Page 119 of Love Bleeds Red
I grab him by the collar and slam him against the concrete wall. His head cracks against the stone and blood trickles from his scalp.
“This is for Bailey,” I snarl, driving my fist into his stomach. He doubles over, gasping.
“And this is for every girl you destroyed.” Jasper steps in, landing a vicious punch to Alfred’s jaw that snaps his head to the side.
“And this,” Damon adds, grabbing Alfred’s wrist and twisting it until something pops, “is for thinking you could ever break us.”
Alfred crumples to his knees, whimpering. Gone is the composed manipulator. In his place is a broken, bleeding man who finally understands what powerlessness feels like.
“Please,” he gasps. “I’m sorry. I can change?—”
“Now you’re sorry?” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Where was that remorse when you were training girls to be compliant? When you were selling human beings like cattle?”
I grab his hair and force him to look up at me. “You don’t get to beg now. You don’t get to ask for mercy you never showed anyone else.”
Blood runs from his nose, mixing with tears of pain and fear. For the first time in his life, Alfred Colter looks small.
“Open the cell,” I say finally, releasing his hair. He slumps forward, barely conscious.
Jasper swipes Ms. Harrington’s keycard and the electronic lock disengages.
She steps back as the door swings open. “Sir? Are you alright?”
“Stay back,” I tell her before turning to Alfred. “And you, get in.”
Alfred’s eyes widen through the blood and swelling. “Leon, you can’t?—”
“I can. And I am.” I grab him by the shoulder and shove him toward the cell. “You put people in cages. Stripped them of their dignity, their freedom. Now you get to experience exactly what they did.”
He stumbles into the cell, catching himself against the wall. “Please. We can work something out. I can give you names, locations?—”
“You’re done talking,” I step back as Jasper swings the heavy door shut.
The lock engages with a soft beep.
Alfred pounds on the door, his voice rising to a shout. “You can’t leave me here! This is murder!”
“No,” I say through the intercom. “This is justice. You and Ms. Harrington can keep each other company. Maybe she canteach you some of those manners you were always going on about.”
I turn away from the cell, from Alfred’s shouting, from the basement of nightmares.
“So what now?” Damon asks, finally sliding his weapon back into his pants.
My gaze moves between my brother’s faces. We don’t share blood, but that never mattered to me. What matters is how we feel about each other. That we’d all be there at the drop of a hat if needed. Then I look back at Alfred, trapped in his own prison, finally powerless.
“Now,” I say. “We make sure justice gets served. Roll up your sleeves, brothers. We have a fuck ton of work to do.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
LEON
The estate is eerilyquiet now. I know that won’t last long with Knapp’s men on their way. I hated calling him, but Cruz suggested he might be the only guy who could help with cleanup on this scale. And I guess I didn’t have too many options, not without involving the authorities.
I’ve been searching Alfred’s study for the past hour, quietly sifting through documents both paper and electronic, finding evidence of decades worth of involvement in trafficking rings, fraud, and political corruption that reached levels I never imagined. Senators, judges, customs officials—all somehow linked. This whole thing is massive and I can’t wait until each and every piece of shit involved gets what they deserve. We won’t let them slink away, not anymore.
A leather portfolio sits on the desk in front of me—the one document I opened and then immediately closed. It’s all the paperwork that Alfred wanted to go over with me tonight. His “Succession Planning” contracts. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it all yet. A part of me wants to watch it burn, but I know I could do a lot of good with his money, help the people he’s hurt.Realistically, the government will probably seize his assets, like they should, but right now, close to midnight of what feels like the longest day of my life, I won’t make any big decisions.
Damon knocks on the open door, pulling my attention. “So… I just found a dead old man. Not a great sight.”
