Page 105 of Average Joe

Larry bared his teeth, a wicked chuckle bubbling up his throat. “Gonna kill me, boy? Like you killed Bill. Go ahead. Unleash that wicked Kaine temper.” The old man spat, hitting my chin. “Fucking murdering bastard.” His eyes were red with hatred.

Of all the Kaines, Larry was the most conniving. Where my father and Bill used brawn, Larry used brains, waiting and watching from the sidelines for the right moment to make his play. He also held a grudge better than anyone. He would never quit. Not until I was dead or back behind bars.

He was a dirty bastard, but he was my uncle, and he was tortured by grief and the need for revenge.

The cold, hard truth washed through me, and I stumbled back a step. Larry was hurting. I’d had no intention of sharing the events of that night, but it’d become painfully clear that neither of us would be free from the hatred until he knew how his brother really died.

And the shit kicker in the whole morbid scenario? Alice no longer needed protecting, did she? Goddamn, my chest hurt.

Larry took advantage of my distraction and came at me swinging. “You murdered my brother!” he wailed, landing a hard blow to my jaw.

I didn’t strike back. He was old and tired, and while there was no love lost between us, I’d no intention of hurting or killing the guy.

“Larry,” I mumbled through the pain.

His right fist hit my eye, slamming my head back. Motherfucker, that hurt.

The old man was done, his breaths ragged, face drawn and dark. Still, he came at me, his next strike missing by inches.

“Stop. You’re gonna kill yourself.”

The sirens wailed right outside, loud and blaring. The dogs continued their worry at the back door.

Reining my temper, I grabbed his collar once again, whirled, and backed him against the wall.

Through gritted teeth and a shit-ton of uncertainty, I confessed, “I didn’t kill Bill.”

Silence hung heavy between us while I gave him time to register my words.

Fisted hands dropped to his sides, his body going limp. “Bullshit.”

“I came home that night and found Alice unconscious. And Bill…” I choked down the sticky emotion. “Dead. Alice’s face was a bloody mess. Black eyes, split lip, clothes torn. She must’ve had enough. She finally fought back.”

Alice must’ve lost her mind. Bill had three stab wounds to the neck and one to the chest. The bloody garden shovel had lain between them. The funny thing was, those shallow stab wounds hadn’t killed my uncle. He’d probably tripped on the garden hose, shocked that Alice had finally fought back, and hit his head on the cement bench.

“That doesn’t make sense. Why the hell would you go to prison in place of that bitch?”

“You know damn well why I had to take the fall. You or Bill’s associates couldn’t touch me, but that sweet woman would’ve been fair game. You would’ve made sure she suffered. She didn’t deserve retribution, and she didn’t deserve the life Bill gave her. She deserved to be happy. I gave her freedom from the Kaine curse.”

“You’re lying!”

“Hear me good, old man. I did not kill Bill. Alice did.”

* * *

Marley

“I did not kill Bill. Alice did.”

The barks and growls of the two mutts at my feet drowned out my gasp of horror. I stood, still as a statue, at the back door, watching as Joe pinned an elderly man to the wall.

The scene should’ve worried me. The purple tint of the old guy’s face should’ve been enough to make me intervene.But I’d heard the whole conversation, and I could not move.

Joe did not kill his uncle.

My neighbor was not a murderer.

Joe had sacrificed his freedom for a woman he adored.

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