Page 80 of Red My Lips

“We’ve both made mistakes. But we can move on from all this.” I stare at him, listening as his sweet talk and negotiations slide right off my back without making a dent. There’s no going back, the damage is done. What little faith I had in this deadbeat is long gone.

My brother is standing right in front of me, the brother I’ve spent months going crazy looking for. But it feels like I’m looking at a stranger.

“Let’s go pack your things. You have the bracelet, right?”

“The bracelet,” I repeat bitterly. Tommy nods, looking around the room like he might catch a glimpse of the gaudy gold jewelry.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need my lucky charm now that I’m back. Where is it?”

Now that I’m back.

Something about those four words slices painfully into my chest like I’m being stabbed by realization. He thinks everything is the same as before, like nothing ever happened. Like he didn’t try to betray me on the deepest level for his own benefit. He doesn’t care about that, and why would he? He sees nothing wrong with it.

Tommy is never going to change. He’s going to stay who he’s always been, who I’ve allowed him to be my entire life—a selfish, greedy asshole who’s only ever out for himself. A bloodsucker draining the life out of anyone he can sink his teeth into.

I’ve always known who he is. But for the longest time, I thought that being his sister—his family—somehow meant I was safe from him. I’m not. I’ll never be safe from his self-serving egotism. He’ll turn on me without a second thought the moment it turns in his favor.

And what’s to stop him from cashing that reward check from Carter’s parents the second he gets back to Chicago? Nothing. He’s got his ammunition now, and he’ll pull the trigger on me every chance he gets.

I look at my brother, who’s been waiting with bated breath, to see how I’ll react to all of this. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Tommy’s shoulders sag with relief, but Gage isn’t so happy.

“Jill—” I hold up a hand to cut off his protest.

“Just wait here. Both of you.” Striding out of the room, I head down the hallway to the bedroom. Pulling open my nightstand drawer, I find what I’m looking for. The weight of the metal in my hand as I stride back toward the living room carries the heaviness of this entire situation. When I walk through the doorway, Gage is standing with his arms crossed, staring Tommy down. My brother is trying to stare back but can’t help but fidget.

His tell has gotten even worse than the last time I saw him. He’s losing it.

Walking over to my brother, I lift my arm to dangle the ugly gold bracelet in the air in front of him. “Is this what you wanted so badly?”

Tossing the jewelry at him, he reaches out both arms to catch the damn thing like it’s a fragile heirloom. I wait for both hands to wrap around the metal, his arms raised, to make my move. My knife pierces him just under his ribcage with all of the anger that’s been building inside me my entire life. All of it comes to a head in this one moment as I shove the blade through his muscular wall as hard as I can.

Tommy wheezes out a grunt as the wind is knocked out of him, his eyes bulging in his head at me in shock. “What are you—?”

“This is what I want. Badly.”

White hot anger flashes across Tommy’s face, his expression morphing into hateful contempt. His arm raises to swing at me, but he doesn’t get the chance. In an instant, Gage has Tommy in a chokehold with both arms pinned behind his back.

“You don’t fucking touch her,” Gage growls menacingly. Tommy wriggles against his hold, But it’s useless against Gage’s unshakable hold. Tommy’s eyes glimmer with disdain as he sneers at me.

“You worthless bitch. You’re just as useless as Mom was. It should’ve been you who died in the accident, not Dad. You’re nothing but a fat fuck that no one will ever really care about.” Tommy’s practically frothing at the mouth. Gage’s arm around his neck tightens painfully until his face is turning red and his breathing is labored.

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Gage growls darkly, making butterflies flutter in my stomach.

“He shouldn’t bet on anything.” I lean in, enjoying the warmth of the blood covering my hand as I hold the knife that’s still four inches deep in Tommy’s abdomen. “Do you know why you never won, Tommy? Hmm? Should I tell you why? Because you’re a loser. It’s what you are, what you’ve always been. All your life, you’ve been running from the truth, trying to convince yourself and anyone who will listen that you’re worth something. That you can win. But you can’t, you never could. You’re nothing but a failure.

“The other men I’ve killed had it coming, but you’re the person who stole my life from me. You never made anything happen for yourself. You had to drag other people down with you. But you’re done dragging me.” I twist the knife in his gut, making him groan in agony. But against the torture, he barks out a bitter scoff.

“You were so easy. ‘Jillybean, you can’t let them hurt me.’ You just couldn’t help yourself, you kept coming back for more,” he sneers, fueling my rage.

“And this is how it all ends. With you losing one last time. And the biggest thing you’ve lost yet.” Using all of my strength, I yank the blade upwards to drag it through his stomach. “Your life.”

The yell of agony that leaves Tommy is one of irreparable damage.

“All you’ve ever wanted was to be relevant, to be something,” I say calmly between his screams. “But you’re nothing. No one missed you when you were dead before, and no one will miss you now.” The knife is slippery with the blood it’s coated with when I pull it out of him, inflicting as much damage as possible in the process. When I jam the knife back in, this time piercing his heart, my hand slides down the handle with the force of it.

Tommy’s eyes widen in pained panic before his entire body stills as the life leaves it. He stares at me with lifeless eyes as Gage’s hold keeps his now slack form upright. My chest heaves with my amped breaths as I stand, unmoving, in front of my dead brother.

Tommy is dead. Actually dead. And there are no more questions about what happened to him.

---