~36~
Colby
I watched as Livia walked off in a hurry. Yes, I was upset she had wandered off when she told me she wasn't, but I don't think I sounded angry? I wasn't going to get upset with her either way. I understand she probably got bored and just wanted to look around a little. And Lucy Moon isn't the worst person she could have been talking to. So there was no reason for her to be nervous?
"Is she okay?" I decided to ask Lucy, seeing as she was the last to talk to her.
Lucy nodded, "Yes, we were just chatting about a rather.. Upsetting tale from one of the exhibits. She got a little emotional I guess." she explained, "Now, what can I do for you?"
Right, I had things to ask her.
"I hear you have been close business partners with the Millers, the family that owns the trading post that transports smuggled items into our country?" she nods knowingly, aware of their illegal trade. Most people did, it's a big scandal but people, even the authorities, are too chicken to deal with it.
"Yes, I do some business with them."
"Okay, and I was wondering if you had recently spoken to them at all."
It had actually been a while since I had even heard from them, at least before the party, and I needed to figure out if they were planning anything. They always attacked at random times, always getting the element of surprise, and for once I wanted to be a step ahead of them. I was tired of them always getting the upper hand and putting us at a disadvantage.
Maybe it's because Livia is always with us so that puts her more at risk. And yes I have trained her to defend herself, almost every day, but her life wasn't one I am willing to risk. I never want to put her in a situation like the ones I have before. Where she is in danger.
She didn't choose to be here, she doesn't need to be a part of anything we do so it's best I keep her as far away from it as possible.
I brought her here not for the banquet, but for a different reason. A rather.. Strange one. I'd get to that later. Now, I was worried about the Millers.
Lucy thought for a moment, "No, I'm sorry. I haven't talked to her in a while if I'm being honest. She tends to be quite private in terms of herself. But her shipping company is very much thriving now. Brand new ships almost every day along with new imports. She's a fan of buying I guess."
Mrs.Miller. I had heard rumors of her husband's passing, but I was never sure for sure. Maybe it was grief for the loss of her daughter. She had mentioned he's always had health problems. Maybe her death just.. pushed him over the edge. Understandable, it almost did the same for me.
But unfortunate for me, the woman who hated me the most had to be the one to live. Now I have a constant reminder of what had happened and how I was the reason for it.
She never lets me forget.
With every attack, it's just another punch in the gut of what I had done.
As if I don't think about it every day.
Think about her every day.
I swallow back the lump in my throat and continue, "Okay, well thank you." I quickly say, finished with the conversation. If she had nothing else to tell me then I had nothing else to talk to her about. I turn my heel, ready to walk away, but stop when a name was spoken through her lips.
"I heard about her daughter, Ana, though."
Maybe she regretted it as soon as she said it. Maybe she regretted it when I turned my body back around and gave her the deadliest of looks. Eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring, lips squeezed together, and fists clenched. The mention of her name made my blood boil.
Hearing her name in any form triggered something in me.
A dark something.
"You don't speak of her." I seethe.
Lucy kept her ground, staring deep into my flaring eyes. Maybe because her husband is someone like me she's used to this kind of reaction to certain things. Angry reactions I mean. People in this business tend to be hotheads; Including me.
"I don't mean any harm when I mention her name. I just want to give my condolences." She says, pity drowning in her words even if she won't show it with her face. I could just sense it.
I scoff under my breath, "I'm not the one who should be receiving those. Give that apology to her witch of a mother for all I care." I tried to release my clenched fist but found no use in it. I had to calm down for that to happen.
"I heard you and her were an item."
I whipped my gun out faster than I ever had before. It was a reflex at this point, and I semi-hated that it was.
She didn't flinch, didn't even react. When I held the silver trigger between my fingers she didn't so much as blink.
"Don't-" I didn't even know what to say. I was fuming with rage that I couldn't even find the words, so I stumbled with them. "Don't, just, no. Don't talk about her, o-or us, no." My hand shook with anger, or fear, I couldn't decide. I bet even if I wanted to pull the trigger, the bullet would fly right past her.
"You won't shoot me." She stated.
No, I wouldn't. There was no reason to.
"Don't test me."
She scoffed quietly, "You are hurt, I understand." I gulped, "But I don't mean to upset you. I just want to say I'm sorry."
Yeah, so am I..
With a deep breath, I force myself to put my gun away, having to pry my arm down and finally storm away leaving a stunned Lucy behind in the room. My boots clicked against the marble ground as I hurried away, walking in a fast stroll. I messed with my lip as I walked, a habit I do when I get nervous and tried to calm myself down.
If the guys saw me in this state again they'd ask questions, questions I won't answer, so I'm just trying to avoid it altogether.
"Fucking mistake," I mutter to myself, running my hand through my hair and shaking my head as it bowed down.
How did Lucy know about me and.. Ana.
God, it hurt to even think her name.
Our relationship was never public, you could say. Not counting our constant texting and calling, we only ever really saw each other at night after she returned from school and locked herself away in her room. I would have seen her more often if her mother hadn't always been on my back about how I was no good for her.
Which I wasn't, I know that now. But at the time I thought I was. I thought we were going to grow old together, have kids. She was going to be an art teacher, and I'd figure out what I would do but we'd make it work.
She was so hopeful for me and my future even when I wasn't.
How naive I was to think it'd ever work out.
How naive I was to think I wouldn't ruin it in the worst way possible.
I found myself back on the balcony looking over the main floor of posh losers. I leaned against the railing, taking a few breaths to calm myself that way I wouldn't seem riled up when I joined the guys and Livia back at the table.
Speaking of which-
I spotted our table, seeing Jake enjoy some small dish in front of him and Sam talking with Corey about something. It looked concerning by the looks of his face and that's when I noticed Livia wasn't there. I stood up straight and darted my eyes all around the room in search of her, but I couldn't seem to spot her black hair and sparkly dress anywhere.
Shit.
I rapidly went down the stairs, and briskly walked to the table with such determination in my stance. Livia missing isn't a good thing, in fact, it's very very bad. The possibilities of what could have happened? Or what has happened? This place may seem all nice and pretty, but it's only a coverup for something very dangerous!
She shouldn't be here alone.
And my moods have already been dampened. So I'm on edge about everything now.
"Where is she," I demand, not meaning to slam my hand on the table, catching a few people around us's attention.
The guys all looked at me with confused looks, except Sam, who seemed to understand why I was in the state I was. I can always count on him to underhand my craziness.
"Livia?" He asked, confirming he did know something by his suspicion.
I nod, "Of course fucking Livia, where is she." I command an answer, this time getting one.
"Don't know. She walked by us and disappeared into the crowd. I think she went-"
Sam didn't get to finish before I was off looking for her. I may have nothing to worry about, but I wanted to be sure. She shouldn't be here alone, she should always be with one of us. It was a mistake letting her off on her own in the first place.
There are men everywhere who are a part of the drug trade. Others who are patrolling for it. And then there are the people who are here for the auction, and honestly, those are the people I'm more worried about.
Guys in this business tend to be disrespectful towards women. An example being the incident that went down when Livia tried to escape.
Just thinking of what might have happened made my stomach churn with disgust and my heart will with anger.
She was only 18.
She shouldn't be here.
I huff in annoyance to myself upon not being able to protect her as I should. I should have learned from my mistakes but I keep making them and every time I do I hate myself a little more.
Doesn't matter, I deserve it.
I was relieved to see Livia poking around at the dessert table in the back of the room. She looked solemn as she debated between a cupcake and some other substance. It looked like gelato? I couldn't tell.
I made my way over her, catching her by surprise and making her jump a little when she turned to see me.
"Oh, hi." She said, looking me up and down. Her brows twitched together, "You look nervous."
Did I? Probably. It worried me when I couldn't see her. I felt panicked, kind of like how I did when she had run away. When I knocked on her door to apologize for how I had acted before, something I never do, I was shocked to see her room empty and cleaned. I got so scared and that fear only grew when I searched the house and was unable to find her in any of the rooms.
Thankfully I had hidden cameras all throughout the house. Ones that connected to my phone and nothing else. They weren't able to be deactivated like the ones she had done, since they weren't connected to everything else. They were for emergency only, and her running away was one of those emergencies.
Smart girl. She had planned the escape, I could tell. Taking precautions to make sure everything was set for her secret departure.
I went back over all my footage and watched everything she had done. Stolen the key, hid it. It reminded me of when she had hidden the key in her bike the first time we met her. We were so sure she did drugs, it makes me laugh at how wrong we were. The girl doesn't even take a sip of alcohol. I was drinking before I was 18 and it amazes me how different we are.
I even saw her face when she had heard that the guys weren't going to be home, and how she reacted when she saw that I was. She was annoyed and I saw a look of uncertainty in herself. She doubted herself, but in the end, she handled it well and snuck out without me knowing.
Impressive.
I knew the guys wouldn't have been able to do that. They may be some of my best-trained allies but Livia was something else.
Quick, witty, smart.
I wanted her to be a part of Toxicity when I first met her. But now even the thought of her being in harm's way all the time makes a fearful chill run up my spine. I have put her in far too many situations to know that even though she can handle herself, she shouldn't have to. She shouldn't have to worry about guns, and killing, or even drugs and drinking.
I know she'd prefer to be locked away in a room reading that even hear about everything we do.
But at the same time, she listens. No matter how much she disagrees, she listened to Jake ramble about every illegal thing he's done. Corey brags about all his killings. Sam explains the complications he faces on missions. And she deals with my bad mood daily. Though I have tried putting to contain my temper around her.
Seeing her cry after the party broke my heart and I vowed to myself I wouldn't make her cry like that again.
I wouldn't be able to handle it...
Shit.
I've grown attached to this girl. That isn't good.
But how could I not? She's gorgeous, absolutely stunning. She's smart in every way possible. She makes me want to do better in everything I do, something only one other person had ever done to me.
But how did that end?
With her 6 feet in the ground..
No. I won't let that happen again. I can't- won't. Not with her, not with Livia.
I realized I hadn't answered for a while, and I left her there standing cluelessly. I blink a few times, eyes her features. Taking in her beauty.
"I'm not nervous." I finally respond, "Just.. glad to see you're okay."
A soft smile grew on her lips, "I'm fine. Just don't know whether or not I want this pudding or this cupcake." He frowned, looking down at the table of pastries.
I looked at them too, picking up a pink with white frosting cupcake and holding it out to her "This one."
She took it with a smile, "perfect."
There was a little awkward silence between us. I watched her take a bite of the cupcake, leaving a little bit of frosting on her lip as she chewed. I bet she was planning on dragging her tongue across it, or even wiping it away with her finger.
But why let it go to waste?
I took the opportunity I had to kiss her, pressing my lips to hers. I never did this in public, but I had the opportunity to flirt. Why wouldn't I take advantage of it? My lips parted from her and I swiped off the excess frosting from my lip with my finger and then sucked on it lightly. Then I did the same with the small bit left on her lip and, again, brought it to my mouth. Licking the sweetness from my skin.
She blinked, a blush on her cheeks.
My lips twitch to a grin, "You had a little frosting on you darling."
She brought her hand to her mouth and brushed her fingers across her lips, looking down at her cupcake and then up at me with the most clueless of eyes. Maybe she didn't know she had frosting on herself.
"Thank you." She squeaked.
I always did this to her. Made her flustered, speechless. Unable to find the words. It was one of the only emotions I really had control over around her. My ability to flirt and make her blush. I took pride in being able to do it. Knowing no one else had.
I was going to speak again but was interrupted by a shot ringing through the air, followed by screams and yells from the party guests. Why couldn't anything we do go smoothly? The only difference here being we weren't targets.
I refrained from pulling out my gun right away, knowing the shots weren't directed at us. They weren't even near us, they were somewhere else in the building. Probably near where the drug trade was happening.
"We need to go." I quickly say, grabbing her arm and gently but hastily pulling her away from the Deseret table and through the crowd. Leaving a smushed pink cupcake on the hard marble floor behind us.
We made it through the crowd and back to the table where the guys waited for us with rushed looks.
"Who the hells firing shots?" Sam said, looking around at the multiple people who were rushing out of the room and towards the entrance. Right where we should be too.
"Doesn't matter, we're leaving," I say, everyone, nodding and following after me as I guided us all through the chaotic mess. People were pushing, shoving, and a few ladies were crying. As if they'd never heard gunshots before. This party wasn't filled with average rich people, everyone here had dealed something at least once. Or, they've killed, didn't matter.
"Wait!" Livia came to an abrupt stop, making all of us stop.
"Livia we need to go!"
"Lucy May still be in there." She tried to turn around but I grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving.
"Livia she's fine, she probably got out." I tried to tell her.
"No! I need to be sure." She tried to move again but my grub kept her steady.
Another shot went off.
"Guys we need to go!" Corey yelled, looking back at the entrance that was now cleared. A large metal gate was closing in on it though, an emergency lockdown I presume.
Truth was, I didn't know whether or not Lucy had escaped. She hadn't even crossed my mind. But Livia seemed hell-bent on finding her, making sure she was safe. The pleading look in her eyes making my mind swirl with decisions.
"Colby, please." She begged with so much sincerity.
Fuck it.
"Meet us at the hotel." I look at the guys.
"What!" They all exclaimed.
"This place is going into lockdown! How will you get out!" Said Jake.
"We'll figure it out. Go!" I yell, not wanting them to be trapped in here with us. They were very hesitant, not wanting to leave them behind. But I gave them a deadly look and basically told them to get the fuck out. They did, just in time for the gate to close and the lights to go out, bright red ones flickering on and barely lighting up the room.
I could sense the slight fear in Livia as darkness semi-consumed us. She grew close to me and looked around nervously.
"Come on. We'll find Lucy and then we're leaving."
I know I should've made her go with the guys, but would she really go with them? No. She wouldn't. This wasn't my choice it was hers. This time she told me what to do instead of the other way around.
We wasted no time sprinting up the stairs and darting through the familiar hallway to where we both last saw Lucy.
Livia stopped randomly, bending over and taking off her heels. "They were slowing me down." She said, also ripping her dress up to her thigh to give herself more room to run. Xepher wouldn't like that, but she'd understand. Livia grabbed her gun from her holster and clocked it, holding it in both hands with a small smile.
I chuckled at how badass she could be some time, and then we were off again.
Lucy wasn't anywhere to be seen, so we continued searching. The museum wasn't that big, and our search wasn't that long. We spotted her in the dinosaur exhibit, hiding behind a large structure. We ran up to her and when she saw us she screams before realizing who we were.
"Oh, Livia darling!" She exclaimed as she embraced her in a hug, then pulling away with a look of confusion, "Why on earth are you still in here,"
"She wouldn't leave without you," I reply for her.
"Oh stupid stupid stupid." They were hugging again, "But, thank you. Curse my husband for ruining a beautiful night." She scoffed.
"It doesn't matter now-" another shot rang, this time closer to us, "right now we need to worry about getting out of here alive."Both Livia and Lucy looked at me while I awkwardly stood there. I didn't do these types of things..
"Is there anywhere we can leave? All the entrances are blocked off. Plus we can't go out the front, I guarantee there are already cops lined up waiting to burst through." I scanned around the room, making sure no one was near.
"The only place I'm aware of is the garage where all the artifacts and shipments come in. But that's also where the trade is happening, it may be too dangerous." Lucy was panicking. Voice shaking and head low.
I shook my head, "Doesn't matter. If that's the only way out then that's the only way out. Show us the way?"
She nodded, beginning to guide us out of the exhibit and back towards the main hall. We ran right past it and continued towards the back of the Museum. It took what felt like ages, a few more shots being fired as we ran. Each sound seeming to get closer and closer as we continued.
We were getting closer, and the shots aren't a good sign.
We made it to a silver door with bright litters saying, "Do Not Enter." On the from time them. Usually, you'd ignore the door and follow what it says. But we're a special case.
"We're entering slow and steady. I'll go first and you two follow behind, I'll cover y'all."
They both nod and I open the door slowly, peeking my head through to make sure the coast was clear. It was, so I opened it more and we walked through.
The room was huge, echoing different sounds. Pipes dripping. Engines rumbling. And a few whispered here and there. We weren't alone, so we had to be quiet. There were shipping containers all around, sporting different colors and different logos. We hid behind one of them, peering over the edge to see who was around.
There were 5 guys and dead bodies.
A strangled gasp left someone behind me and I quickly turned and pressed my hand against Lucy's mouth, who threatened to scream. I held her against the wall as she freaked out over something. I looked back to see her gaze locked on one of the bodies.
Her husband I assume?
"Sh sh sh." I try to calm her, "Later, not now, later." There was no time to grieve right now, though I understood her reaction. It took her a second to calm down, but when she did there were tears in her eyes but she was quiet. I removed my hand and Livia placed hers on her shoulder, rubbing it softly in a comforting motion.
"There's enough containers for us to sneak past everyone. Just stay close and stay quiet," We begin to move, sneaking last an opening and making it behind another container. We traveled behind them, finally making it out into the open and taking off into a sprint down the street. We didn't dare look back, besides Lucy who still forced herself to keep quiet even though her eyes showed so much pain.
He may have been a bad man, but, she loved him.
Death had a habit of finding those we love most and taking them away from us. Why couldn't the bad people die first? Why must it always be those who deserve to live who leave before others? It made no sense to me. But there was no time to question it. We were out, and we were safe. That is all that mattered.
We rounded back to the front, slowing into a stop when we neared all the police cars that lined up near the entrance.
I looked at Lucy, "What are you going to do?" I ask.
She rubbed her shoulders, "Talk to the police. This was my party, I'll be questioned for sure. A-and I w-want to see my husband." She got choked up, "Sorry," she looked away, embarrassed. Livia pulled her into a hug.
I suddenly felt bad for pointing my gun at her earlier. She didn't deserve that.
"I'm sorry." I apologize. She looked at me, wondering what for. "For everything."
I think she understood, but she didn't respond. She just kept hugging Livia until she finally pulled away and decided it was time to face it all. She thanked us for getting her out, even giving me a hug, and then left. We watched her approach the police and talk to them a little before turning our heels and walking away ourselves.
Down the sidewalk and away from the museum where so much had gone down. We stayed quiet, thinking to ourselves as we walked through the dark street. The only light source coming from street lights and soon ascended into city lights.
The night had gone to shit, that was a fact.
But it wasn't over.
I didn't want it to end like this. I didn't want Livia's only memory of Virginia to be a bad one. It should have a better ending.
Which is why the night wasn't over.
It never was.
***
A/n:
I can't wait for the next chapter😍 HOPE YALL ARE ENJOYING THISSSSS