Page 99 of The Devil's Redemption

“This is going to sound harsh, but I’m glad you weren’t there. I have a feeling you would have been shot immediately before they took me. They caught me completely off guard, it was while we were texting. I remember feeling giddy about getting home to you. Then poof... I was gone.”

To hear that I was the reason she was distracted enough to not be aware of her surroundings does nothing to make me feel better.

“Oh,” she gasps suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

“I just remembered that he shot Mikey. I have to know if he’s okay. Will you call Ellie? She’ll be so worried about me.”

“I will have someone reach out and let her—and the Boy Scout—know that you’re safe.”

“Thank you,” she smiles up at me.

I can’t believe she’s smiling after everything she went through tonight.

“You are the strongest person I’ve ever met, you know that?”

As she looks at me, tears pour from her eyes once more.

“It takes one to know one.”

Leaning down, I press my lips to hers and thank God tonight ended the way it did.

“Blade,” Stone interrupts us. “I just talked to Pretty Boy. He said Royce isn’t coming?”

“Apparently not. We all set then?”

“Yeah, whenever you’re ready,” he tells me before walking away.

“What’s happening?” Sasha asks.

I take a deep breath before I speak. I know she wants this, but I’m still afraid she’s going to look at me differently when all is said and done.

“I’m going downstairs. I’m going to make him pay for what he did to you, Sasha. I’m scared to let you know this because I don’t want you to look at me differently, but I am going to enjoy every last moment of it. When I’m done, I’m going to kill him.”

She looks down at her hands before speaking.

“I couldn’t do it.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Pretty boy put the gun in my hand at the barn. He told me that I should be the one to kill him, but I couldn’t pull the trigger.”

“Do you want to? I can help you. I can wrap my finger around yours, and we can pull that trigger together.”

“No, it’s okay. And I’m not going to look at you differently. You are now, always have been, and always will be my hero. My Superman.”

My lips are on hers again in flash. For the first time all night, my heart feels lighter. Now I’m ready.

I’m going to show this motherfucker what happens when you fuck with what’s mine.

* * *

When I first got down here, I realized my brother’s started the party without me. He already had a busted lip and a black eye, but by the time I’m done with him, he’s not going to be recognizable. He hasn’t said a word since I got down here. I almost expected him to brag, but maybe he’s finally realized that this is the end for him.

My brothers remain silent and let me work, knowing that if I need them, they’ve got my back.

Readjusting the brass knuckles, I go in for another punch. Hitting him right in the corner of his mouth, I smile with pleasure as I hear another one of his teeth clatter to the ground. Bloody drool hangs from his big fat lip as I grab hold of his head and pull it down into my knee several times. Without stopping to take a breath, I lift my foot and lay a roundhouse kick to his head.

---