Chapter 28
Tanner
Taking up an operation to destroy a large gang like Flames of Hell isn’t as easy as one might think. However, when you have the proper motivation, such as the love of your life being kidnapped by said gang, it becomes a walk in the park.
And when her father, who turns out to be the most important man in your life, dies to make sure they don’t get away with their crimes, it serves as a lot more motivation, and is likely to make the job much easier than it originally would have been otherwise.
It’s been a long time since we began planning the downfall of Flames of Hell; however, I had taken a special interest in it a long time ago.
Before we left the location of the stash, I'd planted explosives in the building, and they were set to go off moments after we left. This means that most of the Flames of Hell men are either dead or injured.
Planting a mole in the gang had been the first step, and it had made things much easier than they would have been if we were going in blind.
Flames of Hell had been so confident in the strength of their numbers that they never suspected there could ever be someone among them who could ruin them from the inside out.
Taking out the leader of Flames of Hell would have been an almost impossible task if it weren’t for this.
“They’re all out like a light.” I read the text again. Simple, and yet, the one thing I have desired for so long. Now that the leaders of Flames of Hell have been drugged by my mole, it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing crumbles.
“My man on the inside has the Flames of Hell leaders tied up somewhere,” I say to Rueben, beaming with pride.
“How did he manage to pull that off?” Wonder flickers in Rueben's gaze. “Who is he?”
“You'll see,” I say to him, leading the way.
We drive to the location and I park outside. It is an abandoned building.
“This is the place?” he asks, looking at the building, and I nod.
We step out of the car and head straight inside, where we're greeted by Shane Deacon, son of Alfred Deacon, leader of the Flames of Hell gang.
“Are you kidding me?” Rueben looks impressed.
I’m pleased. It’s hard to impress Rueben.
“They were having a meeting. They thought they were getting the stash for sure, so they wanted to celebrate. It was easy to drug the alcohol. They’re all tied up for you, boss Tanner,” Shane explains.
“Mr. Smith,” I correct him. “You’ve done well.”
“That man deserves to die slowly for what he did to me,” Shane says, his anger evident in his voice.
I smile sympathetically, seeing myself in the younger man.
Shane’s mom was also a drug addict. She was a prostitute who Deacon used at will only to throw out once he got bored, not knowing she was pregnant. She also sold Shane to his father for a brick of cocaine.
Only Deacon was such a sadistic bastard that he fed her the entire brick in one go right in front of Shane, and had him stay in the room and watch his mom die. He was little, and he blamed the man for the death of his mother.
Shane was more than willing to put an end to Deacon.
I suddenly remember how my path crossed with Rueben's.
Slim Tee happened to be in the way of Rueben’s territory acquisition, and when Rueben came to clear him out, he put up a fight. As his best fighter at the time, I’d been brought forward to fight Rueben. It was the first time in a long time that I’d known fear.
I had never faced an opponent like Rueben before. His speed, tactics, and strength were really a thing of marvel.
In Slim Tee's office, he beat the living daylights out of me. Rueben had a misunderstanding with Slim Tee, and for some reason, he had come by the office to settle things. But things got heated and a fight ensued.
Slim Tee asked me to fight Rueben because he'd taken out all the other men with his bare hands. I had watched him beat them up without breaking a sweat, so I knew fighting him was suicide, but I attempted it anyway.
Rueben, despite having beaten me black and blue, said that he admired my skills and potential. He offered me a chance to join him.
Without hesitation, I turned on Slim Tee and beat him to death with my bare hands .
Rueben smiles as he walks toward the tied-up leaders of Flames of Hell. They had been drugged in order to be tied up, but are awake now, just unable to move and with their mouths gagged.
“Your biggest mistake was touching Amelia,” he says. He has that blank look in his dark eyes again. I know they’re all going to die painfully.
He lifts Deacon by the collar and slams him hard on the ground before he sits on him and begins to pound his head into the ground.
Fear is written all over the faces of the others as they await their fates. Jared in particular, considering he pisses himself. He’s next up after Deacon, after all.
I want some of the action, and I've got bigger fish to fry: The corrupt police officers that Flames of Hell has been working with all this time. Those responsible for sweeping their atrocities under the rug. They were the ones who the meeting was called for.
I take a chair and set it before them as I sit down with crossed legs.
“Gentlemen. Hello.” I greet them with a devilish grin. “I ask for your attention, although I know you are distracted by what is happening behind me. It's quite disturbing, I know. With any luck, I might ensure that you all don't meet the same fate as those unfortunate people behind me. Well…” I sigh. “That all depends on how you cooperate. Do I have your attention now?”
They nod pathetically.
“Great! Let's discuss.”
..…………
It’s two long days before Rueben and I drive home. He killed all of the leaders of Flames of Hell, making sure they suffered before dying, and I handled all the corrupt cops.
The only cop I ever respected was the one who treated me with the same respect, despite not having a need to.
He had been more like family to me than anyone else has ever been, and I could not thank him enough for that. It’s too bad he’s not present to witness how things have changed.
I struck a deal with the cops. Since Sins of Man is taking over Flames of Hell's territory, we are basically replacing them. So I told the cops to just continue working with us instead.
I even sweetened the deal in exchange for having them accept us killing the guy who shot Captain. The police were happy to just continue. It didn't matter which individuals they were working with if the benefits were the same. They had no loyalty to Flames of Hell, justtothedeal.
I worked very hard, and it was all to make sure we can be happy with Amelia. I have never felt so much fear and rage as I did when I saw what they'd done to her. Crazy as it sounds… I fucking love her.
It’s been a grueling two days, knowing that the only thing I want to do is to lay in her arms and confess my love for her, and yet being unable to do so because there were matters to attend to.
I park the car carelessly in the driveway and we get out, hurrying inside. With the shooting at the safe house and no longer having to be in hiding, we have moved to a better place, where we can all be comfortable and begin a new life.
Josiah welcomes Rueben and I. Amelia is in Rueben’s room as usual. I look at them and sigh heavily. They know that I want to confess my feelings, and they both pat my shoulders.
“Tell her, man,” Rueben says to me with an encouraging smile.
I exhale sharply and head to her room. I have never been this scared of losing someone before, and this is proof that truly, I'm falling for her.
“Amelia,” I knock softly on the door and smile when it opens.
She’s wearing Josiah’s shirt and rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Is it over?” she asks. “Where’s Rueben?”
Amelia rushes into my arms and I catch her.
“It's over,” I say to her as I rub her red hair gently. “Rueben’s back too.”
She sighs with relief and pulls out of my embrace to look at me.
“I’ve been waiting for you so we could have that talk,” she says, smiling up at me.
I return her smile and walk her backward until she’s sitting on the bed. I sit beside her with barely any space between us.
“Firstly, I’m sorry for treating you the way that I did. I can't tell you how much it has bugged me, even if I was doing it to ensure your safety,” I say, mentally facepalming when the words come out slightly defensive.
She smiles despite that. “I’ve forgiven you already. You don’t need to apologize.”
“Thank you, but I did need to. I should never have made you feel that way.”
I feel my heart racing, and my brain is threatening to leave me hanging. My words are gradually failing me, but I fight to stay as focused as possible.
This is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I can battle a whole gang all by myself without stressing over it, but here I am unable to say three little words.
I wonder how Josiah and Rueben were able to do this. Yes, I had told her back when we were driving to the location of the stash, but it was different then. I need to man up and get this done once and for all.
“Also, I…”
She holds my hands, and suddenly everything feels a lot better. Her smile melts my heart. I say the words effortlessly, damning whatever might come after.
“I love you so much, Amelia, and I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you and making you happy.”
Her eyes light up.
“I promise I’ll never let anyone disturb our peace ever again or put you in a situation where you can't freely do as you please.”
“Thank you, Tanner.”
Her eyes are bright as she smiles at me. It’s the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen on her face, and my lips spread to copy hers.
“I love you too.”