Page 71 of Bad Duke

“Fox? What are you talking about?”

“You killed her brother, you killed my friend and you threatened to kill her, too.” I take out my gun, placing it in the centre of his forehead. “And I’m going to blow your twisted, little brain right out of your fucking skull for it.” I release the safety catch so he hears it click.

“Wait! No. I’m not Fox. I would never have hurt Olivia. I love her. She wasn’t like the rest of them. She wouldn’t have fought me like they did, She would have like—” I silence him with a bullet when I can’t stand to hear anymore. Stepping back from him, I slump onto the chair in the corner of the room, looking at all the photos surrounding me while I take out a cigarette and light it between my bloody fingers. In every single picture, Olivia seems to be smiling. I pull the one I‘ve seen on her social media pages off the wall and hold it in my hand. It’s a selfie of her in a red, woolly hat that matches the chill in her cheeks and her nose. Fireworks are exploding behind her, and I trace my finger over the huge smile that's on her lip, wondering if she’ll ever smile like that again now she knows her brother’s dead.

OLIVIA

“Give us the room.” Marina shocks me when she struts into the kitchen, taking immediate control and dismissing Leah. What also shocks me is the comfort I suddenly feel at having her here.

I’ve spent the last hour and a half being sick and sobbing at the thought of never seeing my brother again. I can’t even think about the fact that Alex was responsible, it’s too much for me to take.

“Now, what’s all this nonsense I’m hearing about you thinking Alex killed your brother?” She slams her handbag on the kitchen side and takes the seat opposite me at the table.

“I assume you know about the deal we made?” I look up at her feeling drained, my chest feels like it’s had a hammer taken to it, and my head is pounding.

“I know everything, including the fact that he did not kill your brother,” she tells me firmly, then makes a long, deep sigh and looks at me pitifully.

“I’m sorry, Marina, but I can’t believe that. I saw the picture, it happened at our apartment. His throat was…” I feel like I’m going to be sick again when I see the image in my head.

“Do you really think Alex would do something to hurt you?” She tips her head and stares at me doubtfully. “I’ve known him a lot of years and I’ve never seen him act the way he is when he’s with you.”

“Then why didn’t he tell me? He knew about this and he must have cleaned it up.”

“Of course, he did. He did it to protect you. I mean, he probably didn’t go the correct way about it but…” She shakes her head and stands back up, opening the cupboard doors like she’s looking for something.

“What are you doing?” I don’t know why, but there's something almost amusing about seeing Marina in a kitchen.

“I’m looking for a cup, I’m going to make you some tea. Isn’t that what pregnant women need?”

“Third cupboard along.” I manage to smile at her gesture. “Can I please just have a normal tea? If I drink any more of that raspberry leaf shit I’ll throw up again.”

“Sure, just bear with me.” She pulls out the drawer and looks impressed when she finds a spoon.

“So, Alex came to you, huh?” I sigh and look down at the hands I have resting on my bump. I want to believe that my baby’s father didn’t kill Jamie, but I saw his face when he saw that picture. Maybe everything I thought I knew about Alex has been wrong.

“He came to the club, and he was a mess.” She places the cup in front of me. When I look down and see how much milk she’s added, she shrugs awkwardly. “I don’t make tea for people, but I do make a spectacular dirty martini,” she assures me.

“Well, dirty martinis are out, right now, though I could sure use a few.” I take a deep breath and try not to get overwhelmed by everything.

“It’ll all be okay.” Marina takes one of my hands and strokes it gently, and I take a sip of my tea grateful that she’s here. Leah had the best intentions but she’s no good in a crisis. All she could do was apologise while making me blow into a brown paper bag. Marina’s tea-making skills may be awful but she’s already making me feel better.

“Everything will be as it should be.” She continues to stroke my hand, and when my head starts to spin and my eyes feel heavy I fight to keep them open.

“Marina, I feel weird.” I swallow heavily, gripping the table when the chair I’m in starts to feel like it’s rocking.

“Relax, you're fine, it's just the sedatives,” she tells me calmly, as she stands up and moves back towards the kitchen counter.

I squint as I watch her open her handbag and take out a gun and the scream I want to make doesn’t make it past my throat.

“Now, you wait there while I deal with security.” I watch her lift my phone from the table and take it with her, having no control of my body when it falls from the chair and crashes to the floor. I hear gunshots, three of them, maybe four. There are voices shouting but they sound so distant, and when I can’t fight against my eyes any longer I try to scream again before everything turns black.

* * *

My head is pounding, my whole body aches, and when I try to rub my eyes and open them, my hands don’t budge. I startle awake and I find myself in a dark room, spread out on a bed with my ankles and wrists bound. I fight against the cuffs confining me and scream for help.

“Aaahhhh, you're awake.” Marina steps out of an adjacent room with a smile on her face as if she didn’t just fucking drug me.

“Marina, what's going on?” I tug some more on the cuffs above my head.

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