Ruin

30. Declan

THIRTY

DECLAN

This has got to be the longest day of life. I have the sexiest girl in the world next to me, and I can’t even spend the day in bed with her. Why? Because my brothers think something is going to happen to me, while I’m in my own bedroom. What the hell is going to happen to me while I'm fucking my girl? I mean it’s not the worst way to die, but it’s still absolutely crazy.

We've watched five movies to pass the time, and I've been getting a message on the dot every hour with the fucking countdown. It’s pissing me off. If you want to shoot me, then fucking shoot me.

“You know, if you keep playing poker like this, you’ll lose all your money,” I joke with Miles.

Shockingly, the man is a genius with a computer, but at poker, the man has no clue, he’s rubbish. Mason, on the other hand, could rob us all of every cent we have.

“Why would I want to learn to play poker? When I can hack a bank so fast and take the money I need,” Miles tells me, and I roll my eyes at him. He’s not wrong, he could do it without breaking a sweat.

“Yeah, and dad will kill you,” Hayden tells him.

Number one rule for this side of the family business, you can never do anything to benefit ourselves. Unless we all believe the reason is right.

“Not worried about dad, it’s mom who will make me regret it,” Miles jokes, which we all agree with.

If we do something wrong, we aren’t scared of dad, but mom will make sure we regret it and never think about doing it again. She has a way with words and the look—the look of disappointment.

Trixie and Lileah spend most of the day talking about prom and designing the dress how they want. Trixie has been mixing between writing what she wants to say to saying no more than five words. I know it’s going to take her time, and I’m good with that.

The guys finally agreed on a dress for Lileah, and I told them they don’t have to come to our prom. I’ll make sure no one comes close to Lileah, and she’s in my line of sight at all times. But I think Hayden knows if I did that, I won’t enjoy my night with Trixie, so in the end we all agree it will be me and Hayden who will be there to watch over her.

Hayden has his own reasons for why he wants to make sure Lileah is having a good time, but also safe at the same time. We don’t blame him for worrying about her.

Trixie drew seven designs for herself. Four of them were a straight no, I didn’t like them. Well, I did like them, I just didn't like them for prom. The other three I liked, but the two of them spent the day trying to combine all three designs into one. I have to admit, it looks fucking amazing.

After that was done both of them said they needed to get fabric, which made the four of us laugh, because now she knows everything about the fashion world. We joked with Lileah that she’s now become a fashion designer. Because of that joke she said the four of us are paying for her dress.

Miles' answer to it was, you have enough money to pay for our own dress. Which isn’t a lie. Mom and dad give us all enough money every month and then we also have our money in the bank which we can use once we are in college. So, she doesn’t need money from us, but she also knows we will pay for it for her.

“What are we going to do for the next twenty minutes?” I ask, looking at my phone as it beeps.

Unknown

Fifteen minutes.

“That message didn't come from anywhere close to this house. It actually came from outside of the State.”

“Where is Cain, he said he was going to be here?” I ask, putting my phone back on the table.

“Not sure. Sent him a message, but he hasn't opened it yet.” Hayden looks down at his phone to make sure he hasn’t missed anything from him.

It’s not like him to not be here, something must have happened at the club. That would be the only reason he wouldn’t be here. If it was anything to do with Autumn he would have called Hayden.

I look at my phone again as it beeps.

Unknown

10 minutes.

“You know the countdown is a messed up mind game. I like it, I might start using it.” Mason is the only one who would think like this right now.

“Who the fuck are you going to use it with? We’re cleaners, we don’t have time for mind games. We get in and out with the job unless we need information, then we drag it out.” Mile’s jokes with him, making me laugh.

“Yeah, I know.” Mason flips him the finger.

“Talking about hits. Has anyone had one lately?” Hayden asks.

“Cain sent me one couple of days ago to hack into someone's system to find out what they were looking at and then erase everything about them. I mean, everything. He even made sure I got rid of any information about him being born.” Miles taps away on his laptop at something.

“Who was it?” I ask.

“I have no idea. A teacher in London. Cain said it was a favor for someone.” Miles looks at the three of us.

One thing I’ve realized with this side of the business, is not to ask too many questions. Do the hit, and that’s it.

My phone beeps with another message.

Unknown

Five minutes

This one is from Washington.

When you grow up in the family business, you know you’re going to kill someone, but you’re never the one who will die. If you die, you did something stupid. You fucked it up. I’m dead, because it’s my fault.

Do I want to die? Fuck no, who wants to die? No one. But Riley seems to have a plan, the perfect plan for him to put a bullet in my head. So far, he’s always been a step ahead of us.

Unknown

Three minutes.

Minute countdowns now it seems.

“Guys, this one's from London,” Miles tells us.

Unknown

Two minutes

“We're back in New York.”

Unknown

One minute.

“This one says it's in the house.”

And within seconds, the four of us are standing up, my gun in my hand. Hayden has his gun out, Miles is walking around with his laptop, because it’s his weapon of choice, he can use a gun though, and the crazy fucker to my left has his baseball bat with barbed wired around it.

Yes, that one was fun to explain to Trixie, the psycho brother, likes to bash people up with a baseball bat with barbed wire around it. Shockingly, she didn't even flinch at the words.

“Trixie, Lileah, stay close. Stay behind us at all times,” Hayden snaps.

Unknown

10 seconds.

“We're getting seconds now,” I tell them.

Unknown

9

Unknown

8

Unknown

7

Unknown

6

Unknown

5

Unknown

4

Fuck, this is annoying.

Bastard knows how to play mind games, doesn't he?

Unknown

3

Unknown

2

Unknown

1

The four of us are in a circle, with Trixie and Lileah in the middle, waiting for something to happen, anything. I expect the lights to go out, a red dot, I look down at my chest, nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“Anything?” Hayden asks.

“Nothing. No one around the house. Not one camera picked up anything. Nothing close to Cain’s house, either.

What the hell? Something has to happen. Why play this game, and do nothing.

My heart skips a beat when I hear the phone ring. ”Hayden!” I shouted.

“Sorry. Hello. Why? Who? Soon as he's here, we're on the way.” Who the hell is he talking to? He puts his phone away and I go to ask him who it was, but stop when the front door opens. Me and Mason turn to the door. “It's Lincoln,” Hayden shouts.

What the fuck is he doing here?

“We need to get to The Pit,” Hayden tells me.

“Why?” I ask.

Just this afternoon, I was told not to leave the house, and now they need me in The Pit, something’s not right here.

“I don't know, Cain said, the four of us need to get to The Pit. Let's go. Lincoln's here with the girls.” Hayden goes to move but I stop him.

“What's going on?”

“I don't know-”

“Lincoln?” I turn to him.

“You need to get to The Pit.” His tone is not reassuring me at all, but something in The Pit of my stomach is telling me this is not the right move.

I turn to Trixie quickly and cup her face. “You listen to him and do everything he says. He tells you to run, you run.”

“Yes.” The word is a whisper. Where are you going?

“The place where my hell began,” I tell her and grab my phone off the table. Going to the door, to meet the guys by the car, I stop when Trixie calls my name. I’m never going to get bored with her using my name.

Be safe.

“Always.” I give her a kiss and leave.

Closing the door behind me I make sure I've got everything, then I check my surroundings to make sure no one is around.

Getting in the car, I turn to Hayden. “What's going on?”

“I don't know. Cain said we need to get to The Pit. Didn't say anything, but the three of us need to be with you. I swear that's all he said.”

I look out at the road while my brain works out what is happening, this doesn’t make sense. There is no way Cain would call us away knowing I have a hit on my back. Something is wrong.

“Fuck,” I whisper to myself.

“What's wrong?” Miles asks.

“There is no way he can get to The Pit. Cain trusts the ones who are watching it when he isn’t there, because they all know the rules. If they betray him, they die. The only reason they’re loyal to him is because he lets them see their families, so they won’t cross him.” I’m talking more to myself than them, and the way they are looking at me, they have no idea what I'm talking about.

Hayden goes through the red light, and Miles is on the laptop, to erase the image of him doing it. Hayden continues to speed through the traffic, and I continue to think out loud.

“He’s always said he wanted me to make my family suffer the same way as him, so why is my gut telling me this is a mistake? There is something bigger happening here, I just don’t know what.”

“We’re here.” Hayden stops the car, and I quickly get out and slam my hand on the wall, and wait for the gate to open. Cain hasn’t put their prints on the system, and he won’t either. Only three people can open the gate, me, Cain and Lincoln.

I walk to the door, and nod to the guys to open the large wooden door, and an uneasy feeling moves through me. Clearing my throat as it seems to get tighter, my hands tighten into a fist, but then I loosen them. As the door opens a little more, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, what the hell is happening? My brain is fogging up with all the thoughts going through it, but one thing I do know, when I walk inside, I know nothing good is happening.

The door opens more, and I can already hear people shouting.

“Are they chanting Cain’s number?” Miles asks.

No one answers, but they’re chanting his number. Walking in I lock eyes with Cain standing in the middle of The Pit. For those two seconds, my stomach drops. Running into the middle, I push people out the way, and I drop to my knees.

“What the fuck did you do, Big Man?” I ask him, looking over his body to see the damage.

“He wanted a fight.” Big Man coughs, and I shake my head at him.

“Why do it?” He coughs again, and I look up at Cain. “Why is the rod still in?”

“If I take it out, he dies,” Cain tells me. Cain kept him alive so I could say my goodbyes to him. He knows what Big Man was to me, he knows I'd fight for him.

“Big Ma-”

“Daniel.” He grips my forearm. “Pretty Boy, I only want one thing.” He coughs and spits out blood. “Bury me with my family.”

“Declan, I’m Declan.” I take a deep breath, holding myself together not just for him, but for me. “Thank you for protecting me, when I didn't have anyone.”

“You protected me, too. I watch your back. You watch mine.” He coughs again, it’s coming to an end for him.

“Yeah, Big Man, but I didn't have your back this time, did I?” I take a deep breath in. “I wasn't here this time-”

“You…Didn’t…Know about…The fight.” Big Man tries to get the words out.

“It was a last-minute decision. I tried to get here when I heard about it.” I hear Cain, but don’t look up at him.

“Then why didn’t you wait until I got here?”

“I'm sorry, Pretty Boy, I'm sorry.”

I’ve never cried in my life, but now I’m trying to hold it together, because I'm about to lose my best friend.

“Remember Pretty Boy, watch your back…” He coughs again.

“Always watch your back.” I finish the sentence for him. “You're my best friend, Big Man. None of the dicks in high school have ever been my friends, but with you, I had someone in my corner, had someone watching my back, had someone to teach me how to fight…how to fucking care about my girl. And you couldn’t wait for me before you got into a fight. You were getting out, Big Man, a few more days, and you were out.”

“Is your girl pretty?” Big Man asks, and I nod. “The ugly ones always get the pretty ones.” I laugh remembering when he was telling me stories about him and his wife. She always joked with him that all pretty girls get ugly guys, and he would agree with her every time, saying she was too pretty for him. He finds my hand and holds it, as he tries to talk again. “I’ll….always have…your back….Pretty…Boy.” The last words escape in a whisper.

I place my hand on his eyes so I can close them. My body trembles, a painful tightness hits my throat. I fucking hate this, losing my best friend, when he was a few days away from getting out.

Getting up quickly, I walk away from everyone, and walk over to Big Man’s cell. I look at the X on the wall, and start punching it over and over again.

“If you can put a dent in this X, I’ll make you a new one. You’ll have an iron fist by the time I finish with you.” I hear Big Man laughing behind me.

Continuing to punch the wall, until I feel the blood escaping my knuckles, and even then I don’t stop. The timing is fucked up, from all the days, he could have a fight he had the fight tonight. Why? Follow your gut, always follow your gut.

“D, come on.” Mason pulls me away from punching the wall. “We’re here, we’ve got you.” I fall to my knees, and take in a few deep breaths.

“Who did he fight?” I ask.

“What?” Cain asks.

“Who. Did. He. Fight?” I ask again, and Cain tells me, and I nod. “I want to talk to him. You can be there, too.” I quickly add knowing I’m in no state to be in a room with anyone alone.

I hear footsteps behind me, two sets and see Hayden sitting on the floor on one side, and Mason on the other side.

“We’re sorry about your friend, D.” Mason is the first to talk.

I finally lift my head to look at them, biting my inner cheek to stop the tears. Never show weakness, never fucking show weakness. I take in a deep breath, stand up with my back straight knowing everyone is watching me.

Why wouldn’t they? I'm next in line to take control, I can't show them weakness. Turning around, with my head held high, I step closer to the entrance and see everyone’s eyes are toward me.

They want to know not to fuck with me.

* * *

I look over at the middle where Big Man lays. Two of Cain’s workers put Big Man into a black bag, ready to take him out. I’ll keep my promise and bury him next to his family, give him the peace I knew he wanted.

I slam the door behind me, not looking at anyone but the fucker who killed my friend.

“I want everyone to leave,” I shout, not looking at anyone as I study the asshole. “Now!” I shout.

“You know-”

“He won’t die, I won’t even touch him, but I want you to leave.” I cut Cain off, I’m not in the mood right now to play by The Pit rules.

There is silence for a moment, but then I hear them walking out. Waiting for the door to close behind me, I also know they won’t walk away from it either. In the space of five minutes I changed my mind from, they can be in the room , to not wanting anyone with me . They don’t know my mindset, and right now I don’t know it either.

“Why did you want to fight him?” I ask. He looks around the room, everywhere but at me and I take the time to look him over. Big Man had his fun with him, his elbow—I don’t even think it’s in the socket anymore, his face is so fucked up he will have some trouble looking out of it for a few days. “Don’t make me ask again.”

“I was told to,” he quickly answers. Now this is interesting.

“Told to?” No one gets to tell others who to fight, so what the hell is he talking about?

“There was a guy who was about to leave, small, fat, I can’t remember his number. He left after you did.” He stops to get some air in, and I know who he is talking about—the child rapist I enjoyed killing. “He told me, when you’ve been here for a year, they tell you, just to fuck with your head, that you’ve been in hell for a year. He said when it’s been a year for me, I’m to fight that guy. He told me to fight until he was dead, or he kills-.” I put my hand up so he can shut up while I think.

Why would he tell him to fight? Why today?

“And what will you get from it, you won’t get freedom?” Something isn’t adding up, why today of all the days?

“They were going to give my family one million dollars if I did the job. But it had to be today.” He stops talking when I get closer to him, his whole body tenses up, and he scrapes his chair to back away from me, but I slam my hands on the arms of the chair so he can’t move.

“You killed my friend, I might not kill you today, or tomorrow, but I promise you one day I will come in here and make you pay.” It’s not a threat, it’s a promise, and I will, but right now I need to work out what the fuck is happening. “Who was the money coming from?” I ask him.

“Don’t know, the man just said Riley-”

“Fuck!” I open the door and shout to my brothers. “Get back to the house, it’s a fucking set-up. The bastard has planned it all down to the very second.” I run up the stairs, to the car and get my phone out. “Pick up the phone, come on Trixie pick it up,” I shout.

“Lileah’s not picking up,” Miles shouts.

“Nothing from Lincoln. Declan and Hayden with me. Mason you drive, Miles on the laptop, and phone.” Cain runs to his car, we all get in, and I phone Mason to get us all on speaker.

Hayden tries to call Lileah again, and Cain calls Lincoln. Nothing, fucking nothing.

“The cameras have been sprayed over, I can’t see anything. The panic room was opened and closed. They might have ran in there and forgotten their phones.” I hear Miles’ voice but I’m not hearing him at the same time.

“He fucking played us. He had a back-up plan. From the very second I walked out of there he had a plan. The fucker was told today is the day he picks Big Man for a fight. They knew I’d go no matter what if something happened to him?” I punch the dashboard, as Cain speeds through the traffic.

“D, it’s not your fault,” Mason shouts at me.

“He’s right, but whatever they’ve done they won’t hurt anyone, because it’s you they want dead,” Cain tells me, and tries to call Lincoln again. “Pick up the fucking phone!” he shouts. “Fuck.” He calls someone else, and I hear Autumn’s voice. “Make sure all the doors are locked, no one comes in unless it’s me. I mean no one.”

“Cain-”

“Do not stand by the window, do not call anyone, until I get there.” He’s almost shouting at her, but there is a silence between them for a moment.

“Be safe.” The line goes dead, then I hear him ringing Lincoln again. Cain knows no one will mess with him again, not after last time, he also knows this is my fight, but he won’t risk anything happening to Autumn.

The car hasn’t fully parked and I’m out of it. “Trixie!” I shout, nothing.

“Lincoln!” Cain shouts.

“Lileah!” Hayden shouts.

Nothing. We all run to the panic room, and Miles goes to the scanner and puts his hand on it. It opens, and I feel my heart breaking slowly.

Trixie’s not in here. Lileah is tied up with tape on her mouth. Cain pushes past me, to Lincoln who’s been shot and is in the corner.

“Hey,” Cain slaps his face a few times.

I go towards him to help him, there’s no way I’m losing my best friend and Cain’s losing his friend on the same day. I look over Lincoln to see the wound.

“One-” I turn Lincoln a little. “Through and though,” I tell Cain, and he nods, but the look on his face is a sight I haven’t seen in him for a long time. Worry.

How the fuck did they out play us, how did we think this was a little fucking game to them.

My heart is beating almost to a beat which is not safe for me. My hands ball into fists, wanting to kill someone, fucking anyone.

The question now is what do we do?

Hayden and Mason go to Lileah. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Lincoln fought. He killed a few of them, but there were so many. So many-”

“Lileah, breathe.” Hayden cups her face and wipes the tears away. “Did they hurt you?”

“No, they hit me when I stabbed one of them, then tied me up. They shot Lincoln and then dragged me up here for me to open it, and well you’re here.” Her voice is breaking the more she talks, but she’s not telling me where Trixie is. She finally looks at me. “They took Trixie. Lincoln held on to her for so long, he tried to-”

“Lileah, you need to calm down,” Mason tells her, cutting the binding off her. I turn to Cain who is looking over at Lincoln.

“I’m going-” I stop when Cain stands up.

“Are you fucking stupid?”

“They have her,” I shout at him, and he shakes his head at me. “Cain-”

“No! They have been one step ahead of us this whole fucking time. Take a fucking moment and think. What’s the plan? Go there and ask for her back, we know it's not going to happen unless they kill you. Come on Declan, I’ve taught you better than that. I’ve taught you to never put your guard down for a girl, no matter what. So, take a fucking deep breath and think.” He goes back to Lincoln, and grabs his shoulder so he sits up.

Think Declan, think. Don’t play the game up here, play the game of The Pit.

“Get everything you need, no one is staying here, get to my place. Everyone! Declan you’re with me.” The man doesn’t trust me, and I don’t blame him either. He throws his car keys to me and tells my brothers if they are not at his place within thirty minutes, he will be looking for them.

Riley started this fight, but I’m going to be the one to finish it, and make sure he never fucking hurts anyone again.