Sax told me he’s coming with me as I was at his house. I told him what happened, he shook his head and welcomed the kids and me in like it was an ordinary day. That man knows too much. He wouldn’t tell me anything, I asked. He said it’s not his place to speak. I hate it when he does that to me. His bald head is like a secret keeper, as well as an I-know-too-much shit keeper. I don’t know how Casey does not find that frustrating. Then again, I’m with a man who doesn’t like to speak much, unless prompted.
We arrive at the compound, and it’s quiet. I see Black’s car and know he’s here. Sax looks around like he’s on the job. Hell, he could be for all I know. We both climb out and walk the short distance to the broken and torn down house. I hear Jake’s voice first, it’s raised. Not friendly either. The door opens before we reach it. Liam stands there looking down at us, he looks to me then to Sax. Nods his head to him and reaches his hand out to me. I walk the short distance to him and place my hand in his. He turns and pulls me softly through the door. I stop on the spot, Sax running into my back, his hands go to my shoulders, holding me in place. I look to Liam, then Jake, then Robbie, tied up, bleeding.
“Oh my God.” My hand pulls from Liam, covering my face. I go to walk to Robbie, but Sax keeps me in place and doesn’t let me move.
“We need to talk, Rose,” Jake says, wiping his hands with the bottom of shirt exposing his stomach.
“Talk?” I know my mouth is gaping because that doesn’t make any sense. I want to know why they have him here, tied up.
“Yes, it seems Robbie has been living a lie, particularly to you.” Robbie’s eyes find mine. He attempts to shake his head and stops from the pain it causes him.
“You can’t do this, you said you stopped the bad, Jake.”
“I do this, Rose, it has never stopped. I just try not to bring it back to you.” I watch as Liam walks to Jake, his face full of anger. Jake pulls his hands up. “I would never put them in danger.”
“You promised me,” Liam says, and I’m lost again. It’s like a movie is playing out and I’m here to just watch.
“I did, and I did protect her, I still am. Get off your high horse and come back to the now.” They turn to look at me. I turn to see where Sax is, who has not said a word at all. He’s watching me.
“Do you want to leave?” he asks, as I turn back to Liam. He wouldn’t put me in danger. I don’t see Robbie as a danger. So I shake my head. He nods his head and turns back to look at the boys.
“What do you know of Robbie’s family?” Jake asks me. I try to think, I’ve known him for over five years and never met any of them so I shake my head. “How do you think they found you, that night on the lake?” Jake asks me again.
Robbie moans from where he is, his eyes going large, so I watch him with interest.
“They followed us?” I say to Jake, but my eyes are on Robbie, his eyes are wide, he is worried, my mind is going back to that night, a night I don’t want to go back to.
“They didn’t,” Liam says. He pulls me from it, he does those things to me. He stands with a bit of distance between us. I can still feel all of him there for me.
“What do you mean?” I don’t fully understand what’s going on. Why won’t they just say it?
“Robbie told them about you. You didn’t want him, you wanted Black,” Jake says, I feel sick like I might throw up any second now.
“It’s not true, is it Robbie? You wouldn’t do that to my family and me?”
A strangle cry comes from him, I watch his mouth when he tries to open it. His teeth are missing, his mouth’s full of blood. “That’s not the only reason, he’s also my brother. He didn’t like it that Pres favored Black, counting him as his son and not Robbie.” The anger has climbed, it’s like a snake, wrapping itself up me, starting from the bottom, crawling its way to the top.
“That’s how Ru found us that night, Robbie told him where we were.” The snake is now in my hands, and those hands have reached for Liam’s gun. He doesn’t see it coming, he’s actually too slow to stop me. I grab the gun, pull the trigger, it's loud, deafening my ears. Robbie screams and Liam pulls me backward.
“Drop the gun, Rose,” he whispers into my ear from my back. I open my eyes, Robbie’s head is hung over, my hands shake, the gun still tightly wrapped in my hands. I feel my finger still on the trigger, my hand frozen in fear. “Rose, come back to me.” His voice is sweet, I doubt that it’s him at first, it can’t be. He isn’t sweet, he’s anything but. But when I feel his lips and beard on my cheek, the gun drops from my hand. Sax picks it up straight away. Liam wraps me tightly, my whole body shaking. “You didn’t kill him, Rose, you didn’t.” I manage to open my eyes, Jake’s staring at us, with me wrapped in Liam’s arms.
“I didn’t kill him?” I ask Jake, who stands near Robbie, and he shakes his head.
“It skimmed his head, there’s a bit of blood and he passed out. He will live, for a bit,” he says lifting his head showing me the blood then dropping his head back down.
Sax walks to the front, his form towers over me. His eyes squint as they look down at me, then he looks behind me to Liam, nods his head and bends down to lift me.
“No!” I say shaking my head, pulling myself from the arms of him.
“I think you need to rest,” Sax says, talking to me, looking at Liam.
“You expect me to rest?” A laugh bubbles from my chest, Sax looks at me unexpectedly. “Really?” My hands are shaking and flying around my face. “I just shot a person, you bloody idiots.” Liam takes Sax place in front of me.
“You did.”
“I did,” I say nodding my head. My hands stop moving, my body going to shock, the picture on replay in my mind.
“Welcome to the dark side,” Jake says, I completely forgot he was there, his voice penetrates my mind, and I lose it. My fist goes flying, in any direction to whoever is closest to me, I feel the hardness of Liam’s chest when I punch, he doesn’t move, but it hurts my hands. He stands there while I do it, letting me take it out on him.
“I don’t want to be on your motherfucking dark side, you fucks!” I scream, my fists have stopped, my hands clenched to my sides. Turning to leave, I know he’s following behind me, so I turn fast once we are near my car.
“Get away from me Liam Black, before I say some very hurtful things to you.”
He goes to take a step forward, I raise my hand to signal him to stop and he does.
“You’re angry?”
“Ding dong, you’re fucking clever tonight aren’t you?”
“At me? At us?”
“Damn tootin’ I am, both you and Jake. Fuck you both and your fucked up lives. Stop bringing me down with you!” Opening my door, I hear his voice when I enter.
“I didn’t want it for you, Rose.”
“You didn’t give me much of a choice in the matter of loving you, did you? Your stupid eyes, stupid smile, stupid silent, stupid, stupid heart…” His head drops and I know I need to shut up, so I don’t look at him when I drive away, but it’s incredibly hard not to.