Twelve
Twelve
SAVVY
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Closing my eyes, allowing my frustration and anger to seep out of me with every breath. This is not how I wanted to explain my life to Gunner, but they couldn’t let a bitch live. They had to send their lackey. They had to have known how shit would go with her. They knew she was on my list, one where her name was now crossed off.
Taking a seat on the couch, I previously vacated. I don’t look at Gunner. I don’t want to see, I don’t want to know what he thinks of the woman I’ve become, the killer I am who feels no remorse for taking a life. He may have seen glimpses of her, but not all of who I am, what I am. Now isn’t the time for that. Now I need to make some things clear to some seriously hard-headed people looking to receive all of my wrath.
My phone rests in my hands as I press the button to make the fucking call. They should’ve known better. I choose when and if they contact me. The game they played by sending her is one they’ll learn to regret. They know I will not let that slide. That I will not be pulled back in. When I said I was done, I meant it, and having my father’s approval after I explained it was in our best interest to cut ties. He agreed and would go to war to make sure they understood we were done. I am done. They fucked up by coming anywhere near my family, especially where my grandbabies lay their heads. Which has me ready to end them without asking questions.
“Your message has been received loud and clear, Svetlana. But maybe we should send one of our own…” The cool voice I know all too well comes over the line forgoing any pleasantries. The hint of annoyance in his voice has my lips lifting in satisfaction. Good, be mad, bitch.
With a cold, humorless chuckle at the son of a bitch’s audacity. “You play silly games, you win silly prizes, James. I’ve given you my answer more than once and you know how much I hate repeating myself. You had to know I would end your little lap dog the moment she stepped onto the club grounds. So, my message being received is a moot point. You clearly didn’t value the bitch, but you got my attention, which I’m sure has you creaming in your pants. Now, say what you need to say before I come for you, for wasting my fucking time.” I say, malice lacing my words.
My eyes trail to Gunner and watch emotions swirl in his eyes. Eyes that are narrowed and assessing, I see a hint of jealousy, which has my smirk turning into a smile. This is not the time for it, but I find it sexy as hell that he is jealous of an unknown man, a man I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Gunner doesn’t need to know that. When his eyes trail from the phone to mine, my breath hitches. What I thought I would see when he finally looked at me, isn’t at all what’s reflected toward me. Gunner’s eyes are filled with love, admiration, and determination. He is letting me know he is a man willing to stand by my side without knowing what he is standing against. It is also telling me we will have a long conversation about the secrets I’ve been keeping.
At my name being said, my earlier anger returns. I look away from Gunner and focus on the phone in my hands.
“…You may think you are done with us, but you know better, Svetlana.” A colder voice, one I never thought I would hear again, comes through the phone. For only a moment, I’m taken aback. It doesn’t last long, because, of course, the stupid bitch never knows when to stay fucking dead. I’m not surprised she and the Faction are part of trying to get me and the Organization back into their fold. I learned long ago where they are concerned their intentions are never pure.
My eyes narrowed at the phone. “Yee, who has little sense, Julia. Why am I not surprised to know you, of all people, would be behind this little game?” I say.
Curses are heard in the room. I don’t take my eyes away from the phone, but I shake my head, letting everyone know to keep their shit together.
“Where is my daughter, Svetlana? It is time she takes her place. You cannot keep her from me. You will not keep her from me,” Julia bellows over the line.
“Now you wait a goddess damn minute, Julia, that’s not. You don’t run this shit. You don’t…” a muffled voice says. Before.
I try to rain in my anger. It has been a long time since I’ve had to open this box and let the Widowmaker out. But for my family, for my children, I will do what I need to do and that includes killing a dead woman. Julia, the conniving bitch, made her choice a long time ago. She betrayed the Organization and got her entire team killed. There is no way I’ll let her toxic ass anywhere near Sinclair, especially not now. Sinclair manifesting is something I had prayed would never happen and is the only reason Julia wants anything to do with her.
From one breath to the next, a buzz of anger radiated through the room as we listened to the bickering over the line. Bellamy and the team know about Julia being alive. It was a hard decision to keep it from Sin, but it was in her best interest. Julia was never meant to be a mother. She only gave in because it brought her closer to Jax and my inner circle. To her, Sin was only a means to an end.
A humorless chuckle stops the argument occurring on the other line. “Julia, when I took my daughter away, there were two promises made. I promised Jax that you would pay for your betrayal. And I promised that Sin would have the life he wanted for her, without you in it.” I hear a loud thud. Knowing I’m pissing her off. I continue. “In the end, you weren’t as slick as you thought you were. I know everything, Julia. You don’t want to go against me. The faction can’t afford to go to war with me. I guess that’s why you’ve gotten your claws into someone in the Order. Your hurt feelings and grubby, power-hungry ass means nothing to me. Stay dead bitch. And James, lose the rat before she takes you down with her.” With that, I end the call.
“Son of a Bitch,” Pain growls.
“Fucking Hell,” Bellamy says, anger lacing her voice.
“I am packed and ready to blow shit up. Point and shoot baby. Point and fucking shoot. Boom!” Rocket chuckles, but I can hear the malice and excitement in his voice.
“Where the hell is she? I know you sent her on a job, but she should be back by now.” Bellamy’s frantic eyes meet mine. Her concern, as always, is for her sister, knowing that all the other shit I will handle without remorse.
“She’s fine. There is no way Julia knows where she is. We will handle this. We all knew this day would come. Julia has always hated fucking losing. And losing Sin lost her favor with her family. She will never get what she wants. I won’t fucking allow it.”
Taking a breath, and looking over to Gunner and seeing the confusion in his eyes. As far as he or anyone outside of my blood family knows, Sins’ parents were killed in an operation gone wrong. Which is mostly true except for her egg donor Julia. When all the dust was settled, Julia was found captured and injured. We didn’t know the full extent of her involvement with how things ultimately ended for her team. I had my suspicions, but that at the time was all I had. After weeks of delays, my father put his foot down and released her to her family. With my suspicions being what they were, there was no way I was going to let her take Jax’s daughter.
With a sigh, knowing that the time has come. Even with Julia being a recent development, I still have to explain about what happened to me and my connection with the order.
“The Order was once aligned with the Organization. They are…” I say, releasing a breath because this is not how I wanted to do this, but we don’t have time for niceties.
Gunner, understanding that this is difficult for me, sits forward in his chair. Vex and Bull stand taller and focus on me. “The Order is essentially the supernatural version of us–The Organization. They are the governing entity that keeps the things that go bump in the night from crossing into our world, the human world. And for centuries we have played nice with one another until…”
“So wait, your… you… What you are telling us is that this is like…. Lion, tigers, and bears, oh my type of shit.” Vex says cutting me off.
Vex’s eyes glitter with humor as he guffaws looking around the room. It is when his eyes meet his sisters, Pain, and Rockets that he notices there is no humor in either of their eyes, causing his own to widen.
“Hold up. Are you serious? This is some lions, tigers, and bears type shit…really?” He says all humor is gone. Vex’s brows are now in his hairline as his eyes bounce between everyone in the room. With a stunned look on his face, he takes a step back, bumping into the wall behind him. He leans back, crossing his arms, shock clear on his face.
“Lions, tigers, bears, wolves, witches, warlocks… Oh, my blond little bunny, you do not know all the fun little critters that skitter around this big bad world.” Rocket says, finding Vex’s reaction amusing.
“Rocket,” Bellamy says in warning.
“Not the point,” I say.
I look over at Rocket, who is far too excited to school the Church’s on his misadventures. This fucking boy. I shake my head at him, giving him a look that lets him know now is not the time. There is far too much for me to go over than to get into his story times. And there are things not just about Sin’s bloodline, but my own that they need to know and understand. It’s because of me that the Organization is at odds with The Order. It’s because of what the order did to me that put the organization on the Faction’s radar and why they have inserted themselves into our lives and caused me to lose one of my best friends.
“When I was pregnant with the twins, I, along with my team, was sent on a mission. We had caught word that young girls were going missing. It wasn’t supposed to be anything taxing for me, which is why my father allowed me to be involved. He knew I needed to keep moving, keep my mind off of… things.” I say, my eyes finding Gunners who shine with understanding and guilt. “It was supposed to be simple. Find out what was going on. Get the information on the who, what, when, where, why, and how. The more we surveyed, the more we learned. The night shit hit the fan. It wasn’t supposed to go down how it did. I was supposed to be a decoy, a pregnant woman, out walking her dog, while my team got close enough to get the last bit of information. We needed to proceed in shutting the sick fucks down. What I didn’t know, none of us knew, was that there were others. Not people, but beings involved. The Order was also investigating the situation as well. We didn’t know that either. But they had known we were there and why, they stayed in the shadows, not making their presence known until it was too late for me. The people who we were investigating were the worst of the worst and what they were doing to those girls...” Looking away from Gunner, I get lost in the memories.
Then
“What’s your doggie”s name? Who’s the cutest little boy…”
Before I can answer, my vision becomes fuzzy and I feel like I’m falling. I can hear raised voices in my ear, but I can’t answer them. I can’t move, react, or defend myself or my babies.
And then everything goes dark.
All I could feel when the darkness lifted was pain, so much pain.