AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Disbelief has me shaking my head. I pull out my phone and search through my pictures to find the last one of Jim before he died. It was taken weeks before Brian was killed in the car crash. We were still in Afghanistan.
I show Gwen the picture. “This is him. Is this the man you saw?”
“Yes. That is definitely the same person I saw. Malik, something really strange is going on. He said to Esperanza she should make sure you die this time.”
The ache in my chest is unbearable. My heart is exploding, and tendrils of blood-curdling rage engulf me.
What the fuck is Gwen saying to me?
What did she just say?
Make sure I die this time.
I bring a heavy hand to my head, feeling like I’m going to shatter into a million pieces.
Gwen presses dainty fingers to my chest. “Malik, he was working with them.”
Yeah, he was fucking working with them.
He set me up.
* * *
“They’re going to try and get to Gwen again,” Desmier points out, glancing at Zakh.
We’ve gathered in my office to discuss the next steps. It’s just past nine.
All I’ve been able to do is call my brothers to fill them in on the recent developments about Jim Davison.
My fucking brain is numb, so I haven’t been much help with anything else besides looking like I’m alive.
I take a drag on my rollup and allow the potent mixture to work its way into my mind.
I needed something strong to help me move past the shit and try to focus.
Gwen is upstairs waiting for Dru to arrive, and we’re here trying to figure this out.
“Malik,” Zakh prods.
“I want them all dead. Every last one of them. But leave Jim Davison to me.”
I look at Zach, and I can tell from the wealth of concern in his eyes that he's worried about me. He thinks I'm gonna go crazy. That I'll flip out and lose my mind worse than I did when they got me back after the attack.
I might. I just might this time. He knew Jim. Desmier didn't, so Zakh will know exactly how I must feel.
This is the worst type of betrayal, possibly worse than anything I’ve experienced, and I want to know why.
The man I knew and revered my entire life would never do this to me. My entire mission was to avenge him, but he’s alive and rubbing shoulders with my enemies.
I just wish I knew why.
Why did this happen?
What the fuck did I do to Jim for him to want me dead?
What the fuck could have happened for him to have staged his death?
“We need to get more men on the street to figure out where they are,” Desmier states. “They’re still grounded as far as we know. I haven’t had any record of anything going out to Mexico. But we still need to be mindful.”
