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HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 68
Roman ran on the treadmill as he clenched his jaws. He was finally doing it. He was back on his feet and was doing better. He looked at the speed at which he was going and was impressed by this. His spine ached a little bit. It was bearable. He breathed in heavily as he tried to push himself further. He could do better than this. Roman reached for the dashboard and increased the speed on the treadmill. That turned out to be a bad idea. Roman could feel his knees starting to give in as he ran on the k treadmill. His spine began aching more and more and he could barely feel his legs. Roman tried his best to keep on going. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself further. He was challenging himself, feeling he could do it. He had surpassed his limit from yesterday by a stretch and felt he could keep going. He believed it. The door of the gymnasium swung open and Lydia stepped in dressed in her usual gym clothes. She had a bottle of protein shake in her hand as she came in. It was time f
HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 69
Ben rolled out the drawers and reached into it bringing out some files. He was dressed in all black and his right hand was a torch. Its powerful beam illuminated the file that was on the desk now. Ben swung open the file and looked through it. The document in the file was a certificate of ownership and Ben had no interest in it. It wasn’t what he was looking for. He closed the file and pulled the next one which was underneath it. Ben was in a company building that belonged to Floyd Helix. He was looking for clues in the accident of Lacroix’s parents. He was aware of the involvement of Floyd, and all he needed was concrete proof. This was what he did in his spare time and when he wasn’t on a mission with Roman. Now Roman was trying his best to recover from the ailment he suffered, Ben had all the time in the world to look for the evidence, but so far he found nothing. He looked up at the door which was closed in fear that he had heard something. It was just his imagination. Ben shrugg
HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 70
Roman Lacroix gritted his teeth as he held the ladder rung. He could feel his arms vibrating and his back aching. He was exhausted but he had to keep going. His black tank top was drenched in sweat and so was his face. He pulled his body forward and held the next rung hoping to push himself, but the energy just wasn’t there. Roman sighed and held onto it, trying to breathe slowly. He had chosen to do this to feel better. He had been working for days now, and pushing himself. Being here without Lydia or Ben was weird because they were always interrupting him every single time at the gymnasium. It was nice to be on his own for once and in a room filled with crowded people he didn’t know. Roman gritted his teeth and pushed himself up once more. His body responded, but his arms were on fire. He could feel them ache with each climb he made. Rock climbing at the gym had come into his mind last night. Having only thought of it recently, he couldn’t get it to his gymnasium so he had offered
HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 71
Damon leaned against the desk in the office as the paramedics placed a bag of ice on his head. The other one pointed a tiny flashlight at his eyes, probably checking for signs of concussion. Damon was feeling weird. There had been an infiltration last night, but nothing was stolen. There was a man in the office last night dressed in black. He seemed to have been looking for something of importance to him. Damon had tried to stop him, but that hadn’t gone as planned. Now the sun was up, and the paramedics were trying to make sure that he was okay. The police crowded the office as they searched for anything that was stolen. One would think that it was a crime scene. “How many fingers am I holding up?” The male paramedic asked. Damon looked up at him holding out his index, middle finger, and thumb. “Three,” he said with a sigh. The male paramedic nodded and rose to his feet. He went to meet up with a police officer who was standing by the door. “How is he doing?” The officer aske
HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 72
SHANGHAI, CHINA. Lydia stepped out of the car and gazed at her surroundings. The streets were busy with the locals. She wondered which part of Shanghai Roman had taken her to. When Roman had told her he was heading for Shanghai, she didn’t know it would be that same day. By the time they got home, Ben had already packed their stuff for them. Now, they found themselves roaming through the streets of Shanghai. Roman stepped out of the car and looked around. There was something wrong with Ben. He looked tired like he had been up all night. He was aware of that because he had been awake by the time Ben had returned and surprisingly that had been around 3 am. Roman didn’t bother asking because he didn’t want to intrude on Ben’s work. Whatever he was doing, he was sure that it was safe. “Where are we headed?” Lydia asked. Roman smirked at her. He grabbed her hand and walked through the streets of the town. They were heading towards a local area, and Lydia was feeling uneasy. “Why didn
HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 73
Lydia woke up to the sound of groans. This confused her. She had thought it was from her dreams, but they seemed to be coming from outside the house. Lydia rubbed her eyes and sat upright. She looked at the empty mat by her side and knew immediately who the groans belonged to. Her eyes scanned the room trying to find a clock but there was none. She reached for her phone underneath her pillow and brought it out. Yawning as she turned it on, she was perplexed to see that it was only fifteen minutes past seven. Why would they be up so early?Lydia was contemplating going back to sleep, but she sighed and rose from the mat. Her back hurt because of where she had slept. The wooden floor was hard and cold. The mat barely did them any favor. Lydia wondered why Roman didn’t choose a Sensei who loved living in an actual house. Over here, they were living retro, and she wasn’t a fan of that. As she got outside, she found Roman and Nuo holding wooden sticks. Roman was standing in an offensive
HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 74
Selena Rhoades stepped into the house looking around. She was back home once again, and she was glad this time Roman wouldn’t be here to stop her. When she heard that Roman had traveled to Shanghai, she decided to use that opportunity to search for the map once more. Hopefully, she will have better luck than last time. Selena looked at the chalk imitation of her father’s corpse and gulped hard. Flashes from that night came back to her. She felt guilty for leaving her father alone. If she had been with him, Viper Don wouldn’t have harmed either of them. And even if he did, she would be happy to die with her father. Without him, life was terrible. She could hardly focus in school. Her grades were dropping, and she was hoping that she would be able to finish on a high before the semester ended, but she didn’t know how possible that could be with Viper Don afterward. It was sort of impossible to keep focus while being reminded that someone was out to kill you. That was how Selena felt.
HANDS OF RETRIBUTION CHAPTER 75
Roman held Nuo’s hand and he was slammed onto the ground wooden floor. He winced in pain and let out a low groan. Nuo looked down on him and smiled. Her long black hair was wrapped into a bun. Besides them stood Master Feng who had his arms folded. He was watching them as they were training. When Roman saw that he shook his head in disappointment, he knew he still had a long way to go. “You know I’m starting to think you’re taking this personally,” Roman said to Nuo. A bright smile flashed across her face making her light broken eyes shine. They were beautiful. Her pale skin was becoming slightly red because of the stress she had put her body through. It wouldn’t be long before she would need to rest herself. But Roman knew she was too tired to be tired. She was one of the best when it came to possessing endurance. Nuo could fight or train for hours without having to stop. It was impressive, and that was where Roman had learned never to give up. Her favorite saying was, “If your mi
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CHAPTER 200
(EPILOGUE)Roman stepped back into the house and he found a figure sitting on the couch waiting for him. He clenched his jaws as he walked into the room. He was eager to see who had interrupted his grieving session. He had been to let all the pain out. The guilt he felt for watching his mother die and also not being there for his parents while they were alone hit him hard. He just needed that space but he wasn’t going to get that now. As he came closer, the figure sat at the couch with a tea cup in their hand. Roman squinted his eyes as he tried to recognize who it was. The figure finally turned around and faced Roman. Roman was immediately shocked by what he saw. “Nuo?” He called in surprise. Nuo Feng, who was dressed in her customary robes, rose from the couch and smiled at him. Roman was in disbelief. The last time had seen her was when he had visited Shanghai. That was because he had been hurt badly in a confrontation with Viper Don’s men which had left him paralyzed. But
CHAPTER 199
“There you go,” Ben said, handing him a bouquet. Roman gave him a weak smile and got the bouquet of yellow roses from him. “Thank you, Ben.”Ben nodded. “If you need anything. Just call me.”Roman nodded and Ben turned around leaving him. He was now alone in the graveyard of his parents all dressed in a black suit. With the bouquet in his hands, he stepped forward and stood before the headstone of both his parents. With a smile, he picked out one of the yellow roses and placed it on his mother’s grave.“Hello, mum. I’m back,” he said with a smile. He moved to the next headstone and dropped another flower on it. This was his father’s. Roman clenched his jaws as he stared at his father’s headstone. He could feel the guilt consume him as he looked at it. It was hard for him because he couldn’t remember what his father looked like, nor did he have any memory of who his father was. The only reason he remembered him was the pictures in their old house, and the video of him leaving th
CHAPTER 198
Roman stretched on the bed as he woke up before opening his eyes. He looked around and realized that the morning sunlight had washed into the room, illuminating the bed on which he lay. Last night was amazing. After winning the award for the entrepreneur of the year, he had come back to the suite with Florence where they had sex. Just as she was about to climax, she said the magic words. I love you. Roman didn’t know what to say back then, but he felt he had an obligation to say what he felt about yet too. And he was going to tell her when they had breakfast. He turned to the other side of the bed to meet her only to find it empty. This startled him. He rose from the bed and looked around the room. There was no trace left of her being her last night. That was awkward for him. Roman rose from the bed stark naked and walked towards the bathroom. He opened the door and stepped into it. He found water droplets on the floor which meant that she had been here awhile ago. He reached
CHAPTER 197
Roman Lacroix opened the door of his suite and stepped inside. On the other hand was his award which he couldn’t quite wrap his head around how he had won it. He had been stunned when his name was mentioned. After making a speech, he received the award which made him feel better. That was two awards he had won now, but who was counting? He wondered if the universe was finally paying him back from all the torture he had undergone at the hands of Viper Don. But that didn’t matter much to him. If that was the case, then he would gladly accept it. The door of the suite was closed and he turned around to see Florence coming in with her purse in her hand. She still looked amazing, and he was surprised that he hadn’t noticed that until now. She was amazing in her black dress which exposed her cleavage. Roman found it hard to look away. Florence noticed Roman looking at her and she couldn’t help but smirk. They had decided to spend the night in suits and travel back to New York the
CHAPTER 196
“Roman! You won’t believe this!” Ben said as he closed the door. Roman who was sitting on the couch with a glass of scotch in his hand turned to Ben who had an envelope in his hand. He wondered what he could do there. “What is it?” Roman asked. “I think it is for you,” Ben replied, handing over the envelope to him. Roman, confused, got the envelope and immediately tore the seal. He reached into the envelope and brought out a letter from it. After reading for a few moments, he was left in awe. Ben noticed the change in Roman’s facial expression which made him more curious about what could be in the letter. “What is it?” Roman read the letter one more time before turning to him. “It’s an invitation,” he said. “To where?” Ben asked. Roman turned back to the letter. “It says here, Dear Roman Lacroix, amazed by the works you have carried out in your hometown, Brooklyn. We are delighted to invite you to the prestigious annual Entrepreneur Awards night. We will b
CHAPTER 195
Roman walked through the hallway of the precinct as he headed towards the other entrance. He had contemplated this for days, and he had finally come to a decision—he was going to get the key to the city. He deserved it. Oliver had made him realize this. After saving his life on multiple occasions, he realized that there were a lot of things that he had done that went unnoticed. He had been able to take three powerful men down with Viper Don being the strongest. It hadn’t been easy, but he had done it. The last mission made him feel that he could do anything if he put his mind to it. Saving Susan from the mighty drug lord, Frederic El Mataso, made him realize that there was more to his capabilities than he knew. Eric and Adam were waiting nervously just as the mayor went to the podium to give a speech. They were still inside the building waiting to be summoned. It was a big day for them, but that didn’t stop Eric from wearing his trademark black leather jacket. Adam on the other ha
CHAPTER 194
Brooklyn, New York. 6:45 AM.“Well, that was fun,” Oliver said as they stepped off the jet. They were greeted by the morning’s golden light which washed upon them as they walked out of the hanger. Oliver still had the black duffel bag in his hand but it didn’t contain ammunition anymore. It was money. A whole lot of it. They had cashed out on all their artifacts last night and made their way with the excess of it. Roman was calm as he walked out of the hangar. He was dressed in a new black suit and his hair was combed neatly. He looked all refreshed. Last night was hilarious, and it was hard to believe that it had happened.They had made their way with one of the most expensive jewels ever, and all Roman did was blackmail him. They couldn’t say that Frederic El Mataso wouldn’t come after them but who cared? They had hit the jackpot again. Roman had the ring in his hand and he stared at it as he made his way towards the crew. At a distance, a black Cadillac was heading towards them
CHAPTER 193
Frederic El Mataso wasn’t fazed by the sight of the guns being pointed at him. He had been through much more than that. What he was worried about was the men at the table with him who were already terrified at the sight of the men. “If you don’t want to end up like the guards there, I strongly suggest you all leave,” Roman ordered. The men looked at each other before running out of the room. The door shut behind them and they were left alone in the room with Susan and Frederic. Susan rose to her feet and went immediately to Oliver, pulling him into a hug. Roman, on the other hand, lowered his gun and walked to the poker table, sitting on the other end of it. He had one of his guns pointed at Frederic who still didn’t seem fazed by this. “I know who you are,” Frederic said. “You’re the famous Roman Lacroix.”Roman smiled at that. Sometimes, he forgot that he was known throughout the country. First, it was the Russian mafia leader, now it was El Mataso. He was making a name for him
CHAPTER 192
“Bring her in here,” Frederic El Mataso ordered. The door opened and Susan was dragged into the room. Her hair was ruffled and her face was drenched in sweat. She had just spent the whole day in the basement and now she was about to be given a death sentence. The room had a poker table with men seated around it, Frederic included. Frederic El Mataso was a plump man with a weird mustache and heavy eyebrows. He was dressed in a black suit with his bloated stomach trying its best to stay in the white undershirt he wore. There was only one thing that caught Susan’s eye. It was his ring. The ring was glowing as he rubbed his chin with a grin on his face. “Bring her closer,” he ordered. The guard dragged her on the floor as he brought her to him. Susan was kneeling before Frederic now who was still rubbing his chin as he stared down at her. “You piece of shit! You think you’re going to get away with this?” She yelled. “She’s a feisty one,” he said to the men at the table who chuckle
