RONAN
IT WAS JUST TWO HOURS AWAY UNTIL I REGAIN the throne that was taken from me when I surrendered to the Americans. I had been eagerly waiting for this moment for two and a half years. Since my capture, I had been strategizing, and now everything was falling into place.
Plan A.
Dominic would grant me control over the streets of Costa Rica and New York in exchange for his beloved principessa.
Plan B.
Kill them all.
The agreement excluded the use of guns. Only five people would be present in the confined room: Me, Nicholas, Dominic, Adeline, and Aria. No bodyguards, no additional assistance, and no distractions. I instructed Nicholas to take all of my guns, including the backups, and securely hide them. I didn't want to be tempted to carry one with me, aware of my own weaknesses.
Mistakes were not an option. I couldn't afford to make any errors because I knew that a single mistake would cost me control. I was a precise executor, and time was of the essence. Every passing second mattered to me. I believed in calculations. Mathematics permeated everything, and any incorrect calculations would jeopardize the entire plan. Accuracy in calculations was crucial, and I never faltered in that aspect.
"I overheard Nicholas telling Aria, 'It will only be the five of us: Ronan, me, your father, your mother, and you.' Aria nodded, and their attention shifted to me," I said, my gaze fixed on the blank white wall in front of me. "Where's blondie?" I asked. "She's at home. And this time, she will stay there. Levi and Viktor are keeping an eye on her," he replied.
My eyes shifted to the dark-haired woman who had just taken a seat on the stool by the kitchen island. Her hair cascaded down her back, measuring eighteen inches. I observed that she usually styled it in curls, never leaving it straight or natural. Her dark hair complemented her caramel-colored skin, and her deep brown eyes seemed to captivate everyone around her.
And I despised it.
"Nicholas, leave," I muttered. He glanced at Aria once more before walking past me and exiting the room. Aria's body language remained unchanged. She didn't appear tense or worried about being alone with me. I stopped at the third square of tiles on the floor, which was two inches away from her seat. I didn't need to get any closer. Her natural scent reached my nostrils, infiltrating my mind, and I knew it would linger for days.
She was confused. I had been standing here for two minutes, staring at the back of her head, inhaling her scent, and observing the details of her appearance. She had an average-sized head with an ordinary amount of hair strands. Typically, a person has or had around a hundred thousand strands of hair on their head, discounting the fifty to a hundred strands lost over time.
"Ask me a question," I finally spoke, my eyes still scanning the back of her head. Her body subtly shifted in the chair, and her hands rested in her lap. "I don't have any questions," she quickly replied.
She was lying.
She had numerous questions, but she was afraid to ask because she already knew the answers.
"Ask the question, Aria," I insisted. For a moment, she remained silent, but then she turned around in her seat, and our eyes met for the first time since being in the same room. Her deep brown eyes locked with my different-colored ones, and they sparkled with intensity. Her throat seemed dry, and now I sensed her tension. I shifted my focus, finding an object in the kitchen to divert my attention
I was still waiting for her to ask a question, but she never did. Her eyes remained fixated on my face, unable to form coherent words. It seemed that her eyes were doing the talking instead of her lips, and I found it unsettling. I had been standing here for ten minutes, and there was less than half an hour until the mission began. Frustration built up inside me, causing my right hand to tap nervously against the kitchen island.
One tap.
Two taps.
Three taps.
Four taps.
Five taps.
Before the sixth tap, Nicholas opened the door and said, "The truck is ready, and they're already at the warehouse. The driver said we should start on the route because it's a long drive."
I clenched my right hand into a fist, trying to steady its trembling. I walked over to the door where Nicholas stood, and his gaze immediately dropped to my hand.
"Don't," I said. "Get her, and let's go."
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The drive was just as I had expected-a thirty-minute journey to a secluded location agreed upon by me and Dominic. Aria wore a black bag over her head throughout the ride to prevent her from recognizing the surroundings. The warehouse was situated in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by overgrown trees on a small acre of land.
A black SUV was parked by the side of the warehouse, indicating that Dominic and his wife had already arrived and secured the premises. Aria was the first to step inside, and Adeline quickly stood up, tears streaming down her cheeks. Dominic placed his hand on her arm, urging her to sit back down, and she complied. After Aria, it was Nicholas, and then I entered.
One party on one side of the room, and the other on the opposite side. Nicholas removed the bag from Aria's face, and she rubbed her eyes, struggling to focus before directing her gaze at her parents. Judging by her expression, she wasn't feeling the same as they were.
"Let's get this over with and hand us back our daughter," Adeline exclaimed. I approached the silver table between us, where only a paper and pen were placed. "Did you both sign the paper?" I asked.
Adeline nodded, but Dominic hadn't.
"I won't put my signature unless you hand me Aria first," I could easily see through his ploy, and he knew it wouldn't work. He allowed Adeline to sign before him, knowing her signature held no weight. It was his signature that I needed, and he was well aware of that.
"Sign the paper, Dominic," I calmly instructed.
"Give me my daughter, and then you'll get the signature. That's the deal," he said, sounding timid.
"Sign the paper," I repeated.
He remained silent. If I had a gun right now, I would have put a damn bullet in everyone standing in this room, but I couldn't because Nicholas had hidden all the guns, and I couldn't find a single one. Nicholas was skilled at concealing things.
My eyes darted to the clock, which had just ticked. Six minutes had already passed, and we had less than nine minutes left for me to complete this task.
"Sign the fucking paper, or you won't see any of your children," I threatened, and he slammed his fist onto the silver table. "Give me our damn daughter."
I paused, my eyes shifting to Nicholas. He had Aria by his side, but his gaze roamed around the room. It went from Adeline and Dominic to the door, then to the window, and finally back to me. "He's stalling," he muttered. I tilted my head, and then I heard a sound. As time passed, the sound grew louder. Suddenly, the door was kicked in, and amidst Nicholas holding onto Aria, one of the masked men aimed a gun at his head.
The masked men swiftly grabbed Nicholas by the neck, keeping the gun against his head. Then, a gun was pointed at me. "Get down," the man ordered, and I complied, my knees pushed forward by the tip of his gun.
All this time, it had been a diversion. Dominic had different plans than the original agreement. He chose the signature over his own daughter, and in doing so, he sealed his own fate and that of his family.
For years, I had lived in the shadows, avoiding the light of day for fear of the destructive darkness within me. I couldn't save myself, so how could I save those around me? But lately, all I had encountered was disloyalty and deception.
And now, all I could see was darkness.
I managed to slip my hand into the pocket where he kept his knife and used it to lodge it into his leg. The masked man with the gun pointed at my head accidentally fired a few shots, hitting another masked man who happened to be holding Nicholas. I grabbed the gun from his hand and fired two bullets into him. Three more shots rang out, hitting another masked man who had just entered from outside. The gun was already out of bullets, so I had to buy some time. Another man came running in, and I headbutted him. Using the muzzle of the gun, I shoved it into his abdomen.
I picked up the gun from the last man I had shot and fired at least three more bullets, hitting the men who had come up from behind me. My mind was focused on killing, and I didn't stop until more men kept coming, and soon both Nicholas and I were surrounded. Dominic stood outside the circle. Aria and Adeline were under the table, away from the crossfire, but they could still witness the events unfolding.
"On your fucking knees, or we'll shoot!" one of the men yelled, but I ignored the command. I managed to grab one of the men's guns and shot him along with three other soldiers. But in the midst of my attempt to shoot a few more, I was hit by one soldier's bullet, then another, and two more after that. I took shots in each arm, one passing through my shoulder, and another in my leg.
It was nothing short of a miracle that I was still standing on my two feet after being shot four times. Trust me, I had endured much worse during my time in the Russian army for nearly half of my life.
"Fucking enough!" Dominic shouted, and my eyes locked with his. I couldn't believe what I saw. In one arm, he held a gun, and in the other, he held a lifeless woman. Stella.
Nicholas remained silent, his eyes fixed on Dominic.
"Aria, Adeline, come out from under the table," Adeline was the first to emerge, followed by Aria. Aria looked at Stella, then at me, and finally at Nicholas. Her head started shaking back and forth, and the word "no" spilled from her lips. "Come any closer, and I'll put a fucking bullet in her head," Dominic warned both Nicholas and me.
"Consider this another deal. A hostage for a hostage, but you without a hostage," Dominic spat, his tone venomous. Suddenly, everything faded from view as one of the men threw a grenade, and by the time Nicholas and I regained consciousness, they were all gone.
"They took her," Nicholas uttered.
"They took her, they fucking took her," he repeated. I managed to stand up on my two feet, holding onto my arm which was starting to bleed as I stood up on my two feet.
"They took her, and you allowed it," Nicholas charged towards me, but his attempts to hit me missed. He tried again, but this time I grabbed the front of his neck and forcefully pushed him against the wall.
"You know, I never wanted her to be caught up in any of this, and look what has happened. They've taken her. She's a good person who shouldn't be involved in any of this. It's all my fault," his voice was filled with despair, and tears welled up in his eyes. For the first time in years, I was about to witness my brother cry. This time, it wasn't because he had witnessed my father brutally beating me. It was because he had just watched the love of his life being taken away at gunpoint.
Protect the king. Protect the queen. Protect the knight. Protect the pawn. Protect the king. Protect the queen. Protect the knight. Protect the pawn.
"I will find her," I released my grip on him and held the back of his head as his body trembles against my shoulder. "I promise, I will bring her back," I whispered. "I will find her, and I will protect her."
・・・
I wrote and edited this chapter literally at 2 in the morning. I'm not sure if I like it or not, I feel as though it's rushed and this whole book is being written way too fast.
IM BACK peddling and I hate that! I have so much in stored for this book and I want it to be perfect for all you so please let me know if I'm rushing throngs to quickly.
I don't want to add too much fluff so it would be boring! Please tell me your thoughts, comment, vote, or send a emoji. SOMETHING.
You all are so quiet and it's killing me lol!
thank you for reading. I love you all :>