Chapter Twenty-Eight
Idris
Isteal one of Nikolic’s sports cars from the garage around back. Alena drives, her hair blowing in the wind as she grins and screams, gunning it down the roads as the sun fills the sky. I can’t help but stare at her, she takes my breath away. She glances over at me with a full grin before facing the road.
I made the right choice. I couldn’t watch her walk away. I just couldn’t. She’s got a talent for this life, but more than that, she has awakened something within me, something I thought long dead—humanity, feelings. My soul is vibrant and my heart beats again for Alena, only for Alena.
I give her directions, and we pull into the garage before riding the elevator up. Spider and Donald are waiting for us.
“It’s done,” I tell them.
They look us over, and Donald smiles. “I knew it would be.”
“The American?” I inquire.
“Don’t worry about that,” Donald replies and shares a look with Spider. “We have it covered.”
I nod and turn, and Donald calls out, “So you’re fully back… and Alena is staying?”
I nod, and he grins at me, even as Spider laughs. “Is Boogeyman finding his heart? Maybe even falling in love?” he jokes, and I pull my gun out to shoot him, but Alena stops me with a hand on my shoulder, so I begrudgingly put it away.
“I take my own jobs,” I grit out. “I choose them this time.”
“Very well. You are fully reinstated. As for Alena, she will need training,” Donald murmurs. I jerk, stepping before her. She will not be going through the training we did. All four of us, Donald, Max, Spider, and myself. It wasn’t training, it was hell, it was war.
“No,” I snarl, and he narrows his eyes in warning.
“She will need to be trained if I’m to trust her—”
“I will train her,” I snarl.
They both go silent, knowing I’ve never offered that before, even the many times they have ordered it. “Very well. For now, go and get some rest and a shower. You both need it,” he teases, his nose crinkled.
“Oh, Alena?” Spider calls. “I cleaned your trail. I thought you should know you’re dead.”
“What?” she asks, confused.
“I’m sorry. You were missing for so long, it seems they declared you dead and buried you. There’s an empty grave at Cherry Cemetery on the hill.”
“Well shit, I guess I’m a ghost too,” she jokes, and I grin at her. “Thanks.”
“Don’t forget you have a family here now, and when you’re ready, my girl would love to meet you. You would get on really well, she’s like us. Welcome to the family,” Spider offers, saluting her.
“To the Clergy,” Donald toasts.
I know this isn’t a formal welcome, she will need testing and tatting, but for now, it will do. She has their blessing, their protection. Above that, she has mine. No one will ever hurt her again, or they will die by my hand.
We leave in the same car, with me driving this time, but once I get on the road, I don’t know where to go. Where is home?
The city, like when I was an assassin?
Or the country, like when I was a dead man?
“Where to, big guy?” She grins and lays her hand on my thigh. “Preferably somewhere with a shower and a bed.” She winks.
I look at her as I pull up at a red light. She’s right. Wherever she is, that’s where I’ll be. Home isn’t just a place, it’s a feeling. It’s wherever you feel safe, comfortable, and happy.
She’s that for me.
She’s home.