Page 78 of Big Red

As I approach Declan, he tries to hold his head high. Not wanting to do any more talking with him, I jam the knife into hisstomach. He screams out in pain, looking like he’s ready to pass out.

I remove the knife and plunge it in again. And again. And again. I don’t stop until his abdomen looks like it has been ripped to shreds.

With every stab I deliver, I think of the moments Alice had been scared, beaten, and alone. He took my beautiful woman through the wringer. I would have dragged this out a little longer if I wasn’t itching to get back home to my family.

Chloe is visibly shaking as I stand in front of her. “Red, please don’t do this. I know what I did was wrong, but I can change. I can get help. Just please don’t do this.”

“There is nothing you can say to save yourself, Chloe. You have no idea what it's like watching Colt be stuck in night terrors thatyoucaused. He hasn’t been able to sleep alone because he’s scared you and this sick motherfucker is going to snatch him away.AGAIN!” I roar, making her jump.

“You were going to hand Cindy over for fifty thousand dollars. Had she not known how to defend herself, that night could have gone a completely different way. I should have killed you for walking out on them, but I didn’t. The moment you came after my kids, you sealed your fate.”

I pull my gun out of my waistband, causing her to sob uncontrollably. Aiming the gun at her head, I pull the trigger. I feel nothing as I watch the life leave her eyes.

I’m not naturally coldhearted, but coming for Alice and my children was a quick way to get me there.

“Just do it,” Jeffery grumbles as I walk over to the table.

I would have punched him in the mouth for telling me to do a damn thing, but Irene’s juices and everything else are still lingering around his mouth.

“That’s not happening.” I go over to the cabinets and start randomly selecting things. I move back over to the table once I have my items. “We’re going to have a little fun tonight.”

I slap a piece of duct tape over his mouth, silencing him before he begins to beg. For the next hour, I remove his penis and testicles with a box cutter. I cut his ears, eyelids, and lips off with a scalpel. And right as he is getting ready to die from the blood loss, I remove his heart.

I’m covered in blood by the time I turn back to the brothers. All I see is approval.

“There’s a shower through that door with changes of clothes so you don’t have to ride back covered in blood.” Cara points to a door on the other side of the room.

As soon as I'm in the room, I rip the bloody clothes away. I spot a case of black trash bags and place the clothes inside. I watch all the blood rinse from my body, feeling like I can finally breathe.

There are no more lingering threats hanging over me and my family. I can finally live knowing no one is going to try to snatch them from me. The kids have a long road to recovery, but with me and Alice by their sides they’ll get there.

I have another baby on the way, which I never thought would happen, but I couldn’t be more ready.

The only thing left to do was make Alice my wife.

Chapter Thirty

ALICE

Today, Cindy and Colt would finally return to school. We had been home for a week straight. Colt's night terrors have seemed to have simmered down. He has been sleeping in his bed for the past two nights with no issues.

We know they still have a long road to recovery, so we’ve been watching them intently. Red has also been looking into therapy for them. What Chloe put them through would probably haunt them for the rest of their lives.

I don’t know the details of what happened the night Red left. All I know is that when he came home, he told me it was over.

I didn’t have to guess what he meant.

Under different circumstances, I wouldn’t agree with killing someone. But I know for a fact Declan and Vincent wouldn’t have ever stopped. And Chloe really tried pawning Cindy off to Jefferey.

In my eyes, they got exactly what they deserved.

Yesterday, I went to visit my father's grave, and the moment felt bittersweet. I was finally in a healthy, loving relationship with a baby on the way, but he wasn’t here to see it. And I was partially to blame.

At the end of the day, Declan would have never been a threat had I listened to my father from the beginning. All I can do now is live to make my father proud and know that he’s looking down on me every step of the way.

A soft knock on our bedroom door snaps me out of my thoughts. I had been standing in front of the mirror in our room, gazing at the pudge that has formed in my stomach. The roundness is gone, and now a slight bump showcases my pregnancy.

Before I can pull my shirt down, Cindy enters the room. Her eyes widen, and her jaw goes slack.

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