Chapter 34
34
GIDEON
“You are your father’s son.”
“ Y ou were this close to Briar House, and we never knew it.” Luca slams his palm against the steering wheel of his Tahoe.
“I’d take credit for finding a hiding spot right under your nose, except that Father bought the estate long before you came into the picture.”
He hits a bump in the road and I grimace. I grab my bandaged shoulder and adjust my position to alleviate the pain.
“Are you sure you can fight?” Scarlet, who’s sitting in the back, asks. “You’re pretty beat up.”
“As long as I have one good arm, I’ll be fine.” Maybe. Hopefully.
The caravan of five vehicles stops before coming to the first obstacle. A set of motion detectors. Once we cross those, we will have mere moments to reach the hidden garage door and plow our way into the house.
Guns are loaded and checked. Scarlet counts her knives, her face hard as she shifts into her assassin mode.
Grabbing my radio, Luca opens the channel to all the cars behind us. “You all know the layout of the house now. Remember, Scarlet and Gunn will go in search of Henry.”
“Fucking dick,” she interrupts. “I always knew there was something off about him.”
“I will search for Sofia,” he continues. “Get her the hell out. Gideon, you find your Father and turn him over to me. Assume anyone you don’t recognize is the enemy.”
“Except for the cats,” I say. “Don’t touch my cats.”
Luca rolls his eyes. “Gavin and Arran, you’re going through the woods. Take out the gatehouse. Noah and Rowan, you have the first floor.”
“Understood,” everyone says.
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
“Let’s fucking do this,” Gunner says, a little too much enthusiasm in his grin.
We’re off. Luca steps on the gas, crossing the boundary of my land and setting off the motion sensors. At the same time, two of the SUVs split from our caravan and plunge into the woods.
“There!” I point to the hidden path to the garage. On the side of a hill, is a well camouflaged entrance that can easily be missed by anyone driving by.
But we don’t miss it at all. We plow through it. Steel and glass explodes all around us with a deafening boom. Almost instantly, bullets begin to rain on us.
The element of surprise is on our side, and we’re able to take out most of the threats quickly. We disperse from the cars. Scarlet and Gunner are at my back as I limp toward the door that leads into the manor. I enter the code and we slip inside.
Guards are waiting for us here too. We fight our way into the basement. The sounds of fists against flesh and shots being fired, bounce against the grotto’s walls.
“Sofia!” Luca screams as he begins his search for her.
I scan the face of every man I pass, looking for my father. Someone attacks me from behind, wrapping his arms around my neck and pulling be back. I muscle through the pain of his weight on my shoulder, and manage to tug the knife from my ankle holster. In one swift move, I impale his eye with it.
He drops down, bringing me with him. As I fall, I’m able to gleam the scene before me. The men in battle. Several bodies in the pool.
Screams can be heard coming from upstairs too. Rowan and Noah are up there now, creating a scene much like this one.
I pray to whatever god that is willing to listen to let us come out of this alive.
Scarlet and Gunner disappear up the steps. I drag myself to my feet, and follow. As I imagined, the battle is well underway on the first floor as well. Rowan is currently engaged with some goon that’s three times his size. Noah is running toward them.
Ahead, Scarlet has found Henry and must have slit his throat only moments ago, because the man is still alive. He’s holding the pieces, as if that’s going to do anything. As he drops, his eyes shift up and he mouths something.
I turn to see what he was looking at. There, on the second-floor landing, is my father. His gaze locks with mine and he smirks.
I’m ready to charge, but there’s no need. He comes down to me, his gait confident, as if he knows exactly how this will end.
When he reaches the foyer, I go into a defensive stance, my gun at the ready. But he has his aimed at me too.
“Must we really do this, son?” he asks, maintaining his distance.
“You’ve given me no choice.” We circle each other.
“We all have a choice, Gideon.”
“You’re right. You have the choice to turn yourself in.”
He laughs. “To who? The police won’t touch me.”
“But the alliance will.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve joined the enemy.” He scans the room as it seems to dawn on him who my army is. “You have.”
“Give in, Father. We’re much stronger than you are.”
“Well, well. The son has surpassed the father. The only way you could achieve it was to betray me.” Before I can respond to it, he’s on me. His fists are on my face and on my chest.
I elbow him on the side of the neck and he rolls off me. He runs toward the door as I struggle to get up. As he reaches it, I shoot him in the foot. He stumbles out, but it doesn’t stop him.
It’s drizzling when I exit the manor. He’s ahead of me, limping badly, his gun dangling from on finger.
“Father!” I yell and try to lift my firearm. But the pain is too intense and have to use my other hand for support. “Father, stop!”
I shoot him in the other foot when he doesn’t comply. He falls onto his hands and knees, but continues.
“Father, please,” I beg. I’ve killed many men. Yet, taking the life of the person that did me the most harm seems impossible.
He must know it’s over. Or he simply can’t continue.
Rolling onto a sitting position, he faces me. Laughter rolls from him as he loosely holds his weapon. “Can you truly do it, son? Can you kill me?”
“I don’t want to.”
“That’s the only way you’ll be able to keep all this. Only dead, would I allow anyone else to have what I worked so hard for. Kill me, Gideon. Or I’ll kill you.”
All of the memories come crashing upon me. Everything he taught me, the beliefs he instilled in me, all so that I could be his puppet. So that I could kill his enemies and pave the way for his reign.
“There was a time I would have done anything for you. Even end your life so that you won’t have to pay the price for your crimes.” I come closer. “But, I will not kill you. You’ll be tried by the alliance.”
Something strange comes over his face. An emotion like sadness, but not quite. “I’m sorry, son. I wanted you to be great, but feared you’d be greater than me. There simply isn’t enough room for two of us.” That’s when he lunges for me.
I pull the trigger only once. That’s all it takes. His body falls to the ground at an awkward angle, his legs twisted and his arms flung wide.
The man that was once the foundation of everything I believed in, the one I fought so hard to avenge, is dead by my own hand. Everything that I did in his name has ended with my bullet between his unseeing eyes.
I go to him and drop to my knees, my fingers still wrapped around my gun tightly.
Rain pelts against my face in earnest, making it difficult to determine if there are tears rolling down my cheeks. But I can feel the seething ache in my chest, the pain of loss intermixed with the sting of betrayal.
He deserved so much more than this easy death I gave him, and yet, he was my father and I was his child.
A hand lands on my shoulder and squeezes. I glance up to find Rowan by my side. His jaw works constantly as he stares at our father, the same tumultuous emotions swirling in his eyes. “You did what you had to do.”
Luca comes to stand beside us, peering down at the body of our greatest enemy. Then, Gunner and Scarlet, Arran, Noah and Gavin join us.
“Gideon!” Sofia’s cries reach me before she does. She’s goes to her knees too, her arms wrapped around me tightly.
“You’re safe.” I hold her tightly, inhaling her scent. “You’re safe.”
“I thought Stephen killed you.” She pulls away to look at him. “I’m sorry.”
I want to tell her not to be. Stephen Black was a truly evil man. In fact, everyone here should be celebrating his demise. Instead, they stand with me in this loss that only men like us, men that traverse gray morality, can comprehend.
From my pocket, I produce two pennies. I shut Father’s lids and place a coin over each of them.
We remain there for a long while. It’s not until the rain stops and the clouds dissipate that Luca says, “We should go.”
“I’ll call in someone to clean up this mess,” Rowan says.
I walk with them back to the SUV’s, Sofia’s small hand in mine. She turns to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “It’s over.”
Kissing the top of her head, I nod. “It’s over.”
She slides into the back seat of a Tahoe. When I go to shut the door, she stops me. “Aren’t you getting in?”
“Luca wants me to ride with him,” I lie.
She smiles. “Try not to kill each other. Who knows, maybe you two could be friends.”
“Maybe. I’ll see you later, Little Bird.” I kiss her lips. Then, I close the door and the SUV drives away.
Luca comes to stand beside me as I watch them go. “You’re not coming with us.”
“I know,” I manage to say. My heart is hammering, my throat tight. There’s a knife twisting in my chest, the pain more acute than anything I’ve ever felt before. I’m not sure it’s something I can survive.
But this is what I agreed to because what Luca said was right. I am my father’s son and all I’ll do is hurt what I love most. “Take care of them.”
“You don’t need to ask me for that. It’s my duty to protect her.”
I don’t reply to him. There’s nothing left to say. Looking back one last time, I walk back to the manor and shut the door.