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“Let’s end this,” he says. “You pay this off and I’ll convince my father we’re even. Then we can stop this madness between our families.”
I pay him off, and this ends. We never see him or his father again. I might have said yes to the deal had Ashely and I not found out that one little sliver of information they left out.
And now we want our revenge.
I look down at the writing on the paper. It’s a number. A big one. But pennies to me. I could easily pay this, tell him sure, we’re even.
But we wouldn’t be.
We will never, ever be even.
Not until I take from them what they took from me and Ashely. He stands there not saying a word.
I’ve still not said anything at all.
I can’t give him what he wants. I have to put an end to this, for myself and for Ashely. Neither of us want to give them a penny, nor would we trust that if we were to pay that number off, this would be over.
And, of course, we want our sweet revenge.
But I have to be careful. Especially now, with Ashely’s baby on the way. There’s only one way to move forward.
“Follow me. Let’s go somewhere we can talk.” I open the first gate to the Village, leading him in and closing it behind us, trapping both of us in the area between the two gates.
Dread creeps up in my chest as I tuck the envelope in my back pocket, using the opportunity to retrieve my weapon without suspicion. I always trust my gut and now I know why I tucked it in my waistband earlier this evening.
His face softens and he finally speaks. “I’m glad we could reach a deal.”
My heart sinks, my courage disintegrating. He’s not a monster, just a man who let himself get wrapped up in his father’s mess. But I know I have to keep going. Ashely means everything to me.
There’s no need to kill him. Is there? Maybe I can just pay off this debt and then see what happens—wait. What is he doing? He’s pulling something from his waistband and it’s not an envelope.
My mind works quickly, seeing a flash of his gun, reading the glint in his eyes, the grin forming suspiciously on his face. I leave my own face expressionless. The envelope was a ruse, to get me somewhere alone. He can’t have found out about my plan to kill his father. Ashely and I told no one. Maybe the pause in the negotiations made him suspicious.
He’s giving me no choice now but to defend myself and kill him.
All the plans Ashely and I had will be out the window and the Brotherhood will have to get involved.
I’m faster than him. A step ahead when it matters most. I pull the gun from my waistband and aim it at him as he raises the barrel of his own gun toward me.
I watch his face change to fear as the sight of my gun makes him pause just long enough for me to do what I have to do.
“Sorry,” I say. “It has to be you or us. And I’ll never let it be us.”
He takes aim but I pull my trigger before he can get a shot off.
At first, there’s complete silence. Then slowly, the sound of the gunshot reverberates off the stone walls. I go numb, unable to move or think as his body crumples to the ground. He’s dead, right in front of me. I’m overwhelmed by the weight of what I’ve done, but a strange sense of relief also washes over me.
Finally, with a deep breath, I take a step back.
It’s a lot to clean up and I’ll be the one lying there if I don’t get my ass back to Ashely’s party, soon. I’m sure she’ll be looking for me. I hate to pass my responsibilities off on someone else, but thank God us brothers have one another’s backs.
I’ll get a couple buddies, brothers I was initiated with, to clean this up. They won’t ask questions and I’ll pay them back with a favor they’ll need someday. I message my favorite ginger, Red, known for his bright hair and chess game mind, always one move ahead. He’ll take care of this.
I run my hand over the wall, finding the loose brick of the hidey-hole a few of us know about, and stash the gun to retrieve later. Kneeling down, I run my hand over his eyelids to close them. His skin is still warm. “Rest in peace, man.” His dead body gives a shuddering exhale of breath. The sudden sound startles the shit out of me.
I fall back on my ass with a “Fuck.” I jump to my feet, freaked out and ready to get the hell out of here.
I offer the guy one more apology.
