Chapter 28 #2
I narrowed my gaze on him, needing to get the hell out of this house and the stifling memories threatening to overpower me. “Remember when we built the carport at the cottage?”
Confusion marred his features as if that was the last thing he expected me to say. “Yeah, course. You want to build another one?”
“Do you remember when it was?” I should have been given a fucking medal for how steady my voice was when all I wanted to do was beat the living shit out of him before I ended his disgusting life.
“Christ, now you’re asking.” He paused, rubbing a thumb over his lip. “I’d say, maybe nine years ago?”
“Ten. We built it ten years ago.”
He shrugged. “Okay, ten years ago. Jackson, what is going on?”
“Do you remember how you kept asking me what was wrong? I’d been in a mood for a few weeks, and you tried to find out what was bothering me. Said you were worried.”
His gaze darted around the room, not quite meeting mine, and telling me that he remembered. “No, I…I don’t think I do.”
I crossed my arms over my chest to hide the way they shook with the need to choke the life out of him. “Sure you do. I was a miserable asshole for weeks on end, hardly ate, hardly spoke. You and Mom thought a trip to the cottage would cheer me up, and that's when we started working on the carport.”
“What is this about, Jackson?”
“See, what I didn’t tell you was that the reason I was so miserable was because I’d had my heart broken.
I’d been in a secret relationship with a girl, someone you know quite well, actually.
You remember James’ sister, Kiera, right?
I loved her so fucking much, but I thought she betrayed me.
I thought she’d slept with someone else because she’d gotten pregnant. ”
My father swallowed, guilt flashing across his face. “You and Kiera?”
Dropping my arms, I stepped away from the door, resting my hands on my hips, ready to grab the gun. “Yeah. Me and Kiera. We had everything planned out, our whole future, even at that age, we knew we wanted to be together.”
“Jackson-”
“You want to know what I found out recently?” I took another step forward, the color draining from his face.
“She didn’t betray me after all. She was raped.
Pinned down and violated by someone she thought she could trust. And then when she found out she was pregnant by her attacker, her father kicked her to the gutter because she refused to get rid of the baby.
” I took another step, his eyes watching me like a hawk.
“Did you know that Eric threatened to kill the baby if she told anyone who the father was?”
“Son, I-”
“Did you also know that he threatened to kill me, too, if Kiera told anyone?”
His expression didn’t change. No shock or horror at learning his former friend had threatened to kill his only son.
They’d been close once, my father and Eric, but over the years, they’d become more like acquaintances than friends, and I wondered if the strain of what my father did had come between them.
Whatever. They could hold onto the animosity for each other while they spent the rest of eternity in hell together.
“You already knew, though, didn’t you? You knew you were the father of her kid, because you were the one who pinned her down and raped her right in this room,” I sneered, my temper dangerously close to snapping.
“I did no such thing!” my father roared, his deep voice reverberating off every surface in the game room. “That little whore came on to me. She wanted me to fuck her!”
A veil of red mist floated over my vision, and before I knew it, I’d flown across the room, grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, and threw my fist into his face. He freed himself from my clutches, taking a step back to spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor.
Straightening, his eyes widened at seeing I’d pulled the gun from behind me and was aiming it directly at his chest. He raised his hands in surrender, swiping more blood from his lip with his tongue.
“Jackson, put the gun down, Son. We can talk about this.”
“Admit that you raped her.”
“I didn’t do anything! She’s lying!” he barked, desperation coating his voice.
“What about yesterday?” I asked as my eyes filled with tears. “She came to you for help with getting Billie back, and you tried to attack her again. I suppose that was her coming on to you again, right?”
“Jackson, please. Lower the gun, and we’ll talk.”
“Admit it!” I bellowed, unable to keep the fury and the weight of his betrayal inside any longer.
“I’m sorry,” he replied, his voice cracking. “If I’d known you were in love with her-”
“Don’t you dare,” I growled, cocking the gun. “Don’t you dare fucking say that you wouldn’t have touched her if you’d known she was my girlfriend. She was fifteen fucking years old! Fifteen, and you fucking raped her, and left her to raise your child all on her own!”
My finger curled around the trigger, my heart pounding furiously against my rib cage, when an almighty bang rang out from behind me. Keeping the gun raised, I spun to find the door to the games room had been flung open with my mom standing in the doorway with thick tears streaming down her face.
“You…you raped Kiera?” she asked, her voice weak and shaky. “And you got her pregnant?”
I lowered the gun, briefly squeezing my eyes closed. Fuck. She must have been outside listening to the conversation. That wasn’t how I wanted her to find out.
“Sweetheart, go back to your crocheting and let Jackson and I talk,” Dad said soothingly, lowering his arms. “There’s been a mistake.”
“Is it true, Jackson?” she asked, her sorrowful eyes finding mine. “Did he rape Kiera when she was fifteen? Is he the father of Kiera’s child?”
“Mom, why don’t you let me and Dad finish talking, and I’ll come and find you?” I pleaded, desperate to get her out of the room.
“Tell me the truth, Jackson.” Her eyes fell to my father again, her features awash with disgust. “I deserve to know.”
I couldn’t argue with that. She did deserve to know the kind of man she’d spent the last thirty-five years married to.
“Yes.”
A strained sob fell from her mouth, and my heart shattered for her. She loved my father deeply, a love I thought he returned. I muttered a curse aimed at my father for the far-reaching consequences of his actions.
Putting the safety on my gun, I was about to step toward my mom, intent on getting her the hell out of here so I could murder the cunt who I shared DNA with, when she did what I had done only moments before.
She reached behind her, pulling a gun from behind her back, and pointing it at my father. “You motherfucker! I hope you burn in Hell.”
The first gunshot rang out, swiftly followed by a second. My head whipped to my father, two pools of bright red on his chest instantly staining his shirt. He glanced down at the wounds, his eyes wide in surprise as his knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor.
Another thud reached my ears, accompanied by a wail of despair. I turned back to my mom, sprinting across to where she was seconds away from collapsing, having thrown the gun on the floor.
I pulled her into my arms, twisting her around so she didn’t see the crumpled heap of my father bleeding out. She clung to me, wracking sobs making her entire body shake.
“Ssh, it’s okay, mom.” I stroked my hand down her hair in an attempt to calm her, my mind racing.
“I’m…sorry, Jack…Jackson,” she cried, her tears soaking my shirt. “I’m so sorry.”
I held her for a long minute, glancing over my shoulder to make sure my father hadn’t moved. But he lay in the same position he’d fallen in, his entire body still. Not even the slightest rise and fall of his chest.
When my mom's sobs began to fade, I gently pulled her out of my arms. “Let me go check on him. Stay here, okay?”
I didn’t bother to grab my gun from where I’d thrown it on the bar. Without a doubt, I knew my dad was dead. Sure enough, as I towered over him, his eyes stared up at the ceiling, glazed over and unseeing.
“The cleanup team are on their way,” I said, returning to the living room where my mom sat, staring into thin air.
For someone who’d not only shot and killed her husband, but had discovered that the man she had spent most of her life with had raped someone, she was surprisingly calm. Still, I poured her a glass of neat scotch and handed it to her.
“What happens now?” she asked, taking the glass from me and downing a large mouthful.
I sat next to her, my head still spinning with how the events played out. “James will approach Harrison and Gabe and tell them what Dad did to Kiera. She was a child of Legion when he…”
“Raped her.”
“Yeah.” I swallowed the acid crawling up my throat. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that wished I’d been the one to end my father. “James thinks they won’t call for my punishment for killing a Legion member.”
“Don’t you mean my punishment? I was the one who killed him.”
“No. I mean mine, Mom. James and the others can’t know that you pulled the trigger. I may have some grace being an heir, but you won’t,” I replied, clasping her hand in mine.
My mom was part of Legion, but other than being married to a leader, she wasn’t a high-standing member. James had assured me I wouldn’t be punished for killing another Legion member, but he’d never offered the same reassurance for anyone else.
I wouldn’t take that risk. I’d already lost one parent; I couldn’t lose another.
“Jackson, I won’t let you take the blame for me.
” She squeezed my hand, her eyes imploring me to listen to her.
“I shot the bastard, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
And if it means I face the consequences of breaching Legion rules, then so be it.
I’m just sorry I didn’t kill the cunt before he put his hands on Kiera. ”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn’t help but snort. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use that word before.”
Mom chuckled. “Well, it’s the only word that sums up that man. I can’t believe I slept next to him every night.”
A heavy sigh escaped. “I’m sorry you had to find out that way, Mom. I wanted to tell you after I’d dealt with him.”
“I’m not sorry, honey,” she replied. “The only thing I’m sorry about is that I couldn’t stop him before he hurt Kiera. I always thought she was a lovely girl, and you were so sad when she was disowned by Eric. I didn’t realize you were in love with her, though.”
“I still am,” I replied. “We’ve got a lot to work through, but I’m hoping we can find a way back to what we had before.”
She squeezed my hand again. “I’m happy for you, Jackson. The two of you deserve to be happy. What about her daughter, though? Won’t she be a constant reminder of what your father did?”
An affectionate grin spread over my mouth as I recalled Kiera’s answer when I’d asked the same thing. “She’s nothing like him, Mom. She’s the spitting image of Kiera, and she’s…she’s a good kid. I like being around her.”
We fell silent, the two of us lost in our thoughts. My mind flashed to the lifeless body of my dad in the games room, but instead of feeling the guilt and pain I thought I’d feel at his death, there was nothing but relief.
He’d never be able to lay a hand on Kiera ever again.
My phone ringing broke the silence, and I glanced down to see James was calling.
I ignored his call, turning my focus back to my mom.
“I need you to listen to me, Mom. What happened downstairs needs to stay between us. Let me take the blame; if I’m punished, it will only be with something minor.
I can’t guarantee they’ll feel the same if they know you killed him. ”
“Jack-”
“No, Mom. I’m begging you, please let me take the blame. I…” My voice began to break. I sucked in a breath, ignoring the way my bottom lip quivered. “I can’t lose you, too.”
Mom cupped my cheek, smiling affectionately. “Okay, Jackson. We’ll keep it between us.”
I closed my eyes, my shoulders slumping in relief.
“Thank you.” My phone rang again, and I huffed at James’ impatience.
He knew the job had been done; he’d called the damn cleaning crew, and there was no way they’d be here already.
“Let me get this,” I said, standing to walk out of the living room so I could speak freely to James. “Yeah?”
“We need to go,” James barked, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on edge at the urgency in his tone.
“What’s happened?”
“Kiera’s just phoned. Alec…he’s dead.”