Desolation Road (Torpedo Ink 4)

At his gasp she shook her head. “Don’t worry. It’s too beautiful. I can’t deprive the world of something that incredible. You, however, have to pay for what you did to my family.”

“Did you kill them? Was Holden right about you?” Calloway couldn’t imagine it. Not even now when she sat right there in the room with him looking so calm and sweet, exactly like a little librarian.

She gave him a little smile. “Yes. One by one. I will kill Holden too. This persecution of me has gone on long enough. He started it by allowing his monster of a son to continue his crimes without paying for them. Robert’s disgusting behavior escalated.” She sent him another little smile. “I suppose my response has done the same.”

Shadowy figures began to emerge from around him, stepping out into his theater, just as they might onto the stage of one of the great opera houses. Calloway thought it felt like he was an actor in one of the tragic dramas. The music swelled to a crescendo.

“I knew you’d come for me one day, Scarlet,” Calloway said. “You were the one I regretted. I should have felt remorse for taking other bribes, but look around you. That money created this. No, you’re my only regret. I knew you would come and I’m glad you have. I’m sorry for what happened to your family and the part I played in it. I was happy when Robert Jr. and his monstrous friends died the way they did. I thought they met with fitting ends. How shall I meet my end, Scarlet?” He took a sip of his wine, determined to go out like one of the most tragic heroes in the operas he loved so much.

“My husband will place a garrote around your neck and strangle you with it.”

“You’re married then?”

“Yes, recently. He insisted he take care of this one for me while I sit here and enjoy the opera. I do love this music.”

“You must, one day, go to Milan and see it in person.”

“I have on three occasions,” she admitted.

He was proud of her. He’d known all along she was worth saving. His one mistake. He closed his eyes as he felt the garrote tighten around his neck. How amazing that he hadn’t known the man was behind him. Or that the lethal weapon had been slipped around his neck like a noose of justice already. The bite was unexpectedly hard and fast, cutting off oxygen, taking him out of his fantasy world and into the realm of reality so that he realized he was actually going to die.

He dropped the wineglass and it fell to the floor, shattering, the red wine spreading out in an ugly stain, the pattern looking to his blurred vision like the outline of a dead man. His legs stiffened. His bladder let loose. That humiliated him, but he had no control. None. The thundering heartbeat in his ears drowned out the sound of his beloved music and his lungs burned and burned for air. He tried to fight, weakly reaching back to try to get to his executioner, but it was already too late, and he was losing consciousness.

Absinthe made certain Calloway was dead before he let the man go. “You all right, miledi?”

Scarlet nodded. “Yes, he wanted to justify his part in all this to himself. He just took the money. He was a judge, Absinthe. The law holds others accountable during the commission of crimes, yet he refused to be accountable, and he’s a judge.”

Alena wrapped her arm around Scarlet’s waist. “He wanted to think he was better than Holden or even Robert Jr. because he has good taste in art. He’s a snob, babe. Give up trying to figure these guys out. I stopped trying to figure out society a long time ago. Blythe keeps giving us lessons, but nothing makes sense to me.”

“Me either,” Ice agreed. “I say the word fuck or I prefer a Harley to a car, and no one wants me around their kid, but they let some asshole dressed all nice in the door and he’s all over their kid. They don’t even notice because he goes to church or he’s got money. Go figure. I don’t get it.”

“Who’s next?” Savage asked. He glanced at his watch. “We don’t want to blow the time here. We’ve got to hit four more tonight.”

Scarlet glanced up at him. “My original defense attorney. He was definitely in Holden’s pocket. He rolled over for him. I’ve wanted to visit him from day one.”

“Yeah, well, someone else did that for you,” Absinthe said. “You must have mentioned that to Adrik.” He watched her closely. He didn’t know how to feel about Adrik. She couldn’t change her past any more than he could. He was grateful that Adrik had chosen to return to Thailand after getting out of the hospital.