"Miss Brooks." Officer Clarks leans his elbows on the table in between us and crosses his fingers in front of his face. "We just found more than 2 pounds of heroin in your handbag. Let's say, I believe you that it's not yours. Nobody would be so stupid to carry around such a huge amount of drugs in their handbag. Certainly not to work. But I'm sure you have an idea whose heroin that could be, isn't that right?"

I sigh and close my eyes for a moment. For nearly a full hour, I am already sitting here at the station opposite of Officer Clarks and endure his pestering questioning. My head is pounding like shit, and I still feel sick. My entire body is craving for some rest, but it seems I won't get it all too soon. I told Clarks right from the start that those are not my drugs and the only person I could think of, who could've put them into my bag, is Jack. Clarks seems not convinced at all.

"I know you might not want to hear that, but what about Mr. Wood? You two seem quite close. It would have been easy for him to put the drugs into your bag."

I frown and shake my head. "Mr. Clarks, sorry, but that's ridiculous. I know for a fact that Zach has nothing to do with that."

"Ridiculous, huh?! I don't think I need to tell you, but Mr. Wood's stepfather and even his stepbrother were well-known to be part of the drug-scene in Calgary. What makes you so sure that Mr. Wood would be any different?" Clarks' dark-brown eyes pierce me for a second before he adds, "After all, Mr. Wood's troubles with his stepbrother were the reason you met him, right?"

"I know Zach, and he is not like this. Not at all. Please, believe me, Mr. Clarks," I state in a pleading tone. "Besides, why the hell would he plant those drugs on me? That doesn't make any sense at all!"

Officer Clarks sighs and thinks for a moment. "I guess we have to wait for the forensic study to see if we can identify any fingerprints. Until then, I must ask you to stay here."

I drop my head and rub my eyes. "You're locking me in?" I groan into my hands.

"I'm afraid, I have to," Clarks retorts with an apologizing shrug and gets up.

Right in that moment, his phone starts ringing, and he lifts his finger, motioning me to hold on.

"Do we have anything?....Oh....Interesting....Alright, thank you!" He hangs up again and turns towards me.

"Well, Miss Brooks." He pauses and raises his eyebrows, "The forensic study has found a bunch of fingerprints. Somebody tried to wipe them away but wasn't very thorough as it seems."

When Clarks doesn't speak on, I give him an expectant look, "Whose fingerprints?"

"Not yours."

I roll my eyes. "Yea, I already know that thank you!" I huff and rake my fingers through my hair.

"What?" Clarks steps closer, puts his hands on the table opposite to where I'm sitting, and leans forward. "Are you scared they are from your boyfriend?"

I swallow under his piercing gaze and blink nervously. A smug grin plays upon the Officer's lips. Is he enjoying my state of vulnerability? What fucked-up games does this man play?

"You're free to go," Clarks states suddenly, and turns on his heels, opening the door for me.

As soon as I get up, my head starts spinning, and I sink down on the chair again.

"Do you need a doctor?" Clarks asks and lets go of the door again to walk over to me. "You look pale!"

"I'm fine. Can I have my phone back now?" I retort coldly. I'm so done with this Officer's strange behavior. One minute he's being friendly, the next, he acts like a weird asshole.

"Sure. Just ask my colleague in the waiting room. He'll hand it out to you." Clarks turns around and heads for the door again. He waits until I walk past him and then grabs my arm to stop me. "The fingerprints are not Mr. Wood's. That's all I can tell you at the moment."

I just nod and make my way to the waiting room to get back my phone. After sending Zach a quick text to pick me up, I rush to the toilet and throw up once again. This is starting to become a habit. Maybe I should really go and see the doctor tomorrow.

Leaving the police station, I already spot Zach waiting for me. He rushes towards me and throws his arms around me.

"Liv!" he whispers into my hair while holding me close. "Baby, you're shivering!"

My eyes are closed, and I soak in Zach's soothing scent.

"Can you bring me home, please?" I croak out without pulling away.

"Are you sure we shouldn't get a doctor to check you? You look terrible and you threw up again today!" Zach states and breaks away to look into my face. "God, baby. You look like a ghost!"

"Well, thank you," I make an attempt to give him a playful smile, but fail miserably. "I'll see the doctor tomorrow. But for now, please take me home!"

Zach sighs, but gives in. "Alright. I'll call an Uber!"

The drive back home is short as the police station is not far away from my place. Zach helps me out of the car, and I lean on him on the way to my front door.

"Not so fast, you two!"

Both, Zach and I freeze at the sound of the deep, male voice. I would recognize this voice with that thick Italian accent among a hundred others. It's burnt into my memory just as the pair of green, piercing eyes which stare back at Zach and me the moment we turn around. Franco is standing leant against his black Rolls-Royce and grins smugly. What the fuck? I didn't even notice a car approaching us.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Franco?" Zach spits out his name as he talks to the macho Italian.

"Oh, I just wanted to thank your girlfriend for her excellent work!" Franco retorts with a broad grin, showing his bleached teeth. "And pick you two up for a little celebration!"

"No way. Don't you see in which state she is?" Zach's anger is gaining the upper hand again and I feel him tightening his grip around my waist.

"It won't be long. I promise! Now hop in the car!" Franco points behind him at the black Rolls-Royce.

I can't say a word. My head feels like it's going to explode any minute, and my sight is slightly blurry. When Franco pushes his suit jacket aside to show his gun, just like he did two days ago, I feel tears welling up and shake my head.

"Please. Can't you just leave us alone?" I breathe with all the strength I can muster.

"But honey. Where's the fun in that?" Franco smirks devilishly and opens the car door. "Now come on. We must not be late."

Zach gives me a helpless look and shrugs apologetically. "I promise you, we will be back in no time!" he whispers close to my ear, so that only I can hear his words. I only manage to nod and let him help me into that damn car.

The smell of smoke invades my nostrils as Franco gets in the front seat with a cigarette between his lips.

I rest my head on Zach's shoulder, and he brushes a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Fuck, Liv. You're burning up!"

"Oh, come on, don't be such a pussy, Zach!" I hear Franco hissing just before I doze off.

"Liv, wake up!" Zach's soft voice pulls me out of my restless sleep. "We're here."

I blink a few times to adjust to the light, and spot Franco's mansion outside of the car.

"No!" I mutter desperately. "Please not again."

Zach sighs and grabs my hand. "I will get us out of here as soon as possible. I promise!"

I let him help me out of the pretentious car.

"Let's head inside!" Franco orders and motions us to follow him.

Entering the huge building, two familiar guys are awaiting us in the lounge where we've already been once before. The two Russian brothers, Igor and Vladimir, are sitting on one of the sofas, each with a whiskey in his hand.

"Francesco. You didn't mention it's them who we are going to take care of!" Igor growls as soon as he spots us, and puts his glass on the table in front of him.

My eyes widen and I dig my nails into Zach's hand at Igor's words. Take care of? Does that mean Franco plans to kill us?

"Does that make any difference?" Franco asks scornfully and walks over to the bar to pour himself a glass of whiskey.

"Of course, it doesn't make a difference, Francesco!" Vladimir begins to speak and shoots his brother a warning glance.

"Igor, make sure she won't make any problems!" Franco nods in my direction and rolls his eyes as he notices my tears. "Baby-doll, don't cry. You're not going to die. At least not yet!"

He utters the last words with a smug grin on his disgusting face and winks at me. Igor walks over to me and yanks away my hand from Zach's. For a short moment, I spot empathy and something else in his eyes, but their coldness from before returns almost immediately. He takes my wrists in one of his big hands and holds them tight behind my back, so that I can hardly move.

"Let me go!" I cry out at the roughness of his grip and squeeze my eyes shut immediately as a sharp pain washes over my head at the loudness of my own voice.

"What is your fucking problem? She has nothing to do with this whole shit!" Zach hisses. He steps closer to Franco who puts aside his tumbler and crosses his arms with obvious amusement.

"You're right. She has nothing to do with it. But I can see she means an awful lot to you. Stupid Wood boy falls in love with a worthless waitress. Terrence was right when he called you a loser. You're nothing but a pathetic loser. I mean, what did you accomplish in your life?" He raises his eyebrows and makes a step towards Zach.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Vladimir typing something on his phone with his back turned towards us before my attention gets drawn back to Franco again as he speaks on.

"Nothing. All you did was being a pain in the ass for everybody. You might be lucky at the poker table, but that's the only use I could see in you. And now I'm done with you. I don't want to see you in my casino anymore, and unless you can pay me back the rest of your debts in one go, you're going to pay with your girl."

Zach clenches his fists and breathes heavily. "You know I can't pay back all in one. For fuck's sake. Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it, but fucking leave Olivia out of this!" he half shouts through gritted teeth. I can see how hard it is for him to keep his composure.

Franco utters a throaty laugh and shakes his head. "But that's the point, Zachary. I don't have anything for you to do anymore. You've done enough with ruining everything. You've done enough with killing your own stepbrother!"

Zach throws back his head, raking his fingers through his tousled hair, and laughs crazily. "So, that's the big deal, isn't it?! Your inflated ego can't stand being robbed of one of his puppets. You know what? Fuck off! Terrence was just about to kill Liv and I sure as hell wouldn't have watched him doing so! And I tell you something else, I even enjoyed putting that fucking bullet in that bastard's chest! He deserved to die, as well as you do! One day, somebody will put a bullet in your fucking head and stuff your disgusting mouth with your micro penis!"

Zach is panting in rage and it doesn't even surprise me as he throws a punch at Franco's face. The two of them start fighting furiously and I yelp as Zach falls down to the floor after a kick in his stomach.

"Stay quiet. For your own sake, shut the fuck up!" Igor mutters into my ear. I writhe in an attempt to break free out of his grip. "Stop fighting me!"

I gasp for air as Igor's other hand reaches for my throat. His grip is just as tight to keep me in place but won't suffocate me.

"Stay still now, or you 're going to regret it!"

Clenching my teeth, I watch Franco and Zach fighting on the floor. Franco is on top of Zach now and throws one punch after another at Zach, who's hardly moving anymore. The smell of iron fills the air and I feel sick again but this time I manage to resist the urge of throwing up.

"Francesco, you're going to kill him! Stop!" Vladimir steps forward and grabs Franco's arms to pull him off Zach who completely stopped moving by now.

"Zach!" I scream full of panic and try to fight Igor's tight grasp once more.

"Shut the fuck up!" Franco who is already back on his feet, storms towards me and stops right in front of me. His face is only inches away from mine and I can smell the whiskey in his breath. "You know what, bitch? I think now's the time to say goodbye to your lover!"

My gaze falls on Zach, who's lying on the floor, unconscious, and, again, tears start rushing down my cheeks as I take in his face which is full of blood. The eyes I learned to love so much the past two months are closed and his split lips are slightly parted to let free his shallow breathing.

"No! Don't kill him. Please don't kill him!" I plead between my sobs and look back into Franco's green eyes. One is already lightly swollen from his fight with Zach, but still, they are piercing and cold as always.

He laughs out loud and firmly grabs my chin with his blood-smeared hand. "Maybe I'll wait a little longer and let you watch him dying slowly. How's that? He could use a little torture anyway, don't you think?"

I try to free my head out of his grip but fail as Igor's hands are still holding my wrists and my throat.

"I'll start with breaking some of his bones. To make sure he can't attack me anymore."

He walks towards Zach and kicks his limp body with his foot.

"Wake up, Wood!" he screams, causing Zach to groan and stir slightly. "Sit up, you fucker!"

Franco grabs Zach under his arms and pulls him up. Zach's gaze lands on me and he shakes his head as he leans back against the backside of one of the sofas. His swollen eyes are full of helplessness and despair while his chest rises and falls rapidly due to his heavy breathing.

"It's going to be fine!" I croak out and fight back the next wave of tears. "We're going to be okay, you hear me?!"

Zach nods with bleary eyes and gives me a faint smile. He's not even able to talk after fighting against Franco. My heart nearly breaks at the sight of him in that state and I would do anything to free him out of Franco's claws. To help him escape from this fucking house.

"Well. With what should I start? Your leg? Or maybe your arm? What do you think, Olivia?" Franco, who's grabbed a baseball bat which was leant against the wall, asks with a self-pleased grin. "I think, I'll start with your kneecap!"

Just as he's about to smash down the baseball bat at Zach's right leg, Igor pulls me back and pushes our bodies against the wall. His hand covers my mouth, and I see Vladimir taking out his gun.

The next moment, a door is getting yanked open and the clicking sound of a gun getting loaded is to be heard.

*****

Phew. Writing this chapter was nerve-wrecking, let me tell you! And it's not over yet. Who do you think just made an appearance?

Also, there are only two chapters left. I know it doesn't seem like we're near the end, but you'll understand why it has to be that way once the final chapter is online. 🤍

Please don't forget to comment and vote.🦋

Katie🤍