Page 74 of Nightmare

“Can I ask why you haven’t?”

My words are confronting and risky, but it’s a question that has been burning for weeks now.

“Do you know how power works, Bonnie?”

I tip my head to the side, confused.

“There is a chain of power leading up to every King. You don’t just take down the King and expect to walk away. No, that won’t work, because all the people below him will have your head.”

His explanation, though weirdly complicated, is actually crystal clear.

“Bill is the King?”

Colt shakes his head. “No, Bill works for the King. If it were as easy as taking him out, with no repercussions, do you think I wouldn’t have done it by now?”

“I didn’t mean to imply...”

He cuts me off. “Men like Bill Whart are powerful, not because of who they are, but because of who they work for. When you have the people who are meant to protect you, working for the bad guys, it makes things a little fuckin’ tough.”

He’s talking about the police officers.

“I see your point,” I say. “I shouldn’t have put my foot in it by saying something to Bill.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. What’s done is done, but know this, my son came first. My sole purpose was gettin’ him through twenty years of pure fuckin’ hell. He was in a place where I couldn’t protect him. When you’ve got people higher up, then you know you’re never safe, not even in prison. Bill will have his day, now that Western is free, don’t you worry about that.”

Guilt slams into my chest, because I didn’t even consider that the reason Colt didn’t do anything was because he wanted to make sure Western got through it as unscathed as he possibly could. His name had already been dragged through the mud, and I have no doubt Bill would have been watching, waiting, ready to pounce at the slightest sign of retaliation. I also have no doubt that he probably had more than one person in the prison system working for him.

People who could have taken Western out and not be questioned for it.

“You know he blames himself,” I say, leaning my hip against the counter. “He thinks he deserves what happened to him because he didn’t stay with Braithe.”

“Can’t take that guilt from him. Don’t even try. He is broken, my boy, but he’s strong. No words from your lips, pretty as they are, will change what he feels deep in his soul.”

He’s right.

I know that.

“It just makes me so angry that Bill walks around, free as a bird, and Western had his life pulled out from beneath him.”

Colt smiles, but it isn’t friendly, it’s cold. He leans in close. “His day is coming.”

Turning, he leaves me standing, watching him disappear up the stairs.

I hope he’s right.

I hope Bill’s day is coming.

Because God knows, I’ll be front and center when it arrives.

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