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After we left Red Eye, I made Carl bring me home. All of the decisions I made weren’t made lightly. I’ve taken time and thought about everything. Weighed the pros and cons, questioned everything I could think of, and in the end, this is the only thing that makes sense to me.
I always swore I would never be the type of person to fall in love and lose myself, but that’s exactly what I’ve done. I fell for Charlie and lost sight of everything other than my own lust. She makes me feel things I’ve never felt. She makes me have remorse for things I’ve never even thought twice about. Being in this world as long as I have, I forgot that people like Charlie still exist. Sure, she’s strong and passionate, ready to handle things by whatever means necessary, but she’s also delicate, fragile.
Maybe that’s what made me so crazy about her. She was an enigma in my world. Something completely new and foreign. Instead of taking her and learning how to love her, I tried to shove her into my own box of how I wanted her to be. I fucked up.
I walk through the door and shout for the twins and Charlie. Julius comes from the kitchen with Charlie following as Lucas stumbles out of his room.
“Where have you been?” she questions, but not in the caring way I’m used to. It’s more of an annoyed scold.
“I had some business to handle. We need to talk.” I glance to the boys, then over my shoulder to Carl. “All of us.”
Julius walks to Lucas’s side and wraps an arm around his waist. “I’m sober enough to walk. It’s just the hangover is starting. Have you ever had a hangover at…” Lucas trails off, looking around at the walls before he grabs Julius’s hand and reads his watch. “5:00 p.m.? It fucking sucks.”
Charlie shakes her head, then looks back to me. “Well, talk,” she demands.
I’m used to seeing her be this confident, hard, sassy person with other people, but not with me. It’s something new that only started about a week ago. I guess when she noticed I was healing up, she just didn’t feel the need to sugarcoat herself around me anymore.
I jerk my head toward the stairs and urge them all to follow as I go up them and into my office. When I sit down behind my desk, Charlie grabs the seat in front of me to my left, while Lucas takes the right, and Carl and Julius stand behind them.
“I made arrangements today,” I state.
Lucas huffs. “What, for another fake death?”
As much as I’d like to snap at him, I just can’t. I’m fucking exhausted being the boss all the time. “No. I’m stepping away. Everything I have is now yours, boys. I’m done.”
Julius cocks his head as he grips the back of Charlie’s chair. “What do you mean, done?”
“Just done. I’ve come to realize you all have a better grasp on things than me. I don’t have your trust; I don’t have you respect. It’s only a matter of time before you leave. I refuse to bring in anyone else. Trust isn’t built in days; it takes fucking years. So, instead of waiting for the inevitable, I’m taking myself out of the equation.”
Julius laughs. “You say you don’t have our trust or respect like we’re the ones who fucked it up. Don’t try and put that fucking blame on us. You did it.”
“Nah,” Lucas chimes in. “This isn’t about that at all. He’s running like a scared bitch because the ATF is on us.”
I lean across the desk and hover an inch from Lucas’s face. “I’m no bitch, boy. Don’t think because I’m stepping away means I won’t beat your ass. I’m doing what is best for this family—for the Hale fucking name.”
He licks his teeth and moves in even closer. “Whatever you say, boss.”
Every ounce of emotion I’ve held in for the past few weeks comes rushing out. I crawl onto my desk and grab Lucas by the throat. Every noise and scream turns to muffled background noise as I watch his smiling face go blue.
It isn’t until I feel cool metal on my temple that I stop.
“Get your fucking hands off of him.”
I release my hands slowly and pull away from Lucas as he coughs and gasps for air. I turn to my side and see Charlie holding the gun I got her, pointed directly at me. “You wouldn’t shoot me.” I’m not sure if it’s more of a question or a statement with how it comes out.
She moves it quickly and points it to the ceiling before firing a single shot. Every single one of us in the room jump but her.
“Now that I have your attention,” she declares. “I have zero qualms about shit anymore. You wanted a fucking queen? You got one, and my only goal is vengeance. I’m sick of the dick-measuring contests, the fights, all of the bullshit. From now on, we do shit my way and my way only.”
Everyone stands stock-still and stares at her.
“The only reason I agreed to get tangled up in this fucked-up mess was to figure out who killed my dad. I still don’t have those answers because I’ve done nothing but listen to all of you. I’ve kept my cool, I’ve waited, but I’m done.”
“’Bout time you put your foot down, Charlotte,” Carl chirps from the back.
She glances to him and rolls her eyes. “Do you think I like acting this way? I’m doing nothing but reflecting exactly how all of you egotistical assholes have been acting. It’s time to shut up, sit down, and come up with a plan. While all of you wanted to argue, I actually thought of something.”
“Enlighten us, then,” I reply, stepping further back from my desk.
She ignores all of us and pulls her phone from her back pocket. Her fingers rush across the screen, dialing a number that isn’t saved. When she hits the green button, she brings it to her ear.
