Three days pass after Aria returns to The Syndicate and I have my meeting with Richard.

That meeting goes nowhere, as I suspected. He wants more concessions than I’m willing to give, but I promised him that I’d meet all of his demands, that I just need time. He bought that for whatever reason, and gave me three days.

Three days to prepare. Three days without Aria.

That’s how I find myself here, in an abandoned parking lot at three in the morning. There isn’t much to our plan, to be totally honest, but it has been hard. As part of the deal with The Syndicate, Aria had to live with them for these past few days to ensure that we wouldn’t back out. There’s no chance of that, of course, since The Syndicate is our last hope, but they want to be thorough and I respect that.

I shift nervously, standing under the lone spotlight. I can hear water dripping nearby and smell the rain from earlier in the night. I’m alone, very alone, although I shouldn’t be. The Syndicate is late.

As I think back over the last few weeks, I can’t help but wonder how I got to this point.

I went from buying a strange girl I barely knew and wanting to seduce her for a game, to needing to keep her. I’m willing to do anything for her now, and although that terrifies me, we both know why.

I love her. I can’t help myself. We have so much in common, a shared history, and although our paths forked along the way and we went in different directions, I know I can help her. I can bring her back into the light. Maybe I can even save her.

But this has to go well first. I can’t do anything if I lose my company and let Richard Taylor fucking destroy me.

I hear a sound toward the lot’s entrance and I perk up, looking in that direction. There’s an old factory behind me, the brick smelling mildewy and damp, and I can’t see far enough to spot anything moving toward me. There are no lights, which means there are no cars. I’m probably just imagining things.

But as I stand there, I suddenly become aware of something. It’s a strange feeling in the back of my mind. I look up and when I look back down, I spot two men coming around the corner of the factory.

I don’t recognize them, but they’re carrying large rifles. I step backwards and turn, but more men are coming from the other side. I want to run, but I have to control myself. I can’t look like a weak fool in this moment, so I stay where I am and face them.

The man that approaches me is young, maybe in his early twenties, with a wicked scar down his face. “Ethan Locks?” he asks.

I nod. “That’s me.”

“We’re with The Syndicate. Lorraine will be here shortly.”

“Thanks,” I say.

The guy nods and then motions at his men. They fan out, disappearing into the night. The man stays there, standing near me.

“We’re securing the area,” he says.

I nod at him, understanding. I vaguely know who Lorraine is, though not exactly. She’s apparently an old woman in charge of the Syndicate, which seems very odd, but everything lately seems fucking crazy anyway. I don’t know how an old woman runs the biggest prostitution ring in the city, but I’m just accepting these things as they happen.

“Check that,” the guy says and nods at me. “They’re coming, Mr. Locks. Good luck.” He melts back toward the factory and disappears into the shadows before I can respond.

I’m left standing there alone again, although I know there are at least twenty men standing around me, hidden in the shadows.

I take a deep breath, calming my pulse, and concentrate on the task ahead. I can’t let my nerves get the best of me. Down the road, I spot a set of headlights slowly heading toward me. They make the turn into the parking lot and the car parks next to my own. It’s an old black town car from the nineties, though it looks like it’s in perfect condition.

The back door opens and I expect an old woman, but instead it’s Aria. She’s dressed in a black shirt and jeans, and as soon as she spots me she runs toward me.

“Ethan!” she says, throwing herself at me.

I laugh, catching her in a hug, pulling her small body against mine. I’m shocked all over again at how good it feels to be near her and how happy I am to see her. I didn’t know what I expected, but clearly nothing has changed. We went three days without seeing each other, and it feels like no time at all has passed.

She pulls back, grinning.

“You okay?” I ask her.

“I’m great. They were so nice.”

“Really?” I ask, skeptical.

“Honestly. Lorraine is fantastic. Apparently they hate my father as much as we do.”

“Guess that’s not too surprising,” I say, laughing.

“Mr. Locks.”

I look over suddenly toward the car. Standing next to it is an old woman with thick, long white hair pulled into a braid. Her face is lined with wrinkles and she’s holding a cane in one hand, but she’s immaculately dressed and her blue eyes are sharp.

Aria pulls away from my embrace, but she doesn’t let go of my hand.

“Lorraine, this is Ethan,” Aria says.

“Good to meet you,” I say.

She hobbles over toward us and extends her hand. We shake and she smiles up at me.

“So, are you ready to demolish your father?” Lorraine asks Aria.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She looks at me. “I hear you’ve been good to my girl.”

“I have been. Or I’ve tried to be.”

“Keep being good. Did you bring my money?”

I nod. “It’s where you instructed me to put it.” As soon as I got here, I left the money in two briefcases in two different parts of the factory. It was a pain in the ass, but it was what they instructed me to do.

“Good. So my men have it already.”

“I assume so.”

She checks her watch. “And now it’s time for the last piece of the puzzle. Is he normally punctual?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say. “Normally, he’s early.”

“Let’s see, then.” Lorraine joins us, and we stand in a line together, an old woman, Aria, and me. We must look like a strange little trio.

We don’t have long to wait. True to form, Richard arrives on time, maybe even a little early. Two black SUVs pull into the lot and Richard climbs out of one followed by three large men, clearly his muscle. Three more men come from the other car, making six guys in total.

Richard approaches with a huge grin on his face. The bastard probably thinks we’re outnumbered.

He stares at Aria and I feel her stiffen beside me. His eyes drill into hers but she doesn’t look away, and for a second I’m proud of her.

“Hello, daughter,” he says.

She doesn’t respond. Just gazes back at him then spits onto the ground.

Richard laughs then looks at me.

“Well, Ethan,” he says, grinning at me. “You called this meeting. I assume you have a huge fucking bribe for me?”

“Something like that,” I say.

“Good. You’re in one shit position.” He looks at Lorraine and for a second, his grin falters. “And who is this old bat?” he asks.

“I’d be more polite, young man,” Lorraine says.

“Why? Are you going to hit me with your cane?”

Lorraine sighs. “You never know what’s good for you, Richard.”

He frowns at that. “Who are you?”

“I’m here to give you something.” She steps forward, bringing out a manila envelope from under her cardigan. She hobbles slowly toward him, holding the envelope out.

He eyes her strangely. “The fuck is this?” he asks. “Your recipe for pie?”

“Something like that,” she murmurs. “Take it, please. And look inside.”

He takes the envelope from her and she hobbles back toward us, a smile on her face. She winks at me as Richard takes the photographs from inside of the envelope.

His face drops instantly and he shoves the pictures back into the envelope. One of the guys standing right behind him snickers and laughs a little.

“What the fuck is this?” Richard shouts, anger bubbling up in him.

Lorraine slowly turns back toward him. “Be polite, young man. Those are photographs.”

“I saw that. Where the fuck did you get this? They’re fake.”

Lorraine laughs. “They’re not fake. You know that. We have more where that came from, too. Video, if you like.”

He’s speechless. I can feel Aria’s tension next to me, and I squeeze her hand. She looks up at me and forces herself to smile.

“Fuck this,” Richard says. “I want my money, Ethan. Fuck this.”

“We’re even now,” I say to him. “Do you get it? You’re going to sign the contract before last, the one that was a fair fucking deal. And then we’re done with this. You’ll leave Aria alone.”

“Or what?” he says, anger bubbling over.

“Calm down,” Lorraine says. “Or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

“Fuck you, old bitch!” he shouts.

There’s a crack from behind us and a bullet smashes into the ground right in front of Richard. He shouts and jumps back, eyes wide. His goons all pull out weapons.

“I wouldn’t fire those, if I were you,” Lorraine calls out. “This place is surrounded. Boys?”

Suddenly, lights flash on all around us, probably twenty glowing beacons all told. The looks on the faces of Richard’s men are fucking priceless as they slowly put their guns on the ground.

The flashlights turn off, and the men disappear again. I step toward Richard.

“Like I said, you’ll sign that contract, and you’ll leave Aria alone. Understood?”

He gapes at me, shocked. I walk toward him, a wicked grin on my face. I’m relishing this moment, savoring the look on his face. He’s defeated and he knows it, but I need more. I want him to grovel.

“Ethan,” Lorraine warns me.

I stop in front of Richard. His eyes are wide with anger, and I can tell he’s on the verge of doing something stupid.

“I get everything,” I say. “I win and you lose. And I get your daughter.” I grin at him.

He swings, just like I wanted. His fist lashed out, clumsy and wide. I duck it, elbow him in the gut, and then bring my other fist up and clock his chin.

He staggers back and his men have to grab him to keep him standing.

“Do as you’re told,” I say. “Or you’re finished.”

Lorraine sighs. “Ethan, enough.”

I nod and walk away, back to Aria. I take her hand and squeeze it and she laughs a little.

“Asshole,” she whispers.

Richard staggers to his feet, getting his balance again. “This isn’t over,” he calls out.

“Yes, it is,” Lorraine says. “The Syndicate is done with you. Fuck up and we’ll destroy you. Do as you’re told, Richard. Don’t make me come out in the middle of the night again, please.”

Richard is at a loss for words. He stares at the woman, finally comprehending who she is and what we’re doing here. He nods once.

“Go to your car, go home, and be good.” Lorraine waves to him.

Richard pauses then turns. The whole group of them gets back into their SUVs and we watch as they drive away.

Lorraine sighs as they disappear around the bend. “Did you have to hit him?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say.

“Well, I can’t pretend like that wasn’t satisfying, but it’s late and I’m tired. Dear?”

Aria steps toward her. “Yes?”

“Do you want to stay with Mr. Locks here?”

“Yes,” she says.

“And Mr. Locks. Do you want Aria?”

“Yes,” I say. “Absolutely.”

“Good. Be nice to each other. Your contract with us is done, Aria. Good luck.”

“Thank you.” She kisses Lorraine gently on the cheek.

“I hope I never see you two ever again,” she says happily, then hobbles over to her car. She disappears into the back and then the car drives off.

We stand there for a moment, Aria and I, alone in the lot. Lorraine’s men are gone too, I can sense them no longer staring at us. I step toward Aria, smiling.

“What now?” I ask her.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. We’re free.”

“We are.”

“No more money. No more Syndicate. Just the two of us.” She smiles at me, a little uncertain. “Are you sure about this?”

I grab her hips, pull her against me, and kiss her hard.

I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I melt into the kiss, hoping she understands that, and knowing she will eventually. I’m going to make a life with this woman. I’ll pay off her debts and make her my fucking wife one day, whether she knows it yet or not.

That’s all that matters to me. It’ll be us two against the world. But hopefully not. Hopefully it’ll just be us two and nothing else, only joy.