Chapter 89 Grey Knight
Dandelion.
"I met Grey knight seven years ago," Alexander continued. "I was twenty, He was twenty-one. Both of us were already deep in the underworld, taking contracts, building reputations in the underworld. But we were both solo."
He paused, "Until one job where we were both hired to eliminate the same target. A corrupt politician with too many bodyguards. We ran into each other on site, and nearly killed each other before we realized we were after the same person."
I felt my curiosity rise higher with each word he said, "What happened?"
"We worked together and completed the contract." His voice grew lower, "we realized we were stronger as a team than alone."
I could hear the history in his voice. The weight of those years.
"So we formed a partnership. Ghost Blade and Grey Knight. We took the jobs no one else could handle. The impossible contracts. The targets who thought they were untouchable." He turned slightly, giving me his profile. "We were unstoppable, and within a year, we controlled half the underworld operations in Europe, within two years, we expanded to Asia and South America."
"And you were okay with that?" I asked, unable to keep the edge from my voice. "Building an empire on death, weren't you afraid of dying?"
His jaw clenched. "I wasn't thinking about morality back then, neither did I care if I survived or not, heck I didn't even consider Noona. I felt there was nothing to lose."
He shoved his hand in his pockets, "Then came the day I finally convinced myself that it was enough."
My brows creased, "What changed?"
"Noona died."
The words fell heavily, I sucked in a breath, how is that possible when she's still alive.
"It was so sudden, apparently her heart had stopped beating...." his voice trailed. "She was gone before I even got to the hospital. It's a miracle she was revived, just right after I swore to turn a new leaf."
"If I hadn't seen the heart monitor drop to a straight line myself, I would have thought she pranked me, knowing how dramatic she is. It was then it occurred to me that I still had one last person I cared about, and if she had died, I would be completely lost.
Noona was the only good thing I had left in my dark life."
He explained like he needed to get the words out before he lost his nerve.
"She was the only person who knew what I did and still loved me anyway. Who begged me every time to walk away from that life. To come home. To be the grandson she raised instead of the monster I had become."
His voice cracked. "I had always given her excuses that I would, someday. Until the day her heart stopped beating for over two hours straight, and life flashed before my eyes with the realization that I had wasted three years making excuses while she waited for a grandson who never came home." The anguish in his eyes stole my breath, I understood his pain i felt that way when I lost my mom back then, if I had also lost my dad the only remaining family I cared about even though he didn't love me the same, I would be devastated. Tears burned behind my own eyes.
"I went to Grey the day after her discharge." Alexander continued. "I told him I was done, that I wanted out."
"What did he say?"I asked.
"He laughed, thinking I was joking. When he realized I was serious, he got angry. He said we had a good thing going. That walking away was stupid and weak, he refused strongly, saying if I left, I was betraying everything we had built. And he would see it as an act of war. To Grey You were either with him or against him. That's why I had to fake my own death." His eyes met mine, and I saw a hint of shame and regret all at once.
"We had one last job left. Grey wanted to take the benefits of the job, and I agreed after all I never cared about the benefits the job brought, it was just an escape for my misery. But I agreed with a condition that after the last job, I was out. No arguments."
"And he agreed?"
Alex laughed in a hollow tone. "He did, but I should have known it was a lie. He had other plans which I found out soon enough. So I made sure the last job went wrong, I tipped off the authorities and made it look like Grey had gotten careless. I left all evidence that pointed directly to him while I erased any trace of my involvement."
I gasped in shock, "Y--ou framed him."
"I destroyed him before he could destroy me." There was no remorse in his voice. Just a brutal fact. He continued, "While he was busy dealing with law enforcement raids, I faked my death. Making it look like I had been killed during the chaos, I left behind a body that couldn't be identified but had my DNA planted on it."
"How did you--"
"Trust me Angel, you don't want to know the details." His expression was grim. And he is absolutely right, I didn't want to imagine it.
"After I disappeared completely," Alexander continued. "I Built Eco Oils from scratch using legitimate means, and became the man my Noona and my late parents had always wanted me to be."
"It took him years to dig himself out of the hole I put him in. But now he knows the truth, he knows that I was alive, and worse of all he knows you are my weakness, and he'll never let it go until he gets his pound of flesh."
My eyes widened in fear.
"I didn't tell you all these things, because I was trying to protect you from my past. But I should've known...nothing stays buried forever."
"But trust me Angel, I'll die before I let him touch you, no matter what it takes to keep you safe." Alexander assured me with all seriousness.
The certainty in his voice should have relieved me of the fear but I couldn't help but process everything.
That the man I fell madly in love with is a retired mafia king with a target on his back.
"Angel you don't have to stay tied to me you know," He said with clenched teeth, like what he was about to say was the hardest part.
My eyes narrowed, a spark of panic washed through me, "Alex what are you saying?"
"I'll give you everything you need-- money, a new identity, protection. Anything you want, you'll be safer if you're far away from me, cause I don't know what I'll do if anything happens." I can't believe he is trying to convince me to leave, after all we've been through together these past few months, I stared at him dumbfounded.
He came closer to me holding my arms desperately, "I mean it Angel, I was already planning with Walter to set up everything, with Armed security until Grey loses interest."
"So if I hadn't found out on time you would have successfully shipped me off, just to protect me, along with Armed security?." I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "For how long?"
"However long it takes."
"Months? Years? The rest of my life?"I quipped, but his silence was enough to answer.
"That's not freedom," I argued. "That's just a different kind of prison."
"It's safer than staying with me."
"Maybe. But what if Grey finds me anyway, and uses me to get to you whether I'm still your wife or not."
Alexander's jaw clenched. "I won't let that happen."
"You can't promise that." I clutched his shirt stubbornly. "You said it yourself, he'll never let it go. If he wants to destroy you, he'll use whatever tools he has. Including me."
"Then let me send you somewhere he can't find you. Somewhere you can build a new life completely separate from mine."
"Alex I can sacrifice my career, but what about you?" I clutched his shirt tighter. "If I leave, if I take your money and new identity and disappear, what happens to you?" I asked desperately. "Do you just go back to being paranoid and hoping that Grey doesn't kill you in your sleep?"
"That's not your concern." He mumbled with gritted teeth.
"Like hell it is!" The words exploded out of me. "You think I can just walk away and pretend I never knew you? Pretend I don't care if you live or die?"
"You should." His voice was harsh now. "I'm not worth caring about, Dandelion. I've done terrible things."
"I know."I yelled.
"Then why won't you run?"
"Because!" I was shaking now, tears burning behind my eyes. "Because when I jumped into that river, I wanted to die. I was so broken and lost and convinced I was worthless that ending it seemed like the only option."
His green eyes stared directly into my soul, those eyes I had gotten fond of staring at, "You didn't let me die, Lexi" I continued, my voice cracking. "You pulled me out. Gave me a contract that seemed insane but turned into something real. You made me feel like I mattered again. Like I was worth fighting for."
"You ARE worth fighting for." He cooed.
"And so are you." The words came out as a whisper.
Alexander stared at me like I'd struck him right in the heart. "Angel please don't make me into something I'm not. I'm not a good man. Dandelion I'm not your hero or your savior. I'm just a--."
"You're the man who saved me, the man I've fallen blindly in love with."I breathed cutting him off.
"Why won't you listen to me, I'll get you killed." He repeated desperately.
"Maybe." I stepped even closer, close enough to touch his lips. "Or maybe we'll survive this together and face whatever comes and fight our way through it." My hand came up to his chest, feeling his heart pounding beneath my palm. "I jumped into glass lake to end my story. You pulled me out and gave me a reason to fight. I'm not running now. Whatever comes, let's face it together."
His eyes widened, shock and hope and terror warring in their depths,
All that control, that careful distance he always maintained, shattered.
He grabbed me, his hands cupping my face with desperate gentleness.
"You're insane," he breathed.
"Probably."
"You should hate me."
"I know."
"You should leave while you still can."
"I don't want--."
His lips crashed on mine before I could complete my words. I kissed him back just as hard, my hands fisting in his shirt, pulling him closer. All the fear and anger and confusion of the past hours poured into that kiss. We stumbled backward.
"Are you sure?" he gasped against my lips. "Last chance to change your mind."
"Shut up," I snapped, kissing him again.