Chapter 21 #2
“I know it was you. What I don’t know is why you’d do something so fucking stupid.”
Eli turned his eyes toward me. “Like I said, it’s the secrets that fuck you every time. Your father had secrets and so did Razi. Unfortunately, you don’t know your history.”
“Which I suppose you’re about to tell me.”
Eli grinned. “Some of it. The rest you’ll have to get from your mother.”
Fourteen minutes.
“My mother? What does she have to do with this?”
His lips curled in a way that had my eyes lowering to the gun, which was inches away.
“Come on, Akel. You’re not going to give up that easily, are you?”
“My patience with you is fleeting.”
He snorted. “Fine. Let’s have a little history lesson. Your father killed my brother.”
I hadn’t known for sure, but it was an easy assumption.
“Possibly.”
“It’s the fucking truth. Your father killed my brother, then Razi killed my father a few months later to protect his precious pawn.
My father threatened yours, which wasn’t a smart thing to do, but he lost a son and that clouded his judgment.
None of that mattered to Razi. That son of a bitch was just as heartless as the rest of them.
” Them? The Families? “There were rules my father didn’t understand.
I was a fucking kid, so I didn’t understand them either.
I just knew my brother and old man wanted something they could never have.
Respect. I lost my brother then my father.
My mother wasn’t far behind them because she felt she had nothing left.
I was still here, but I didn’t fucking matter.
No one gave a shit about my family because of how my father handled business.
It’s why I worked so hard to prove we deserved respect just as much as the next man.
They still didn’t give a fuck about me, which means I was gravely underestimated.
I had no idea who Razi was meeting that day, but it worked in my favor.
The two people I hated most in the world got what they fucking deserved.
No matter how great you think you are, no one is untouchable.
” His eyes shone with pride—the pride from knowing he made the call that killed two very important men.
“You’re admitting to killing my father and you don’t expect me to react?” My brows pinched as my knuckles cracked once more while the muscles in my jaws twitched.
“I know for certain you’ll react. Just not now.
You could easily lift that gun and shoot me, but that’s too easy.
Kincaid Akel doesn’t do easy. It doesn’t make a statement, and quite frankly, there’s no fucking fun in this if I don’t suffer, right?
For months now, you’ve been second-guessing yourself, possibly even blaming yourself, assuming your father died because of who you chose to marry.
I did that. I fucked with your head and that shit feels good.
It’s why you won’t end this without returning the favor.
The idea of me questioning my every move in anticipation of your next one is what feeds that ego of yours.
I know because we’re the same. It’s why that bitch is still breathing.
It keeps my dick hard to know she’s constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for the minute someone slips up and she has to face me again to answer for what she took.
Don’t think I couldn’t have gotten to her by now if it’s what I really wanted.
You’re not God, Akel. None of us are. This is not about you, but the minute your arrogance allowed you to believe it was . . . that was when you gave me control.”
Eighteen minutes.
“And the minute you allowed yourself to believe you were smarter than me is when you sealed your fate. You and I are nothing alike, Eli. However, you are right about one thing. Neither of us is God . . .”
I paused, tossing back the last of my drink before lifting my gun. I dropped the clip and removed the one bullet lodged in the chamber before placing it on the bar between us.
“. . . tamen fretus, qui quaeris, ego diaboli.” (However, depending on who you ask, I am the devil.)
Nineteen minutes.
“I don’t know what the fuck you just said, but I’m sure it’s a threat.”
I smirked but didn’t respond. It was time for me to leave. With long strides, I crossed the room to exit before my fate was the same as Eli’s. I heard his voice one last time before I pushed through the door.
“Send my love to Endia. Tell her I’ll be seeing her soon.”
Unfortunately, you won’t.
I checked my watch one last time as I started my car.
Twenty minutes.
As I pulled into traffic, I heard the explosion, prompting me to watch from my rearview mirror as the building became completely engulfed in flames. There was not a chance in hell that he survived.
My phone rang seconds later. “You were cutting it close, Akel.”
“You said twenty-two minutes. I used twenty. I had time.”
He delivered a gravelly chuckle. “Barely, but I expected it. As always, it’s good doing business with you.”
The call ended, and I tossed my phone in the passenger seat, my chest tightening with every passing second.
Even though I had finally taken the life of the man who took my father’s, there was no relief, and it would never come.
Life was funny that way. Killing Eli wouldn’t somehow erase what I felt about losing the one man who I loved and respected most in the world.
It was only a temporary fix, but one I needed.
Even still, I was left with the void of not having my father and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
I sat in my car outside my parents’ home, dreading the conversation I was about to have with my mother.
I wasn’t positive I wanted answers to the questions that plagued me after meeting Eli, but I had to know.
Not that it would change anything for either of us.
After another fifteen minutes of simply staring at the house, I brushed my hand down my face and decided to get it over with.
As soon as I entered the house, I found my mother waiting. The massive foyer divided the space with two marble staircases on either side. She sat to the right, midway down, her hands clasped in her lap.
“You were out there for a long time. It took everything in me not to come to you, but I determined you needed the space. I assume you’re ready to tell me what’s weighing so heavily on your mind?”
Her expression was neutral. I wondered if she knew that Eli was dead.
My mother had a bad habit of watching the news.
Every time my father or I left the house, she worried, so it was how she coped.
Over the years, she developed the practice of searching for our names in headlines.
It gave her peace each time she came up empty.
“Were you ever involved with Everett Manchester?”
Her face hardened and her eyes narrowed in a matter of seconds. “Absolutely not.”
She was offended, which relieved me, but there were still unanswered questions. It was possible Eli could have lied about my mother’s involvement with my father killing his brother, but my gut was leading me to believe it was true.
“Even though it was sometimes required, my father wasn’t a killer.
He and I were very different when it came to certain things.
He saw things as either black or white. I lived in the gray areas.
Those gray areas were where the tough decisions had to be made.
It always weighed heavy on him, but I was okay with those decisions because they were necessary. ”
“You’re not making sense.” My mother stood and traveled down the rest of the stairs, stopping a few feet from me. Her face twisted in confusion, but I could also see her holding back.
“My father wasn’t a killer by nature, but if pushed, he wouldn’t hesitate. There’s not much that would push him to that point, but there’s one specific guarantee he would take a life without a second thought.” My chin dipped so our eyes leveled. “You.”
“This is not a conversation I want to have.”
“Me either, but it’s happening. Everett and my father were friends. That much, I know. The two were extremely close until they weren’t. What changed? Why did he kill Everett? And before you lie, I already know the truth.”
“Then what does it matter?” She threw her hands up and turned to walk away. I followed my mother into the kitchen, where she began moving around, opening and closing cabinets and slamming drawers in search of a distraction or possibly to release her frustration.
“That’s not helping either of us.” I spoke calmly and she eventually turned to face me.
“Those pictures, the ones of me . . .”
My mind rushed through multiple scenarios until I landed on the one that had my body tensing.
“He did that to you? Everett?”
She didn’t answer verbally, but I had confirmation the minute her eyes found the floor.
“Why the fuck would you keep that from me?” My voice elevated, but I was unable to control the reaction.
“Because we knew what you would do. Your father made me promise never to tell you. You would have—”
“You’re damn right I would have!” My body vibrated with anger I could barely control, but I regained some composure.
“It needed to be done. If I had, then Eli wouldn’t have killed my fucking father.
You wouldn’t have lost your husband.” I hadn’t realized I was moving until I noticed her flinch below me.
She and I were inches apart, her eyes wide, mine tight in thin slits.
“Fuck!” I belted out, shaking my head as I stepped back, attempting to process what I was saying and what she must be thinking. Unfortunately, I couldn’t redirect my anger. I had to get out of there . . .
Now.