She takes a step back and her eyes twinkle with mischief. “That’s good, because I was prepared to use whatever arsenal I had to win you back over. Including, but not limited to, bribing Remi to talk to you.”
My chuckle sounds rusty. “There would have been no need to bribe. She would have talked to me even if you didn’t ask her to.”
“I knew there was a reason why I liked her,” she says with a throaty giggle. “Now, why don’t you sit down and have some cookies? I’ll pour us some fresh milk.”
I stop her before she can grab the second glass.
“Next time. There’s something I need to take care of.”
She puts the glass down and crosses her arms.
“Michael?”
I give her a clipped nod.
She doesn’t say anything. Just picks up the glasses and carries them over to the sink and pours the contents down the drain. She may not say a word, but I know how she’s feeling. Mae has never cared for mine and my brother’s revenge, but in this case, I get the sense she wants the bastard to suffer just as much as Remi and Susan do.
Walking up beside her, I kiss her cheek. “Remi and I will be here next Sunday for dinner.”
“Okay.” She sets the glasses down in the sink and faces me. “Be careful.”
I nod again.
I leave a couple of minutes later, and my blood is already soaring through my veins at what’s coming next.
TROUBLE
EVERYONE REACHES POINTS in their lives where they have to choose between right and wrong. Which path to take that will lead us to where we want to be. Sometimes, these choices are easy, and sometimes, they’re hard. Sometimes, we pick the wrong ones, and sometimes, we pick the right ones. Each decision will have an impact on our life, whether it be immediate or in the future.
This isn’t one of those times. There is no choice to be made. There is no right and wrong. No good decision and no bad decision. There’re no other options besides the one I’ve already made. Michael Leland will die, and it’ll be by my hands. It’s just a simple fact.
Walking up the steps to Emo’s dad’s hunting lodge, I push through the door and come to a stop. Not surprising, Judge, Emo, and JW are already here. They know the shit Leland’s done. They know the pain he’s caused to so many people, which all directly affects me. That’s why they’re here.
If one of us gets cut deep, we all feel the pain. If one of us has been betrayed, we all feel the ramifications. What you do to one, you do to all of us.
We aren’t just close friends. We’re brothers.
I give a nod to each man. I’m glad they’re here. They deserve to be a part of this.
My eyes travel the rest of the room. It’s a single room, sparsely furnished, with a ratty couch, a twin bed in one corner with stains all over the mattress, a fireplace, a small kitchen table with duct tape wrapped around one of the legs, and an old ice box style refrigerator.
You would think Emo would have torn the place down, since it was the place his father used to take him to beat the shit out of him. But I have my suspicions on why it’s still standing.
At last, I move my gaze to the man in an old high-back chair in the center of the room. Just as I suspected, Emo didn’t just bring Leland to the lodge and leave him be. He had his own form of fun.
Leland’s naked except for his underwear and his face is barely recognizable. He has lacerations and bruises all over his body. What I find interesting and quite de
lightful is what he’s tied to the chair with. Each leg is flat against a leg of the chair. His arms are the same against the arms of the chair. They’re held in place by barb wire wrapped around each limb from wrist to elbow and knee to ankle. His head is pressed against the back of the chair with the same wire wrapped around his neck and the chair. It’s plain to see he’s struggled from the blood that’s seeping from each part of his body the wire touches.
His eyes are closed, and he looks deathly pale from blood loss, but thankfully, his chest is moving.
I quirk a brow at Emo.
He offers a shrug. “You said alive. He’s still breathing, ain’t he?”
My eyes flip down to his hand and see the steady drip of blood falling from his tight fist. This is hard on him because he knows how much damage Leland has caused me. Because of our roles in Rella’s life, Emo and I have always had a special bond. He wants to destroy Leland just as badly as I do.
I walk over to the table and grab the jug of bleach. Twisting the cap off, I turn to Leland. As soon as the first drops of bleach touches the open wounds on his arm, his body jerks, which digs the barbs farther into his skin. His eyes spring open wide and he starts screaming through the tape over his mouth. I don’t stop at one arm. Walking around the chair, I pour bleach over both arms, along with his legs. It splashes on my pants, turning the material from black to a light rust color.