📢📢 There is a VERY important question at the end, so be on the lookout!! Also, the next update is going to be two parts, so there will be a double update next week.

"Sometimes the strength within you is not a big fiery flame for all to see. It can be a tiny spark that whispers ever so softly, 'You got this. Keep going'."— Unknown
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Chapter 86
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Luke

My father and I hadn't spoken in the past fifteen minutes or so. The only thing that came from his side were murmured profanities at his injury.

I remained in his chair that was technically mine now, as quiet as ever. I would have kept that way if my body wasn't aching for Maggie the way it was.

Levi had texted a moment ago, and told me that him and the group were going to be late getting to my house for the party. One of them had dropped the cake or some shit. I didn't know if that was code for something, but I just took his word for it.

As I said, though, I didn't give a damn about the party or shit else they had planned. They could sleep over, damage, and trash the house for all I care. It wouldn't change a thing.

After Maggie and I talked out everything, and after I got the scolding part done, I was locking us in our bedroom for the rest of the night, and she wasn't going anywhere. Not until her lips were puffy from kisses, her ass had my hand imprints and my hickeys marked in her flushed skin, and for damn sure, not until I had spelled out my name inside of her so many times, it'd be the only shit her trembling body could make sense of.

The excitement pumped through my blood right alongside the anticipation, so I let it aid me into my next act.

I cleared my throat to catch my dad's attention. He jumped at the sudden break of silence, but he didn't meet my eyes.

"You know..." I mused. "I expected an icebreaker or two from the famous Ryan Vaudest."

Silence.

"I'll go first, then." I shrugged, then headed straight for the point. "Why do you hate me?"

A moment passed, and in it, he glanced to the door a total of five times. I could see him planning an escape, but also comparing it to how quickly the plan would fail the second I stood from this chair.

A huff came from him. "I don't hate you."

"So, you just loved me so much that you decided to leave a couple of bruises to prove it?" A couple of bruises were an understatement. "Or, was I just reading into it wrong?"

At his silence, I shrugged, and turned back to the laptop to head to the next video. It was of him balls deep in one of the maids at the mansion. The next would be of him with his tongue down one of Beatrice's best friends' mouth.

The sight disgusted me, as did all of the other videos, but it was needed in order to take him down. I had had Preston monitor over the mansion for the past couple of years, as well as the hotels and the strip clubs my father liked to go to. It gave me more than enough ammunition against him, and the infidelities were only just the beginning.

My dad's head snapped up. When he realized that the video was not only playing in the the room, but throughout the entire building, the panic made him stiffen.

It amused me. I had connected it to the audio system minutes ago so that our guests, both close and far from the room would know the truth about the man they worshipped.

His glistening eyes whipped up to mine. "Turn that—"

"Every minute that you stay quiet, I go to another video. I have more than enough."

His startled gaze swung between me and the board, but my own stayed on him. Through the window, I saw his colleague's shock and disgust.

My dad gulped past his bullshit to admit in a murmur, "I treated you—"

Grabbing one of the pencils from the table, I threw it at him until the eraser popped him in the cheek.

"Speak up," I repeated his own words back to him. A smile jumped to my lips at the click of recognition in him. "You know how to talk. Straighten your back up."

He had to press his lips together to stop them from spewing curses. Slowly, he did what was suggested and continued on by saying, "I treated you the way you were meant to be treated."

"Which is?"

"As nothing."

Despite the normalcy of hearing that from him, it still pinched all the same. Regardless of the tolerance I had managed to build against him, emotionally and physically, he was still my father, whether I wanted him to be or not. That didn't go away, nor did the sting of hearing him claim me of things I couldn't control. I had just learned how to react to it.

I did just that, stilling my expression over. Despite the hurt still being there, four people outside of this building, plus a one-hundred pound, spoiled dog helped prove that belief to me as nothing at all. And, one of those four people had given me the world just by being in it. She had done it so many times without even knowing.

To me, that was enough to make up for the amount of times I was told I didn't deserve love by someone who had never even given me a reason why, at least not without it being a projecting, self-hatred type of thing.

I deserved it. I did. I wasn't spectacular at the shit, but I had made my mistakes, learned from them, and bettered myself in order to avoid making them, again. And, I had enjoyed every second of it, because the end result was always something beautiful and exciting.

I would only continue to do that, to learn and love, and enjoy every moment of it. I didn't need my father to do so, nor did I have to listen to his doubts. I couldn't do a thing about what this piece of shit felt about me, but the opposite could be said about myself.

I directed a nod his way. "Why?"

"What?"

"Each time I repeat myself today will be another limb that I break from you." I sighed. "Let me know if that memory of yours works a little better, then."

At my threat, his face lost any resemblance of color since he, and his broken hand, now recognized how serious I was. He leaned back into his chair, as if to separate him and I even farther, but it didn't matter. If I wanted to put my hands on him, right now, then I would do so without any confusion on his side.

"You're a bastard," he stated clearly. "A whore's bastard that should have never been alive, and surely should have never been mine."

"I suggest you watch your mouth when you talk about my mother. That'll be my only warning." I willed my temper back into place to finish. "Back to the point, though. She wasn't a whore when you fucked her, though, right?"

His good hand clenched into a fist.

"You're just like her," he hissed. "Needy. Annoying. Selfish. Always loves to tell tales, then cry victim when no one listens to them." The disgust made his lip curl at me. "Wendy was the reason I was stuck with you—"

I lifted a brow. "So, she made you come into the hotel room to sleep with her?"

"Of course not, but—"

"Did I make you come into the hotel room to sleep with her?"

He glared back at me, but he knew his answer. "What are you on, boy?"

"I just wanted to reflect with you a bit." My shrug was light from the weight beginning to lift off of my shoulders. "I guess I was just a little confused on how you managed to put your fucked shit on me." His glare could slice through the thickest of metal, but it didn't alter my words, "I've figured it out, though. Fucked shit. That's exactly what you are, and what you've always been—"

With a curse, he slammed his palm onto the table, and shot up from his chair so quickly, it seemed to make his toupee lift.

Grinning, I perched my elbows on the table, and placed my head on my fists while I watched his tantrum.

"Luke!" he roared with the rage I could recognize from all directions. His working hand pointed to the door. "Leave now and I'll consider dropping the assault charges—"

My grin grew as I rocked my head around. "Assault charges?"

"Yes, assault charges." A bit of his narcissism was restored. "My building has security cameras, and they've captured every single thing you've done today."

"Uh huh," I chuckled at his confidence, but I was topping it. "Are these the same cameras that are gonna be off for the next fifteen minutes or so—"

"That is enough!" he bellowed. "How dare you come into my office, on my property with this disrespect, and these accusations!" His nostrils flared at me. "After everything I've given you, Luke—"

I snorted. "All you've given me is trauma, an emotional stunt, and a long ass list of broken bones and first aid kits." The son of a bitch was more delusional than I thought. "Instead of patting yourself on the back, use that same hand to pat your hair back down before the breeze hits, and sit the fuck down while I'm speaking to you."

Realizing his position, his usual snark was exchanged for realization as he slowly sunk into his seat, again.

I lifted a brow, accusingly. "Now. Since you apparently don't know shit about manners..." My smile stretched at him. "I was going to say that I never cared to find out what fucked you up the way it did to think the shit you do is okay. A kid isn't supposed to be your therapist. You had more than enough to...I won't say 'get a therapist', because whatever the fuck is going on in your head to think it okay to beat a kid might require something else, but, I will give you this."

I held my emotions back physically, just as I had learned to do all of my life in order to survive, but my words would get my point across just fine. "I learned and taught myself how to be the opposite of you. In all of the ways love and care exist, I now know what they are and I won't ever mistake them for something you had for or did to me. I'm not perfect at it, but...I guess, because of that, I met my two brothers, and a, my, real family who I wouldn't exchange for the world, and I know that if they were in the room, they would say the same about me. That's all I'll ever appreciate you for." When he father flinched, so I figured something I said got to him. "And, it's funny, really. You nearly kept me under your thumb, because I didn't think I had anywhere else to go if I wasn't there, and you knew that."

I dropped my arms to the table, clearing my throat. "That was before I found Maggie, though." And, my home. My place and my person who made sense of every single part of me. Who made me, and the heartbeat in my chest make sense.

The realization that I knew everything hovered over his face until it was the only thing left on the pale sheet.

I sighed into my next conversation, "You know, you've fucked up a lot in your life when it comes to me, but by bringing my girl into it, and doing what you did?" Chuckling under my breath, I paused to open the folder. The first document on top was enough to make a wealthy man's pockets go cold. "You should have known that you were bringing me into it, too."

Over the table, I slid the files over to him. Some of them fell from the folder, but it didn't much matter. The realization of what he was reading made his body go still.

"Embezzlement, tax evasion and fraud, money laundering, millions of dollars worth of check forgery, and let's not forget the electoral fraud..." I drummed my fingers along the wooden table, a chuckle bubbling in my throat. "Jesus, dad. You were really going down the list, huh?"

A slow hand swept over his gaping mouth, and even that didn't shut it. "How did you..." His eyes met mine from the other side of the table. "How did you get these?"

I had waited years, fucking years for this moment. An entire decade of gathering all of this information from both inside and outside sources alike, just to have a shot of being free from the devil.

Now that I had the sight, I didn't think there to be a better satisfaction. "Does that really matter?"

"Yes, it fucking—" The panic on his expression nearly startled me; I had never seen it before, now. "How did you get these documents, Luke?"

"Call it a friend of a friend of a son who wanted nothing more than to see karma come for his father."

His throat rolled under a gulp. He didn't even bother to flip to the next page.

"With everything else I've already released to the public, that's...what?" My amusement only built. "Thirty years? Forty?" My laughter was tangled with, "Do you think they'll serve caviar, and crème brûlée in prison? Maybe if you flash them that Vaudest smile this town seems to lose their shit over, the guards will slip you a silk pillowcase or two. You know how sensitive your skin is—"

I wasn't able to finish before he was grabbing some of the pages from the folder, then ripping them in half.

I waited patiently, a smirk on my face. His temper tantrums lasted a while, usually.

"There." His chest heaved under relief of his 'victory', as I was sure he thought it to be. "They're gone. Everything is gone. I hope your friend of a friend gets his money back."

A frown drooped his lips at my laugh.

Skeptical eyes squinted at me. "What's so funny, boy?"

I swept at the corners of my eyes with a humored sigh. "You, you dumbass." I motioned toward the ripped pages. "You didn't think those were the only copies, did you?"

Either fist clenched shut over the table, even the injured one.

"I mean," I choked out another laugh at this stupid shit in front of me. "I am your kid, dad. Worst experience ever, by the way, but it did give me a quick head on my shoulders. I'll give that to you."

The folder in his hand tore from his grip. Any sense of emotion had been wiped right off, much to my satisfaction.

"You know..." I leaned back into his seat with a sigh. "I honestly have no idea how you sit in this chair all day. My legs are stiff as shit." My lips tipped into a smile of mockery. "Mind if I stretch a bit?"

No response.

I shrugged it off and crossed the room until I was behind him. His body went rigid as I placed my hands onto his shoulders.

"I know you're probably sick of surprises by now, old man," I joked, giving him a shake. "But, I believe in you for a couple more."

"Honestly." I took my time heading back to the end of the table, where the laptop was. "After twenty years of cursing your mistake, I would have thought you'd have the sense to use protection to avoid making it again, but..." As soon as I clicked next, my smile grew into a grin. "I guess not, huh?"

I heard a sharp breath leave him. He knew.

My chuckle was short at his reaction. I crossed my arms, leaned against the table, and looked to the board, where my little brother's picture was displayed.

"How did you get that?" He breathed out in shock from behind me. "I...I made sure it was sealed, that no one would find out—"

I flicked my head at the board. "You apparently didn't do a good enough job, because his mother, the one you paid off to keep everything a secret?" I chortled under my breath. "Jesus, you should have seen her. She was singing like a hummingbird the moment the money ran out."

The energy in the room was of one I knew shook him up. His mutters of disbelief, and curses at himself continued on, but I paid it no mind.

Instead, I glanced back to the picture of Ledger.

I'd been suspicious of him from the moment Maggie caught him sneaking into my shop. I knew it was strange to be apprehensive of a child, but adults played dirty sometimes. I didn't wanna risk shit with Maggie's dad, despite the disgusting shithead being dead. His men weren't, though.

So, I asked Preston for a file on the kid. It took longer than usual to get the results back since there was so little on him, due to his mother's low-profile. While he worked on getting that for me, though, I had a dna test sent to a lab by using one of the wrappers Ledger left behind at my building.

The results came a week ago, and it confirmed it. Ledger was my half, little brother.

I was shocked as shit, more than that, really. Then, Preston gave me the information that made the rest of it add up.

Ten years ago, my dad was drunk off his ass after a campaign event gone right, and had decided to use one of the women at a strip club as celebration, and the rest was obvious. Once my father found out she was pregnant, though, he had paid her off to keep her and the baby quiet, just as he attempted to do my mom. She had agreed to the deal, but over time, had gotten hooked on drugs and alcohol, and was willing to do anything to get her fix. That included violating the NDA my dad's lawyers had drawn up to keep Ledger secret.

I wasn't too sure of the timeframe between now, and those first nine years of Ledger's life, but I didn't much need to. He was my little brother. Anything else didn't mean shit to me.

He was in school, but barely, since he was often too busy checking on his mother to make sure she hadn't accidentally overdosed herself. Him and his mother lived on the bad side of town, and she had a record as long as can be. Ledger had gotten into a fuck-ton of trouble over the years, too, but I noted that they were all burglaries, and probably his only source of survival.

It honestly fucked me up to know that he had been out there all of this time, alone with not a good soul else to call family or anything like that. He had practically been by himself this entire time, at least from what his teachers reported the couple of times child protective services were called.

I would change that, though.

I hadn't told him that we were brothers yet, since he was so young, and I didn't want to throw all of this on him so quickly. Regardless of the time frame, though, I wasn't turning my back on him.

Neither of us would ever be alone, again, and if anything, I was grateful that he wouldn't have to suffer the things I did with our dad. It was crazy as shit to think that I had a little brother now, but it didn't change my feelings. We were stuck together for a lifetime, now.

It made me happy. Excited and grateful. Really excited, honestly.

Being around the man who hid him from me, as well as the rest of the world pissed me off all over again, though.

I had spent years believing I had no other decent family other than my mother, yet here he was. An innocent little boy who had been burdened with the Vaudest blood and name, too.

It was like a repeat of history between Ledger and I, except it would be different this time. I swore it. I was here, and I would try my hardest to give him the things that I only used to fantasize about at his age. I wouldn't be perfect, but I'd pretend to be for him.

Just as I went to turn to voice my opinion, the door to the room was being shoved open by a forceful hand.

Vance came barreling through, stupid suit and stupid face in place. His temper made his face go red. "What are you doing at here, Luke?"

I grinned back at him. "Just reminiscing with our dad." I nodded to the empty chairs. "Sit. A family reunion is long overdue, don't you think—"

Him charging at me made my blood thump with excitement. After the many, many times I had beaten his ass, this was the one that wouldn't end with our dad coming to save him.

Easily, I weaved away from the punch, but before he could catch himself, I had snatched that same fist up. The pussy was definitely his father's son. "You've always thrown the weakest punches man, you know that?"

This was my third time breaking a hand or an arm this week. I should start keeping a scoreboard for the shit at this rate.

Tightening my grip, I turned his wrist with mine until I heard his arm pop out of place. His scream echoed through the room so loudly, even our father winced, and gripped his own injury. Vance tried to grab at his arm, but it only worsened the pain until he looked to be on the edge of hyperventilation.

I reached over to squeeze his arm, earning a whimpered curse. "Quit whining." I rolled my eyes. "You've always been dad's right hand bitch, though, right? There's a free seat right next to him."

When he didn't move, I sighed, but not in disappointment. This was only getting better, and the best part hadn't even come, yet.

With ease, I hauled him up by his broken arm, and through his cries, dragged him forward until he collapsed in the chair. Just as his glistening eyes raise, I grasped the back of his neck in an unbreakable grip and slammed his face into the table.

In the corner of my eye, I saw my dad flinch. Vance's groan was muffled against the table, but he didn't have the strength to fight back against me. Instead, he cradled his arm to his body, and when he came back up from the table, the blood was already beginning to slip down his forehead.

Good.

I didn't feel an ounce of sympathy or regret, nor did I deserve to. I didn't give a shit about morals or fuck else. They had never had it with me.

This wasn't nearly the amount of retaliation I was truly owed. If I went for that, we'd be here all year.

I cast a grin his way, moving out of the way so that he could have a view of the board. "See that?" I pointed toward the picture. "That's our brother, Ledger." I crossed my arms, sighing. "Bit hard to tell the resemblance, huh?"

Muzzy eyes made contact with the screen, and through it, I didn't spot any shock. It stunned me just a bit, but not a lot.

Of course he knew.

I rolled back the anger soaked knots in my stomach, and shrugged. "It's cool," I said, casually. "As shocked as I was, it probably won't be shit compared to the entire town when they find out in about three minutes. The videos of our dad will go public with it, too." I nodded back at Vance, humor in place. "And, don't worry, man, I made sure you wouldn't miss out on the fun. Hours and hours of footage of you roofieing underage girls, helping our dad complete check forgery and money laundering, and I think I even saw a meth lab or two in there somewhere, too." I motioned toward the torn files on the ground with a laugh. "And, don't think I've forgotten Beatrice's help in the electoral fraud our dad—"

"Luke."

My eyebrow lifted at my dad. Just hearing my name on his lips after the shit he'd done made my ears rotten with disgust.

The desperation in his eyes was heavy. It was strange seeing it. I never had before.

"Don't do this," he muttered, his voice weak, "Your mother. She'll be the one to pay for this—"

"My mom's in a private facility, under 24/7 surveillance and security, right now, just in case you get brave." I had thought everything out. Nothing was missing, and nothing was going wrong. I couldn't afford to let it. "Let me hear the next threat, though."

When his face fall, I knew one pleasing thing to be undeniable: he was realizing that he lost.

The second he thought it okay to touch, to scare, and threaten my woman was when he lost. I wouldn't stop, and I wouldn't ever relent on anyone or anything when it came to Maggie and I.

"Think, Luke," he attempted, anyway. "Think about it. My legacy will go to you and your brother one day. The money. The privileges and the benefits. The Vaudest name, and the power it holds." His desperate eyes whipped over to Vance, who was still weeping."If you do this, all of that goes away. Just—"

I tipped my head back with a groan; the bastard was so annoying. When I returned, I grabbed an eraser from the stationary holder on the table, and threw it at him. If only the shit would erase him from existence.

"Your legacy will die, and I'll personally make sure of it when i make my own," I said, my voice steady. "You did that to yourself."

Rage swept over his expression before the defeat followed. His head started to shake, but I paid it no mind into my next reveal.

"As for the money you're so worried about, the money in the accounts that I know the banks froze minutes ago..." I gave a shrug, running a hand down my jaw. "Yours. Vance's. Beatrice's. I had all of the money wired into a separate account just before I stopped by for our visit. The rest was withdrawn and is going into my little brother's account, so that he won't ever have to think that he has to deal or worry about your shit like I did."

At this, he and Vance were as silent as I'd ever seen them.

"How..." My father whispered, staring over the table as if it held the answers. "No. You couldn't...you didn't."

"I did, though," I countered. "Do you remember that night you kicked me out of the mansion, dad? How it was storming outside when you dragged fourteen year old me from my room, and threw me out in the rain, where I can still remember all of you laughing and locking all of the doors when I begged you to let me back in? How you left me with not shit, but the clothes on my back and the bruises underneath to accompany it?" I glanced between him and Vance with a shared stare of hatred. My nod was for them both. "Karma's a bitch. Not remembering that shit before you tried to take the woman I love away from me was your biggest and your last mistake against me."

All chances of hope or success had left him. It died like a light in his eye until the darkness of his sins had blinded him.

This surprise, though. It was for me.

Quietly, I unplugged the laptop, and tucked the flash drive away in my pocket.

As soon as I had everything, I turned toward them. Vance, first.

He must have recognized the hunt for revenge in my eyes, because the moment I stepped toward him, he was attempting to flee.

"Wait," he rushed out, face sunken with fear. Now that he knew I'd just been holding my punches all along, I could see how badly he wanted to avoid more of them. Fuck that. "Luke wait—"

With all of my strength behind it, I threw my first punch at him. I hadn't meant to do it, but when I lurched my arm back for another hit, the slump of his head made me pause.

Oh, for fucks sake. The pussy was knocked out.

With an eye roll, I turned toward my father, who was five maybe four steps away from the door. The bastard could give it to an innocent child without a conscience, but was running now that I was about to give twenty fucking years of it back.

I wasn't stopping until he was unrecognizable.

It only took a short stride to reach his frightened figure. Just as his hand grazed the door handle, I grabbed him by the collar of his suit, then jerked my arm back to throw him to the ground.

All I saw was the shock that made his face go eerily still, then the fear since he knew that there was nothing to hold me back, now. The moment I found out what he did to Maggie, to me, any fairness was out the door.

I craned my body to his level. "The first few are for Maggie, and for thinking that you could ever disrespect what's mine and walk the fuck away. The next are for my mom." Fear flashed through his eyes, then panic. I didn't let it stop me. "The rest are for me."

I swung with decade's worth of wrath behind it. My knuckles busted open within the first couple of punches. I stopped counting my punches when I got to twenty. My vision was red, whether it be from the blood or the scorch of anger. I had felt it countless times with him and about him, but this time, it was different.

This man had tortured me in every way possible for two fucking decades. And, like him, once upon a time, I had never seen an end or even thought to, because I didn't truly care to after so long of being in it. I didn't have a reason to.

Until my reason to care came in.

Now that she was here, I wasn't letting anything or anyone take her from me. Never. Especially the monster who had, all of my life, tried to take everything from me for a reason that should have never existed. I wasn't standing for it.

The only branch of sense that stuck out from my rage was that very reason. Norris.

I needed to get to her. As badly as I wanted to beat my rage into the man who had given it to me, I wanted the girl who somehow managed to always reverse it into love even more.

And, I was going to get her.

My father was barely moving. I had busted his lips seconds in, felt his bones crack under my fist, and the blood on his face made him unrecognizable. I knew when the other injuries started to show, the fucker would be distorted. It was enough to give me the strength to stop from continuing on.

Just as I lifted myself off of his crumbled figure, I heard his chuckle. It was low, and meant to taunt, but I wouldn't let it.

I swept my bloodied hands over my jeans. I didn't want to scare or freak Maggie out, so I would stop by my house to get cleaned up before I went to her.

I highly doubted I'd actually do it, though. The second I hit the road, my brain is pinpointing to one direction and to one girl, only. My baby.

"What..." I heard my dad croak, weakly. "You giving up so soon, Luke?"

I shook my head; I wasn't entertaining this shit any longer. "I have someone to get to."

"I hate to disappoint, boy, but..." His chuckle made me pause. "Well, with you, I do."

There was something in it...his laugh. I couldn't stop the press of curiosity.

I turned on a cautious foot, my gaze landing on his fucked face. "What does that mean?"

His eyes were shut, or maybe they were swelled, I didn't care. Either way, the stretch of a grin on his face made bile rise in my throat.

"It means that she's probably a dead woman, by now. If not that, then poor thing. I know they're going real slow with her." His head lolled in my direction, that same fucking smile growing. "I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted, boy."

My blood went as cold as my skin until I thought myself frozen. My mind overheating from the running track of realization proved that wrong, though..

"What..." I took a slow, off balanced step toward his beaten figure. "What did you just say?"

His mockery rung through the room, "I always get the last laugh, Luke." Just as he started to get that laugh, my vision went red.

Before I knew it, I had snatched him up by his neck, and in the next second, I had him pinned against the wall.

I didn't relent in my squeeze along his throat. I knew the exact pressure points to put the body in fight or flight mode. Whichever words he chose next would change that fight or flight to life or death.

Through my thundering heartbeat, I managed to hear myself sneer, "Tell me what the fuck that means."

I could see his usual derision and tricks wanting to peek through, right now, but when I tightened my grip, he started to smack and scratch at my hand.

I only relented enough to get an answer.

I didn't wait for him to catch his breath. My hand slammed into his face, purposefully applying pressure to his broken nose. The impact made his head bounce back against the wall.

"Make me repeat myself," I hissed, grabbing him by his chin, my glare an oath. "I dare you to make me fucking repeat myself, right now."

His usual trickery fleed when he saw me raise my hand, again. Panic made his eyes wide as he attempted to sink back into the wall.

"I gave Maggie's father your address!"

Out of everything. Every fucking thing I expected... this wasn't it.

"I..." Shaking his head, he cursed under his breath before revealing, "Her father and I. We've been working together ever since the event. His men reached out to me, and together, we struck a deal. We both had interests that aligned: he wanted Maggie, and I wanted to have you under control, again."

What...

I guessed my threat hadn't died in his head, because he was still spewing truths that made my mind bend under them, "With my security, I was able to watch Maggie for him, and report to his men so that they could try to get to her. That's how they knew where she was a majority of the time. The men and the attacks...I always waited until you weren't there, and that's why the attacks were always done when you weren't. I knew you'd take them all down until none were left, and if you couldn't, then I knew you'd take every bullet fired before you ever let one hit Maggie. I couldn't let that happen."

What the fuck?

"I-I knew that, for as long as Maggie was living, then you wouldn't give her up. I knew it, and I had to do something about it. As soon as you two broke up, I-I...."

"Tell me what the fuck you did," I hissed at him.

"I gave Maggie's dad your address and my key so that he could get into your house," he let out in a rush. "Him and his men. You've gotten nearly all of them, but there's around eight or nine left, plus Owen. A young men and women, Quinn and Xander. They were the ones who kept track of her for me. Quinn only did it for the money, but Xander only did it because he thought he'd get Maggie back but..." He blinked past his rambling. "When you and your friend tried to have Owen killed, I-I had a tip sent in from one of the guards at the prison, and warned him. Even helped him fake his death and everything else to ensure that our plan hadn't gone to waste."

Xander and Quinn, they... The panic hit me in the chest first. And Owen Norris, he...The puncture in my lungs, next.

"No..." fell from me in a whisper. "No."

That wasn't possible. It wasn't fucking possible.

Her father was dead. Owen Norris was six-feet under. Yet, my dad had just said that...

I stumbled, but he took it as something else, I guess. Overtaken with fear, he shrunk back from me, blurting out, "We knew you two wouldn't have left the other, not on your own. You were only getting closer and falling even deeper for the other, despite everything. Nothing was splitting you apart, so her dad, he helped me come up with the plan to break you two up. You...Maggie, she loved you too much to take the check, I knew it, even after I offered her a second one, she rejected it, because she loved you. So, I knew that I'd have to get her out of the picture for good. Owen and I, we just needed to get you two separated, and from there, he knew he could get her. I received a text just before you came that he's at your house with Maggie, and that the rest are going to arrive soon to help him—"

Everything blurred around me. Hearing, touching, sight...every fucking thing, except panic was decipherable. And, fear.

So much fucking fear of Maggie being alone with them, right now. The thought of her being afraid, and...

No. Fuck no.

The only way I'd let any of them hurt her was if I had a clip emptied in my heart, and even then, it wouldn't matter as long as Maggie's was still beating. I wouldn't let them touch her, and I wouldn't let anyone take her away from me, and the life she had more than earned the right to live. 

On cue, I heard the pounding footsteps of the officers through the building. They were coming from the opposite side of the hallway, and right in our direction.

They weren't for me, though. They were here for my dad, and for Vance. They were probably on their way to pick up Beatrice now, too.

I knew the exact time they would be here, and through it, I had expected rounds and rounds of fulfillment that my father had lost everything, but that had changed, now.

Because, my everything was in danger.

I felt myself release my dad, then stumble back until I realized that none of this shit would help, right now. It wouldn't help her.

Past the dead weight on my chest, the rage, and the fear that threatened my livelihood, I was running on legs that would never stop, even if they had to. Not until they got to Maggie.

The only sight I caught through the blur of my vision were the officers, as well as the slumped, beaten bodies of my father and brother, but that was it. I didn't care to see much else.

It didn't matter. None of them did. Nothing mattered until I was with Maggie.

————————————————————
Hi! I have sort of news, but sort of a question, too lol.

Okay, so I've been asked about a Levi and Raven book a number of times and I've finally gotten a layout of where their story and characters want to go! I have their plot, and their outline KIND OF figured out, right now.

I'm like 43% sure I want to write it, and I guess the other 57% goes to all of you, lol! Do you want it? If you do, you can just leave a comment here, on my message board, or you can just PM me! (I know some of you are shy and silent readers and like to private message me instead, so don't hesitate to do that, if you want!)

Second question is about the updating schedule: OKAY, so I can either do their book how I did IASWH, which means I write the book in full first, and have steady, sometimes surprise updates, OR I go ahead and get started on publishing it, but the updates will be HELLA slow. (Like I'm not kidding; if you read IASWAD before it was finished, you know how bad my updating schedule was😂.)

I, personally, found that for this book, I did way better with the first option, since it gave me time to change different things/scenes, check for plot holes, time for character and plot planning, already have an ending planned, etc...but this part is up to you, too!

So, basically: I can leave for four or five months (that's how long it took me to write IASWH in full, but Levi & Raven's book won't be as long, so probably 3-4 months) & write the story in full, then come back with regular, steady updates OR I can just write as I go, but definitely not with scheduled updates.

Which one would you guys prefer? I just wanted to take you into consideration, as I didn't want to leave you guys hanging & your input & thoughts are always things I consider.

ALSO! If you have any ideas, or if you want to see certain things, plots, people, or scenes in Levi and Raven's book, don't be shy to suggest it to me! I write for you just as much as I do me!

This was much longer than I intended lmao, but that was all I wanted to ask. So, just let me know!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the week!🤍