Her Regret, His Resolve; Bouncing Back, Book 2

22

As soon as he woke up, he reached for his phone. He wanted to call Sky, but he couldn't face her just yet. The notification bell chimed, and he looked down at the device with a smirk.

Rob: You should be awake by now. Come to the Red Room ASAP. No weapons.

Russ: Cover for me, and thanks for the heads-up. I gotta shower and eat first.

Rob: Will tell your sis. FYI, Uncle Ross said David felt guilty for drugging you, so lay off insulting him… if you can.

The smirk fell from his face. Throwing the blankets off, he dragged himself out of bed to shower. His apartment in the Towers had been set up while he was in the hospital by his best friend. Something he was grateful for. He groaned as he eyed the calendar hanging on the wall, noting that he’d been asleep for the last three days. Knowing that his older sister was behind the whole thing didn’t help.

How much propofol did David slip me? he thought while his head pounded slightly. Popping a few Tylenol his friend was thoughtful enough to leave out for him, he sighed, knowing that the day was going to be an exhausting one. Shaking his head, he shoved his feet into his sneakers and made his way down to the Red Room.

Ross was beside him as soon as he stepped off the lift. "Before you go any further, are you sure you want to know the identity of the woman who wanted you dead?"

Scratching the side of his head, Russell followed the older man down the hall. "Who was it, anyway?"

Ross shook his head. "All I can tell you is that you're going to want to brace yourself. It's been eight years, but you will know them as soon as you see them. By the way, your sister is holding off until you say your piece. Hand over your weapons."

"I left them locked up in my apartment," Russell replied as he let Ross frisk him anyway. He took a deep breath as the man straightened. "Anything else I should be aware of?"

"There’s something you need to know about the guy who tried to kill you," Ross said, his tone careful.

Russell warily gave him a sideways look. “What about him?”

Ross swallowed. "You said in the hospital that he asked you to save him, right? Well, it turned out that his baby sister was locked in a shipping crate at the docks. We have them both, and we’re keeping them separate until you talk to the guy first."

His mind working a mile a minute, Russell was angry that they had nearly missed their chance to live up to Hans' legacy. Even though Hans could be a brutally violent leader, he had a soft spot for kids and tried his best to save as many innocent lives as possible. "Can’t you just let them see each other?"

Closing his eyes, Ross huffed out a breath of air. "You really did take on some of Hans’ ways, and that makes me glad to see that taking a chance on you wasn’t a total loss, but you’re going to have to ask Callum that one."

"You were friends with Hans for a long time, right?"

"Friend when I needed to be, subordinate when I had to be, but I was always there for him, and neither of us took prisoners," Ross replied with a smirk. "Why do you think Kennedy is the way she is? Hans personally trained her himself."

"s**t, and here I thought she was born that way," Russell laughed.

"You wish," Ross answered as they stopped at the door. "Ready?"

Nodding, Russell waited as Ross banged on the door. When it opened, he was led inside and told to sit on the empty chair in front of the prisoner.

"As Russell is my brother-in-law, this counts as a direct attack on my family. What we recently learned about you tipped the scales of my trust in your favor, Russ. You have free reign to do as you please within legitimate reason," Callum said darkly.

"Gee, thanks for outing my secrets, Dave."

David shrugged from his place behind their Don. "Your sister is not someone I would ever, and I mean ever, want to cross. She asks you a question you better answer her honestly or pay the price."

Ambrosia said nothing, quietly waiting as the hood was pulled off the woman's head. Her hands grasped her seat in a white-knuckled death grip as she seethed angrily.

Russell paled. "Mom? But why?”

"You were supposed to turn on them. You were supposed to kill them all, but you failed me! You betrayed me!" Cindy's screams only served to agitate Russell even more.

Noticing that he was calmer than calm, Ambrosia smirked. She knew that her younger brother, like her and her twin, had a dark side he kept tightly leashed. "Little brother, you've more than earned your place with us, proving that you could be saved. That you could change. Therefore, whatever you decide today will be backed by me and Callum as the leaders of the Veiðimenn."

His sister had just given him permission to do what he wanted, but did he want to cross that line? Listening to the woman scream and snap at him, Russell did something he knew would get him in trouble. The crisp, sharp sound of a slap echoed through the room, sucking out all the oxygen as the others looked on in stunned silence.

Not believing what he’d seen, David took a step forward, but Ambrosia stopped him. Callum glanced up at his long-time friend. “Let him be, David.”

Scoffing, Amber rolled her eyes. "I said he can do as he pleases. I meant it. If a slap shuts her up long enough for him to get a word in, let him, because when he leaves this room, I'm dealing with her, and she will know the real meaning of pain."

Her eyes snapping to her son, Cindy gasped audibly. "You told them? Why not tell them how you never listened? How we had to repeat until we were blue in the f*****g face? I never wanted you, Russell! You're a failure!"

Russell spat at her feet, anger blazing in his eyes. “If I am, then it's because I was failed by the people who should have loved and cared unconditionally. I didn’t know what real family was until they accepted me into their lives. They dragged me out of the mind-numbing darkness, treated me with respect and love, and they don’t beat me to show they “care”.”

Rising to her feet, Ambrosia walked over to him and took his face in her hands. "You should have said something sooner, Russ. We would have helped you get through it all. Skylar got reamed, so she knows now, too. She's really upset about it, and, according to Red, she's genuinely remorseful for how she treated you."

She watched his eyes fill with sadness as his fingers gripped her wrists gently. He bowed his head to her, resolved to finally be openly honest with the woman, "I want to be with her, but I don't know if I can handle it, sis. I need her to open up, and we both need to change."

"I've contacted a relationship therapist," she replied with an understanding nod. "You and Sky will attend the meetings together, understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied.

Knowing that he wasn't trying to be smart with her, she kissed his forehead before her hands dropped from his face. "David will take you both in this afternoon. Anything you want to say before you go?"

"She used an innocent child to get to me. I’d forgiven anything but that, so you can do whatever, sis." Russell murmured.

He let his eyes slide to his mother before stooping in front of her chair. "After what you and Dad did to Callum, I hope Amber makes your sorry ass suffer so much you beg her for death. Goodbye forever, because you won’t live this time around. Not after you threatened her children years ago.”

Walking up to the Don, the younger man dropped to one knee. “You have my undying loyalty, Meistari Callum.”

Sitting back in his chair, Callum smirked. "Is that right?"

“Yes, Sir, but I have one small request.”

“You’ve earned the right to make a request,” Callum answered. “Name it.”

“I’d like you to let the siblings we found see each other,” Russell said.

His brother-in-law nodded. “It will be done. Now, get gone so your sister can have her fun.”

******

Dressed in a conservative-looking pink and purple pant-suit, Skylar was already seated in the back of the car. She looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but instantly changed her mind. Her father had torn into her for her recent actions over the last little while.

When he told her the man had been abused as a child by his own family, she'd been horrified. Sickened by how she treated him, she was amazed that he never retaliated against her. That he never ever hit her back in any way was a miracle in and of itself.

"Skylar, because you both have some serious issues from the past, Donna Ambrosia has ordered that you both attend counseling. Don’t argue, or you’re going to get… Let go," David said. He didn’t need to say what it meant. She already knew.

"Amber’s going to kill her. I hope she makes her suffer first," Russell whispered. He fell silent for a moment. Having her that close to him was trying for both his emotions and his sanity. Unable to keep ignoring her, he inched one hand toward her slowly as they sat in the back of the car until she tentatively put her hand in his. Glancing at her, he knew walking away now was not an option.

Not if he still had time to save her.