Page 79 of Revenge

I didn’t know how long we lay together, probably over an hour. I waited until her breathing deepened, signalling she was sleeping. She omitted a noise here and there, like a kitten purring and I felt it in every fibre of my body.

Iwantedthis woman.

Inhaling the scent of Ava’s hair was like a punch to my gut and her backside was nestled against my cock. I was as hard as steel but I managed to restrain myself from grinding against her. I could be a fiend, but not the type to prey on unconscious women. Especially ones that had been through what Ava had that night.

My phone buzzed for the third time from its position on the floor next to my Nikes and I slid carefully out of bed.

The moonlight came in through the window, highlighting Ava’s sleeping form. She was curled up with a contented look on her face; so peaceful, at last. Sitting on the bed—I pulled my trainers on and retrieved my phone, I then leaned over Ava’s body, kissing her forehead, “Sleep well, baby girl.”

Giving her one last lingering look, possessive energy pumped through my chest and one word echoed throughout my conscience…mine.

Twelve

Ava

Over the next few days, things calmed down and I managed to bat off that looming nervous breakdown. So much had happened in such a short space of time, and I had been left reeling.

I had breakfast with my mother and Kai in the mornings before he left for work. We were civil, but the atmosphere was still strained. On the second morning, Kai and I had explained to Suki that we had decided to get married. We didn’t try and pass it off as a love match as she would have seen through that. She was told it was an arranged marriage based on mutual respect. And that wasn’t a lie, I respected Kai as a person, just not what he did for a living. I still hated what he’d put me through with Anton.

After what I had experienced at the casino, I was now in full agreement with Kai, that I wantednothingto do with the business side of our forthcoming arrangement.

Suki was overjoyed and so happy. She knew it meant that I would stay in London and so I would be close. I didn’t tell her it had an expiration date.

Her relationship with Cillian was full-on, considering I suspected she had just been a project to start with; a way of getting information out of her about me.

I decided against getting involved, as I had my own stuff to deal with. I could get through a year, fuck me. The last two had been so much worse. I just hoped I could keep my true feelings about Kai at bay. I still cared about him deeply, irrespective of what he had done.

I wasn’t allowed to see Anton until partway through that week, Nico was always there outside my friend's door, like a fricking guard dog. But I was pleased someone was looking out for him.

Eventually, I was allowed to see him. When I entered the room, he was sitting up in bed, still bruised but smiling.

Anton said that he had been treated well, even when he was at the casino. I had believed he’d been tied to a chair for days, but Anton said he’d been given a bed, food and water and even saw the Dr a handful of times. The only time he’d been placed in the chair was when he was beaten for information and then at the end. That made me realise that Kai had made it appear worse than it was. But why?

To scare the living shit out of you and it worked.

The rest of that week passed slowly, and I started to relax, I saw Anton every day. We even went outside for lunch a few times. It was lovely being sat out in the sunshine with my friend. Everything had been so cloak and dagger in Milan.

Suki and Anton also got along well. That didn’t surprise me as everyone loved my mother. She was the most perfect social butterfly you would ever meet. She had already started to plan an engagement party to announce mine and Kai’s news to the world.

At dinner one evening, Kai was at the casino which left just Anton, my mother and I to eat, Cillian even approached the table and stole a cake off my mother’s plate. The killer had started to grow on me. When he looked at my mother, I saw genuine affection in his eyes.

Nico and Anton had also become friends. The whole thing was surreal. The only person who wasn’t in the picture as much was Kai, my future husband. And then the negotiations for our engagement were released and it felt like a noose drawing tighter.

Kai had put Nico in charge of the guestlist but he did let me see it. There were a few familiar names on there from my past but most of them were business associates. Associates were still classed as family. I would never get my head aroundthatone.

As the weekend approached and the party got nearer, I found myself accepting my fate.

The night before, I had dinner with Kai. He was polite but somewhat withdrawn, and he proposed officially. I would have said it was sweet that he at least attempted to make it feel real, but it still felt awkward and forced. After dessert, he escorted me to his office, where Nico and a tall elderly man with grey hair were waiting. The elderly man was introduced as Philip and he was a lawyer who was due to retire.

Kai asked me to take a seat, and the man called Philip started spouting legal jargon at me. My fiancé sat in his chair across the desk and stared at me in silence as I attempted to understand what was being said.

Halfway through his speech, there was a knock on the door. Kai looked up and motioned to whoever stood there to come into the room.

A set of legs appeared beside me as the man approached the desk, “Apologies I’m late. I have the papers you requested.” A familiar voice said.

Twisting in my chair, I looked up the strong body which was dressed in a tailored suit to see Gabriel Knight.

His father, Garrett Knight used to work as Gerard's lawyer. Gabriel was also a lawyer now. Kai had told me they had been at school together but in different years. He had been the man I had sent a copy of the dossier on Gerard to, as a backup plan. I had learned from discussions Gabe’s father Garrett had with Gerard that his sonhatedthe mafia, and refused to join the darker side of the business. I had thought he could be an ally. I was wrong. When Kai threatened Gabe’s girlfriend, he gave up the goods without blinking an eye. That in turn exposed me as being the one who had sent the pack of incriminating evidence to the police. I didn’t blame Knight, how could I, Kai was threatening his woman, he did what he had to do to protect her. That was the same night I shot Kai and ran away.

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