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His brows brunch as he tries to figure out what the hell I just said, if he just asks me the right question I’ll answer it. I have never wanted to speak more than I do in this moment, I see the war in his eyes. He wants the truth but he also hates himself because even without the truth he still wants me. I reach and cup his cheek, he stiffens but after a second he relaxes into my touch for a brief moment before he leaps away from me like I’ve burnt him.
“Emilio Vargas will be here for a meet in two days, Chance wants you there.” It takes every ounce of power I possess to keep the guilt from showing on my face, I latch onto my anger from earlier. I need to remind myself he’s the enemy, he may not have done it directly but his family ruined me. “Why the fuck would he want you there?” The mocking tone of his voice isn’t lost on me, I keep my face blank as I raise my hands again and sign.
Ask me the right question and I’ll answer you, give me a reason to speak.
He may not be able to understand what I just said but from the way his eyes search mine I know he can feel that what I said was important.
“Emilio’s men are here.” I nod my understanding. “Unless you want to be free game for them to take turns, stay the fuck in your room.” I recoil, he has no idea that his words just hit too close to home. “For your sake, I hope whatever secrets you hide are worth it. If whatever you are hiding impacts my family, I will be the one to deal with you, my face will be the last thing you see.”
I watch him leave and stand here thinking, if his face is the last thing I see in this cruel world I’d be okay with that. He’s made me feel more in these last couple of days than I have in over ten years.
* * *
With Chance being gone for the evening and taking more than half the men with him it leaves me with some freedom to roam the house and go in search of the person I know is his weakness. He thought he was smart hiding her in plain sight, it was a solid plan until shit went down and he kept looking to her for approval. The man clearly has a mommy complex. I enter the kitchen and stop in the entryway watching Margaret move around the space like she has been living here for years, I scuff my foot to announce my presence. Her head snaps my way and for a split second she forgets to mask her feelings and her clear disdain for me shines bright in her eyes.
“Erika, what can I do for you dear?” I fight the eye roll from breaking free at the fake cheeriness in her tone. I lift my hands ready to sign until an arm wraps around my shoulders, I turn to look up at Chaos and narrow my eyes. He beams at Margaret and smiles wide.
“Carry on Maggie, I’ll take care of this one.” He doesn’t wait for a reply as he turns and drags me along with him. I expect him to march me back to my room but he doesn’t. He leads me out the back door and motions for me to take a seat on one of the patio chairs, I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head. “Sit the fuck down now!” The grit in his tone is enough to tell me he isn’t fucking around and will force me to do as he says, rather than add to my collection of bruises I do as he says.
He claims the seat opposite me, he says nothing as he looks me over trying to dissect what I’m thinking, unlike Royal, Chaos’s presence doesn’t set me on edge or have my heart racing with what may happen. There is no… electricity between us but with Royal, it feels like I’ve been shocked and woken from a long slumber. The man brings me to life just by being in the same room as me.
“I may not know exactly who the fuck you are but what I do know is, you know a lot more than you have let on.” I remain still and plaster a bored look on my face. “See, if you were innocent and actually who you say you are, you would have ratted on us the second you figured it all out. Thing is, I can’t decide who you want to hurt more, is it Chance or is it Royal?” He keeps his voice so only I can hear, the fact Chaos has been able to piece this together shows me I have let my skills slip. I lift my hands and sign.
If you know this, why am I still breathing?
A cruel smirk crosses his face. “You shouldn’t be, you should have been the first one we took out except Royal wouldn’t allow it.” I frown, his brows raise in surprise. “He didn’t tell you?” I shake my head. “You will die.” He says it in such a matter of fact tone I actually believe him. “Sin has you marked, once she drops her card there is no coming back from that. Not even Royal will be able to save you from her.” He stands and peers down at me. “Remember that when you try to fuck us over, they don’t call us the bringers of death for nothing, Erika. We’ve never missed a mark and there is no fucking way we will allow you to be the first.”
* * *
Waking up the next morning to see rain and lightning feels right, today is going to be a bad day so it’s only fair that the weather reflects that. I waited for hours last night to see if Royal would come to me but he didn’t, I know it was for the best but I would have loved one last night to get lost in him. My phone begins to buzz but I ignore it knowing it’s him telling me he’s here. I force myself to shower and change into some casual clothes, I decide to go with a pair of jeans, sneakers, a plain black V neck shirt and a hoodie.
Steeling my spine I open my door and step into the hallway, I’m surprised to see no guards standing around, Royal is nowhere to be seen either. I make my way downstairs only to find it empty, where the fuck is everyone? I check Chance’s office and find it vacant, and an eerie feeling washes over me. Something feels off. I move to the front of the house and peer out the windows, the same three SUVs from yesterday are still parked there.
I go to the back thinking they may be congregated out there but the moment I step out onto the back patio and hear voices I relax a little, I’m a nervous mess. I leave the back door open as I go and make myself a coffee. I push on my tiptoes to try to reach the coffee cups in the cupboard but I’m too short. Who the hell puts coffee cups that fucking high up, it’s ridiculous. My fingertips just manage to brush the side of the mug, I growl my annoyance ready to give up and go grab a chair but then he presses up behind and reaches over to grab the cup for me. My whole body heats at the contact and my heart begins to pound inside my chest, I don’t need to turn around to know it’s Royal. I just know it’s him from the way my body comes alive and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“We leave in three hours, be ready.” He says as he places the cup on the counter and then walks away leaving me here to try and catch my breath. Three hours, that’s all the time I have before everything changes and I can finally rest, this will all be over.
ROYAL
Dalton, Chaos, Erika, Chance, Elliot, Brock and I all sat in the back of Chance’s limo, he arrived back at the house about an hour ago and had everyone loaded into the cars and ready to leave for the meeting. Sin, Havoc and Samson follow behind us in an unmarked SUV, Chaos and I both wear mics so the three of them can hear and know if it's an ambush or not, we just need Sin to get there and set up so we have a sniper on the roof, that crazy bitch is a deadshot.
No one has uttered a word since we left the house, I know Cable is thankful to have everyone out of the house he calls home. The guy did good, he managed to be our ears when we couldn’t get close enough, he’s shown he’s loyal. The tension in the car is thick, Chance keeps tapping away on his phone, Erika sits beside him and stares out the window but I can tell from the look on her face she sees nothing, she’s too lost in her own head.
Time seems to stand still as my mind begins to blank of every feeling, this is the euphoric feeling I crave. Unlike the others I don’t allow my emotions to cloud my judgment or hinder my decision making, I just act on instinct. In less than an hour I’ll be putting a bullet in Chance and Emilio’s heads. I’ll take back New York and Miami and may even move into Columbia if I feel inclined to do so. My dad will have no choice but to see that I am ready and capable of doing this without him, the fact he hasn’t called me yet does make me feel slightly uneasy but I can’t worry about that now, I’ll deal with him later.
“I feel like I need to confess.” Chance states drawing all our attention to him, he looks at Erika and smiles but it's a vindictive one. “I think it’s time the truth comes out.” Erika stiffens as she stares at Chance with wide eyes. “I feel like I have been underestimated and even though I am used to being the underdog, I don’t relish being laughed at and thought to be a fool.” I cut a subtle glance to Chaos, he sits opposite me tense and poised to attack if he should need to. Chance shifts his gaze from Erika to stare at Chaos, “You nearly had me, nearly being the operative word.”
“I don’t follow.” Chaos says.
Chance tsks him and pulls a dagger from his breast pocket, Chaos and I both move to grab our guns but I still when I feel the barrel of a gun pressed into the back of my head. Erika gasps and shifts as if she is about to try to do something but Chance darts his arm out and presses the dagger against her throat. Her eyes widen in fright as she looks at me, I grind my teeth to keep myself in check. I spy Chaos out the corner of my eye with Dalton’s gun aimed at his head, Chance laughs and it sounds manic. He uses his free hand to reach out and brush the loose strands of Erika’s hair behind her ear, my teeth fucking ache from how hard I’m clenching my jaw.
“She’s beautiful isn’t she, Royal?” He says as he looks directly at me, when I say nothing a broad grin splits across his face. “Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?” I remain silent, I have nothing to say to this piece of shit.
“You must have hit your head–.” Chaos snaps his mouth closed when Chance presses the dagger into Erika’s skin hard enough to draw blood, she keeps her gaze on me the whole time.
“Does she fuck as good as she looks?” He asks me, my nostrils flare when he leans into her and licks the side of her face, she tries to shift away from him but the cunt digs the dagger in further. “Keep fighting me, I fucking love it when they scream.” This motherfucker is going to die. He uses the dagger to force her flush against the seat and trails his other hand down her chest. I remind myself she isn’t anything to me, she means nothing but the moment he tries to force his hand inside her jeans I snap.
“Do it and I’ll fucking kill you.” My tone is cold and deadly, he turns his head and smirks.
