Redemption (The Protectors 8)

I wanted to laugh at that.

Who the fuck was I kidding?

I was about to commit so many crimes, I’d easily spend the rest of my life in prison. The idea actually appealed to me for the briefest of moments because it meant getting away from Ricky and my father. But with my luck, they’d stick Ricky in the same cell with me.

The car started moving again and I clenched my fingers around the gloves and black ski mask in my hand. Light from the overhead street lamps illuminated the car every dozen feet or so, giving me a partial view of the man driving. Ricky had only introduced him as Jed. I guessed him to be a few years older than Ricky, which put him in his mid-twenties. The guy hadn’t spoken to me at all, which was fine by me since he scared the ever-loving shit out of me. Whereas Ricky ran hot and lashed out when he was pissed off, I got the impression Jed was the opposite.

Quiet, cold, lethal.

I turned my head so I could watch out the window. I hadn’t paid much attention to where we were going when Ricky had forced me into the car after telling me I was helping him with a job. Since I knew what kind of “jobs” Ricky did, I’d tried to tell him no, but all that had done was earn me a punch to the side of the head that had left my ears ringing. It wasn’t until we’d stopped in a gas station’s abandoned parking lot a few minutes ago that Ricky had explained my role in what he’d said would be a simple burglary if I could just keep my shit together. Apparently, the guy we were going to rob was loaded and we had just one goal when we got to the man’s house.

Find the wall safe where he kept loads of cash.

Ricky had gotten excited when he’d explained about that part and he’d looked to Jed for reassurance, which had me guessing this whole thing was likely Jed’s doing. Which made sense as we drove past one huge house after another. No way Ricky would have known anyone in this kind of neighborhood.

Hell, Ricky and I weren’t even good enough to mow these peoples’ lawns or wash their fancy cars.

I didn’t have time to dwell on how I’d gotten into this mess because the car suddenly slowed and I watched Jed flick off the headlights as he pulled over to the curb. Houses surrounded us on both sides so I had no idea which one was our target.

“Here,” Ricky snapped as he thrust something over the seat at me. I swallowed hard as I realized what it was.

A gun.

“No, Ricky,” I said and automatically covered my head when he lunged at me.

“Take the fucking gun, Levi.”

I knew that voice. It was his ‘I’m done fucking around’ voice.

I tried to stifle the whimper that crawled out of my throat as I took the revolver from him. A shiver ran up my spine as the brief image of me turning the gun on him flitted through my mind. But even if I’d had the balls to do it, my ridiculous hope was dashed when I heard Ricky tell Jed the gun wasn’t loaded when Jed asked if it was a good idea to be giving me the weapon.

“Mask, gloves,” Ricky ordered a moment later.

I watched in mute horror as both men pulled their ski masks on and worked gloves over their hands.

I needed to run. I couldn’t do this. I didn’t care if we were just taking money from a guy who had plenty of it to go around.

But even as I reached for the handle of the door with one shaky hand, my gaze fell to Ricky’s and I saw him watching me. The little bit of light streaming in from a nearby street lamp reflected off the knife in his hand and I knew what it meant. I understood his silent message loud and clear.

Didn’t matter that I was his brother, his blood…he’d kill me just the same.

Even knowing the gun wasn’t loaded, I carefully put it in my lap before putting on the gloves and then working the mask over my head. It felt itchy and hot against my chilled skin.

The car began moving again, but it only went a few dozen feet before turning into the driveway of one of the slightly smaller houses on the block. Jed had left the headlights off, but I could still make out the house’s white siding and dark shutters. It was the kind of house I’d dreamed of living in when I was a kid.

That was back before I’d realized dreams really didn’t come true, despite all the shit grown-ups told you.

My stomach crawled as I got out of the car. Ricky had already warned me not to close the door the whole way since it would make too much noise, so I only pushed it against the door frame enough so it would stay closed. I scanned the area around us, expecting the cops to jump out at any second.