Whiskey Sunrises

36-Attempts

Keeping my expression neutral at that moment was one of the hardest things I'd ever done.

You expect the ghosts of your past to stay there. Sometimes you live a life where you keep looking over your shoulder, expecting them to pop up everywhere. I'd never forgotten about my mother or her husband, but I'd never imagined that I'd meet said husband again under these circumstances.

"No hello, darling? I thought you'd remember the manners I taught you when you were still in my home. I know you must still remember the consequences." Thomas, my 'stepfather', grinned evilly.

Oh, I remembered them all right. I still had light scars on my back and stomach because of them, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that. I wouldn't say a single word to this asshole. He'd fill the gaps by himself eventually, bragging about how smart he was or his brilliant plans. I knew him well enough to know that. I'd find out what his place in this was soon enough.

"I always knew you were a stupid one." he chuckled. "Imagine my surprise when one of my associates called to tell me about a little blonde that was dating his enemy's son, a girl who was becoming a thorn in his side. He told me all about one of his new lackeys who used to be in a relationship with her, told me about what a little spitfire she was and what a pity it was that she wasn't on his side. Cutting off a man's dick, really? I never thought you could be so creative. Anyway, my associate thought she'd be smart enough not to get on his bad side, but was proven wrong when his informant told him about her and his enemy's plan to blow up a few of his businesses. You've been playing a dangerous game, Stavros, and it seems as if you've lost."

I cocked an eyebrow as if saying 'Have I?', but didn't utter a single word, opting to stare at the wall to the left of me.

"They have plans for you, you know. Nathan is very excited to extract every ounce of information from you. They're going to get all of Volkov's secrets from you, everything they need to destroy them, before killing you slowly and painfully. The same way they killed your father." He mocked.

My head snapped to him in nanoseconds, eyes narrowing into a lethal glare. My father died in a car crash, he was fucking with me. He had to be.

"I'm not lying, Alayla. Your mother was doing business with us long before you were born, keeping me company from time to time. I always liked a woman who knew what she wanted. Your father found out and threatened to unveil everything we were doing, all of our businesses. You know what happens to people who threaten men like me, don't you?"

Bile was rising in my throat. They killed my father. My mother cheated on one of the best men in the world, caused his death, all because of her greed. Because what she had was never enough. I almost broke my own silence by shouting a slew of curses at him but stopped myself in time, clenching my jaw. Men like him got off on the screams, threats and cries of their captives. I wanted to cry, don't get me wrong. I wanted to mourn my father's death all over again, knowing he was tortured for who knows how long because of these people. The fact that I could die the exact same way at the hands of Nate didn't make it any better.

"Don't worry dear, you won't be the only one. As soon as that boyfriend of yours comes to find you, the rest of them will probably die as well. The Volkovs will be eliminated from the face of the earth, and it will be as if none of you ever existed. I'll be sure to take care of your little friends that call themselves an MC, too." His overjoyed tone caused chills to run up my spine, my glare intensifying tenfold. "I'll be too busy to see you again, but know your mother sends her love."

I'd been to busy focusing on Thomas to see his companion walking into the room. My body stiffened when he came closer, close enough for me to smell the liquor and cigar smoke on his breath. The last thing I saw was Thomas walking out of the room before a blow landed to the side of my head, right on my temple, before darkness enveloped me again.