20. Torin
TWENTY
torin
The eighteen-wheeler slowly comes to a stop in front of my warehouse with enough opioids to get a whole state high.
The annoying screech of the brakes and lack of sleep knick at my nerves as two of my men stand on either side of me and patiently wait to unload it.
It’ll take us all night, and this isn’t normally something I do, but I’m restless. I’d rather exhaust myself into unconsciousness than have another fucking dream of Judah.
It’s only gotten worse.
These last few days, he’s been bitching at me about how weak I’ve become. How feeble I’ve become for one girl. That I couldn’t even kill her without spilling blood. The easiest way to do it, he said.
You couldn’t even get the girl who murdered your brother. How fucked up is that, Torin? Then you fucked her afterward as I lie rotting in a grave. Does she mean more than me? I’m your brother. And to top it all off, you’re Emilio’s bitch.
I’m not sure if I’m more disappointed in myself that I just left Emilio to figure out Judah’s death. Or the fact I ended up exactly where he didn’t want to be.
Our stepfather’s soldier, under his rule, and a tool to use for his legacy.
And, to top it all off, I fell for the girl I knew I should’ve stayed away from. Even when she was with De Leon, I was fully aware of the consequences and how she may affect the balance.
I’m off-kilter.
I can’t be sober and not feel the burning rage that courses through me to the point where I don’t know if I want to put myself out of my misery or try again and succeed in murdering Bay Astor.
The result remains the same—I lose her.
“Open the back,” I order, wanting to get this shit over with and back home where I can empty out another bottle of Jack and figure out how I’m going to get through this. How I’m either going to let her live or punish her.
Either one doesn’t settle well.
It’s to the point where, even though I’m not sleeping, I can still hear Judah in my head, telling me to stand up and avenge the truth. How it’s finally in front of me, and this is going to determine how the rest of my life is going to go.
Yet, look at me now.
I fell in love with someone he loved already. I’ve betrayed him without even knowing it, and I feel like the biggest piece of shit alive. I’ve burned his letters, not able to stand reading them again. How he spoke of an onyx-haired girl with magnificent blue eyes. How sweet and oblivious she was to her beauty.
I saw that.
It just never clicked.
It never occurred to me she was the girl my brother spoke of even though all the lines pointed directly to her.
She ran with Matteo.
She was with the Pistol Posse just like he was. Even spoke about how fucked up Matteo was. But he never mentioned those small details and made her sound like she was a victim trapped under the power of the gang and one of their members.
Not the member.
Two gunshots rattle my inner civil war, bringing me full circle to fucking reality as I watch a massive body jump from the back of the truck. And the first thing I notice is that he’s alone, and my men have dropped onto their knees in pain.
My reflexes aren’t quick enough.
Or maybe it’s because I don’t care. But through the murkiness of the night steps out the notorious Levi Wallace.
And he’s pissed.
I should’ve known this was coming.
There was no way in hell Wallace wasn’t going to come for me after what I did to Bay. He’s like a fucking pitbull looking to either eat or tear something apart. He grew up in the smudged and dirty streets of South Shore. Facing me alone is the least of his worries.
And on top of that well-known fact, he’s one of the most powerful players on the chessboard. Along with all his masked pawns and how we can never nail them down to take them out.
“Little birdy told me you had a run-in with my girl.”
I scoff, can’t help it.
I don’t give a fuck what he and she were. I don’t give a shit if they were dating or just fucking. I’m out of fucks at this point.
Now she ratted me the fuck out.
A little surprising, however, I’ve done some jacked-up shit, so…
“You think that shit’s funny?”
I heave my shoulders because I don’t know how you’d properly put it in one sentence. “Whatever you think it is, Wallace.”
His fist slams into my face so quickly, I didn’t even see him cock it back.
That, or I wasn’t paying attention.
I will give Wallace the benefit of, for a dude being so fucking big, he’s a goddamn good fighter. And he lands all his power into that punch because I’m seeing colors when I blink back the pain radiating through my head.
He follows up—of course, he does—with a blow to the gut, buckling me over before I shove it back because I’m gonna get my ass handed to me if I don’t stop taking it like a bitch.
A bitch that may or may not deserve it depending on who you ask.
“The fuck did you do to her, Wildes?”
My immediate interest is piqued. Wallace doesn’t play games.
If he knows shit, he actively acts on it. He doesn’t sit still and ask questions if he knows the answers.
She didn’t tell him.
“She’s alive, isn’t she?” I dismiss because, well, she is.
“I want to know why she hasn’t left her fucking room in over two days.”
That promptly flicks something in my brain, visualizing her curled up in a ball and not moving. That long black hair askew around her pillow while she’s tangled up in her comforter.
“C’mon, baby, warm up for me,” I coax, her lips trembling from the ordeal. “I guess I’m not ready to end your demise just yet.”
Fucking stupid.
Fuck Wallace. I think I should beat my own ass.
“Did you need me to hit you again to get you to respond?”
I blow an exhale through my lips noncommittally. “Couldn’t tell you.”
Levi claps at the left side of my head with his massive palm, fully aware of my disability, and using it to his advantage yet again.
Without another thought or plan, I slug him in the ribs, only to feel how compact and solid he is.
Steroid pushing motherfucker.
Levi swings, and this time I duck, missing his blow and delivering another one to his fucking junk.
I don’t give a shit.
Proper etiquette flew out the window the moment he hit me in the ear. The shit fucking hurts and, well, so does he.
Levi bends over, hissing in a loud inhale through his teeth, and I refrain from landing another hit while he’s vulnerable. “She didn’t do it, Wildes. Get the fuck over it.”
“I saw it, prick ,” I object through my adrenaline. “Don’t try to save her.”
“Judah was on one. Dude was shooting up.”
My eyes clench because now we’re accusing my dead brother of shit? “Mention my brother again and I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Truth hurt, Baby Wildes?” he taunts back, amping up my growing temper. “That stupid douchebag?—”
“What the fuck did I just say?”
“That’s not who Bay is ,” Levi stresses. “Wake up, moron. She doesn’t kill people.”
“She shot me just fine getting you back, dipshit.”
Wallace stands upright and towers over me. He’s like the Wolverine. The dude just heals from pain or something like it never happened while my ear is still ringing like a bitch. “And she made sure she didn’t hit an artery, didn’t she?”
I don’t fucking know.
Don’t care.
It means nothing now.
“Get the fuck out of here before I give you a hole to match mine,” I threaten. “I don’t know how many free passes I need to hand out to you motherfuckers.”
“I find out you went near her again—” I reach for my Glock, yanking it out from the waistband of my jeans.
And I truly don’t think he thought I’d use it.
That when I aimed, I’d shoot and do exactly what I said I was going to do.
No more passes.
No more allowing Bay to call the shots here.
This is The Landings, not fucking South Shore, and I run these streets. I decide who lives and fucking dies and who walks away.
“You silly, stupid piece of shit,” Levi grinds out, sucking in the agony of his matching gunshot.
I didn’t even hear the shot. I guess I can thank Levi for the bitch slap to the ear.
“I made sure I didn’t hit an artery, right?”
Levi’s dark gaze slices up to me, and it screams death. “You know what this means, right? Your little sanctuary that you’re trying to get from me is gone.”
Oh, that .
I’m not surprised that Wallace discovered Cairo’s plan to get in bed with South Shore. He’s a sneaky pain in the ass, just like his girl.
“Don’t need it.” I return his glower with one of my own. “Now, get the fuck out of here before I show you round two of what I’m going to do to you if I find you around me again.”
A humorless chuckle rolls off Levi’s wide chest as he shakes his head a few times. “Alright, Emilio Junior. You got your wish. Kill the Astor girl just like your daddy murdered her mother.” I open my mouth, but Levi shoots up and gets a handful of my shirt, hurling me forward when my weapon presses into his kidneys in silent warning to back the fuck off. “You don’t know who she truly is, do you? Your daddy didn’t give you the full story.”
I shove at him, getting released instantly because he’s bleeding out through his jeans, and I’m sure he’s ready to get that looked at.
“Don’t need to. It doesn’t change anything.”
“It changes how many years you have left,” he retorts. “Especially when she takes that seat. Where does that leave you?”
My nostrils flare because I told Bay to take that fucking Titan seat, and after what I’ve done, she just might to get back at me.
However, some of the plays have changed. And if Wallace thought he was going to scare me, he should probably realize that he’s not the only one who has information about secret plans.
“It leaves me lookin’ pretty good, Wallace,” I drawl. “Word on the street is that you’re trying to leave South Shore with my girl.”
Levi grunts and stretches his jaw before saying, “I love this little game that we’re playin’, Wildes. Who can be top spy?”
“Ah, yes. My favorite.”
“I find you near Astor again, mark my words, you’re dead. Stop what I’m doing with my family, I’ll bury you in the same grave as your brother so you two can bitch about it together for eternity.”
“Right.”
He smirks at me, not buying my so-called peace treaty. “I always knew I’d kill you. It was only a matter of time.”
“I’m not scared of The Nameless, Wallace. I thought time told that tale over the last decade.”
“Who said anything about them? I’ll sneak into your house like Bay did the other night.”
My eyes narrow because what the hell is this dude’s problem? He protects her one minute, then sends her off on a possible kamikaze mission the next? “I’m flattered that you had so much confidence in me that I wouldn’t fuck your girl again.”
“It made you turn a blind eye for a second, didn’t it?”
Confirmation of the plan. Of what I thought.
Bay used me and everything between us was a well drawn-out plan of power. Her loyalty will always remain in Wallace’s hands.
Always.
Always.
Let her go, Torin. If she leaves, you’ll be able to find peace.
“For someone who, so-called, loved her so much, you sure did turn on her, Wildes,” Levi’s voice echoes into my ears. “Sounds like some De Leon shit.” I raise my gun again, but Levi’s words hit my good ear before I yank back on the trigger. “You kill me, you better be strapped all the way up.”
“You think I’m fucking stupid?” I clip back. “You planted her ass there.”
“With De Leon?” Levi scoffs. “Um, hell no.”
It’s the way he says it that has me second-guessing everything.
No.
This is them, together, working to fuck with my head.
“You want me to believe you allowed Bay to be with De Leon? You?” My shoulders lift because he permitted her to be with Reeve and me.
Like a whore.
The idea hits me the wrong way. Bay is many things, but selling herself…nah, she has too much pride for it. I think she caught feelings, things went too far, then De Leon showed his true colors.
But Wallace still didn’t pull her out.
He’s lying.
“You can keep your scary stories, Wallace. I’ll make my own conclusions, which I have, and when one of us dies, one of us dies. End of story.” I jerk my gun, prompting him to move. “Now, get the fuck out of here, or you’re going to see how much of an entitled white boy prick I am. Keep your bitch out of my way. But send my regards, I’ll find her when I’m ready.”
Levi slowly ambles forward. “This is your last warning.”
“Noted.”
He jostles his head, then the King of South Shore limps away with my girl at home, shaken from the disasters of what we’ve done to each other.
She’s not dead, but she might feel like it inside.
And I already am.