“Danny!” He cried out in agony.
I lifted my eyes to the burning home as two firemen emerged from the front door carrying out a body, which they placed upon a stretcher before they ran back into the flames. The paramedics ran with the stretcher towards the ambulance and as they passed us by, I held my breath. A hand dropped off the side of the stretcher and I dropped my gaze to the dainty fingers covered in ash.
A woman had been rescued.
“It’s going to blow! Everybody clear out!” Shouted the chief.
Jack dropped his hands from his face as he stared wide-eyed at his brother’s home. The firemen evacuated; running across the front lawn to save their asses as a blast sounded. The windows blew out, shards of glass flying, the flames climbing higher into the black cloud of smoke that hoovered over the house. Another pop and then the house came crashing down, all three stories crumbling down to the earth.
The flashes of light, the destruction before me, left me mesmerized. I didn’t even notice Jack’s reaction at first but his screams echoed through me, eventually pulling me out of my daze. I needed to get him out of here but that was probably going to be impossible. I reached into my pocket for my phone deciding that I’d get in touch with his club. If anyone was going to get through to him it would be his brothers not me.
Jack stared at me, his facial expression hardening, his eyes narrowed as he started to get up. I held out my hand to him but he was up in a flash, slamming me against the side of a firetruck.
“You son of a bitch! You gave me your fucking word!” He growled, cupping my neck with his hand, his fingers digging into my flesh in his attempt to choke me. He reached behind him and I saw a flash of something shiny before the sharp blade tickled my throat. I didn’t want to do it but he left me no choice I lifted my knee and connected with his groin. His face fell, and I took advantage, flipping the knife onto him. I threw him back against the truck mimicking the way he had held the blade to my neck.
“How the fuck am I responsible if I’ve been with you this whole time? Think about what the fuck you’re doing Jack! Now I’m sorry about your brother, I am real fucking sorry but you need to get a grip!”
Jack was a badass motherfucker they didn’t come tougher than him, so when tears fell from his eyes my heart bled for the guy.
“I didn’t do it,” I said looking him in the eye.
“Someone did,” he said through gritted teeth. He viciously poked my chest with his index finger. “Someone on Victor’s end did this,” his eyes narrowed. “So help me God when I find out who it is.”
I stared at him dropping the blade from his neck as I took a step back wondering if he was right. Had Victor known all along that the Fed was Jack’s brother? If he did, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind, just as there wasn’t a doubt in Jack’s that the Pastore family took care of their problem by killing Danny Parrish.
Jack took a step toward me. “You swear you didn’t know anything about this!”
I lifted my eyes to his. “I didn’t know a goddamn thing.”
“Find out who the fuck is responsible Bianci. Get me a fucking name, proof, whatever, but if you fail to deliver I’m holding you responsible.” He glared at me through his bloodshot eyes.
Grief was a fucked up thing, it turned good people into bad and bad people into terrorists. Jack Parrish wouldn’t let this one slide he wasn’t going to stop until his own hand tortured his brother’s assassin. He’d make whoever did this pay, or he’d do as he promised hours ago and he’d fucking rip apart anyone who ever meant anything to anyone involved in the Pastore crime family.
Adrianna’s face flashed before my eyes and that was all the drive I needed. I turned around and grabbed the back of Jack’s cut, spinning him to face me.
“I’m going to find out who killed your brother, Jack,” I vowed.
He stared at me vengefully not saying a word. I didn’t know if he believed that I’d find out who killed Danny, but by the look in his eyes, he didn’t care either way. He was going to avenge his brother’s murder and there wasn’t a man powerful enough to stop him. The case the Feds were building on Victor may have gone up in smoke that night but the Pastore family had much bigger problems now. We were all fucked.
Chapter Eighteen: 2014