Page 29 of Promise of Hellfire

“Miss me that much?” I managed to grit out between my teeth. The needle pierced my skin one last time and the good doctor stared at me.

“You should probably take it easy for a few days. I don’t want you pulling your stitches,” Nia told me as I gave her an easy smile and scooped my stained shirt off the floor.

“There’s no rest for the wicked.”

“Ethan, she’s serious,” Rayne said, exasperation lining her tone.

I bent down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Don’t be like that, baby.” Her frown deepened as she watched me toss the shirt into the garbage can and step toward the closet. I rifled through the clothes hanging there until I found a black button-up that would work as well as a hoodie. “I know she’s serious, but I have something I need to handle,” I told her as I put the shirt and hoodie on, trying to ignore the pain.

“Does anyone else know what you’re about to do?” Nia asked.

When I didn’t answer, Rayne hid her face in her hands, done with the discussion. She knew I hadn’t informed anyone of my plans for the day. I gave her one last kiss on her forehead before whispering, “I’ll meet you back home tonight. Don’t be mad.”

I sauntered down the hallway, attempting to look as casual as possible while keeping my eyes peeled for Ignacio or Rory. This was the part of my plan that I hadn’t quite worked out yet. Both would take a bullet for me and both knew how to keep their mouths shut.

I finally spotted Rory sitting in the kitchen watching Victoria as she ladled something from a large pot into ceramic bowls for the women sitting around the table. When I motioned to him, he followed me out the back door, waiting for me to speak.

“I need your car keys,” I told him as I pulled a joint from my pocket. Leaning against the siding of the house I took a long pull and held it while I waited for his response.

He held his hand out, and I passed it to him. “Why? What are you about to do?” he asked as he took a drag.

I tried to sort out my response as I stared at the sky. Morning had finally broken and the last bits of pink and orange were fading. “I don’t think you want an honest answer,” I finally settled on. “Besides you owe me.”

He glared as he handed the joint back to me. “I’ll let you borrow my car, but we need to get something straight. I no longer owe you shit. We’re well past even for last summer. If it weren’t for our actions, you never would have met your girl.”

Fuck. He had a point there. “Just hand me your keys, man. I’ll get it back to you in one piece.”

He dug through his pockets before tossing me his keyring and I smirked at him as I took one last drag, stubbing it out on the wooden railing beside me as I tried to ignore the pain in my shoulder.

The drive to my father’s house wasn’t long. It was midmorning when I turned into the upper crust neighborhood filled with sculpted hedges and wrought iron fences. A few cars passed me as I drove down the street and I wondered what exactly would happen. How would he react when he realized I was no longer his punching bag? That he would finally be forced to face the sins of his past?

Prior to a week ago, I assumed my father was just another narcissistic asshole who abused his only child. Most of the scars of my adolescence I wore under my skin. He’d been allowed to get away with things for too long. My childhood after my mother died was bleak at best. Without her acting as a shield to his temper, his razor-sharp words and fists turned to me. Whenever he was done with me, bruises lined my face and blood splattered the floor.

Yet no one ever said a word. Whenever someone commented on a black eye at a sporting event, he would smile and use the phrase, “Boys will be boys.” People ignored the signs of what happened behind closed doors, choosing to focus on his success and wealth.

I’d bided my time, waiting to confront him about how he treated me for years, hoping in some ways that he would apologize. When I was younger, I longed for him to show me love and affection. Now I knew that was nothing but a pipe dream. The only thing he loved was himself and money.

And then I discovered he was involved with the auctions at the Ruby Rose. His disregard for anyone other than himself disgusted and infuriated me. He would stop at nothing to further line his pockets.

I parked Rory’s car in the driveway of my childhood home and pulled the keys from the ignition, staring at the place that fueled my nightmares. The sprawling three-story brick home looked like it had sprung straight from the pages of a magazine with large white columns and a perfectly manicured lawn. No one would ever guess the true horrors of what happened inside the house.

I should have waited until it was dark to confront him and acted a bit more discreetly given my plans, but I wasn’t overly worried. Hunter blackmailed the police chief and my father didn’t believe in security systems. He felt he was untouchable. As long as I walked out of here casually, everything would be fine.

I glanced down at my phone to check the time. Somehow it was only eight. It felt like a lifetime had passed since I’d woken up this morning. Right now my father would be in his room lacing his shoes. No one else would even arrive at the house until ten, and the last thing I needed was witnesses. Everything seemed to be in order for my hastily thrown-together plan.

Tugging the hood over my head, I headed to the front door. Lifting the doormat, I found the spare key he kept and silently slipped it into the lock, easing the door open. Stepping over the threshold, I closed it as quietly as possible, hoping not to alert the monster living within these walls.

Climbing the stairs, memories of the past attempted to assault me and I inhaled through my nose. Now wasn’t the time to deal with that. I took a hard left down the hallway, walked toward my father’s room, and pulled the gun from my waistband.

The metal was warm in my hand, heated from being pressed against my skin. I pushed open the door to his bedroom and a low creak alerted the man standing in front of the mirror to my presence.

His eyes met mine in the glass as he knotted the tie hanging around his neck. “Ethan, I wasn’t expecting you. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He continued getting ready for work, acting as if this was just another morning despite glancing down at my hand.

I stepped closer and leaned my good shoulder against the wall, aiming the weapon at him. “Oh, I just thought we could have some quality father-son bonding time. We don’t spend a lot of time just the two of us.”

He scoffed at me, his face set in cold indifference. “I have a meeting in less than an hour, so whatever you want to say, make it quick.”

A harsh laugh erupted from my throat.You won’t be making any meetings today or ever again for that fact. When he finally turned to face me, I spoke again. “Do you know what I did this morning?” He narrowed his eyes at me and I grinned. “I was busy freeing all of your ‘merchandise’ from the Ruby Rose.”

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