Dixie rushes out with a bunch of clothes in her hands, and I impatiently grab her arm and tug her along. “C’mon.”
“All right, all right,” she mutters as I drag her through the door.
I wish there was a better way out, but there are no windows on any other side of the room, so we’ll just have to face them head on.
I go out ahead of her, shielding her with my body from the men in front of me. I know they’d shoot to kill on sight, but I won’t let them.
“See? All you had to do was bring her out,” Matteo calls out from behind his vehicle. With his gun pointed at us, he leans over the hood. “Hand her over and no one will get hurt.”
“Why is that so hard to believe?” I joke even though this whole situation is anything but funny.
“You’re one of us, Brandon. We won’t hurt you,” he adds.
“Of course, you won’t.” I reload my gun. They won’t shoot as long as she still has a chance of escaping and as long as my uncle doesn’t give the go for them to shoot me too. Until then, I’m safe. Whatever that means.
But fuck safety if it involves giving my uncle what he wants.
He pulled out of a deal involving the Burrells, stealing from them in the process, and he thinks they’ll let him off the hook? Fuck no, I could’ve told him that myself. And why was he even doing business with them in the first place, knowing what they did?
He deserves for his hotel to crumble in ruins. I hope it teaches him a lesson.
“I hope y’all called an ambulance ahead of time,” I say, pulling back the slide on my gun. “Because none of you will be able to walk when I’m done.”
One of them hiding behind a tree laughs loudly. “It’s Seven against one, kid. You’re not gonna make it.”
Seven. Glad I know how many there are now.
I smirk. “Thanks for telling me.”
One of the others gives the one who told me a death glare. “Thanks, dude. Just fucking shoot him and get it over with.”
“No. Not until Josiah gives the okay. Until then, stay put,” Matteo says, stopping them from making a grave mistake. They should be happy he did, or they’d be dead by now. I don’t play around. If you come after me, I will make you pay with blood. Simple.
Matteo knows. Out of all the men working for my uncle, he’s been beside me the longest. We were practically training buddies, and he knows what I’m capable of. Top of the class. Excelling at every part of the course. The shooting range was my playground.
And from the concerned look on his face, I can tell … he knows not to mess with me. Even now. When I make up my mind about something, it’s virtually impossible to change that, no matter who the fuck you are. And that includes my fucking uncle and his men.
“Brandon, please. Can’t we talk this shit over?” Matteo says, trying to appeal to my good side.
But there’s one thing he doesn’t know about me … I don’t have one.
My heart and soul have long been blackened by the suffering I went through at the Burrells’ hands, and now my uncle wants to take away my last chance at revenge.
I won’t let it happen. She’s mine.
“Leave, Matteo.” I point my gun straight at them. “I won’t say it again.”
Even from a distance, I can see him hesitate. He swallows. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Then you’ll have to live with this.”
Before he can respond, I’ve already moved sideways and shot one of them who was hiding behind a bush. He drops dead onto the cold pavement.
One of them shoots and misses. I gun him down next.
“STOP!” Matteo yells.
He can’t control them. He never could. He wasn’t the ringleader, the boss.
I was.
The burden is too heavy for him to carry. He should quit while he’s still capable of walking.
“Get out before I ruin your last chance at a job, Matteo,” I warn him.
I don’t wanna do this. I really don’t. But if he gives me no choice, then I must.
My only chance at seeking the truth is right behind me, huddling at my back. That woman, despite our hatred, is my only shot at true freedom, as strange as that sounds. Us meeting again at my uncle’s hotel was no accident. It has to be fate.
“Brandon. Talk to your uncle. Just give it a chance,” Matteo yells, holding out a phone.
“No,” I respond.
I already know what he’ll say. That I’m a failure. That I’m going against everything our people stand for. Family. Values. Honor. It’s all lost on me … if I can’t have the revenge I need.
There’s no use talking to a man who won’t change his mind, and neither of us will.