It was like watching a horror movie. The way Luke just sat up, his head turning and grabbing for the razor. Wes was on his knees and couldn’t move. He was hurting. I had tried to move, but the guys next to me grabbed my arms and held me there. They wanted me to watch this fucking scene. I was ready to fight my way out of it, that was for damn sure.
I thrashed my left arm as Luke took a step at Wes.
I screamed Wes’s name as loud as I could.
Wes couldn’t die now. Not after everything he’d been through.
I turned my head and saw someone rush to the guy next to me. He grabbed his throat and threw him back, slamming him so hard against the wall, he was out cold. The guy to my right jumped away from me to fight the attacker. The attacker was quick though, even in a suit and tie. His fists were fast and hard, sending the other guy to the ground, knocked out too.
The attacker then grabbed me. I tried to scream, but he lifted me and put a hand over my mouth. He started to run with me in his arms like I was nothing.
And I had no idea if Wes was alive or not… then I heard a gunshot…
~
It wasn’t exactly a hospital, but it was a little bit cleaner than the shit hole warehouse where the fights had taken place.
I sat in a chair and waited for the door to open.
There were a handful of people rushing around. They were all in suits and ties. They were talking about power, muscle, money - even drugs. It was like the world had come to an end or something. Which maybe was true. I mean, at least my world. Someone muttered that he was dead. That all it took was one bullet to finish it off.
They all looked at me and shook their heads.
Did they feel sorry for me?
What the fuck was going on?
I waited with forced patience because there was nothing else I could do. A man stood across from me with his hands at his waist. His suit jacket open just enough to show me the gun.
Yeah, I get the picture.
A door opened a short while later and Aton came walking down the hallway. A cane in his hand, moving slowly and looking tired. He put his other hand to the wall and pointed the cane at me.
“You and me,” he said. He whacked the cane off a door. “We need to talk.”
I stood up, ready to face my fate. Good or bad. It didn’t really matter what my fate was if Wes was dead. I had fallen in love with him and he’d done everything possible to protect me.
I went into an office and one of Aton’s guys shut the door.
It was just me and Aton now.
“Sit,” he ordered.
I sat down.
Aton hobbled to the other side of the desk and sat down. He balanced the cane to the desk and stared right at me.
“I tried to kill you once,” he said. “Sent Tommy and Wes out to blow your car up.”
“I remember.”
“Your brother saved you from that fate. He had intel about it. I guess that worked out for you and Wes.”
I slowly nodded. “Yes.”
“Yet I wonder how… well, why would Wes go along with killing his wife?”
I felt my cheeks rage with fire. “He came to me. The next day. That’s when he was shot in the shoulder.”
“After the bomb was planted. The trap set. You should have gotten into the car, Rose.”
“I didn’t.”
“Because of Luke? Because of Wes?”
My chin quivered. “I…”
Aton raised a hand and nodded. “Don’t get upset, Rose. I’m not a damn fool. And I knew what was happening behind my back with everyone. You don’t stay in power without recognizing the target on your back and protecting it. Understand me?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Your brother was very powerful. But he could never do what I do. I’m sorry to tell you this, Rose. You may get angry, that’s fine. But I killed him.”
My heart twisted. “Wes?”
“Your brother,”Aton said. “Wes had his chance but couldn’t do it. I had to do it. I had to end all this.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “Luke was a bad person.”
“He was going to kill you, Rose. He was going to kill me. He was going to kill Wes…”
“He told me his plan,” I admitted. “I saw Danny, too. They held me captive after Luke killed Tommy and his own guys. I thought he killed Wes too. My head is spinning. Is Wes okay?”
Aton folded his hands. “I’m going to ask you this once, Rose. You better not lie to me.”
I knew what was coming. I gripped the arms of the chair.
“Are you and Wes really married?”
I hesitated and then sighed. “No. We’re not. He told me to go along with it to keep ourselves alive. Because you were going to kill me to get to Luke. And that you were going to hurt him for messing up some fight. He said you had a soft spot because of your wife’s passing. I just went along with it. I was in a room and Tommy threw a sandwich at me. I was terrified. I wanted to help. I did help, too. I told Wes everything I could. And then we…”
“Rose,” Aton said. “Please stop talking.”
My mouth clamped shut.
Aton sat for a few seconds. “Do you love him?”
“Wes? Yes. I do with all my heart.”