Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
Tears made it hard for Ryan to see. Soon all of this would be behind him, and his stand would have been worth it.
Not that any of it brought his mother back.
He’d blame the whiskey for messing with his mind and making him more emotional.
The FBI agent’s proposal wasn’t that bad.
At least the media was still coming. But could he trust her not to double cross him?
How could she stop snipers from taking a shot at him?
She can’t, that’s what… He swigged back more whiskey and eyed his hostages.
A family, harmless enough on the surface except for whose seed they were part of.
But then that would apply to him. You are a…
He topped up his glass. The decanter was getting low.
Maybe it was a sign he should take it easy and clear his head.
He had that interview with the reporter coming up.
He threw the second crystal rocks glass at the floor and watched the whiskey spill out.
Then he turned to the woman. “You.” He pointed at her while she hugged her son. “Make some coffee.”
“Okay.” She jabbed a gaze at her husband as she stood to leave the room.
“To remind you of the risks if you try anything… Come here.” He motioned for the teenage girl to walk over to him. She did, and he wrapped an arm around her torso, set the gun at her temple. “You run, then she gets a bullet in the head.”
Just pull the trigger… Do it… You need to do this… Stop it with her… It doesn’t matter that she’s a kid. She’s guilty. She deserves to pay for her grandfather’s sins…
The voice in his head was getting louder, but it was all his imagination.
All my imagination… He’d chant it like a mantra.
After all, it was just his damaged brain.
His doctor had told him that the marijuana he’d abused as a teenager had done irreversible damage and doled out a prescription to help manage the symptoms.
The woman held up her hands. “I’ll get you a coffee and be right back. What do you want in it?”
“Do I look like I fucking care?”
You’re a brain-damaged loser! Your own father wanted you dead!
“Please, stop doing this! Please.” The teenager started crying.
She’s one of them… She would pull the trigger if the roles were reversed… Do it!
Ryan shut his eyes, trying to block out the voice. Just do it!!! “Shut up!”
The girl became still, and Edward and the boy stared wide-eyed at him. He must have screamed that out loud.
The woman returned to the room holding a cup out to him. “It’s black.”
He pushed the girl away and took the offering. “Thanks.”
The woman looked at him before returning to the spot on the couch with her son. The girl went to her father’s side.
“Get away from him.”
Tears were streaking down her face. “You will pay for what you’ve done!” she roared while touching her father’s shoulder. “Daddy.”
The tender moment had a knot twisting in Ryan’s chest. He’d never bonded with his father, or any male role model, for that matter. So to hell if he was going to stand here and watch someone else enjoy it. “Get back to where you were. Now!”
“You’re an animal!”
“You’ll be dead if you don’t do as I say.”
“Sophie,” her mother petitioned, and it proved enough to prompt the girl back to her side.
“Now, you.” Ryan leveled his gaze at Edward. He was sweating profusely, and his breathing was labored. “Why are you lying to me, to your family? Was that something you learned from the old man?”
“I’m not… lying to you,” Edward hissed through clenched teeth. His discomfort was evident in his bloodshot eyes.
“For God’s sake, Edward, enough is enough,” Ashley said. “Tell him.”
“Come on, Edward, tell me.” Ryan put his face in Edward’s, placing their noses inches apart.
“Have you kept quiet about your father all these years to protect yourself? You must know the sort of man he was. Did you think you’d lose your inheritance?
It’s all about money to you, isn’t it? That’s why you think it means everything to everyone else. ”
“My father had…” Edward’s eyes rolled back, and Ryan slapped his cheek. “He had secrets,” Edward blurted out.
“You still said nothing all these years.”
“What was I supposed to do? Turn on my own father?” Edward drilled him with a glare.
“Yes, Edward, that’s exactly what you should have done.
” Ryan stepped back, head spinning. Drink the coffee…
He gulped some back, burned his tongue, and cried out.
But he needed his head to be clear again.
Sober. He blew on it and drank more coffee.
After he’d drained half the mug, he said to Edward, “Did you know about me, or that he killed my mother?”
Edward slowly shook his head.
“I don’t believe you!” he roared. “How could you not have known? He’s a murderer!
Your father caused my mother’s death. He even tried to kill me!
” He thrust his hand with the mug against his chest for emphasis and screeched when some of the hot brew splashed over the rim and soaked through his shirt.
“No, you have it all wrong.”
“But he did, Edward. He did,” Ryan said in a singsong voice, then took a tentative sip of the coffee.
Edward glanced at his wife, a look that Ryan didn’t miss. A message passing between spouses, cutting him out.
Shunned, ignored, rejected… The story of my life. “Talk to me now!”
“You keep telling us how horrible Timothy was, how horrible we are,” the woman blurted out. “But you seem to forget if what you’ve said is true, his blood also flows through your veins.”
He hadn’t forgotten that for one hot second. It made him sick. “I’m nothing like him!” He pulled the trigger, not even caring where the bullet ended up.