33. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Doxy

I press the barrel of my gun into the center of his chest, loving the dumbfounded look on his face at my move. This fucker really thought I would be happy to see him.

"What are you doing?"

"Did you really think that me coming back here was to reconnect with you, Knox?" I don't give him a chance to reply. "I brought you here to the place where my life ended and yours began so I could take it all away from you."

"You've changed," he whispers.

"A lot has changed me."

"If you want to kill me, then do it but I won't lift a finger against you, I would never hurt you Wave."

"Don't call me that!" I growl.

"What the fuck should I call you then? Doxy Da Luca?" He scoffs before continuing. "You were never and will never be a Da Luca. You are a fucking Bronson through and through. Don't ever forget where you came from."

"Forget where I came from?" I taunt. "You mean like how you forgot about me and moved on with your life like I was nothing but a bad dream?"

"I never forgot about you!" he shouts. Fuck this. I shift my gun and shoot him in the shoulder. He cries out and stumbles back a few steps. Taylan and Xander are held back by my men. Knox's guys rush forward but freeze when I point my gun at his head. "Any of you make a move and I'll shoot him," I warn. Taylan raises his hand and orders them back.

"Don't do this, baby, you don't want to kill him," Xander tries to reason.

"Doxy, he's your blood," Trey pushes.

I snort. "I told you before, Trevante, my tampon has blood on it every month and I still throw that shit away, he's no different than a used tampon."

"I take offense to that." I stiffen at the sound of her voice. My men swivel around and shout for her to stop.

"If they shoot her, Waverly, I'll kill them all!" Knox screams as he pushes to his feet. "Put your fucking guns down now!" Knox roars.

"Wave?" I close my eyes and fight back the emotions her voice has rising inside me. "That tampon with the bullet in his shoulder is my husband, your brother and the father of my sons." I snap my eyes and flick my gaze to Knox. Worry lines mar his face as he darts his gaze around at my guns, clearly panicked that Lake somehow managed to get here without him knowing.

"Stand down!" I shout.

"Doxy—"

"I said stand the fuck down, Nano!"

"You heard her, stand down now," Nano orders. My breaths are erratic as I try to gain control over myself but I'm failing.

"Lakeland, get the fuck out of here now!" Knox barks. "Marco, get my wife and take her home now."

"Shut up, Knox," Lake snaps back. When the guy I assume to be Marco moves to pass by Xander and the others, I shift my sights on him.

"Touch her and I'll kill you," I declare. Marco looks to Knox for confirmation. I look to Knox to find his gaze already on me. "I may want to kill you but that bloodlust doesn't extend to her." He searches my eyes for a second, trying to decipher if I am lying.

"Kill me but don't touch her, Waverly, please don't hurt her," he pleads.

"I saved her life and sacrificed my own fourteen years ago," I snarl before spinning around to face the girl I could never bring myself to hate. How could I hate her when I chose her a long time ago. She loves Knox but he isn't her soulmate, I am. Lake is leaning against the railing that has flowers and a stupid cross attached to it, gazing out over the river. I slowly make my way toward her and rest my arms on the barrier, the same barrier I fell through over a decade ago. We stand here silently staring out at the river that is lit up by the moon in the sky.

"If somebody had asked me fifteen years ago where I thought I saw my life going, I would never have picked this." I snort a laugh but say nothing. "Eight years ago I found out I had been living a lie for six years. I didn't believe Riverland when she told me but I started getting these glimpses in my mind like flashbacks and I saw you a few times." I remain silent even though her revelation has shocked me. I can feel everyone staring at us but none of them move or utter a word. "I wanted my memories back so bad but the moment they returned, I was on this very bridge and screamed for you." She slowly turns to face me.

"I can't?—"

"You can look at me, Waverly." I shake my head, fighting back the emotion trying to overcome me. For years I had nothing, I've been numb to everything in this world after the death of my son but just the sound of her voice has me wanting to crumble. "Look at me!" she screams. I stumble sideways and manage to catch myself on the barrier before I fall.

"I can't!" I yell, hating the watery tone of my voice. I watch her through my lashes, step forward and crouch down in front of the cross that has my name and date of birth but…

"It doesn't have a death date," I mutter as she grabs something off the cross and stands holding it out to me. I hesitantly reach out and grab the weathered looking piece of jewelry that is covered in grime and moss. It's a locket.

"I had that cross made eight years ago because I refused to come out here every month and look at a death date when I knew you were alive." I finally lift my gaze to hers and see tears trekking silently down her cheeks. Her green eyes hold so much love in them that it has a lump forming in my own throat.

"Why come back here?" I whisper brokenly.

"Because I couldn't let you go. I come here every month to bring flowers and have a team of Navy Seals that Knox has on his payroll drag this river. I needed them to find a bone or something so I could finally let you go but I couldn't let go because I knew you were alive. I would have felt it in my soul if you were truly dead."

"I did die."

"No you didn't. You just took a small vacation from being who you truly are because you needed to heal."

"Why the fuck did you do all of this?" I shout as I wave my arms around. "And what the fuck is this?" I snap, dangling the locket from my finger in front of her. She reaches into her shirt and pulls out a locket that looks the same as the one on my finger, albeit the one on her neck is clean.

"Knox gave this to me when I was sixteen and had it inscribed. This locket brought me back to him. I hunted for months to find you the exact same one and had it inscribed so you would come back to me!"

I bring the locket closer and brush my thumb over the locket, clearing away the grime to read the message.

I'll never give up, I'll find you.

I flick my gaze back to hers and frown. "You had this made for me?" I whisper. She nods and sniffs as she swipes away her tears with the back of her hand.

"I never gave up on you, Waverly. The moment my memories returned I began searching for you all over the world. Every day after I finished work I hunted for you. Knox and Taylan helped. I need you to know that I never gave up on you! I will always find you, Wave, because I fucking choose you." She sobs out. "I will always choose you, Waverly Bronson, because you are my fucking best friend, my soul mate." She is full on sobbing now. "I love your brother and would die for him in the blink of an eye but you are my soulmate. My person."

I don't realize I'm crying until I feel the tears hit my cheeks. I reach up and catch a tear on my finger, I haven't seen my own tears in… years. I haven't felt anything aside from rage for so long I forgot what it felt like to feel something other than that.

"Please, come back to me, Wave, because I can't lose you again, let me help you."

I shake my head. "You can't help me, Lay," I say as I hold her locket out to her. In a move I did not see coming, she slaps me. I stumble sideways and it takes me a second to register what the fuck just happened. My men are shouting and threatening to shoot but I ignore them and Knox's guys fighting as I turn back to Lakeland who is standing there looking like a lioness ready to charge.

"You fucking coward!" I gape at the audacity of this bitch.

"You have no fucking idea what I went through," I scream, the anguished tone of my shout has everyone around us falling silent. "You lost your memories, big fucking deal. I lost everything."

"Stop being a coward and running from the pain of your past and face it. You aren't here to kill Knox and take Canada."

"Yes, I am," I sneer. She closes the space between us and presses her head into mine, her eyes are filled with pain. Good, she deserves to hurt after what she just said.

"No, you're here for me because I made it out of that car and you didn't. You are here to punish me by hurting him because you and I both know that I could have easily been you if you didn't save me." I shake my head but she pushes on. "You. Saved. Me."

"So what?" I bite back.

"You want to punish me, then do it but don't hurt him, Wave. The day he thought you died he did as well. He tortured me and blamed me for years, thinking I killed his twin, his baby sister. He never let you go, Waverly. For fuck's sake, your face is tattooed over his heart." I reel back earning a smirk from her. "That's right, your face is tattooed over his heart because there is no one in this world that means more to him than you do." I shake my head. "Don't deny it because you would just be lying to yourself."

"Stop talking," I grit out past the lump in my throat.

"We named our son after you and River. We have two beautiful baby boys, Wave."

"At least your sons are breathing!" I scream. Before I can stop her, she has arms around me and is holding me tight against her.

"I'm so sorry, Wave," she chokes out. I try to push her away but she won't fucking let go.

"Get away from me," I shout.

"No."

"Fuck off, Lakeland."

"I'll never let go," she vows. Fuck, I can't stop it, a sound so horrendous and painful rips out of me.

"Argggh," I scream out as I collapse in her hold, taking us both to the ground but still, she won't let go as I break in her arms. I try to fight back against the emotions bursting out of me without consent but now that they have finally emerged, I can't shove them back in the box I have kept them in for years. "He died!" I cry out. "They took him from me." Now that the tears and the sobbing has begun I can't stop it.

"I got you, Wave. I'll never let you go. I'll put you back together, one beautifully broken piece at a time." I grip the back of her shirt and claw at her, needing to keep her close, terrified that if an inch of space comes between us that I will fracture and shatter into a million pieces that I will never be able to patch up again. I'm not strong enough to save myself twice. I can't do it again. The first time nearly killed me and I was emotionless then but now, she has forced me to face the feelings I had buried which means I wouldn't be able to save myself from hell a second time.

"It hurts, Lake!" I scream out. Her hold on me tightens as she pulls me as close as she can to her.

"Knox," she screams his name and within seconds I can hear people surrounding us but I keep my face buried in the crook of her neck as I fall the fuck apart. "Xander, Trey and Taylan are going to carry us to a car and you and I are going to stay in a hotel."

"No the fuck you aren't!"

"Shut the hell up, Knox. She needs your wife and you are going to let Lake help or I'll break your fucking jaw," Xander vows.

"And I'll shoot your other fucking shoulder," Taylan adds a second before Lake and I are lifted awkwardly. I refuse to even chance a peek, getting in the backseat isn't an option so they lift us onto the bed of a pickup and wrap some blankets around us.

"I love you, kitten." I hear Knox say to Lake.

"I love you too. Call the boys and tell them Mommy loves them and I'll speak to them soon," she answers.

"We won't come in but Xander and I will be keeping watch outside the hotel and so will the rest of the Da Luca… family," Trey announces.

"Fine, now piss off so we can go," she snaps at the guys.

"I love you, Wave," Xan mutters.

"What he said, Doxy," Trey tacks on.

"Well I refuse to be left out so I love you both and will see you soon," Taylan the twat bucket says.