The tears start gathering in his eyes; angry tears lined with pure, unadulterated hatred.
“She did her part, and left this note for me. Somehow she knew I was coming,” I say, lifting the note, and I read it aloud. “It’s to
o late for him. I drew out his agony as long as I could. But you can’t save him now. Good luck finding me.”
I lower the note and smirk at him.
“She thinks I want to save you and find her so I can lock her up. She doesn’t understand why I’m really here.”
I pull out my gun, cocking it as I stand and push the note back into my pocket.
“You should know, your son was twice the mastermind you ever were, because he didn’t kill just to be powerful. He killed for revenge. And his own father helped aide in the murder of the boy he loved.”
I point the gun at his groin, even though I almost grimace at what’s to come. But Lana needs to know I’m not going away once I find her. One irredeemable act will mean I can never come back.
“As much as I want you to die slowly, I need to show my girl how serious I am about staying with her. Originally, I was content to watch you die slowly. But something changed today. Something I’m still too scared to fully embrace until I put my eyes on the physical promise of it. For the first time ever, I have hope.”
I put the earplugs in, cracking my neck to the side as I finish. He makes a sound, his eyes widening as I put my finger on the trigger.
“Have fun in hell, Christopher.”
With that, I fire the gun into his groin until it’s empty. The monitors go crazy as he crashes, and his body starts to convulse as blood plumes form across the sheet and blankets.
They played the longest game of torture for the worst offender. As I said, I underestimated the true genius of dark minds.
As I put my gun away, I pull out the earplugs and pick up my phone. I have limited time before this body is discovered. Collins and my team will know it’s me the second they find out who it is.
I labeled him the original killer.
He ends up shot in the groin over and over.
It’s not rocket science to piece it together.
Dialing Hadley, I walk out of the house, leaving behind the last piece of the intricate puzzle.
“You ready?” she asks.
“I’ll be there in fifteen. Did you find them?”
“Not yet. But I will.”
Chapter 19
Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
—Confucius
LANA
Three months ago, I thought I was going to die.
But once again, I was saved by a brother, though not the same one.
Jake walked in, firing rapidly, and threw in a smoke bomb. I wish I’d thought of a smoke bomb. I was too busy thinking I was invincible.
I’d thought I saw Marcus, but it wasn’t him. It was the other brother. The one who had stood by me through hell and high water, and dragged me out of the pit one last time, saving me just barely in time.
And we made it out before the fire caught up. Before the building exploded. Before anyone ever knew he’d saved me.