Chapter 30Zane
30
Zane
T he most powerful feeling in the world is being able to call a hit on your worst enemy while playing minigolf in the backyard with your soon-to-be fiancée. We’re still at the safehouse, but this place is a lot more fun than the estate. It’s made to be entertaining for prolonged periods of time, when you’re forced to lay low and wait out conflicts.
At first, I really wanted to be a part of the hit. For half my life, I’ve been at odds with Maksim, and it felt anticlimactic to have someone else pull the trigger on him.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had graduated to a hire level of Bratva boss, with a wife and a child on the way, and more money in the bank than I could ever possibly spend. Why would I risk it all just to have the cheap thrill of killing someone?
It took a little bit of time and a lot of reflecting to come to that conclusion, and I might have acted like I already was ready to give up the kill in front of Monroe, but now it’s the truth. I’d rather be here with her, hitting a silly little white ball around the yard while Kiro and my men sit in a truck outside of the county jail, waiting for Maksim to be released.
Someone was supposed to pick him up, but without him there to call the shots, his weakly organized group isn’t terribly effective. In fact, we were able to intercept them and prevent them from reaching the jail in the first place. That’s how we knew that Maksim would soon be released.
Now, as I tap a golf ball into the hole at the end of a particularly difficult section of the course, the phone in my pocket buzzes.
I reach my hand into the pocket of my linen pants, pushing aside another little object that I have saved for the perfect time, and I pull out my phone. Kiro is calling me, and I know exactly why.
I answer the phone, putting it on speaker so that Monroe can hear.
"We have eyes on the target, sir," Kiro says, his voice clear and confident.
Monroe looks at me with wide eyes, her hands clutching the hem of her pink cotton dress. I wink at her, assuring her that everything is going to be okay. She's right here with me, and Kiro is miles away. We're getting all the action through the phone with none of the actual risk. All I have to do is give permission, and Maksim finally drops.
"Do it," I say, gripping the phone a little tighter.
"Affirmative," Kiro replies, and then the crack of a single shot rings out. I hear it echoing in the confines of the city, the deafening sound bouncing off brick buildings long after the bullet hits its target. It sounds so much real than bullets do in the movies, so much louder and less refined.
As the sound fades, it's replaced by dead silence. For a moment, my heart stops, but then I hear Kiro's voice come through again, loud and clear. "It's done, sir. One straight into the head, and we'd better get out of here before the police come."
Monroe puts a hand on her stomach and sighs. It's clear that she's relieved, and I understand her completely. I'm also relieved, more than I can express with words. I take her hand, squeezing it and smiling wildly. "Get going. We'll meet at my estate later. I have one more thing I need to do before leaving the safehouse."
"Affirmative, sir," Kiro says, and I can hear the pride in his voice.
I hang up the phone, tucking it back into my pocket. My hand brushes on the other object there, the one I tucked into my pants secretly this morning. Now that Maksim is gone, the time has come to make this move. It's the one thing I feel like i have to do before returning home.
Monroe is smiling at me, the sunlight bringing out the golden hues in her eyes. It's an absolutely stunning view, but it pales in comparison to her smile. It's the brightest thing in the world, brighter than the sun. It's the kind of thing that makes you think of the good in life, the kind of thing that makes you feel hope.
"How do you feel?" she asks, tilting her head to the side.
"Great," I reply. "I'm ready to go home, and I'm glad that Maksim is dead. I feel like I can finally move on with my life. I'm also glad to be here with you, far away from the danger. I like it honestly, and that's not something I used to be able to say. I always lived for the danger because I had nothing else to live for, but now I do. I have you."
She blushes. "Always such a romantic."
"It's about to get more romantic," I reply, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the secret I've been keeping all day. I'm surprised it hasn't burned a hole in my pocket already.
Monroe gasps before I even drop to one knee. I told her this was coming, but I guess she didn't believe it would actually happen until now.
I look up at her, holding out a ring that could never possibly do justice to her beauty, and I say the words I've been longing to say. "Monroe, will you marry me?"
Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are filled with tears, but her smile is so big and bright that the moment doesn't feel quite as intimidating. I just know. And she knows too. We both know what our future looks like.
"Yes," she whispers, nodding her head.
I take her hand and slip the ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly, and the giant diamond on top shines with rainbow hues like it just rained. To me, this is the rainbow after the storm, the beauty that follows the chaos, and the perfection that was promised since the beginning of the universe. And it fits Monroe perfectly.