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Chapter Seventeen
Finn
Olivia decided she wanted to go with a small wedding, just family and friends. When she said small, I figured she maybe meant fifty people, but no, I was sorely mistaken. She wants to have two hundred and fifty people in attendance, and she calls this shit small? Fuck, even now, while I’m out on business down in the French Quarter, I’m shaking my head. I’ll let her do whatever she wants because this is her big day, but damn.
I called her at the hotel thirty minutes ago to let her know I’ll be on my way back soon, but she didn’t answer. Now I’m meeting Félix down the street at one of the local bars. He and Olivia haven’t exactly spoken to each other yet since the night everything blew up. So, Félix texted me earlier and asked me to meet him whenever I had time. I finished a meeting early, so here we are.
I don’t know how this will go, but he needs to apologize. Our wedding is coming up, and I know for a fact Olivia wants him to be the one to give her away. Hell, he practically raised her. Olivia hasn’t reached out, though she shouldn’t have had to.
I walk into the bar and find him already seated at a two-seater small round high-top table. Weaving my way through the crowd I take the seat in front of him.
Félix slides one of the two beers across the table to me.
“Is this supposed to be an apology?” I ask, quirking a brow at him.
“Take it as whatever you want,” he mutters. “I hear you’re getting married this weekend.”
“Yeah.”
“So, she’s still pissed at me,” he grumbles.
“Man, think about it, you talked about her darkest secret without taking a fucking second to think about how she’d feel about it.” My words are hitting home within seconds of me speaking.
“Yeah, I fucked up. I only spoke about it because she’s my baby sister. She’s always been the most vulnerable, yet most lively. Sabine can be a hard ass and doesn’t take shit from anyone. Hell, she keeps the most secrets from us all. Desirée, she’s determined to be this woman I don’t even know anymore. Since she went to Stonewall, she’s not the person she was, and she’s become distant as fuck.”
“I get it. I do, but you hurt her, Félix. She’s not a little girl anymore and she’s not the fragile woman you think she is. She’s a hell of a lot stronger than you think. Those motherfuckers might have done some horrible shit to her . . . but it wasn’t just degrading. It was demoralizing, and she’s overcome what they did to her.”
Nodding, Félix lifts his beer to take a long pull from the bottle. When he pulls the bottle away, he meets my gaze. “I’ll talk to her.”
“About damn time,” I mutter, taking a sip from my own. I know one thing about siblings, even if I’ll kill mine the first chance I get. You don’t come between them. They have to work their own shit out.
Félix opens his mouth to say something when Bourn comes rushing in.
“What is it?” I demand, my gut tightening from the way he’s heading this way.
“Casen, we found him knocked out, and Olivia’s not in your suite. Conor, Marc, Iasan, and Chance, Dean’s men, are looking for her,” Bourn tells me with a concerned look on his face. He’s trying to act impartial, but not even he can keep his cool right now. Dean O’Connell is the head of the Alliance from the east coast while I’m the head of the southwest.
Fuck!
I knew Marc was coming to the wedding this weekend with Dean, Dean’s family and from what I’ve heard from my cousin Ezekiel, Marc’s bringing a very important person with him. The fact he’s here a few days earlier than planned can only mean one thing. “Ashton’s here.”
Motherfucker.
Ashton’s been missing since Félix’s wedding. Of course, he’d show up right before mine and Olivia’s. I rush for the door, not caring if I knock anyone down in my path.
Bourn and Félix are right behind me as we all run for the hotel. I’m lucky it’s only a couple blocks away. If Ashton’s here, then he’s not going to take Olivia somewhere else. He’ll do what he wants right at the hotel. I know my brother, and I know how his sick mind works.
Iasan meets us at the entrance, and as he runs through the doors, Marc’s just coming out of the security office.
“Pool now,” he orders, taking off in a determined run.
I rush after him, praying to whoever the hell will listen to me, to keep Olivia safe. I tell them she’s been through enough and doesn’t deserve to go through more.
Fuck, but there’s more than that. I pray because Ineedher. I need her in my fucking life, and without her, I’m nothing.
I make it to the doors that lead to the pool and I see red at the sight of Mason. He’s standing there acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world until he sees us coming. He draws a weapon and points it in my direction. “Don’t even come close to this door.”
Who the motherfucking hell does he think he is? We’re not playing this game.
I draw my own gun from under my shirt and point it at his leg. I’m not ready to kill his ass just yet. Pulling the trigger, I maim him in the leg, causing him to scream out in pain like the pathetic pussy he is.
I run past him and nearly fall to my feet as I see my brother in the water, drowning Olivia.
Once again, I lift my gun and do the only thing I can at this point. I pull the trigger, hitting him in the only open area I can from my position. I pray she doesn’t get hit, too, but fuck, anything can happen at this point.
The bullet slices through Ashton square between his eyes. It happens in slow motion and it’s like I watch the bullet pierce through his skin as he lifts his head to grin maliciously at me. He falls into the pool, taking Olivia into the depths of the water.
Dropping my gun, I jump into the shallow water and dive underneath the surface to grab her and get her out. I wrap an arm around her and pull her to the surface. Getting to the edge of the pool, Félix and Bourn help me get Olivia out of the water. Félix rolls her to her back and starts CPR as I pull myself out of the pool. He’s yelling at her that she can’t leave him, to come back. I move in to assist him, and together we perform CPR. I’m terrified I’m going to break her ribs by how forcefully I’m applying compressions, but I’m doing as I’ve been taught. I’d rather have her alive with broken ribs than the alternative.
Finally, after what feels like forever, Olivia coughs, spits up water, and starts crying as she tries to form words. I pull her into my arms and hold her against me. “Just keep breathing. It’s all you have to worry about right now. Just keep fucking breathing, sweetheart. It’s all over. You hear me? It’s all over now.”
