” I pass her the hotel key, and she nonchalantly tucks it into her bra.

  “Where’s your sister?” she asks, smiling at one of the Clan members who passes by us. They don’t even look my way. Which both pisses me off and makes me feel better. Makes me feel like our disguises are working and that this plan is foolproof like we thought.

  “She is just making sure you know what is in place. Don’t worry. This is going off without a hitch.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Elena

  At 10:35, I catch out of the corner of my eye the two sisters sneaking out. They are going to the hotel room where they are going to watch the bomb go off and celebrate the end of the Clans. And the beginning of their reign.

  At least, they think that’s going to happen. And they expect me to be there with them. But in about seven minutes, when the bomb is set to go off, and they see nothing, they would be sorely mistaken. I would expect within 10 minutes after that for them to be right back in here trying to figure out what went wrong. And then, that’s when Stefan will strike.

  I’m waiting with bated breath, trying to keep my cool as I probably drink a little bit too fucking much. There is a chance, though slim, that Stefan’s seedy men won’t be able to disarm a bomb. Or bombs, as I hear there actually are.

  Stefan sent a few messages to me and let me know. They didn’t miss a beat, and they weren’t taking any fucking chances, and it was a good thing Stefan was paranoid enough to have his men be thorough.

  I hate to admit it, but I’m going to owe him after this.

  What’s really on my mind, is Luca. I can’t believe he even fucking showed up. I mean, I know that the Clan leaders are supposed to all be here in London. But I figured with the way he’s been acting that he wouldn’t be able to make it.

  The interesting part, I can tell he’s stone cold sober. He has the same look about him he did the night that we first met at the other party. The night that I was being forced into marriage with his brother and killed him instead.

  He glances at me a few times from across the room with that look of a wolf on the hunt. However, there’s something else there now too. A defeat. A tiredness. A weakness that wasn’t there before. And I don’t know if that is something that I can contribute to me, or maybe just the fact that he’s not hiding his crazy anymore. Or maybe it’s simply withdrawal. Who knows?

  I really shouldn’t fucking care. He kicked me out. He had his friends rape me. He abused me in every way. But there’s something about our souls that just cannot let go of each other. It makes me feel like if I was able to love someone and they were able to love me for exactly me, they would have to be like this. I always knew that they would have to be like this. Which is exactly why I knew that even if Isaac wasn’t gay it would never work.

  Our hearts and souls didn’t align. But Luca’s, when he’s at his best, maybe ours could.

  Maybe it makes me weaker than I ever thought I was to think that, but it’s just how my heart feels right now. My heart that also feels like it needs stitches.

  The clock ticks on, and then the time comes. The bomb doesn’t go off. No bombs go off. And nobody seems to be the wiser.

  How nice it is to be ignorant. For all these people here that have their wives on their arms and don’t know that something bad was about to happen to them. They could very well have been wiped out entirely from the face of the Earth.

  How nice it is not to know what goes on behind closed doors. To claim the benefit of the doubt.

  I think there’s some famous book about that. The Great Gatsby, isn’t it? How Daisy says that she wants most if she ever has a child for her to be stupid. Because stupid people don’t know what’s out there.

  And I can kind of understand that. Ignorance may make you look bad, but it doesn’t break you. It doesn’t laugh in your face when your world comes crashing down.

  I watch the doors to see if they’re going to come in. And sure enough, Galina, every bit the bitter and blunt bitch she is, comes right through the front door. She looks good and pissed, and she glares at me. Shit, this isn’t good.

  But before I have to answer for myself, Stefan appears, flanked by two men each one carrying the bombs in their hand. Two small and one large.

  “Are these what you’re looking for?”

  He says it so loud that the music stops and everybody stares. Everyone is now going to know who this woman is and that she tried to have us all killed. But where is Ivana?

  Instead of looking at Galina for her reaction, I let Stefan worry about that, and I start looking around to see if I could spot Ivana. The smarter, sneakier one, she probably came in the side door or backdoor and is hiding among the crowd or in the shadows. I don’t want her to get away because she could easily have someone come after me for this.

  “Everyone, meet Galina Badescu.” Once Stefan says it, a bunch of gasps go around. She is instantly grabbed and tied up by several more men in the crowd. I don’t know if they work for Stefan, or for Ion, or for someone else entirely. But Galina will be taken care of.

  “She’s the one that’s been after us for a while. She’s the one who blew up the Sala wedding. Her and her sister. They’ve been trying to get revenge for us banishing their father years and years ago.”

  “You’re fucking pigs. Every single one of you. My sister will get away and make you pay for this.”

  “Yes, where is your sister?”

  And that’s when I spot her. I yelled going around, only for her to be grabbed by none other than my husband. Luca wraps his arms tight around her so she can’t move. It was obvious that Galina has all the physical strength of the two of them.

  For one fleeting moment, I have a little bit of guilt. I do know Ivana has a child, but the child is safe with her mother. Besides, how safe will the child be growing up with a woman like that? Especially with Galina around.

  It was never going to be good for that child. And maybe now the child can have a future. Maybe I’ll find a way one day to make sure that the child is safe. Has a good life.

  Right now, all I can do is stare into Luca’s eyes as he says, “I’ll take care of this one. She’s mine.”

  Screams replace the drama of it all as every fucking light goes out in the place. I know it can’t be good, and I can hear the scuffle, the g
uns blazing. How many Clan members will be shot in the dark by accident because of this…because of what I know is a backup plan, one Galina must have had all along.

  Fucking paranoid bitch.

  The generator kicks in, and I see everyone is shaken up, running out the doors or ducking for cover. Luca still has a strong hold on Ivana, but Galina is gone, the men that had her in a pool of blood on the floor.

  The minute I spot Luca leaving, I choose to follow Luca, finding out what the fuck he’s up to with Ivana. Also, if I’m being honest, part of me hopes that I can go home with him.

  I don’t exactly want to live with Stefan for the rest of my life, and I don’t know what else to do or where else to go. This is kind of where the alliance ends. Hell, Stefan might put me up for a while, but at some point, I need to work things out with Luca or get a divorce. And then I need to find out what my next move is. I need to know where my life is going to go.

  And I have a feeling my best bet is still with Luca, though I will go to Mariana and Ion eventually if I have to.

  I follow them out to the SUV they have waiting, and I see that Migual has come to this party with him… interesting.

  Maybe Migual’s like his sober coach or something. From a few feet behind, I hear Luca give Migual orders. “As soon as we get back, she needs to be put in the oubliette.”

  I feel like a hole has been punched in my chest. I don’t know why considering that cage is so fucking sick and inhumane; I should never want to be in it again.

  For the most part, I really don’t. Though, I can see kind of a kink to it. But as far as living in it, though, never fucking again. But as I meet Migual’s eyes, I know that I have shed a tear in front of him. He gives me a sad look before he gets into the car, and Luca doesn’t even seem to notice me.

  This hurts the worst of all. To know that I’m being replaced. That someone can just take my place with my husband and in my life. Like I’m just a pod person.