Page 20 of Not Taken

Sam let out a long breath as he stepped back from me. Something changed in him, a new tension rising as the gun clicked in his hand.

It was done before a single word fell from her lips. One shot, straight into Chalmers forehead. Her body jolted in shock as the muted click of the trigger echoed around the loading bay and splattered her brains against the wall.

Silence plunged around us, so loud my ears rang as the world stopped. All I could do was watch, wide-eyed as her body slumped forward, bent at ninety degrees, still twitching. The tie around her wrists held her up as blood poured from her head in a steady stream.

Chalmers had been prepared, she knew we were done for. Jones, though, he’d never seen anyone die before. It was obvious from the way his screams tore from him, and how hard he fought against his restraints. His babbling, his crying, the fighting - it only pulled Sam's attention. So I could thank Jones for that, at least

Brief thoughts of my daughter danced across my mind. Hot summer days picnicking in our back garden, a Christmas full of love and family, planting spring flowers and crunching through autumn leaves. It was her sheltered innocence I was here to protect.

They couldn't get to her once I was gone.

“What happened to you not using guns?” I spat at him.

“It doesn’t count when you’re killing vermin. And it’s not gonna end here.” Sam snarled. “You think you three are enough? This is war. We stayed off you guys as a fucking curtesy. We let you run operations in our territory. You think it was a fucking coincidence the information about the Marshall deal just fell into your lap?”

“It wasn’t like that!” Jones shouted. “We were just doing our jobs.”

I threw him a bitter look. His terrified eyes hit me, and I shook my head. He was done.

Sam took a single step towards him, the gun flashing in the floodlights.

“Oh, God! No! Please! Stop! I’ll tell you anything!”

Which was exactly what my wife said. I learnt early on that begging was never an option with the Donellis.

Fear joined the pain shooting through me as the quiet, steady flow of Chalmer’s blood splashed onto the concrete, half running down the drain by her feet while the rest spread in a pool towards me.

Jones’ drainpipe joined the chorus of his screams as he struggled, his body violently jerking. “Eli! Help me! Eli, please!”

What could I say that would stop Sam? There was a reason he led the Donelli family. If he decided on something, nothing could get in his way.

I closed my eyes, sighing heavily through my nose. I should care more, I should do something, but Jones was getting an easy way out.

Sam gave a harsh laugh. “Say it again, go on. Tell me how much you want to live.”

Jones’ terrified shouts would do nothing, and maybe a part of him knew that, but it didn’t stop him trying.

Sam’s lips curled in disgust after a minute of begging and pleading, and it was clear when he grew bored. Just a squeeze of his finger. That’s all it took to end Jones' life. His last word was a roar of “No” before the silent puff of a bullet flew through his head, and it was done. Not a single flinch from the men around me - we’d all seen too much death to be moved any more.

The agency had trained us religiously on what to do when our cover was blown, but how was I ever meant to prepare for pain? Even if I’d been beaten like this before, fought Caleb and others in the ring for a year, it didn’t make the agony of their punches and kicks any less. It was the same for a bullet. And all because they were shipping drugs and wanted to keep making money.

My plan to pretend to be scared flew out of the window as I met Sam with a hard glare. If he shot me, I wouldn’t fight. Donelli talked about facing people like a man, but I stopped being a man the day my wife died.

“Come out,” Sam called, his voice bouncing around the loading bays. “I know you're there.”

All my determination faltered, because one of the two people who made me come undone emerged from the shadows.

Our eyes locked, and his pure fury gave me strength.

His shoulders back, head held high, getting ready to face off anyone who came near him in that arrogant way of his. Like the true heir of the Donelli empire.

“What the fuck is going on?” he said quietly, his gaze fixed on me. “Eli, what the hell did you do?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

CALEB

Eli stared at Dad, a cruel smile fucking up his face as he told him how he’d been killing off our family.

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