Page 46 of Secrets Unveiled

“Ahh, there are my friends. Now the real party can begin.” Finn speaks loudly over his music, so we all can hear, barely. You’re Going Down by Sick Puppies is blaring so loud I can hardly hear my own thoughts. Saxon lifts his hand and indicates to Finn to turn the music down. Finn does, and the sound of whimpering fills the room. The piece of shit excuse of a man is crying in the chair, his eyes leaking with tears at the image of the four of us standing in front of him.

Sitting in the chair before me is none other than Charles Ledford himself. The man responsible for killing Dante, and almost killing Sage, not once but twice now. There is no force great enough to hold me back; my body is already moving. I can hear Saxon say something, but my fist is already raised, my vision already obscured by red. I land blow after blow, bones crunching and blood shooting from his face, putting me in a frenzy of wrath and destruction. Charles Ledford deserves every broken bone, every ounce of lost blood, every bruise, and every cut I deliver to his face.

“Saint, easy man. We can’t have him dying on us before he gives us the information we need.” One of the guys says behind me, as hands and arms wrap around my body, yanking me off Charles. Once the guys successfully get me cooled down, my skin and wounds are burning. It feels like someone is ripping my skin apart inch by inch. However, I’m not going to give Charles the satisfaction of knowing he hurt me by ramming my bike off the road. No. I will stand here and be his own personal devil. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll beg for death.

Charles coughs and spits blood from his mouth while his nose produces a constant stream down his chin and neck. His nose is broken, not only by evidence of the blood, but by the oddly shaped way it’s now sitting on his face. Good. I hope it fucking hurts. Once the room settles down and Charles catches his breath, Saxon approaches the chair, kneeling down to his level like he’s about to scold a child.

“Now, you’re lucky I pulled him off you. I could have very well let him beat you to death, and I wouldn’t have cared one fucking bit. However, I need something from you first.” Charles isn’t looking at Sax. His head is bowed like the coward he is. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” A shrill scream pierces the air as Saxon drives his knife into Charles’s calf. I smile in satisfaction, welcoming his pained cries.

“Now that I have your attention, answer me this.” Saxon stands from his kneeling position, straightening out his shirt before continuing. “Why did Tim Blanchett hire you to kill Dante?” Charles doesn’t answer. His sobs are the only noises coming from his mouth. “Not going to talk? I’ll fix that.” Another stab of his knife, this time to his thigh. More screams. “Come on Charles, don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be.” The moment Saxon lifts his knife from Charles’s thigh, he finally speaks.

“Okay, okay! Please, I’ll tell you!” Saxon pats his hand on Charles’s cheek, as if he’s praising a dog.

“That’s it. Good boy. So, tell us. Why did he hire you to kill Dante?” There’s a pause before Charles finally answers.

“I wasn’t hired to kill him; I was hired to kill the girl.” Saxon turns his head, and we locked eyes. We both knew exactly who he’s referring to. Sage. Before I can reach Charles once again, Finn and Brooks each grab my arms and hold me back.

I watch as Saxon steps behind the chair and leans down so his mouth is by Charles’s ear, his knife now placed tightly against his neck.

“Why did he want you to kill my sister?” If Charles wasn’t already scared, the change in Saxon’s voice would have done it. There’s one thing about Saxon that makes the hairs on my neck rise. Whenever he is truly enraged, a black veil slips over his soul. It drapes over the part in his brain that differentiates between good and evil, and evil always wins. His voice, his posture, his energy—it all changes into the world’s apex predator and ninety-nine percent of his victims don’t make it out alive. I’ve seen him do some fucked up shit, and the worst acts were always done to those who hurt his family. Saxon had just shifted into his beast form, patiently waiting for Charles to answer his question.

“I-I was hired because the other guy couldn’t follow through with it. He-he said he couldn’t be the one to pull the trigger.” Another glance from Saxon, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Who is this other guy?”

“I don’t know his last name, just his first name. He wanted to come with me the first time to ensure it was done, but then that guy showed up and blocked my shot.”

“Who is the other guy?!” Saxon bellows in Charles’s ear, making him flinch.

“Frankie! His name’s Frankie!”

SAINT

We knew he was involved in some way, shape, or form. However, we were not prepared to hear that Frankie was the mastermind in trying to kill Sage and Saxon. Once we get Charles to talk, he sings like a canary. Charles never stood a chance. We all know damn well that this man’s going to die in our basement. However, he doesn’t need to know that. We promise multiple times he’ll be released if he gives us all the information we need. After a few fingers are removed with Finn’s bolt cutters, he gives us one more shocking piece of information that ultimately ties this whole mess together.

Charles informs us that Mayor Harrison, Tim Blanchett, and Frankie have been conspiring against Luther since before his murder. He also informs us that Frankie has been harboring hate for his older brother for some time. When asked why Frankie hated Luther so much, all he says is Frankie was jealous of Luther for the life he had. Which is strange because, although Frankie was not the leader of The Kings’ Aces, Luther never asserted dominance or power over his brother. Luther always treated Frankie as his equal. The men’s relationship started when Frankie got the suspicion that Luther was sneaking around with someone. So, he decided to tail Luther one day, and, to his surprise, he discovered the secret affair Luther and Gloria were having. He snapped a few photos and took them to the mayor, who showed his head of security, Tim. With help from Frankie, they plotted to eliminate Luther, but Frankie was adamant that he wanted Saxon and Sage in the house when it burned as well.

“Take his body to the hole and dispose of him,” Saxon informs Finn and Brooks, to which they gladly oblige.

“It doesn’t make sense, man. Why does Frankie want you and Sage dead too? There has to be something, right? We have to be missing something,” I say to Saxon as I clean up my hands with a cloth, meticulously removing all of Charles’s blood.

“Fuck, man. I don’t know. Why agree to raise us after Luther died, but then conspire to kill us later?” The look on Saxon’s face as he speaks is twisted in pain and hurt at the thought of his uncle planning to not only kill your father, but you and your sister too. What the hell would he gain by doing such a horrific act, and against his family, no less?

“I have a fucking headache.” Saxon brushes his hair back with his hand while removing his cell from his pocket. “Let’s check on Sage and see if she can be discharged yet. I don’t trust leaving her alone right now.” I agree, we need to all stay close, especially knowing what we know now.

“Owen, how’s Sage doing? Is she awake yet?” Saxon speaks into his phone as we ascend the stairs from the basement. There’s a long pause. When we finally reach the top of the stairs, and I successfully closed the hidden door behind us, I turn to face Saxon, who’s now looking as though the vale to his darkness has swept over his whole being again.I furrow my eyebrows in confusion as to why he’s suddenly enraged. I motion for him to put the call on speaker phone, which he does.

“Yeah, man. Frankie showed up about thirty minutes after you left. He said he would take her home when they discharged her and set her up with the home care nurse that will be changing her bandages every other day.” Owen speaks so nonchalantly, and it occurs to me that he doesn’t know what we know now about Frankie. We are both silent, the realization of the danger Sage is now in, hitting us like a ton of bricks.

“Sax, man, are you okay? How did the base?—”

“Where did Frankie take her?” Saxon’s voice is lethal, dripping with so much murderous intent I know tonight is about to turn into even more of a blood bath.

“Uh, he said he was going to take her home. I assume your house. Sax, is everything okay?”

“Get to my house now. We’re on our way. Frankie’s not safe. We’ll fill you in when we get there.” Saxon hangs up the phone, and we take off to the house. We are far into the woods behind his property, so it takes some time for us to finally see the glowing lights of the house shine through the trees.

“Text the twins and tell them to get here ASAP,” Saxon tells me, but I’m already sending the message. When we finally reach the house, we storm in, calling to Sage in the hope she’s here, but there’s no answer. I knew deep down she wouldn’t be here. That would have been too easy.

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