Page 114 of Brew
“What life would they lead otherwise?” he argues. “They would’ve just been forgotten about, swallowed up by society, another slip through the cracks. We give them a place to live, food, money?—”
“Yeah, I’ll bet you pay them a king’s ransom,” Bane mutters from somewhere in the back.
I slowly start to clap. “By stealin’ their innocence, bravo.”
“If you let me live, you’ll have riches like you never dreamed,” he tells me. “I can give you everything.”
I shake my head. “You’ll never have what I have, it can’t be bought with money.” I thumb behind me. “Every man in this room behind me has my back, that’s a real brotherhood. You wanna know how we even found you? Evans. Your bud. You think the cops in New Orleans are still coverin’ shit up for you? There’s a new Chief of Police in town, and she’s cleanin’ out the trash, startin’ with corrupt cops in all divisions.”
“You think you can win this war by taking me out?” he laughs. “You’re fighting a losing battle. This? It’s just the beginning. You can’t stop it.”
“You fuckin’ piece of shit,” I hear Logan mutter.
I smirk. “Maybe I can’t stop it, but I’ll die tryin’. I tuck my gun into the back of my jeans and lunge at him. He can’t fight back because he’s a weak, pathetic piece of shit, but I pound his fucking face over and over and over again until he’s not moving. Then I yank him up so his eyes meet mine.
“I dare you to say her name.”
“P-please, take what you want…”
“I’m so glad we agree on somethin’,” I pull my knife out and slice him across the throat. “That I will take what I want, when I want, asshole. See you in Hell.”
He gurgles, clutching his throat as blood spurts everywhere.
Somewhere in the distance, we hear cop cars.
“Gotta split,” Cash tells me as I stare down at Ridgely, his eyes wide as I plunge the knife into his heart. “Boys are ready to torch the joint.”
“This is for Valencia, motherfucker.” I pull out my knife and find satisfaction in seeing the life drain out of his eyes.
He’s gone.
Finally, this is over.
Haze and Logan come and stand beside me. “He was a pussy,” Haze says. “Didn’t even put up a fight.”
“Gotta split,” Logan mutters. “Like Cash said. Ain’t nobody gonna go down for this.”
I nod, taking a moment to calm the beating of my heart.
It’s time.
The demons of the past will go up in flames tonight, sending a message.
Nobody is gonna fuck with New Orleans from here on in. I’ll make sure of it.
I turn to my brothers. “It’s time to go home.”
“I’m so happy to hear you’re okay,” Erica says, the relief in her voice present.
“Of course I’m okay, told you I would be.”
“I know, but when you boys all go off together, anything could happen.”
“Safety in numbers.”
“We love the cabin, Brew. Bronco said we could stay tonight. He and Amber are coming down.”
I frown. “Who’s there now?”
