Page 22 of Mafie Queen

Havoc pulls back and hastily wipes at the tears already forming into ice on his face. “Alright now, we don’t have time for sappy emotions. Let’s get you home first.”

“Home?” I question under my breath.Where is home anymore? My home was my three kings. Is there even a home without them?

I push aside the thought as Havoc leads me down another narrow passageway before we stumble upon some snowboarding equipment.

“Is this yours?” I ask him as he starts pulling on a pair of boots.

“Took me all day to hike up here with Lizz and carry three boards, but we got it.”

I look back at Lizz, grateful we were able to form a connection before I left her. “Thank you.”

“You took care of me once, E. It’s only right I return the favor.”

Emotions choke me.How did I not realize how lucky I’ve been in my life? How many people I have impacted? How did I not see what was standing right in front of me?

Sure, there have been some pretty shitty times, but I’ve always had good people around me who do think I matter. Even when I didn’t think I did.

We all strap into the boards and Havoc gets us some gear from a bag. He hands me a protein bar and suggests I takeanother shot of adrenaline before we go. He’s right, and I do so just as we approach the slope.

“You ready to get back home, E?” Havoc asks with a wink. My brows pinch, having no idea what he means, but I reply back with a silent shrug.

“I’m ready to beat your ass down this mountain.”

Lizz laughs, and I drop down before he can say anything, shooting off down the perfect powdery white snow. The feeling of flying hits me. Much like it does when I’m in the car with Damien, cruising with the top down, or on the bike with Alexi.

I grab at the necklace around my chest. Cil made sure it stayed hidden, which should have been the first sign that he was someone I could trust. I hold onto it now, remembering the men I love and why I want to keep fighting, keep pushing. Their deaths will not be in vain.

We reach the bottom, with me in first place, naturally. I whoop as I unclip from the board and take off my gear. Havoc is grinning from ear to ear, and I can’t help but be crazy thankful for him right now.

He takes our gear and sets it in a pile before gesturing to the helicopter. It’s a slick black on top, but the bottom is white. And it’s fucking huge. We climb up a small rock, scrambling to get to where it’s waiting for us, the propellers going so fast I can’t hear what Havoc is saying as he opens the door.

Gusts of wind and flurries of snow hit my face, but my breath leaves my lungs entirely as I’m greeted with three faces I would know anywhere. But behind them is one face I can’t handle seeing. I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing them from my memory because they aren’t really here.They can’t be.

Then, all I feel is pain. My body shakes as I topple over. Hands grab me, but I go into a full panic. My breaths stutter and my hands start to shake. I suddenly have the urge to giveup completely. But I have one last target to take out before I can shoot myself.

Pushing away from the hands holding me, I stand and draw the gun Cil gave me, training it on the man who’s at fault for all of this. It will all end when he falls.

I hear the voice in my head as clear as day.Shoot him and you can have your peace. You can be back with the ones you love. Just shoot him and it will all end.

If only he had never befriended my father. If only he had left us all alone. If only he never would have found me. If only he never started searching for me. Nothing would be like this.

Boris’ brows pinch as Havoc wraps his arms around me. Everyone is yelling and waving their hands. The ghosts of my heart float around me, telling me not to do this. But my mind tells me I have to. I have to, or else this pain will only get worse if I don’t take him out right now. It’s my chance to finally end it all.

The helicopter continues to run, propellers beating just above my head, the pressure inside my ears pulsating as voices carry in the distance, but I don’t hear a single thing. All I see is him.My target.

Boris raises his hands as a new wave of pain overcomes my core because his face looks all too much like someone I knew. Someone I loved.

A scream leaves my lips when I make the decision to pull the trigger, but before I can move my finger, I feel the prick of a needle on my skin. All of a sudden, my world goes black.

Chapter 12

“What the fuck, Havoc?” I yell over the sounds of the helicopter as I take Evie’s limp form from him. Havoc wraps steel tape around her leg, and Alexi removes the ring from around her neck to place in a small metal container to disable the trackers.

We all pile into the tactical helicopter owned by Akio’s father and it takes off. I grab an extra blanket, wrapping it around Evie before letting the weight of what just happened settle into me.

We have her. Everything should be okay.This is not how things were supposed to happen.

But it was like she didn’t even see us. Like she couldn’t hear us. Nothing. She acted like we were only figments of her imagination. We figured they were doing some kind of fucked up shit to her, but never in a million years did I think she wouldn’t be able to recognize the men she loves.

---