|36|

•Charlotte•

I felt a touch on my face. Someone dragged a finger down my cheek and instantly my eyes opened, a glare fixated in them. 

It seemed like only minutes had gone by as I saw Logan. He was standing in front of me, a little bent to my eye level since they had tied me to a chair. I could see his men standing around in the room from the corner of my eye.

"If you've got any balls, you'll untie me and fight me." I hissed at him as I tried to pull my arms out of the rope that was tied around my body.

Logan chuckled as he stood up. "Why would I want to fight you?" 

"To kill me." I glared up at him as if it was common sense why I was tied here. 

"Little lightning girl," he lowered down to me again. "That is the rule of a man who wants to run an underworld empire. Kill or be killed." He smirked at me. "Lucky for you, I don't want to be killed." 

I knew what he wanted. 

"You're not man enough to fight me, who says you can run an empire that isn't yours?"  

He glared at me. "Careful." He warned. "I might be tempted enough to show you how much of a man I am." I felt his hand on my thigh and I shook my leg, getting rid of his touch. He pulled his hand away and I could see that drop of fear. 

He wouldn't dare cross that line. Not in fear of what Ramon would do, but in fear of how much I would rip him apart the second I was free. 

"That empire that your boyfriend got, was supposed to be for me or Kyong. That bastard is driven by loyalty. He wouldn't dare retaliate, so I had to." He chuckled as he stood up straight. "You have to fight for what you want. This is me fighting. Ramon is going to come for you." 

"Your big plan is to kill him and then take over his world? What makes you think it's that easy?" I asked, confusion clear in my voice. I wanted him to carry on talking, to not stop. "Where do I come in all this?" 

I watched Logan as he took a step back and sat down on the chair opposite me. A part of me found this ironic that we sat in the room where my dad died. I would kill him right here, let his blood drip on the ground and let it wipe away every bad memory in this house.. 

"You're my little lightning girl. I thought if you were on my side, you could twist your way into Ramon's life and kill him once you were close enough." 

"You killed my dad. What makes you think I would have joined your little gang?" I scoffed at him. 

Logan chuckled. "That's the thing about you, Charlotte. You're stubborn. You forced me to kill him. It was never part of the plan but you pushed my hand."

"I didn't do that." I shook my head at him." You took every opportunity from us, Logan. You had your men watch me. You sent Cameron to my sc-"

"Oh yes." He interrupted me. "Where is that little snitch? Did Ramon kill him? He does like playing the big bad wolf." Logan questioned a curious look in his eyes. 

"You killed Cameron's sister. You killed my dad. You're a monster, Logan. There is nothing that you can do anymore to hurt me." I told him, as I tried to pull myself out of the ropes. 

He smirked at me. "What if I killed the old woman? Or your little friend? What if I blew up your school? What if I blew up this new life that you're trying to build for yourself." He got up from his chair and walked towards me. "What if I made you watch your life burn in front of your eyes?" He fisted my hair, tilting my head back. 

"What if I put a bullet in you right now?" I felt the gun pressed against my chest. "Will that attitude die out or will you die being a stubborn little bitch?" He questioned with a smirk on his face. 

I. Did. Not. Fear. Him. 

"You won't kill me. You're waiting for Ramon to come so you can do it in front of him. I'm not stupid, Logan." I said, glaring up at him. 

"It's so tempting though." He murmured softly, the gun trailing up my chest and to my neck. "To shoot you and end his life." He moved the gun up to my head. "Right here." He pressed it to the side of my temple. "I could blow your brains here just like I did to your dad." He smirked at me. 

I pushed all my strength into my feet and pulled them out of the ropes that were loose around my feet. One of my heels came off but with my other heel, I pushed my foot down onto his, digging my heel into his foot. 

Logan's eyes widened as he cursed loudly and moved away from me quickly. I dug deeper as I felt a pair of hands pull the chair back. 

"Kill or be killed." I laughed at him, repeating his words to him. 

He glared at me as I felt someone wrap their hands around my neck, choking me. "Let go of her!" Logan called out to him. The man didn't let go of me, his hands tightening around my neck. 

I couldn't breathe as his hands tightened around my neck, ripping away the oxygen and pulling me near to death. I felt my body shaking, trying to let go, but he didn't. 

The sound was quiet, a silencer on the gun that Logan fired at the man. His eyes widened as he let go of my neck and fell backwards. My chair staggered forward, and Logan steadied it with his foot. I gulped in breaths, coughing but greedily taking the oxygen around me. 

"Kill or be killed." Logan repeated the words to me. "It takes a lot more than a few words to have people's trust." He was staring at me. "Ramon thinks that his life will be easy, but it will not be. When Kyong gets shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, who will guide Ramon?" He chuckled to himself. 

"Are you expecting him to run back to you?" I asked Logan when I could finally breathe. 

He glared down at me and grabbed a hold on my chin as he leaned down. His fingers squeezed into my face. "I will never work for him. The moment he walks in through that door, there will be bullets in his body before he can even blink. That empire is mine and mine alone." He hissed the words at me before letting go and taking a step back. 

I didn't bother answering him as I saw Cole and Zach walk into the room. The twins grinned at me. "Your friend is calling you." Zach said as he held my phone in his hand. "Your password is really hard though." He muttered as he leaned against the door. 

I ignored them all but I watched them. Cole was nervous. I could see him glancing at the curtains and then back at the front door as he stood in the doorway as if he was ready to run. Zach was unbothered as he tried to get into my phone. There were others walking up and down the stairs. I heard the ceiling creak above me. They were upstairs as well. 

Logan. 

He stood there watching me. I met his stare. He was nervous as well. I could see it as he tapped his index finger on his gun. Tap. Tap. Tap. He wanted to win but he knew deep down he wouldn't be able to because the people around him didn't trust him enough. 

Cole would run. Zach would protect his brother. The others I didn't know. Logan was on edge. I saw it as he stood up a little straighter. He was older than us all, but still so inexperienced in life. 

The underground world did not accept fear. It made you weak, I knew that by being a fighter. I didn't know anything about the mafia and what they did. Ramon. 

Ramon did not show fear. He did not show weakness anymore. He radiated power and made people fear him with a simple look. Logan could never do that. The world would walk all over him but it didn't seem like it mattered. 

I stared at him as he ran  a hand through his hair, a sign to show how uncomfortable he was with me staring. If I did not fear him, who would ever fear him? He threw out threats as if that would make people work for him. It worked with some people and with others, like me, it caused a pit of rage to open up inside of us. To kill him. 

"What are you staring at?" He scoffed, finally caving in as he took a step towards me. 

I smiled at him. A genuine smile. "Cherish your breath, Logan. It's limited." There was a drop of fear in his eyes though he scoffed at me. "The moment you take me out of these ropes, I'm going to kill you." I promised him. 

The plan was always to get caught, for him to think he had got his way and lured me back to the house. I wanted him to believe this was all his doing, his psychotic mind coming up with a plan. Logan had no idea who was waiting in the shadows, or in Mary's house.

He laughed and walked out of the room, watching me smile at him. 

***

Hours went by as I sat in the room alone. Memories floated in my mind of my dad being killed, repeatedly but I shut it out and focused on the good memories. 

How we would sit in peaceful silence and eat our food and then look through all the old photo albums. The good memories where I would run away into the park and my parents would chase me. The moments I shared with Mary in this living room while my dad slept. This house was full of memories and to know it was not tainted with blood, broke a part of me i knew i would never get back. 

The door opened up and Logan walked in with a big grin on his face. "They-" He didn't get to finish when I heard the gunshot first. 

I grinned to myself as he quickly ran towards me, lifting me up on my feet with the chair still tied to me. He pressed a gun towards my head as he stood besides me. Gunshots fired all around us and I grinned to myself. I let out a silent breath. 

One. Two. Three. 

I twisted out of his hold, hitting the legs of the chair on his arms as hard as I could. The gun fell out of his hand and that was all I needed. I didn't wait for him as he glared at me. Using the legs of the chair, I turned my back to him and moved left and right trying to stab the legs into him. The rope loosened up around me and I laughed like a psychopath as I pulled the rope off my body, the chair falling to the floor. 

I whirled around to look at Logan. "You are dead." 

He charged at me. The stupidest thing he could have done. Men thought by using their strength, they would be able to throw us off. I had practiced my balance for years. 

Logan came towards me, his right hand fisted, heading straight towards my face. I grabbed it, as his eyes widened a little. I twisted it around his back, bringing my elbow up and it hitting it against his stiffened arm. I heard the crack as he screamed. I was going to break apart every bone. 

"Without a gun, you can't hurt me." I let go of his broken arm. He twirled around to look at me, his eyes glancing behind me. I didn't dare look behind me as his eyes widened more. 

There was fear in those eyes. Fear that would have never gotten him far in life. I took a step towards him and he glared at me. He wouldn't go down without a fight. 

"You killed my dad in this room." I threw a hard punch towards his jaw and he staggered backwards, falling to the ground. 

He looked up at me, as I kicked him in the face, the blood of my dad painting the wall in my mind. 

"You ruined my life!" I shouted at him. 

The rage inside of me was finally finding a release. It twisted inside of me, clawing at my skin as I knelt down next to him. He watched me, knowing, his death was right here, dangling in front of his face. 

"Do it." He spat at me. "Become a monster like the rest of us." 

"Gladly." I smiled at him softly as I wrapped my hands around his neck. I tightened my hold on him as he tried to claw at my skin. 

He was nothing. The fear in his eyes grew as death came closer to wrap itself around him. His eyes flickered back into his head as I let go, letting him breathe. 

He was not going to die that easily. 

"Amore." 

His voice was the light in the darkness that seemed to circle me, begging me to end Logan's life.

 I stood up, watching Logan stare at me as he coughed. He had lost. He wasn't going to fight back. Not a single gunshot echoed in the house as I turned around to look at Ramon. He stood there, with no tie on and his shirt covered in blood. He was hurt  somewhere but it didn't seem to bother him as he stared at me. I saw the words he didn't need to say. 

There is no going back from this. 

I stared at the blood on Ramon. I would kill for him. I would kill for Lizzie who stood there behind Ramon with Calvin and the others, dead bodies laying on the ground behind them. 

They were my family. The only people that I could save. 

My gaze drifted off to the wall besides me, the transparent blood coating the walls and dropping down. 

I would kill Logan for the pain he had caused me. 

I turned to face the others. They waited for me to do something, to ask for anything as Logan silently waited for his death behind me. I wanted him to beg for it, not to accept it that easily. I walked towards Ramon who raised an eyebrow as I walked out of the room and past the dead bodies on the floor. 

I heard the sound of crashing before I saw Zach's body being thrown down the stairs. Cameron stood on the top step, unshed tears in his eyes as he lifted the gun up and pointed it at Zach. I watched silently as Cameron shot him,  mouthing the words he couldn't say out loud. That is for Tamara. 

I watched him let out a shudder, his gaze turning to me. "Make him beg and scream, lightning devil. For the ones he has hurt, for your dad. Kill him slowly." 

My head barely moved in  and as I walked towards the kitchen. Pushing the door open, I saw Kyong standing there with a few other men, as they dragged the bodies on the floor. He looked up at me but didn't say a word as I walked past them all and opened the cupboard. 

Knives. 

I felt the numbness settle in my mind as I picked up the knife. 

"Um." I heard someone say behind me. "Kyong, I think she's going crazy." It was a whisper as I held the knife tightly and turned around. 

Kyong grinned at me, a smile on his face as he ignored the others staring at me. I wanted to return the smile but there was only one goal in my mind. I walked out of the kitchen to see Ramon waiting besides the door. He noticed the knife in my mind and he raised an eyebrow, walking towards me before I could get closer to the door. 

There was a grin on his face as he stopped in front of me. "Tourture him, amore. Make him scream and beg." He whispered to me softly as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Let it all out." He murmured against my skin and I nodded as he stepped to the side. 

I walked ahead of him and back to the living room, as Calvin walked Lizzie away. Logan watched me as I entered the room, Ramon behind me as he closed the door. 

"What is this going to be? Death by a knife?" Logan chuckled, holding his arm close to himself as he pushed his body up and into a sitting position. 

"Remember the day I begged you not to hurt my dad?" I raised an eyebrow as I walked towards him. "You didn't listen, even when I accepted to join this stupid gang." Lowering down on my knees, I looked into Logan's eyes.

There was fear in them, circling the air around him as he looked at me. I leaned lower to him. He didn't move. "I begged you." I moved my hand closer, grabbing his face like he had done earlier to me. Digging my fingers into his chin, I placed the knife against his dick. He froze. 

"Maybe I'll start off with this." I could feel the sinister smile tugging on my lips as he breathed out, barely moving as I trailed the knife up on his body. "Would you beg me, Logan? Maybe if you beg, I'll end your life quickly." 

He didn't expect it. His eyes widened and a gasp left his mouth as I pushed the sharp tip of the knife into his stomach. He let out a cry as I pushed it in, deeper. "Beg and I'll grant you mercy." I lied to him in a promising voice. 

"Please stop…" he begged, closing his eyes tightly. 

I twisted the knife inside of him, making him let out a loud pitched scream which rang in my eyes but I ignored it, placing my hand on his shoulder and pulling him closer and onto the knife. 

He screamed. I smiled. 

The blood that coated the walls seemed to disappear, as if finally watching Logan get the death he deserved was satisfying enough for peace. For justice. For my dad. 

"You never thought about how I would feel in a world where I was alone. You took my dad away from me, Logan." I pulled the knife out of him quickly. I threw it away, towards the window and it clattered against the ground as I pushed Logan away from me. 

He laid against the wall, the blood coating his shirt as he closed his eyes and dried to breathe. 

I pushed myself up, feeling the numbness fill my mind slowly. I was so goddamn tired of this man in my life. I turned to look at Ramon who had his arms crossed and was learning against the door.

 I held my hand out to Ramon. 

I waited for him to give me the gun. I would kill Logan. Close the chapter in my life, give my dad his peace so I could feel it myself. 

Ramon didn't give it to me. 

I looked at him with confusion, but he smiled at me, the gun in his hand as he walked towards me. He didn't say a word, as he turned me around and  wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling me out of the pit of darkness I had dived into. He was my light, my everything. 

"I love you." I whispered softly to him as he held the gun with one hand. 

"I love you too." He murmured to me, kissing my hair as he held my hand over the gun. I placed my hand on the trigger softly, not pressing it yet, as he wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me. 

We held the gun together. 

Logan stared at us. 

He placed a kiss on my shoulder as we pressed the trigger. A loud ringing noise filled my ears, as I stared at Logan. His eyes were wide as he counted the last seconds. A bullet had pierced his forehead.  

He was gone. He was dead. 

The rage inside of me instantly disappeared as I saw the blood coating the wall and I felt Ramon's fingers tapping on my skin gently. I let go of the gun just as he spun me around in his arms. 

I smiled up at him as his dark eyes stared at me. He leaned down, inches away from my lips. 

"Let's ruin the world together, amore." He murmured against my lips before I felt him lean down and kiss me. 

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

THE END!

THEY KISSED! This was the ending I planned out before anything and I loved it that it was at this moment. Sorry, just fangirling over my own book.

Hope you liked the book, everyone. It's personally one of my favourites.

Favourite part in the book? I've genuinely enjoyed reading all the comments so thank you for taking time out to post a comment. (I love the silent readers as well)