MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Forty-Four: The Second War
---
The call came at three in the morning.
Jay was asleep in the chair beside Keifer's bed, her head on his arm, her hand in his. The hospital room was dark. The machines were beeping. The city was quiet.
Her phone buzzed. Mica's name flashed on the screen.
Jay answered. "What?"
Mica's voice was tight. "He's not dead."
Jay sat up. Keifer's eyes opened. His face was pale.
"The man in Singapore," Mica said. "Your father's brother. He's not dead. The man Lyra killed was a decoy. A bodyguard. Someone who looked like him. Someone he's been using for years."
Jay's hand tightened on the phone. "Where is he?"
"He's here. In Singapore. He's been watching. He's been waiting. He knew you would come. He knew you would find the decoy. He knew you would think it was over."
Jay looked at Keifer. His face was steady. His eyes were dark.
"He wants you to think the war is over," Mica said. "He wants you to let your guard down. He wants you to be weak."
Jay stood up. Her hand was on her knife. "Where is he?"
Mica paused. "He's at the Marina Bay Sands. The top floor. He's been there for three days. Watching. Waiting."
Jay walked to the window. The city was dark. The lights were bright. The building at the center of it all, the one her father's brother had been hiding in for thirty years.
"He wants a war," Jay said.
"He wants to finish what he started."
Jay looked at Keifer. He was sitting up now, his face pale, his hands steady. The bandages on his chest were white against his skin. The machines were beeping.
"You're not going without me," he said.
She walked to him. She took his face in her hands. His skin was warm. His eyes were steady.
"You almost died," she said.
"I didn't."
"You're not healed."
He took her hands. His fingers were warm. "I'm not letting you go alone."
She looked at him. His face was close. His eyes were dark.
"Together," she said.
"Together."
---
The Marina Bay Sands was lit up like a beacon.
The building rose above the city, three towers connected at the top, the roof shaped like a ship, the pool that stretched across the sky. The top floor was dark. The windows were black. The man was waiting.
Jay stood at the base of the building. Her team was around her. Freya was at her side. Lyra was in the shadows. Rakki was behind her. Mica was in the van, her voice calm in Jay's ear. Ella was at the back, her hands steady. Care was at the entrance, her medical bag open. Grace was beside her. Kit was with Mayo.
Ci N was with Felix. His phone was in his hand. His face was pale.
Percy was beside Keifer. Aries was on his other side. Yuri was behind them, his arms crossed, his face cold.
"He knows we're coming," Mica said. "He's been waiting."
Jay looked at the building. At the top floor where her father's brother was hiding.
"Then let's not keep him waiting," she said.
---
The elevator was open when they walked in.
The doors were waiting. The buttons were lit. The top floor was waiting.
Jay stepped inside. Keifer was beside her. Freya was behind her. Lyra was in the corner, her knife in her hand, her face blank.
The doors closed. The elevator rose.
Jay looked at Keifer. His face was pale. His hands were steady. The bandages on his chest were hidden beneath his jacket. The blood was hidden. The pain was hidden.
"You should be in the hospital," she said.
He took her hand. "I should be with you."
She squeezed his hand. "Together."
The doors opened.
---
The top floor was empty.
The rooms were dark. The walls were glass. The city was spread out below, lights and streets and buildings that went on forever. The pool was above them, the water dark, the sky black.
Jay walked through the rooms. Her knife was in her hand. Her eyes were scanning. Keifer was beside her. Freya was behind her. Lyra was in the shadows.
"He's here," Lyra said. "I can feel him."
They walked to the end of the hall. There was a door. It was open. The room beyond was dark.
Jay walked through the door.
---
The room was a study.
The walls were lined with photographs. Photographs of her father. Her mother. Her uncle. Her. Photographs of the war. The warehouse. The bodies. The blood. Photographs of her wedding. Her house. Her life.
The man was sitting at a desk. His back was to the door. His face was turned toward the window. The city was spread out below. The lights were bright. He was old. His hair was white. His hands were thin. He looked like her father. He looked like the man who had raised her.
He turned. His eyes were her father's eyes. His face was her father's face.
"Jasper Jean," he said. "My favorite niece."
Jay walked to the desk. Her knife was in her hand. Her face was calm.
"You started the war," she said. "You killed our family. You killed our cousins. You killed our friends. You've been hiding here for thirty years, watching, waiting, planning."
He smiled. It was her father's smile. "I did what I had to do. Your father was weak. Your uncle was greedy. The families were fighting. I gave them a war to fight. I gave them something to do."
Jay's hand tightened on her knife. "You gave them death."
He stood up. His hands were empty. His face was calm. "I gave them purpose. The Mariano family was nothing before the war. The Watson family was nothing. I made them strong. I made them powerful. I made them what they are."
Jay stepped closer. Her face was inches from his. "You made them kill each other."
He looked at her. His eyes were cold. "I made them survive."
---
The shot came from the door.
Jay heard it before she saw it. The crack of glass. The whistle of air. The sound of something moving too fast, too close.
Keifer moved. He was in front of her before she could think. His arms were around her. His body was between her and the door.
"Keifer," she said.
He didn't fall. He held her. His face was pale. His hands were steady.
"I'm okay," he said. "I'm okay."
Lyra moved. She was across the room before the shooter could reload. Her knife was in her hand. Her face was blank. The man at the door didn't see her. He didn't hear her. He was aiming again. He was aiming at Jay.
Lyra's knife found his throat.
He fell. The gun fell. The door was open. The hallway was dark.
Lyra stood over him. Her knife was red. Her face was blank.
Freya was at the door. Her gun was drawn. Her eyes were scanning. "There are more. In the hallway. In the stairs. Everywhere."
Jay looked at the man behind the desk. He was smiling. He was watching.
"You planned this," Jay said.
He walked to the window. His back was to her. His face was turned toward the city. "I've been planning this for thirty years. Your father was weak. Your uncle was greedy. I knew one of you would come. I knew one of you would find me. I knew one of you would try to end it."
He turned. His face was calm. His eyes were cold.
"I've been waiting for you, Jasper Jean. I've been waiting for the one who would be strong enough to finish what I started."
Jay walked to him. Her knife was in her hand. Her face was calm.
"I'm not going to finish what you started," she said. "I'm going to end it."
---
The fight was short.
The men in the hallway were Lyra's. The men in the stairs were Freya's. The men on the roof were Rakki's. The men at the entrance were Percy's. The building was filled with Jay's family, her army, the people who had been with her through everything.
The man stood at the window. His hands were empty. His face was calm.
"You've won," he said.
Jay stood in front of him. Her knife was at her side. Her face was calm.
"I've won," she said.
He looked at her. His eyes were her father's eyes. "What are you going to do with me?"
She looked at him. The man who had started the war. The man who had killed her family. The man who had been hiding for thirty years.
"I'm going to let you live," she said.
His face changed. Just for a moment. "What?"
She walked to the window. She stood beside him. The city was spread out below. The lights were bright. The water was dark.
"You wanted a war," she said. "You wanted to see who would survive. You wanted to see who was strong enough to end it. I'm ending it now. Not with death. Not with blood. With the truth."
She turned to face him. Her face was calm. Her eyes were steady.
"You're going to live. You're going to watch. You're going to see the families you tried to destroy become something new. Something stronger. Something better. And you're going to know that you lost."
She walked to the door. Keifer was waiting. His hand was in hers.
"Goodbye," she said.
She walked out of the room.
---
The sun was rising when they left the building.
The city was gold. The water was bright. The sky was clear. Jay stood at the entrance, her hand in Keifer's, her face turned toward the sky.
"It's over," she said.
He kissed her hair. "It's over."
She leaned against him. His chest was warm. His heart was steady.
"You're bleeding," she said.
He looked at his shirt. The blood was seeping through the bandages. "It's nothing."
She took his hand. "Let's go home."
He smiled. "Let's go home."
---
END OF CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR