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I pour two whiskeys and guide Ava to the balcony where we sit under the stars.
I can’t get that face out of my mind. Luke’s face. Him standing there so close to my girl...
The bastard.
I am still simmering even as I drink my whiskey in silence on my balcony.
And I think Ava notices my anger. She reaches out and takes my hand in hers.
And my heartbeat immediately relaxes.
How the fuck can she do that?
Something about that act... that pure, innocent act, makes something drop inside me.
And I finallyrelax.
Breathe.
In. Out.
In. Out.
In. Out.
“Thank you for tonight,” she whispers to me in the starlight. I see in her eyes she is not joking or being defensive, but she is actually serious.
And I lean forward and grip her hand tighter.
“Thank you for being you,” I whisper back.
“I’m glad you listened,” Ava replies.
I shift in my seat. “I want to tell you something,” I say.
Ava doesn’t move. “Tell me.”
“I was always a leader,” I say to her, my voice soft. “Ever since I was a boy, I was the one to take charge of any situation, even in the playground and at school. I have always liked being the one to make decisions and to be the man people look up to, but it is lonely, and it is a lot of responsibility. You have to remove yourself emotionally, otherwise you can’t cope with all the consequences of those decisions you have to make. I was meant to join the army. That was always my destiny. It was always what I wanted and what my father wanted from me. To become an officer. To someday become a general. It fitted with who I am as a leader.”
“What happened?” Ava asks. She’s interested, and that gives me the fuel to carry on. “What happened to you?”
I’ve not told anyone this, especially not in this kind of detail, but her presence has changed me tonight. Iwantto tell her everything.
The words come tumbling out of me like they never have done before.
“What happened was that I saw something that no boy should ever see,” I continue, my voice barely a whisper. “Something no teenage boy should ever have to witness. What happened was that I saw my godfather get assassinated by a gang member. He was my father’s best friend and my closest mentor, and I saw him get torn down by bullets as he stood even closer to me as you are sitting now. That one singular moment jolted me out of my life as a member of the billionaire elite and turned everything upside down, and my life hasn’t been the same since.”
“And what did you do?” Ava asks. “Did you find the guy who did it?”
I might as well continue. She’s brought me this far. She’s opened me up like this.
“I left my family behind, made my way to New York with nothing but the clothes on my back, and ended up living on the unforgiving streets. I became part of the anonymous crowd, working my way from the bottom up. I was hellbent on revenge, and I was determined to find that gang member who took my godfather from me. I took charge of my godfather’s business in New York, rebuilding it stronger and better as one of the most powerful organizations in the city. I took down the men who conspired to kill my godfather, but never found the actual man who pulled the trigger. Everyone kept their mouth shut despite my threats. I tore down that gang and purged it from the inside and made it my own, but there was still no sign of the culprit who killed my godfather. It was a tough few years. I met Jim. I got this scar on my face. It was during this time that I ventured into the alcohol business, needing a legitimate front for my operations. The knife I always carry, the same one I was going to use on your ex tonight, belonged to my godfather. I’ve kept it by my side all these years to use it on the man responsible for his death.”
Ava lets go of my hand.
“That is one crazy story,” she whispers. “And one hard life. Thank you for telling me, Damon.”
I take in a deep breath. I feel nervous.
