“I thought you would be more reasonable, considering I was helping you to make Redmond pay. Apparently, I overestimated you,” Matthew says, moving away from the table.
“Tell you what. I’m going to agree to this plan of yours. I’ll help you take Redmond down, but I want it written in the pig’s blood that you and your fucking brother won’t bother my crew anymore. You don’t even breathe in our territory.”
“I can agree to that.”
“So, we have a deal? I kill your Uncle, and you get control of the family again. In return, you leave me and my crew alone, forever.”
“I’ll get you the details of the meeting this week.”
“Tell me, Matthew, what would your grandfather do if he knew you were plotting to kill his only remaining son?” Matthew pales, and that’s the point I want to get across. “Fuck me over, Matthew, and he’ll know everything. Everything, because this meeting… I have it on tape.”
I pull open my cut, revealing a mic taped down and leading to the recording system.
“Let’s roll boys,” I say. “I’ll give you a week to get me the info, Matthew. Don’t make me wait,” I warn him, then leave.
Diesel was right. I do owe Beast this. Not Beth, because I’m the fucker that hurt Beth. I can’t fix that, but I can avenge my brother’s daughter, and I will. It’s the only thing keeping me moving right now.
Three Weeks Later
Three weeks, and every day is darker than the last. My light is gone. Warmth is gone. Beth is gone. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’ve held out the hope that she somehow survived. It happens in the movies, right? She was thrown from the blast, hit her head and can’t remember who she is, right? I’ll have to convince her I’m her husband, make her remember and fall in love with me again. I can handle that.
This isn’t the movies, though. All I have are memories, loneliness, and pain… so much pain, it hurts to breathe. I think I’m starting to understand what Beast is going through. Since Beth’s attack, he’s said very little, but at least he’s acknowledging us. He and I are alike. He’s blaming himself for the death of his daughter. If he hadn’t left his keys there, hadn’t fallen asleep, hadn’t gotten drunk… Oh yeah, I fucking understand him because I play that fucking what-if game a million times a day with myself. I always lose, too.
“Everything’s ready, boss,” Torch says into the earpiece I wear.
I’m sitting at the conference table at Colin Donahue’s mansion. To my right sits Matthew. Beside him, Colin, who has obviously been beat all to hell. His eye is black, his face swollen, and his nose has obviously been broken. He wears a cast on his arm as well as a back brace. I’m not sure Matthew’s the one who delivered the punches, but I’m fairly certain he had it done. Surprisingly, I find myself respecting him a little, at least as much as I can possibly respect a Donahue. There are four others in the room. Sabre and Latch are standing behind me as my protection, and Matthew has two men with him.
“Redmond just pulled up. He has six men with him. Two stayed with the car, and that sends four up your way. Briar’s showing them in, now.”
“Showtime,” I tell everyone out loud, mostly to notify my men. I could give less than a fuck about the others. I had Briar dress as the Donahue butler. Of all of us, he’s the one with the least noticeable tattoos and piercings. I knew they would never buy me, but then again, I figured Redmond has had me investigated pretty damn thoroughly.
Sabre goes to stand behind the door and waits. It takes a few minutes, but Briar opens the door for them. I got a file on Redmond a couple of weeks ago. The bastard’s picture was imprinted on my brain, but even so, when he walks through the door and looks at me, I’m still shocked. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just too fucking easy, too anticlimactic. Or maybe I thought it would feel better to end him. I don’t know.
His men start to back out of the door, but Briar’s there to stop them, and this time, he has an AR-15 to do his talking for him.
“I got to say, I didn’t see this one coming,” says Redmond, staring straight at me. I don’t bother answering. He looks at Matthew and Colin. “Well played, nephews. You apparently had more brains than I gave you credit for.”
“We learned from our father,” responds Matthew. “You know the man who defeated you before?”
“This family reunion is sweet and all, but I have better shit to do,” I interrupt them. I put myself in front of Redmond. The cocky bastard doesn’t even flinch. He stares right back at me. Matthew’s men subdue the two men flanking Redmond, and still the bastard seems unruffled.
“You’re the last person I expected to work with my nephews,” Redmond says, and he’s smiling. I don’t know what the fucker thinks he has to smile about. Shit, maybe he’s fucking nuts. “Politics makes strange bedfellows, I suppose.”
“Under no circumstances am I or would I ever get in bed with you sad fucks. This is about vengeance, plain and simple.”
“I can almost see what my daughter saw in you.”