“What do we do about… that?”
Peering through the dimming dusk light, I follow Bianca’s gaze to the rotting pile of guts and flesh still half tied to the tree out front.
“We leave him here,” I grunt, my mind still entirely pre-occupied with the task at hand.
There’s no time to think about what to do with dead men.
An hour ago, I sent an encrypted message to Ray Byrne. I’m sure the old man will get Rian to decrypt it. Then, they’ll both see the truth.
I spared little detail.
The only thing I couldn’t quite capture in words was what Bianca and I have become. Especially after I gave myself to her upstairs.
Bianca was right. We were pretending. We were ignoring the uncomfortable reality sitting just beneath our little love and hate fest.
We may have been falling for each other, but all the while, the world was crumbling around us.
The only way we’re going to get out of this intact is if I face those uncomfortable truths.
Opening the garage door, I lead Bianca to the black Land Rover I originally drove us here in. It’s been sitting in the darkness this whole time, idle and ignored.
I was getting far too comfortable at this secluded little cabin. Fuck. Part of me was even starting to think of it as home.
Castles and mansions and empires somehow don’t feel nearly as powerful in the face of what we’ve found out here, in the middle of nowhere.
That naïve little part of me withers away as I open the passenger door for my queen.
This needs to be done.
For her sake.
Shit. Bianca’s become stronger than I could have ever dreamed. Hopefully, that will serve us both well in the conflict to come.
We don’t share much conversation as I start the car and pull out into the pink night. We’re hardly halfway through the overgrown trail that leads through the forest when the sun disappears completely.
For what feels like hours, we’re surrounded by almost complete darkness. Only the headlights give me any sense of direction.
Really, we should have waited until morning to leave. But I couldn’t help myself.
I want to start the rest of my life as soon as possible. And it can’t begin until we deal with the ghosts of our pasts.
Bianca is asleep by the time I pull onto the highway. It’s the first time I see strangers since I tied Luis Falcao to that tree.
It doesn’t feel right, sharing Bianca with the world like this. That cabin was the perfect cove for our love.
But it was also fragile.
Can what we’ve built survive the test of the outside world?
Fuck. There’s only one way to find out.
“Wake up, myszko, we’re almost there.”
My knuckles go white as I squeeze the steering wheel.
Up ahead, I can spot the twinkling warning lights of the Silver Lake reservoir. The thin bridge on top of the dam is where I decided to host this all-important meeting.
There will be no room for snipers. No hiding spots for Byrne or Kilpatrick soldiers. It will just be Ray Byrne and Rian Kilpatrick, and Bianca and me.
At least, that’s what I stipulated in my message. But I almost don’t want them to play by the rules.
Any excuse to drag Bianca back to that cabin in the woods; to spend the rest of our days alone there. Together. Forever.
But life doesn’t work like that.
As quietly as possible, I pull into a hidden parking spot, just off the main road leading into the reservoir.
“Are you ready?”
Bianca’s voice is soft, and still so sleepy. She’s only been awake for a couple of minutes now, and she’s worried about me.
She shouldn’t be. I’m the one who should be worried about her. And I am.
And not just because I’m concerned about her safety.
Her heart is on the line too.
I only have one love to lose.
She has so much more than that.
An unwelcome pang of jealousy flutters through my chest as I help Bianca out of the passenger seat.
“I’m always ready,” I lie. “The real question is, are you?” wiping some sleep from her eyes, I wonder if we shouldn’t wait until she’s fully awake.
This opportunity is too precious to squander.
“I’m used to not being ready by now,” she smiles. But her voice is still so dozy.
I decide to wake her up with a kiss.
“What was that for?” she asks, when our lips fall apart.
“It was just to shock you awake.”
“Is that all?” she teases, the faintest giggle escaping her pretty pink lips as she shakes her head.
“That’s all. Now, let’s go.”
Taking her hand, I lead my queen towards the bridge of our destiny.
I can feel the thorny ring on her finger. It makes the mark on my forearm burn. It also makes the fresh tattoo below my eye throb ever so slightly.
We belong to each other now.
There’s no going back.
The closer we get to the dam, the stronger the sound of rushing water becomes. Soon enough, it’s an all-encompassing roar that only fades slightly as we take our first steps onto the bridge.
I don’t see anyone up ahead.
But it’s dark.
Squeezing Bianca’s hand, I silently lead her forward.
With my other hand, I make sure the gun tucked under my belt is still there.
For maybe the first time in my life, I hope I don’t have to shoot anyone.
“… Is that them?” Bianca suddenly gasps.
Peering through the darkness, I search for what she’s referring to.
That’s when I spot the silhouettes.
Three of them.
My grip tightens around Bianca’s hand.
“We’re leaving,” I growl.
“What? Why?” she chokes. “They’re right there!”
“The deal was only for Ray and Rian to show up. Do you see that third shadow?”
“I… It’s so small.”
Planting her feet in the ground, Bianca squints ahead, trying to make out the figures walking towards us.
“It doesn’t matter if they brought a fucking dwarf. How can we trust them if they’ve already decided to break the—”
“Mom!”
I have to tug Bianca back when she lunges forward. But the little whimper of surprise that leaks from her lips quickly loosens my grip.
Up ahead, I see what has caught her attention.
It’s Francesca Byrne. Her mother. She’s sandwiched in between two giants.
Ray Byrne and Rian Kilpatrick.
Why the hell did they bring her?
“Bianca!”
Once again, Bianca tries to go to her mother. But I’m forced to hold her back.
“Gabriel… please…” she begs.
My thawed heart fucking aches for her, but I don’t let go. If I do now, I’ll never get her back.
“My baby girl!”
The desperation in Francesca Byrne’s voice is so clear it hurts. But I don’t budge.
Before Francesca can race forward to embrace her daughter, Ray reaches out and grabs her too.
The two exchange words. Words that I can’t hear over the roar of the rushing water.
But I don’t need to hear anything to know what’s going on.
Rian Kilpatrick’s glare cuts through the darkness. He’s not even looking at Bianca. All of his attention is focused on me.
He’s going to be the real problem tonight.
“Are you alone?”
Ray’s voice is so deep it somehow undercuts the roar.
“That was the deal,” I yell back.
Slowly, we inch closer together.
“How can we trust you anymore?” Rian growls. Both of his hands are clenched into fists.
He’s ready to tackle me off the side of this bridge.
I hold onto Bianca just a little bit tighter.
“You’re one to talk,” I bark. “It was only supposed to be the two of you.”
“How could I deny a mother’s right to see her daughter?” Ray asks.
We all stop about ten feet from each other. It’s close enough to hear each other talk, but far enough to give us all time to react if someone does something stupid…
“Are you alright?” Francesca rasps, her attention fixed entirely on her daughter.
“I’m fine,” Bianca chokes.
“How’d you get that black eye?” Rian sneers.
“It’s from the scope of a rifle,” Bianca replies, sniffing back some tears. “The recoil got me good, but you should see the other guy.”
Her quip eases my nerves just a little bit. She’s calmer than I expected—even if the emotion of this reunion is already beginning to leak from her crystal blue eyes.
“You’ve been shooting people?” Ray asks, completely shocked.
Francesca looks mortified.
Rian, on the other hand, seems strangely impressed.
“I’ve been learning how to protect myself,” Bianca insists, her fingers digging into my hand.
“What have you done to my daughter?” Ray asks, his restrained fury flickering out.
“I’ve been teaching her how to rule.”
“Rule. Ha!” Rian spits. “That weird wedding ceremony you described in your message doesn’t mean shit to us. Neither does your supposed army or your fortune. You don’t know shit about ruling, asshole. And you never will.”
“Oh, and you do?” I can’t help but reply. “Remind me again what a nice New York boy like you is doing all the way out here on the west coast.”
“Why don’t I fucking show you.”
Rian and I both reach for our weapons at the same time. But we don’t get far.
Before I can even touch my gun, Bianca drapes herself around me. Ahead, Francesca has grabbed onto her nephew.
“Enough!” Ray bellows. “We aren’t here to trade jabs. We’re here to get our daughter back.”
“Are you willing to agree to my terms?” I ask.
“How could we?” Ray says, shaking his head. “Do you know how dangerous it would be to give you what you want? Every common crook from here to fucking Nantucket would immediately be after our daughters, all of my nieces, just to get a slice of the same pie.”
“I’m not some common crook,” I growl, a gust of shame thrashing through me at the very thought.
“Yes, I read your message Gabriel. I know everything. It checks out. But that doesn’t mean you’re anything special. Not without my daughter.”
“He is special!” Bianca suddenly blurts out. “Dad, I know how bad this looks. Believe me, I do. But we can work through this. We all have a common enemy. We—”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Rian interrupts. Francesca is still holding him back, but only barely. “You fucking bastard, what have you done to her?”
“He’s made me happy,” Bianca defends me. “He’s taught me how to be the woman I’ve always wanted to be.”
“You’re just a girl,” Ray grumbles.
“No. Dad. I’m not. I’ve done things. Horrible things. Necessary things. Things that I don’t regret for a second. Not anymore. And I’m stronger for it. You always said I would be a queen someday. Well, now I am. Now, I finally feel like it.”
“Not like this,” Ray sighs.
“It was the only way,” Bianca sniffles. “I love you Dad. But you were always too scared to teach me about the real world. Gabriel wasn’t.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Rian shouts. If it was anyone but his aunt trying to hold him back, I’m sure he would have already plowed through them by now.
“It means I didn’t treat her like a fragile doll,” I tell him. “Like some sheltered princess to handle with kid gloves. I gave her weapons, I gave her confidence, I gave her—”
“You will never be able to give her what we can,” Francesca suddenly speaks up.
There’s no malice in her words, but still, they cut through me like a knife.
“That’s not true,” I mumble. “… I can give her back to you.”
“What?”
Bianca’s fingers go limp in my hand.
“Go hug your mother, myszko. Tell her you love her and feel her love. That’s not something I ever want to deprive you of again.”
Bianca looks like she can’t believe her ears.
“What kind of trick do you have up your sleeve, asshole?” Rian spits.
“No tricks,” I shake my head. “This is a gesture of goodwill.”
“Are you returning my daughter?” Ray asks. Turning to Francesca, he gently pulls her off of Rian and holds her close.
“No,” I admit. “That will never happen. But I will do whatever it takes to make her happy.”
Ray and Francesca share a long look.
Rian, on the other hand, doesn’t take his eyes off of me.
“Very well,” Ray finally nods, hesitation drawing out each syllable. “At least we agree on that. Bianca deserves nothing but happiness.”
Patting his wife forward, Ray gives me a look of pure warning.
But I’m not worried. This is no trick. Bianca has suffered enough.
“Go hug your mother,” I tell my queen. “But come right back to me afterwards. Alright?”
No tears have fallen down her cheeks yet, but I’d be shocked if Bianca can see straight will all the water glazing over her beautiful blue eyes.
“I promise,” Bianca whispers.
Dropping her hand, I push her forward.
It doesn’t take much motivating.
The two women immediately sprint forward, practically tackling each other at the midway point between us.
“I missed you so much,” Francesca weeps, smothering her daughter in kisses.
“I missed you too, Mama.”
The sweetness of the moment is undercut by my need to stay on guard. I hardly watch the sweet little reunion. My gaze remains glued on the two very dangerous men glowering at me from just up ahead.
Francesca and Bianca quietly talk amongst themselves as I plan my next move.
“I promise, Mama. He’s not like that. We… Well, would you like to meet him?”
My gaze is immediately snapped away from Ray and Rian.
That’s when I meet Francesca’s glimmering hazel eyes. They study me, not with anger, but with a cautious curiosity.
They don’t linger long. Before I’ve managed to blink again, Francesca’s gaze has returned to Ray.
I don’t hear the short conversation they share. But when they both nod, I realize I’m about to be formally introduced to Bianca’s mother.
I’m somehow more nervous for that than I was for this meeting.
With great care Francesca approaches me. Bianca stays wrapped up in her arm.
I straighten my back.
“So, you’re supposed to be my new son-in-law?” Francesca asks, when she’s close enough to not have to raise her voice.
Even as she wipes tears from her eyes, her words are strong and stable.
I see so much of Bianca in her.
“That’s right,” I nod.
“And what does it mean to you, to be married to my daughter?”
Bianca holds her mother’s arm tightly as I consider the question.
“It means everything,” I admit. “She’s my world.”
“Pretty words,” Francesca mumbles. “But words are much easier than actions.”
“Look, Mama.”
I don’t resist as Bianca reaches out and grabs my wrist. Her soft fingers trace the initial she carved into my forearm.
“B… For Bianca?” Francesca notes.
“That’s right,” Bianca nods. “I did that to him. He let me. Look what else he let me do.”
I lower my head so that Bianca can reach up and touch the tattoo painted beneath my eye.
“Another B,” Francesca sees. “So, you’ve claimed him?”
“I have,” Bianca gently smiles.
“But then where’s the second B?” she asks.
“We’re married, Mama,” Bianca whispers, dancing around the answer.
“You can get married and keep your last name, you know.”
“I… I want to start anew.”
“With a new last name?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then what is it? Let me hear it.”
“We… we don’t know yet.”
“You don’t know your own last name?” Francesca asks, looking up at me.
“I was hoping your daughter would help me find it.”
“Well, I’m not sure my husband will let you take ours.”
“That isn’t the plan, Mama,” Bianca corrects her.
“You two seem to have so many plans,” Francesca sighs, her hazel eyes looking back and forth between my tattoo and my scar.
“Will you help us?” Bianca asks.
Francesca hardly even flinches at the question.
“We’ll see,” she says. “But first, I need something from you, Gabriel.”
“What’s that?”
I’ll do anything. Whatever it takes to make this work out.
“I can tell everything I need to know about a person by giving them a hug,” Francesca explains. “Do I have your permission to do so?”
The request is so strange that I have to look over at Bianca just to make sure I’m hearing it right.
But Bianca just shrugs.
Could this be some kind of trick? Just how badass is Mama Byrne? With a hug at the right angle, she could slip my gun out from right under my belt.
Fuck it.
It’s a risk I’m willing to take.
“You have my permission,” I nod.
Francesca is slightly taller than Bianca, but her head still barely reaches past my chest, and she has to turn her cheek to me as we wrap our arms around each other.
For a moment, a strange calmness comes over us both. Everything seems to go quiet. I shut my eyes, not daring to look over at the two men I’m sure are dying to rip my head off.
“Not bad,” Francesca says.
When we let each other go, the sound of rushing water comes roaring back into my ears.
“That’s enough,” Ray calls out. “Come back to me, dear.”
With one last curious look up into my eyes, Francesca nods. Then, she turns and gives her daughter a big long kiss on the forehead.
“We’ll figure this out, honey. I promise.”
“I know, Mama.”
The two share a final deep hug before Francesca reluctantly pulls away.
It doesn’t take long before she’s back by her husband’s side.
He doesn’t look particularly happy with what just happened.
I can’t say I blame him.
“What now?” Bianca asks me.
Reaching down, I take her hand. That’s when I notice the vibrations.
Her ring is trembling.
“Do you feel that?” I ask, confused.
Immediately, I turn my attention to Ray and Rian.
But they seem just as confused as I am.
“What the hell is that?” Rian growls.
The vibrations get stronger. The roaring of the rushing water seems to amplify as well.
Even the wind appears to pick up.
Then I see the lights.
My grip tightens around Bianca’s hand.
“Who’s fucking helicopter is that?” I shout.
My gun is out before I can get a response.
This is an ambush.
“It’s not ours, you bastard!” Rian shouts back.
“Then who the fuck—”
I don’t get a chance to finish.
The air is sucked out of my lungs, and for a split second everything goes quiet.
I can hardly even hear the whirling propellers of the descending helicopter as it steadies itself just off the side of the bridge.
Then, all hell breaks loose.
I only catch the silhouette of the front-mounted machine gun before it starts firing.
“Fuck!”
Throwing my body in front of Bianca, I tackle her to the ground.
Shrapnel flies over my shoulders as the bridge is shredded to pieces.
“Gabriel!” Bianca shouts from beneath me.
“We need to get the hell out of here,” I rumble.
There’s no hiding from a fucking machine gun.
Keeping myself wedged between the hovering helicopter and Bianca, I pull us both to our feet.
To my surprise, though, Bianca doesn’t just weightlessly follow behind me. Instead she tugs in the opposite direction.
“Mom! Dad! Rian!”
Even through the hellish roar of the dam, and the endless spit fire of the machine gun, I can hear the desperate anguish in her voice.
It slashes through my exposed heart.
But I don’t linger on the pain. I can’t.
“We can’t save them unless we save ourselves,” I shout.
Ripping her back into my body, I drag her down the bridge. She sobs in my arms. I hold her tight.
Bullets whizz past our ears.
“We’ll make it out of here, Bianca. I—”
Before I can finish my promise, the cement beneath our feet begins to crumble.
Then it gives out.
“No!”
All I can do is hold onto Bianca as we fall into the darkness.
