Page 116 of Love Bleeds Red
“Don’t trust him,” Mum says urgently. “Leon, he’s lying. He’s always lying.”
“Ah, Ada, dear, I hear you in there. Tell our son to be reasonable.”
She wraps her arms around her chest, holding her head high. “He’s not your son, you lying, manipulative, violent piece of?—”
“Manners, Ada! That’s not how I trained you.”
I rest a hand on Mum’s arm and it helps to calm her. “I’ll meet you outside. Please… go.” In the darkness, I can’t see their expressions, not clearly, but by the set of Bailey’s jaw and the stiffness of her back, I know she’s not backing down, even with me begging like our lives depend on it.
“Fine,” Alfred’s voice cuts through our whispered argument. “If you won’t come out, I’ll come in.”
The door handle turns slowly, and every terrible possibility flashes through my mind. He’s armed, I’m sure of it. And with Bailey and Mum right here...
“Stay back,” I whisper to them, then make a split-second decision. I rush toward the door, throwing it open before Alfred can enter. This is between him and me. Better to face him in the dining room than let him corner us all in the kitchen where Bailey and Mum could get caught in crossfire.
“Leon!” Bailey calls out behind me, but it’s too late, I’m already out the door.
Alfred’s right there, and in the dim spill of phone light from the kitchen, I can see the gleam of metal in his hand. He looks absolutely crazed with his disheveled hair and bloodied shirt, but his eyes are still as sharp and calculating as ever.
“There’s my boy,” he says with that cold smile. “Finally ready to face me like a man.”
I keep my gun raised, aiming it at his chest. “Let’s keep this between us. They don’t need to be involved.”
“Oh, but they’re already involved, aren’t they? This whole mess started because you think she’s worth more than your legacy.” His gaze shifts toward the kitchen doorway behind me. “Bailey, darling, are you listening? Come join us.”
“Stay where you are,” I call back to her, not letting my eyes stray from Alfred.
“Such a hero. I suppose I should be proud. Though I wish you had more self-preservation.”
“I’m here. You want to talk, so talk,” I say. I need to keep him occupied so they can get out. My life doesn’t matter… I only care about them.
“Straight to business then. Very well.” Alfred adjusts his stance, gun still trained on me. “Do you have any idea what you’ve cost me? What this little rescue mission has destroyed? The ties I’ve worked years to build severed because of your petulant ways?”
“I’m glad. I want to hit you where it hurts.”
“You reap what you sow, boy. Your friends will be the fodder in our little battle of wits.”
He’s trying to get to me. “You’re lying.”
“Am I? Where are they, Leon? You heard the gunshots. You know they came through those gates. So where are your loyal friends now?”
I force myself not to let doubt creep in, but it’s too quiet. It’s not like them. If they were out there, fighting, I’d hear what was going on. They’d call for backup, or retaliate. Please let them be alive.
“Well then,” I say, forcing my voice to steady, “that only makes me more angry. You’re going to pay double for what you’ve done.”
“To whom? Bailey?” Alfred takes a step closer, and I tighten my grip on my weapon. “She’ll get over it. Girls like her always do. She’ll find some new protector, some new life to ruin. It’s sad, all that work I put in, amounting to nothing.”
“Don’t talk about her like that.”
“Like the whore she is?” Alfred’s voice turns vicious. “That’s all she’s ever been, Leon. A commodity. Something to be bought and sold and used up. Nothing more than a pretty accessory.”
Rage flares in my chest, hot and consuming. “Shut up.”
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? All this death and destruction for a girl who was broken long before you ever met her.”
He has no idea about our past. About how much I love her. I’ll keep it that way. My finger tightens on the trigger. One squeeze, and this nightmare ends. One bullet, and Bailey never has to hear his voice again.
“Do it. Pull the trigger. Become the killer I always knew you could be.”
