“Don’t you die on me. Don’t you dare die on me!” I held his head tighter as the van plummeted around a corner. “Aaron!” I slapped his face to stop him from falling into another bout of unconsciousness. “Aaron, d’you hear me? Don’t you fucking dare die on me!”

He opened his eyes and attempted a strained smile. “Demanding as ever.”

A choked huff escaped from my mouth, and I leant forward as I stroked his face. “I mean it, too.”

He creased in pain, but he kept his focus on me. “I’ll try not to disappoint you.”

Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I drew a breath and held back the flood of tears threatening to pour. He needed me to be strong. “Just stay with me.”

His eyes were getting heavier as he blinked, but he fought to keep them open. “If I had my way… I’d never leave your side again.” His voice was quiet and weak. The opposite of his commanding presence.

He wasn’t making it easy not to cry. “Then stay with me.”

“I’m not sure I can.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t you fucking say that. You can. You will. You have to.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no. Hold it together. We’ll get you help. Just a little longer. Fucking hold on.”

I turned to Marcus leaning all his weight against Aaron’s stomach, putting pressure on the wound. There was so much blood. It was pooling on the floor underneath him.

“How much fucking longer?”

The panic was written over Marcus’ face as he looked back at me. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Can’t be much longer now. A few minutes.”

The driver called from the front. “We’re nearly there.”

I turned to Aaron. “See.”

His eyes had closed.

“Aaron.” I slapped his face again. “Aaron, wake up!”

He didn’t stir, and dread dragged my heart to the floor. “Aaron, please!” I lowered closer to him and clasped his face in my hands. His skin was pale and cold. “Come on, please. Stay with me.” My eyes squeezed shut as my lips pressed together and the lurch of the sobs began. “Please. Don’t leave me.”

“Olivia.”

It was barely above a whisper, but I was so relieved to hear my name. The tears stung as I opened my eyes and stared into his.

“You were the best thing to ever happen to me.”

I tried to give him a smile as I searched his face. Despite the bruises and cuts. All the marks of the battles he’d endured this week. He was still the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. “Same here. Don’t you ruin it all by leaving now.”

He looked up at me like I was the only thing in the world. “I love you.”

The wave of sadness caught me off guard and I couldn’t stop the cries. At any other point, I would’ve been happy to hear it, but not while he was dying in my arms. It hit home just how much I could lose. How much I loved him.

Taking a breath, I tried to compose myself and push back the sobs. I leant forward and pressed my lips against his. They felt so cold, but still gave me warmth. Looking back up, I held his eyes and brushed my fingers against his face. “I love you, too.”

His eyes lit as he gave me a soft smile. “That was worth getting shot for.”

I half-smiled, half-cried at him. “Stay alive and I promise I’ll say it every day. Whether you’re shot or not.”

“If I live, I’ll hold you to that.”

The van pulled sharply around a bend. The driver shouted back. “We’re here.”

Marcus’ men came forward off the benches as the van came to a stop. The doors flew open, and they lifted him from me in a flurry of activity. I sat back and watched them carry him through the van doors. Lost at having him taken from me.

I shook my head and came to my senses, flying up to chase after them. As I jumped down, I expected to see the emergency ward at the hospital. Instead, I was confronted with the back of a veterinary surgery.

“What the fuck?” Panic gripped me, I thought they were getting him help. Real help.

I ran after them and through the doors to the vets. The guys carried Aaron through the brightly lit corridor and towards more double doors at the end. Marcus hung back to talk to a nurse.

I charged for him. “A fucking vets? He’s dying, and you brought him to the vets? He’s not a fucking dog!”

Marcus stood back and raised his blood covered hands at me. “Calm down, Olivia. It’s one of our places. We’ve brought guys here before.”

I was livid with him. “He should be in the fucking hospital!”

“We can’t go to the hospital. It’s a gunshot wound. They call the police for that. It’s too risky.”

“Fuck the fucking police! He needs to see a proper doctor.”

The nurse chimed in with an unsteady smile. “He’s in good hands here. I can assure you.”

I scowled. “Good hands? What’re they gonna do? Castrate him and tell him he’s a good boy?”

“Olivia.” Marcus stepped towards me. “It’s alright. We’ve brought doctors in. He couldn’t get better care, trust me.”

I shook my head. “Fuck that.” I charged past Marcus and down to the doors. “I’m taking him to the hospital.”

Marcus grabbed me from behind and pulled me back. “No. He’s here now. He needs treatment.”

I fought from his arms and stepped back. “He could fucking die!”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “I know.”

The tears welled in my eyes. “If he dies here, I’m blaming you.”

He looked at me and sighed. “Fine. I’ll shoulder any blame you need me to.”

I turned away from him in frustration and wiped my eyes. Marcus wouldn’t want to see him die anymore than I would, but I felt we’d let Aaron down. How could they give him the help he needs here?

The double doors opened and I span back to see his men coming through.

“How’s it looking?” Marcus asked the guy in front.

“Dunno,” he shrugged. “Doc’s are with him now. I think they’re prepping him for surgery.”

“Alright. You guys take the van and help the others clean up. Make sure her friend gets home safe and have someone watch over her. I’ll stay here with Olivia.”

He nodded. Then led the other guys out the back door. The nurse addressed us delicately, keeping her tone light.

“If you want to come through to the waiting room, I can try to find out what’s going on.”

Marcus gestured for her to lead the way and followed her down the corridor to a room off the side. She led us to what looked like the reception and held the door open for us to enter.

“Wait in here, and I’ll see what I can find out.” She looked at me and smiled. “Can I get you anything?”

I gave her a weak smile back and shook my head, feeling a little guilty for snapping at her. She seemed nice enough.

“Okay. I won’t be too long.” She closed the door and left us to it.

I sighed and turned into the room. There were rows of chairs on the other side of the reception desk. One wall filled with animal feed and accessories for sale. The rest of the walls covered in posters of kittens and puppies. I shook my head and laughed to myself, more out of fear and frustration than anything else. A fucking vets!

“I can’t believe you brought him here.”

Marcus walked over to one row of chairs and sat. Then looked back at me. “Where did Gian take his guys?”

I leant against the reception desk and sighed. “The doctor came out more often than not. If it was serious, and he liked the guy, I mean really liked the guy, then we had a private clinic we used. That almost never happened though. Usually, he’d just kill them. Why spend the money when thugs are expendable?”

Marcus huffed and shook his head. “Surprised he has any guys left.”

“He doesn’t now. He’s dead.”

It had only just occurred to me to think of it. After he shot Aaron, I didn’t have enough spare focus to remember I’d killed my father, or driven a sword through the chest of the man that raised me for twenty-eight years.

I was too numb to grieve for him. It must be something like that because I didn’t feel as bad as I should. Not for him. There was no sense of loss. I wouldn’t miss him in my life, that’s for sure, but I felt guilty for taking his life. Maybe I was more upset that I had to be the one to kill him rather than the fact he was dead.

Marcus got up and walked over to the toilet at the side, looking back at me before he went in. “You may as well sit down. We’re gonna be here for a while.”

He was right. I strolled over to the rows and sat on the end seat. The moment my body hit the chair, a whole weeks worth of exhaustion caught up with me. All I wanted to do was sleep. Although my worry would never let me.

Sliding down, I placed my head on the back of the chair and closed my eyes. Thoughts of Aaron soon flooded in. He was in there now getting cut open on a veterinary table, having major surgery in a room where they snip off cats balls.

How can they possibly give him the care he needs? He’ll need more blood. Do they even have that here? What if something goes wrong?

I couldn’t bear to think he may never hold me again. Tears threatened, and I had to push the thoughts away before I broke.

Marcus came out, and I heard him sit opposite. Something heavy landed in my lap. I wrapped my hands in the soft, wet fibres of a towel. I opened my eyes and sat up, wiping the blood from my hands. “Thanks.”

He nodded. The tension hung in the air. He wanted to say something. I guessed it was about him being my biological father. Something I didn’t want to talk about. I ignored him and kept my eyes on my hands.

“I used to know you when you were a baby.”

Yup. He’s going there.

Pulling my head up, I glared at him. “Do we have to do this, now?”

He glanced away and chewed his lip. Then looked back at me and sighed. “I’ve wanted to tell you for years.”

“But you couldn’t. So, your great plan was to spy on me instead?”

He shook his head in frustration. “Jack wasn’t spying on you. Well… he was, but it wasn’t like that. You must realise now that I didn’t give that order.”

I nodded.

“He wasn’t supposed to get involved, either. I didn’t want to hurt you. I just… wanted to know what you were doing. What your life was like.”

“Could you not work that out? What did you think my life was like living with my father…”

Marcus looked down when I said it.

“With Gian?” I corrected.

“I knew what he was like. And what your upbringing would involve. But, I wanted something… closer. It was the only connection I had to you.”

“That fucking connection of yours ruined what little hope I had left of a normal life.”

“I couldn’t imagine that would happen.”

I huffed. “Do you know who gave the order?”

He shook his head. “No, who?”

“My fucking sister.”

He looked surprised. “Milena?”

“Yes, fucking Milena. She wanted to take me out of the running for her father’s inheritance.” I shook my head and laughed to myself. “All these secrets. I’m sick of fucking lies and secrets.”

“I knew Milena was a conniving bitch, but that takes the piss.” He shook his head. “It’s all changed now, though. The secrets are out in the open. You can start afresh.” He looked away and chewed his lip again. “Maybe we can?”

I rolled my eyes. He was only trying to build a bridge between us, but it irritated me. A week ago he was the evil nemesis who was plotting to bring my father down. Now, he was my father. He may have known I was his daughter for twenty-eight years, but in my mind, he was still South London Marcus. The enemy.

“Just because my… Just because Gian’s gone, doesn’t mean you can walk into my life and play happy families. I don’t know what you’re expecting from me, but it doesn’t work like that.”

“I’m not expecting anything.” He tapped his fingers together. “But I would like to get to know you. I’ve missed so much. There’s not a day gone by I haven’t thought about you, or your mother.”

The frustration bit a little too hard, I wasn’t ready to add her into this. “Can we not do this now, please?” I snapped. “Don’t you think I’ve dealt with enough for today? I can’t be taking on your emotional burden, too.”

He nodded and dropped his eyes.

We stayed in silence for what felt like hours, but was more like forty minutes. I paced the room, cursing the nurse for not coming back. She must’ve known what was going on by now.

The longer time went on, the more the tension increased, the more my thoughts plagued with nerves. The waiting was making me worse. I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to break the silence and think about something else.

Sitting back down, I looked across to Marcus. “The estate is all in my name. As are the businesses. I’m not sure what to do with them.”

He looked up and nodded, appearing relieved for the break, too. “What do you want to do with them?”

“Give them to Milena.”

He huffed in surprise. “She tried to have you killed.”

“Yeah, for her inheritance. If she’s got what she wants, she’ll leave me alone.”

“You think she deserves that?”

“No, but she’s still my sister. I don’t hate her despite what she’s done.”

He shrugged. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Milena isn’t the best person to have that kind of power. I wouldn’t let her have too much control. You should run it; you know how.”

“I don’t want it. I don’t want to be a part of this business anymore.”

“Maybe, but Gian was right about one thing. It’s not a choice. Like it or not, it’s who you are. It’s all you’ve ever known. You can give away the business, destroy it all, but you can’t run from it.”

I sighed and inspected my hands. There was still blood on them. From Gian and from Aaron. Hell, it felt like it was still there from Jack and Darryl. There would always be blood on my hands. I’d never be able to wash it away.

I didn’t want to admit it, but Marcus had a point. It wouldn’t matter if I torched the estate and ran to the other side of the world. The business would be with me, regardless.

That still didn’t mean I wanted to run it. “You can take it.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want it. It’s yours. As far as I’m concerned, you earned every bit of it.”

“You did want it.”

“Only to take it off Gian. I was hoping to give it to you, eventually. Along with mine.”

I laughed. What was it with my fathers and their insistence for me to take over? It’s not the life I want. All I want is a quiet life away from the city, with Aaron.

The smile faded from my face and my heart dragged to the floor when I thought I might never have that. Closing my eyes, I tried to clear the dread. I had to be realistic. The businesses were huge, and I shouldn’t just let them fall. Just because I didn’t want to run them, didn’t mean there wasn’t another way to keep them going.

I looked back up at Marcus. “Will you help?”

“With what?”

“The business, if I kept it all in my name? I wouldn’t want to be the figurehead. Not the day-to-day stuff, anyway. I’d need someone to oversee everything. Would you do it?”

He raised his eyebrows and stared at me as he thought about it. Then nodded slowly. “If that’s what you need from me, yeah, I’ll do it.”

“I want to know one thing first.”

“What?”

“Where’s Darryl’s boy?”

He held my eyes. “In Prague with his mother.”

I wasn’t sure if he was trying to project sincerity, or if he really was genuine. “You didn’t hurt him? You didn’t sell him?”

He baulked like he was offended. “Is that what he told you?”

I nodded. “He said you threatened him with his son. That you’d torture him and send him away to be sold.”

He shook his head and kissed his teeth. “Fucking hell, Darryl.”

“It’s not true?”

“No, of course it’s not. He told you what you needed to hear. I wasn’t supposed to be mentioned at all. Darryl played you. He made sure you had no choice but to do it for him.”

“Why did you want him dead?”

“I didn’t. Darryl put himself in that position. He had massive gambling debts and owed a hell of a lot of money to the wrong person.”

“Why didn’t he tell me he had gambling debts?”

“Would you have killed him?”

I cocked my head to the side. It was his own fault, I probably wouldn’t have done it if he’d told me that. “Who did he owe?”

“Vincent.”

I huffed. Vincent was a notoriously vicious loan shark. You didn’t go to him unless you absolutely had to. Death would have been the least of Darryl’s worries.

“He had no hope of paying and he feared for his family. Darryl came for help. I couldn’t pay that kind of money, and they wouldn’t stop chasing him while he was alive. He only had one option. I know Vincent well, but I can’t influence his business. That also meant I couldn’t be implicated. So, I arranged to steal the shipment as I knew he wouldn’t fuck with Gian and his business.”

“And you did all this for him out of the kindness of your heart?”

“No, there were benefits for me, as you know. It worked for me, too. But I didn’t expect you’d be the one to kill him.”

I sighed. “Neither did I.”

Silence fell over us once more. I studied him as he leant forward and rested his head in his hands. I’d misjudged Marcus. Unsurprising, considering the only information I had. Now, though, I’d have to forget all that. If he was going to run the business, I’d have to work with him. I’d have to trust him. He was my father and I should give him a chance to be in my life. To get to know me.

We did have one thing in common. “Tell me about my mother.” He sat up straight and looked at me with interest. “I remember her, but not much more than vague images and disjointed memories. My… Gian wouldn’t talk about her. What was she like?”

He smiled and his eyes lit with warmth like he was looking at her through me. “She was a lot like you. Headstrong, argumentative, rebellious…” He laughed. “She had this passion, a fire in her that no one could put out. She was beautiful and fierce.”

I sighed as I pictured her angelic face, smiling at me as she kissed me goodnight. “I remember her always being loving. Gentle and fun. I never saw her without a smile.”

“That’s because she was around you. You were the most important thing in her life. All she lived for was you.”

His smile rose but I could see the sadness behind it. He loved her dearly.

“She would’ve done anything for you… she did.”

I smiled back. “I wish I knew her.”

“You do. She’s every bit a part of you.”

That was a comforting thought. I looked like her, but I never realised I was so much her double. It was nice to think I carried her with me.

The door opened and my heart leapt through my chest. I shot to my feet as the nurse came in. She held a pleasant expression and a small smile, but that didn’t tell me anything.

Please, God, don’t let it be bad news. “What’s going on?” I snapped with more force than I’d intended.

She came forward and stood in front of me. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come back sooner. We’ve been busy.”

My hands balled as I held myself back from shouting at her. Just get on with it. Tell me!

“It was a nasty wound. It ruptured his liver and led to extensive bleeding. There was also damage to the intestine and surrounding tissues.”

Oh, God, no! The dread pulled me forward, and I clutched my mouth with my hand. It was bad news.

“We’ve stemmed the bleeding. The surgeon is working on repairing the damage and cleaning the wound. But he’s stable, for now.”

I dropped the hand from my mouth and stepped towards her. My heart pounded in my chest. “He’s stable? That means he’s gonna be alright, yeah?”

She nodded cautiously. “There might be complications so I can’t give you any certainties, but for the moment, he’s out of any immediate danger.”

I laughed. Deep and hard with the sense of elation. The tension gave way from my limbs and I had to lean over before I fell to the floor. It was like the valve had released from my despair and I could laugh to relieve the pressure.

“Olivia?” Marcus placed a hand on my shoulder and I turned my head to see him smiling at me. “Are you okay?”

I straightened with giddiness and wrapped my arms around his neck, still laughing. “He’s going to be alright!”

He held me back tightly and pressed his head against mine. “Yeah. Everything’s gonna be alright.”