Detained: Chapter 66

The sound of several heavy sets footsteps grows closer.

“I haven’t heard from George in days. Find him. I need to see if Mikhail’s offer is legitimate. I need to form an alliance with the Russian before Frankie does.” Romano’s familiar voice is like music to my ears.

A subtle smile twitches on my lips.

“It gets me the cash I need to go after Frankie. He’s going to be after blood. I don’t have any other options.”

The door slides open and I waste no time in pressing my gun against Romano’s wrinkled forehead.

“Looks like I found you first,” I say with a hint of amusement.

I glance back and see a man with a ponytail attempting to flee as Romano remains frozen in place, the phone slipping from his hand.

“Useless prick,” Romano mutters.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Going somewhere?” Mikhail’s hulking frame appears.

I glance over and find him holding up the scrawny ponytail by his neck with one hand. The frantic man claws at his black suit, his face reddening and his eyes bulging.

The sound of the gunshot echoes through the air as my bullet finds its target, tearing through Romano’s hand as he reaches for his jacket.

“You fucking asshole,” he screams out, holding his hand up with blood spilling down his arm.

With my gun pressed against his temple, I lean in and relieve him of his weapon.

“You’re still using this old thing?” I say, holding his gun up between us that looks as ancient as he is.

“I was saving the last round just for you, Frank.”

“I’ll be sure to make sure it ends up lodged in your flesh then,” I say and grab him by the scruff of the neck. He doesn’t resist as I drag him towards the chair in the center of the room and toss him down onto it. Jax joins me, looping the rope around Romano’s wrists behind the chair.

I hear the faint sound of Zara shuffling around behind the bar. I want him to witness the fury in her eyes as she exacts her revenge on him.

“Just kill me, Frankie. You fucking win,” Romano shouts. He’s red faced and tugging on his binds before Jax moves behind him and covers his mouth with a gag.

Mikhail has the ponytail sidekick slumped over his shoulder. He places him down on the chair next to Romano and Jax gets to work restraining him in the same way.

“Zara.” I hold up my finger and motion for her to come to me. We have the Russians surrounding the boat until we’re finished.

Zara steps around the counter, her sole focus on Romano. Her lips are tight, almost unreadable. When her eyes meet mine and that flash of darkness appears, I know my girl is okay.

Looking down at my Rolex, we have ten more minutes before we have to get off this boat.

“Jax, Luca, Mikhail, it’s time.”

They begin to douse the room in gasoline. I rip off Romano’s gag and he sucks in a breath.

“Does it feel as good as you thought it would?” he taunts.

“Knowing that I took everything from you, including your life, means I can sleep soundly at night, Romano.”

He turns to Zara and his face darkens. I take a shot at his kneecap with the bullet he had meant for me. He screams out in agony.

“You don’t get to look at her. You shouldn’t even be breathing the same air as her.”

“You little shit,” he spits out. “Just kill me, get it over with,” he says breathlessly.

I tip his head up with my gun, looking into the hollow eyes of the man who altered my entire existence. There is only one thing I can ever thank him for, changing that path to allow Zara to be given to me.

“You’re going out in the only fitting way possible. What better way to enter hell by turning up in flames?”

Images flash in my head of Leila, the house exploding and my life with it. As Jax douses the room, the pungent smell of gasoline burns my nostrils.

“You’ll never be happy, Frankie. What are you going to do without your hunt for my blood?”

I tilt my head to the side, a smile spreading across my face. “I get to live.”

Zara’s smile lights up her face, and I can feel my heart racing in response. Revenge isn’t the center of my universe, not anymore. She is. I step back from him to where I belong, by Zara’s side.

“I’ll see you in hell, Mr. Falcone,” Romano grits through his teeth.

I know I’m no saint, I’ve never claimed to be. I have no doubts I will meet him again and I will continue to hunt him there, too. “I look forward to it.”

I turn to face Zara, pulling her gaze away from the man who tried to destroy her, too.

“What do you say, dolcezza, shall we go and watch it burn?”

Our eyes lock, and in that moment, the world around us fades away.

“Hell yeah.”

Lacing my fingers through hers, I lead us towards the exit without a glance back. Our past. It’s over.

“Fuck you, Frankie!” Romano yells as we descend the steps where Mikhail’s men are waiting for us on the speedboat. I pull out the zippo from my pocket and hesitate before throwing it onto the yacht. This truly is the end.

“What are you waiting for, throw it.” Zara nudges me and I look at her. She should be the one to end his life. Her revenge.

I hand her the lighter and she furrows her brow in confusion.

“You do it for us, baby.”

“Are you sure?” She hesitantly takes it from me.

“Positive.” My hand finds the small of her back as she throws.

In a matter of seconds, the flames ignite. Nikolai starts up the boat. The flames grew taller in the distance as we moved further away.

“Stop,” I shout. It won’t be long before it goes bang with the number of explosives the Russians put on the boat.

I take a seat and pull Zara onto my lap. The deafening silence fills the air as the flames consume the yacht. She settles against me, her head resting in the crook of my neck. I inhale a deep breath of her vanilla scent and calm washes over me.

The moment I’ve waited for, for what feels like my whole life. I squeeze her tight. This wasn’t just about me. This was for us, for our baby, for everything we’ve lost.

I know nothing can ever bring them back, but this is enough for me to move forward. To focus on what is truly important, our new family and our legacy. We will rule over New York together and there isn’t a single person who can stop us.

Together, we are unstoppable. Just like I knew we would be.

I rest my head against hers. The moment when the yacht explodes a weight is lifted from my shoulders and I can’t hide my smile. Sitting here, with the love of my life nestled against me, our enemies going up in flames.

Ending a war that has consumed my entire existence for a long time.

“I told you we’d set the world on fire together, dolcezza.”

As she spins around in my lap, her hair brushes against my face. I don’t give a fuck who is around us. All I see is her. The flames blaze in the background as I get lost in her sparkling green eyes.

“You did. Now you have to make good on your second promise.”

“And what would that be?”

Her embrace tightens.

I instinctively bite down on my lip, trying to contain the rush of emotions.

“Marry me.”

“That’s first up on my agenda, angel. There is never any going back now, mine forever,” I utter against her lips.

“That sounds perfect to me, Mr. Falcone.”