Page 72 of The Afterthought

"Sit down, Greyson," he states firmly, pushing the barrel further into Knox's head. "I won't say it again."

My jaw clenches, and I ball my fist at my side. The only thing I can do in this moment is start walking toward the stupid fucking chair. I hate that I fell into this trap. I should have trusted my gut when I felt like something was off.

I mentally catalog what I currently have at my disposal. The lighter Ava gave me years ago is in my right pocket. I have my keys. I could probably stab someone in the throat with one of my keys. I think they're sharp enough. That's all I have on me, keys, and a fucking lighter. I planned on going to Chloe's graduation. I wasn't prepared to walk into an ambush.

The seat I'm pushed into is in the middle of the three. Knox is on my right, and Kai is on my left. The two men who waited for us at the doorstep are behind us, keeping the cold metal of their barrels on our skulls. A stark reminder of their presence. Alec steps to the side and stands next to Knox in a position where he can see all of us.

"Care to share what all the theatrics are for? We all know you aren't killing anyone," I spit in his direction.

"See, that's where you're wrong, brother." He narrows his eyes. "If you asked me a week ago, I might have let you go. After everything the two of you have done, the only way out of this is in a fucking body bag."

"You don't have the balls."

"I don't need to have anything. If you think you can find a way out of this, by all means, have at it. You're supposed to be some sort of unbeatable criminal that everyone in town fears, aren't you?"

I don't say anything. I keep my calm so he doesn't see how deeply I know we fucked up. We should have never walked right into this trap so willingly. I need to keep him talking until I can come up with a plan. Talking buys us time, so for now, that's the only goal.

"What's the plan here, Alec?"

"You burned down my club. You killed most of my crew. In a matter of a few days, you destroyed everything I've built."

"That's how it goes. You know this as well as I do. Sometimes you get ahead, and sometimes you don't. The Cobras fell short this time."

"You went too far!"

"You and your pathetic fucking club threatened my girl. I couldn’t let that go without retribution."

"You burned down my club for some used-up pussy?"

"Shut your fucking mouth before I cut out your tongue myself. You won't talk about her like that." Fury courses through my veins. He will not disrespect Ava.

"She was a pretty good fuck. I'll give her that much. Your little bitch fell right into my lap in Massachusetts. I mean, what are the chances of running into my half-brother's ex-girlfriend on a business trip. I had no clue who she was when I first saw her. I thought she was just some random fuck, but it turned out so much better than that. Her new hair tricked me, I’ll admit, but when I saw your reaction to us at the coffee shop, it all clicked. It'll be fun to take her and make her mine once you're cold and six feet in the ground. I wonder if I should fuck her next to your rotting corpse first. Do you think she would be into that?"

I go to stand up, but a hand pushes down on my shoulder, holding me in place. I grip his finger and twist it backward, making the weak bastard cry out. Instead of him pulling back, he simply knocks me in the back of the head with his gun. I feel the warmth from the blood rushing from the cut immediately.

"What's your next move? You really think you will get everything so easily?"

"I'm so glad you asked. It's really quite simple. I kill you three and take over your gang. Anyone who doesn't comply will also die."

"If you think the Crimson Rose will follow you, you're delusional."

"I think people will do whatever they have to in order to avoid death, kind of like what you're doing right now. You think you're going to find a way out of here by making me talk. I know how your brain works. I hate to break it to you, but you won't be making it out of here alive. Once I take your gang, I'll take your girl. It'll all be mine, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He takes a step away from Knox and toward me. I know that my time is up. My only regret is that I won't be here to protect Ava from him. I hope she flees town because I missed the graduation. I hope she gets as far away from Dune Valley and Alec as she possibly can.

The man behind me pulls the cold metal barrel away from my head but continues to stand behind me as Alec steps in front of me. He points the gun directly towards the middle of my forehead and cracks a half smile.

"Any last words, Greyson?"

I stare directly at him, refusing to show any kind of weakness whatsoever. He won't get that out of me. Nobody will. He shakes his head at my stubbornness, and I see his finger curl around the trigger. A loud bang echoes through the room, and time stands still.

Chapter 32

Avalynn

It's graduation day for Chloe. She woke up this morning in a panic and has been rambling about how she can't get her hair right all morning. The ceremony is set to start in a few hours, so I let her fiddle with it for a bit longer before offering to help.

"Are you ready for today?" I ask her.

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