Chapter 15
FRED
The staleness of the living room was starting to get on my last nerve.
My mother had mostly kept all of us in check, and cleaned up after us.
I was the one with the wife, but she was off keeping house for other people.
If the rumors around town were to be believed, she was cleaning up after another man right now.
Just the thought of that allowed my blood to boil. Like being stuck in a cage for four years had not been enough, I had to be confronted with the disloyalty of my wife.
My gift to Maggie should’ve had her cowering.
She should’ve known it was from me and come back to stop the terrorizing.
Instead, she called that asshole. The police had left and that Salinger asshole probably had the house under surveillance while my woman left with another man.
Who the fuck knew what they were telling my children.
Little brats would need to be trained once they were under my roof.
The front door slammed, pulling me from my thoughts. Charlie and Keith stumbled in, their faces flush with whatever cheap alcohol they could afford, and rage.
“That fucking bitch.” Keith snarled. He shoved the six pack and two pizza boxes at me. “That bitch-wife of yours thinks she’s really high and mighty.”
I frowned at both of them as I sat back in the recliner. “I thought you were going to the bar because she was not there on Saturday nights.
“We went, but that manager, Loren, kicked us out.” Charlie slumped into the armchair opposite the TV. “Told us we’ve been banned from the place.”
Keith nodded as he sat on the couch and lifted his feet onto the coffee table. “Said it was on Maggie’s orders. None of us were allowed back. Including you.”
My brother’s casual attitude was barely above annoyance. Typical. I rot in prison, and all they’re worried about is when to pay the cable and order the pizza. If they couldn’t deal with the ban from the bar then how would they bring down Theo Snow. I would need to do most of the work myself.
Meanwhile, rage coiled around me. “She banned me from my own fucking bar? I’d like to see her try.”
“Not just that.” Charlie pulled a slice of pizza from the box. “You should hear the whispers around town.”
“I heard she’s living with that asshole, Snow.” I didn’t even attempt to hide my disgust. “Apparently, his house is like a fortress. No one can get to her or the children there. Not to mention there is now a Salinger Security Guard at the school.”
Keith rolled his eyes at me. Fucker. “That’s not new. They’ve provided security at all the schools since one of those Salinger brats had been kidnapped a few years back.”
That was a good piece of information that I would look into at a later stage.
“Still, she’s not just living at the mansion.” Keith spoke around a mouthful of pizza. “Apparently, she and that asshole are a thing. They went on a date the other night.”
“A date?” What the fuck. How dare she try to humiliate me like that. “Where was this date?”
“They went to that make out point at the beach. Rumor has it they had dinner there.” Keith’s features reflected my outrage. “It's all over town. Someone overheard that Shiloh bitch say that the asshole was wooing her.”
Charlie nodded. “I heard that too. For all we know, they’ve been fucking this entire time.”
Wooing? What a fucking joke. But what the fuck was she doing going on dates with another man. Let my children live under his roof. It was time I got her where she belonged. With me.
I allowed the anger to bubble up inside me. I recalled the video footage The Rival had sent me. It was grainy CCTV footage but it was clear enough to see Theo Snow meeting with Nick Salinger just before the raid leading to my arrest. On its own it may not have been much.
The sound was the thing. Theo had clearly given away the location of our deal going down after he had secured the sale of his weapons.
The asshole had used his company’s position in the industry to set me up. It was time I got my revenge. We had a deal going down in a few weeks. What would you bet that Snow Enterprises would be providing that shipment.
Before I could tell my brothers about what I knew, they went on chatting about Theo and Maggie.
“And I bet he’d be taking her to that annual gala thing.” Keith looked more annoyed than actually angry. “Fucking rich asshole.”
That got my interest. “What gala thing?”
“Their annual charity gala.” Keith spoke as if I was supposed to know what he was talking about. “I bet your wife will be whoring herself out that night as well.”
I narrowed my eyes. “When is that gala? And when my wife and kids are back with me, you will not speak that way about her.”
“When she’s back with you, there will be no need to.”
Charlie leaned forward, his narrowed eyes said he knew I was planning something. “The gala is next weekend. They’ll make a show of it, just you wait and see.”
I had no doubt he was right. A gala dinner would be just the place to do it. The place would be crawling with press. Their picture would be splashed all over. It would be a way to announce to the world that they are together. It would be a way to rub it in my face and humiliate me.
I stood and picked up the rat I had killed earlier and dropped its broken body in the trash.
I had considered it a way of escalating the message I had sent to her last week.
But that was not enough. No, the time of subtle warnings had passed.
They deserved to have their world upended.
Maybe not immediately, but it would be good to have them in a constant state of fear.
“Keith, do you know if Snow Enterprises is the distributor your contact is using?”
My middle brother tilted his head to the side as he clicked that I was planning something. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking, the man wants to make a spectacle.” I cleaned off the table and walked back to the recliner. “He wants a show, let's give him a show. Cause some chaos, put him on the backfoot.”
Keith leaned forward, the pizza slice in his hand forgotten. Of the three of us, he was probably the smartest. Not that I would ever tell him. “What are you talking about, Fred?”
“That shipment.” I leaned back in the recliner. “The deal that’s going down in a few weeks. You said it was big?”
“It is.” Keith nodded slowly, his eyes darting around the room as he put the pieces together. “Our contact is just the middle man, but the payout is huge. Why?”
“You need to confirm that Snow Enterprises is the supplier.” My words were a clear order. “Use all your contacts, as needed. You know how to track and hack online. See if you can find someone called The Rival. He sent me a video that proved Theo was involved in my arrest. He might know something.”
“Who?” Keith’s frown deepened.
“The Rival. He’s like a ghost. I think he has eyes on Snow. Find him.”
Charlie shook his head. “And what if he does? Then what?”
My lips lifted into a smile. Probably the first one I’d had since I got home.
We needed to plan. Everything needed to go perfectly.
Justice needed to be served along with every meal.
“The gala is next weekend. Theo will be there in all his glory.
Showing off his fortune and the woman he stole.
It's time to bring him down. And the first steps are at that gala. I want him cowering like the scared little boy he is.”
“I understand you wanting to get revenge for Maggie.” Keith was never one to act irrationally. “But this seems over the top. Even for you. What am I missing?”
My eyes darted between both my brothers. I could already see the headlines next Sunday morning. “Didn’t you hear me? He set me up. He was behind that weapons deal and narked. I am going to bring him down. But that’s weeks away.”
Both brothers nodded slowly. Charlie was the one to speak up. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We’re done being small time thugs.” I looked at each of my brothers as the plan formed in my mind.
It was cold and ruthless and beautiful. “We’re not just going to just hit the shipment.
That’s what everyone would expect. While he’s busy playing king, we’ll expose him as a coward.
We’re going to crash that little party. Distract him. ”
Charlie’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy? That place will be crawling with security.”
“So. There is always security.” I glared at him, not wanting more problems without solutions. “I have an advantage. The Rival wants Theo out of the picture, too. He’s the one who sent me proof. I’m sure he’ll give us whatever backup we need. We’re just going to use the chaos to our advantage.”
“Tell us you plan, brother.” Keith nodded, finally fully on board.
As I laid out the plan that had been forming in my mind, both my brothers listened intently, both knew better than to interrupt me.
The gala was in seven days, everyone worth knowing would be in attendance, pretending to do good and donate to charity.
It would be the perfect time to crash the party and embarrass the man who stole my wife.
Everyone would see him run for safety and that was when I would get him.
As we all leaned back in our seats, I finished.
“And that bitch will be the spoils of the war. Keith, find out about that shipment. Charlie, find out everything there is to know about the security at the dinner. And I am going to find a way in. I know I could never secure an invitation. But there are other ways.”