Three Weeks Later

Three weeks, and every day is darker than the last. My light is gone. Warmth is gone. Beth is gone. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’ve held out the hope that she somehow survived. It happens in the movies, right? She was thrown from the blast, hit her head and can’t remember who she is, right? I’ll have to convince her I’m her husband, make her remember and fall in love with me again. I can handle that.

This isn’t the movies, though. All I have are memories, loneliness, and pain… so much pain, it hurts to breathe. I think I’m starting to understand what Beast is going through. Since Beth’s attack, he’s said very little, but at least he’s acknowledging us. He and I are alike. He’s blaming himself for the death of his daughter. If he hadn’t left his keys there, hadn’t fallen asleep, hadn’t gotten drunk… Oh yeah, I fucking understand him because I play that fucking what-if game a million times a day with myself. I always lose, too.

“Everything’s ready, boss,” Torch says into the earpiece I wear.

I’m sitting at the conference table at Colin Donahue’s mansion. To my right sits Matthew. Beside him, Colin, who has obviously been beat all to hell. His eye is black, his face swollen, and his nose has obviously been broken. He wears a cast on his arm as well as a back brace. I’m not sure Matthew’s the one who delivered the punches, but I’m fairly certain he had it done. Surprisingly, I find myself respecting him a little, at least as much as I can possibly respect a Donahue. There are four others in the room. Sabre and Latch are standing behind me as my protection, and Matthew has two men with him.

“Redmond just pulled up. He has six men with him. Two stayed with the car, and that sends four up your way. Briar’s showing them in, now.”

“Showtime,” I tell everyone out loud, mostly to notify my men. I could give less than a fuck about the others. I had Briar dress as the Donahue butler. Of all of us, he’s the one with the least noticeable tattoos and piercings. I knew they would never buy me, but then again, I figured Redmond has had me investigated pretty damn thoroughly.

Sabre goes to stand behind the door and waits. It takes a few minutes, but Briar opens the door for them. I got a file on Redmond a couple of weeks ago. The bastard’s picture was imprinted on my brain, but even so, when he walks through the door and looks at me, I’m still shocked. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just too fucking easy, too anticlimactic. Or maybe I thought it would feel better to end him. I don’t know.

His men start to back out of the door, but Briar’s there to stop them, and this time, he has an AR-15 to do his talking for him.

“I got to say, I didn’t see this one coming,” says Redmond, staring straight at me. I don’t bother answering. He looks at Matthew and Colin. “Well played, nephews. You apparently had more brains than I gave you credit for.”

“We learned from our father,” responds Matthew. “You know the man who defeated you before?”

“This family reunion is sweet and all, but I have better shit to do,” I interrupt them. I put myself in front of Redmond. The cocky bastard doesn’t even flinch. He stares right back at me. Matthew’s men subdue the two men flanking Redmond, and still the bastard seems unruffled.

“You’re the last person I expected to work with my nephews,” Redmond says, and he’s smiling. I don’t know what the fucker thinks he has to smile about. Shit, maybe he’s fucking nuts. “Politics makes strange bedfellows, I suppose.”

“Under no circumstances am I or would I ever get in bed with you sad fucks. This is about vengeance, plain and simple.”

“I can almost see what my daughter saw in you.”

My heart trips and it takes all I have not to react.

“Your daughter?”

“Didn’t know that small tidbit, did you? Oh, the things I know that you don’t. Your head would spin.”

He’s baiting me, I know it, but I can’t resist asking again. “Beth… was your daughter?”

“Yes. I was trying to get her to come home. She, of course, didn’t want to leave. It took some convincing. I told her you would hurt her, but I never knew just how much. Tell me, how does it feel to know you’re responsible for killing the one person in this world who didn’t realize what a waste of air you really are?”

My hand trembles, but I ignore it. He scored his point, but I’m fucking tired of it.

“Now, Sabre.”

Sabre fires the rounds into Redmond’s men after they are turned loose. Redmond does jump then, but the fucker still faces me head-on.

“This isn’t about Beth,” I say, my voice deadly cold. “I’ve already lost her, though if I’m to blame for that, you are too, aren’t you, Redmond?”

He shrugs. “You’d be surprised the lengths a father would go to.”

“I’m sure. Trouble is, I don’t give a fuck to listen to your voice anymore. Latch? You got your phone?”

“Yeah, boss. Right here.”

“Tape it.”

He aims his phone at Redmond. The man looks confused for a minute.

“You see, Redmond, all this time I thought Colin had ordered one of my men’s vehicles rigged. Imagine my surprise when Matthew told me the orders hadn’t come from either of them.”

Redmond glances at his nephews. I expect him to deny it. Honestly, I’m hoping he will. I’d like to kill all of them and be done with it. I really thought Matthew lied to me and Colin was the one that gave that order.

“All’s fair in war,” mutters Redmond, shrugging again.

“Your actions caused my brother to lose his daughter.”

“Your actions caused the same for me. I’d say that makes us even.”

Bastard. “There’s only one problem with that. I’m not interested in being ‘even’. I have something else I’d like more.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to be completely rid of all of you. Matthew and Colin here assure me that, with you dead, this is done and I will get just that.”

“I could assure you the same. Besides, what’s to stop them from going back on their word? Obviously they can’t be trusted, or I would not be in the position I am.”

“Nothing… except this tape, and a recording I have of them making the deal. They really want to be rid of you. Right, boys?”

“Absolutely,” says Colin while Matthew just nods. That’s enough confirmation for me; Sabre getting them on video is just one more thing I have for security.

“Ah, I get it. It wouldn’t do for my father to see what his nephews did to his only remaining son, right? I’m impressed, boys. I did the same thing when I killed your father.”

“You son of a bitch!” Matthew growls.

“Oh relax, you would have eventually done the same thing.”

“Fuck this,” I say. “I got better shit to do and I’m tired of breathing the same air as you.”

“What would Beth think about you ending her father’s life?” asks Redmond. “I could tell you something that’d make you think twice about your deal…”

I don’t let him finish. I’ve had enough of games. I shoot Redmond’s gut three times in quick succession. He drops to the floor.

I spit on him. “That’s for Annabelle and for the hell you put Beth through. This last one is just because I think you smell,” I tell him.

Then, I empty my gun into his chest.

I turn to Latch. “You get it?” The deal was for Beast and Latch to tape it while making sure I wasn’t in the footage. That way, this couldn’t be linked back to me, should something happen. Beast needed to see that revenge was achieved for his daughter.

“Got it, boss.”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” I turn to Colin and Matthew. “I’m heading to Kentucky to start over. The crew that takes over here and mine, wherever we end up, are clear from you. Your shit does not enter into my territory, ever. If it does, your grandfather will know just what happened to his son.”

“We’re clear,” answers Matthew. “Redmond’s body will be loaded onto his private jet, which will crash into the Appalachian Mountains after having engine trouble. No one will know what took place here today.”

I walk off. I really can’t handle being in the same room with them anymore. I’m done.