Chapter 85
3:54 am.
I unde my bun to retrieve the hairpin that was holding it in place.
I carefully bend it to make sure it’ll be usable.
with a click, I open the door and step inside the apartment, making sure not to make any noise; he must be asleep by now.
I know because I followed him after he left the warehouse. I waited, hidden in the stairwell, until he was deeply asleep.
I don’t want impulsive Inara
I don’t waste time looking at the cheap decor. This must be one of his secondary residences, a place he hides out from time to time.
I’m breaking in, but I need to be patient. Since I found out he’s the one behind all this crap, I’ve felt immense hatred toward myself for not having seen it earlier. I should have been on alert and realized he was playing me.
I was blinded by my emotions. I was manipulated like a child, I should’ve known he was messing with me and wasn’t sincere.
He hid his wickedness well; I should’ve seen it coming long ago.
I could almost be impressed if I didn’t hate this piece of shit so much.
He’s responsible for what happened with Paco, for the girl’s death, for staging an exchange to trap me, and for Jafar’s death.
Only one question remains unanswered: why do all this to me?
He’s lying on his back, hands at his sides, eyes closed, and he seems to be in a deep sleep. It would be so easy to kill him right now.
I take out my weapon from the back of my pants and press the barrel against his forehead, pressing so hard I could leave a mark.
He jolts awake. The moment his eyes meet mine, they widen in shock. He seems paralyzed.
“You’re going to gently get out of bed, go sit on the wooden chair over there. Then, you’re going to tie your hands and feet to that chair. One wrong move and you’re dead on the spot, understood?”
He obeys without protest.
“Why are you doing this, Inara? I thought we were on good terms! What are you doing in my place–and at this hour, no less?”
“Shut the fuck up!”
want to kill him right here and now, but first I need answers before getting rid of this filth.
To calm my nerves and make sure this doesn’t last three hours, I grab his hair violently and star his head against the desk repeatedly.
Dops, i must’ve broken his nose.
He screams in pain. Now we can get to the serious stuff.
“You tie bastard! Why have you been tracking me for weeks? Why do you want to kill me?
His cries of pain mis with has begging
“What the fuck are you talking about? You’ve got the wrong person I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about?
1/4
18:13 Sat, 23 AugQ
Chapter 85
Is it really that hard to own up?
“I promise you a relatively painless death if you confess right now what you’ve done and stop lying straight to my face.”
“You’ve gone crazy, Inara! I never did anything to you, and you just broke my nose!”
I clench my fists and walk back to the bed, grabbing my gun again.
1470 0
“That was your last chance. Either you tell me now why you did all this to me, or I swear I’ll shoot each one of your limbs, starting with your balls, until you finally open your fucking mouth.”
I point my weapon at his privates. I brush the trigger under his anxious gaze. He knows I won’t hesitate.
“You’re completely free to choose, Larbi.”
Alexander
VILLA GRAVES
4:02 a.m.
“What are you planning to do? Let me remind you, it can’t stay hidden there for long–it’s too risky.”
“Stop worrying, Aymen. I’ve been working on this for years. No one’s going to stop me, least of all pieces of shit like Khalid trying to double–cross me.”
He sighs at my nonchalance.
“Why don’t you get rid of him? He’s figured things out, and he’s trying to mess with our heads. I’m sure he’s behind the villa break–in.”
“He’s still useful alive. Let him keep digging and ransacking the villa if he wants–he won’t find anything.”
“How could he be useful? He’s useless, that clown.”
“Don’t worry. He’s not a real threat. He’ll reveal his usefulness later.”
“Where are things with Inara?”
I raise my eyebrows.
“She’s good with me.”
“She doesn’t know anything about her father?”
“Given their relationship, he never would’ve told her anything.”
“So what? You’re going to get rid of her once all this shit is over, right?”
I clench my jaw and ball my fists. I picture my little doll’s face, always standing proudly in front of me. I suppress a slight smile.
“I know you think I’ve gone crazy because of everything I’ve done. The situation has changed, and there’s no way I’m killing Inara.”
“What are you going to do with her?”
I stare blankly into space.
“I want to keep my little doll close to me,
2/4
18:13 Sat, 23 Aug 0
Chapter 85
LARBY’S ROOM
O
I’ve seen you give this kind of choice to your enemies dozens of times, and no matter what they chose, you always ended up shooting them. Don’t insult my intelligence like I don’t insult yours.”
“Fair enough.”
He sniffles, trying to stop the blood from gushing out of his nose.
“What did I do, Inara? Why won’t you answer that question?”
I don’t feel any anger or hostility from him, even though I just broke his nose and he’s still tied up. His voice is pleading and tired.
He looks like he genuinely doesn’t know what I’m blaming him for, and it’s throwing me off.
I’m starting to doubt myself–wondering if I’ve confused Larbi with someone else.
Since I’ve known him and since he started working for my father, he’s always defended me and valued me in front of the other men in the gang–even in front of my father. He always said I was capable and never treated my being a woman as a weakness.
I can’t count how many missions no one wanted to team up with me, afraid I’d slow them down–Larbi was always the one who volunteered without being asked.
During those missions, we didn’t talk much, but he was always respectful and kind. He always tried to highlight my strengths to win the respect of the
others.
I try to push those memories aside so they don’t influence me. This isn’t the time for weakness.
“Why are you pretending not to understand? I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but you better stop.”
“I swear on both of my mother’s eyes, i don’t know what i did to make you hate me this much. I’m begging you think of everything we’ve been through.”
I sigh and raise my head to look at him. I lock eyes with him, searching for any sign of deceit.
“For weeks, you’ve made my life hell when we never done anything to you. You sent Paco after me. You also arranged for the men on our last mission to attack me! I assume you’re the one who decapitated Jared and sent me his head in a box! Trying to kill me multiple times I might’ve tolerated that. But because of you, a little girl died. And that’s never forgive. Now that you know what you did, you still want details?”
His eyes widen in confusion. He looks genuinely shocked. Either he’s a phenomenal liar, or he truly doesn’t know.
“What are you talking about? Who the hell is Paco? What little girl? I don’t know why you think i did all this, but I swear I didn’t! You know me. You know I’m not capable of such things!”
“Just earlier, you tried to burn me alive in that warehouse fire! Don’t try to tell me you’ve been mistaken for someone else. I saw you watching the flames to make sure i burned!”
“What are you talking about? What warehouse?”
He stops suddenly, as if something just clicked, his expression turning grave.
“That was me you saw at the warehouse.”
it hurts to be betrayed–but I suspected it.
“I know. I didn’t need your confirmation”
“But I wasn’t there to kill you, I swear. I didn’t even know you were there! I went because i was told the place was on fire and hard to recover some
18:13 Sat, 23 Aug 0
Chapter 85
weapons hidden inside. When I got there, everything was already collapsing. I didn’t see you, didn’t see your car–if I had, I would’ve helped you!”
I raise my eyebrows.
“If you were really there to collect weapons, where are they?”
“Under my bed.”
I bend down and lift the blanket. I see a duffel bag–and sure enough, weapons are inside.
“Who told you to get the weapons?”
“I was just about to return to your father’s villa after a mission when Hakim called me. He said one of the gang’s stash spots was on fire and I had to recover the guns.”
Hakim. That bastard Hakim is the one behind it all. It was planned from the start.
14% S
If he knew about the fire, it’s because he started it. He sent Larbi so he’d take the fall if I survived. Hakim knows I have a temper. He was counting on me killing Larbi before he could explain.
Everything clicks into place. I finally understand how he manipulated me. What I still don’t get is how he knew I’d go to that warehouse.
He’s good–1 underestimated him.
“You were almost collateral damage. Hakim used you to take the blame for everything he did to me. That bastard orchestrated it all to get away with it without me ever suspecting him.”
Larbi gives me a dark look and doesn’t reply. Fair–he probably wants to punch me.
I approach him and slowly untie him. I glance at him, ashamed.
“Do you want me to call an ambulance? You need to be treated before it gets worse.”
“You’ve done enough already, don’t you think?”
