Cane

The battle was over.

The bodies were piled behind the warehouse where they would be burned. The already run-down compound looked even worse now that we were finished with it. People in the area probably called the police when they heard the gunshots, but the police knew to look the other way. They knew we wouldn’t cross them if they let us be. The citizens thought the police ran this country, but it was actually the criminals that controlled it.

“Found your little friend.” Constantine emerged from the circle while dragging Tristan by the ankle. He pulled him along the pavement, a trail of blood smearing behind him. Tristan was still alive but seriously injured. Constantine dropped him right in front of me, wearing the same grin a demon would wear. “We’re settled, then?”

“Yep.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll be at your base first thing in the morning. I expect everything to be in order.”

“It will be.”

He nodded to his comrades before he winked at me. “Have fun. Revenge has always gotten me off far better than a woman ever could.” He walked away with his crew, heading to the vehicles scattered around the area. Some vehicles were on fire from the gunshots, and others were simply totaled.

I lost a few men, but most of us made it out of there alive.

Tristan wouldn’t be able to say the same.

Tristan pulled himself up with weak arms. Blood dripped down his forehead and across his lips. His hair was matted with the wet blood that soaked into the strands. He sat up, slightly swaying with weakness.

I didn’t feel an ounce of pity.

“What are you waiting for?” he said under his breath.

“I’m not waiting for anything.” I pulled the pistol from the back of my jeans and cocked it. “Just enjoying it.”

He narrowed his eyes in anger, but he still wouldn’t show his terror.

“Now you know how it feels to be powerless, to have someone control you without your permission. Pretty shitty, huh?”

Tristan looked at one of the warehouses in the distance. “Isn’t it strange to think we did business together for so long, and it was a single woman who changed all of that?”

She wasn’t just a woman. She was my woman.

He shook his head. “I became obsessed with her the second I laid eyes on her. But I suspect your feelings are stronger than obsession. The only reason a man would go to such great lengths was if he loved her.” He turned his gaze back to me. “So, I have to ask. Was she worth it?”

I raised the gun and aimed right between his eyes. I’d risked everything for this woman, but she didn’t feel the same way. It hurt more than when my brother shot me. It hurt more than all the guilt I felt over beating Pearl. I’d never felt anything more than lust for a woman, and now I found a woman I would die for—but she wouldn’t die for me. “Any last words?”

“You never answered my question.” He stared down the barrel, unafraid despite what was about to happen. He would never see blue sky again. He would never feel the sunlight on his face.

My finger moved to the trigger. “Yes. And I would do it all over again.”

Click.

---

I called Oliver, one of the guys who picked up Crow and took him to the hospital. “How is he?”

“We got him into the emergency room, and they immediately took him to surgery. Looks like he has some internal bleeding, along with broken ribs. He needed a blood transfusion because he lost so much.”

“But he’s going to be okay, right?”

“They didn’t say,” Oliver said. “But we’re still here, so we can receive updates. What’s going on over there?”

“Cleaning up and preparing to leave. Once this gets taken care of, I’ll be there.”

“Alright. He wanted to call Pearl, but by the time he got here, he’d passed out.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Okay. Seemed important to him.”

I hung up then prepared to call her. I thought I should call Adelina first because she was worried about me. I would feel so much satisfaction telling her that Tristan was dead. She would feel nothing but relief, knowing that her life was her own again. But Pearl was a mess, so Adelina could wait.

I called her.

Pearl picked up instantly, as if she was sitting by the phone just waiting for it to ring. “Please tell me he’s okay.” Emotion was in her voice again, terrified because I was the one calling her instead of Crow.

“He’s okay.”

“Oh…thank god.” She exhaled over the line, her breath loud.

“Tristan is dead. All of his men are gone. Crow is at the hospital right now. He’s in surgery.”

“No…”

“He had some—”

“I don’t want to know.”

I turned silent, knowing his afflictions would break her heart.

“Just tell me he’s going to be okay.”

“I don’t know for sure, but I feel certain he’ll be fine. He wasn’t shot or anything.”

“I’m coming back. I need to be at that hospital.”

“I…I’m not sure if he would want you to leave, Pearl.”

“You said Tristan is dead, along with all of his men, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’m not sitting on my ass any longer. My husband needs me, so I’m leaving.”

“His men won’t allow you to leave until he gives them the order.”

“Then you override it, Cane,” she snapped. “Because one way or another, I’m getting out of here.”

“Okay, fine,” I said. “I’m sure he’d want to see you anyway.”

“I’m gonna pack my stuff, then. They better be ready by the time I’m done.”

“Okay.”

“And thank you, Cane. Thank you for saving my husband.”

Her gratitude only made me feel terrible. “Please don’t thank me. This is all my fault…”

“But now all of us are free. You did that, Cane.”

“I shouldn’t have risked my brother’s life like that, not for a woman.”

“She’s not just some woman, Cane. You love her.”

I closed my eyes at the comment. “But she doesn’t love me…”

Pearl was quiet, obviously unsure what to say.

“I wanted to save her regardless, but I wouldn’t have gotten my brother involved if that was how she felt. I feel stupid. I risked everything for that woman.”

Pearl was still quiet. It would be impossible to come up with a good response to that. The only reason why I told her was because the aftershocks of the situation were hitting me hard. My brother was in the hospital, my sister was in Greece, Adelina was at home wondering what happened to me.

“I’m not sure I believe that.”

“Believe what?” I whispered.

“That she doesn’t love you. I spent time with her, and every time she talked about you, her eyes lit up. She had nothing but good things to say, even when she could have been completely honest with me. Give her some time. I think she’ll come around.”

“I think you’re wrong, Pearl. But thanks for trying to make me feel better.”

Her sigh filled the phone. “Tristan is dead, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Shot him between the eyes myself.”

“Good,” she said with anger. “You gave him an execution he didn’t deserve. Should have tortured him the way he tortured Crow.”

“I just wanted to end it. The world is already a little more beautiful without him in it.”

“Yeah…I guess.”

“I should get going, Pearl. I need to call Adelina.”

“Okay. Make sure you talk to Crow’s men about getting me out of here.”

“I will.”

She hung up.

I called Adelina next, feeling my heart pound as the phone rang. She must have found one of my other phones in the house, and I hoped she still had it on her so I could reach her.

She answered a few rings later. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

When I listened to that concern in her voice, it made me soften. There was nothing better than having a woman like her care about me, one who wanted to hear my voice as much as I wanted to hear hers. Women used to mean only one thing to me—sex. But Adelina represented that and so much more. “Tristan is dead.”

“He is?” she asked with a gasp. “You’re sure?”

“I shot him myself.”

“Wow…” She took a moment to process what I said, to accept the fact that her tormentor was really gone.

“I killed the rest of his men too. No one will ever come after you again.”

“I…I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know how to process this. I haven’t been free in so long that I’m not even sure what it feels like anymore.”

“You’re free now, Bellissima.”

She breathed into the phone, the emotion obvious but the tears absent. “How’s Crow? Tell me he’s alright.”

“He’s in surgery right now. Had some internal bleeding.”

“No…poor Pearl.”

“She’s flying back today so she can see him.”

“You think he’ll be okay?”

I really had no idea. “He’s the strongest man I’ve ever known. If anyone will get through it, it’s him.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m gonna head over there once I’m finished here. That surgery is going to be at least a few hours. I should be there before he wakes up.”

“Can I come along?”

I’d love to see her and wrap my arms around her. I’d love to kiss her and to enjoy the peace that we both had now. “I would go get you, but it’s a long drive. I should get to the hospital as soon as I can.”

“I understand,” she whispered. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t wait to see you either.” When she wormed her way into my heart so easily, it didn’t surprise me that I fell for her. She hypnotized me with her affection, made me weak and want to crumble.

“You aren’t hurt, right?”

“Just a few scratches.”

“Good.”

“I should get going. I’ll give you an update when I can.”

“Okay…but I have a question.”

“Okay.”

“I think I already know the answer to this since you haven’t mentioned it, but…do you know what happened to Lizzie?”

I didn’t have the heart to say the words out loud. I didn’t want to hurt Adelina with the truth. Her friend had suffered a much worse fate than she did. She was beaten every single day until they took it too far and killed her. I would never tell her that Crow found her body wrapped in a plastic bag in preparation to release into the sea. I would never share the description he gave me, how her face was mutilated by fists. “I’m sorry…”

She whimpered into the phone, releasing a quiet sniff. “Lizzie…”

“I’m sorry.” I’d already said those words, but I needed to say them again. I really meant them. I would have saved her friend if I could have. I would have done anything to give Adelina what she wanted.

She started to cry.

“Bellissima…”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I always hoped I’d see her again…”

“She’s in a better place now.” After all the suffering she’d endured, being given the sweet release of death was exactly what she would have wanted. It was something I understood because I’d been in the same predicament before.

“I’ll let you go, Cane.” She stifled her tears so she could speak. “I know you’ve got your hands full right now.”

I wanted to run back to Tuscany and comfort her the way she needed. But I had other obligations that prevented me from doing that. My brother was my priority. I had to make sure he was okay, make sure Pearl got to his side safely. “We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

“It’s okay. There’s nothing more to say…”

“But I want to be there for you, Bellissima…”

“I know you do.”