The Hunt for Summer (NSC Industries) (27 page)

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!!”
I hissed and started to speed up.

“They’re all in the
main departure lounge, near to the room you were all in before. I don’t think
the public is aware of the situ at the mo cos’ it’s all quiet in there, but by
the looks of things it won’t be long. It’s like a western showdown in there.”

My heart faltered
and my hands started to sweat as we sped through the corridor and exited
through a door into a huge warehouse sized room. Our footsteps echoed loudly in
the mighty room and Ava proceeded to walk on her toes to stop the clip of her
heels on the floor. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small pistol, holding
it in both hands at her lap as she ran silently.

She was like a
bloody MI5 agent and I was silently in awe of her. Mason had trained her well,
but I had the feeling this sassy woman had trained herself before Mason had
even come along.

She drew near another
door and tilted her head as if to listen then shrugged and tipped the handle
with her elbow before she nudged it an inch and peeked through.

She nodded but
didn’t turn as she pushed it further open and we all moved into another long
corridor.

“You’re nearly with
her” Elijah stated as we crept along, “She’s round to the right but hurry
before she decides not to wait any longer.”

Ava rushed forward,
Nate and me hot on her trail. “When I get my hands on her, I’m not gonna be
held responsible for what I do to her.”

Ava turned and
lifted an eyebrow at me “I’m sure whatever punishment you come up with Lucas,
Lay will be secretly thanking you for it.”

I shrugged in agreement,
entirely sharing her thoughts.

I saw her as we
rounded the corner. Her hand was on the handle and I saw her shoulder’s heave
as she pulled in a breath then she opened the door.

“Red…..”

Too late.

Always too fucking
late.

Chapter 31

Layla

It looked like
something from an action movie.

Diablo had hold of
Sara, flanked by three men, each of whom had their guns low but trained on
Mason and his men.

Mason also has his
gun low, away from public eyes but he never faltered in his aim on Diablo.

I flicked my eyes
around and spotted Neo situated on a bench, a newspaper held before him but his
eyes trained on the situation and I couldn’t help but notice how one of his
hands was on his lap, most likely securing his gun.

Moving my gaze
further round the area, I then spotted Gerry leaning against a column and I
couldn’t help observing another couple of strange guys dotted about.

My heart froze when
Diablo lifted his gun into Sara’s side and she whimpered. Neo caught my
attention from where I was screening myself behind a giant noticeboard.

He gave me a small
nod and lifted his paper an inch so I could see his piece and I saw him mumble
something to himself, obviously alerting the others to my presence.

It was hard not to
notice Mason’s shoulders stiffen, evidently wearing an earpiece as well.

He moved his hand
slowly behind him and held up three fingers.

As he lowered one I
closed my eyes and steadied myself.

As he lowered the
second I pulled in a huge breath.

As he lowered the
third I stepped out.

“Diablo!” I shouted.

It kind of happened
in slow motion, just like the surreal movie I felt I was part of.

His eyes swung to me
before his face erupted in pain and blood seeped from a hole in the centre of
his chest.

Each of the men
flanking him went down.

The whole airport
spewed to life as police officers, trained marksmen and ambulance crew discharged
from every angle.

Sirens emitted the
length of the airport windows, their blue lights blinding as Sara slumped to
the floor and Mason turned to me stiffly.

Me? I couldn’t
remove my eyes from Diablo.

His eyes held mine
before he dropped and it didn’t take a genius to read them.

I love you.

“I loved you too” I
mouthed as he went down.

His lips curled into
a soft smile as his eyes flickered closed and I dropped to my knees before him.

I cupped his face, the
blood from his mouth trickling over my fingers and onto the floor, merging like
a pool of red beside me as I closed my eyes and prayed for him to finally be
free.

I know to everyone
else, my compassion with a man who had hunted me and haunted me for many years,
may seem incomprehensible. But to me, I had genuinely loved him before something
inside him had twisted cruelly, completely morphing his once pleasant and
gentle character into a monster.

Jealousy.

Such a simple word,
but a highly potent emotion.

His love for me had
changed him into a jealous, controlling beast that couldn’t handle the thought
of me loving anyone other than him; anybody but him touching me and it had
eventually and finally eaten away at him.

And now as I looked
at him, uncontrolled and lifeless, I didn’t feel free or even relieved. I felt
sad and empty and I closed my eyes as the tears came.

Mason crouched
beside me and snaked his arm around me, lifting me upright as the paramedics
moved in.

I softly blew Diablo
a kiss and closed my eyes as they covered his face with a blanket.

Mason turned me away
and my gaze lifted to meet Lucas’s confused and very hurt expression.

His eyes searched
mine, looking for an explanation of my actions but I couldn’t give him one,
this was me, all of me and it was all I had to offer him.

He scrunched up his
face as if he actually felt the physical pain at my grief for Diablo, before he
gulped heavily, turned and walked away from me with sadness covering his
beautiful face.

The third man I
loved to leave me this week.

***

Sara and I entered
the flat and she suddenly broke down in tears, the familiarity of home bringing
forward the enormity of the events that today had brought.

I sank to the floor
with her and we huddled together, both of us sharing our grief, relief, pain
and shock as we wept uncontrollably and loudly whilst we pawed at each other,
needing to take the support each of us offered and both of us giving the
support the other needed.

“I love you” I
whispered into her hair.

She gripped me tighter
to her and reciprocated my loving words and we stayed there, on the hallway
carpet for hours, until the sun came up and our souls mended.

“Tea?” Sara declared
suddenly as she lifted herself off the floor and made her way to the kitchen.

I stared at her
retreating back for a while before I realised she had a dead-on conviction of
life and I pulled myself up and went to join my friend.

The only person who
loved me right now.

The only person left
who continued to support me after my behaviour over Diablo.

Mason had showed
compassion but I could still see the confusion behind his face and Ava had
simply shook her head and walked away.

Lucas? Well, he had
proceeded to post the key he held to my flat through the letterbox and dumped
the few things I had left at his place, outside my front door.

That had hurt, after
everything I had been through this week, he couldn’t fucking wait a while
before he ripped my heart into more pieces.

Even tomorrow would
have been better than now, than coming home from…
that
, to coming home
to…
this
.

After the pain of
losing Lucas, the man I loved more than anything, I knew I had to pick myself
up as I had done many times before and get on with life. But right now, right
at this very moment, Lucas couldn’t have hurt me more if he’d jilted me at the
altar.

Because right now,
right at this very moment in time, I needed him more than I ever had before,
but he had abandoned me over something he didn’t understand.

Instead of trying to
talk to me to understand, he had just decided that I had never loved him,
choosing to love a lunatic instead.

And the fact that
Lucas thought that of me showed that really, he didn’t know me at all.

***

Sara gripped my hand
tightly as we made our way into the church. “I’m right here beside ya’ babe, no
matter how bad it gets in there.”

I nodded. He was my
husband and I had loved him, being my first love, nobody ever lets that love
free and even though Ry and I couldn’t live together without hurting each
other, we had still held onto our love for each other.

Ryan had given his
life for me twice, and even if the people now glaring at me as I entered the
church, I would grin it and bear it for the sake to say goodbye to my first
love.

I straightened my
shoulders as Sara’s hand tightened for support and made my way up the aisle,
slowly and surely, ignoring each set of eyes that burnt through my skin and
attempted to torch me alive.

As I reached the
front of the aisle I heard a male voice, a bitter male voice hiss at me “You
attempt to approach that coffin and I will personally see you out of here on
your arse.”

Sinking my teeth
into my bottom lip, I took the remaining six steps that led to Ry’s coffin.

Sara, God bless her,
spun round behind me and threatened any advancing person as I had my few
moments with my husband.

“Ry,” I smiled
softly at the coffin, as though he could see and hear me, “I will never forget
you baby, never. And I know you’ll wait for me, make sure I get through those
gates so we can be together.”

“One more fucking
step and you’re on your arse buster…” Sara hissed behind me and I placed my
hand on the shiny mahogany, the luxury of the wood had my pale gaunt face
staring back at me.

“You remember our
wedding day, Ry?”

I smiled then, a
huge grin as I pictured our wedding day. It had pissed it down, thoroughly and
relentlessly and Ry had thought it hilarious that when I finally got to him in
the registry office, I had been so late I hadn’t had chance to fix my make-up.
The rain had pelted against me as I ran all the way there and it had also
pelted against my face all the way there.

By the time I had
got to him I looked like something from the living dead. Ryan had grinned at me
all the way through the service like a lunatic and cupped my face, calling me
beautiful and sexy, as my mascara streaked black lines to my lips, my eye
shadow had run and given me dark black eyes and my foundation had seeped all
the way down my neck, in thick smeared stripes.

After the service,
he had taken my hand and led me into the bathroom and proceeded to wipe my face
gently, in front of the many disgusted women that came and went.

“You were so
handsome baby, in your suit, the only suit you ever wore.” I chuckled then a
sob erupted from my throat and I gripped the coffin as my knees jerked.

“Goodnight, baby. I
love you so much. Always, Ry.”

“Always, Kay” His
voice said in my head and I nodded to him.

I kissed my fingers
and planted them on the coffin before I turned and went to sit at the back of
the church, Sara growling at the many people who glared at me along the way.

As soon as we exited
the church after the service I felt the fist hit the back of my head and I
stumbled to the ground, my knees skimming across the gravel pathway as my hands
shot out to stop my face hitting the floor and I hissed at the pain.

Sara launched at
Ryan’s brother Todd, her small petite fists furiously pummelling into his face.
“You fucking twat. Big man aren’t you, hitting fucking women…”

I pulled her off him
and shook my head at her “He’s not worth it, Sara.”

She glared at him,
pulled in a huge breath and pointed at him “When you know the full story
arsehole, then you can cast aspersions, until then keep your fucking fists to
yourself. Whatever you think of Kay, Ry loved her and she loved him and all she
wanted was to say goodbye to her fucking husband.”