Page 100 of The Oath We Give

I wonder if Stephen Sinclair warned him who he’d face when he got caught. The fate he would meet at the end of my gun if I found out he was the one that fucked with my friends. My wife.

He was brave, at first. They all are.

It’s why breaking them is so much fucking fun.

“Half a million for some lightweight computer work and destroying a chick’s apartment?” He chuckles, the smell of stale cigarettes on his breath. “That’s some fucking pussy.”

It took Rook less than twenty minutes to post this rat’s bail, just to shove him in the back of a car and drive him to the Peak, leaving him alone with just me.

I bet he thought he was lucky, only spending two days in jail just to get off scot-free.

The butt of my gun smacks across the side of his head with a thud. Blood pours from the wound almost immediately as he grunts, toppling onto his side, unable to clutch his throbbing head due to the ropes tethered behind his back.

“Half a million is all your life is worth,” I hum, looking down at him as he kneels on the wet ground. “How pathetic.”

There’s an untapped rage in me that I want to release on this idiot. Take my time before a bullet ends his life. Crush his skull with my bare hands or break his spine, but I want to save that.

I want to be patient and save all of my rage for the man that truly deserves it. When I finally got my hands on Stephen Sinclair, I would make him beg me to kill him, choking on his own blood. I’d make him beg me for the mercy of death.

He would regret every ounce of pain he inflicted on Coraline Whittaker.

My hands tighten on the gun in my hand, bitter rage tasting like pennies in my mouth thinking about what he put her through. What she lived through in that basement.

“Stephen has something special in store for you four. He’s getting that girl no matter how many people you kill to prevent it.” He smiles, showing off his yellowing grin.

“Charlie,” I say as I squat down in front of him. “This bullet is going into your skull tonight.”

“So get it over with, pussy.”

“If you want to take Stephen’s secrets to the grave, I won’t hold it against you.” My head tilts, watching his reaction. “But your family will. It’d be a shame if all that money you’re leaving behind for them just disappeared.”

“You can’t—”

I press the end of the gun to his forehead. “I will leave your son in the gutter of poverty. Every account you own will be sucked fucking dry, and all that will be left of you is your wife cursing your name while she rots on the streets.”

His eyes widen, Adam’s apple bobbing as he silently debates if I’m bluffing. As if I don’t already have everything I need to ruin him, and he doesn’t even need to be alive to see it.

“One button, Charlie. That’s all I’ve got to press.”

“All this for some bitch?” He scoffs, trying to wiggle from his restraints. “You’re fucking crazy.”

In the dark of the night, with only me and the man I’m about to kill, I grin, my teeth bared in a gnarled smile. I stand to my full height, shoving my combat-clad foot into his shoulder, forcing him to roll onto his back.

“Certifiable,” I tell him as I press my boot into his throat, applying pressure. “Say another word about my wife, and I’ll leave your guts on the doorstep of your house. You think your son will enjoy finding what’s left of his father?”

Everyone has a weak spot, a point where they break. You just have to know how to find it.

“What do you want to know?”

He proved to be useless. Everything he told me I already knew and left me no closer to finding Stephen. Charlie was the hacker helping send the emails and had agreed to help vandalize Coraline’s apartment.

I hated that Stephen knew what he was doing. Purposefully leaving Charlie as bait, knowing we’d catch him. Knowing it would piss me the fuck off when I didn’t get anything from him.

All this night gave me was a fucking headache and blood on my white shirt.

Killing him didn’t relieve any anger or stress. It didn’t make me feel better. Not when I know the man responsible for hurting Coraline is still out there breathing, playing chess with me.

If anything, it only made things worse.

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