Page 125 of Stella
We eventually stop in front of a tomb, and I stare up at it.Who the fuck was this Razor guy if he had a plot in this pretty sought after place? I always thought he was a nobody.
They shove me inside, and I reluctantly follow, wanting to use my almost found freedom wisely and not fuck up my onlychance. It’s now or never. As we file into single order to get inside, I use the few seconds of darkness to slip the cuff on my left wrist, pull my gag down, grab my gun and I duck, aiming it at Bryce. “Sorry, it’s not personal.” And I shoot. I hit him in the shoulder, and he wails, crashing to the floor as I put another bullet in his chest. Driver guy turns, stunned at the sight of me holding the gun, and he rushes at me. I fire, but nothing happens. How can I be out of ammunition?
Blocking his attack, I round him with a kick that’s swift and lethal. I may be small, but give me some momentum and my foot in your face is gonna hurt. I follow it up with a kick to the balls while he’s falling, then I punch him in the solar plexus once, twice. He drops like a sack of shit, and it’s then I hear applause. I turn, looking around the tomb that is lit with lots of small candles. “Well, well, lookie what we have here.”
I fire my gun, but I’m reminded it’s out.
He tuts. “That’s no way to greet your faithful mayor, is it, Stella? Of course, I’ve been seeing a lot of you lately.” He chuckles while driver guy is still gasping for air on the floor.
“I’ll kick your ass, too,” I spit.
“While that was impressive…” He trails off as I hear movement behind me and a gun cocks. “I wouldn’t.”
“What the hell is going on? Why am I here? What do you want with any of us?”
“So many questions,” he muses. “And let me tell you, I’ve waited a long time for this moment. Just when the city thought it was safe to sleep again, it was the best time to strike.”
“Cash will kill you,” I grit. “So will Cale.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure, pretty girl. The best part? They think they’re so fucking clever with finding my father’s grave, but that was a mere distraction.”
“Your father?” I whisper.
“Yes. Damien — aka, Razor, was my father, and he was killed by none other than Cash Hudson. When the opportunity came to fuck up his entire life, I jumped at it. The mayor’s office practically served it all up to me on a golden platter.” He smiles like he’s done this city a service. “Everything fell into place. I found out about Cale by complete accident, but when I saw he was part of the NOPD, well, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to fuck with his life, too. Cash took everything from me, so I thought I’d return the favor. Poetic justice? An entire family wiped out. You didn’t think Bryce and Leonard were the only two on the ground at the clubhouse, did you?”
“Shit,” I mutter as he laughs.
“I sent men to infiltrate once the blasts went off, just to make sure.”
“You’ll never get away with this. The Arizona chapter arrived, some of them are ex soldiers.”
He laughs again. “That blast would’ve taken out half the meeting room.”
It didn’t, but I won’t tell him that.
What do they do in the movies to buy time? Keep them talking… “But you’ve been the mayor for a few years now,” I stammer. “You’ve known all this time?”
“I wanted to wait until I was sure Cash was happy. Once he got married and had his first child, I had thought about taking him down then, but I’m a patient man. Revenge takes time, plus he cleaned up the city good and proper, why would I stop him? He does all the dirty work, I get all the praise.”
“You took all the accolades, and it wasn’t even you that did anything to help this city.” I shake my head. “How typical of a public official, I’ll bet you’re the type that has never done a day’s work in his life.”
“It’s a pity,” he says. “I would’ve preferred to have Deanna captive, but she and Caprice are rarely alone, still, Cale cares about you, which is exactly what I want him to do.”
“What kind of sick joke is this? Did your daddy not love you enough?”
He steps toward me and backhands me across the face before I can react. I see stars and blink a couple of times, shaking it off. I start towards him, but two men from behind grab me by the arms and hold me back. “You may be able to take down those two buffoons, but I came prepared.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
He laughs. “I already have. Cash Hudson is dead.”
My eyes grow wide. “No. I saw him… he gave me his gun.”
“Before or after one of my men stabbed him in the back?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“I agree, he will pay because I wanted to make Cash suffer in the worst possible way. Bymyhands. Still, I’ll have fun printing all about how the mighty Rebels prez was finally taken down when I pen his obituary, and that of his son, daughter and wife.” He grins, and a cold shiver washes over me. This man has absolutely no conscience.
