Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 63608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Everyone here has,” Stunt mutters.
But Greene shakes his head slowly with a proud smirk. “Not like this.”
“His name was Adrian Greene.”
Greene’s one good eye gleams. “My brother.”
A beat. Another.
“He was trained with us,” I share. “Military contract work. No oversight. No rules. The kind of jobs that leave scars where skin can’t show them.”
Greene barks a laugh. “That’s one way to say it.”
I ignore him. I force the memories out before they choke me.
“Adrian was unstable,” I explain. “Mean. Violent. Would’ve killed civilians if they got in the way. Hell, he did once. And when he snapped on a mission, he had to be stopped.”
Greene snarls. “You murdered him. You slit his throat in the dirt and left him there. He was unarmed, unprepared, and you slaughtered him.”
I get halfway to him before three hands slam into my chest, pushing me back.
“Easy,” Chux warns.
I breathe hard enough my ribs ache. “Because he tried to kill a family,” I rasp. “A woman and her kid. They wandered into a target area by mistake. He thought it would be fun to clean up loose ends.”
“I told him to stand down,” I continue. “He laughed. Said he was going to rape her corpse and make her kid watch. I did what had to be done.”
Greene jerks against his restraints. “You slit his throat like an animal!”
“He was an animal!” I roar back.
“Afterward,” I state, “the target retrieved his body. Jonas was already ghost because he watched me end him, even though I didn’t know it at the time. He set things up for it to look like Adrian died in an explosion so the contract would pay out more. He knew what really happened. I let him make the play so his mother didn’t have to know what her son had become. He was supposed to stay dead to me since I agreed to protect his brother’s legacy. But he didn’t. He lived. And he’s been watching me ever since apparently.”
Greene smirks. “The brother you stole. The future you stole.”
Shaft studies Greene and then looks to me. “He wants to break you. Don’t let him.”
Chux slams his fist onto the metal table. “Enough.”
Nitro gives a signal and Chux swirls a finger up in the air. “We got what we need. Shaft, Nitro move him.”
Greene is hauled to his feet, still sneering. “You think this ends with me?” he spits. “Ledger took Adrian. And then he joined the Kings. You all have your own enemies. I just lit a new fire for them to come for all of you.”
Before anyone can react, Nitro shoves a gag into his mouth, ending the taunts. They drag him down the hall. His boots scrape. Metal clatters.
Then silence.
Mellow looks at me. “You’re in too deep. Nitro and I have a chat. When the time comes to end it, you can be there, or you can be clean of it. Make the call.”
I look the man in the eyes, “I end him. He touched what is mine.”
Mellow nods, “Nitro is confident no one is tied to him. He actually ran through all of his resources and took on a bunch of debt in this time watching you and planning. Chux will bring you in once we finish.”
With that he walks out and I’m left full of fury but also a peace that this is all going to be over soon. It’s roughly an hour later when I get the nod from Chux to go to the space they have Jonas held. Walking in, the aroma of urine, feces, and bleach assault my nose. His eyes are red and completely closed as snot runs out of his nose. He is stripped down to his underwear with blood running down his chest and arms from superficial cuts.
Mellow looks at me. “We are confident he worked alone.”
I look at the man I once considered a brother. “You deserve this death. Tell your brother, I’ll see him in Hell too.” I move over with Mellow stepping up beside me. I put my blade under his neck just below his ear. I begin to cut feeling his flesh part under the pressure as he screams. The first layer is pouring blood, but I didn’t end him yet.
I go to make the second swipe when Mellow crouches low in front of Jonas’s chair. “Your daughter is a beautiful young woman, Jonas Greene.”
Jonas’s eyes grow wide. “Smart play letting her use her mother’s maiden name. Even more clever was paying child support through a dummy company. But you still fucked up. Because there is always a trail. You wanted to play dirty. Just know with your last breaths, Lucy is going to be watched and well cared for by the Kings. I’m going to personally make sure of it.”
Before Jonas can reply, I take the blade and make the cut that goes deep. Cutting his vocal chords and arteries the blood covers Mellow’s face as he watches the life drain from Jonas Greene’s eyes.