Chapter 28 Noah
Chapter Twenty-Eight
NOAH
Flames climb higher, the building burning, people screaming inside. They bang against the windows, fists leaving prints as smoke chokes the air, pouring through any cracks left in the boarded-up doors.
They shouldn't have crossed me if they didn't want to burn for their sins.
Their screams start to die, replaced by the low groans of the house crumbling in on itself, the world around the house shuddering as the structure starts collapsing.
Their children will be safe. They don't have to worry about that. I've found placements for them outside the life. Placements with families who are going to love them and give them a good life. Families who are going to want them to stay as far away from their past as possible.
However, their parents will be nothing but charred bones by the morning.
I glance at Hector. "You sure that's the last of them?"
He nods. "Last traitors. There are others who might've been whispering with Robert, but for all the tracking I've done, I can't find any actual connections to them."
"Keep digging. I want to make sure anyone who took part in the attack on the pier is punished fairly for it."
It's been a week, and Aiden has yet to come after me.
Summer hasn't been speaking with me either. I've seen her twice, once when she was going to school and another time when she was leaving it.
She didn't see me, though. I didn't want her to.
Right now, I need to get my shit in order, and then I can think about dealing with her after all she's done to me.
What I do to her has to be special. It needs to be worthy of all that she's done. Worthy of her shooting me in the leg and leaving me for dead, even if she claims her plan was to set me free.
Not that I believe that for a second.
She used me. She let me keep her, she let me think that she was beginning to feel the same way for me that I was feeling for her, and then she turned around and fucked me over.
Hector walks with me through the trees and to the waiting cars, the headlights illuminating the fog in front of them. "What do you want to do about the ones who turned against you but weren't at the attack?"
"See to it that they are dealt with. Make it known that you got wind that I'm looking for traitors, and then make them believe they stand a chance at getting away." I tuck my hand into my pocket, pulling out the keys. "And then I want you to kill them."
Hector chuckles and makes his way to his own car. "You know this is only going to cause more problems with the people who didn't turn against you."
I stare at him over the top of my car. "Let it. I'm tired of giving a fuck. I don't need them."
He leans on the other side of the car, arms folded together on the roof. "You need someone. Can't keep going on this way. You're only going to be miserable."
I know what he means. It's the same thing he's been saying for the last week.
He wants me to talk to Summer. He wants me to figure things out with her like she didn't fucking shoot me in the leg.
And like I didn't kidnap her, torment her, torture her, and keep her from her family.
Semantics.
Hector arches an eyebrow. "You can keep trying to ignore the conversation, but we both know you're not happy without her around."
"And what would you have me do about that?" My tone drips with sarcasm.
I'm not interested in what he thinks I should do.
I know what I have to do, and that's leave her behind and move on with my life.
I don't have time to keep being wrapped up in her.
Too much time has already been spent running over every single minute she was with me and thinking about all the things that went wrong.
Or thinking about what went right and wondering why she still left.
Hector shakes his head, rapping his knuckles against the roof of the car.
"She shot you to keep you safe. Your stupid ass was going to run into the fight when you were already barely standing.
She knew her brother, and she knew that you weren't going to be in any trouble, and then she came along and let you out. "
"What's your point?" I twirl my keys around my finger as sirens start in the distance.
It took the neighbors longer than I thought it would to see the smoke. Some things can't be prevented, though.
Hector pushes back off the car, standing up straight. "Summer did what she could to keep you alive. You think she turned against you, and maybe she did in a way, but you're standing here and alive because of her."
Without another word, he gets in his car, whipping around in the open area and shooting down the main road as the sirens get louder.
For a minute or two, I stand there, half waiting for the glow of red and blue lights whipping through the forest as the cops and the firetruck arrive. Part of me wants to get caught. I want to be done with all of this.
If I'm being honest, I'm not sure killing Aiden is worth it anymore, but I don't know what else to do.
This has been my purpose for the last several years. This has been everything I've wanted to do, and now that I'm standing right at the edge of it, all I can picture is the look on Summer's face when she finds out I'm the one who killed her brother.
And for some reason, I haven't been able to go after him.
That's going to change.
I slip into the car, leaning over long enough to pull the gun out of the glovebox. I check it before setting it on the seat beside me, leaving the burning people and the bodies within behind me.
I don't know what I'm doing here. I shouldn't be here. It's a horrible idea, and I know things are only going to go up in flames after this.
I could very well be walking into my death, but I don't have any other options.
Glancing up at the sign for the laundromat, I consider turning around, getting back in my car, and waiting for Aiden to hunt me down and kill me. I don't know why he hasn't yet. There has to be something wrong.
And this is like walking into the fucking lion's den.
I have to be some kind of stupid to take a risk like this, but I've thought through all the other scenarios. This is the way it has to be.
Summer will forgive me one day.
I hope.
I take a deep breath, opening the door to the laundromat.
The heavy thump of machines greets me, bright light shining overhead. There are a couple of people scattered along the chairs lining the little window nook, all of them pretending to be off in their own world.
The scent of laundry soap is heavy in the air as I make my way down the row of top-load washers to the back, pushing open the door to the office.
Aiden looks up from the paperwork in front of him, his body tense as soon as our gazes meet. "What do you want?"
I shut the door behind me, turning the lock. "To talk."
"Weapons?" He pushes back, leaning in his chair to reach beneath the wooden desk for what I'm sure is a gun.
I lift my shirt, turning around before propping one foot and then the other on the desk, showing off the lack of a calf holster.
Aiden finally nods, easing back in his chair, his eyes still tracking my every movement. "What do you want to talk about?"
I don't know how to force the words out, but I have to.
As I ease into the hard vinyl chair on the other side of the desk, a lump lodges in my throat, silencing me.
My father wouldn't want this. He'd be ashamed of me for being here right now and not putting a bullet between Aiden's eyes.
My father would say that I'd become weak in my old age. He'd tell me that I'm letting the family down. That I've been letting them down for a long time. Fuck, he'd threaten to disown me if he didn't kill me himself for not following through with what I know would be his final wish.
Aiden scoffs. "If you came here to waste my time, you can get the fuck out."
"Why haven't you killed me yet?"
It's not what I wanted to say first, but it's the thought that's been lingering at the back of my mind, pressing me over and over again.
Aiden shrugs, leaning back in his chair, his gaze darting past me to the door. His arms are crossed, fingers drumming on his bicep. "What use are you to me dead right now?"
"You don't have to worry about anyone coming after you. Free to do whatever the fuck you please."
Aiden's lips press into a thin line. "And then I'd have to deal with Summer. For some reason, she thinks that you shouldn't be killed, and what I can't figure out is what you did to change her mind when you've never been anything but a bastard who slaughters people for fun."
"You say that like you have." I grip the arms of the chair.
Any moment now, he's going to have someone burst through the door behind me. There's going to be a bullet in my head.
Coming here was stupid. I don't know what I was thinking.
Aiden shifts in his seat, his finger stilling on his arm. "Why are you here?"
"Don't feel much like dying anymore." I tense as footsteps echo outside the door.
My blood rushes in my ears as I get ready to jump up and try to defend myself.
And then the footsteps fade, and Aiden smirks like he's having fun messing with my head. Can't say I blame him much for that, but if he could make this even a little easier, it'd be helpful.
He leans forward, clasping his hands together on top of his desk. "Can't be the only reason. Why don't you want to kill me? Why the hell did you march yourself in here knowing that you're likely going to die?"
"Summer."
Aiden gives a slow tilt of his head just slightly to the side, his eyes narrowing and the muscle in his jaw ticking. "Don't know what you want with her."
"Didn't know what you wanted with my sister."
The corner of his lips twitches. "Guess you have a point there, but I'm not going to let this happen. And what makes you think she even wants to be with you? Based on the way she's been slamming everything around whenever she's at the family house, I'd say you did a good job pissing her off."
"That's for me to figure out."
How I'm going to do that, I don't even know where to start. Hell, if I had to think about it too long, I don't even know what I really want, beyond her.
I don't have a fucking clue about any of this.
Sleeping with women, sure. I know that. It's simple. Doesn't have to be complicated.
Whatever the hell is between me and Summer is complicated as hell. It always has been, and I don't think it's ever going to get easier.
But I want that.
Aiden clears his throat. "And what about New York? I'm not going to spend the rest of my life watching you kill my people for the sake of revenge and getting more territory. Both of us can't stay in New York."
"I need time to work through that."
He shakes his head, glancing to where I'm sure he has the gun under the desk. "No. I'm not going to sit around looking like an idiot because you stayed in the city. It sends the wrong message, and after all the blood spilled between us, I'm not going to have you here."
"You were going to offer a truce at one point."
"And you threw that back in my face." Aiden's tone is low and dangerous, a reminder that I'm the one at a disadvantage right now. "If you want something from me now, you're going to play by my rules."
"What do you want, then?"
He smirks, leaning forward a little more. "You want your chance at my sister, and if there's anything I know about my sisters, it's that my opinion doesn't mean shit to them. So fine, if Summer wants to be with the likes of you, then I don't give a fuck."
"Feels like there's a but coming." I'm losing my patience. He's fucking with me because he knows he can right now.
Aiden chuckles, his eyes locking on mine, a cold look making the hair on the back of my neck stand. "But you're going to get the fuck out of my city. I hear some of your people are already retreating to Chicago. Can't tell you that's going to be far enough, but it's a fucking start."
I snort a laugh, shaking my head. "You want me in Chicago, then? That's not going to happen. I'm not going that far away from her. Vermont."
He leans back in his chair, looking entirely relaxed, that smug fucking smile permanently etched onto his face. "Chicago. I don't want you in Vermont."
"No, instead you want me to go marching into someone else's territory." I grit my teeth, running through the scenarios in my head.
I could arrive in Chicago and be killed the second I step off the plane. Someone could hunt me down and kill me.
But it would mean I have a chance at getting Summer back. I want her more than I want this life. I didn't realize how quiet the past week was going to be without her around.
Aiden knows it too. The bastard is going to force me to do whatever he wants, and I don't have another choice. "You want out of the life if you're going to be with her. You can't be in it while she's a lawyer, which means you shouldn't have any problems out there."
"You're not that na?ve."
"No, but if you want me to end this right now, you're going to agree to move to Chicago within the week."
It's a horrible deal. One where I have to start my life over in a city I don't know, with people who know of me and might still want to kill me even if I am retired from all the shit.
But in the end, I get a chance at convincing Summer that I'm not a shithead—that I want to be with her and I'm willing to sacrifice.
I sit up a little taller. "This is going to make us look like shit to the rest of the city and the people we both do business with."
"Which is why you're going to fake your death." Aiden leans down and reaches into a drawer, pulling out an entirely new identity. He slides the documents over to me, and I have to admit, I'm impressed.
My face is staring up at me, a new name, date of birth, and address waiting for me. There's a social security number, passport, and anything else I could need to start a new life.
I take the documents, putting them into a little pile. I should be asking him when he got these made—probably when he first wanted to approach me about a deal a long time ago. His plan was always to make me go away, and there's a part of me that admires him for it.
I clear my throat. "How do you want to do this?"
"You're going to agree with it, then?" The smug smile only gets bigger.
"I don't have much of a choice. You get to tell everyone you finally killed me, and I get a chance to live my fucking life."
"Then I guess we have an agreement."
"I guess we do."
Now, all I have to do is hope that he's not going to turn on me and actually kill me. It's the kind of move I would make.
And then, if I survive, somehow I have to convince Summer that I'm not the monster she likely thinks I am.
Easier said than done.