Novel Payback 290
NICK
I needed to find Luke. There was no time to waste. The urgency was eating away at me, knowing that Xander’s men were still out there, a threat to everyone I cared about couldn’t take action against Xander just yet, not until we had all of them in custody. It was a dangerous game, but one that had to be played carefully.
1 finally found Luke standing on the balcony of his room, la posture stiff, his gaze distant. He was lost in thought, but 1 didn’t have the time to wait for him to snap out of it. We had a situation that needed immediate attention, and I couldn’t afford to waste another mini
“Luke,” I said sharply, stepping into his line of sight. He looked up, his eyes locking with mine, but there was something unreadable in his expression. It didn’t matter. What mattered now was getting things done.
Xander spoke,” I began, my voice steady, controlled, “I want you to send your men to look for them, look for Xander’s men. They could be hiding at my place, my mother’s house, Ethan’s, and Marcus’s new place. My mom’s there with the kids, helping with them.” I made sure to emphasize the part about the kids. They were vulnerable, and I couldn’t let any of them be put in harm’s way because of Xander’s twisted plans.
Luke didn’t question me, didn’t hesitate. Without missing a beat, he pulled out his phone and dialled. His fingers moved quickly over the screen as he started barking orders, his voice low but commanding, I could hear him telling his men where to go, where to search, and what to do once they found anything suspicious. It was a relief to know that Luke’s people would be on it. They knew how dangerous these men could be if left unchecked. Still, the weight on my chest didn’t ease. Olivia, the kids, Marcus, they were all vulnerable again, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being pulled back into the nightmare Xander had created. If one of these men managed to infiltrate Marcus’s new place, we would be facing more danger than we could handle. My resolve hardened. I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let Xander’s madness spill over into our lives again.
I watched Luke as he issued orders, my mind racing. I had to focus, had to wait. We couldn’t act rashly. We couldn’t risk losing everything before we had all the information we needed. Once his men found Xander’s crew, I would be ready. But until then, I had to keep it together. The time for recklessness was over.
Luke finished the call and looked back at me, his brow furrowing. He studied me for a moment, like he was trying to figure out something I wasn’t telling him. “Why the anger?” he asked, his voice calmer now, though the edge of concern was still there. “It’s almost over. We will find them, deal with them, and then the two of us can go home. It will be done.”
I shook my head, my eyes narrowing. “No, Luke,” I replied firmly. “We are not going home yet. Not until we deal with Xander.”
He gave me a questioning look, but I wasn’t about to explain myself. Luke didn’t know what Xander had done to Olivia, not in the way I did. He didn’t know the depths of the hell she had been through. If he did, he wouldn’t be standing here calmly, offering words of comfort. He would understand why I wasn’t willing to let Xander go. Why I was willing to go to any lengths to make sure he paid for what he had done.
“You forgot to tell your men not to kill them,” I said, my voice low but with an unmistakable steel behind it. “I want to see them alive when I get back. Call them again and tell them.”
Luke’s expression shifted for a moment. He stared at me, like he was trying to make sense of my request. I could see the flicker of confusion, maybe even frustration, but I didn’t care. My focus was sharp, my eyes hard. I wasn’t going to make it easy for Xander’s men. I wasn’t going to let them slip away and leave us with nothing but dead bodies and unanswered questions. I needed them alive. I needed them to talk.
Luke didn’t say anything immediately. He just gave me a look, a look I couldn’t quite decipher. But I wasn’t going to waste time trying to figure it out. He didn’t know Olivia’s pain the way I did, the way Marcus did. If he did, he’d
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have a much darker look in his eyes. He wouldn’t care about getting answers. He’d just want to end Xander’s life, put an end to it all in one swift stroke.
But we couldn’t afford to act on anger, not yet. We needed patience. We had to take our time with this. We couldn’t risk doing something rash and losing our chance to dismandle everything Xander had worked to create. I was focused, and I wasn’t going to let anyone’s emotions cloud that.
Finally, Luke gave a short nod and dialled his men again, repeating the Instructions more clearly this time. I could hear him telling them not to kill anyone, to capture them alive, to make sure they could answer for what they had done. I knew it must have been frustrating for him to follow my orders when all he probably wanted to do was put an end to this once and for all. But I was in charge here, and wasn’t about to let emotion rule the situation.
Once the call ended, Laike looked at me again. His expression was different this time, more serious, more probing. “Nick, I know something’s off,” he said quietly. “Something more than what Xander told you. Tell me what it is.”
I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I shot him a cold look my jaw clenching. I wasn’t about to let him in on everything just yet.
everything, we be wasn’t about to risk him doing something reckless. Not when we were so close to getting noveldrama
everything, we needed from Xander. He could be lying to us manipulating us. We needed the full picture before we did anything drastic.
I could see Luke was smart enough to know that I wasn’t going to open up to him right away. He didn’t press, but the doubt in his eyes. He wanted to help, wanted to understand what had pushed me to this point. But I couldn’t give him that just yet.
“I will tell you everything when the time comes,” I finally said, my voice low but firm. “But not yet. We can’t risk losing control. We can’t risk Xander lying to us and throwing us off course. We get everything we need from him first. Then we will deal with him.”
Luke didn’t argue. He simply nodded, his face hardening with the same resolve I had. He understood now. He knew that there was more to this than just taking down a man. It was about Olivia. It was about justice.
And I wasn’t going to stop until I had it.
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