Little Fury: Book 1 of The deadly Little Thing Trilogy
Little Fury: Chapter 23

“Once Upon a Poolside” by The National plays throughout the house. I’m sitting at the island having breakfast. Marcus is outside talking on the phone. He’s speaking Russian, so I know he’s talking to someone in his family. I finish my breakfast and place my dishes in the dishwasher. As he finishes up his call and strolls back into the house. He’s only wearing board shorts, and his tanned chest and abs make my mouth water.

“These Arms of Mine” by Otis Redding starts. ‘I love this song,” I remark casually.

“I know you do.” Marcus says, “this playlist is called Ava. I made it for when I’m with you because nobody wants to deal with cranky Ava when she doesn’t like the music.” I don’t say anything to that, but I flip him off in a playful, familiar way.

After we get dressed, I have to head to the bank to finish a few things. Marcus has some work to do finalizing a few of our plans before we head back to the States.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” I called over my shoulder to him.

I close the door behind me and slide my sunglasses onto my face. The morning heat from the sun is just starting to become too much. I’m wearing a simple grey dress with one side gathered at the mid-thigh. I paired it with simple black leather flip-flops, the perfect footwear for a leisurely day in town.

I make my way into the heart of town, stopping here and there to look at the flowers and pet a couple of dogs out with their owners for a stroll. I stop in a little bodega a few doors down from the bank and get a fresh raspberry mint iced tea. I sip the cold drink, enjoying the tartness mixed with the coolness of the mint.

I open the bank door, and Brynn Walters, my account manager, greets me. “Good morning, Ava.”

“Morning, Brynn.” I follow her back to her office and sit on the couch. She goes to her desk, grabs her laptop and some papers, and then joins me in the chair on my right.

“So, I have all the finalized paperwork for you to sign. All the properties and investments you wanted to unload have been sold. You did well, great profits across the board.”

“That’s great. You did an amazing job, Brynn.”

“It’s my job, but I’m pleased with how it went.”

“You should be. This is more than I expected, to be honest. I’m adding another 5% to your commission on these sales. You deserve it. You made this the easiest process ever.”

“Ava, that is not necessary. My commission is already the biggest one I’ve ever garnered.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but I’m still doing it, Brynn. You deserve the money, and that’s that.”

She nods at me, and I nod at her. We both smile at each other. “I like you, Brynn. I hope we can work together for many years to come.”

“I feel the same, Ava. It has been an absolute pleasure.”

It takes another hour to finish signing and going over everything before we stand and shake hands. Brynn walks me to the door and wishes me well. I head out into the mid-day heat.

I walk towards home for about ten minutes when I feel eyes on me.

“Miss me?” I ask him.

“I did. I got bored waiting for you.”

“Why didn’t you go for a swim or watch a movie?” I ask him.

“I thought it would be more fun to come meet you. One of these days, I will sneak up on you.” I snort a laugh at that. He has been trying to sneak up on me for years and has yet to be able to take me by surprise. “I stopped and had a sandwich at the little stand over there,” he informs me, pointing across the street. “Then I got a beer from that pub there. Then I got an ice cream from the bodega beside the bank.”

“Wow, that’s a lot in a short time,” I tell him, laughing.

“So, how did it go?” he inquires.

“Good. Everything is in order.”

“Perfect.”

Marcus’s phone rings with a text notification: “It’s Alexi. He will be here first thing in the morning.”

“What?” I ask, genuinely surprised by this announcement.

“I was talking to him this morning, and he wants to come enjoy the ocean before we leave here. He was in New York, so he booked himself on the next flight here.”

“Well, that’ll be fun,” I say, my sarcasm not masked one bit.

“I want Alexi as my second.” I nod at that statement. I knew it was coming. I don’t like Alexi and trust him even less than Enzo. I could stop it if I wanted, but I don’t want to work for Marcus like that. I have no desire to be part of the Mafia world. They’re loud and messy, and women are not accepted for the most part. “So, he’s going to come here so I can go over some things with him for when we return to New York. Besides, I need my team. I don’t know how many will be left standing after we move on Enzo. I feel like it makes sense to have my family.”

“It does. I expected the Sokolovs to fill in any spots you needed filled. But speaking of Enzo. Marcus, it really would be easier and cleaner just to kill him.”

“Ava, my father is going to pay for throwing me away. He will pay with his pride and status. When he signs the family over to me, he will do it on his knees at my feet like the piece of shit he is. I want him to live, wondering if I’m going to kill him. I want him to live the rest of his days out in squalor.”

“That is the plan. I just wanted to offer up an easier option one last time.”

“Thanks,” he says with a chuckle.

“What do you want to do for the rest of the day?” I ask as we keep walking towards the house.

“I’m open to anything. I thought you would probably want to swim in the ocean today.”

I grin at him, “You know me so well! That is exactly what I want to do. I want to swim, read, and listen to music. Oh, and eat! Speaking of eating, I’m hungry. We should grab a lobster sandwich from that little dive a block from the house.”

“Anything you want, Ava.” He tells me his words soft.

We spend the day at the beach, enjoying the water, sun and reading. Marcus finally finished Soul Eater and decided to read the entire Monstrous series by Lily Maine. When we get back to the house, he heads inside to shower quickly and then drives to grab our dinner. He kisses me goodbye before he leaves. My fingers go to my lips, feeling them, remembering his kiss, thinking how it seems impossible to me that he kisses me now. As I dial a number, I stand on the deck, watching the sun go down over the ocean. She answers on the second ring.

“Ava!” Beth’s voice sounds so happy to hear from me.

“How are you? How’s Marcus?”

“Ah, we’re good. Just relaxing, enjoying the sun and ocean.”

“I bet you are.”

“What?” I ask, puzzled by her statement.

“How long did it take him?”

“Take him to do what?”

“Don’t play dumb, Ava. It’s not becoming on you.”

“How did I never see it, Beth?”

“I don’t know Ava. That boy has been in love with you since he met you.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me? Or even hint at it? Give me a heads-up. I told him all about Finn when I was dating him. Fuck, Beth, I told Marcus as soon as I got home after I lost my virginity to Finn.”

“Language, Ava. It was not mine or Harry’s place to tell you.”

“Harry knew?” I screech.

“Ava honey, you’re gonna need to accept that everybody but you knew.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Language.” Beth scolds me again, and it brings a smile to my face.

“I still can’t believe nobody let it slip for all those years. I mean, Parker has the biggest mouth ever.”

“And you? Do you love him, Ava?” She asks me quietly. Like she’s worried the question is out of line.

“Of course I do!” I tell her, offended that she asked me that.

“No, I know you love him. You decided he was yours years ago and never looked back. What I mean is, are you in love with him like he is with you? Marcus is charming, gorgeous, and knows you better than anyone. He always wants to make you happy and see you smile. So, falling into his bed after he tells you he loves you is easy. Anyone would, but are you in love with him?”

“Beth, if I can’t love Marcus, the person who knows all my deep, dark secrets, I will probably never love anyone like that. And I love him enough and in enough ways that being with him, giving him what he wants far exceeds the life I thought I’d have.”

“Oh, Ava.” I hear the pain in her voice. The pain she feels for me over my own words.

“Beth, my parents died when I was seven. I was sent to a place by a biological mother I have never known. Harry trained me to hurt and kill people. Happy is not something I ever really am. I enjoy things, and I have sarcasm and snide comments down pat. But happy? I think when you have a beginning to life like I did, happy as most people see it, is not something I’ll ever have or be.”

Beth doesn’t say anything at first. Then I hear Harry’s voice, making me realize I was on speakerphone this whole time. “We know Little Ava, but we love you like our own, so we need to know you have some joy in your life.”

“I know you guys. I was so lucky to have you. No matter how my life started or how it ends, I will forever be grateful that I had the two of you. I should go. Marcus will be back with food any minute and I need a quick shower. Night, you two,”

“Night, Little Fury,” Harry says.

“Night, Ava.” Beth adds.

I disconnect the call, placing it down on the charger and turn on some music. “Radio Ga Ga” By Queen comes on, and I turn it up as I head into my room and the bathroom to shower. I put my hair up in a messy bun, peel off my damp suit, and turn the water lukewarm, I step in. My skin is warmed from the sun, and the cooler water feels nice. I wash myself, getting the last bits of sand off my body, then step out, wrapping my body in a towel.

Walking into my bedroom, I hear someone in the house. Instantly knowing it’s not Marcus, I tense. He would’ve come into the bathroom or yelled that he was back. I grab shorts and a tank top and throw them on quickly. I snag my gun as I head out of my room onto the patio. I click off the safety, making my way down the deck toward the doors that open into the house.

I step onto the deck, thankful for the clouds tonight. The moon can be very bright off the ocean, but tonight, the moon is hidden, so the light is minimal. I approach the open patio doors, careful to stay in the shadows. I see them then. Two men in black are quietly moving through the house. I make my way closer to the open door on the deck, keeping my eyes on them. I step over the threshold into the house my bare feet moving me silently.

Both men have their guns out as they head towards my room. They aren’t looking behind them, having entered here from where I’m currently watching them. I raise my gun and shoot the first one in the head, His body hits the marble floor with a slap. The second man reacts quickly, and my shot misses him, embedding itself into the wall behind him. He raises his gun at me. We look at each other, my gun trained on him just like his is trained on me.

He slides the deadbolt into place, answering my first question about who they’re here for. I see Marcus’s house key on the table by the door.

Fuck. That’s not great for me.

“Miriam” by Norah Jones comes on over the speakers. I can’t stop the laugh and smile that song emits from me.

“What’s so funny, Ava?” he asks.

I cock my head at him. “Hmm, you know my name. What’s so funny, sir, is that if you knew this song, you would know it’s about a man who kills a woman for cheating on him. Not saying I cheated on you, but it’s still rather amusing. Out of all the songs that could have come on, this song seems slightly poetic.” He just stares at me.

“NO? You don’t see the poetry in it?” I pause, waiting for an answer, but none comes. “All right, are we doing this? Should we do like 3,2,1, shoot? Or do you want to put the guns down and see if you can take me? Honestly, I’m open to either. You look like a one-on-one kinda guy. Am I right?”

“You’re a little crazy, aren’t you, sugar.”

“Aww, sweetheart, if you only knew. But really, what’s it going to be? Marcus will be back soon, and then it’ll be two-on-one, so your odds go significantly down.”

“You sure about those odds?”

There’s a tone to his voice that gives me pause. A bit of smugness that he really shouldn’t have. He knows something, or at least thinks he knows something I don’t.

“Pretty sure, but really, can anyone ever be 100% sure of anything?”

“Seriously, you’re fucking nuts, devochka.”

“There it is.” I smile slightly.

He instantly knows what he did. “I’m going to fucking enjoy this,” he says in Russian.

“It’s good for you to believe that; confidence in oneself is key,” I reply my Russian surprising him.

Putting his gun onto the side table, all pretense gone now, I do as he did and place my gun on the dining room table. I keep my eyes on him waiting for him to make a move. He looks at me and sees a tiny female. I see that little leer that enters his eyes as he looks me up and down. He likes what he sees. Small female, nice boobs, bare feet, and for him, that all adds up to easily subdued. He comes at me fast. Believing his size alone is all he needs against me.

He isn’t protecting himself at all, and I audibly sigh. He hears it, his eyes flash a question. But it’s too late; he realizes his miscalculation but can’t do anything to change his course. Someone obviously didn’t tell him about Harry.

Whatever, not my problem.

I step to the side just as he swings at me, trying to knock me out. He misses, and the force of his swing causes him to lose his balance, which in turn forces him to use his arms for a moment to regain his balance, but it’s too late. I punch him in the throat, and I feel the impact of my fist on his trachea.

Punching a person in the throat is just satisfying.

He drops to one knee, gasping for breath. I grab my gun from the table and put it to his head.

“OK, so I have a couple of questions for you, and I don’t have much time, so I expect yes or no answers. I will only ask once. If you don’t answer pretty much instantly, I will shoot you in all the painful places that hurt like fuck and let you die slowly. If you answer, I’ll shoot you in the head, and it’ll be over fast. You won’t feel a thing.”

“Does that seem fair?” I give him a moment. He’s still gasping for air. But the moment passes, and he still doesn’t answer, so I sigh, take his hand, and shoot two of his fingers off.

He makes a horrible sound that I can’t even begin to categorize.

“Let’s try again. Does that seem fair?”

He nods his head, glaring at me with hate.

“Now I need to know who sent you. So, I will say a couple of names, and you will nod yes or no. M’kay?”

Again, he nods.

“Great! “

“Enzo Rossi?”

He’s moving his head, but it’s not a yes or no. “I’m going to need some clarification there.”

He lifts the hand I shot and tips it from side to side.

“Alexi Sokolov?”

Again, with the side-to-side hand gesture, that’s surprising. His answers imply they are working together.

“Thank you,” I tell him

“Fill your Brains” by Harrison Brome starts to play, and I can’t help but chuckle again. He looks at me, so I explain. “The name of this song is ‘Fill Your Brains.’ And since I’m about to shoot you in yours, you can see the humor in that parallel, can’t you?”

He looks at me then. He really looks at me. You can see the moment it clicks. “You see it now, don’t you?”

A smirk lifts the corner of his mouth. “Alexi is in for quite a surprise where you’re concerned, devochka. He has no idea what you really are.” He bows his head; I press my gun to it and pull the trigger.