Chapter 37

𝔸𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖, 𝕠𝕣, 𝕒 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕒𝕣?

(𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 )

Detective Rowan lowered his gun in awe. He'd known it. He'd known Eve was no ordinary woman. Watching her almost annihilate his entire team was all the proof he'll ever need.

What on earth was she even doing here?

She lowered the MP5K that had been aimed at his head seconds ago and placed her palm on her head. Looking at her, Rowan could deduce the state she was in. She looked like something out of a horror movie. Broken, battered and beaten. He didn't dare to imagine what might have caused the nasty bruise he could spot on her forehead.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Rowan heard her ask and scoffed.

"I should be asking you that question. Last I checked, you should be tending to a certain in-law."

At the mention of Damien, Rowan noticed Eve expression turn grim. "The said in-law is dead."

"What?" Rowan barked, shocked beyond words. There was definitely something more going on here. If he wanted to know more, he'd have to find a reason to interrogate her.  "I'll have to take you in for disrupting and ongoing investigation."

The moment the words left Rowan's mouth, he instantly regretted it - for three sets of guns suddenly materialized out of nowhere, pointing at him from every direction.

Fuck. He needed to act fast, and smart this time if he didn't want to end up like the rest of his team. Dead. "Hey, hey, hey. If you didn't want to talk down at the station, all you had to do was say so."

A smirking Eve beamed. "Of course, I just figured action was the best way to communicate my displeasure. So Detective, what active investigation did I disrupt?"

Detective Rowan knew he had to make something of a deal. For he knew nothing was stopping Eve Red from decorating the walls of this woman's house with his brain matter. "I'd like to propose a deal," Rowan said, looking Eve dead in the eye.

She glared right back at him, the corner of her eyes twitching. "What makes you think you are in a position to negotiate? I could blow your brains out, right now, and make it look like a police raid gone wrong, with evidence of us ever being here untraceable. You are the one at a disadvantage here, detective."

Rowan nodded. "You are right, Eve. You could waste me and get away with it. But you won't be able to get the valuable information I am guessing you desperately need. The fact that I am even here should give you an idea as to how much I know, and is willing to dig out.

Eve remained silent and Rowan took that as his cue to continue. He was doing something right. "Well, nothing stays hidden under my sky. Let's work together. As much as I'd love to put you behind bars, I know when I am defeated."

After a long pause, Eve flicked her neck and the guns that were pointed at him went down. Rowan let out the breath that had gotten stuck in his throat. If someone had told him that his largemouth would someday save his life, he would have given that person the beating of his life. But here he was, still breathing.

"Where the hell were you, Jay?" Eve grunted, her attention finally swerving away from a grateful Rowan.

"I had Detective Rowan's men to deal with. They took me unawares." An angry Jay groaned, his eyes fixed on Rowan.

Rowan shrugged. "They were just doing their jobs."

"Yeah right." Jay sneered and Eve quickly intervened before the men went into a heated battle. And for what? Male ego?

"I think what we should be worried about is where the hell Laura's mother is. This was an elaborate trap set to pitch us against each other."

"Exactly. "Rita sneered and pointed to the CCTV camera that was hidden beneath the lampshade. She also pointed to the light bulb on the ceiling. The moment my eyes spotted the camera I moved towards it and stared directly into the lens.

"I am coming for you," I promised with a deadly glare - right before I raised my gun to it and shattered it into pieces. Letting the bullet fly, I turned to the lampshade I did the same for it, making sure it was all over the rug in pieces before releasing my hands on the trigger.

If Laura wanted war, then war was what she was gonna get.

****************

(𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 )

Momma stared at the screen as it went blank, white lines indicating the feed has been disconnected. She turned towards the audience in the room and took a sit on one of the leather chairs - which were positioned around the large table situated at the centre of the room. Momma's gaze flicked to Laura who was silent as night, wisely holding her tongue.

She knew just how pissed Momma was about the situation because she had been the one charged to take care of her son, kill Eve, Lucas and the rest of the band. But from what they could all see, Laura knew that she had failed, woefully.

"Can someone explain to me how this happened?" Momma finally spoke, her voice hitting the nerves of every single soul in the room. Three men stood at the door, all looking at each other, fear evident in their eyes. Laura shifted a little, her palms emitting more sweat than all her body put together.

Momma piercing blue eyes settled on Laura. "I thought I just asked a question?" This was said very calmly, but Laura couldn't help but shiver. She opened her mouth to speak but was miraculously beaten to it.

"Eve is harder to defeat than we originally believed, mum. She has a strong family behind her." Momma turned to look at her son, who was sitting beside her.

"Was that why Laura let those fools shoot you? You could have died. You could have left me."

"I know, mum. But I'm here now aren't I?" He stole a glance and Laura. "And as you can see, Laura did everything she could to save my life. I'd say you give her a chance to finish what she started."

Momma scoffed. "As you can see son, I don't give second chances." Momma raised the gun she had gently tugged out of the clamps that were attached to the underside of the table and fired. The gun sent a resounding bang around the room, along with the body of one of the men standing at the door. The two remaining guys yelped in surprise and fear, their eyes widening in horror.

Laura stopped breathing. For a second there, she had thought that bullet was meant for her. She stood frozen and watched the other two guys drag their companion's body out the room.

"You wanted mercy?" Momma asked calmly, directing the question to her son. "There. That was me showing mercy." She slowly stood up and began pacing around the chairs. The unfortunate men that had been forerunners in the operation Laura had overseen, came back into the room after taking care of their friend's body, and as they stepped in, Laura couldn't help but feel pity for them. At this point, It would have been better if they had jumped off a building.

Momma got to where they were standing and turned. "Now, this is how I would normally treat failures." She pressed the hidden button that they didn't even know was behind them and stepped back. The wall began to part, only to reveal a grinding machine. Before the one closest to her could process what was going on, Momma pushed his chest hard. It propelled him backwards and into the machine which Momma shortly turned on.

The scream that permeated from that man was the worst of all screams Laura had ever heard. There was nothing that could prepare you for such horror. The last man standing immediately made for the door, unwilling to die a horrible death.

He didn't get far because Momma shot him in the knee. The man hurled in pain, fear permeating the atmosphere. Momma's son was as calm as ever and Laura grimaced inwardly. There was something different about him. She knew it like she knew her name. He wasn't the same man she had married, had loved, cared for, killed for. A man who wouldn't sit here and defend her after she had tried to get him killed.

Whatever was going on with him had a lot to do with the fact that he had spent too much time with his sister, and that scumbag, Lucas. Was it possible that she had somehow made him soft? Whatever it was, Laura knew she had to find out soon. Her clock was ticking. It might just be her ticket to winning over Momma for good.

All her son had ever done was play the good boy while she took the fall for every single bad decision he made. But no more. She was going to double-cross this dreaded family and come out winning. Even if it meant working with the enemy.

After the last fool who had played a card in almost having her son killed was satisfactorily blended into a pile of meat, Momma turned towards Laura, the last piece of the puzzle, and found her gaze pinned to her son's.

Momma was yet to get to the bottom of why her son would want the bitch to live. Laura had begun showing signs of incompetency long before she blew this mission, and Momma had already decided she was going to cancel her. What had held her back had been her son, who for some reason wanted to still keep his wife alive.

"No one games," Momma grunted and all eyes focused on her. "This ends now."

"How exactly do you mean, mum?" Her son asked and she finally let her lips curl in a sinful smirk.

"We let them come to me. It's high time I met my daughter."