"It just keeps getting better and better!" Franco remarks with an evil grin on his face. "Did you come to say goodbye to your poker buddies, or what? Or do you want to help me smashing this loser's body?"

With Igor pressing me tightly against his chest, I am not able to get a glimpse at the person which just appeared, but as soon as a deep and throaty laughter rings out, I don't need to see who's standing in the door frame. I've heard this laughter several times before.

"Actually, I came to say goodbye to you, my friend!" Caleb's sneery voice echoes through the lounge. "You stupid fucker were so busy and distracted with plotting your dumb revenge plans against this guy that you missed having a proper back-up."

Franco narrows his eyes and menacingly trains his baseball bat on his opposite.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he asks in a deep voice. "I thought you were on my side?"

Again, Caleb laughs coldly. "Well, you figured wrong. I'm waiting for this day for so fucking long, you have no idea how long. For nearly a year now, I'm planning my revenge against you for blowing up my warehouse, but Terrence got wind of my plans and blackmailed me into being his fucking lapdog!"

Franco slowly walks backwards and now Caleb appears in my sight. He has his gun aimed directly at Franco's chest and draws nearer to him with very slow steps.

"But then his little brother came and killed him. This was my chance to get my well-deserved revenge. I knew you would hate him for killing that bastard and that your vindictiveness would make you blind!"

"Vladimir, shoot him!" Franco orders without taking his eyes from his opposite.

Vladimir who has his gun aimed at Caleb the whole time chuckles deeply and steps closer to Caleb.

"I'm waiting! Blow his fucking brain out!" Franco's voice cracks as he's roaring at Vladimir.

"Oh, Franco. I honestly didn't think it would be that easy to trick you," Caleb states with a smug grin on his face. "You were so blinded by your hatred that you didn't even notice that I'd planted several of my men in your ranks!"

My pounding head barely can't keep up with what's happening in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Zach's passed out again. His head hangs down and his arms are lying limply on each side of his body. My head snaps around as Franco's voice booms through the room once again.

"Vladimir! I'm warning you. Either you shoot that motherfucker now, or I'll shoot you!"

Now it's Igor, who chuckles behind me.

"You still don't get it, right?" Caleb asks in both, disbelief and amusement. "You, the big and invincible Francesco, are a lot dumber than I thought. These two don't work for you. They are old friends of mine!"

For a second, a hint of panic rushes over Franco's face, but he quickly gets back the control and laughs uproariously.

"You think I'm dumb? Alright, then go ahead, kill me. You won't make it out of this house alive then!" he challenges him triumphantly.

"Don't worry about me, old friend. I already took care of all your minions. Let's say some of your men were quite happy to quit their job in exchange for a little extra money and the others were unluckily not in the position to negotiate. I'll make sure to arrange a proper funeral for them!" Caleb counters with a sardonic grin. "Maybe, if you hadn't sent so many of your people to observe that loser of my cousin, Jack, and that waitress, then it would have been harder for me to get to you, but like that it was an easy game for me!"

Franco huffs and he flares his nostrils. "That useless piece of shit. He wasn't even able to accomplish that baby task to plant those drugs on that bitch without leaving several of his own fucking fingerprints on it."

So, Franco was the one who told Jack to hide those drugs in my bag. I kind of assumed something like that already, but hearing it now revives my spirits and I bite Igor's hand which is still pressed against my mouth. He obviously didn't expect me to fight his grip anymore as he pulls back his hand and yelps at the sudden pain of my teeth digging into the flesh of his hand.

"What the fuck?!" he shouts out and suddenly all eyes are trained on me.

"You are a freak! A monstrous freak! I could've gone to prison for that bullshit. I did nothing wrong and neither did Zach, but still, you psychotic won't stop with your fucking games! Sick bastard!" I scream at the top of my lungs and yank my hands out of Igor's grip.

"Look who's found back her beautiful voice!" Franco scoffs and raises his eyebrows. "I don't give a fuck about you. All I want is to see this fucker here dead!" He points at Zach, who's still unconscious, and makes a disgusted face. "He deserves to die, and I won't stop chasing him until his pathetic heart stops beating in his rib cage!"

"Boss, the house is clean!" A giant, beefy guy enters the room and speaks to Caleb. "We're ready to wipe out all the traces of your mission once you're finished!"

"Good work, Luke. I'll inform you as soon as I'm done with this fucker!" Caleb replies without taking his eyes off of Franco. I notice that Vladimir as well as Igor have now a gun in their hands and point them at Franco.

"If you shoot me now, I'll smash that kid's head!" Franco steps closer to where Zach is sitting and holds the baseball bat right in front of his blood-smeared face.

"I don't give a fuck about this guy. Go ahead, smash his head. I'll kill you either way. I just enjoy watching you desperately searching for a way to escape your fate," Caleb states with a sadistic chuckle. "But I'm done with waiting now. Any last words, Francesco?"

Franco glares at Caleb, and the next moment he lunges out to smash the baseball bat at Zach.

All of a sudden, things start to happen very quickly. Several shots ring out and Franco stumbles back and falls to the ground while I rush over to Zach, who's sunken to the floor as well and doesn't move.

"Zach!" I cry out and fall on my knees next to him. "Can you hear me? Please, wake up!"

I lift his head with my hands and gently swat his cheeks. Hot tears of fear and despair are streaming down my face and make my vision blurred.

I wrap my arms around his limp body and pull him close to me. The loud sobs which are escaping my lips get muffled by the fabric of Zach's jacket and I have the feeling to suffocate from the huge lump in my throat.

"Olivia?"

He's awake. I pull away and look right into Zach's hazel eyes which carry so much pain and anxiety. Everything is too much for me. My head is still pounding like somebody is hammering down on it repeatedly, and my entire body is shaking uncontrollably.

"Zach..." is all I can mumble before my eyes roll back and I fall to the ground where complete darkness embraces me and takes me away from this place of horror.

~

"She's asleep for nearly twelve hours now! Can't you call your fucking doc again?"

"Oh man, relax. You're pissing me off already! The doctor said she'll be fine, she was just dehydrated and couldn't take the stress, so find something else to do. Go and jerk off or something!"

Hushed voices resound in my head. Deep, familiar voices.

"Oh, look. No need to occupy yourself. I think she's waking up."

I feel a warm and soft hand on my cheeks and hear a deep voice which gives me so much comfort right away.

"Hey, Livie. Can you hear me?"

I open my eyes and blink as bright light surrounds me. I'm in a room I definitely haven't been before. It doesn't look like hospital either. It's a room with white walls adorned with a few modern paintings. The floor is covered with a beige carpet and an indoor palm is placed next to the huge window. My gaze falls on Zach who's sitting on the edge of the bed I'm lying in, and I gasp. He looks terrible.

"Oh my god, what happened?" I ask and try to sit up, but a sharp pain in my head forces me to lie down again immediately.

"Shh..." Zach's hand strokes over my hair while I take in his battered face. He has one black eye which is so swollen that his eye is barely visible. His nose is swollen too and his lip split. He looks dreadful. "Do you remember what happened?"

I close my eyes for a second and try to recall last night.

"Oh, come on, princess. You can't tell me you forgot how Franco nearly killed your lover boy." I open my eyes and look into Caleb's green eyes. "I shot that fucker. He deserved it, and now he won't bother you anymore, so relax."

The longer I listen to Caleb, the more images of yesterday are flooding my brain and my eyes widen in shock. My breath becomes heavy, and I start to panic.

"Oh my god. He nearly killed you, Zach. There was so much blood...And I...that baseball bat...he wanted to smash your head..."

Zach exchanges a worry look with Caleb and then crawls into bed next to me. He pulls me into his chest and tightly wraps his arms around me.

"Hey. It's okay. Franco won't be a problem any longer. Everything is alright. We're at Caleb's place. Nobody knows we are here," he strokes over my hair, but this time I can't control my anxiety and start shaking while my breathing gets shallow. "Breathe, Olivia. Fuck... Hey. Look at me!"

He cups my face in his hands and forces me to look at him.

"I want you to breathe with me now, okay?"

I nod and try to follow his breathing rhythm. Together we take several deep breaths, and after a minute, I calm down a little.

"Shit, I know that's a lot to take in. But you'll get through this. Just like the last time. You're strong, Olivia. Do you hear me?"

Caleb's scoffing chuckle draws both our attention.

"Sorry, shorty, but do you hear yourself? 'Just like the last time'. Do you plan on telling her this another twenty times until she eventually dies through the gun of one of the fuckers you have problems with? Men like you and I are not made for serious relationships!" He rolls his eyes and then sighs, "But that's your thing. I'll leave you two alone now."

Before he closes the door behind him, he turns around once more and gives me a crooked smile.

"Get well soon, princess!" With that he leaves Zach and me behind.

Zach sits up and looks out of the window. He keeps silent for a whole while and I literally can hear the chaos in his head.

"Zach?" I whisper, but he doesn't response. "You know that Caleb's words are not true, right?"

Zach closes his eyes for a second before looking at me. His face is numb and cold, causing me to shy away.

"He is right, Liv, and I think deep down you know that too," he mutters quietly.

I reach for his cheek, but he turns away his head and slides off the bed.

"I'll check in on you later. Get some rest, Olivia!"

He turns around and leaves the room without another look in my direction. Without another word.

I'm used to Zach's guilt feelings, but this time it's different. He's never left me alone in such a vulnerable and anxious state before. I always managed to help him out of this whirl of 'You're better off without me' and so on.

With a huge hole in my chest, I grab one of the cushions on the bed and start sobbing into the soft fabric. I let all the pent-up fear, pain, and exhaustion flow into the tears I'm crying and eventually I doze off into a restless sleep where I'm surrounded by evil Italian men with piercing green eyes.

*****

So, finally Franco is history. Zach and Liv could finally find their peace now. ☮️

Or is their relationship too damaged by all the past happenings. What do you think?

Next chapter is going to be the final one for this book. What do you think will happen?

Please don't forget to comment and vote.✨

Katie🤍