Chapter 72

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"Back in Saint Denis...I never liked this place," John commented. The men had been chatting casually throughout the ride, but Helen was focused on the road.

She was driven by adrenaline, and she didn't slow down until they reached the city. "Alright, let's go find that big sour bastard," Uncle declared, taking the lead.

You better be right, old man. "Let's split up," John suggested. Almost instinctively, Javier stepped closer to Helen, silently making his decision. "Good idea! I-I'll take the saloons!" Uncle said too cheerfully.

John rolled his eyes, hitting Uncle over the shoulder. "I'll come with you, you drunkard. Helen, Javier, you check the slums," he instructed. With a nod, the two pairs split off in different directions. "What are you gonna do if we find him?" Javier asked, sensing Helen's growing anger.

"If he's been alive this whole time and hasn't tried to find me? I'm gonna kill him."

~~~~

Well...would you look at that. Helen stood at the back of the crowd with Javier, watching the fight with a sharp gaze. There he was, battling against a sturdy looking man, but it was clear he was winning. "Do you want me to at least hold you back first?" Javier teased, leaning closer to her.

Helen scoffed, her gaze sharpening on Charles. "Don't even try it, muchacho." Sure enough, Charles left the man a bruised and bloody mess, writhing in pain on the ground.

He quickly stumbled out of the crowd, heading over to John, and Helen quickly followed with Javier. "Come on, Lone Wolf," John said, patting his back. "How fitting of a name." Charles suddenly spun around, his shocked eyes landing on Helen and Javier. "Helen...y-you're alive," he gasped.

He tried advancing, but she stepped back. "Nice of you to finally notice," she hissed. Charles looked taken aback by her tone, but John quickly cut in. "Can this be done later? We need to get the hell out of here," he scolded, beckoning them to follow.

Too eagerly, Helen urged Javier forward and followed John out of the alleyway. Charles fell in step with John to deal with a cowardly Uncle while Helen and Javier brought up the rear. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

Helen glanced up at him briefly. "Yah, I will be," she replied. The four of them followed Charles to the harbour, but they slowed when they spotted four men waiting for them.

"Those are Guido Martelli's men. He...used to work for Angelo Bronte," Charles told them. "We've only been here an hour," John muttered with a sigh. Of course we got ourselves into trouble.

~~~~

So I based Helen's initial reaction upon seeing Charles again on my own reaction, if I were in her situation.

While yes, one would jump for joy at seeing their long lost love after almost 10 years, another thought that would come to mind would be "WHY IN THE FECK DID YOU NOT COME LOOKING FOR ME TOO?!"

But here we are you guys, the final stretch - only 6 more chapters to go, the epilogue AND a special bonus chapter😉

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