Little Fury: Book 1 of The deadly Little Thing Trilogy
Little Fury: Chapter 5

On the road I’m out of the city within 40 minutes, grateful that even LA is quiet this time of day. Opening my navigation, I put in the address of a storage unit in Kettleman City. Grabbing a drink and a protein bar out of my stolen goodies, I turn on a more upbeat playlist than I typically listen to. “I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ by Whitney Houston starts, and I make my way 3 hours to my first destination.

The storage facility comes into view, and I’m happy to be able to get out and stretch my legs. Pulling up to the gate, I punch in the code and wait for it to open. I drive through the lot to unit 18246. After punching in my code the automatic door opens.

I sigh, feeling like I have been run over by a fucking cement truck. Of course, you do you, idiot; you’ve been betrayed by someone you thought of as family, shot twice, fucked within an inch of your life and broke your own heart, so yeah, cement truck sounds accurate. I stop for a moment and cock my head to the side, wondering if maybe I talk to myself too much? But I quickly shake off the thought because who else could I talk to that would make me laugh this much.

I need to get my ass in gear. I want to be gone from here as quickly as I can. I pack up some bags with all the necessities any young woman needs to start a new chapter in her life.

Clothes✔️

Money✔️

New passports✔️

New names✔️

Guns✔️

25 books ✔️

Explosives✔️

I pause for a moment, questioning if I truly need explosives. I would rather have them, just in case.

Once the truck is filled, I pat myself on the back for having such well-planned “go bags.” This is one of four units I have in North America. All are equipped the same way: with a new vehicle, money, IDs, etc. Matt and Caden used to make fun of me for it. But yet again, I was right, and they were assholes.

I hop in and drive it outside, transfer my bags into it, then pull the car into the unit. Taking one last look around to see if there’s anything else I should bring with me. Satisfied I see nothing else I need, I close the door, get in the truck, and return to the highway.

I’m back on the road for about 20 minutes when my phone rings. I see Ben’s name pop up. “Hey,” I say as I answer.

“Hey, Boss,” Ben replies. “I’m assuming you’ve made it out of LA, with you answering the phone.”

“That would be a correct assumption there, Ben. I’ll never understand why Caden says you always state the obvious?” I tease him.

“Ha, you’re so fucking funny!” he grumbles at me.

“I am funny. You know it; I know Caden and Matt know it as well. So, there you go again, stating the obvious thing you’re so fond of doing.”

I can hear his sigh of frustration at my teasing, but I also hear the smile beneath it.

“What’s up, Ben?”

“Just checking in to make sure we are all still alive. I spoke to the others a few minutes ago. Everyone is on their assigned path home.”

“Good,” I say my tone tinged with relief.

“You know what I always wondered about?” Ben asks with genuine curiosity sounding in his voice.

“What’s that?” I ask, curious because Ben is not much of a question-asker. He’s my computer guy, and he usually replaces answers to any questions himself.

“Why LA? I never understood why you and Marcus set up shop in Topanga.”

“Ahh,” I say, wondering how long he had thought about this. “Why not LA?” I ask him back. I wonder what he thinks our reasons were.

“Because Marcus was from New York, LA is a different world, and it has Hollywood and mega-rich folks who are into enough crooked and shady shit all on their own. So, it always seemed odd to me that you guys set up in LA.” Ben tells me.

“Montana killed winter for me. I told Marcus I wasn’t doing winter anymore. Once we left the ranch, I wanted sun and surf, oceans and sand. We were able to make it work because of the Russians. The Sokolov’s wanted to be in America. Yuri wanted to be near his grandson. The last bit of his daughter that he could still touch. So, when we took out Enzo, we handed the day-to-day to the Sokolov’s. And we moved to LA. I could take jobs from anywhere. And Marcus, well, we all know where he excels, so it all just kinda fell into place,” I explain.

“Gotta say, Boss, you demanding no winter ever again and setting up in L.A. is very on brand for you.”

“Hey! I know my worth, asshole. And I also really don’t take orders very well, so it was decided before we even left the ranch. Marcus knew me well enough to know I would have walked away after a while over it. He also wasn’t mad about not living in New York—too many memories for him.”

“You sure you’re ok, boss?” Ben asks with genuine concern in his voice.

“Better than I should be, but yeah, why?”

“Well, I’ve worked for you for five years, and I think you just told me more about yourself and your life than you have over the entirety of my employment with you,” Ben tells me with a laugh. It’s not true, but I understand his sentiment. I’m not huge on sharing.

I laugh out loud. “Well, Ben, let’s do a little recap, shall we? The man I grew up with, considered to be my best friend, tried to kill me. I was shot twice, lost a fair amount of blood, found out Harrison was killed, had to say goodbye to someone I hoped to have in my life for a very, very long time, and had to implode my life. So, I think a bit of an overshare on my part should just be overlooked and never mentioned again. Yeah?”

“Ha-ha-ha, fair enough, boss. Everyone is on their way, and we will see you soon. Check the server from now on, as that’s how we will update for the next little while. Be safe, Boss.” Ben says to me and hangs up.

I drive for a few more hours, replaying those early days with Marcus. Looking for those moments that signalled the changes in our bond. I dial a number and hear him answer.

“Was my parents’ accident an accident?”

“I don’t know, Ava. I personally think it wasn’t, but I can’t say for sure.”

“So, they set up a trust fund for me just in case? Not because they knew I’d be alone soon?”

“The trust fund and their will, how it was all set up, was part of the adoption contract with your birth family. I can show you that contract if you want, but you know everything it says.”

“How did I miss it, Harry? How did I miss him plotting my death?” I ask him.

“Did you miss it? You managed to escape, and you had multiple exit strategies in place.”

“Harry, all those things were because of you. You trained that shit into my head. You’re aggressive, ‘always be prepared motto’ lives in my head rent-free.

“Even with all my training and the big IQ, I still didn’t see Marcus for what he was. I didn’t see when he changed. Or maybe he didn’t change? Maybe I always just saw what I needed to see when it came to him. I needed him to be just like me, to be the other half of myself.” He doesn’t answer me right away, choosing his words carefully.

“Aye, Little Fury, he always was what he is,” Harry tells me. “You two met, and both of you saw the broken in the other. You loved him, and he loved you. Don’t ever doubt that, Ava. But Marcus’s love was warped before he ever met you. His daddy messed him up in ways you don’t ever heal from.”

“I have those types of wounds, Harry,” I say quietly.

“You do. But you, Ava, are uniquely equipped to deal with it. Your ability to compartmentalize, to look at and judge people and things logically without emotion, is not something Marcus possesses.” Harry pauses again, having another swig of his beer. “As you got older and training progressed, it was obvious to everyone what you were. What you would be capable of. I may have balked at you coming here when you were young, but Ava, there is no denying that if anyone was made for this life, it was you. Marcus is not stupid. Intentionally or not, he recognized how valuable you were and never let you go. He saw what everyone else saw. He was made. He would be handed the power whether he deserved it or not. He, like his mother, was mafia royalty.”

“So what? He decided I was more trouble than I was worth now?”

“No, I think you two made choices that irrevocably changed the parameters of your relationship, and while you were able to maintain the friendship by letting the past be the past, he wasn’t. I think for that boy, you will never be his past. Only his right now and his future. I think at some point, his love became obsessive and toxic, and you always just accepted what he was offering and worked around it. I think, like always, you felt your love for him and your history with him were worth any pain and discomfort because he was worth everything to you.”

“So how does that end up with me here? Shot and running for my life?”

“Ava, ego, power, drugs, money, and childhood trauma shaped Marcus. I think his fate was already sealed before you two found each other. You were the only reason he made it as long as he did before he became no better than his father.” The weight of his words hangs in the air. It feels like some Shakespearean tragedy like we were doomed before we started.

“Thanks, Harry; I should pay attention to the drive. Talk soon,” I say with an exhaustion I didn’t know I could feel.

“Be safe, Little Fury,” Harry says, disconnecting the call.

Silence comes over the car, and I instantly hit my music to start. “Africa” by Toto fills the cab. That was way too many memories and feelings to process in the last hour, and silence would only welcome more thinking, and I was not in the mood for it. It’s fine! You can deal with all that emotional shit when you have the well-deserved mental breakdown you can see looming on the horizon. That is always a much more fun way to deal with things.