Chapter 19
LILY
Since the salon is closed tomorrow for Good Friday, I’m stuck working late, having sent Bonnie and the two apprentices home an hour ago while I finish Mrs Olsen’s hair.
She’s a fussy woman, but loyal, and drives into town from London to get her hair done by me. Unfortunately, that means I need to endure her fussing and mind changes because loyalty is hard to come by these days.
It’s after ten in the evening by the time my client leaves and I clean up the salon. The streets are quiet since most businesses have shut up a little earlier than usual, with tomorrow being the beginning of the Easter weekend, the silent eeriness making me uneasy as I lock up.
For a moment, I stand in the alcove looking up the street, watching for any signs of my stalker… or stalkers… or assassins.
Bloody hell.
Nothing looks out of the ordinary, though, so I heft up the bag of rubbish I need to dump and slip into the alley to get rid of it on the way to my car.
It’s dark back here. Darker than usual, and I notice one of the lights has blown. Still, I hurry forward, my eyes trained on the dumpster as I navigate these damn cobblestones in my boots.
The scuff of a shoe is my only warning before I feel the air shift behind me.
With my heart in my throat, I go to turn around, but a blow to the side of my head comes out of nowhere, and all I can do is brace myself as the grimy ground rushes towards my face.
I cry out as I land with a jolt, my knees hitting hard, my hands saving my face from smacking the solid ground.
Everything moves so fast, and I brace myself for the next blow, even as I shove my hand into my bag and manage to wrap my hand around the hilt of my knife as a foot crashes into my ribs.
The wind gets knocked from me, but the momentum from the kick helps me to roll to the side and get a glimpse of my attacker.
Unfortunately, my view is obscured by the crimson trickle of blood oozing from my temple where the fucker hit me, and I blink rapidly before I see a booted foot too late.
It slams hard into my gut, and I wheeze out as more wind lurches from me, while the rest gets trapped in my lungs, burning as I try to gasp.
Well, shit! Isn’t this just great!
Keep it calm, Lily. You’re trained for this.
My little pep talk helps to clear my head, reminding me how I’ve been trained to push the pain away and only focus on my target. To strategise on how to take them out.
Before my attacker can swing their foot to land another blow, I ram my blade into my attacker’s ankle with a sickening crunch.
Whoops. Sounds like I broke through bone. Too bad for him.
“Ahhh, fuck!” the male voice cries out, and I fucking grin.
I rip the knife free, swinging it again, but it only meets thin air as he quickly moves away.
“You fucking cunt. You will pay for that!” He hisses as I wipe the blood from my vision to see his shadowed silhouette looming over me.
He bends down, as if to grab me, but another shadow comes out of nowhere, tackling him to the ground.
I gasp, air finally seeping into my lungs as a man… a stranger, absolutely pummels the shit out of my attacker with iron fists.
Shuffling back, I use the wall to pull myself up, taking in what I can about this man.
His hair is blond. He’s ripped as fuck. Covered in tatts. And he has a gun tucked into the back of his pants.
Who the hell is this guy?
Shit. It could be another assassin wanting to take the kill.
The groans of my attacker fall silent, even as this guy keeps hitting him, so I lurch forward, wrapping my hand around the handle of his gun, and when I go to pull it free, I find more wind whooshing from me as I’m shoved against the wall, the stranger’s forearm pressed against my throat as he holds me in place.
“Is that any way to thank me for saving your arse?” a deep Australian accent asks, and my brows shoot up.
“I had it handled,” I rasp past the pressure of his arm, and his lips spread wide in a grin.
“This isn’t how I wanted you to meet me, but here we fucking are.”
“What?” I ask, and a moment later, the barrel of his gun, the gun I failed to steal, presses against my temple.
Oh… shit.
He’s gotta be an assassin.
“I’ll pay triple what the bounty is,” I snap, and he eases up on my throat as he chuckles.
“I heard about that. You really do have bad luck.”
“Who are you?” I ask, confused as hell. “Aren’t you here to kill me to get the mill?”
“Pfft,” he scoffs. “That’s fucking pocket money. Besides, you’re more valuable to me alive.”
“Wait, what…” It hits me then.
This guy isn’t an assassin. He must be one of my stalkers. But which one?
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want,” he sneers, leaning in closer, giving me a better look at his face.
He has facial hair. A little bushy for my taste, but as far as I can tell, he’s attractive. But those eyes? They are unhinged.
“Remind me,” I snap, needing him to spell it out so I can figure out if he’s my text stalker or picture stalker.
My money is on text stalker since that’s the one who wanted something from me.
“I want you to help me take down your family.”
Ahhh, yes, it’s text stalker.
“And who are you, exactly?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“Who I am doesn’t matter.”
Reaching up, I shove his chest, and he lets me, taking a step back and slipping his gun into the back of his pants.
“I disagree,” I snap, jabbing a finger at him. “If I’m going to do business with you, then I need to know who you are.”
His jaw ticks.
“I’m someone Ewan Marx pissed off.”
I scoff. “Get in line.”
“I’m someone who knows his secrets. Knows all of the family secrets.”
I narrow my eyes. “I’m listening,” I murmur, crossing my arms over my chest.
“He needs to pay, and you’re going to help me do that.”
“How? I don’t have anything to do with my family anymore.”
Slowly, his lips spread into a shit-eating-grin. “Don’t lie to me, Lily. I know you keep in contact with your cousin, Barrett. Just tell him you want to go home and see your mum or something.”
I throw my head back laughing and turn away, moving across the cobblestones where I pick up my knife.
“Barrett would know I’m lying straight away.”
“Fine, then go home for the twenty-first birthday party. I hear every man and his dog is invited.”
I spin to face him, my brows high.
“Twenty-first? Whose?”
He sighs, like I annoy him. “You really are out of touch. It’s Gracie’s twenty-first. Ewan has arranged a whole shindig, more extravagant than he has for any of his other children.”
“How do you know this?”
“I told you. I know everything.” He eyes me as I twirl my knife and move to the guy laying in a pool of blood.
He’s not dead. I can hear a rattle of breath left in him, but he will be dead soon since I’m going to help him along.
Bending, I plunge my knife into his chest and right through his heart.
“That’s kinda hot,” the guy snickers, and I reef my blade free and turn to glare at him.
“I’m taken.”
“Ohhh I know. By Asher Scott. Isn’t he best mates with your kids?”
I stiffen, glaring at this man who really does know more than he should.
“How do you know what you know?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“I make it my business to know.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s how I win.”
I stare at him, not sure if I should be thanking him for helping me, or killing him because he’s clearly a threat.
“Your name. Now!” I snap, and he fakes being scared, shaking his hands like they are trembling.
“Ooooh so scary.”
“I guess I’ll just kill you then.” I shrug, readying my knife, and he sighs.
“Fine, you can call me AJ, but that’s all I’m giving you. The rest you have to earn.”
Who does this guy think he is?
“You don’t honestly think I’m going to help you, do you?”
He shrugs. “I’m sure you will see sense, eventually. In the meantime, allow me to save your arse while your boyfriend is getting beat up in the cage.”
“What? He’s hurt?”
AJ snickers. “Wow, you really do have it bad for him. What is it like being a cougar? Does he call you Mummy?”
I lunge at him with a frustrated scream, and he easily dodges me, laughing at my expense as he backs up towards the mouth of the alley.
“I’m not helping you!” I scream, and he shakes his head.
“Yeah, you will, Lily, because you’re the only one who has the power to rattle him.
You’re the only one who was brave enough to leave, and not let him rule you.
” AJ turns, striding casually to the end of the alley before turning back.
“Don’t you ever wonder if his threat to make you sterile was forced onto any of the other Marx women? ”
My heart stops beating. I swear it does as his words sink in and he walks away.
I never considered that Ewan would do that to one of my sisters, or one of his own daughters, but even as I consider it, I know it’s a real possibility.
Ewan Marx is a monster, but then again, so am I.
I left all of my family to deal with him, and I’m beginning to think I should’ve stayed and helped them.