Ten years ago; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- Liza:
Liza was beyond annoyed that her father forced her not only to go to college but go to a college all the way across the country. She had managed to keep him placated in the beginning while staying in Seattle, until a man caught her eye. Her father knew she dated, that wasn’t the problem, it was that he wanted better for her, his only child shouldn’t be shackled by the choices he made when he was young. He didn’t want her to be in the life, so he sent her away.
Liza felt like her father underestimated her, just because he was a lieutenant didn’t mean she would end up trapped in the same life. She wished he had more confidence in her and the young woman he raised. She was determined to prove that she could make good choices, control her life, be better than him.
Liza was working as a barista at a local coffee hangout, trying to prove to her father that she could in fact do normal, even if she hated living in this city, hated going to college. She was minding her business, keeping busy making coffee orders when he walked in and turned her life upside down. He exuded confidence and had an air of importance. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw him, dark fitted suit, barely concealing his muscular frame, black hair perfectly slicked back. His piercing grey eyes seemed to see through her directly into her soul. She hadn’t seen him before, so she knew he wasn’t a student, his older age confirmed by the light salt and pepper flecking his perfectly trimmed beard.
Liza was usually sure, headstrong, could talk easily to anyone, no matter who they were—perks of growing up surrounded by the mob. She grew up tough, could handle herself, never had trouble speaking her mind with anyone, yet something about him left her tongue tied and made her feel dizzy. She wasn’t sure what it was about him that was so different, but she felt inexplicably drawn to him. As he left she couldn’t help but wonder, hope that she would get to see him again.
Present day; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Bastien was furious, he had never before been so consumed by rage. Even those most loyal to him were terrified to go near him, terrified of his wrath. He should have known better than trusting that a Rhys wouldn’t put a hit on a woman. He had hoped that Liam would be better than his father, more like Emmaline. He was obviously mistaken to think that anything good could have stayed in the young boy once Constantine disposed of his mother. It was apparent that with Emmaline gone all warmth and compassion was erased from the young boy’s life. Bastien might have felt pity for the younger man, if he hadn’t just put a hit on Liza. Everything he loved could have been taken from him in a blink of an eye.
If it hadn’t been for Olivia defying him, Bastien knew he would have lost Liza. He wanted to be mad at Olivia, maybe he should have been mad at her, but he could only feel gratitude that she was able to save Liza. Had Liza died there would be no controlling his rage, it would have consumed him completely if he lost her too.
Bastien knew he needed to remain level headed, no matter how badly he wanted to retaliate. He needed to remain patient, ensure that Liza really would survive before he took his rage to the streets. He may have wanted nothing more than to level Trenton, but in this moment he needed to show restraint. If he acted too rashly he would be risking losing even more than he already had. One wrong move and he could lose everything, including his entire empire.
Ten years ago; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- Bastien:
Bastien found himself oddly captivated by the young barista behind the counter. He could tell he flustered the girl, something that she seemed surprised by, which amused him. Most women found his presence to be overpowering and off-putting, but she seemed to be affected by him in a way that he found to be intriguing.
Bastien found himself inexplicably drawn to the alluring young woman. She was a flawless beauty without even trying. Her jet black hair streaked teal, purple, and hot pink pulled back into a messy bun, a few stray strands framing her face, only made her more endearing.
Bastien could feel a magnetic pull to her, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to stay away. He had never before felt so instantly connected to someone. He found himself wanting to get to know her more. As he left he knew he had to see her again, get to know her better.
Present day; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Liza woke up completely disoriented, intense pain radiating from her abdomen. The overpowering aseptic smell of a hospital flooded her senses. She attempted to open her eyes only to be onslaught by painful flashes of memory, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut. Flashes of the man who attacked her invaded her mind, flashes of the barrel of a gun, then a knife, the feeling of warm blood coating her hand. She remembered the fear she felt, and the brief sense of relief when she subdued her attacker. Everything that happened coming back to her in overwhelming and intense flashes. She remembered Olivia being by her side and the panic flashing through the normally calm emerald eyes. She followed Olivia’s gaze, her eyes glancing down spotting the dagger protruding from her abdomen, before everything faded to black.
Liza groaned as she tried to sit up, pain making her fall back as she clutched her stomach. She slowly tried opening her eyes again, the bright overhead lighting causing her to squint against the harsh lights. She scanned the room as her eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness of the room. Her gaze landed on Bastien pacing away in the corner. The corners of her lips turned up in small forced half smile, he always did pace when he was on edge.
Liza gently grazed her sore stomach, cringing in pain as she silently willed him to turn around and look at her. That dagger, did it, did I? She blinked back the hot tears stinging at the back of her eyes, not ready to allow them to fall until she knew for sure.
Bastien turned as he felt her eyes on him, his harsh glare softening slightly as he realized she was awake. His slate colored eyes tinged with sadness as he crossed the room, collapsing in the chair by her bed. “Liza—”
Liza shook her head gently, she couldn’t hear the words, his pained eyes and sullen face told her what she feared was true. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, she fought hard, yet she failed him. She’d never once before seen the normally strong and stoic man before her look so sad and broken—it was all her fault. If only she had run when she noticed the attacker, been faster defending herself when he came after her. If only she had anticipated the hidden knife—a million thoughts running through her mind. She desperately tried to decipher how she could have done better, saved them both the pain they now both felt because she failed.
Liza knew under all the sadness and pain that Bastien was seething with anger. She had known him long enough to know he was plotting his revenge and it would get ugly quickly. She reached for his hand, gently squeezing it. She wanted to speak, tell him she was sorry for failing him, not to make war because of her mistake. She opened her mouth to speak, the words refusing to come. All that came out was a soft sob as the tears started to fall freely. Her father was right all along, she wasn’t cut out for this life, she wasn’t strong enough.
Liza rolled to her side, wincing in pain as she did. She couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t take seeing the pain etched on his face and the promise his grey eyes carried. Couldn’t he see that she was the one to be punished? She was the one who screwed up, failed him, failed them both. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted through the pain, wishing it was all some terrible dream that she could wake from. She knew though that this nightmare was only beginning.
Twenty years ago; Trenton, New Jersey- Liam:
Liam couldn’t believe his mother was gone. He couldn’t understand why someone would want to kill her. She had never done anything to hurt anyone, why would they take her from him? He couldn’t stop crying, his mom made things fun; she had promised to take him on a trip, now he’d never get to go, never get to see her again.
His father thought tears were weak, telling Liam that it was acceptable to be sad but he had to cover it up with a façade of strength. He told Liam that boys weren’t allowed to cry, or show emotion outside of anger, if he wanted to be a respected and feared king of New Jersey one day he needed to learn to shut off his emotions now. Showing emotions other than anger and rage would only make him weak, a target.
Liam didn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to show emotion after his mom was taken from him. He still couldn’t believe that one of their own men would kill her. He couldn’t figure it out, why would Bastien kill his mother? Bastien had always been so nice to him, Drake, Savannah, Olivia, and Raven as well as the other children. It just didn’t make sense to Liam how a man who would play with him and the other children, be so friendly with them, could kill his mother.
His father was adamant that Bastien was the one, stating that Mara, Raven’s mother had seen him leaving the room Emmaline was found in after committing the awful crime. Mara had been the one to find her, alert his father, it had to be true.
Liam tried hard to make his father proud and shut his emotions away like he was supposed to, but he just missed his mom so much. She made him feel normal instead the son of the king of New Jersey, he didn’t know what his life would look like without her.
Raven saw one of her closest friends was hurting, she thought what his father told him was stupid. She didn’t see why he couldn’t cry when he was sad. His mom was just killed, of course he would cry, could cry, should cry. Raven would sneak him milk and cookies after school and let him cry if he needed to.
With his mom and Olivia gone, Drake and Raven were the only ones left that treated him like a normal kid. His dad started drilling into his head how Liam was expected to act, Raven and Drake became his escape, his chance to feel if he needed, his chance to be a normal kid if only for a few moments.
Present day; Trenton, New Jersey:
Liam couldn’t believe how bad his mission for vengeance might have blown up in his face. All he wanted to do was even the score, pay back the man who took his mother from his life, how did things go so wrong? He never thought his quest for vengeance might start a war. He knew there was no stopping it now, he had to prepare. He couldn’t believe that his first act as the new king of New Jersey could have gone so wrong.
Liam sighed as he dropped his phone on the sofa next to him, hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. The moment Drake came into his office and told him how badly the hit may have gone this was his greatest fear. He knew Bastien would do anything to even the score as she had tried, only Bastien had years of ruling to guide him.
“Bad news?” Raven asked, placing a calming hand on his shoulder.
“She was, it didn’t make it.” Liam replies shaking his head as he stood up.
Liam crossed the room to the small bar cart, pouring himself a few fingers of Scotch, sowing it in one gulp. He was furious, furious with Bastien, with his father, with himself. If his father had dealt with the traitor earlier he wouldn’t be in the mess he was in now. God, I should have waited, made sure I had all of the facts first.
