“B-but you told me I had to stay with you so you could keep me safe.”
Regret flashes in his eyes. “There was a chance he hired more men to go after you. But I was also afraid of losing you again.”
“You hated me then.” I shake my head.
“I could never hate you, Alex. Even when I thought I had to.”
A sob slips out, his words burying themselves deep into my chest.
“I’m sorry to have upset you.” His finger brushes over my cheek. “But this is my apology to you.” He drops his hand from my face, and I mourn the loss of his touch. Grabbing an item from a shelf on one wall, he approaches Robbie, still thrashing in the chair. “I’m not a violent man, sweetheart. I know it may sound weird, with my line of work, yet violence isn’t something I enjoy. Still, I’m going to enjoy this very much.” He lifts a gun in the line of Robbie’s head.
“Wait!” I yell, and his head snaps back toward me.
There’s an apologetic look in his eyes. “You can leave if you want to, but I can’t let him live. Not after what he did to you.”
“I don’t want him to live.” The words escape me on their own. “I told you once that if you catch him, I want a go at him. I meant that.”
“You deserve it, baby. You deserve to see the life drain from his eyes.”
He lowers the gun, reaching it out to me. I wrap my shaky fingers around it, my heartbeat thudding in my ears. Leon shows me what to do, but I barely listen. My stomach is in knots from seeing Robbie again, but knowing Leon is beside me — protecting me — makes me feel invincible. I dreamed of this moment before. I was imagining taking a baseball bat to his face,his balls. I was imagining him begging me for mercy, just like he forced me to do.
But as I look at him in front of me, a shell of the man he pretended to be, I don’t have a need for all that. He’s sitting in his own filth, waiting for a stupid girl to end his life. The girl he thought so little of. He’s pathetic. I know it, Leon knows it, and a small part of him sure knows it, too. Still, there’s something I want to say to him.
“I’m going to play professional poker and you won’t be able to do anything to stop me.” A wide smile overtakes my face.
I raise the hand holding the gun, my chest filling with air. I let the calm wash over me, quieting my thoughts.
At the last second, I turn my head to Leon. “Apology accepted,” I tell him, the gun firing.
The sound buzzes in my ears, and I know it should be uncomfortable. Probably even painful. But as wetness drips from my eyes, relief is the only thing I feel. After all the years of running away, I’m free. There’s no more looking over my shoulder, no more fake names, or keeping to myself. I can finally be whoever I want to be.
Leon takes the gun from my hand and wraps his arms around me. “You’re incredible, Alex. I love you so fucking much.”
I let out another sob. “I love you too, Leon.” The soothing circles his hand draws on my back settle my heart and the noise in my head.
“Let’s go home, baby.”
I dip my head and let him lead me out of the room, sending a parting glance to my past. My chest flutters, knowing my future is going to be so much better.
Epilogue
ALEX
Two months later
“Good evening, Alex,” Dominik says, welcoming me to the casino.
“Hi, Dom. What are you doing here?”
“Boss needed me here tonight.” He shrugs, slipping his hands into his pockets. Against all odds, Dom and I have become great friends. He apologized for doubting me in the beginning, and I forgave him because, well, he had reason to doubt me.
“You guys should unionize,” I comment, eliciting a deep laugh.
“You might have a point there.”
“I know I do.” I shoot him a wink, heading inside.
“Hope you enjoy your night.”
