Page 37 of Revenge

“Fuck me.” I jammed a hand through my hair, I needed coffee—black, strong, and fast.

Shelving my craving, I opened my top drawer, seeing the gun I had taken off Ava in Milan at the top. Moving it to one side, I slid a picture of Ava out from underneath. It had been taken of her in her school uniform and it reminded me of that night she shot me. In all truth, when I’d found out my seventeen-year-old stepsister was responsible for taking down one of Ireland’s toughest gangsters I had been proud. That tremor of awareness I had started to feel when I looked at her then had doubled. Ava had been a woman at sixteen; a fucking headache most days, but she was beautiful, brave, and confident. It had been hard to restrain myself the night I found her in my bed, but walking away had been the right thing to do. The age gap between us then had been so wide.

And now, over the last two years it had closed and I didn’t know how to deal with that.

Fuck. Would Ava accept my offer or would Ihaveto threaten Quinn? What if he was innocent and my hunch was wrong?

Dinner hadn’t gone to plan. Ava had given me little to work with.

I needed to decide my next move carefully. Quinn had been found, and my contacts in Milan were due to hand-deliver him to me. If I went in all guns blazing, I’d come away with nothing I was sure. I’d also end up alienating Ava even more. She had feelings for her friend. A thought I didn’t welcome, irrespective of my PI reporting that the guy spent most of his time in gay clubs.

Hopefully, Ava would come aroundwithoutme having to threaten someone she cared so much about. I also had her mother, another bargaining chip if she failed to see things my way. Although any threats there would be a bluff, I would never harm a hair on that woman’s head.

I thought back to how Ava had affected me at dinner and her awareness of me as a man. She’d tried to hide it but I knew she was still attracted to me.

The unexpected chemistry between us could only work in my favour. It would make what I had planned much more straightforward.

The gremlin that sat on my shoulder chanted;you could make her fall in love with you.But I pushed that thought away, by doing that I may unearth my own heart, something I just couldn’t allow.

If I pitched it right, maybe she’d help me without putting her under duress. As payback for the last two years?

I smiled at that thought, my ex-stepsister was as stubborn as they came.

I usually enjoyed fighting with Ava but having her back in my life, so close and sleeping under my roof, I realised that I wanted the opposite of that.

Maybe we could bury the hatchet and she’d agree to my terms without me having to exert pressure.

And knowing Ava, hell would freeze over first.

Six

Ava

The most recent burner phone I had been usingwasin the zip pocket of my pink bag, just like Kai said it would be. I must admit, I had doubted him at dinner having been duped by him so many times before.

Whatever shmuck packed for me did so in a hurry and had no concept of the word essentials. My makeup bag was in there, which was pointless, considering I hardly ever wore any. There were hair straighteners, a brush, two pairs of jeans and some Yoga pants which had seen better days. Some toiletrieshadbeen included but they were Anton’s. Lincs Africa was unrefutably a man’s smell.

Thankfully, I found Anton’s large college tee right at the bottom. I wore it to sleep in, so I’d give whoever filled my bag one point for that.

There was no underwear, socks, or toothbrush. It was just a mish-mash, meaning I wouldhaveto wear the clothes Kai had provided. The thought of accepting clothes thathe’dbought with blood money made my insides clench.

Every time Iattemptedto distance myself from the clutches of the criminal underworld, itdraggedme back in.

My handbag was beside the holdall, and I dragged it towards me. My purse was in there, along with my bank card, two credit cards, and a small amount of cash. In one of the pockets, I kept an emergency handkerchief. It was always folded neatly as I hardly ever had to use it. I kept it there in case I had a nosebleed. I got them occasionally when stressed and the burgundy silk hid the colour. My phobia of blood had only gotten worse over the last few years.

I smiled as I ran my fingers over the silk lettering, fondly remembering the boy who had given it to me. He had protected me from bullies who had been pushing me around at a party. With a small smile, I refolded it and popped it back in its rightful position. That boy had been my friend. I remember when he’d introduced himself to my mother, he’d said he was a nobody. But he had been somebody to me.

Pushing those warm memories aside, I could tell someone had gone through my handbag because everything was misplaced. I already knew Kai had my passport.

As I sat there, clutching my bag, a thought occurred to me and I tugged it open again and slid the zip of the small secret pocket open. Sticking my fingers inside, I lifted the gold necklace and inspected it. It was a present from Kai for my sixteenth birthday. I remember how happy I had felt as he had placed it around my neck, only to feel like total crap only hours later.

Pushing the necklace back into its safe place, I stood. If Kai saw that I had kept it, he may think it meant something to me; and of course it did, but I would die before lettinghimknow that. Seeing the chain and knowing that I was wearing it when I shot him, left a lump in my throat.

After removing the jeans and top I’d worn to dinner, I left on the mafia-tainted underwear and pulled Anton’s T-shirt into my face, inhaling deeply. It smelled like him, so fresh and soapy and my heart squeezed. Anton was my only true friend; almost like the brother I never had. I stole a moment to absorb his scent, God I hoped he was OK.

Tugging Anton’s top over my head, I pulled the hem over my bottom and climbed onto the bed. After a brief, wary glance around the room; I checked for any sign of a camera. Would Kai be so sick as to put surveillance in the room where I would sleep and get unchanged? Probably. Although it would have been done to keep tabs on my movements and not with any lustful intentions. Kai was way too much of a control freak to allow his libido to dictate what he did.

After convincing myself I wasn’t being watched, I swiped the phone’s screen and held it up to allow the face recognition to kick in.

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