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As I round into the kitchen of Briella’s house the next morning, I see her and Alarick standing by the counter, coffee in hand. Both of them look to me when I walk in. I’m hungover, sore, and fucking ready to light the god damned world on fire. The anger in my soul is busting at the seams, and I’m struggling to keep it in. Struggling to fucking fight it. I don’t know how much longer I can take this before I explode.
“Avi,” Briella says the second I make eye contact with her. “I’m so sorry. I believe you. I believe everything you’re saying. I’m sorry it sounded like I doubted you, even for a second.”
I stare at her, my expression empty. “I don’t give a shit what you believe, Briella. I care only about getting out of here so I never have to see any of you again. You want your information, Alarick? I’ll give it to you. Everything you need to get that girl back. To finish this. I have something I want in return, though.”
“What?” Alarick asks, his bare chest on display for the world to see.
He’s changed, so much from when we were younger. He’s broader now, his shoulders large and rounded, his chest defined and covered in ink. He’s incredible, they all are, but that’s not a shock. They always were.
Especially Cohen.
My anger twists into pain for a moment as I remember the friendship we developed over time. Not many people know about it, in fact, I’d go as far as to say Cohen and I were the only two people who knew about the bond we had created. I never told Briella, not because I didn’t trust her, but because having Cohen as a safe place to go changed something in me. Seeing him, with no one else around, felt like a secret that was healing my soul.
A secret I wanted to keep forever.
We had no reason to keep it a secret and, yet, we did.
That was exactly how we both wanted it.
Our own sanctuary where we could escape the world and everything it had to offer.
The bad and the good.
That is, until he turned on me and ruined my life forever.
That warmth slowly turned to fire, and my love turned to hate.
Now, I want nothing more than to see him burn.
To see them all burn.
“What do you want?” Alarick asks.
“I want to come with you when you go and finish this. I want to be there. If I’m giving the information, I want to be involved in watching it go down. I’ll follow orders, but I’m there.”
Alarick narrows his eyes. “Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does when my entire club is at risk if somethin’ goes wrong. I don’t know what you want, Aviana. All I know is you’re fuckin’ bitter and you have somethin’ you want to finish with this club. I don’t trust you, and I have every fuckin’ right to that.”
My chest tightens as I stare at him. I don’t break eye contact. “I understand.”
“So, tell me, why the fuck do you want to come on a dangerous mission?”
“I want to make sure that girl gets home safely.”
“We all do, that ain’t enough for me to take you.”
“I want to see Peter.”
Alarick flinches. “Peter thinks you’re gone, probably dead. Peter don’t need to know where you are. That’s openin’ up somethin’ I’m not entirely sure you can deal with right now. He’s fuckin’ dangerous, and if he knows you’re alive ...”
“What?” I challenge. “What will he do if he knows I’m alive, Alarick? Why don’t you tell me?”
Alarick’s jaw tightens. “He’s a dangerous man. You want away from danger? Goin’ back to him ain’t goin’ to give you that.”
“I’m not going anywhere near him, Alarick. No, I’m going to be the one who takes him down.”
Alarick stares at me, his face twisting slightly. “You’re goin’ to kill him?”
I nod, my face stony. “I’m going to take him out because he ruined my life, my family and now he’s running this shit show. I want him gone, and I want to be the one who does that. I have that right.”
“That’s fuckin’ dangerous, and you’d have to think I was nuts to let you do somethin’ so incredibly stupid.”
“You either agree, or I don’t spill. What’s it going to be?”
Briella gives me a look that is half shocked, half horrified. She would never dare stand up the way I am, but I’m sure if she had something worth fighting for, she would. I know what happened to Magnolia, I know it broke her, I also know she went hunting for justice. She, out of everyone, should understand why I’m doing this.
I have to.
It’s simply how it is.
“That’s fuckin’ blackmail.”
“Call it what you will.” I shrug. “I’m doing what needs to be done. You either let me or you waste even more time trying to find them when I know exactly where they are.”
“If that’s all you fuckin’ wanted, why not just go there and do it yourself?”
I glare at him. “You and I both know that me going there alone isn’t an option. Are you going to do as I ask, or not?”
Alarick’s face is angry, like a god damned scowling dog, but he nods. Small and sharp. I win. It’s about damned time I started calling the shots around here.
If only they knew what would be waiting for them when we arrive.
I’ll kill Peter, no doubt about it.
But Cohen and that club ... They’re not leaving either.
No.
The only one walking away from that place when we’re done will be me.
Finally free.
Finally.
~*~*~*~
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH you?”
I’m walking toward the clubhouse when Briella’s voice calls out over the wind which is currently sending dirt up and all over my damned clothes. I turn to stare at her and see she’s rushing after me, hair whipping across her face. She has some weird haircut—I don’t know why, but it looks like she has a scar on her head. I wonder what happened to her. Once, I would have cared.
Now, I simply do not.
“Hello, Briella ...”
“Seriously, Aviana, who are you?”
I stop and exhale. I’m sick of the questions and the demands. They all want to know what happened to me, why I am the way I am, why I’m being so cold and so heartless. Well, that’s simple ... I’m doing it because it’s who I was created to be. When Cohen sent me away, my life went from being somewhat easy to hell on fucking earth. I was sent with a man that was cruel, and then I had to fend for myself when I tried to escape, ending up on the streets, on drugs, in horrible places, and ended back with the only person I knew could keep a roof over my head.
Who could keep me alive even if it meant living the hardest life I could imagine.
God, she has no fucking idea what life was like for me.
No idea whatsoever.
“I’m not sure I get what you’re asking,” I mutter, crossing my arms. “I’m Aviana, you just don’t like the version of me that you’re seeing.”
“You were my best friend, Avi. We told each other everything. I loved you like a sister. Now ... it’s like I don’t even know you. You’re ... cruel. Empty.”
“And?” I prompt.
“What happened to you?”
“This club happened to me. Monsters happened to me. I’m not the same person you used to know, Briella. Accept that. I’m here to do what I have to do, then you’ll never see me again.”
She looks sad, her eyes narrowing. “That’s not what I want. We can help you, Avi. I know things were bad, I know ...”
“You know nothing,” I cut her off. “God, you couldn’t even begin to imagine how my life went after Cohen killed my family. You have no idea the kind of person he sent me to live with so I wouldn’t show my face around here again. If you want to point fingers, Briella, point them in your own backyard.”
Her cheeks grow flushed. “Firstly, I’m not sure why you didn’t just come to Alarick. When your family died, when things went south, you know he would have helped you. Instead, you blame them.”
I step closer, face tight. “I didn’t get a fucking chance. I was shipped away before I even got to make a fucking choice. Don’t you tell me I had options, Briella. I had none. Those options were taken away from me by the people you call family. So back the fuck off unless you actually know what you’re talking about.”
“If you hurt my family, Aviana, I will come for you,” she growls, showing the fire I always knew she had buried deep. “I swear to god, I will make you suffer. I know you’re not here to do good, so I’m warning you ... Back off.”
I grin at her. “Message received. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.”
I spin on my heel and disappear toward the clubhouse. I hear Briella curse behind me and, somewhere, deep down in my broken black heart, I feel a tug. It’s a tug I quickly stuff back down into the depths. I don’t have time to feel anything, not for her, not for anyone. I’m here to do what needs to be done, and then I’ll be gone.
Starting my life anew.
“Mornin’.”
I reach the top step and look to my left to see Cohen and Samson sitting on a few old stools, clearly deep in conversation before I stomped up and interrupted them. I give them a sharp nod, avoiding eye contact with Cohen.
“How’s the head?” Samson asks.
I look to him. “It’s fine, why wouldn’t it be?”
“You had a big night.”
“Was that before or after you fucked me?”
Cohen visibly flinches, a reaction I certainly didn’t expect from him. He can’t stand me; he’s made that very clear. Why the hell should he care who I’m sleeping with? He likely doesn’t, it was probably just a shock. I shake it off and give Samson a smile, a small one that’s mostly sexy, mostly empty. “I’m up for round two any time. You just say the word.”
Then, I walk inside.
Not before I hear Cohen growl, “What the fuck do you think you’re doin’?”
I’ll let them sort that one out.
I walk down to Alarick’s office and step inside, not pausing. He looks up from a phone call he’s on and very quickly tells the person he has to go and hangs up. Then, he stares at me, his expression cold and mostly empty. “You here with the information we need?”
“Yeah, I’ve got what you need.”
“Spill it, then.”
“The man you’re looking for, his name is Benedict. Don’t know if that’s his first name, hell I don’t even know if that’s a nickname, but I do know that he is the person running all of this. I know exactly where you can find him, but I’m not telling you how I know that so don’t bother asking. My business is mine, as is yours. Once you have him, you have the upper hand. Without him, the whole show crashes. You take him down, you take the rest of them down, and you no longer have a problem on your hands. I will tell you this, though, don’t go in there without a good plan. You fail this, I promise you he’ll take down your entire club.”
Alarick stares at me. “Anything else?”
“That’s all. I will give you the location I know he frequents and, as for my uncle, Blanche and Dax, they’re in a location that is quite a distance from here. I’ve been there once before, but I recall how to get there again. It’s well secured and hidden, it’s where I met Benedict a few years ago. I, ah, spent some time with him. Because of that, I can lead you to both locations.”
“You fuckin’ him?”
I glare at him, my rage expanding in my chest. “Don’t you fucking insult me, Alarick.”
“Was askin’ a question, Aviana.”
“I wasn’t fucking him. I was with him against my will when the monster I did live with took me there for business, but he took a liking to me, and being the incredible actress I am, I played along. That’s exactly how I walked out of there alive and not sold to someone else, though I’m starting to wonder if that might have been a better option. You don’t need to know the details; all you need to know is that I can get you there.”
Alarick nods. “You can be involved in coming up with a plan to get us there, you know the ins and outs, we need your input.”
Of course he does.
They’re helpless without me.
That’s exactly how I need it to get what I want.
They’re not going to know what’s hit them.