Page 51 of A Man of Power

“Very well.” We hear the dial tone and the two of us look at each other, confused by what we’ve heard.

Our father comes out of his office and we press against the wall behind the door, staying out of sight until he’s gone.

“What did that all mean?” Kara asks.

“I’m not sure,” I state as I ponder what we just heard. But whatever it is…it’s not good.

I didn’t know then what it meant, but when I joined my fraternity, I learned about the brotherhood and my father’s role in it. As I’m about to immerse myself in that memory, I look to my left and quickly pull the car over. It’s on total instinct that I’ve driven myself here, where our lives took a sudden turn so many years ago. I get out of the car and look at my old apartment building as I run a hand through my hair. Good and bad memories crash together like waves at the bottom of a cliffy shoreline. The sky is holding on to the last bit of light, the sun now having sunk below the horizon.

I put my hands in my pockets and begin to stroll along the path. Flashes of that night stew in my mind. It’s a quiet trail. It skirts the park, only connecting side streets and not connecting into any of the major trails running through the middle of the city.

I stroll along the curvy paved path. It’s as I round the corner that I see it. My present collides with my past as I retrace my footsteps from over ten years ago. My mind can’t make sense of what I’m seeing. It doesn’t want to make sense of what I’m seeing.

Alexis.

She’s exactly where Tina was found by us. Her body lies in the same position. She’s naked, and for a split second, I am frozen in fear that I’m too late, that she’s gone, but then I see her chest rise slowly and run to her.

I take off my jacket and throw it over her. “Alexis, baby, I’m here. Can you hear me?” I yell, my voice choked with emotion.

She doesn’t respond. I whip my phone out and call 911. I give them my location and examine her for injuries as the operator instructs me to. I don’t find anything, except for a marking on the inside of her thigh. The initials TOD are scratched into her skin. Not a deep cut, but enough it’s left red bumps there. I shiver at the initials of my fraternity. To anyone else, it looks like somewhat scratched “too” or “tool” on her thigh, but not me. Because those same initials were scratched on me a long time ago for very different reasons. I panic, wondering if she was assaulted, but I see no sign of trauma between her legs. I relay that she has no visible injuries to the operator. The woman keeps talking to me, but my mind is already processing this. It’s a warning. But why? They told me to get rid of her, and I did. She was out of the picture, so why?

I can hear the ambulance coming.

“It’s going to be OK, Alexis,” I whisper as I lean down and kiss her forehead. She lets out a small moan. I grip her hand and squeeze it.

I hear voices but all my senses are fixated on this woman…this woman that I love. Fuck, I love her. It’s been less than three months, but I’ve fallen completely in love with her. I feel myself contorting with pure pain at the thought that I might lose her without ever telling her how much I love her.

“Sir! We have to help her now,” a man’s voice says to me.

I blink and look over at him. He’s a paramedic and is kneeling down beside us.

I realize I haven’t taken a breath in a long moment, and I gasp for air as I sit back on my heels. I don’t let go of her hand, but my movement gives him access.

A woman comes to my side, another paramedic. “Sir, I’m going to need to have her arm, OK?”

She gently pries my hand away from Alexis’s. I don’t move as I watch them work on her. Then she’s lifted onto a gurney, and I stand, following them like a lost puppy.

When we get to the ambulance, the woman turns to me.

“Are you family?”

I nod. I may not be her official family, but if the universe gives us another chance, I will most certainly make her my family. I will not lose her.

“OK, you can ride with us, then,” she says as she motions to a seat in the corner of the ambulance.

I watch Alexis’s face the entire ride. I don’t even know how long it takes. When I follow her gurney in the emergency room and am asked to sit outside while they assess her, a nurse asks if I’m alright and if she can call anyone for me.

I shake my head as I reach for my phone. I send a text message to Erin. And then to Conner and Aiden.

The pain inside me is slowly morphing into pure rage. Whoever did this is done. And if she doesn’t make it, the city will see a wrath unlike any other.

Chapter22

Alexis

It’s soquiet and peaceful. I feel myself waking from a long sleep. There are things just beyond my consciousness that I try to remember, dark things. They hover just out of reach. I try to move but my limbs feel heavy. I try to open my eyes but my eyelids fight the command. It takes many tries, but eventually, I manage to open them a crack. I’m confused as I take in my surroundings. A hospital room. The lights are dimly lit. From the windows in front of me, I can see it’s night. I continue to scan to my left and am surprised to find Sebastian sitting there. His eyes trained on mine.

“Alexis?” he says quietly as if he’s afraid to say my name aloud.

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