And I willneverbe like my father.
* * *
Present Day…
I come back to in pieces, as if a broken glass is repairing itself in slow motion.
Light.
A single bulb swings above me.I squint at the sting behind my eyes.My mouth is dry, as if someone has wiped it with a thick cloth.My shoulders ache, and my neck feels stiff.
A chair.It’s hardbacked and narrow.Metal bites into my calves.My wrists are bound, and the rope is rough against my skin.
And my chest.It’s tight, like I need to fight for my next breath.
But that’s not from the bindings.
It’s from knowing I’m not alone.
I try to lift my head.The room tilts.
When I do look up, I see a smirking grin.
Fuck.
Hernando Reyes.
No worse for the fucking wear from his time as my captive.At least not that I can see, but my vision is still blurry.
“You awake, Bellamy?”He pads into the pool of light as if he’s stepping into his parlor.He smells of expensive cologne and stale smoke.Guess he’s had a shower and a cigar since he escaped my grasp.
I force my jaw to work.“Let me go.”
He laughs, a short sharp thing that doesn’t reach his eyes.“Rule number one of being a criminal.”He paces in a slow circle.“Never come back to the scene of the crime.”
I roll my eyes.“You’re not a philosopher tonight, Reyes.Untie me.”
“Ah.”He stops right in front of me and leans down.“You’re one of those people who believes in what’s right, aren’t you?Justice.Law.The straight line where good men stand on one side and bad men on the other?”
I spit a laugh.I was that guy once.
Now?
I’ve done things I never thought I’d do in a million fucking years.
“See, I know all about you,” Reyes continues.“So you’ll understand why I’m amused.You came here to take what I have.You thought you could walk in and take evidence.Make me small.Save your own skin in the process.”
I pull against my bonds even though I know it’s no use.“You used women,” I say.“Abused them.Bought and sold lives.”
“And you beat an old man and left him tied in a barn.”
The words hit like a slap.
He’s not wrong.
I did what he said.
To him.
