Chapter Twenty-Four
Wade might have been an overweight out of shape businessman at one point but that was years ago. He’d slimmed down in prison and in addition to becoming more cold, calculated, and dangerous, had obviously started working out.
Perhaps in preparation for this moment. Knowing Wade as he did, Logan hadn’t been all that shocked when his so-called brother had broken out of prison. He was never going to live the rest of his life there and he sure as hell didn’t intend to go back.
Sprinting after Wade in the dark, Logan grunted with the effort as branches smacked at his arms, legs, and head. He’d be scratched and bruised when the sun came up in a little while. Or he’d be dead. That was a possibility, although Logan had – as Reed had said earlier – a hell of a lot to live for. What did Wade have? Nothing. No one loved him and he didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself. That was no way to live.
That gave Logan the advantage. His will to survive. He wouldn’t give up but Wade wasn’t a man that liked struggle. Even his kills had been relatively easy with victims that wouldn’t put up much of a fight. Wade liked the simple targets and Logan wasn’t one of them.
Stopping abruptly in a small clearing circled by pine trees, Wade turned around to face Logan. The son of a bitch pointed his gun at Logan. And smiled. Because this was all a fucking game to the bastard.
So Logan would play. For a little while. Just to see what Wade had planned.
There the two of them stood about twenty feet apart, moonlight glinting off the barrels of their guns pointed at one another. The clouds had cleared and it was as bright as day. Logan could clearly see Wade’s jubilant expression. The son of a bitch was happy.
Wade cackled, his grin spreading across his face. “I knew it would be you.”
I’ll just humor him.
“Of course, you did.”
They were both breathing heavily, puffs of steam appearing when they spoke. Wade wasn’t wearing a coat, only a flannel button down over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He’d either been sleeping in his boots or he’d stopped to put them on when the smoke grenade went off.
“I did. I knew it would be you coming after me. You know this is between us. We’ve both always known that even when we were kids.”
Logan doubted that as a child he’d known that he’d be standing here pointing a gun at one of his friends and he also doubted that Wade knew that.
“We were friends back then. Not enemies.”
“We’re not enemies now. We’re brothers, Logan. We’re more alike than different.”
More of this bullshit.
“That seems to be a subject you’re stuck on, Wade. You want us to be the same but we’re not. I’m not a cold-blooded killer.”
“Then you’re not going to shoot me? How disappointing. I was sure you would. You’re a Bryson, after all.”
“I’m not a Bryson. You’re a Bryson. Who killed his own brothers. Why, Wade?”
“They were evil just like Dad was. It’s in the Bryson blood, brother. You can’t escape it.”
Wade had become slightly nuttier in the last few days on the run.
“How were they evil? They didn’t kill anyone. You did that.”
Wade shrugged. “They might as well have. They lied, cheated, and stole. They were only a fraction of the way from taking a life. I just stopped them before they did.”
“No one is completely innocent, but I don’t think Lyle would have ever killed someone. He was your little brother, man, and you shot him in the head. That’s some cold shit. Lyle loved you.”
Keep him talking. Get into his psyche.
“He hated me for what I did to the Bryson family name.” Wade laughed again. “Can you imagine that? The Bryson family name. As if that’s anything to be proud of. Dad and Uncle George made sure that we would always be keeping our head down, didn’t they?”
“It’s one thing to be dishonest in business but that’s not equal to taking a life, Wade. What you’ve done is evil. What they did was bad. But there’s no moral equivalence there. One is far worse than the other. You’ve killed innocent people for fun. Because you enjoy it. You’re not killing criminals anymore that slipped through the justice system. You’re doing it because it excites you. Isn’t that right?”
Wade didn’t argue, instead nodding in agreement. “Yes, the Bryson blood is evil. That’s why you’re here, Logan. To kill me.”
“I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to take you in. You’re going back to prison.”
“I don’t think so. Next stop for me is Florence. I won’t go. You’ll have to kill me or I’ll kill you. You’re more like me than you know, my brother. Everyone thinks that you’re a hero but you like killing just as much as I do. You only pretend that you don’t. You’ve wrapped up your murder in righteousness but you and I know the truth, don’t we? You like it. I like it.”
Logan wasn’t going to argue with Wade about whether he enjoyed killing. He didn’t but his half-brother would never believe it. Even now Logan didn’t want to kill Wade, but he would if he had to.
“What would killing me accomplish? You’d still be alive. The Bryson evil would still be in the world.”
Was this some sort of murder-suicide thing? Was that what Wade had in mind?
“Did you ever hear that story about the scorpion and the frog? The scorpion asks the frog for a ride across the pond and the frog of course says no. He’s afraid of getting stung. But the scorpion assures the frog that he won’t do that. If he did then they would both drown and that doesn’t make any sense. So the frog gives the scorpion a ride and halfway across the pond, he feels a sting on his back. He asks the scorpion why he did it because now they’re both going to drown. The scorpion says, ‘It’s in my nature to sting’.”
“It’s in your nature to sting,” Logan repeated, his arm getting tired. Wade’s had to be getting tired, too. “That’s the stupidest story I’ve ever heard in my fucking life. Where did you hear that?”
“Marilyn told me in one of my therapy sessions. I miss her sometimes.”
“You killed her when she wasn’t any use to you anymore. Which reminds me, is Marshal Amy Sinclair alive?”
“Sadly no, but she put up more of a fight than the other ones.”
Jesus, Logan would never get used to the death and destruction this one man wreaked upon the planet. How on earth could they share the same blood and DNA?
Snapping his teeth together, Logan’s jaw hurt where he gritted them together. “Where is her body, Wade? We have to notify her next of kin.”
“I don’t remember exactly. Somewhere near your safe house. Strange name…safe house. You were never safe there. I always knew where you were.”
Now they were getting somewhere.
“We assumed you had someone inside the marshal service.”
“I certainly did. Mike has been invaluable letting me know all of your movements.”
Mike Dayton? Wade spoke of him as if he was still alive. Where in the hell was he?
Can’t worry about that. Focus on Wade. Reed will deal with the others.
“Mike can’t help you now. It’s just you and me.”
“That’s right, it is.” Wade held up his gun, waving it around. “And this is a horrible way to go out of the world. It needs to be you and me. Brother against brother. Fists against fists. What do you say? On three, we both toss these guns aside and duke it out like we used to when we were kids. What did we used to say? Fair and square. Winner take all, Logan.”
Wade might have been honing his badass routine in prison for the last few years, but Logan hadn’t exactly gone soft during the same time period.
“We both know who would win. I’m a decorated war hero who has been trained to kill in hand to hand combat in the Army Rangers. You’re some guy that acts tough around the prison yard. The odds are definitely not in your favor, Wade.”
“I don’t think they’re as bad as you say. Maybe you’re afraid?”
Logan snorted. “Next you’re going to double dog dare me. We’re not ten anymore.”
Wade’s smile widened on his face. At that moment he looked more like that man that Logan had known all those years ago, boyish and innocent. “No, we’re not. We’re grown men. Brothers. You’re just like me, Logan. You’re a Bryson.”
“The last fucking thing I am is a Bryson.”
Logan’s declaration was like a starter’s pistol at the beginning of a race. It set Wade off roaring like a bear. His gun pointed straight at Logan’s chest, he barreled toward him screaming like a banshee. No actual words. Just a war cry that could be heard for miles.
With reflexes that had been honed in battle, Logan didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger twice, hitting Wade both times. One in the head and one in the heart.
Wade Bryson, vigilante serial killer, seemed to waver on his feet after the first bullet but his legs gave out when hit the second time. His expression wasn’t one of shock or surprise but happiness.
Happy that Logan had shot and killed him.
In his mind, that makes us the same. We’re not. The difference between Wade and me? I didn’t want to do it and he did.
Wade didn’t want to go back to prison so he’d made what looked like the ultimate sacrifice. Himself. Logan knew it was bullshit. This was all to prove a point.
Wade had failed spectacularly. There were too many ways to count in which they were different. He never did understand it because he wasn’t capable.
So many deaths, so many lives ripped apart because Wade had so many things to prove. In the end, he only proved that he didn’t care about anyone but himself. Now he couldn’t hurt anyone anymore.
Sucking oxygen into his starved lungs, Logan stared down at Wade’s prone body. In the end, Wade had received what he’d wanted. He’d gone out in blaze of gunfire. This would make the papers and then, God willing, Wade and his reign of terror would be forgotten.
“I called Tanner. The team will be here soon. Cops too, I would imagine.”
Reed.
Logan turned to see his friend, looking alive and well.
“How long were you standing there?”
“Long enough.”
“You had every reason to kill him and you had the shot.”
“I did,” Reed agreed as the sound of a chopper filled the air. The cavalry was here. “But you had things in hand. Mike was the leak, by the way. He’ll definitely live to make a statement.”
Logan felt tired. Exhausted. He wanted to curl up with Ava and sleep for days. He wanted to kiss her and hold her and tell her he loved her. He wanted to hold Colt and Brianna and then watch them grow up. He wanted to hold Ava’s hand for the rest of his life.
“I could use a beer. How about it?”
Reed chuckled and rubbed his jaw. “Naw, I think I’ll head back to the hospital. Kaylee’s going to need me. As it is I’m going to have to explain this bruise.”
And Ava would need Logan. That’s how he was different than Wade. He was loved and he loved in return. There was nothing better.