Fall and Rise of the King (Kings Duet) Read online

  So, the things that I’ve heard about Harvey are true. I look away from Vinny for a moment as the worry of Harvey taking me runs through me. The only thing I've been frightened of since I found out they are still looking for me, are the things he'll do to me.

  "If they do, you need to team up with Angel. I still think—"

  "Alice, I've spoken to Stuart. We're talking about it. Angel we can trust, but what about the rest of them?"

  I look over at Vinny, and he’s right. Someone told them I was there, and they'll tell them every move until Ben or Angel finds out who the mole is.

  "Okay," I answer, not saying another word. Even though this is hard on me, it's just as hard for him. He’s protected and looked after me for years. I'm like a daughter to him, so I know this is hard for him.

  Vinny, Ben, and Uncle Stuart have all protected me. As much as I'm the one Harvey wants to hurt, the three of them will hurt too.

  "Can I ask you something?" I ask Vinny as I turn my attention back to the cars on the road.

  "Sure," he replies with what sounds like a mouth full of food.

  "I get why Ben and Uncle Stuart are protecting me, but why are you? I know you and my dad were friends, but this is putting your life on the line." I look at him as he puts his burger down. I’ve never asked before. I never thought the Midlands would get this close, to hurt him or me. But now, anything can happen, and I'd like to know why he has risked his life.

  "Your dad did something, something that both Andy and I owe him for." He clears his throat and shifts a little in his seat. "Did you ever wonder why your dad walked with a cane?"

  "He told me that it was an old football injury."

  "Your dad and Andy are high school friends. You know who Andy's wife is—my older sister,” he says. Why is he telling me information that I already know? Where is this story going? "We all went out one night and got stuck in the store as these guys were trying to rob it. Long story short, they had tied us up, they saw Julie, and they were about to rape her. Your dad picked the lock to his cuffs and fought to protect her, and he did. As he did, they shot him in the hip. Fucked him up good. They ran out of the store, but the police got them. Because of your dad, my sister was safe. I told him then that if he ever needed help, I'd never say no to him. Then he called and told me what was happening. Andy and I came up with the best plan we could." Vinny picks up his burger again, and I just stare at him for a moment.

  Wow, that really wasn't the reason I thought, but it's still a lot for me to take in. "You're risking your life…"

  "I'm risking my life because your dad risked his. I'll risk my life to protect you. Not just for your dad, or what he did, but because I love you, too, just as much as Andy, Ben, and Stuart do."

  Vinny stops me from arguing, and with that said, I look back out to the front of the car. I don't know what to say to him. He remembers what my dad did, and he'll make things right to protect me.

  "If I don't get the chance to say this later, thank you." I place my hand on top of his.

  "Never say thank you," he says before giving my hand a kiss.

  "So, what is the plan from here?" I ask.

  "Keep our eyes open.”

  I push the seat back and lie down.

  Vinny's phone rings and he gets out of the car.

  Every day I've wondered how Angel’s doing; how Elijah's death has affected him. Drew called earlier to say the funeral’s coming up and will let me know how it goes. I told her to tell Angel I love him and think about him every day.

  Chapter 5

  Angel

  "You ready?" Pike waits by the desk as I grab my jacket from the back of my chair.

  "Ross and Louis don't die. Everyone else, the moment we walk in, kill them all," I say as we leave the office to make our way down to the basement. "Is everything set for the funeral?"

  Tomorrow’s going to be one of the hardest days for my family. Saying goodbye to Elijah is something I'd never thought about before now. Now, that day has come, and I'm still not ready to say goodbye.

  "Yeah, we have extra security around everything. Gwen asked me to talk to you about a speech.” Pike says, and I stop in my tracks. "She wanted to ask you, but she knows you have a lot on your plate at the moment, so she asked me to ask you.”

  I look over at him, or more like past him. I wouldn't even know what to say, but for Gwen, I’ll do it. "Okay," I say as I continue to walk. My thoughts turn to what the fuck I'm going to say tomorrow.

  I see Warren and Craig talking, and they both turn towards me as I get closer to them. I got Craig to come with us tonight. I want every guy that we have there to make sure no one else dies.

  "Everything is set. We have some of the guys at the warehouse watching them for us, and they're ready at the hospital too," Warren says. He checks his gun to make sure it's ready.

  "No one moves until I say." I look over at Craig. "Thanks for coming tonight." I know going out to fight with guns is hard for him. He lost his whole family in a war that wasn't his. He went down a very dark hole. He turned to fighting, and the crazy fucker he is now was born, but at a price.

  It seems we all become crazy fuckers at a price.

  "You're all my family, too. Now can we go and kill them?" I look at him for a moment.

  "I have my hands, I don't need a gun," he says.

  I shake my head at him, but my lips turn up into a smile. "Let's go then." I turn to Pike and Warren. "You two better not die. I'll bring you back to life, so I can kill you myself," I say. I’m not losing more family member to the Youngs.

  "The fucking scariest things about that is, the fucking devil will find a way to do it, too." Warren laughs as we make our way to the car. I sometimes wish he was as cold as me—get people to fear him as they fear me. He's just not like that, though. One day, I'll get him ready, give him more responsibility so he can learn the ropes of the business.

  As I sit in the car, I light a cigarette and my mind goes to the same place it goes every day. Alice. Where is she? Is she safe? What will the Midlands do to her?

  I told Warren to do everything he can to find Drew. She's the only one I know I can break to tell me how I can contact Alice. Warren has Drew's dad in the basement. He's not touched him, but Drew doesn't know that. She thinks we're beating him until she comes, and I have to admit, it worked. Drew called Ellie and said she’ll be here tomorrow for Elijah's funeral, and I plan on getting some answers from her.

  My grandad always said that once you find your queen, nothing else in the world will matter. The only things you'll care about are making her happy and keeping her safe. Everything else in our business will always fall into place, and now I know what he meant. The moment I found out Alice left, I've been playing the chess game with half a heart. Dealing with the Young family… Everything feels like I'm pushing myself to do it. I need Alice with me. I need her to make me feel whole. I can't do this without her.

  “Ready?"

  I open my eyes and look over at Pike. I take in one last long drag of smoke before opening my door.

  Pike told everyone what was happening. I have four men protecting me so I can make my way to Louis. Craig is to get Ross and kill anyone who gets in his way. Everyone else is to kill every person in there. No man is to leave the warehouse alive unless they're my men.

  The first set of men walk in, and I hear shots fired. I make my way in, and the guys walk alongside me as I stalk through the warehouse. Not looking around to see what the others are doing, my gaze locks with Louis as I make my way to him.

  As I get closer to him, he pulls out a gun and aims it at me. I dart to the side before he can shoot. My fist crashes into his face, and he takes a few steps back. I grab his neck and push him up against the wall. I feel a blow to the stomach, and then another. I punch him in the face again, bringing him away from the wall. Then, I slam his face into the table in the middle of the warehouse. Pulling out my gun, I point it at his head.

  I look up at Ross as Craig holds him down. The firing of
bullets calms down around me, telling me that all the men are almost down. Pike stands next to me, and then a tap on my shoulder lets me know Warren is there, too.

  "I want you to remember that I came to you and put a truce on the table, and you told me to fuck off. Now I'm here to tell you to fuck off." I turn to Pike as he gets his phone out, then looks back over to Ross. "I want you to remember that I killed your boys. Angel Frost killed them all," I shout as Pike shows him the live video of his son in the hospital.

  "No, this is…"

  "I don't give a fuck what you have to say. You killed my brother. My nephew has to grow up without his father, and now your grandkids will grow up without theirs." I give Pike a nod, letting him know to tell our men to pull the plug.

  "Now," he says.

  We hear the beeping, and Louis tries to fight me, but I punch him in the back to stop him from wrestling against me. I lock gazes with Ross as the beeping starts to fade. The flat line causes Louis to lose it, calling me any name he can.

  "Ross, I'm not going to kill you. No, that would be too easy. I want you to live the rest of your fucking life, knowing you had the chance to keep your family safe, but you crossed me instead. You fucking crossed me!" I shout. He looks at me in horror. "There will never be a truce between us. Your family will always die by a Frost’s hand."

  With that said, I put a bullet in Louis’s head. The blood splatters over my face and Craig lets go of Ross, but he just stands there staring at his son’s lifeless body on the floor. I watch him for a moment as my family starts leaving the warehouse. I take a step closer to Ross. "Don't cross me again," I say, then make my way out to the cars.

  Now that I’ve killed my brother’s murderers, I know Elijah will rest in peace. In the back of my head, I know one war is finished and another is about to begin.

  I have to get ready for a blind war.

  ***

  "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, but I do promise that I'll look after Gwen and your son. Your son will know you." I kneel as I look down at the casket, then up at the sky. "I love you, my brother, but I know you're here with me.” I stand back up as I see Pike walking over to me.

  Today has been a hard day. Gwen has been a lot stronger than I have, but I told her I'll be there day or night, and to just call. Ellie’s moving in with her so she isn't alone, and will help her throughout her pregnancy.

  "Drew's at the bar," Pike says.

  I left her on her own all morning. I said hello and walked away. I didn't want to upset Gwen by making a scene with Drew.

  I look over at my family as they gather by the cars to go back to my dad's house. I look over at my mother crying into Ellie's shoulder. I've stayed out of her way too. She tried to come to the office, but I told Pike to tell her to fuck off. I want nothing to do with her. Just before Elijah's death, we found out she's fucking some guy, but she's keeping that one very tight to the chest. The divorce papers haven't even been signed, and she's fucking men like she’s done nothing wrong. It makes me sick to know she was never loyal to my dad. She thinks that I'm going to talk to her and pretend like everything’s normal, but it’ll never happen.

  "I'll talk to Dad and tell him I'll be over soon as I talk to Drew," I say as I make my way over to them.

  My dad walks over to me. Before I can say anything, he puts his hand up. "I know. Go find Alice, then come to my house," my dad says.

  Even though I’ve been quiet and keeping myself together about Alice, inside I can feel myself dying, feel myself getting weaker. My dad sees it, too. He sees that I'm struggling without her.

  "I should talk to Gwen, let—"

  "She knows. We all see it." My dad pulls me in for a hug. "You did well today. Gwen was touched by your speech," he says.

  I pull away from him, not saying another word, and walk over to Pike standing by the car.

  As we make our way to the bar, I look over at Pike. "Carter's called about the guns?" I ask. It's time I start getting back into the business. I need to know what's happening. I need to get back on top of the crime world, and I can't do that until I know everything that's happening.

  "They need another shipment. I'm getting them ready. Craig has fights set up for the month. He's enjoying the fight club more than he should." Pike starts laughing. "The other night, a guy was knocked out cold and lost a few teeth. Now, I'm not sure if it's true, but Craig said his eye was about to pop out of his socket. The crazy thing is, he laughed the whole time he was telling me," he says.

  I'm not even surprised. That's why he and Elijah worked so well together. They both have fucked up minds and think the same.

  "When's the next shipment out?"

  "End of the week. The Carter's wanted to talk to you, but they said when you're—"

  "What did they need to talk about?" I cut him off. He knows I don't like the full story. Just give me the keynotes. All I need to know is what's important.

  "They might know something about the O'Reilly family but didn't want to say anything until after today. It looks like your chess game involves a family you're already at war with. That's all they've said. They want to talk to you," Pike says as we park up in front of the bar.

  "I'll call them tomorrow," I reply before getting out of the car. There’s only one family I'm at war with at the moment, and that's the Midlands. The Young family won't be crossing me again for a long time. Ben told me the Midlands aren't selling the guns in London. I'd like to know which family thinks they might win the war with me because, at the moment, I'm not a man to mess with.

  "She's in the office," Pike says as we walk through the bar.

  I nod and make my way up. The bar has been closed all weekend. I haven't been in the mood for people to be here, especially not today.

  Moving around the desk, my gaze locks with Drew. I've seen that look enough to know when someone has fear in them.

  "Where is she?" I ask, my hands in my pockets to stop myself from getting angry. I need to stay calm. She's the only one who can give me answers. Drew looks over at Pike, then back to me. "Drew, I don't want to hurt your dad. I've been patient, but if I have to hurt him, I will, so talk," I demand.

  She stares me down as she thinks. I know her mum has called her to tell her that we have her dad, and the only way he can go is if he talks to me. "I don't know anything." Her voice comes out shaking. Ben said the same thing. The only difference is, Ben meant it.

  "Don't push me, Drew. Pike go get—"

  "No!" Drew shouts.

  "Best start talking then." I watch her. She's fighting with herself, loyal to Alice, but fearful for her dad.

  "Only you—he leaves." Drew stares at me until I give Pike a nod to let him know it's fine for him to go. He also knows to get her dad out of the room.

  "I'm waiting." I walk around the desk with my arms folded. I lean on it and watch her.

  "When was your office last checked for bugs?" she asks.

  I look at her for a moment. That's a weird question to start this conversation with, but I'll play along. "I haven't left this office much," I reply.

  "Before I say anything, I want you to check your office." Drew stares at me as I watch her and light a cigarette. "I won't say anything until you do. I'll wait."

  It looks like Drew has grown a backbone in the space of two minutes. Pushing myself off the desk, I check the office. As I walk around the last part of the office, I say, "All clean. Now talk."

  "The Midlands knew she—"

  "I know. I want to know where she is," I cut her off.

  "You have a mole." Drew stops as I push myself off the desk. I have a mole? That can't be right. Something is wrong. They must have got that wrong. No one would betray me. "They knew everything. They knew Alice would be at the hospital. They know where her apartment is and how to get in. They know about your chessboard. They knew about the attack on the Young family. Maybe they know more." Drew stops as I begin pacing in my office. "Until Ben finds out who the mole is, Alice won't be coming back."

  I lean
on the desk again, my eyes searching Drew's face to see if she's lying or not. No one in my family would work with the Midlands, not one of them.

  I take a drag of my cigarette as names run through my head, but no one would do this. Why would someone do this to me? "Is she safe?"

  "The last I spoke to them, she was. They're still running but can’t get enough distance. The Midlands keep getting close, and they have to run," Drew says.

  I take in a long drag and let the smoke settle inside me. Today has been a day where I've been lost anyway. Elijah is gone, and now I find out someone in my circle let the Midlands take my queen. "Call her," I order. Drew stares at me. "Drew, I won't ask again."

  Drew taps the screen of her phone, then hands it over to me. I wait as the ringing continues.

  "Hello," Vinny says.

  "Hello—" Before I can say anything to him, the line goes dead. Within a few seconds, my phone starts ringing. "Hello."

  "You calling means you know. Find the mole."

  "Vinny, Alice is safer with—"

  "At the moment, she's not safe with you when you have a mole. If I'm honest, she's not much safer with me," Vinny admits. He knows this is going down a very ugly rabbit hole soon, and no one can protect her. "I'm sorry about Elijah.” There is a moment of silence between us. "Angel, I'm doing my best to keep her safe, but they keep catching up." Vinny sounds tired, you can hear it his voice. "The person who has the best chance of keeping her safe is Ben. He knows them and…" Vinny stops for a moment. "Ben and I had to tell her about Harvey and what they have planned. She…"

  “Vinny, come back. I'll find the mole and kill them myself, but they can't get Alice." Just the thought of them touching her makes my blood boil. My queen won't break for them. I know she's strong.