by Zavi James
She laughed and gave me a look as if I was the answer to all her prayers. Moments like these made me grapple with my conscience. I should have let her run. I should have left her out there with Carmen’s protection to raise our son in relative safety. I could let her go now, tell her she was free from me and all of this, but I was too selfish to allow that. Mia could hate me as long as she remained mine.
“I do.” Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of my neck. “You’re lost without me. Just like I’m lost without you.” She nailed it. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Lucas Foster.”
One night. I could give her one last night of being blissfully unaware of how skewed our plans had potentially become, before we got down to figuring out a way to pull everything back into focus. For now, I’d make sure my tipsy better half stuck with me in case her loose lips got us into any more trouble.
Chapter Forty Six
Lucas
Mia was like a woman possessed. It made me twitch to watch how calmly and methodically she moved after I’d broken the news to her. The morning after had seen her recover from her hangover in breakneck speed, once she knew that Xavier and Emilia probably knew of our plans. I had barely gotten two words out of her that day. Instead, Mia had spent the day with Link while I tried to get something, anything, from her.
It wasn’t until late in the evening when the house was still that Mia finally spoke with a sense of cold finality. She wouldn’t be a sitting duck. She wouldn’t wait and worry about things that had been taken out of our hands when there were things we could control.
When Mia had first told me about her plan, I was a less than willing participant. It was convoluted. There were quicker ways of dealing with a problem, but Mia wanted me to trust her and so I did. Women worked in mysterious ways. Emilia and Mom had been a perfect example of that. Their vengeance wasn’t direct; it wasn’t always physical—it was a more complicated web of emotions—and I was glad not to be a part of that world.
The phone Carmen had given her had lain defunct once Mia had her old one back in her hands. It soon found its role as a burner phone that supposedly belonged to me. Mia wrote every message with cold calculation. She waited and responded as if she were me. I was more likely to blow our cover than Mia when my blood boiled at some of the things Amber said about her. Mia, however, didn’t care as she responded in kind, agreeing to things that ripped apart her character. I often wondered where it would end, and Mia divulged the end of the plan in the darkness of the bedroom that night.
Link had been dropped off with Dante, who was only too happy to keep his Godson. It was a running joke that Link practically had three parents with how much Dante got himself involved. When we arrived home again, Mia disappeared down to the basement, leaving me alone in the vast expanse of the ground floor of our home.
A knock on the door less than fifteen minutes later had me schooling my expression into something calmer as I opened it to Amber. “Hey, doll,” she said brightly. “Inviting me in?”
“Of course.” I moved out of the way so that she could come into the house.
She stomped the snow off her boots and let out a low whistle as she took in the space around her. “You didn’t waste a dime on this place.”
There was no expense spared as far as Mia and our children were concerned, not that Amber could know that. Instead, I shrugged my shoulders. “Like I told you, I want the kid.” I led her through into the living room. “She wasn’t happy at the old place, so I moved to get her to shut up.”
Amber dragged her fingers over the furniture as she wandered around the room. I didn’t want her touching our things, but I couldn’t stop her. I hated referring to my boy as ‘the kid’ but I’d have to for now. Amber was a walking reminder of a life without Mia. Of too many late nights where I was searching for something in all the wrong places. Praying that a quick fix would suddenly take on a new light and become a permanent high. She was a reminder of a man that I refused to be.
“You don’t think she knows what you’re trying to do?”
“Not a clue.”
Amber turned toward me and I could hear the blood thundering in my ears. What had I seen in her? How had I returned time and again to this vapid woman? As she moved toward me, I felt the bile rise in my throat.
“I never thought about being a mom, but I could make it work.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and, against all my instincts, mine went to her waist. “Where is she today? I’m surprised you managed to get away. She’s stuck to you these days. Probably too scared to make a move without you after everything.”
“She took Link to see Dante.”
Amber pursed her lips. “I always thought it was weird how close she was to him. It was strange how close she was to Gabriel when she came back. She’s lucky she has the kid, or I’d have wonder why you put up with it.”
I tensed slightly at her words. Dante had no interest in Mia in that sense. Gabe had no interest in her, other than making her a pawn in his game, but I hated when people mentioned them as if they were something more. She was mine. I’d killed one brother and I’d rather not have to think about killing another.
“Idle gossip, Amber. You know better than to listen to that.”
“No smoke without fire,” she returned. “If I was you, Luc, I’d just get rid of her. Why keep her around once you’ve gotten everything you want?” Amber asked, as if it were the simplest solution in the world. My hand traveled up her back before I grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head back. “Luc! What are you doing?!”
Amber’s hands went to mine and tried to pull me off, but I wasn’t letting go. I grabbed one of her arms in my free hand and twisted it around her back, moving her until she turned and faced away from me. I wasn’t in the habit of hurting women, that wasn’t what Dad had taught me, but I’d make an exception for Amber and the fact that she’d run her mouth against my family.
“Get off!” she yelled, struggling against the hold.
“I don’t think so.”
“Luc!”
Pushing her forward, I directed us through the house and down to the basement. Mia’s request. She didn’t want to ruin the work we’d put in upstairs. Considering Dom and the others trained and fought down here, she was less concerned about spilling blood.
As we hit the bottom of the stairs, Mia stood in the room and Amber hissed when she saw her, “What the fuck is going on?”
Chapter Forty Seven
Mia
Each second alone in the basement was agonizingly long. It took all my self-restraint not to walk back upstairs and see what was going on. Just as my willpower began to wane, the door slammed open and a few moments later Amber was forced down the stairs and into the basement with Luc behind her.
“What the fuck is going on?” Amber asked through gritted teeth when she saw me.
My head was dizzy from the way the anger hit me on seeing this woman again. It had simmered in my veins from every disguised interaction we’d had, but now it burned white hot in my chest until my vision grew spotty. This woman had murdered my father and threatened my son. I could allow for most things to slide, but my family were my world.
“Still haven’t cottoned on?” I asked. Amber narrowed her eyes before attempting to turn her head to look at Luc. His grip on her hair ensured that her focus remained on me. “You were stitched up, doll. Did you think I wasn’t going to tell Luc what happened?”
“You didn’t last time,” she spat. “Decided to run. That’s how deep your loyalty with him lay.”
The sound of the back of my hand hitting her face reverberated around the basement. It eased some of the anger that burned through me. My engagement ring had caught her skin and she sported a cut at the corner of her mouth. Her tongue came out to swipe away the thin trickle of blood.
“You have no idea what I was going through,” I told her.
“And I couldn’t care less.” She hissed as Luc tugged at her hair and then let her go. He
r hands went to her scalp and Luc moved to the doorway, body filling the gap so the exit was blocked. Amber’s eyes flicked around the room. I would put money on the fact that she’d arrived unarmed, set on fucking Luc rather than defending herself. “You wrapped everyone around your finger, Mia, with that butter wouldn’t melt routine. You needed to be taken down a peg or two. For someone with such a clean record, you have a talent for finding trouble. You wanted to take on Xavier Moretti, you stupid bitch.” The last sentence came out with laughter.
Over her shoulder, I noticed Luc’s eye twitch and Amber turned to look at him. “I know all about your Daddy issues, Luc. Not really the golden child everyone believes you to be.” Luc’s eyes stayed trained on Amber, but his face was impassive. If Amber knew the truth, she hadn’t told anyone and he wasn’t about to give anything away.
“Xavier told you about my Dad,” I said slowly. My mind had been obsessed with our short-lived conversation at Link’s sip and see. She hadn’t admitted to it, but she mentioned the look on Dad’s face. She’d been there, but I couldn’t understand why. It made more sense that Amber had been following an order.
She turned back to me. “You think I would have wasted my time otherwise?”
Xavier. I always thought it was him, but it made sense that he refused to get his hands dirty. He’d found a willing participant and someone who the blame could be pinned on without it being traced back to him. There was enough bad blood between me and Amber that it was a possibility that she would hit out.
“Your Daddy was only too happy to talk to me about his precious daughter,” Amber continued. “You damn near broke his heart when you chose Lucas. He would have still been alive if it wasn’t for you.”
I launched myself at her. For months, I had tied myself in knots, blaming myself for my Dad’s death. I hadn’t been there when he died. We weren’t on speaking terms. I didn’t attend his funeral. There were so many things every day and they had intensified since having Link, who would never have the chance to meet and learn things from Dad and feel the love that I’d felt.
Amber put up a fight but lacked strategy. Dom had taught me to think fast, to look for openings and to keep up my guard. Luc stood back, per my request. I’d told him that I wanted to deal with Amber, and after many arguments he’d agreed. She grabbed one of my arms, nails digging in again and I drove an elbow into her side, causing her to double over. I grabbed her ponytail, kicking her behind the knee and driving her to the floor. My free hand reached into my back pocket and pulled out the blade that Dante had gifted me. I rested it against her throat and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I’d think carefully about how you talk to me now.”
Amber swiped behind her to get at me, but I pushed her to the floor so that she lay in front of me. One of my knees was pressed into her spine and my other foot rested on her forearm. If I added pressure, I could possibly break it. Winding her hair around my palm, I pulled hard so that her head lifted up, pressing the blade a little harder so that her breathe came in ragged gasps.
“Where is he, Amber?”
“Who?” she asked.
“Xavier. Where is he?”
“I have no idea.”
I placed pressure on her arm with my foot. “Seriously, Amber.”
“Fuck!” she yelled. “I don’t know!”
I didn’t believe her. The logical and reasonable part of my brain had shut down and I was unsatisfied with her answer. Drawing my foot back, I stamped down as hard as I could and I heard it, the crack that occurred and the strangled scream that left Amber. Her arm moved in an unnatural way under my foot and I swallowed back the bile.
“FUCK! I don’t fucking know! He gave me money to do it. He told me he’d get me back with Luc! No one knew you’d make a run for it!” She heaved in between the sentences, struggling with the pain.
How stupid had I been? I’d played straight into Xavier’s hands. If I had stayed, things might have worked out differently.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you, Amber.” It wasn’t just anger. It was a blinding rage that couldn’t be contained. So many people had been instrumental in attempting to derail my life, and I wanted to regain some control. “Tell me why I shouldn’t end your pathetic excuse of a life.”
“You don’t have it in you.”
I slammed her head against the concrete floor of the basement. “You have no idea what I would do.” I never thought I’d have it in me to physically hurt someone, but I was surrounded by it. I’d learned that sometimes the reasoning wasn’t malicious so much as an act of loyalty and love. It was a reminder of where respect should be directed, and I was tired of the disrespect that kept coming my way. Tired of people who believed they could scare me away from my life. “You threatened my son,” I reminded her. “So, you better tell me why I should let you walk out of here alive.”
“You don’t have it in you, Mia. We all know that. You’re a precious little petal who—”
The knife sank into Amber’s back, just off her shoulder blade, eliciting another scream. I wanted her to feel pain. I wanted her to feel scared, the same way my Dad must have when she pulled that gun on him. With some struggle, I pulled the knife free and she hissed and groaned. She writhed beneath me and I pressed down hard on her spine. The blade was covered in a thick, dark liquid and it dripped on the floor and started to bloom across Amber’s shirt. The coppery scent of blood filled my nostrils and I was surprised at how familiar it was.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Her voice was thick with pain and tears. “I swear to God I’ll stay away. Let me go!” The bravery she possessed had vanished in an instant.
I listened carefully to what she said, a small part of me enjoying listening to her pleas. There was a strange sense of joy at hearing the panic in her voice. That addictive high of having all the power in the situation dulled any other emotion. Would the heady rush I felt ever ease, or would the thrill be just as brilliant as the first time?
“Please. Please! I’ll move. I’ll help you find Xavier.” Amber appeared to have realized that just because I wasn’t born into this didn’t mean I wasn’t a part of it now. Everyone expected Luc to take the lead. He was the irrational one who left his conscience at the door and never returned to collect it. No one expected that I could run alongside him.
“I thought you said you didn’t know where he was.”
“I don’t, but I can help, I swear. And then you won’t hear from me again.”
“Make that a promise, Amber.”
“I promise. I swear.”
I looked up at Luc, who was leaning against the wall by the door, arms folded across his chest. He gave me a curious look before I pushed myself off Amber and stood up. “Mia?!” Luc pushed off the wall, eyes wide. “No! You can’t be serious.” This was not what we’d discussed. Our deal had been that if Amber admitted to it then she wouldn’t leave the house alive.
She struggled but got to her feet, no longer in the pristine state she had arrived in. “I swear to you,” she repeated, words unsteady from the pain.
“Move, Luc,” I told him.
“No.” This was a battle of wills. Luc wanted to clean away every obstacle as quickly as possible. What I was doing didn’t fall in line with his ethos, but he’d need to learn that we both had a different view of how things should be done.
“You told me you’d let me handle this, now move!”
Luc was seething, but he moved out of the way and Amber made a beeline for the door.
So many people had commented on my soft nature, had underestimated me because I didn’t wear my anger like a badge of honor. As I walked up to Luc, my mind filed with thoughts of my Dad and my son. I couldn’t do anything to save the man who’d raised me, but I would do anything to protect the one I would raise.
Luc looked furious with me, but the expression changed to curiosity again as I reached for his gun, pulling it out and stepping toward the door.
“Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run.” I muttered the words o
f the nursery rhyme Dad had taught me. I remembered summers on the beach, where he’d chased me around singing the song, him as the farmer and me as the rabbit. I ached with grief again.
Amber was ambling down the hallway away from me, her path not quite linear, cradling her broken arm.
“Don’t give the farmer his fun, fun, fun.” Maybe I was the product of my upbringing. I had been raised with the belief that I was the rabbit, that I was the prey. But what if that wasn’t the truth? “He’ll get by without his rabbit pie.”
Luc was stood behind, watching me. I wanted to see what Amber would do if I let her go. She left. She thought that I would allow her to apologize, make empty promises and leave. That I would let her walk away when she brought Link into this. For that to happen, hell would have to freeze over. She didn’t even look back. When it came down to it, Amber only wanted to save herself. She had the luxury of worrying about her own survival while I had the honor of protecting an entire family. All except for one. All I could do for him now was to avenge his death.
Perhaps this wasn’t the most honorable way to do it. I made a pact with myself there and then, that if the need ever rose again I would do it differently. I would at least let them know I was coming for them. I would never take another shot when someone’s back was turned, but Amber didn’t deserve that small mercy, because she hadn’t shown Dad any. Lifting my hand, I aimed at Amber down the hallway as she started to climb the stairs.
“Run.”
Bang.
“Run.”
Bang.
“Run.”
Bang.
Chapter Forty Eight
Lucas
When I realised what Mia had planned, I was prepared to pick up the pieces. I’d seen her reaction to death, watched as the love of my life sank in on herself at the realities of the family business. She had done what she needed to do, and I would carry her the rest of the way. But my guiding hand appeared to be unnecessary.
