Page 72 of Conquered

She was tasty.

Now I felt guilty for even bringing her into my unstable world.

There was utter quiet inside the SUV as Styx drove, all three of us consumed in our personal thoughts and I had a feeling on this day, we were all thinking the same thing for a change.

What if things had been different when we’d been growing up? What if our father hadn’t been a monster?

A heavy burden remained on my heart. I cared for Sara deeply already. I could push it aside, saying it was because of the chemistry we shared or the mental aptitude and desire to explore aspects of the human psyche most people shied away from. But I doubted once I peeled aside all the layers and the armor I’d crafted around myself that the answer would appear to be anything close.

As Styx continued the drive outside of town, I was shown a few of Chase White’s articles from recent months, including those he’d penned in the last week. A few had already alluded to the fact we were monsters capable of heinous activities. He’d even brought up in limited detail investigations the police had undertaken almost two decades before. That meant he had a reliable and very knowledgeable source providing him with details.

It was vital we find the source. While Chase, if allowed to live, could prove damaging to the family, it was nothing in comparison to the person responsible for the cryptic threat. While I had no real desire to partake in the violent aspects of our mafia family, none of us would ever be able to fully live a normal life as long as our past was continually brought up.

Could we eliminate every chance someone out there knew details of our father’s hunts? No, but it had been long enough and with the bones being removed, the likelihood of being prosecuted for anything was becoming less and less possible.

Styx pulled down a street that was obviously residential but there were few houses in the area. It was an older area, but well maintained. And from what I could tell, the population could be older given there was almost no one out, few cars on the road in the area. That was good given what we were about to do.

“Chase lives alone and I’ll give the man credit. He took great pains in attempting to keep his address secret,” Creed said.

“You know eliminating him will only push our unknown enemy into altering his methods of attempting to destroy us,” I told him.

“Absolutely, but when methods are required to be changed, usually mistakes are made. That will aid in finding who’s behind the threats.”

“So there’s been a second,” I said.

Creed nodded. “Similar wording. Cryptic shit that I’m even having a couple of my computer guys look at to determine if there might be a hidden message in them. Plus, I had the same bogus breather just this morning. Park over there. That’s Chase’s house.”

“I wonder why I haven’t received a call as of yet?” I mused.

“My guess is you will. This is a game more than anything.” Creed leaned forward in his seat.

“Do you have a cleanup crew standing by?” Styx asked as he pulled against the curb to park.

“Of course. I’m a full-service operator.”

Creed was thoroughly enjoying his position as top dog of the mafia portion of our family, something I’d never wanted.

As we climbed out, it struck me that Creed was so comfortable in his skin and his position that he didn’t worry about handling business of this nature in the daylight. Yes, I’d been called to assist him in tracking enemies over the years, acting as his lieutenant or what could be called the Capo position. I’d felt nothing but ice in my veins at the time, knowing that it was either kill or be killed. But this felt different. Not wrong but distasteful, even if I knew just how dangerous a reporter could be.

Often more so than any prosecutor out there. The world of public opinion was jaded, so many prepared to jump into a lynch mob simply because they needed a distraction from their boring lives. Those who said bad press was still good hadn’t lived a day in our world. I buttoned my jacket to hide the weapon I had in a shoulder holster. There was no sense in drawing any more attention to our arrival than necessary.

As we headed toward the house, Creed chatted with Styx as if this was a typical day at the office. Meanwhile, I was quiet. Every vision had a version of Sara in it. I also had an understanding of why she’d held back from her story, likely doing everything she could to hide the fact she was the niece of a real-life monster.

When we were near the door, I pulled Creed aside. “I have a question.”

Creed lifted a single eyebrow. “Shoot.”

For some crazy reason, I felt awkward asking the question. “Did finding and keeping Bella change your life, your needs?”

He rubbed his jaw as he took a deep breath. “As you well know, I had no desire to enter into a relationship. Women were playthings and nothing more. But all those people I thought were idiots when they said things like having a good woman in your life changes everything or that all powerful men had a woman running the show behind them, well, I didn’t want to admit it for a long time but it’s true. Do I tell Bella everything about my life and how I handle issues within business? Of course not, but she’s not stupid and I assure you she keeps me on center, focused on what’s important.”

“And having a child?”

He shook his head, looking away for a few seconds. When he turned his head toward me, I was shocked to see a hard man like Creed, a guy who’d enjoyed seeing the light leave his victims’ eyes, had tears in his for the first time in as long as I could remember.

If ever.

“Having a child is the best reason to believe in hope, to be able to forget the past, and to find the kind of light none of us believed was possible in life. You’ve known this girl for a semester, although until recently you were clueless. Take it slow but open yourself up to possibilities. You might be surprised that the nightmares will finally end and you can shove the past into the black fucking hole it should be in. But in order to do so, take a piece of advice from a man who never trusted anyone. Be honest with Sara. Be forthcoming. Keep your promises and by God, learn that women are strong and sensible but need their men to make fools of themselves.”

---