REVENGE, DIAPER and SNACKS - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

A tiny rebellion against the weight of this moment. The silence between us was thick, charged, like the air before a storm. He shot me another look—harder this time, but still that unsettling calm and overconfident smirk like I owed him the fucking universe. His gaze met mine, dark and unreadable.
“You don’t need to thank me.”
No I don't. I need to kill you. Just you wait!
“I am after all your knight in shining armour,” he continued, as though the matter were settled.
THE FUCKING NERVE!
“Thank you, I need that,” I replied with the weakest, fakest longing voice I could muster. “You didn’t have to come. But you did. And the girls… we needed someone. You were that someone.”
He was quiet for a beat. Then his hand went to the gear again. “I’ll call my guy first thing in the morning. We’ll get your SUV sorted. Towed. Repaired. You’ll have it back soon. I have a team of the finest mechanics in the world, twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the moment to strike.”
I blinked, a little stunned.
“You really don’t have to—”
“I know,” he said, cutting me off with a small smile. “But I want to—” He paused, the silence stretching between us thick with unsaid things. When he looked at me again, his gaze was intense, searching. I could almost taste his needs. It wasn’t a casual inspection—it was something else, something I couldn’t fully place. But it made my skin burn off more hatred that I didn't know existed, and my breath hitched in my chest because I didn't want anything in this world but to kill him.
“And I couldn't help myself but to help you.” He continued with the intensity of a liar. Not from love, not from romance—no. But from the simple truth that sometimes, in a world of liars and wolves, someone still showed up when it counted.
That left me a little breathless. Jesus. This man could make any woman forget how to breathe without even touching her. Ha! If I was just Catherine, but no. I am LEON the destroyer. His own fucking brother.
I breathed harder this time and nodded, adjusted Jaya against my shoulder, and gave him a look I hadn’t given anyone in years.
Not trust.
But… something close.
Then I stepped out into the crisp night air, my shoes clicking against the wet pavement, the smell of damp concrete and distant barbecue drifting through the alley. Aliya ran ahead, laughing quietly to herself, her energy restored by the thought of home.
As I reached the door of the building, I looked back. “Thank you again,” I shouted, not sounding as strong as I wanted.
Alec was still there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like a silent guardian in a luxury sedan. And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel entirely alone. Because heaven gave me the second chance for revenge.
The door clicked shut behind us. The moment I shut the apartment door behind me with my foot—Jaya still curled against my chest like a warm little pillow—I grinned.
Not the fake smile I used for Ray.
Not the strained, careful one for schoolteachers or grocery clerks.
No.
This grin was pure. Ferocious. Delicious.
Because Alec Darrow, my beloved traitor of a brother, had just dropped me and my three chaos goblins off like some shiny white knight behind the wheel of a sedan he probably bought with my old blood money.
Oh, darling.
You think I’m your new little toy? Some lonely mother project to help you sleep better at night?
Ha.
You have no idea you just invited the lioness back into the den. In heels.
The hallway light flickered like it always did — one final wink from the universe before bedtime chaos. Maya kicked off her sneakers and ran straight for the couch, mumbling something about cartoons. Jaya, now half-awake, clung to my neck with a soft whimper before I gently laid her down on the couch, tucking a pillow under her head. Aliya was already rummaging through the fridge, probably looking for that last juice box she hid behind the broccoli.
And me?
I smirked.
I stood by the door for a second, my back resting against the cold wood, arms crossed, heart still pounding—not from exhaustion. No. It was thrill.
Pure, electric thrill.
Finally, Alec was in my palm.
The bastard really wanted to play the part of my knight in shining armor, huh? Dropping us off like some kind-hearted gentleman, offering help, looking at me with those unreadable eyes like I was some fragile little woman in need of saving.
Fuck him.
I am Leon Darrow.
His brother. His blood. The one who took bullets for him. Built his empire’s bones. Hid his sins. Killed his enemies.
And what did he do?
He repaid me with a kiss on the forehead and my own death sentence—delivered with venom from my pet spider, Blacky. The irony still stung. He used my spider.