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179|Well-Kept Secret
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Beautiful Disaster 180|Dreams
Marybeth closed her eyes, already dreading the day a miniature version of Hadley would be running around the Bay unsupervised, tormenting everyone in her path with her high and mighty attitude."That's nice, I guess," she said when she opened her eyes and found the two ladies staring at her expectantly. "No," Liliana shook her head. "It's nice for her but not for you!" "What do you mean?" asked Marybeth, failing to see how Hadley's pregnancy had anything to do with her."You poor girl," said Zuki as she stood up and wobbled to Marybeth; the wine had gone straight to her head and legs. "Let's give you a crash course on the Hawthorne family politics—" she suggested, snapping her fingers at Liliana to take over. For a little while, Marybeth just sat there, unable to believe how something that should have been a joyous occasion for Hadley was quickly turning into a competition between the two of them. "So, you see, кума," said Liliana, clasping her hands on her lap. "You have to give
Beautiful Disaster 181|Bitter Fight—Part 1
When Elijah left work for the day, the weather had taken a turn for the worst, with the Bay seeing the heaviest rains since the start of Spring.The run from the entrance of Sea Point's police station to his car was quick, but by the time he slipped behind the wheel, he was drenched to the bone.He unzipped his K-Way jacket and pulled out a file, relieved to see it wasn't soaked like he'd feared. He dumped it on the dashboard and gazed at it in wonder, feeling pretty chuffed with himself.As fulfilling as his days were on the Special Task Force, Elijah still missed the adrenaline rush of solving a good old whodunit case. As a result, he couldn't wait to get home and get his hands dirty. But first, he had to stop at his mom's place. He always stopped at his mom's place on Wednesdays. After all, it was the only day of the week that the youngest two Boshoff children were occupied.Dreading the drive to The Flats, Elijah fired up the car and was about to pull out of the parking lot when, f
Beautiful Disaster 182|Bitter Fight—Part 2
His mom noticed his foul mood as soon as Elijah walked through the front door. But no matter how hard she tried to get him to open up, he wouldn't. After Noah's arrest, something she and the rest of their family still blamed him for, he'd decided not to burden her with his work issues."So, how are things with Anaya?" she asked, changing the subject when it became obvious her mollycoddling wouldn't get her anywhere."Ma!" Elijah said sharply. “Asseblief man, kan ons in vrede eet?”"Ek vra net, dis al," she retorted as she dished more of the curried fish and basmati rice for him even though he'd barely touched his plate."Eat, eat. Look at how thin you've grown!" she encouraged him while she poured herself another glass of Four Cousins. Her third since he came in. Her out-of-control drinking was another direct consequence of his actions, a piece of debris of the collateral damage left in the wake of his brother's arrest. And because of his guilt, Elijah couldn't voice his concerns or as
Beautiful Disaster 183|Game Changer
Virginia had a bit of everything—small-town charm, natural beauty and vibrant culture. The stunning national parks and several historical landmarks were stuff tourist dreams were made of. As idyllic as the place was, Austin could never see himself living here. But if he had married Iris, this would have very likely been his second home because of her close relationship with her parents.The thought made Austin shudder a little, and it didn't escape Tim's notice riding in the front with him."Are you feeling cold?" he asked, arching his brows. "Should we turn off the air-con?""Nah," Austin replied. "Just thinking about something, that's all!""What?""How this would have been my life if I'd married Iris."Sitting in the back seat and fixated on his texts since they landed at the heliport almost an hour ago, Angelo finally looked up from his phone and asked, "Do you regret it?""Regret what?""Losing her?""Why would I regret losing someone who cheated on me?"His question made his capo
Beautiful Disaster 184|Plan C—Part 1
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Austin whispered.He was prepared for a blood bath…To kill and possibly be killed tonight. He was even expecting some resistance from Friar John and his associates.But this little human?Austin wasn't ready for him, and he could only stare at him in horror as his mind raced, trying to come up with Plan C because Plan B—wiping out everyone in their path—was pretty much a no-go now."What do we do?" asked Tim, echoing Austin's thoughts as they watched the boy.He was roughly Orlando's age, about six, maybe seven, and something about the way he sat so still, his eyes fixated on his puzzle despite all the chaos around him, troubled Austin deeply."What's wrong with him?" Angelo asked in the background as he and Tim carefully moved through the room, sussing out possible danger.But after a few minutes and no one had come running in guns blazing, it became apparent to Austin and his men that they were alone.Friar John and his accomplices had to be nearby, though. After
Beautiful Disaster 185|Plan C—Part 2
"кум," Friar John stammered as he moved away from the table.He quickly bowed at Austin, gesturing at his accomplices to do the same."Please don't!" Austin waved them off as he dumped his bag on the concrete floor, pulled one of the metal chairs away from the table and sat down. "Don't insult me by pretending to respect me, John!""кум, it's not what you think," Friar John said, running quickly to Austin's side, but Angelo stopped him as he pointed his gun at his chest."Back the fuck up!" he growled, cocking his pistol when Friar John attempted to take another step forward."Listen, this is all a huge misunderstanding," said Friar John, holding out his hands pleadingly."A misunderstanding, you say?" Austin murmured, tapping his index finger on his cheek while he ran his gaze through the room. His eyes lit up when they fell on three familiar faces—Nadia and her two youngest sons. The oldest, Josef, was nowhere to be found. Austin could only assume he was still out of commission after
Beautiful Disaster 186|Blood Will Have Blood
"Why did you do it?""I don't know what you're talking about!" Friar John kept up with the lie, which only infuriated Austin.Before his capos or handlers could stop him, he squeezed the trigger, the bullet whistling out of the chamber as loud as Friar John's howls when it ripped into his thigh, sending him crumpling to the floor.Martha, clearly not used to the violence and carnage, couldn't control the blood-curdling scream tearing through her lips."Shut the fuck up if you don't want to join him," Angelo warned her as he pushed her to the corner, where Nadia and her sons were huddled in terror."Now, let's do this again, shall we?" Austin said as he motioned at Arno and Benji to drag Friar John to the other free chair in the room.The whole time they carried him to the table, the third most powerful man in the Hawthorne family screamed like a little bitch as he clutched his thigh, and Austin was so tempted to finish him off then and there. But he still needed answers. And the consig
Beautiful Disaster 187|Path Of No Return—Part 1
They all dispersed and returned to the barn after the Van Staden boys had finished burying Friar John. Austin, though, hung back at the burial site for a few minutes, staring morosely at the consigliere's grave, his heart splintering into a million little pieces when he realised the man would never have a headstone or even a homemade cross to mark his final resting place.Austin knew he was going to die someday. Maybe even sooner than he'd prefer. After all, nothing was as certain as death. But when it was his time, he hoped he'd have something a little fancier than an unmarked grave, and he prayed Marybeth would visit him from time to time and place flowers on his grave.The mere thought of his wife filled Austin with a yearning so intense he didn't realise he'd pulled out his phone and called her until he heard her groggy greeting, "Hello?""Were you sleeping?" he asked, stuffing his free hand in his pocket as he gazed at the crescent moon looming bright and proud in the night sky."
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