Chapter 31 The shared blade: Her first kill
~~Alexander’s POV~~
Celeste had a plan. When she found out we were on a ship, she understood that I couldn't harm Charlotte in front of Damien's soldiers.
To be honest, I didn't want to either.
The power outage on the ship wasn't an accident; Celeste had sent a few of her men to take it out. I had let them onto the ship earlier, and nobody knew.
I moved quickly to my bedroom. In a few hours, Celeste's men would bring a boat to collect me, and then they would sink the ship—killing everyone on board, including Charlotte.
This was a victory. This was vengeance. But why did it hurt?
I didn't know Charlotte that well, so why did the thought of her death feel like a blow to my chest? I paced around the bedroom. I couldn't let her die.
Could I?
Fuck!
Damien was one of my oldest nemeses; was letting him and his wife die really such a big deal?
"Shit!" My voice roared as I marched toward the door. I had to warn her.
I froze immediately. If I told her anything, she would surely tell Damien. His life would be saved as well, and I didn't want that. But was I willing to let Charlotte die just to kill Damien?
I finally turned and pulled the door open, only to freeze again. Charlotte stood before me, with Damien right behind her.
"What? What are you doing here?"
Damien's hand shot out instantly, grabbing me by the throat. "My wife overheard your phone call with God knows who." He slowly forced me back into the room as he spoke. "Do you care to explain why my ship is losing power?"
My hands trembled. I couldn't face him without my own soldiers there.
"Damien… calm down," I choked out.
Damien’s grip tightened. "Speak," he growled.
"I was coming to warn you…" I managed to gasp.
Damien’s brows rose. "About what?"
Charlotte called from the doorway, "I do not think he can speak; let him go."
Damien shoved me aside. "I'm not known for my patience, young man. Go ahead."
I gazed at Charlotte as I slowly stood up.
"Eyes on me, Alex." Damien’s voice was losing its edge of restraint.
"Fine," I breathed, knowing this decision was about to be the worst I had ever made. "Celeste sabotaged your ship’s power."
Damien’s brow furrowed. "How do you know this?"
"I was working with her."
Damien's jaw clenched. I saw the flash of disappointment on Charlotte's face, and my heart tightened. I looked back at Damien. In the past, he would have ripped me apart by now, yet he stood unnervingly still.
"Celeste’s plan was to keep you in one place long enough for her men to sink the ship."
"What?!" Damien snapped. "My wife is on this ship!"
"Why didn't you stop her?" Charlotte asked, her face twisted in hurt. "You are here too… you'll die if it sinks."
"He must have a way out. A boat?" Damien asked.
My chest heaved. "They are providing a boat for my escape."
"Why?" Charlotte asked.
"Because I hate your husband!" I snapped.
Damien snapped his fingers and pointed at me. "Do not shout at my wife!" He stepped closer to me. "Tell me, Alexander, why did you tell me all this? It's not because Charlotte found out about your call; you revealed too much under zero pressure." He gave me a skeptical gaze.
"No pressure? You were crushing my neck!"
"For a soldier who has led armies, I do not think that would make you crack. What's your motive? Are you misleading me?"
"I'm telling the truth! Now you have to—"
"Why did you tell me?!" he interrupted.
My gaze drifted to Charlotte; she looked at me with pure contempt. I quickly
looked back at Damien, my heart racing.
He scoffed. "You have feelings for my wife." His shoulders dropped as the realization hit him.
"That’s not true," I lied.
"You did this for her. You folded your plans for her." He turned to Charlotte.
"You don't look surprised."
She pressed her hand against her stomach. "He… he tried something back at the cabin in the woods."
A vein popped out on Damien's forehead. "What?!" His voice echoed through the room, blazing with fury.
"He kissed my back, but I pushed him off instantly, I swear."
Damien rushed at me, pinning me against the wall by my throat. He began to pummel my face with his fist.
"Damien, please! Stop!" Charlotte cried.
Damien panted, his eyes dark with anger and shock. He slowly turned to face her.
"You defend him?"
She shook her head and rushed to his side, taking his hand in hers. "You have a fresh wound; don't hit him with that hand. You could get hurt."
His body tensed. "He touched you." The words sounded bitter in his mouth.
"It's okay," she whispered. She turned to me. "We will need his help to handle Celeste. When is she coming?"
My phone suddenly chimed. Charlotte rushed to grab it.
"It's a text from an unknown number," she said, looking at the screen.
"It's Celeste," I choked out while Damien’s hand remained firmly around my throat.
"‘Gather the boys; they'll pick you up in a few minutes.’ That's what the text says," Charlotte read aloud.
Damien’s gaze snapped back to me. "What boys?"
"Celeste has men on this ship," I struggled to say. "They are the ones who cut the power."
"On my goddamn ship?!" Damien barked.
"How many?" Charlotte asked.
I hesitated, sucking in a jagged breath. Damien's grip tightened. "Fine! There are twelve!"
Damien immediately let go of my neck and turned to Charlotte. "Vita mia, I'm about to go to war. Stay with my soldiers; it's going to get dirty. Send some of them with me—I'm about to kill twelve men."
She nodded and rushed out of the room. Damien grabbed my shirt and dragged me out behind him. A few seconds later, we reached a cabin where Charlotte stood with a group of Damien’s men.
"Are you okay, my love?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes."
Damien tossed me onto the floor and walked out. His soldiers immediately aimed their guns at my head.
"Charlotte… Charlotte, I did this for you," I said, slowly standing up.
"Get on your knees, Alexander," she said. It was the first time I had ever seen her look so cold.
"Charlotte—"
"Down, Alexander! You tried to sink my husband's ship, and you dare say you did it for me?"
I raked my hands through my hair as I dropped back to my knees. "I'm stopping the plan because of you."
She scoffed. "If I wasn't here, would you have let my husband sink with the ship?" Her body jerked as a loud gunshot echoed through the hall. She looked up, then back at me. Another shot rang out.
"Your husband is going to kill them all," I said, my head tilting to the side.
She slid her hands into her jacket pockets. "Good."
I shook my head. "You’re pretending. You aren't really okay with this… you're
doing it for him."
"Damien! Stop!" she suddenly shouted.
The gunshots ceased. A smile tugged at my lips. "I knew you weren't like him."
Her expression turned ice-cold. "Marcus, Alejandro," she called. "Drag him along."
My smile vanished as she walked past me. The two soldiers hauled me up and shoved me after her. We arrived at the upstairs cabin where my men had been hiding. Damien turned to face us as we entered.
"Baby, what are you doing here? This scene is too gory for you."
"It's okay." She walked forward, looking at the bodies of my men scattered on the floor. Only one was still standing: Joseph. I had taken him under my wing when he was just a boy in America.
Joseph looked at me, trembling. "Boss… I don't know how he found us…"
I blinked, my gaze faltering. I knew Damien was going to kill him, and it was my fault. I had sacrificed them to save Charlotte.
"He gave up your location," Charlotte said. "Honey, do you have a knife?"
Damien shook his head, looking puzzled. She turned to Marcus, who stepped forward and handed her a blade.
"Hold him," she instructed. Marcus pinned Joseph's hands behind his back.
I watched in horror as Charlotte walked toward Joseph, her jaw clenched.
"Stop!" Damien shouted.
She turned to him, her hand raised to strike. "Yes?"
"Are you about to kill a man?"
"If Alexander thinks there is any chance that I do not love you with my whole heart, then I am willing to do this."
"Vita mia, I know you love me."
"I know, but he tried to convince me that I wasn't okay with who you are." She turned back to Joseph.
"Lower!" Damien commanded.
She sighed in annoyance. "Lower what?"
Damien moved behind her, slipping his hands over hers and pressing his chest against her back. "If you stab him there, he could survive. Lower… the abdomen."
He guided her hand toward Joseph’s stomach.
"Damien! Fuck! Don't you dare!" I screamed, my eyes were so wide you would think they were about to come out of its sockets.
Sweat poured down Joseph's face as he closed his eyes. I noticed Charlotte's hands were trembling.
"Are you okay?" Damien whispered in her ear.
"Yeah."
In the blink of an eye, they drove the knife into him together. My teeth clenched as I gasped for air.
"Joseph!" I shouted in agony, collapsing to my knees.
Blood gushed from Joseph’s mouth. He slumped to the floor, dead before he hit the ground. I looked up at Charlotte, shaking.
"He has turned you into a monster," I whispered. "And you let him?"
With a proud look on his face, Damien wrapped his arms around her waist. As the
ir lips met, my phone chimed in Charlotte’s pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the screen.
"Oh… the boat is here to pick Alexander up."
"Round up the men!" Damien barked. "There are more people to kill.”