Page 67 of The Afterthought

"That was a bit dramatic," one of them says.

"As you can see, the Crimson Rose is perfectly capable of handling any scenario. This may have been a rare incident, but even at that, we are always one step ahead of our enemies."

"Yes, I see. You've handled yourselves quite well. Our boss will be pleased."

"Pleasure doing business with you," I say as they grab the dolly with the drugs and stop in front of the closed doors. Once we open them, the buyers silently load the bags into their trunk and slip into their car. It's all very anticlimactic. I was hoping to get in on a little more of the action. Being inside the warehouse was so fucking dull.

Kai and I push the dolly with the bags of cash to our car and pack them away safely. We stand there for a few moments while some of the crew make their way over to us, talking about how the Cobras never saw them coming. Knox appears and instructs them to fan out and drag all the bodies from the surrounding area into the warehouse. It’ll be easier to dispose of them when they're in one place.

"Did we have any losses?" I ask him.

"Five." He sounds tired. This is only the beginning of his night. He is going to have to pay his respects to each of the five families of the members we lost today. "We decimated them. They came full force and weren't expecting us to be ready for their attack. We hit them from all sides, just like we planned. It was over way faster than expected. I don't think we will have to worry about them again for a long time. There isn't much left."

"Fuck, I'm jealous I missed all the action."

"I needed to make sure you were with the buyers. I couldn't risk someone being in there that I don't trust. This was a big deal for us. We're set for a while now. With the Sheriff going against us, it was imperative that this went off without a hitch."

"You don't have to explain anything to me. This is your crew, Knox." I take a moment to look him over before deciding there is a way that he can let me have at least some of the action. "Actually, there is something that I need to do."

"Whatever you need."

"I'm burning down Temptations. Alec threatened Ava. Not once, but twice. If I let it go, then I look weak. I won't allow that. You know as well as I do that we've always left the women and children out of this. He took it too far. It can't go unanswered."

"If you're going to do it, today is the best time."

"It'll be done tonight."

"Do what you need to, but Greyson," he pauses before continuing, "whoever lived through today will likely end up at that club tonight trying to regroup. You know there will be casualties."

"When has that ever bothered me before?" I ask.

"Have at it, then."

"Thanks. I'll see you back at the garage so we can secure the cash, and then I'll be on my way."

"Sounds good."

I spend the next few hours with the crew securing the money from the exchange and going over how we want to move forward in terms of the Sheriff and whoever was helping him. We still have to find out who that is.

I'm bouncing with excitement as I head out to Alec's little club. It's time to make that son of a bitch pay for fucking with my girl. The club comes into view, and I park directly in the parking lot, not worrying about whether or not their cameras catch what I'm about to do. The cameras will burn along with any evidence they record. It will go unsaid that I burned this shithole down. It is my signature, after all.

I've taken a back seat for way too long while that slimy motherfucker involved himself in my girl's life. He thinks he can touch what's mine. Talk to what’s mine. He thinks he can threaten her and not expect me to retaliate. He's as good as dead. I’m going to take his precious club from him first.

This is personal now. I don't care what comes from it. I will never allow someone to treat Ava the way he did. People think she makes me weak. A mischievous grin crosses my face. I can't have people thinking I'm weak. That just won't do.

I rip open the back door of my car and grab the chain, heading straight to the front door first. Once I chain it shut, I go around back and do the exact thing to the back door. Whoever is inside won't be getting out now. I don't give a fuck about a single one of them. The club is closed, so I know the dancers are home and safe, at least.

I grab the cans of gasoline from my car and waste no time, splashing it along the entire side of the building. I make sure to get as much of the flammable liquid on the structure as possible. This needs to be a complete loss before the fire department shows up.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I finally run out of gasoline. I grab my flamethrower from my car. I can set the blaze with this but still keep a relative distance. I stare at the building for a moment, cursing every single bad memory that my girl had to endure here and press the trigger.

Within seconds, the outer wall of the building is ablaze. I gather all my belongings and return to my car to distance myself from the flames. I watch as the fire grows from one wall to another, slowly overtaking the entirety of the club and lighting up the night sky. Time passes quickly, and I lose myself in the sight of the flames.

It takes about 15 minutes for the fire department to finally show up. It's already too late for them to do anything, which is exactly what I hoped for. The flames have overtaken the entire building. Their sole purpose now is to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading.

I smile to myself, feeling the rush from burning the fucking place to the ground. I wish I could stay and watch it all reduce to nothing but complete ash, but I have something else on my mind. My little shadow and her perfect cunt. I put my car in drive and step on the gas to get to her house as quickly as possible.

Chapter 30

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