Bullets By Dawn: C2-3

Chapter 2

The Garner residence was in chaos. Gauri and Garner wondered what they had done in their past lives for their son to stay away from them for two years, and making them believe he was dead and gone.

Gauri was scared that he would just leave again, not to mention, their son hadn't even come home first. His first appearance and he showed up for his girlfriend, the woman who had also been considered dead. But that could only mean they had been in communication all this while.

How were they supposed to sit and accept that their son didn't want them?

How were they supposed to cope up with that?

Garner had to be the rational one when his wife was literally living in their son's room. They didn't even have the energy to reach out to Lexi. They could tell she felt betrayed. The brother she had defended, the one she had gone crazy looking for, the one for whom she had even gone on a suicide mission, was alive and well.

Alexandra Garner felt betrayed, and nothing could take it all away. Not even the love of the woman she loved most.

She couldn't help but wonder why her brother would do that to her. They were supposed to be a team. They were supposed to go against the world together. But he had left her. He had made her feel stupid for not being there.

He had made her go on a killing rampage.

She was an assassin, but her brother had turned her into a weapon for hire. To get over her loss, she had gone bonkers. She had lost everything when her brother had died, and she wasn't even over the fact that her twin was no more.

She had refused o accept that she had lost her brother instantly because her brother was a fighter. There were no bodies at the site of the explosion, but that never stopped her from going back each evening to look at the one thing that snatched her brother always from her.

She kept going back to the clubhouse in the hope that they would miraculously show up, like the magic show She had murdered people to avenge her brother.

Revenge had been her passion and even turned her into a murderous zombie, but she had never cared because she only wanted to be with her brother. She had always promised to protect Alexander rand the explosion denied her that chance.

She couldn't make up for the sister she had been. She had gone on multiple suicide missions to know what happened to her brother, she remembered the shootout at Aiyana's and how she could have died, but she would have been happier because what was life without her twin?

She had even gone up against the fucking board of directors to save her brother's legacy.

She had been criticized, mocked, and made fun of for thinking she would ever be better than her baby brother, and she had stepped up and made herself worthy, but at the end of every speech, she would always dedicate everything to her brother.

The love she had for her brother was obvious; Alexander was a part of Lexi even in his death.

Mia had seen the woman break down in the middle of the night when her fears of losing her brother had manifested in her brain. They were her worst nightmares when she trained harder so she wouldn't have to lose another person when she learned how to diffuse a bomb in under seven minutes to stay on the safe side.

She had pushed herself to the wall because she wanted to apologize to her brother. Her parents had watched her become a shell of who she once had been. She had grown thinner, laughed less, and barely had happy moments because each day she passed her brother's bedroom, she would remember him.

Each time she heard someone call her Alexandra Garner, she couldn't help but wonder if they had meant Alexander when each time she preferred to be called Alex because it helped her be close to her brother, the countless times she had tried to commit suicide.

Because she had nothing to live for anymore when she had wasted away.

Because she couldn't stand not being close to her brother when she had struggled and paid off all the debts he owed because she wanted him to be remembered as a legend when she had even bought a fucking orphanage in his name because she wanted her brother's legacy to continue.

Alexandra Garner felt like she had been a fool all this time.

She wondered if her brother had been watching her screw up from wherever he was, whether he had really cared about them, whether they really mattered to him.

She thought of the times their parents had sunk into depression because they lost their only son when the family wasn't family anymore. After all, Alex had somehow maintained the balance, how they were nothing like before because there was nothing that could replace the space he had left.

She wondered what had been so important to him that he couldn't come home for two years, not even when the debts had been paid when she cleared everything that had tainted his name.

Lexi couldn't believe that her brother showed up in the world for the first time, it would be because of Lia, and she hated it.

If they had died in the explosion together, how were they even together?

How had they known how to reach out to each other?

How were they so happy about seeing each other like they hadn't seen each other for a short while?

She couldn't help but wonder why Alex would choose Lia over their family, why he would prioritize her over their parents. Lexi couldn't help but wonder how her parents were holding up. They had been through a lot, the hospitalization of their mother, the depression episodes, the death of Dylan, the pain of seeing their only child left to waste away.

She was pissed, and rightfully so.

She was raging mad, and she was not going to sit and wait for the world to reach her brother first. 430 diamond street, he had said, and she would go there.

She would get some answers, not she would get all her answers, and God has mercy on the soul of the first person who tried stopping her because this time, she would show them how maniacal she was.

She would show them what a mercenary looked like, and she would show them that she was a real crazy bitch like they had branded her.

For two years, she had put up with the world's shit for the sake of her bother, but her mother Teresa days were over because right now, she was a hunter and her brother was the target, but first, she needed to call her parents.

She needed to know how they were doing. She needed to make sure her mother didn't have another stroke or her father didn't fall into depression again because if that happened, she was going to kick her baby brother's ass.

***

Chapter 3

By noon the media were already at the gates, waiting to be granted entry into the luxurious Alexander mansion.

It was a beautiful house, and even from the outside, it oozed royalty.

There were live feeds, with the media stations requesting their viewers to send their questions for Alex and Lia. They had promised to give the afternoon to the media, which is what they were going to do.

430 diamond street was in chaos, literally.

There were paparazzi, media stations, and people who just wanted to see for themselves that the duo was alive. They had seen the previous day was an apparently convincing commercial, and people were finding it hard to believe, especially since this particular duo had been blown to bits.

Anyway, they were already here and would get their answers soon. As soon as the guard got permission from Alex, the crowd rushed in. It was something they were used to if there were sudden restrictions on who was to enter and who was not to enter.

The media vans were left outside as the crews set up their equipment in Alex's backyard. This was going to be an exciting day, and Lia knew it. She couldn't help but wonder why Alex hadn't talked to his parents and sister yet; surely, they had missed him.

She had seen first-hand what the loss had done to Lexi, and her spy had been keeping her informed of every little detail. Lia wondered what would happen if Alex didn't go to his family. She then realized she had been selfish with Alexander, but how could she not be?

The man was literally her lifeline.

It was hard for her to think of him elsewhere. She tried validating her thoughts, but nothing could make sense; she just realized with each thought that she came across that she had been selfish. Alex was already done dressing up, not that he even tried.

His sweatpants loosely hang on his waist, showing his v-line that could have any woman and man down on their knees. The tank top he was wearing did his justice because his upper body was something worth thirsting for, just like the lower bit, but then they belonged to Lia.

He belonged to Lia.

"Hey baby, have you talked to your parents or Lexi? I know she's pretty furious right now. How will we explain to them?" Lia asked, trying to be rational with her boyfriend.

It took all the energy in her to focus on what he would say rather than the beautiful bodied man who was staring at her lustfully. It was almost like they could never get enough of each other, and that was their reality, but for now, they had a mess to fix.

"I will, and I just needed some time with you. Once we get out there, everyone will be in our business, and there will not be enough time for you and me. If I could, I would spend all day and night every day till we grow old just beside you, doing nothing, just being with you. That's more than enough for me," Alex said in all seriousness while he licked his lips.

Lia knew if she gave in, they wouldn't have the press conference today, and it was something they needed to do.

"Easy there tiger, we have visitors remember…we can continue after the conference, and after we go to your parents. I don't want them to hate me for taking you from them. Now c'mon," Lia said as she dragged Alex out the door toward their backyard.

Even with her dragging him, Alex couldn't help but steal a kiss; besides, it was not a crime. He could just say that her kisses made him feel less nervous, and that was true.

He may have been an alpha male, but having been away from the public eye for long, he had fallen in love with the quiet life, and now he had to go back to being the public figure, especially with the chaos around him and the woman he loved.

"babe…no matter what they say, ask or do, I'm always going to be by your side. Don't be scared. If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me so we can kick them out. Your peace is more important to me than their questions and endless probing," Alex said as he tucked a lazy strand of hair behind Lia's ears.

He didn't want her to be at the center of attention. He had made her that promise when they had gotten together, and he was planning on keeping it. If anyone made her comfortable, he would send them all away.

Lia nodded, unable to comprehend how sweet her boyfriend always was toward her.

The man could be everyone's villain if it meant protecting the love of his life because to him, she was worth every ounce of trouble he got himself into.

And he would protect her with everything he had.

Lia knew she had gotten lucky with her boyfriend.

Even though the circumstances were not pleasant, he had become a significant part of her life, and it always broke her to think that someday he would be part of this whole Ryan fiasco.

If she could, she would save him, but she knew that Alex loved her and cherished Ryan as his brother. She didn't want to make him choose, not when he had given up a lot for her.

She would always love this caveman who only went soft for her.

Just her.

He knew how to pull her heartstrings perfectly, and it made her feel wanted as she belonged. It was almost like nature was finally giving her the justice she deserved. She deserved to be happy, even if it was for a moment, she deserved it, and she knew it.

If anything, hell would freeze over before she let any harm come to him.

She would protect him, just like he protected her.

With that thought, she hooked her arm around Alex's arm, and together they got out to face the world and their crooked media.