AllFreeNovel
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I’m not like them. Even if I fucking feel like the biggest criminal of them all some days.
Nine months of lying to everyone. Hiding this part of my life.
And for what?
To be told that even though I’m already three months over what we agreed that I still can’t walk away? I still can’t be free. I might not live in a cell sixteen hours a day anymore, but freedom still seems like something for other people.
Something still out of my grasp. Like a balloon floating in the air, its string out of reach. Until it’s gone. Behind the clouds. Forever a memory.
“C’mon, Dax. We’re close. So fucking close.” The guy next to me exhales stale cigarette breath and leans his elbow on the doorjamb of the car. “We just need this one shipment to go down, and then we’ve got him. Julian Young will no longer be your concern.”
I melt back into my seat as I stare out the window at the trash-lined alley. This is my life. Middle of the night meetings in dingy alleyways full of other people’s shit. I was stupid to think I could ever leave it all behind.
I squeeze my eyes shut and picture Rose. Her blonde hair, her clear blue eyes. Her trust in me. Misplaced, clearly. She’s so much better than I deserve. She believes in me. But I’m a man hell-bent on revenge. Or at least, I was.
Now I want out.
I want her.
I want to be worthy of her.
But the guy in the crisp gray suit next to me has other ideas.
“It’s just a few days. Then you’ll get what you wanted. Young will be finished, his business wiped out. He’ll be looking at years inside. And you can dance off into the sunset with the American.”
My eyes fly to his face, and if the heat of a glare could kill, then he would be a simmering pile of ash in the footwell.
“It’s my job to know what you’re up to. Don’t take it the wrong way. She looks nice.”
“Get her out of your fucking head.” I spin in my seat, launching out one arm and pinning him by his throat to the opposite window. He doesn’t flinch. He knows I can’t hurt him. Not if I ever want to live a normal life again. He’s higher up the food chain than me. And despite my disgust at the situation I’m in, I don’t blame him. He’s not a bad guy.
But I also dream of the day I’ll never have to see his face again.
He isn’t going on any fucking Christmas card list.
“She’s got nothing to do with this.” I release my grip on his neck, and he takes a couple of subtle deep breaths, straightening his collar with one hand.
“Of course. And I want to keep it that way.” He side-eyes me as I clench my jaw and concentrate on the sound of my heartbeat in my ears, breathing deeply until it quietens. “So just do this last shipment. Finish the job you set out to do. Get the closure. And then move on. You never have to speak to me again.”
“Best fucking news I’ve heard all year,” I mutter.
He snorts and shakes his head. “You’ve come this far. Don’t bail at the final hour. You can have everything you always wanted. Young won’t be your problem anymore. And you can do whatever you want to do.” He glances at me. “Three more days, that’s all.”
My jaw ticks as I stare out of the window.
Three more days.
I can do it. It’ll be fucking worth it.
Julian Young gone. A future with Rose.
“Three days,” I snap as I open the door and climb out. “And not a fucking second longer.”
The guy inside smiles at me before I slam the door shut. I pull my hoodie up over my head and shove my hands into my pockets, walking off into the night’s shadows.
“Rose showed me. It’s beautiful. You did a good job.”
I grunt in reply to Jasmin’s praise. I’ve never been good at accepting it. Especially from her. I still struggle to stop the image of her crying in the courtroom coming to me. Every once in a while I dream about it.
