A fancy shoe to his groin, multiple times.Femoral sublixation.
I grab a hammer from the wall covered in torture tools and the blood splatters as it connects to his arm.Radius fracture.
I add three punches to his cheek, just because, and as my chest heaves and my knuckles sting, I feel like I can finally breathe again. Dom will need to patch him up. His medical training in the military is enough to keep him alive, which is exactly what I need. I’m not ready for him to die. Not yet.
It’s early morning as I lie fully awake, sleep avoiding me. The fact that I hurt the guy who hurt her doesn’t absolve me from my own guilt. The look of distress on Alex’s face flashes in my mind on repeat. She’s right.
I fucked up.
I know why I did it. I know exactly why the thought of her betrayal made me act like I did. But that doesn’t make it right. She’s been through so much. Trusting me couldn’t have been easy, and then I fucked up.
Both of my hands land over my face, and I groan with frustration. How could I have been so wrong?
Guilt and frustration turn to anger in my stomach, reminding me of Luka. He left the family and the business. He leftme. All because of his infatuation with Sophie. All because of love. A scoff breaks free at the thought. Is she really more important than family? Is he really willing to risk everything we’ve built?
My thoughts drift to Alex again. My rules went out the window from the first day I met her. I’ve let her intomy house. I’ve let her carry a gun inside of my casino and home. I’ve let her distract me from work. Even when I thought she betrayed me, none of my typical rules applied. Instead of killing her, I’ve let her go. Instead of hurting her, I tried to keep her safe. No matter how angry I was, the thought of her getting hurt was unbearable. While we were apart, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I’ve threatened the mayor, and I’m keeping a police chief hostage because they harmed her, for fuck’s sake. She has dug herself so deep under my skin that it aches to imagine life without her. When did that happen?
It’s easy to blame Luka for acting irrationally while not recognizing my own mistakes, but if I take a long, hard look at myself, I can’t deny that I’m acting just as infatuated.
Giving up on sleep, I decide it’s best to get an early start to my day. I’m needed at the casino today, anyway. It’s not like sleep will come soon. The coffee machine whirls as I make breakfast mindlessly, not eating a bite of it. Still, I place it in the fridge with a little note so that Alex knows it’s for her. If she even wants to eat what I made. My chef usually makes my meals, but I don’t want anyone in my apartment as long as Alex is here. Two sips of scalding hot coffee later, I’m heading out of the apartment. The door is unlocked, but the building is brimming with my personnel, and they all have strict orders not to let her get outside. On my way to the office, I order another bouquet, in a feeble attempt to make things better.
The workday is mundane until Dom walks into my office after dark, informing me his men are ready for the distillery hit. Stuck in thoughts about everything that happened, I almost forgot that we moved it from the night we looked for Alex to tonight. I unclench my jaw because it starts hurting, and almost wish him good luck, before realizing this might be just what I need.
There’s one thing I know for sure, and it’s that I’m done fucking around.
The family business is slipping from my fingers, and so is Alex. I don’t plan to lose either of them. No matter what it takes.
“I’m coming with you,” I blurt out, rising from my chair.
He turns toward me in slow-motion. “You’re…coming with us?”
“Yes. Got a problem with that?”
“No,šefe. It’s just that you don’t typically come along.”
“Well, this is a big hit. I want to see it.” It’s a massive hit. Most men would think that this hit would be the end of the war, but I know better than to underestimate my opponents.
“Okay. But you should change.” He gestures at the freshly pressed three-thousand-dollar suit I’m wearing.
“It’s fine, I’ll just stay in the car.” It’s a lie. But I don’t plan on changing. Besides, I have nothing but shirts and suits in my office closet.
“Let’s go then.”
With adrenaline coursing through my bloodstream, I follow Dom to the car. He spends the half-hour drive talking on the phone, arranging every single detail of the operation. By the number of codewords I don’t understand, it’s obvious I’m not trained for this. Everyone else on the team has a military background, some of them ex-special ops like the man sitting next to me, but I’m still the one paying for it. We exit the city and continue driving along a deserted road. A few miles out, Dom takes a right turn, toward the woods, and parks at the edge of the trees. Further away, I see an expansive single-story building. Its gray walls are dimly lit by LED lights, but no lights are on inside.
“Gentlemen,” I say quietly, exiting the car. I count five men in full tactical gear, greeting me with a simple nod. Their faces are mostly hidden behind the black helmets and night-vision goggles, their chests covered with gear.
The one on the far-left gestures his head to Dom. “He coming?”
Dom opens his mouth to speak, but I place a hand on his shoulder.
“I am.”
Dom’s sigh is audible, but he knows better than to question my judgement.
“He should get geared up, then,” the same man comments, before loading his gun.
Dom opens the trunk of the car, pulling out a vest for me. He shoves it into my chest with more force than necessary, making me smirk. I pull the vest over my head, attaching the straps to my stomach while Dom digs through the trunk. He extracts a pair of infrared goggles, which will be helpful, and hands me a gun.
