Page 33 of Game of Revenge

As his back gets further away from me, it feels very final, and I’m not sure why.

Michael

Prowling through the woods, I frown as I walk. Everyone is supposedly dead, but I know Shayna is still alive.

Will she tell my secrets to Blakely?

Listening carefully, I begin stalking her, turning when I hear a gasp here or there. I wonder if she’s lost, or simply trying to avoid people. The joke’s on her though, because all of the fences are electrified to keep people in until we’re the only ones standing.

“Shayna!” I yell, pretty sure I’m far enough away as I listen to the gunshots as people are killed. We are at the end of the night, death is a mercy compared to some of the things I’ve done and seen tonight.

Despite how much I hated seeing the reminders of Brian everywhere, I managed to lose myself in the depravity of the night. I managed to feel like myself for the first time in ages.

Except, instead of feeling as if this was a homage to my twin, I found myself reminded that I like to make people scream.

I think when God gave my brother and I our personalities, he broke something with mine. I’m moody, less likable than my brother ever was, and jealous. I wish I was different, but there’s no way to change things now.

“Please, please be quiet!” Shayna pleads, her weight being held up by a tree. Her legs are trembling with strain, her eyes blown with fear. “She’s going to kill me if she finds me! I swear, I wish I’d never called Ricky. It’s the biggest mistake of my life. I have a kid, Michael. Alexander needs me!”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you got my brother killed,” I growl. I know ultimately, I have a part to share in this, but I enjoy twisting the truth when it suits me.

“I’ll tell her the truth!” Shayna screams. “If you refuse to help me, I’ll tell her I swear it. Just let me go.”

Tears flow down her face, her arms wrapping around her waist as she gazes into my dead eyes. I don’t care how much she cries, I won’t give her mercy. I’m more important than her. I always will choose myself over others.

I have to be first, and I’ll find a way to become that if needed. Tray is taking Kiernan from me now, and I’m already wondering if there’s a way that I can push him into a pit he dug.

Lips twisting, I congratulate myself on the twist of fate as I pull a knife out from my belt holster.

“You made your bed, why should I suffer for it too?” I ask her, taking another step forward. “You made that call and my brother had his ass kicked. I couldn’t recognize who he was afterward. You’re not innocent.”

“Maybe not, but you killed him,” she snarls. “How could you do that to your twin, the other half of your fucking soul!”

“What?” Kiernan asks, walking out of the shadows with Blakely.

Fuck. This is bad.

“Why are you doing this? You promised me, Mike! I never told. Please. I have a child. Please. I've kept your secret.”

I stand above her holding my bat with a death grip, just waiting until I can bash her skull in.

Blakely steps forward and grabs Shayna by her hair. “What is she talking about,” she hisses at me and I roll my eyes.

“Nothing, she's the one who called Ricky that night. She's the catalyst of Brian's death.”

Shayna begins to shake. She's muttering under her breath, but I can't understand her. Looking up at me she smiles, opening her mouth.

“No. You killed him.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” I say. “Shayna is the reason Brian died. She made the call that led to the mob. She told me everything. She was jealous that he found happiness when she hadn't. It’s pretty low to be pissed that your ex-boyfriend is with other men.”

“You’re muddying the waters, Michael,” Blakley says, releasing her hair and grabbing Shayna’s arm when she tries to run away.

It feels as if the trees are closing in on me as people begin to step out from behind them. Chuck, Meyers, Bates, Tray, and Frankie surround me now, looking as if they’re ready to play both judge and jury.

It feels wrong to be on the other end of things and be found wanting.

“It doesn’t change the fact that she’s lying,” I rasp. God, I can’t get enough air. “Kiernan, I swear. I wouldn’t hurt my brother.”

---