Page 54 of Redemption

Axel

It took us over twohours of stiff conversation to drive to the address that Finn provided. The sun’s gone down and now I’m trapped inside a blacked-out van watching a modern two-story home in suburban hell between my two tense as fuck brothers. Lucky for us it’s a rare cloudless night in Georgia and the moon is bright as shit. Doesn’t calm my agitation one bit, though. I prefer the wide open spaces of the country. Being this far in the city is making my skin itch with pent up anxiety.

Asher’s spent the entire drive glaring at the back of Connor’s and Rory’s heads, waiting to strike if necessary. I’m not sure what they were thinking by putting us in the seats behind them. In doing so, it’s made them ripe for the picking. It could be a show of trust or it could be a way to lure us into a false sense of security right before they gut us and dump our asses on the side of the road. Time will tell, I guess.

Zane hasn’t said a word since we left either, but unlike Asher, his silence is the most concerning. He’s like a ticking bomb and I just hope we’re not trapped in this van when he finally explodes.

I take another hit off my cigarette and shift against the tan leather seat once more. What we’re waiting for, I have no fucking clue.

“Problem, lad?” Rory speaks up from the passenger seat. Despite our brief interactions, I can’t get an accurate read on him or Connor. The twins and Kennedy I’ve figured out after a few seconds, but these two remain enigmas. A fact that bugs the shit out of me to no end.

My head lifts up to meet Connor’s gaze in the rearview mirror head on. The cherry of his cigarette cast’s a slight glow on his face, but other than that it’s blank. There’s no emotions whatsoever. Any chance I’ve had on gauging him is shot to shit. He keeps his stuff locked down as tight Asher. “I don’t like being left in the dark. Don’t take me for a dumb country boy. Y’all know more than you’re telling me.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Rory twists around and looks down his nose at me. “Guess you’ll just have to wait and see won’t you, Country.”

The snarky edge in his voice has my fists clenching. I’d love nothing more than to knock this cocky fuck down a peg or two, but since we’re in a confined space I hold myself back and grit my teeth. Asher, on the other hand, gives no fucks about confined spaces. The only good thing to come out of him being locked up for six years. He leans forward ready to launch himself over me to beat Rory’s ass, but before he can I slam my arm across his chest and give him a slight shake of my head. That small movement is enough to keep him in his seat, but won’t hold him for long. At least Zane is too zoned out to flip his shit. I’m not sure I could keep the both of them under control.

“Guess you have to have big brother fight your battles for you.” Rory flicks the tip of his cigarette in my direction. I lift my fist ready to beat his ass, but Connor gets there before me. He slaps Rory upside the head with an open hand.

“What the feck, Con?” Rory rubs at the spot that his brother just smacked.

“Shut the feck up, Ror. Or I’ll kick your stupid arse myself.”

I laugh at the glare on his face.

“What?” Rory snaps.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all damn night.”

“Feck right off, you.” Rory shakes his head.

A door slams open, putting an end to our issues, and we see movement.

My pulse pounds in my ears as I get a good look at the bald figure that’s strolling over toward a blue Sedan. “Carrick.”

“You sure, Ax?” Asher asks, but never takes his eyes off the prize.

“I’d never forget the prick that blew up Willie Mae and shot at us.” My eyes narrow at him and then flick back over to where Carrick is. Stupid fuck is walking around like he has no cares in the world. Little does he know that that’s about to change. “Are we going to grab him or what?”

“Patience, lad. There’s too many eyes on us here. We know where he’s going and we’ll snatch him then.” Connor exhales a cloud of smoke and tilts his head.

“Bullshit. I want to take him now.” I slide toward the van door, but Zane doesn’t budge. My foot kicks his shin to snap him out of whatever dark thoughts he’s been battling to gain his attention and prepare for the retaliatory punch, but he doesn’t even blink.

“He’s right, Ax. We need to be smart about this. There’s no telling what connections he has. They get wind that it was us and we’re fucked.” He plays with the mess of hair on his head.

“Oh sure. Come back to the land of the living to take their side. Thanks a lot, asshat.” I shake my head and let what they’re saying sink in. A part of me wants to jump out of the van and grab him, but they all have a damn point. I need to think with my head and not be impulsive for once. Which is why instead of jumping over Zane, we watch him slip inside his car and pull away.

Connor cranks the ignition and the van crawls in the direction of Carrick’s taillights. He follows at a decent distance behind him so that he’s never out of our sights for long. I’m pretty sure he’s done this a time or twenty given their family’s line of work.

All the way through the dark downtown streets to a section of abandoned warehouses, I hold my breath. My fingers twitch from the excitement of the hunt like they always do before we capture our target.

“You’re going too slow. Use your fecking gas pedal or you’re going to lose him, Con.” Rory taps his hand on the dashboard like that’s going to somehow make Connor pick up speed.

“Feck off. I’m doing fine. Any closer and he’ll see us, you fecking idiot.”

My heart races the longer I watch his taillights. We’re so close I can feel his blood on my hands. He pulls through a rusted out chain link fence all the way around back, away from the street lights. Connor follows through the fence, but instead of turning right, he makes a sharp left that pulls us around to the opposite side and gives us an unobstructed view. The moon gives us just enough light to see what’s happening.

Carrick pulls up next to a black jeep and kills his engine. He and his new guest exit their vehicles and lean against them.

While they’re distracted with conversation, we slip out of the van and creep along the building until we’re close enough to hear their mumbled voices.

“Like lambs to slaughter.” Rory stabs the butt of his cigarette against the metal of the building and cocks his gun as he flashes me a wide-toothed grin. “You lads ready to play?”

Neither Connor nor Asher speak, but their eyes are focused on our targets. I glance at Zane and he’s already locked his shit down, ready to do what we do best—fuck shit up.

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