Chapter Fifteen
Olivia
I open my new phone and turn it on. Bria watches me through intrigued eyes as I slot the new SIM card in. “Tell me again,” she pushes, crossing her legs and sitting straighter.
I sigh. “I just needed to hear it from his mouth.”
“And he said we’re safe?” she clarifies.
“Yes,” I mutter, the half lie almost choking me. “So, we can relax. Maybe just keep your eyes peeled for the Bastards.”
“I find it weird Bully hasn’t come looking, don’t you?”
I shrug, avoiding her eyes. The truth is, I find his silence worrying. “He’s got the message. I couldn’t have said it clearer.”
“And you’re really done with him?”
“Yes,” I hiss.
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
I glance up to find her still watching me. “What do you mean?”
“You and Bully are addicted to each other. Fucking. Fighting. It’s become a game.”
Her words spark something, something from last night with Dagger, and I sit straighter.
“None of this is a game,” I snap. “Yet the men seem to think so. And I was never any good at playing games, especially when I didn’t know the rules.
So, we’re making up our own rules now. Fuck Dagger and fuck Bully. ”
“Are you going back to work?” she asks.
I nod. “It’s why I need my phone, so we can keep checking in.”
Her eyes narrow suspiciously. “If we’re safe now, why do I need to check in?”
I can’t tell her I think Dagger is stalking me. She’ll panic and run right back to Bully. And so, I force a smile as I stand. “Because we’re sisters, Bria.” And I head for the door.
Ann embraces me the second I walk through the door. “I’ve missed you.”
I smile, holding her a little longer than needed because she makes me feel so loved, and right now, I need it. “I missed you too. And the pups, of course.” I shrug from my coat. “How are things?”
“We’ve finally rehomed Dodger,” she says excitedly, and I clap my hands together with happiness. Dodger was another old dog we’d had here for over three years.
The door opens, and a woman enters carrying a huge bunch of white roses. I almost roll my eyes at his cliché as she puts them on the side. “These are for Liv,” she states, and I force a smile as I step closer to sign her clipboard.
“Thanks.”
“Who’s a lucky girl?” asks Ann, grinning as she takes a sniff.
“Keep them on reception,” I mutter. “I don’t want them.” I head to the back room to dump my coat and bag, and then I open the card.
‘Mama, I hear you like white because red reminds you of blood. I’m sorry for losing it yesterday. It’s a tense time. Forgive me. D x’
My brow furrows. There’s only one man who calls me mama, and it isn’t Bully. But how the hell does Dagger know my preference and the reason why? I stuff the card in my back pocket and head back out to Ann. I’ve taken so much time off already, I refuse to spend it thinking about either of those men.
By five o’ clock, I’m exhausted. I promised Ann I’d lock up, so she left early, but I didn’t anticipate having a mad rush on for the last hour.
I lock the door and turn right as a motorbike rolls to a stop. I groan when Bully steps off. “I know you don’t want to speak to me,” he begins. I don’t, but a small part of me is relieved to see him, like having him nearby makes me safer. I glance around, wondering if Dagger is watching.
“What do you want?”
“Just checking in to see if you’re okay,” he says, not quite meeting my eyes.
“I’m good,” I snap, throwing my bag on my shoulder and heading in the direction of home. I almost smile when I hear his boots following. He doesn’t speak, just follows. And when I get to my apartment block, he waits a few steps behind, watching as I go inside. When I turn back, he’s gone.
Bully
The rain’s a fine mist, clinging to leather and metal. Our headlights stay off as we roll in, slow and silent, like wolves circling the kill.
Two lorries sit parked in the middle of the site. Engines off. Lights out. No signage. No logos. But I know what’s underneath the crates of car parts in those trailers. Coke. Kilos of it. Pure and heavy.
We move around the containers like stealth lions on a kill mission. Black hoodies. Gloves. Suppressors already locked and loaded.
Mad Dog eyes the scene. “Two drivers, three unloaders. Five total.”
“Then we make it fast,” I mutter.
We fan out. I move left, circling behind the first lorry. Boss and Smiler sweep wide. Taz and Mad Dog approach straight-on. Five shadows in a death waltz.
One of the unloaders lights a cigarette, laughing about something. First shot. Taz takes out the smoker. Silent. Swift. The man drops mid-laugh.
Confusion erupts too slow to matter. The second unloader reaches for his weapon, but Mad Dog plugs him twice in the chest before he even clears leather.
I charge the cab of the first lorry and rip the door open. The driver inside barely has time to flinch before I pull the trigger point-blank. Blood sprays the windshield.
His partner scrambles in the other cab, trying to start the engine, but Boss is already there.He yanks the door open and drags him out kicking and screaming. Smiler slams him into the concrete, pressing the muzzle of his Glock to the guy’s eye. “Beg.”
The man opens his mouth . . . Bang. His skull cracks like a melon. It’s followed by silence, except for the sound of blood hitting pavement and the hiss of cooling engines.
I climb into the back of the first trailer.
Just like the intel said, crates of brake pads, discs, springs.
Fake manifests tucked into clipboards. But beneath the fourth row, there it is, plastic-wrapped bricks.
Kilos. White gold. I tear one open, dip a pinkie, and rub it on my gums. “Pure,” I mutter.
Taz joins me. “We could move this. It’s easy money.”
“We didn’t come for cash,” I remind him. I jump down, nodding at Boss and Mad Dog. “Soak it.”
They move fast, cracking open petrol cans. The stink hits hard. Smiler drags the bodies into a pile, and Mad Dog sets the final match. It goes up with a loud whoosh, causing us all to flinch back. Flames roar, lighting the night orange and gold. The second lorry follows.
We stand back and watch it burn, faces lit by fire and fury. A funeral for Dagger’s profits. A message written in blood and smoke.
Boss spits. “Think he’ll get it?”
I smile, cold, tight. “He’ll get it.”
Because this wasn’t just business.
This was personal.
Olivia
I don’t think much about it when Bria insists we go for a few drinks at the local on the corner.
Mainly because it’s something we’d always do before Bully was released, and I’ve slipped back into my old life easily.
Even with the threat of Dagger hanging over me, I’m confident he doesn’t plan on hurting me.
We’re two drinks in when he approaches the table.
Bria spots him first, and the way she stiffens warns me of his arrival before I actually meet his eyes.
“You didn’t like the roses, mama?” he asks, placing a hand loosely over his heart to feign hurt.
“Maybe you’ll let me buy your next drink,” he suggests. “Lemon gin, yes?”
My blood runs cold. There’s no way this is coincidence. How does he know all this stuff? Bria must be thinking the same because I feel her gaze burning into me, but I don’t break eye contact with him. He needs to see I’m not rattled by his sudden appearance. Again.
“Actually, I hate lemons. And white roses remind me of Bully. He once laid me on a bed of white rose petals,” I say, smiling like I’m enjoying the memory. “Right before he took my virginity.” His gaze turns steely. “Oh, I’m sorry, I assumed you knew everything about me,” I say innocently.
“Walk me out,” he says firmly, right as the girls arrive. Bria gets swept up in hugs, so I silently slide away from the table and head out with Dagger. “You think you’re funny taunting me?”
“No. Not at all,” I snap, stopping outside the bar. It’s busy with people standing around smoking, so I’m not worried as he turns to face me. He backs me to the wall, and I keep my breathing steady even though my heart begins to race.
He places a hand right above my head, caging me in as his face moves closer to mine. “He isn’t giving up,” he whispers, his breath tickling the wispy hairs that frame my face. “Walking you home like that.”
“What do you want from me, Dagger?”
“I want you to understand,” he tells me. “To see what kind of a man he is.”
“Why is that so important to you?”
“You’re his weakness, Liv. If I take you, I hurt him.”
“I’ve already left him,” I cry. “What more do you want?”
His phone rings out, and he answers, keeping his eyes fixed on me. “Yeah?” His body stills.
Then his entire expression shifts. “How the fuck would they know?” The venom in his voice is so sharp, it cuts the air. He ends the call and pockets the phone with a clenched jaw, bracing his other hand above my head, fully caging me now.
His voice is tight when he says, “Seems he’s fighting back.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, but my stomach already knows. There’s something ugly rolling in the distance. I can feel it.
Then, a shrieking whistle through the air.
Something slams into the wall above us and explodes in shards of glass. I scream, and he grabs me, his arm locking around my waist as he throws us both down.
We hit the pavement hard. Dagger’s body covers mine, his arm protectively over my head, glass raining like knives around us.
Gunshots, sharp and savage, rip through the air. I choke on my breath, my arms curling over my head as my ears ring.
“Bria,” I gasp, heart splitting.
“She’s inside,” he mutters, his mouth by my ear. “She’ll be safe.”
More bullets tear through the air. Screams, chaos, people running. Tires squeal on asphalt. Dagger’s grip tightens, and I feel the heat of him, the rage simmering just beneath his calm.
I twist beneath him. “This is your war. I’m not supposed to be in it.”
He meets my eyes, deadly calm. “You’ve been in it since the moment he fucked my wife.”
A spray of gunfire hits the car parked nearby, and sparks fly as metal is torn apart.
“We have to move,” he growls. “Now.”
Dagger moves fast, fluid, yanking me to my feet with a grip that bruises. “Stay low,” he snaps, shoving me against him as he twists us between two parked cars. More shots crack overhead and screams pierce the air as people scatter.
“We’re gonna make a move,” he tells me. “Around the back of the bar. We can get inside there.” He looks out from behind the cars. “One,” he growls, and I tighten my grip. “Two.” A pause. “Three.”
We make a run for it, reaching the empty beer garden, now abandoned in the chaos. Dagger pulls the back door open and shoves me inside. “Bria,” I scream, looking around at the groups of people huddled together, ducked down behind tables. She stands, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Tyres can be heard outside, screeching away, followed closely by sirens. Dagger spins me to face him. “We need to get out of here.”
“No way,” I say, taking Bria’s hand.
“Your man killed three of mine tonight,” he hisses close to my ear. “And then he came here to try and get me . . . or you.”
“Bully wouldn’t come for me,” I snap.
“What if he saw us together, mama? What if that sent him over the edge? You’re not safe out here.” My throat tightens as blue lights illuminate the bar. “I can keep you safe.”
“No,” says Bria, holding me back. “We don’t even know you.”
“Liv,” he says, holding out a hand.
My mind is racing as adrenaline surges around my body. “You should get out of here,” I almost whisper. “Before they come in and start asking questions.”