Page 97 of All Your Lies
“When did you first start following me?”
“I’m not telling you shit,” Brad says as he howls in pain.
As I position the muzzle of the gun on top of his kneecap, he struggles, but the tight bindings keep him from making any significant movement.
“Answer the question.”
“High school!”
The mere idea of someone stalking me for all these years sends shivers down my spine and fills me with dread because I never noticed.
“You’re part of the gang?”
When he doesn’t answer, I aim the gun at his knee as he clenches his lips, and with a single shot, I shatter his kneecap. The sound of another piercing scream fills the air, causing him to convulse and vomit on the unforgiving concrete room.
“Answer my questions or I’ll just keep riddling you with gunshot wounds.”
“No. My brother—” he says as he cries. “He let me go with him to watch you, but then he said I couldn’t come that night because I found out they were going to kill you, but I wanted you. I watched you. I saw you first. You were mine.”
I ignore his delusions and continue with my interrogation. “Are you the one who left me roses and fucked up my condo?”
“We were supposed to be together, not you and that guy... I hope he’s dead.”
The intense rage that’s been simmering for the past few days suddenly erupts. With a forceful motion, I press the gun against his other knee, noting the hard metal against my palm before pulling the trigger for the third time.
An unprecedented surge of adrenaline courses through me, making my hands tremble violently. I let out a deep breath with a need to finish this. Bending toward him, I whisper, “There is only one person I will ever love, and it’ll never be you.”
With a steady hand, I press the gun firmly against his heart before finally squeezing the trigger. Once he slumps over, I turn around and face Jenna, Vic, Trey, Marcus, and Julian.
No disapproval, hatred, or disgust is reflected in their eyes, only acceptance and pride. It’s a fucked-up thing after what I just did, but that is my life. That is the Mafia. And when someonecomes after your family, your loved one, you eliminate them. No remorse, no second thoughts.
I finish putting the safety back on and tuck it into the back of my jeans just as Jenna walks up to me.
She takes my hand, and her mouth goes to my ear. “You found your power. Your strength. I always knew you had it in you, and now you do too.”
The power and strength she speaks of, a fiery current now coursing through my veins, is fueled by a love so immense, so incandescent, it transcends the boundaries of life and death.
I now fully understand why Dad can do it effortlessly, without even flinching. His essence is preserved by the boundless love he holds for us, and reciprocally, the love we hold for him.
“I want to go back and be with Gage,” I say to Jenna. I turn back to the guys just as I hit the doorframe. “Thank you for finding him so quickly, and thank you for this.”
thirty
Gage
My eyes open slightly as I hear a beep accompanied by a searing pain in my abdomen. A dim light hangs above my uncomfortable bed, and the smell of antiseptic makes me nauseous.
I attempt to move, but my right arm feels weighed down. I gaze that way and notice a full head of shiny dark hair I’d recognize anywhere. My lips pull into a smirk as I take my right hand, which sports an IV tube running through the back of it, and touch her soft hair. The movement makes me wince as I feel a pinch in my abdomen, but I still seize the opportunity to smell her.
Why am I here, and why is my stomach so fucking sore?
I push the thin white sheet and blanket that sits mid-chest down, then pull up the white and blue hospital gown. A large incision runs down the right side of my abdomen. It fucked up the skull tattoo Vic inked onto my body.
Memories swirl in my mind, creating a disorganized puzzle as I attempt to piece together how I ended up in this situation.
We had a meeting, found out Marco had valid reasons for his actions when we were younger, no matter how fucked up they were. Alexa and I went to Rosie and Vic’s. She’s fucking pregnant. I still can’t believe that asshole got her pregnant before they got married. Jenna’s the fucking assassin. I always felt something was off about her. My mind then moves on to every glorious detail of Alexa and me in the club. Thank fuck for remembering that.
I close my eyes for a minute, and then it all hits. That stupid motherfucker shot me while declaring his love for my girl, and then pain. So much fucking pain.
