23. Torin
TWENTY-THREE
torin
I’ve never heard Emilio be so fucking dramatic in my life.
The desperation in his hardened tone isn’t lost on me. Since my brothers and I are such alleged “fuckups,” Bay is his only true savior to rescue everything he’s ever worked for.
I mean, in a delusional world, I guess.
He doesn’t know her the way I do. In any other circumstance, I may be nervous she’d choose Emilio over me, but I’m not. It doesn’t matter if she hates me and never wants to be associated with me ever again, this woman will not ride or die for the man who went head-to-head with Roger Astor.
She’s born and bred South Shore, through and through. She murdered her little girlfriend in the middle of a vacant parking lot over her betrayal of Wallace. Another link to her hometown. It would be a cold day in hell if she turned on her community to ride it out with its rival.
I’m not entirely sure why Daddy Dearest over here doesn’t see that.
Or maybe he doesn’t want to see it.
Maybe he was having too much fun confirming the death of my brother.
Regardless, Bay doesn’t have to choose. Her answer holds no significance over why I tagged along or what my true intentions are tonight.
Bay’s silence through the room is deafening, even in my bad ear. Emilio sulks and I know she’s dragging out her response to drive into the limited patience of his. He’s about to snap off in about five seconds, and his men are going to come traipsing in here at his order.
We’re both going to die tonight if I allow it to happen.
“Ease up on the girl,” I say nonchalantly to buy some time. “At least buy her dinner first.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Emilio boils through his teeth. “Last chance, Haven. I’m done fucking around here.”
I sigh because geezus Christ, this is seriously unnecessary.
“Him,” she replies so quietly I almost don’t pick it up since she’s on my bad side, but fuck.
I know I said she wouldn’t choose him, but hearing her say it is a whole other level entirely on its own.
We’re on purely bad terms right now. She could’ve bullshitted her way out of this without a second thought, have Emilio kill me right here then devised a plan to get back at him later.
But she chose me.
My girl opted for me at the end of the day.
“That’s what I thought,” Emilio surmises grimly, his eyes casting downward as if devastated by her response before he raises his arm and holds the Ruger I taunted him with only minutes ago directly at her face. “This didn’t need to happen.”
I’m not worried about the time I have, but the weapon being in my way. Emilio won’t blow her head off without final words. He’ll make her regret the decision, and I could have Kona or Koda jump his ass with a snap of my fingers, but it could make him yank on the trigger.
My old man just pulled some 007 shit with the gun in his suit sleeve the whole fucking time.
“That’s disappointing,” I hedge. “You didn’t pick me first.”
Emilio doesn’t bother appeasing me, he only stares Bay down and tries to feed into her fear. “I’m disheartened, Haven. I thought you knew better.”
“Same,” she says with ease. “I’m surprised you’re this shocked about it.”
“Maybe you would’ve come around. You drove Reeve away when you picked Ozzy. Cairo hasn’t fallen completely to your charm yet because he has a seat to protect, and you’re a distraction. And Torin…well, we both know the answer to that. However, Roger was useless after his stroke. Wallace would never make it past his twenties, and you would’ve been left with no one but me.”
The hair on the back of my neck rises. “You’re working with De Leon.”
“I’m not working with that punk bitch,” Emilio snarls. “However, I could shake his hand for almost taking you both out.”
I step to my left, between the gun and Bay’s body, and stare down the barrel. “Don’t be a pussy, and take your shot, for real.” I feel Bay’s finger curl tightly into one of the loops in my jeans, giving it a small tug to pull me away. “You know I love you,” I say to her, keeping my sole focus on Emilio’s gun. “I fucked up. I broke your trust and almost ended your life, but I’m giving it back to you. You’ll never have to deal with shit again. You’ll be free, Wildfire. Even from me.”
Snapping my fingers, Kona and Koda both launch themselves at Emilio. Koda is a bit bigger, and her weight knocks my stepfather back a step before I make my move.
Everything happens at warped speed.
The jagged blade tucked in my waistband thrusting into his gut.
Emilio’s surprised gasp as my dogs begin to drag him to the ground.
His grunts and hollers are there, but they’re background noise to the tunnel vision that’s taken over my brain.
My boot kicks at his gun so he can’t shoot one of my dogs. Then a soft body is pressing up into mine and shoving me backward and away from Emilio’s body.
“We need to go ,” Bay states urgently before I realize her palms are gently pressed to my side. I blink her into existence and those lucid blues stare back at me with anxiety in them.
Don’t worry, Wildfire. I won’t let anything happen to you.
“Take my car,” I order again. “Go home.”
“Fuck no,” she clips out. “We both go.”
“I have business.”
Her brows clash. “You can’t kill him, Torin.”
I marvel at her face for a split second because it’s been what seems like forever since we’ve been this close without spewing hateful shit at each other.
I love everything about her.
Those plush lips. The lightness of her blue eyes. Her flawless skin without an ounce of makeup.
She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, with the body of a sinner and the soul of someone who would protect anyone she loves.
I’m almost half tempted to ask if I fall under that category, but I have two dogs who are about to shred Emilio, and he won’t stop hollering like a bitch.
“I said get lost,” I order with a bit more steel to my tone. My father’s men are going to be in here any minute with the sounds he’s making. “Aus.”
Kona and Koda drop Emilio’s arms, and I mom-arm Bay out of my way. But it doesn’t stop her from gripping firmly onto my forearm.
“This is going to cause more bullshit?—”
“It’s done, Bay,” I confirm. “You chose the lesser of the two evils, right? It was him or me. Are you changing your mind?”
“No,” she immediately says. “But—” I eat up our space and tower over her curvy frame. Smelling her, maybe, for the last time.
“The Void are going to be here in seconds, and I need you to get out of here. Take my car. Call Ozzy. I’ll manage from here.”
“I’m not going to leave you,” she insists and, fuck me, I’d do anything to kiss her, but I don’t have time for this shit.
“You’re pissing me off,” I grind out, which isn’t far from the truth. “And you have nothing else to see here. Unless you wanted to say goodbye to him…” I flip the long, jagged blade in the air, catching Bay’s eyes.
“No,” she mutters. “I have nothing else to say.”
“Reconsider, Haven,” Emilio snarls angrily from the floor. “Because my wrath on you will be tenfold by the time I’m done destroying everything you’ve ever loved.”
“You’d have to be in a better position for me to consider that,” she says without looking back at him. “I stand by what I said.”
“Good girl,” I utter softly, permitting my gaze down the front of her body and soaking in every curve and bend. “Now, move. ”
“Torin—” My chest bumps into hers before my arm wraps around her waist, and my mouth crashes greedily into hers.
I’m fully aware I have no right to do this. I’m taking more than what’s allotted to me. But I can only handle so much, and she’s not listening to the important parts.
She can’t be here.
I shove my keys into her palm and break the kiss as her lips begin to move with mine, just to fall under the familiar spell of her eyes again. “Go. Call Ozzy for me. You need to leave. For the love of God, do it for me.”
Bay presses her lips together, and I swear I know her better than anyone because a retort is working its way up her throat, but a soft whimper leaves it before she rounds my body and starts for the door.
“Koda, verfolgen ,” I command, pointing to Bay, to which she follows her out of this shithole of a house.
Meanwhile, Kona continues to look fixedly at Emilio and patiently awaits my next order.
“You’re a smart prick,” Emilio seethes through his teeth. His eyes have darkened in fury. “You did exactly what I did to her mother.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“No?” he presses, pushing himself up to sit. “You fucked her, then tried to kill her when she didn’t?—”
“Lapse of judgment,” I cut in. “And it wasn’t because she didn’t feel something for me, but that I believed she murdered Judah.”
“You’re a bigger fuckin’ idiot if you don’t think De Leon was behind that. Even I know she didn’t kill him.”
There isn’t shit I can do now to fix those mistakes.
“Anything else?” I question with a quirk of my brow. “Or are we ready to end this?”
“We doing this fair?”
“Absolutely.” I nod for his gun. “It’s all you.”
Emilio wastes no time sliding his ass over to it a few feet away. Meanwhile, I sheath my knife and pull out my Glock, waiting for the inevitable. For the cheap shot he’s going to take.
His weapon draws in my direction, but I’ve already fired a warning shot in his thigh. He howls like a wolf calling to his clan of warriors, and I know it’s only a few more moments before they arrive.
They’re not the Forsaken Crew.
They were out smoking in the back and getting fucked up because they have nothing better to do.
Fucking newbies.
I bet Emilio is currently regretting his decision of not recruiting more able bodies, but that’s his problem. However, they had to have heard this shot.
And if they’re worth a damn, they’ll be filing in here shortly.
“Don’t point that fuckin’ thing at me until we’re all ready,” I lightly chide him. “Fuck…I know you’re used to cheating your way everywhere, but it’s not how we’re going to play this game, Dad.”
“I can’t wait to see you dead,” he snarls, attempting to push himself up to his feet but fails due to his new wound. “Nothing but a waste.”
“Yeah, yeah…” I reach down and clutch onto his bicep, helping him up to stand—to his utter disgust—when he yanks his arm from me and glowers.
“How do you want to do this, you little shit?”
I lift my shoulders. “Count of three?” Emilio bows his head in agreement. “One—” A shot rings out before I feel the piercing and all too acquainted pain of a gunshot wound in my shoulder.
I grind my teeth as I quickly raise my own weapon before the doors fly open, and I’m fully aware my time is up.
The Void is here, I can see them piling into the room from my periphery before a shower of pops sounds off, and Emilio cowers forward.
More reverberate through the air in a peppered succession but it’s from behind me. I crane my head over to uncover Ozzy yanking mercilessly on his trigger.
And I don’t bother to unmask the rest of the room because I have enough faith in my brother to know it’s handled before the space falls silent. Other than Emilio’s labored breaths.
“Another fuckup,” he hurls, glancing up at us. “But this one is mine. I give you my daughter to keep you both in line. You picked the wrong one, son.”
Ozzy doesn’t bother to respond, never needs to. He’s mastered the art of silence and all his thoughts out into mere nothing while everyone still tries to read the room.
He remains at my side, through my screw-ups, because that’s what Oz is.
Loyal to a fault.
“Enjoy Hell,” I snarl with a smile. “God fucking knows he doesn’t want to deal with your level of bullshit, and we’re done with yours here.”
Mindlessly, I unload my clip into his chest, not giving his body an opportunity for a nearly missed shot into something vital.
Stabbing him to death was the plan, but thanks to my new battle wound, I opt for lead and keeping blood off mine and Ozzy’s hands.
I have enough.
Emilio staggers and struggles to stand before he falls to his knees with a thud. Regardless, it doesn’t take long before he turns into a lifeless heap in the middle of his floor.
“I was wondering when you were finally going to pull this off.”
Ozzy and I both steer our guns toward the voice of my brother, who’s aimlessly leaning up against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He snuck in from the west entrance, Emilio always believed in several exits but for this instance, he didn’t use any.
“Too much of a bitch to do it yourself?” I retort with flared nostrils. “I’m almost thinking about popping you off next.”
Ramsey lifts an unimpressed eyebrow. “For?”
“I’m not about to give you a reality check into the inner workings of how much of a fuckin’ psycho you are.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“Because your leash was too tight. Now, it’s loosened.”
“So?”
I shake my head at him because I’m not fucking stupid. “Do I look like I’m about to argue with you?”
“Put the gun down, Torin, and call off your pitbull. If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it myself.” He glances over at our fallen father. “He’s still alive.”
Another two gunshots go off from my gun, and I’m not sure where I hit Emilio because I’m too busy staring off with Ramsey to give a shit. “How about now?”
Ramsey pushes the door frame as more men file into the room.
We’re outnumbered; I don’t have to look around the space to know that. My brother could have Oz and I executed right now if he wanted to. There’s nothing stopping him now other than the fact I keep him somewhat normal in this world. Him killing me would show how much of a monster he is. That he truly is a fucking psycho.
“Clean this shit up.”
“Fall in line,” I counter. “Or you’re next. You’re outnumbered now.”
He lifts a knowing eyebrow. “Am I?” He takes two steps in the room and glances around, seeming unbothered by my threat. “Your first fuckup will be trying to come for me. And if that happens, we both know the things I’m capable of doing.” He bows his head toward the dead man in the room; that’s now his freedom. “Get him the fuck out of here. I’m not cleaning up your mess.”
Then he’s gone with his men in tow, not giving a flying shit we took out some of those, too.
It’s a missed opportunity.
In reality, my next move would’ve been to take out Ramsey along with Emilio and completely end the line of Wildes’ succession.
Ozzy comes up to stand at my side then, supportive as hell for whatever I need.
Yet, I didn’t need the next words that came out of his fucking mouth before they thrust into my gut and left me almost breathless from a new revolution I wasn’t ready to face.
“She’s pregnant.”