Nolan
The look on Percy’s face is priceless.
Swear to God, I’d spend a fortune just so I could capture his expression of surprise. He wasn’t expecting me to storm in like this, and he sure as hell wasn’t expecting me, of all people, to take the phone out of his hands.
His eyes are wide, so much that they’re bulging out of his sockets. There are beads of sweat on his brow, and his lips are a thin line of disbelief. Just like I said: priceless.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He asks me in a subdued whisper, taking one step back.
I close the distance between us, grab him by the scruff of his shirt and push him back until he’s pinned between me and the wall.
“The tables have turned,” I growl, leaning in and smelling the fear. My blood’s boiling, and I’m more than ready to move in for the kill.
“What are you talking about?” He insists, looking toward the door, almost as if he’s looking for a way out. No such thing right now. He had us all trapped for so long, and now he’s the one cornered.
“You’re lucky we put up with you for so long,” I continue, and Kieran and Carter join my side. I look from one to the other, and return the smile on their faces. “The only reason we put up with you for so long, was that we didn’t know the reason behind this bullshit marriage story of yours.”
“Fake marriage? That’s not—”
“Shut the fuck up, Percy,” I tell him, and then I just slap him. I don’t even dignify him with a punch. No, I just slap him with the back of my hand, doing it as if he were a little bitch. Well, not as if he weren’t—he truly is a little bitch.
“Your debts—”
“I don’t give a fuck about my debts,” I continue, cutting him short once more. And slapping him again, of course. Fuck, this feels good. More than good.
“I know all about your bullshit, Percy. I know you have nothing on me. It’s all smoke and mirrors, motherfucker. I’m free from your grasp.”
“I’ll fucking ruin you, I’ll destroy all of you!” He shouts, looking around the room with scared eyes.
“You’ll do nothing of that sort, Percy.” I finally let go of his shirt, and he just slides down the wall to the floor, crumpled like an empty paper bag. “You know what I did before coming here? I called the fucking cops.”
“The cops?” He asks me in a whisper, his voice so low that I can barely hear him. But I don’t need to hear him—I can smell his fear.
“The cops,” I nod. “I did a little digging you see. I made a few phone calls, dug through a lot of financial files, and discovered a few things about all these shell corporations you’re involved with.”
This time he doesn’t say a thing. He just looks up at me, cowering, and both his hands start trembling at the same time. He knows I’ve got him. He knows there’s no escape.
“Stacy’s father isn’t in any real trouble, is he? The companies you used to buy a majority stake in his company are all bullshit. The money you used was all fraudulent, and a good portion of it funneled through money laundering operations. I always knew you were a pathetic weasel, but I was actually surprised to find out just how much of a fucker you are.”
“That’s…that’s a lie!” He sputters, talking so fast that spit starts dripping down his chin. He wipes it with the back of his hand and then tries to go up to his feet, using one hand to support himself against the wall.
“Well, you pulled through,” Kieran says, patting me in the back.
“You did, man,” Carter adds in, placing one hand on my shoulder as well.
“All I needed was some direction,” I tell them all, taking one step back from Percy. “The moment I knew what was going on with Stacy’s father, it was just a matter of doing some digging.”
“You have no proof, none at all!” Percy continues to sputter, his eyes focused on the door. I know that, given the chance, he’ll just run for it. Tough luck for him, though—he’s not going anywhere.
“You’re wrong, Percy,” I whisper, enjoying the way I can’t stop smiling. I reach inside my jacket and remove a couple of folded documents from the inside.
“Here’s your proof,” I continue, throwing the papers against him. They float around his body, drifting down to the floor, and he just stares at me slack-jawed.
He doesn’t need to see the documents.
He knows I have him.
“NO!” He cries out, doing it like a girl, and then starts racing toward the door. Moving fast, Kieran reaches for him and grabs him by the collar of his shirt. He pulls on him hard, and throws him over the large table.
“Not so fast, asshole,” Carter adds, closing both doors and locking them. “You’re stuck with us now. At least until the cops get here, that is.”
Percy gets up, looking around the room for an exit. For a moment, I almost think he’s going to jump through the window. I dismiss that thought almost immediately—a coward like Percy would never do something like that. I can imagine him going down on his knees and begging us not to turn him in, but it’s too late for that.
We could’ve been a family, the four of us, but Percy never wanted that.
He’s my brother, yes, but that’s just on paper.
My real brothers are Kieran and Carter.
“Is this real?” Stacy whispers, coming up to me and hugging me tight. I look into her eyes, and smile as I see them brimming with tears—tears of joy.
“Yes, it is…as real as it gets, Stacy. You’re free.”