“That wasn’t his fault,” Cara defends. “None of it was—you’re just looking for someone to blame so you don’t have to look at your own part in everything. And you killed Aries and CJ! You have purposely killed people we love! Rhett never did anything like that to you!”
His eyes flash. “Yes, it’s unfortunate, but I lost the FC because of CJ. I wasn’t going to kill Aries, but then he tried to save his brother, so... I don’t care what happens to me, but all of you are going to go down with me. You will all feel the loss that I feel.”
“So you’re just going to, what? Kill us, and go to prison? Leave the FC for someone else to lead?” Natalie speaks up. “Do you think that’s what your sons would have wanted?”
“My sons would have wanted to be here!” he yells back. “They had their whole lives ahead of them, and look at the hands they were dealt.”
“That doesn’t make it okay to ruin someone else’s life,” Cara says.
“Go and stand with your friends,” the man behind me orders, and I quickly rush to Natalie and hold her in my arms.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
She nods. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I stare at the man with the gun at us, a man I’ve never seen before.
“What do you want me to do?” he asks Marko.
Marko points to me. “I want him dead first.”
“No!” Natalie calls out. “Please, you don’t have to do this!”
I appreciate her trying to protect me, but if I have to die for the rest of them to stay safe, then so fucking be it. I’ll join Aries and be happy with that.
“Will you let the rest of them go?” I ask him.
“That’s not fuckin’ happening,” Decker says, letting go of Cara and rushing to Marko, punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground. Marko falls back with a thud, but before Decker can move to hit him again, his associate shoots his gun.
I brace myself.
Except he doesn’t shoot it at me or Decker. He shoots Marko, hitting him in the arm. Marko looks surprised, and pained. Betrayal flashes in his eyes. “Fox?”
“You killed CJ,” Fox says, teeth clenched, gun still pointed at him. “The second you did that, you lost my loyalty. You were talking about revenge? Well, this here is mine.”
Fox’s words speak to me. I feel the exact same way.
“He had to die,” Marko spits out.
And with that Fox puts a bullet in Marko’s head.
“Come on, we need to get the women to safety,” Decker says, grabbing my shoulder. “Now, Atlas. The cops will be here any second.”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice.
I stop at the door, and turn back around to look at Marko.
I didn’t have the satisfaction of killing him, but I do take solace in the fact that he’s dead.
I lost half of my heart because of him.
He doesn’t get to keep his.
This is the millionth time he has targeted people I love, and I have no doubt that he would again if he had the chance.
I turn to Natalie, and she shakes her head and grabs my arm, pulling me with her.
We all get out and wait for the police.