I pull up outside my father’s house, hating that I’m here. But I know it’s the only safe place in fucking Juneau right now.

“Come on,” I say to Kylie, but she hesitates. “It’s okay. My mother won’t be here. She left for California this morning.”

She laughs softly, shaking her head. “Seriously? Isn’t your dad sick?”

“Very.” He doesn’t smile. “But he has nurses. The best money can buy. Come on, we’re safe here.”

We climb out of the truck. My father lives in a palatial estate at the furthest edge of Juneau. The house is right on the bay, and the grounds are immaculately kept. My father has nothing to do with that, of course. His estate essentially runs itself.

We head inside. As soon as I step into the threshold, I get the same strange feeling I always get when I come to visit him.

I grew up in this house a long time ago. It wasn’t our first house, but we moved here when I was five, so it’s the house that I remember the most. I associate my childhood with this place in a lot of ways, which is strange, considering I hate everything it stands for.

As soon as we’re inside, I can already see the staff going into motion. The butler, a man named Roger, approaches with a big smile on his face. “Master Carson,” he says. “Are you here to see your father?”

“Soon,” I say. “But first, we need a room and a laptop.”

He pauses. “Ah, yes, of course. Right this way.”

I glance back at Kylie then follow Roger down the hall. He takes us to the second guest room, right on the ground floor. My father’s room is down the hall, which is probably meant to be some backhanded comment from Roger, but I just ignore him. We get inside the room and Kylie sits down on the couch, knees pulled to her chest.

I glance at myself in the mirror and pause. I have blood all over me, Declan’s blood. I remember swinging the axe down and killing him, but at the time it felt like someone else. I was just acting to save Kylie.

“I’ll be right back,” I say, and go into the bathroom. I fire up the shower and jump into the hot water.

Kylie comes in a minute later and leans up against the wall, watching as I scrub away the blood.

“Do you think they’re okay?” she asks me.

“I don’t know,” I say. “We’ll find out soon. Is Roger back with the laptop yet?”

“Not yet.” She watches me for a second and then steps toward the shower door. “Thank you, Carson.”

“For what?” I ask. “Almost getting you killed?”

“No. For saving me, back there.”

I watch her for a second then I open the door. I take her by the cheek and kiss her gently. “Always,” I say.

I turn off the shower water and get out. I don’t feel like I’m clean, but I suspect I won’t feel clean for a long time. It doesn’t matter. I killed Declan because I had to, and I’d do it a thousand more times. I towel off the best I can then put on a robe that I find in the closet.

Roger knocks on the door and drops off the laptop by the time my hair is dry. As soon as I have it, I open the lid and navigate to the website on the card that Nick gave me. I input all the information and connect to the server.

There, on the server, are a bunch of video files. I open one at random.

Kylie and I watch as the camera shows the woods around my house. It’s quiet, very quiet, when suddenly there’s a shout. Arms and a gun appear in the frame and I realize that it’s a soldier’s body camera.

Gunshots burst from the tree line, and the man grunts then falls to the ground. The rest of the video is just the noise of gunfire, shouting, and the clear blue sky.

I stop the video and we stare at it for a second before I finally shake my head. “It ends here,” I say.

“What?” she asks.

“Can you get my phone? From my pocket.”

She nods and get up, returning with my phone a second later. I frown at it. There are several missed calls from Nick. I dial him back and he answers on the second ring.

“Carson,” he says. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say. “It’s good to hear from you. What happened?”

“As soon as you left, they pulled back. We held them off as long as we could. I was afraid they caught you.”

“No, I’m safe where I am.”

“We can come to you. Where?”

“No. Stay at my place. Help your men.”

He pauses. “We lost some people today.”

His implication is clear. “Don’t worry,” I say. “Elliot will pay. Very soon.”

“Good luck.” He hangs up the phone.

I sigh as Kylie stares at me. “What?” she asks.

“Nick is alive. So are some of his men, not sure how many.”

“Good,” she whispers. “That’s good.”

“We need to move now, though,” I say. “Can you go out and find Roger for me? Get me some clothes?”

“Sure,” she says. “What about you?”

“I’m going to put something together.” I smile then kiss her again. “We’ll be fine.”

She nods, looking nervous, but gets up and leaves the room.

I turn back to my laptop and start to go through the videos, one at a time, seeing what I can learn, piecing the information together image by image.

* * *

“Are you ready for this?”

I nod at Kylie, not sure if I really am or not. “I’m ready.”

She opens the doors to my father’s bedroom and I step in. “I’ll wait here,” she says softly.

I give her a gentle kiss before walking into his room. The doors shut behind me.

Jason Price, great scion of the Price oil fortune, lies emaciated and dying in his bed. I hate seeing him like this. There’s a nurse at his bedside, but as soon as I step into the room, she discreetly leaves through a side door. My father is awake, though I don’t know how aware he is. I hope he’s aware enough.

I walk over to his bedside and sit down, the laptop in my hands. “Father,” I say.

“Carson.” His voice is like sandpaper, but at least he’s talking. “I didn’t expect you.”

“I’m not here for a visit. I’m here for something else.”

He licks his lips, his skin sallow and gray. His hair has all fallen out from the medicine, and he looks more like a skeleton than a man. But he’s having a good day, which is lucky for me, and his piercing blue eyes still retain some of the old shrewd sharpness that I remember as a child.

“Please, just watch this,” I say to him.

“What is it?” I can hear the pain in his voice.

“Just watch.”

I hit play on the video and make sure he can see the screen. He watches the small movie I threw together just ten minutes earlier. It shows Elliot’s men, including Declan, attacking my house from the various body cameras that I could find in the server. My father watches the whole thing, all two minutes, and doesn’t say a word.

When it’s over, I pull the laptop away.

“Why are you showing me this?” he asks.

“Because Elliot has to be stopped, but he has the sheriff in his back pocket. The only man that can bring him down right now is you.”

He stares at me and then smiles. “I’m dying, Carson. I can’t leave this bed.”

“You don’t have to. I know you have contacts outside of Juneau. Make a call.”

He frowns at me, watching me with those shrewd eyes, and for a moment I feel like a little boy again. But I’m not a little boy. This morning, I killed a man with an axe to save the woman that I love. I’ll take care of her, make her happy, and give her everything she can ever imagine. I’m not that scared little boy anymore, and haven’t been for a long time.

“I never wanted this,” he says softly.

“That doesn’t matter. Elliot can’t see beyond the job.”

“He was always... jealous... foolish.” He coughs softly and groans. For a second, I’m afraid he’s going to fall asleep, but his eyes return. “You must take the job, Carson. I don’t agree with the life you’ve lived, but you’re capable, competent, a better man. It must be you.”

I nod my head, keeping my face straight. “I’ll do what I must.”

“Good. You were always a good boy.”

“Make the call, father. Now, while you can. I can send the proof.”

He frowns at me and coughs again, a deep, hacking cough. I find him some tissues and he covers his mouth. There’s blood when he pulls them away, but he doesn’t seem concerned.

“Your brother... he’s an animal,” he says softly. “When an animal is out of control, it must be put down. Do you understand, Carson?”

I nod slowly. “I understand.”

“There’s a man, an old friend of mine. He works in the FBI. I’ll make the call. But you have to make sure he’s put down. Make sure he’s stopped.”

“I will.”

My father groans. “Phone. Now.”

I give him my cell phone and my father, old and dying and possibly in his final lucid moment, makes the call.

When it’s over, I leave his room. I pause at the door and look back at him, but my father is asleep. I don’t know if he’ll wake back up. I leave the room, and there’s so much to do still, but the only thing I want is to see Kylie.

She’s standing against the wall and her face lights up when I see her. I walk up to her and take her in my arms, pulling her close against me. I hug her tight, feeling her body close against mine.

This is the world I’m bringing her into, but I’m going to make it better. Soon, my brother will be in custody, and with the videos from Nick and his testimony, Elliot will go away for a long time. Myron will probably be arrested and thrown in jail as well, which is just as good. Juneau will need a new sheriff. Whatever they planned together will probably never be discovered, but it doesn’t matter.

Elliot dug his own grave because of his anger and jealousy, and he couldn’t wait. He had to take things into his own hands like a fool.

“Are you okay?” Kylie asks me.

I nod once and kiss her softly. “Everything will be okay now,” I say. “I promise. I love you, Kylie.” The words surprise me, but I know they’re true.

It’s what I’ve been building to. It’s what gave me the strength to get through this. Before her, I didn’t have direction in my life. I was fine with drifting through my days, working hard with no real aims beyond myself.

Now though, I want to fix this city. I want to help the people of Juneau and get rid of the corruption that I see all around me. Getting a glimpse into Elliot’s world, and the fact that the sheriff was a part of it, that all sickens me. I want to put a stop to it.

And I give Kylie all the credit. If I didn’t love her the way that I do, I don’t think I would have the strength to care. I might even have given Elliot the CEO job if he continued to push me.

Kylie gives me strength. She gives me purpose. And I’ll always love her for that.

“I love you too,” she whispers.

I kiss her hard and deep. I know it’s over, although it’s just beginning. It’s the right way, the good thing, the feeling I’ve always dreamed about. One moment passes and another and I can’t wait for more, more moments with her. I’ve never felt like this before, but she fills me the right way, and I can’t live any other way.

I’ll always take care of her. I’ll give her more than she can possibly imagine. And in return, she’ll give me meaning, purpose, the whole damn world.

I couldn’t have asked for anything more.