A Legacy of Sorrow (A Violent Agenda)

Viola

Wanting to be alone, I offer to pick Dino up from the police station the next day. I use the rented Audi since the Beetle is no more. Everything feels fucked and such a waste. I hate waste.

I wait for a good hour before, finally, Dino walks out of the police station sporting a black eye. He seeks me out, tossing his blazer over his shoulder as he walks up, drinking the sight of me in. His eyes blaze, and his jaw clenches with the dimple showing. But he smiles when he sees me.

“Well fuck, I could sleep for a week,” he says.

“What happened,” I indicate to his eye.

“Some prick didn’t like my face,” he jokes.

I drive Dino home. He’s silent all the way there. Occasionally, I glance over. He looks a mess—shirt unbuttoned from the top and untucked, sleeves rolled up haphazardly, showing his scars, hair ruffled, eyes dark and shadowed, a thin layer of stubble scraping his jaw. He looks like he hasn’t slept in fucking days.

He catches me looking, a storm raging behind his blue eyes as he stares back.

“Lorcan called me while I was leaving the station. You’re letting Jude take the blame?”

Ah, so that’s it.I shrug. “Like I said before, I’m not his keeper.”

“Do you know what they’ll do to him in there?”

“Jude can handle himself.”

“So can I,” he snaps. He shakes his head. “No one is to fucking do anything, do you hear me. I’ll handle it.”

I say nothing and stare ahead. I’m fed up with the guys taking their shit out on me. Whatever emotional baggage they’re lugging around, I don’t care to have it in my face all the time.

When we get to the house, Dino is still glaring.

“Lorcan wants to speak to you,” I say.

“Good, I need to speak to him.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and disappears upstairs.

Fucking Dino.

I’ll have to straighten him out later.

Lorcan comes down several minutes after, features withdrawn. “It’s off,”

“What’s off?”

“Whatever you're planning with Saskia, it’s off.”

I give him a look. “That’s not your call. She’s my client, not you.”

He comes close, looking down his nose at me. “It’s my call. Do not fucking kill Joseph.”

“Saskia’s getting married tomorrow.”

“Then she gets fucking married.”

Unless Lorcan physically restrains me, or locks me in my room, I’m killing Joseph.

Saskia comes through with an alibi and messages her brother with an invite to her impromptu wedding eve bachelorette party.

“She’s fucking kidding? Right?” Lorcan’s eyes are almost bugging out of his head as he relays to me what his sister wants. “Why would I want to go—” He shakes his head. “Fine. If that’s what she wants. Fine.”

I shrug. “It’s not like she’s asking you to be the stripper.”