15.
A ras knocks on the study room door three consecutive times, which results in the ongoing conversation on the other side to stop briskly.
There’s a half-minute long silence, followed by firm footsteps approaching our way.
The door opens with a smooth swish , and a wave of chilly, AC air whooshes out, bringing with it the smell of rich leather and cigar smoke.
“Aras?” Jedediah says, his expression slightly distorted. Whether it’s due to shock or annoyance, I can’t really tell.
He quickly glances around at me and the crew, then gives Aras a clinical smile.
Aras, the confident bastard, grins back at him, then slaps my shoulder.
“Jed, meet my friend, Dorran. He’s an amazing boxer, and would love to have a chat with you over possible career options.
” He gestures towards my crew. “And these are my guests. Potential investors and such. Do you have a few minutes to spare so we can talk business?”
Jed’s facial features relax, if only a little. His posture still seems a bit stiff, which means I’ll have to be on guard, in case he pulls a stunt on us.
“Of course,” he all but chirps, then steps aside. “I’m all ears.”
The six of us enter the room, and when I give her a faint nod, Varsha shuts and locks the door from the inside.
Jedediah notices that, but maintains that smile of his like a mask.
Selina is standing near the drink area, but says nothing as she assesses us all.
“Well, I’ll be damned ,” Cignette remarks, making me turn. She’s looking at a middle-aged couple who are sitting on a plush loveseat in front of a narrow bookshelf.
They stand immediately when they see her, and the woman offers Cignette a smile that makes the one Jed’s wearing seem laughable.
“Cignette, my dear,” she sings, then places a hand over her heart. “I was so sorry to hear about your uncle. I can only imagine how hard it must’ve been for you, losing both him and your mother so suddenly.”
Cigs cocks her head to the side. “What are you scumbags doing here, of all places?” she asks, then looks at Aras. “Did you invite them?”
“They were brief sponsors for Reign a couple of years ago,” he provides. “Why, what’s wrong?”
“I’m surprised they didn’t offer to buy your company, given that it’s a hobby of theirs.”
And then it clicks. These are the Goswamis .
They’re the ones who bought Lure from Chase after Miranda’s death, and then shut it down completely to start a condiments business under a different brand label.
Motherfuckers. They took Cignette’s dream from her and erased it from existence, and they have the gall to act all cordial with her.
“They’d be dead by now if they’d even suggested wanting to buy Reign ,” Magner states.
“Too bad I never got a chance to defend what was mine,” Cigs says, then unclips her holster before drawing her Glock from it. “How strong are the chances of the guests hearing gunshots from up here?” she asks.
“This room is soundproof, given its nature and purpose,” Aras replies, then smirks. “Have at it, Adler.”
“ Perfect ,” she says, winking at the Goswamis.
They gasp and all but scramble towards the door, but Varsha blocks their path, then crosses her arms and widens her stance as she lifts a brow at them.
“Aras, what the fuck is this?” Jedediah voices urgently. “What’s happening right now?”
Aras waves a hand his way, then takes a seat on the divan behind him. “Honestly? I have no idea either, but I’m intrigued. Let’s just sit back and enjoy the show, yeah?”
“We need to leave ,” Selina hisses at her husband. “ Now .”
“You take one step towards the door, and you die ,” I tell her. “So, stay put and stop talking.”
Jedediah has now understood the full extent of the situation. He pulls Selina close to him, whispering something to her when she starts shaking in confused terror.
“Your uncle wanted the highest possible price for Lure ,” Mr. Goswami provides. “And because we were looking to buy a place as well-established as your mother’s HQ, we bought it. We wouldn’t have done it had we known how much that company meant to you. Please, you have to believe us.”
“Why not forfeit it, then? Why the fuck did you shut it down instead of talking to me about it?” Cignette questions.
“Even after Chase’s death, the two of you didn’t so much as reach out to me.
If you had, we could have come to an agreement about the HQ.
But you… you status-hungry pigs were too busy setting up your own empire after destroying the one that I had dreamt of expanding. ”
Mrs. Goswami’s lips tremble as she cries. “We’re…we’re truly sorry, Cignette.”
Cigs spits on the ground in front of them.
“ Lure was my haven. It was my life . There was so much I wanted to do with it, but you took that opportunity from me. And for what? To sell condiments ? Are you fucking kidding me with that?” She racks the Glock, and before I can so much as blink, she pulls the trigger, shooting Mrs. Goswami in the right side of her face.
Screams erupt in the room, both from Selina and Mrs. Goswami. The latter’s is more ear-piercing, though, since most of the flesh in the area she’s been shot at has now blown off and is drooping down her face. It’s quite a lovely sight, if I’m being completely honest.
Cignette shifts her arm and fires again, this time at Mr. Goswami.
And, because it’s a close-range shot, it hits him squarely in the middle of his forehead, splattering chunks of his brain, and a thick stream of blood against the buckram-covered books behind him.
He falls onto the loveseat, and Mrs. Goswami screams again.
I hook an arm around Cigs’ shoulders as I step closer to watch her handiwork. “That was so hot,” I whisper in her ear, just as Alex says, “Fucking epic .”
“Good work, babe,” Varsha praises.
Cigs chuckles. “Thanks, Teach.” She gently elbows me in the abs. “And thank you ,” she tells me.
“Can I clap? Because I feel a clap coming in real fast,” Magner comments, making us all laugh.
Mrs. Goswami moves, trying to reach for Cigs, but Magner rushes forward and drives what looks like a slick dagger under her chin. It’s long enough that it pierces the entire length of her face, and exits through the top of her head in a clean, straight line.
Her body goes slack, and she falls in a heap onto the carpeted floor.
“ Brutal ,” I say, thoroughly impressed.
He takes a bow. “I aim to please.”
“I can pay,” comes Jedediah’s rushed, broken voice. “I’ll pay you all. Whatever the price, I’ll fucking pay .”
I let go of Cigs and turn to face him. “Of course you can,” I muse. “But it’s too bad I’m not a sellout.”
He’s shaking – head-to-dick-to-toe. “I’ll double the price,” he tries again. “Whatever he –” he points at a calm and composed Aras, “–has paid you, I’ll double it. I promise I’ll double it.”
I grin. “I’m sorry, Jed , but I don’t do the whole double-agent thing. It’s not really my forte, y’know?”
He looks at Aras. “Why the fuck are you doing this?” he asks, seeming helpless. “Are you seriously so petty? And what has Selina ever done to you? She’s innocent, damn you!”
“So you agree that you’re not,” I say. “Innocent, I mean.”
He glowers at me. “I’ve done nothing to deserve this,” he spits out.
“Well, Sylvia would say otherwise, don’t you agree?” Aras states coldly.
He hadn’t mentioned Jed’s victim’s name to me this morning, so it’s the first I’m hearing it.
“Who’s Sylvia?” asks Selina, then yanks her husband’s arm. “What’s he talking about?”
His face pales. “Babe, it’s nothing, I swe–”
“Sylvia is one of our ring girls,” Magner provides, giving Jedediah a quick, disgust-filled once over. “Someone your husband raped, right before quitting on us and Reign .”
Her entire demeanor shifts at that information. Her throat bobs as she swallows, and her eyes mist over as she steps away from Jedediah.
He reaches for her, but she jerks away from him.
“How sad ,” I remark, then glance at Varsha. “Get her.”
She nods, then makes her way to Selina before grabbing her by the hair and dragging her away from Jedediah.
She struggles against Varsha’s hold and claws at her hand to break free, then doubles over when V jabs her in the stomach.
“You bitch!” Jedediah moves forward, but I fist his collar and knee him in the gut.
“What the fuck did you just call my sister?” I hit him with an uppercut to the chin, and when he falls backwards against the study table, strewing the papers and stationaries on it, I go to grab him again. He’s quick, though, and kicks me in the chest, making me stumble.
“Dor!” Cigs comes to me, but I lift a hand, stopping her.
“Stay back,” I order.
“But–” She doesn’t finish her sentence, and instead pulls me to the side.
Disoriented by the suddenness of it, I look up, and notice her evading Jedediah’s punch. She swivels out of his way, then presses her heeled foot to his shin, making him yelp.
He goes after her again, but she hops up on the table, and when he’s near, she grabs a landline receiver before smashing it against the side of his head.
He loses his balance, but not fully. With blood now flowing freely from his right temple, he tries to knock her down, but she dodges him successfully, then gets off the table before kicking him right in the middle of his legs.
Jedediah cries out in pain as he falls to his knees, and his head rolls back awkwardly when Cigs repeatedly clocks him in the face.
Left, right.
Left, left, right.
Uppercut, kick in the crotch, and then a quick hook in the jaw.
She steps back, and just when I think she’s done, she twists her body around, and delivers a beautiful roundhouse kick, right to the lower half of Jedediah’s fucked-up face.