“Hey, kid. This is hardly the time for recreational fun. Where’s the body?” I turned to face Mario, who stood confused with two men behind him.
“Is this all the men you brought?”
“I have one more waiting guard outside.”
“Can I trust you?”
He let out a nervous chuckle and subtly looked around. “What’s with the questions?”
“I need to know if I made a mistake trusting you.” I knew he picked up on my meaning when he straightened and flexed his jaw muscles.
“Are you challenging me, kid?” The two men behind him went on alert.
“I’m asking a friend a question.”
“Why the sudden doubt?”
“The last time I trusted you, two people ended up dead, and I was being blamed for it. You’ve yet to give me an answer.”
His face reddened with anger. “He framed you, and the girl was a whore in the making, so does it really matter? You can trust me!”
“Like you trusted me?
“What are you talking about?”
“You killed Trevor Reynolds and Anya Risdell because you were afraid I rolled on you when I disappeared after my brother was shot—so you killed them to frame me, isn’t that right?”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Your daughter didn’t seem to think so.”
“The worthless bitch is only good for one thing and thinking isn’t one of them.” Anger flared to rage hearing him talk of his daughter that way. It confirmed everything I needed to know.
“I want you to leave Six Forks and never return. You can catch Arthur on your own.” I turned to leave, putting the icing on the cake.
“Fine!” he roared at my back. “I killed them. You should be grateful. I did you a favor.”
“Having me set up for murder was a favor?”
“You should blame that girl. She turned you in, didn’t she? They never would have implicated you if it weren’t for her. You should have killed her a long time ago!”
I remained silent, grappling with the need to kill him here and now. Keeping a cool head would keep her safe. It would end all of this.
“When? Long before she turned me in?”
“It would have saved a lot of time.”
“I can see the fear in your eyes, Mario. Why do you want her dead?” I spent so much time learning what fear was to avoid it that I recognized it no matter how well it was hidden or covered.
Anger. Bravery. Indifference. None of them compared to the potency of fear.
“She’s bad news.”
“You don’t even know her. You’ve never even met her.”
“I know you let what’s between her thighs make you forget who you are.”
“If that’s true, why is there fear in your eyes?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, son. You’re a teenager. I’m a man.”
“So what about another man?”
“Are you threatening me?”
“If I were, would you kill me? Isn’t that what happened to your partner?”
“What partner?”
“Thomas Monroe. The real reason you want his daughter dead.”
The reason why I was given a second chance. I realized at some point while I held Monroe and wished upon wish I could take her pain away, that it was her parents who saved me. I had thanked them by hurting their daughter for ten years.
“Who told you about him?”
“It seems that Arthur isn’t the only one after you.”
“You little shit. After everything I’ve done for you?” He signaled to his men and they pointed their weapons. “I should have just killed you or let you die in the streets.”
He watched me. Waiting for me to cower and beg. When I only offered him a smile, his eyes blazed with unrepressed rage. “Kill him.”
“You haven’t changed.” The door to the gymnasium slammed shut as five men, including Arthur, walked in. Mario and his men swung around, but his guards were quickly gunned down by Arthur’s men, leaving only Mario. One of the men shot Mario in the arm where he held the gun.
“Ahhhh!” Mario screamed. When he recognized who had intruded on our meeting, his face paled from more than just pain. “Arthur.”
“Mario… it’s been a long time.”