Page 42

Kaito’s office was huge. It was ornate, with lots of objects on display around the room, a wall of bookshelves, and a big desk with two chairs in front of it at the opposite end.

The most noticeable thing in the room, however, was a wooden statue sitting on the ground and a shelf behind his desk turned sideways.

I dashed through the room and over to the opening. A small room was there, with money and precious metals stacked on shelves in a massive, wall-mounted safe.

This must have been what that man was getting into when I was outside the room.

I noticed that two shelves contained no money or gold, but held documents and random objects.

I dug through them furiously. As I picked through paper after paper, I realized just what a scumbag Kaito had been.

There were so many titles, certificates, and other things spread out before me—and I had no doubt he’d gotten any of them by legal means.

Ours wasn’t the only family he had tormented by the looks of it.

After ten minutes, I finally found what I was looking for—a folder with my family name on it.

I carefully opened it. Inside were papers between Kaito and my father—the original agreement that had gotten us into this mess. The next was a new agreement for the property in exchange for a marriage, signed by Raven. Finally, there was the deed to our land. I took the whole folder and closed it.

It’s finally over, Raven. We will never be plagued by Kaito ever again.

I was tempted to take some of the money, but knowing he had probably gotten it from probably destroying other people’s lives left a foul taste in my mouth. So, I walked away from it, and I hurried to get out of this cursed house.

The gate opened automatically from the inside, so getting back to AJ’s car was much easier than when I’d had to get into the estate.

I started the car and took off, leaving the worst chapter of my life behind.

Once I was a safe distance away, I pulled over. It dawned on me that I should message Touma and let him know to stay with Regan tonight and that everything was going to be fine.

I unlocked my phone and clicked on our text messages.

Sydney

Hey, I wanted to check in and make sure you two were okay.

Touma

Jesus, Sydney! What the hell happened? I’ve heard from multiple people that the fight club got raided by the cops tonight. We’ve been worried about you. I had to stop Regan from leaving to go look for you three times already.

Sydney

I’m sorry. Things got out of control, and this is the first chance I’ve had to get in touch. I’m fine. Tell her to stay put, and I’ll be home to explain everything tomorrow.

Touma

I’ll tell her. And you’re okay? You’re safe?

Sydney

Yes, I’m fine. I borrowed someone’s car, and I need to return it. I’m going to stay there because it’s getting way too late and I’m exhausted. Tell my sister I love her and will see her soon.

Touma

Will do. Thank you for letting us know.

I closed my eyes for a second and put my phone away. I wasn’t far from the docks now. I just hoped AJ had made it back in one piece.

Only one way to find out.

I continued on my drive, coming to a stop in the parking area across from the warehouse. It looked pretty dark inside. Maybe he hadn’t made it back.

I’m an idiot. I can text him.

I pulled out my phone and opened our messages.

Sydney

Hey, did you make it home?

A soft buzz of a phone vibrating drew my attention to the glove box. I leaned over and opened it.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I reached inside and grabbed AJ’s cell phone. I couldn’t believe he’d left it inside the car, but then again, he hadn’t dropped it into the duffel bag with his keys at the match.

I closed the glove box, and my eyes hovered over the gun on the floorboard. I’d forgotten it was even there with everything else that had happened tonight.

“Shit. I need to get rid of that.”

I grabbed it but then noticed there was blood on the floor mat in the car.

I sighed and got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side.

I opened the door and dragged the mat out of the car, walking both it and the gun to the side of the docks.

The water was pretty deep here since cargo ships needed to park alongside these areas.

So, I knew the chances anyone would discover these items would be slim, and even then, by the time they were found, the blood would be washed away from the saltwater.

I held them out over the side and dropped them, watching as they landed with a splash on the ocean’s waves and slowly dipped beneath the surface of the dark waters.

I took a deep breath. My body was tired from the night, and this outfit was still damp. The icy breeze off the water made me shiver. I decided that crashing in the car would be my best bet for the night, and so I made my way back over to it.

When I rounded the corner of a wall that equipment was locked behind, I was surprised to see AJ leaning against his car. He was shirtless, and his black joggers hung low on his hips.

“You’re all right,” I whispered as I walked up to him.

What a relief.

He didn’t look too excited though when he saw me.

“So, you kinda left me back there,” AJ said. His tone was light, but he looked up and down my body, almost as if he was making sure I was still in one piece.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. But I couldn’t wait for you. Everything happened so fast. I had to act quick,” I said.

AJ pushed off the car and walked over to me. His fingers brushed my hair off of my face. “You’re all good, right?” he softly asked.

I nodded.

“Yeah, I am. I promise,” I said as I leaned into his hand.

His fingers stroked my cheek as a light breeze picked up, causing me to shiver.

“Look, you’re freezing, baby. We can continue this inside,” he said as he gestured to my wet clothes.

“Okay, sure,” I said. Then I reached inside the car and grabbed the folder with the title papers. No way was I letting this get out of my sight.

I relaxed slightly as he wrapped his warm arm around my shoulders. We walked around the car, and that was when I finally noticed just how much damage I’d done to it.

“Oh my God! I’ll pay for the damages,” I said as I pointed it out.

“It’s fine. It was stolen anyway,” he said with a chuckle as he smiled and squeezed me closer into him.

I glanced up at him in shock as he steered me toward the warehouse.

He led the way upstairs to his room, but before I could sit down, he handed me a towel and one of his shirts.

“Go get cleaned up, and then we can talk more,” he said as he sat down at his table, taking his phone that he must have grabbed from his car earlier and plugging it in.

I quickly went and showered, letting the warm water heat me up, and after what felt like forever, I finally felt warm again. I got dried off and tugged the shirt over my head. It was so large; it covered down to my mid-thigh.

I walked back into his room, wringing out my hair with the towel one more time before I sat down next to him.

“So, I know you saw me take off from the fight in your car. And I’m sorry I had to do that, but he was getting away, and I couldn’t let that happen,” I said, my mind piecing together what I could tell him about the night.

AJ shrugged and looked over at me.

“By the time I saw you, I was going too fast, and he would have driven out of my sight if I’d stopped.

So, I didn’t. I followed him as the storm hit, and while I chased him through the roads, he lost control of his car.

We collided for a split second and spun out.

I was lucky. Kaito was not. His car wrapped around a pole, and we had been going so fast that it killed him,” I said, the moment flashing vividly in my mind.

We sat in silence as my words hung in the air between us.

“So, that explains the car, and the bastard got what was coming to him. What about these?” AJ said as he reached forward and tapped the folder. He must have looked through it when I was in the shower.

“After Kaito … I figured if I didn’t take advantage of the situation and go get the documents for my family home, I’d never get them back.

So, I drove to his home, went in through the back door, found his office, and took back what was mine,” I said as I pulled the folder over to me, running my fingers along the edge.

“You went to his place alone? Kind of reckless, don’t you think?” AJ said as he leaned back against the wall.

“Maybe. But I’ve been known to be the hothead of my family, so it is what it is. Everything worked out, and I’m here now. Do you mind if I stay here tonight? It’s just been … a lot,” I said as I glanced up at him.

I felt tears threatening to pour from my eyes as memories of what had actually happened resurfaced, especially from how Kaito had talked about Raven and how he had killed her.

His eyes softened, and he jerked his head to the bed. “Of course, Syd,” he said as he stood up and held his hand out toward me.

I took it and let him lead me over to the bed, sinking down under the covers and curling up next to his body. My head rested against his chest.

I was spent, and my body was overwhelmed with emotion. The tears fell from my eyes onto his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me tighter and pulled me in.

No words were needed, and he knew that. He stroked his hands back and forth, just holding me, comforting me until all my tears were spent and exhaustion finally took over.

The last thing I remembered was his lips kissing my forehead as I drifted off.