Shocked that my father had been involved that night.
Had been culpable in what had happened to Brinley.
Rage blistered, and red glowed at the edges of my sight.
Had he been working with Kent the whole time? I thought the coward had run that night. Disappeared to save his own ass. Leaving my mother there to die.
And he’d run right back to Kent.
“Aww, don’t feel so bad for not realizing it, Silas.” It was pure condescension. “I didn’t know you were PJ’s son until that moment, either. He told me my runner in that small townof Crimson Creek had been killed. I didn’t think much of it. Men die all the time. Are expendable and easily replaceable. My mistake for not making the connection. My mistake for not realizing that your father lied to me.”
He suddenly pulled his gun from Brinley’s head and pointed it at my father. In surrender, PJ’s hands flew up, and he spluttered, “No, Kent, it wasn’t like?—”
Kent pulled the trigger. An earsplitting crack ricocheted from the walls at the same second his body slumped to the ground.
A gust of addled air wheezed from my lungs.
Shock at seeing my father face down on the ground in a growing pool of blood.
Hatred and pain vied for dominance.
Brinley screamed against her gag, choking and crying as her shoulders sank forward.
My focus jerked back to her. Every muscle in my body twitched. Ached to get to her. Unbind her. Hold her. See to it that every promise I had made to her was fulfilled.
But I forced myself to remain there. Biding time as the gunshots began to fade outside, becoming more interspersed, praying that it was my men who were coming out on top.
Kent shifted so the gun dangled at his side.
Nonchalance radiated from his frame but venom dripped from his tongue. “That was when it all came together for me. I already knew Dereck was up to something. Coming back here out of the blue after he and his sister escaped with their lives five years ago?”
A huff left him. “Only to find out his sister is on your property. PJ confessing who you really are. Trading your real identity for a measly stack of cash. You and Dereck thinking you were going to overthrow me.”
I almost laughed. He thought I wanted to take over his twisted kingdom? I was here to end it.
“I figured I’d let you and your men come to me. Save me the trouble of hunting you down. Thank you for proving my theory and making this easy.”
“See, you’ve got something wrong in the middle of that.” It came out a low threat.
Kent seemed almost surprised that I spoke before his mouth twisted into a malicious grin. “How’s that?”
My phone vibrated in my front pocket, the specific rhythm Cash had set.
I cracked my own grin. “I’m not here to overthrow your empire. I’m here to burn it to the ground.”
That was right when all three doors leading into his inner sanctum burst open.
Cash, River, Theo, and Otto blazed in through one door.
Trent and his crew from another.
Fuse, Trevan, Phoenix, and my brother from the one behind me.
Caught off guard, Kent’s guards reared back, though they were quick to lift their guns to raze the room in a spray of bullets.
It happened at the same time as the guys who had always had my back also began to shoot.
In an instant, it was pandemonium.
